A "proper" Internet phone required

[RUSSELLM]

Is there or has anyone got a mobile phone that get on the Internet ?

My current mobile phone can get on "wap enabled" sites, but wouldn't be able to show the likes of Google or piston-heads.

I'm currently on O2 who I wouldn't mind staying with, and would prefer a Nokia phone.

There's a non Nokia phone on O2's site, called "02 XDA EXE" which looks like it can get on the net, but I'm not sure if it does it on it's own or if you need to get on some body's wifi connection.

If it's off the phone network, I'm guessing this would be very slow, in comparison to say the old 56k modem dial up ?

Any help out there please.

[Plotloss]

There are LOADS of phones will full HTML browsers.

Blackberrys
Nokia N73, N80, N95
All manner of Windows Smartphones

You really have your pick of about 50 different devices.

[RUSSELLM]

Plotloss said:

full HTML browsers.

Thanks PL, is that the keyword to look for on the sales literature ?

Some of them mention windows etc & me being tad thick, I'm struggling to tell which one's do what.

[Plotloss]

Yep, all the smartphones do it, in fact most phones do it these days, WAP is all but dead.

www.modaco.com for Smartphone info.

[xiphias]

Opera mini

Not 100% fantastic, but free and does a good enough job for ph

[Alex]

Here's me surfing on PH using my MDA Vario II (Windows Mobile 5.0) in the Pistenklause:



(You'll have to rotate your head - blame Pikey...)

I was using WiFi in the pic, but it also has 3G, and the T-Mobile network is the first to support HSDPA, so if you get a good signal, the connection speed is excellent.

Also, you get unlimited data on Web'n'walk. Very pleased with it!

Edited by Alex on Friday 10th November 12:07

[RUSSELLM]

Ta everyone

Thanks Alex, you haven't done my whiplash any good with that piccy

I've just had a customer in telling me his phone gets on the Internet, but he couldn't get on to pistonheads with it, he said the site isn't "blah blah enabled" or something like that.

I'm going to get myself along to the O2 shop & see one working for myself.

Also can you securely buy stuff with your credit card on these phones or is the connection unsafe.

[Tripps]

RUSSELLM said:

Also can you securely buy stuff with your credit card on these phones or is the connection unsafe.

As long as it supports SSL (used by the web pages you see starting with https) then all being well you should be OK and it will be safe as the data transmitted will be encrypted.

[Mr E]

Alex said:

I was using WiFi in the pic, but it also has 3G, and the T-Mobile network is the first to support HSDPA, so if you get a good signal, the connection speed is excellent.

Nope, sorry. We've been selling HSDPA capable kit for about 18-20 months. Cingular wireless are pretty much nation wide with HSDPA, and HSUPA is coming.

Manx telecomm were, I think, one of the first if not the first HSDPA enabled network. T-Mobile may be 1st in mainland UK though.

Be aware, you will need a release 5 capable phone to use HSDPA, and I'm not sure how many UEs that have that chipset are available in the UK. The usual suspects (N80/K800/P990 etc) are all R99, and limited to 384K up, 384K down. Which franlkly is usually good enough unless you're using it as a modem for the laptop and pulling serious data.

Data rate dependant on signal to noise, recieved power and a million other things. Your milage may vary. etc etc.

[Mr E]

RUSSELLM said:

There's a non Nokia phone on O2's site, called "02 XDA EXE" which looks like it can get on the net, but I'm not sure if it does it on it's own or if you need to get on some body's wifi connection.

Anything that's 3G compatible will be fast enough for surfing and email in an area covered by UMTS. Outside that coverage, back to GPRS speeds (not quick). R99 kit will do 384kbits/sec. Release 5 will currently manage 800-1.5Mbits/sec dependant on conditions.

For interest, I've seen 7.8MBits/sec over the air to a UMTS engineering UE. That's quite impressive, although you'll never see that in the wild.

Personally, I think the 02 XDA is not the finest bit of kit ever made, for various reasons. The N80 and K800i are fine handsets, and there are a number of decent blackberry type units available also if that floats your boat.

But any modern phone can access the internet. What did you want to do with the thing?