Mobile phone advice, please

whatsername

Ok, I am completely hopeless when it comes to technology, and mobile phones in particular. My current one is *years* old, a very basic nokia which has hardly any functions and is nice and easy to use....even that was given to me (second hand) so I have no experience of buying mobile phones.

I am looking to replace it with something which I can send and recieve email with, which I *think* means I need 3G???

I hardly ever use my phone, and would probably use it for email and texting more than anything else. Do you pay for email on a phone? And does it cost serious money to send text messages abroad (say the states, for example)? Told you I was completely clueless

Right, so I would want a pay-as-you-go deal, a phone which was reasonably simple to use, but with the technology to email (I suspect those 2 things cancel each other out) and above all, something reasonably cheap....Does anyone have any suggestions at all? I would be very grateful, thank you

DonnyDave

whatsername wrote:

I am looking to replace it with something which I can send and recieve email with, which I *think* means I need 3G???

I hardly ever use my phone, and would probably use it for email and texting more than anything else. Do you pay for email on a phone? And does it cost serious money to send text messages abroad (say the states, for example)? Told you I was completely clueless

I can tell you that you can have e-mail on a non-3g phone. I have a Siemens CX65 and I can use it to look at (and send) my e-mail. If you use Outlook Express, you probably use a system called POP3 for your email. You can set this up on some phones (including the CX65), so there's no need to get another email account. It will tell you in the specification that they have an email client.

Right, so I would want a pay-as-you-go deal, a phone which was reasonably simple to use, but with the technology to email (I suspect those 2 things cancel each other out) and above all, something reasonably cheap....Does anyone have any suggestions at all? I would be very grateful, thank you

To get your e-mail on your mobile, you will use GPRS (if you use a non-3g phone). This is a 'mobile broadband' (although not as fast as 3g) where you pay for the amount of data rather than the length of time you are on. You can dial-up (in which case you would pay for the length of the 'call'), but most phones have GPRS.

As far as the tariff goes, you could consider staying with the same one (keeping the number). Just put the SIM card into another phone. If the network you are on has a better tariff available, they may well let you change over to the latest one.

I don't use 3g, but I'm sure someone will be along who knows about it.

whatsername

Thank you so much for your reply -

So, is what you have a WAP phone??? I don't understand what all these different terms mean!

I *don't* have an outlook express account....would that mean I couldn't access email on a non-3G phone?

*WHY* is all this so complicated??!!

Ok, so I think my best bet is probably to go talk to someone in a phone shop and ask advice - can anyone recommend a trustworthy retailer who isn't going to spot the helpless (hopeless?) female and try and flog her the wrong thing? Thank you again, in advance!

K9COOP

what email address is it @hotmail @yahoo @serviceprovider.com

we should be able to tell you then if it is a POP3 account if it is you can use this on your phone, If not, you will need to sign up for a POP3 email address

What network are you on and what tariff if you know

WAP is mobile internet... You can go on the internet in two ways

CSD - This is where you pay per minute (bit like dial up internet on a PC)
GPRS - This is where you pay for what you download (Gprs is quicker than CSD and its the better of the two in my opinion)

3G is a new technology, which connects at an even higher speed than GPRS, its quick enough to be able to stream video's or tv and ever video calls. Gprs doesnt transmit as much data..

so you dont need 3g, you just need a wap enabled phone, preferably with email function,

whatsername

Again, thank you for the reply.

My email is with tiscali (grrrr, *not* happy but tied in until April)

My current network is vodaphone and I'm on pay as you go.

If I go for a WAP phone, how will I know whether it's CSD or GPRS?

Thank you so much, for all your help.

DonnyDave

whatsername wrote:

I *don't* have an outlook express account....would that mean I couldn't access email on a non-3G phone?

I suspect you may have misunderstood the question. You have said you have Tiscali e-mail, so you can use Outlook Express to get your email on your PC. So in answer to your question, you can get your Tiscali email using GPRS (ie on a non-3g phone).

whatsername wrote:

*WHY* is all this so complicated??!!

Can't answer that one, but I will try and make it as simple as possible, whilst giving you the information you need.

whatsername wrote:

Ok, so I think my best bet is probably to go talk to someone in a phone shop and ask advice - can anyone recommend a trustworthy retailer who isn't going to spot the helpless (hopeless?) female and try and flog her the wrong thing? Thank you again, in advance!

I can't answer that one either as I've gathered my knowledge from the internet and purchased my phone online.

whatsername wrote:

My email is with tiscali (grrrr, *not* happy but tied in until April)

Ah, so you have a tiscali.co.uk email. BTW, it is possible to keep your Tiscali email address when you move ISPs by switching your account to a pay as you go one. You just have to dial-up every few months to keep the account active.

whatsername wrote:

My current network is vodaphone and I'm on pay as you go.

You might have to get GPRS enabled on your account, I *imagine* that they will be able to do that. I'm on Orange and my current SIM card came with a Nokia 3330 which doesn't have GPRS. I rang customer services who sent me a SIM update so I can use GPRS.

whatsername wrote:

If I go for a WAP phone, how will I know whether it's CSD or GPRS?

Most phones have GPRS, and if you're going for something with an email client on, then you will certainly get GPRS.

You now have to decide which network and tariff you want to be on and which phone you want. I suggest you narrow it down to some handsets you like. Check manufacturer's websites or review sites like Mobile-review.com for specifications. For example, see SonyEricsson J220i, under Connectivity it shows that this phone has an email client that supports SMTP/POP3. This is the way you can send and receive email using your Tiscali account.

Mobile-review.com gives good write-ups, but you might prefer to look in the shops. You are after advice on which handsets have email clients and other features you like. Hopefully you will find some that catch your eye.

shohaib

Do they make a mobile phone for dummies if there isnt one. Ok ill make it hands up for first batch of books lol