Mobile phones - Cell phones

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Although you can find a mobile phone shop on every town street these days there may still be people who do not have one or are mystified as to what the advantages are and whether they should have one. So this page is NOT for the mobile phone junkies, who can't live without a phone glued to their ear (unwisely - the jury is STILL out on whether ther may be long term harm).

Feb 2010.  To see a modern phone have a look at this video HERE  The Doro Big Button gsm Mobile phone may be better for some older people, especially as it is hearing aid compatible.

I do use a mobile occasionally. Mine cost £8.50 from Phones4U plus £10 prepaid call charges.  I find it quite satisfactory; it worked in South Africa on holiday - no setting up required - and does things like take pictures. And it came with a swipe card, so instead of having to phone to top it up I can just go to a shop and pay them some cash. Easy!

All phone companies have now introduced mobile computing.  The USB wireless modems are not expensive and enable you to connect your laptop or a netbook to the net wherever there is a signal. Costs vary, so you have to look at the various providers for these. But things have become quite competitive.

For instance mobile phone company 3 is offering mobile broadband from £10 a month with a free mobile USB modem. See http://www.ebuyermobile.com/broadband/  I installed one of these in an XP machine I sold.  It was simplicity itself.  Just a matter of sticking the modem into a USB port and "Bingo!" up to 3Mb broadband instantly.  Take it with you or keep it in a laptop.

Sept 08.  ASDA and TESCO are cutting prepay mobile phone charges in half. The cost will be 8 ppm for calls and 4 ppm for texts.

Phone charges story.  Unless you intend to increase your mortgage be careful when you use your mobile phone abroad.

A Manchester-based IT consultant was shocked to find a £31,500 telephone bill waiting for him when he returned from holiday. He had used his mobile phone as a modem while on holiday in Portugal to download an episode of Prison Break as well as several MP3s. "The original figures looked like they had come down from the moon. I just laughed. There had to be some mistake. I knew I had used a lot of data while abroad, but not to the tune of £31,000," says Mr X, who failed to check the limits of his data plan. The bill, sent from UK telecoms supplier Yes Telecom, is the latest in a string of huge charges from various providers that have brought to light the level of customer confusion over mobile broadband download limits and the high costs involved in exceeding them. In January this year a Vodafone customer received a bill for £27,000, after having downloaded 20 or 30 television shows over his mobile data package, believing that it included unlimited data. In March another Vodafone customer received an £11,000 phone bill after accidentally using a mobile broadband package while abroad. The phone owner's wife had started to download four episodes of the popular comedy show Friends on the handset while still in the UK, which had continued while abroad. However, in most cases, the high charges are heavily reduced after negotiations. Mr X disputed the bill using a firm of solicitors, and the company has now agreed to slash the charges to just £229.

April 08  Got an old mobile phone ?  It might be worth something.  See http://www.envirofone.com/

January 2008  Vodaphone is increasing its download rate for mobile video to 7.2Mb/s.  Or, to put it another way,... very fast!

The Apple iPhone is very expensive * and coveted by everyone who wants to show off.  It has wi-fi and Blutooth capability for sending and receiving mail, surfing the web and downloading music etc. But did you know that to replace the battery you should send it back to Apple. However it IS possible to open the case and some companies are already producing compatible batteries.  However, these days mobile MOST phones can get emails and some, like the Blackberry even have tiny QWERTY keyboards. The RIM Blackberry is also Wi-fi capable. Even Obama says he couldn't live without his Blackberry.
* The minimum you will pay for the use of an iPhone during the first 18 month contract will be £899.

** n.b. The most common form of robbery on the streets today is for mobile phones.  And yet you can block the use of a phone almost immediately by getting in touch with the service provider and telling them to block it.  You will need to tell them the Serial Number.  To get this you should press *#06# on the phone and make a note of it in a safe place

First, the Pros and Cons of a Mobile phone, Cell phone or Cellular phones

Cons :

The main disadvantage of the mobile phone is that the cost of calls is higher than from a landline phone.

Secondly there are some areas where reception is poor or impossible  - but see satellite below.  If you are often in an area where reception can be bad (in a valley, out of line of sight of a transmitter), it is very important to choose the right company, as they each have their own transmitting aerials

They are one of the most frequently and easily stolen items.  The thief can then rack up huge bills for you until you cancel the account. They can also get a great deal of information which may help them with scams such as Identity Fraud.

Although many have excellent volumes they cannot be used with a hearing aid in the 'T' (induction loop) position.

