Mobile phones in regional areas

[Nandewar]

We have to plug our phones into an external aerial here. Even the blue tick jobs. And it really gets me that very few phones have an external socket. I'm looking seriously at Samsung phones 'cause most have a socket under the back cover. It is then a simple job to drill a hole in the sucker to access it. There seems to be very few other options other that sticking with my old ZTE and carrying a magnifying glass around with me.

[The Bigfella]

Originally Posted by HerrMnnn

HTC Desire with Telstra Next G here in Mildura, not blue tick but good reception in most areas, equal to my last dumb phone which was blue tick. Drive to SA regularly, and across the Hay plains occasionally, reception most of the way even without external antenna.

And just a bit of defence for Telstra - as a company they possibly suck in a lot of areas, but look what they have done for us over the last 15-20 years. Because of their radio network we can now travel through most of Aust with not only mobile phone reception but relatively high speed internet access. All for about $50 a month. Only 12 years ago I was living just 30km from a large country town, but had no mobile service and could only get 9600 baud from an analog modem. They've since filled that hole by upgrading the nearest tower.

It still impresses me that I can be down in the chemical shed and use my phone to download a missing drum label, or be out on the tractor and get a facebook message from my daughter holidaying in Phuket, then sign on to internet banking and send her some money.

Fair enough, there is no reception in lots of areas, but we are still way better off than we were not that long ago.

All for about $50 a month? Therein lies one of the problems.

I just bought a 3G sim card for my notebook in Indonesia. $10 unlimited for 2 months. Yeah... I know labour costs are lower in Indo... but isn't this telecoms shit all about the equipment costs?

Sorry... Telstra's behind the rip-off and we've been coughing up because of their ineptitude for years.

[Stig O'Tracy]

Purchased one of these specifically for country bike trips. I've got a work-supplied Blacberry on Optus - totally fkn useless. Defy has been great - water resistant plus it survived a 1.5m drop onto course bitumen chip road with glass-side down with just a 3mm scratch as a reminder.

[Colonial Mick]

Originally Posted by Nandewar

We have to plug our phones into an external aerial here. Even the blue tick jobs. And it really gets me that very few phones have an external socket. I'm looking seriously at Samsung phones 'cause most have a socket under the back cover. It is then a simple job to drill a hole in the sucker to access it. There seems to be very few other options other that sticking with my old ZTE and carrying a magnifying glass around with me.

+1 Brett ! I can't see anything on the new ones.

[AUSSIEADV]

Originally Posted by The Bigfella

All for about $50 a month? Therein lies one of the problems.

I just bought a 3G sim card for my notebook in Indonesia. $10 unlimited for 2 months. Yeah... I know labour costs are lower in Indo... but isn't this telecoms shit all about the equipment costs?

Sorry... Telstra's behind the rip-off and we've been coughing up because of their ineptitude for years.

Yep, I'm with you bigfella.

The Yanks get blitzing fast internet, heaps of gigs, text, calls etc for something like $30 a month!

The blue tick is a farce. My last phone before the Iphone was a Nokia 6120. Guess what? No blue tick but performed better than any with the blue tick! Go figure. Walk into a Telstra shop and ask for a smart phone equal in performance to the 6120 and see what answer you're given. When Telstra was pressed, they admitted that the blue tick was applied by advice from the manufacturer of these phones.

When sussing out a phone, contact a rural store for advise. A mate bought a phone from a Melbourne store under the advise of Telstra saleman and the phone performs poorly.

The Iphone 4 is consistently 1 bar less than the 6120 which is pretty good considering.

Another tip, make sure you are running the latest sim card as the earlier sims don't allow the phones to receive reception to their full potential.

[Rick001]

[ The Motorola Defy is OK. Well I guess, if it can fall out of my top pocket, whilst digging my f@#k%n ute out of a bog, in the pouring rain last Wed, then going back on thursday, and digging through the mud, to find the phone still working, it is OK (but it still doesnt work where there is no signal....hence the reason I was digging....fa#@k*ng rain...long grass and washed out rabbit burrows)[/QUOTE]

My old flip phone is on its last legs, and I have been looking for something that is as tough as it was. Based on the feedback seen here, I have just bought myself a Motorola Defy Next G.

Hope you blokes know what you are talking about.....

[Not for Highway Use]

Telstra NextG on my iPhone4 works for me.

However.................why does it show 3G on my signal bar?

[slowbike smallpenis]

Vodafone works great 55klms west of Hay - dont ask me why I know

[Not for Highway Use]

Originally Posted by slowbike smallpenis

Vodafone works great 55klms west of Hay - dont ask me why I know

Why?

[rutsthematter]

Got a question about gps enabled smartphones, does the gps still work out of service? Or does it work in a limited way ie position but no maps or are different phones different?

[crash n bern]

I'm not far out of Brisbane and I couldn't get reception at home, even with a Telstra tower over the hill. I went NextG and got a Nokia E51. Not a blue tick phone but the tech heads on the phone forums said it had the best reception over everything else. (Apparently Nokia didn't want to pay for the blue tick) I get full reception at home and as far west as Eulo, but I had to stand in the back of a ute. I wouldn't mind upgrading to a smart phone either, just don't want to end up with something that I can't use.

[ECKS-Man]

My Motorola Defy has comparable reception to my Nokia 6120, possibly a little worse in marginal areas but still pretty good.

[AUSSIEADV]

Originally Posted by rutsthematter

Got a question about gps enabled smartphones, does the gps still work out of service? Or does it work in a limited way ie position but no maps or are different phones different?

Not unless you use a GPS app.

Here's a brilliant street app for $15.00 Metroview http://www.metroview.com.au/

For offroad, Bitmap $4.50 http://nixanz.com/ios/bitmap/

If using on a bike, the phone, as in the Iphone it will want to swap between portrait and landscape. Follow this to lock it. http://www.iphonestop.info/tips-tric...scape-120.html

Originally Posted by ECKS-Man

My Motorola Defy has comparable reception to my Nokia 6120, possibly a little worse in marginal areas but still pretty good.

About as well as the Iphone 4 then which is good.

[Gizzool]

G'day boys n
If you're coming out in to the stix, get in touch with someone out here and find out what they do.
We used to tell someone where we were going and if we didn't turn up someone came looking for us.

What we do now is to get a Telstra next g compatible phone. Then go to thecarkitcompany and get a compatible car kit. Wire the power and earth wires in to a ciggie lighter plug(or equivalent). Buy a 5db magnetic base aerial (wire one about a foot long) and connect to car kit. Now you have a system that is compatible with next g (rural). has external aerial for even better reception. Can charge your phone via car kit, and will give you all the comfort and security you could possibly wish for.

Now.....
Shove all that shit in your tank bag, tell someone where you're going, and go for a ride.

[Colonial Mick]

If anyone is really interested in getting exceptional performance out in the bush PM me.