Pros :

You don't need a land line connection, so can telephone from anywhere where reception is reasonable.  There are many motorists, solitary pedestrians (especially children) and even yachtsmen who have been very relieved to be able to get in touch when in difficulty.

Once you have bought your phone, if you choose a Pay as You Go method of payment, there is no cost whatsoever unless you use the phone.

Your mobile phone has its own answerphone system, so if your phone is not on or you do not answer it, people can still leave messages.

You can send text messages to people which can be picked up later and are cheaper than voice calls. Useful if you are deaf. For use with hearing aid loops it is necessary to purchase a T-link device and some phones also require an adapter.  See http://www.deafequipment.co.uk/store/viewCategory.do?id=299.

The phone has a screen and this can be used to display messages, notifying you that a text or sound call has been left.  

A deaf person, like myself, can be contacted. Not only do the phones ring but they can also vibrate to tell you a call is coming through. Although many have excellent volumes they cannot be used with a hearing aid in the 'T' (induction loop) position without an adapter (above).

The screen can also be used to display games.

Many phones allow you to take still and video pictures with sound and these can be sent to other mobile phones or transferred to a computer and printed or even printed directly from the telephone. Some include high megapixel cameras and even a flash.

Many phones have a facility to add as much as an 80Mb memory card, allowing you to load professional videos as well as MP3 music and photographs.  These can be downloaded from your computer via USB or wirelessly via 'Bluetooth"

There are often facilities to be updated on sporting events by text or even video excerpts.

Some phones are contactable via satellite and can therefore be used anywhere in the world and can also be used for satellite navigation whether in a car, on a boat or on foot. Many lives have been saved by mobile phones, not only by calls from injured people but also from people in danger, such as at sea, lost, stranded, trapped in a vehicle or half way down a cliff. Many children now have them for safety reasons.

Many telephones allow you to send and receive e-mails. The RIM Blackberry, the mobile phone you can use at the top of Mount Everest (and pick up your emails while you are there) has sealed a deal in China, which already has 500 million mobile phone users.  In fact any mobile phone that can access the net can also receive email from web based sites such as Googlemail.

The mobile telephone network is now worldwide, so you can probably telephone someone on a land line or another mobile phone anywhere in the world, although may have to have a phone which is suitable for use in Europe, Japan or the USA.  Some services are remarkably cheap, especially to more technologically developed countries.

All mobile phones have a Menu of facilities including a telephone book.  These numbers may be called merely by pressing one number.  A friend pressed the number of his contact by mistake and the contact answered.  The friend said " But I thought you were off to Singapore !" The contact replied " Yes I am in a cafe in Singapore!"

It will soon be able to track a mobile phone user almost anywhere in the world, providing the owner has given you permission. This will be useful for keeping track of kids (or forgetful old people!) and even to track where it is when it has been stolen. If it is a satellite based phone it will be within a few feet. If, not it will still be possible for a short distance (where there is a nearby transmitter)

Most phones will enable you to get emails or surf the web from almost anywhere via WAP.  

WAP stands for Wireless Access Protocol, and is more commonly referred to as "Mobile Internet" Most of today's mobile phones, smartphones and PDAs come with a built in WAP browser. With it  you can access dedicated WAP pages while on the move. For further information see HERE The cost of WAP depends on your phone company but also on the way you access the net. With standard dial-up, you pay by the minute to access WAP, and with GPRS, you pay for the amount of data you download.

Saving money on mobiles abroad

Danger, Voicemail abroad

If your voicemail's called when you're overseas, whether the phone's on or off, even if no message is left, most networks charge as if you'd received a call. This can be up to £1/min, plus retrieving the message is an overseas call too.

Mobiles are overseas once the phone is switched on and connects to an overseas network, it's then set as "abroad" until its next UK connection, even if it's switched off for the remaining time. If you're willing, ask your network to switch the voicemail off.

If voicemail isn't disabled, keep the phone on, as it's cheaper to answer than pay double to receive and then listen to a voicemail; provided you don't natter on once you're called.

Change message. Re-record your voicemail message, keeping it short and ask others to leave only necessary, short messages. Better still, suggest they text, as it's always free to receive texts abroad. And while texting back costs, a short message is relatively cheap.

Use mobiles like pagers. Get people to quickly call, or preferably text when they need to, and then call them back a cheaper way (remember you pay to receive). This certainly doesn't mean using a hotels' phone; that often charge a lot. Buy a phone card there, or if you've got a laptop or internet access, use an ‘internet to phone' calling system like Skype.

Get a different SIM card or even a cheap phone while abroad.

Vodafone and Virgin customers. Are you using the correct overseas network?

At home the phone automatically connects to your network; overseas it scans and picks the strongest single. Yet Vodafone* and Virgin* customers pay more if they don't connect via their ‘preferred' overseas partner. For example, in Australia a Vodafone customer calling home pays 79p/min via the preferred network, but 99p with all others. Thus check which is the cheapest foreign network before going, then pick it via the manual network selection option on your handset. Whatever your network, use a special overseas add-on package.  See the difference ?

The main networks now offer special packages for those travelling overseas. Rather interestingly two of these, Vodafone's ‘passport' option which is much cheaper for long calls home and O2's My Europe (not My Europe high roamer) are ‘free on request', in other words if you don't ask, you don't get.... so ask! (full details) Plus upon request Orange gives first time European roamers £5 (£3 on PAYG) free credit to try.  Other add-on packages cost a couple of quid a month, such as Vodafone's International Calls Saver, Orange's Frequent Traveller or T-Mobile's* International Option. They need to be set up more than three days before you go away, and importantly, always remember to cancel them when you return

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Here is an example of a couple of sophisticated telephones which have many extra facilities. Phones like these may cost as much as £250 if you 'Pay as you Go. But may be 'free' if you agree to a monthly contract.

The Sony Ericsson K750i . The technical specifications of a high spec mobile pictured above:

4X Digital zoom Camera (2 megapixel), Imaging Autofocus, Viewfinder display, Video streaming, Video record, Video Clip, Sound recorder SMS long (Text Messaging) Predictive text input, Picture Phonebook, Picture effects Picture editor, Photo light, MMS Video Multimedia Messaging, Instant Messaging, Enhanced Messaging, Email, integrated Backlight display

Entertainment : Melody composer/MIDI, Music tones, Media Player, Games Download, FM radio.

Connectivity : USB support; ML Synchronisation; PC Memory Stick, Infrared port, GPRS (Global positioning) Bluetooth wireless technology.

Internet : WTLS WAP 2.0 WAP 1.2.1 OTA settings Modem

Voice Mail, Vibrating Alert, Sleep mode, SIM card lock, Volume Keys, Redial, Joystick Icon Desktop

Organiser : Timer, Tasks Stopwatch, Speaker phone, PIM Sync, Phone book, File manager, Contacts, Conference calls Clock, Call list, Calendar, Calculator, Business card exchange, Alarm clock, Memory Stick

Screen 176x220 pixel Color LCD 262,144 Sound Polyphonic Sound 40 voices, 34MB memory

Networks GSM 900 GSM 1900 GSM 1800.

Some phones have wide screens and full keyboards

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Methods of Payment

The two main methods of payment are a Contract + call cost and Pay as You Go, where you just pay for each call. All telephone providers offer these, although pricing can be complex and variable. Charges will vary according to the time of day and whether the call is to another country.

Many companies will provide a sophisticated telephone free of charge providing you commit yourself to a contract.  They may also offer a certain number of free calls or text messages before further charges are made.

A typical offer might be..if you sign up for an 18 month contract at £25 a month you might get 600 free texts and 150 minutes talk time a month.  After that you would begin to pay at variable rates.  There are many offers, usually to tempt you to sign up with them on a contract.

Usually it is cheaper to phone someone who is with the same provider e.g. Orange to Orange.

Pay as You Go people can 'top up' their telephone either by phone and a credit card or on the net or by using a registered card in a shop or Post Office.  you may get more calls per pound by requesting a large top up.

Examples of telephone companies :

The main companies making mobile phones are Motorola, Samsung, Siemens, RIM (O2-Blackberry) Panasonic, Sony Ericsson, Nokia, 3  LG

Providers of services  (the people who own the transmitters and who arrange your payment system) include Orange, T-Mobile, O2, Vodaphone, Virgin, BT and Hutchison

Shops include www.phones4u.co.uk, www.Carphonewarehouse.com, www.theLink.com, www.dialaphone.co.uk   or you can go to comparative sites such as www.audiovisual.kelkoo.co.uk and http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/mobile-phone/

Comparisons can be made between phones can be made by clicking on CHEAP MOBILE PHONE DEALS (a www.moneysupermarket site)

Independent links include www.reviewcentre.com and http://www.iegmp.org.uk/  (The Independent Expert Group on Mobile Phones)

Lost your Phone ?  You should immediately report the loss to your provider so further calls can be stopped.  It is easier if you have the equipment identity number which is displayed if you tap in Star, hash, 06, hash. (*#06#) You can also register your phone with http://www.immobilise.com

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