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honem

194 posts

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#84675 5-Jun-2011 02:32
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I have a Telecom CDMA phone that's finally given up the ghost.

It's a Nokia 1325 and has had a damaged screen for a while now.  It's a bad hard to describe what it looks like but i'll give it a go - up to top is a circular bit of the screen that's in a darker color, almost like theres a puddle at the top of the screen. It does not go away when I light the display up. It's been like this for a fair while now , many months maybe even a year. 

The phones worked fine for making calls and texting but a few days ago the screens gone completely pakaru :(  . The screen doesn't show anything at all on it even when the display lights up.  I can still sort of make it dial a number but without seeing anything on screen it's impossible to see if I'm putting it the right numbers or even if the phones at the right screen to be making calls at. Making a call i just get a disconnected tone but i can't tell if that means its broken or if I've given it an invalid number to call at the wrong time. I can still receive text messages on it but without the ability to see the text message it's a bit pointless. I can still receive calls on it but that's about it.

Now all this worries me as I'm pretty sure it's water damage. I could send it away to get repaired but IMHO if it's water damage I don't think they'll fix it.  I would be better off getting a new phone.

So I'm in to get a new cellphone.  My only issue is at the lower end they all seem to offer the same features >_< with little if anything to differiate the models from each other other then the price.  I only need a bare basics cellphone - just need it to have decent call quality , a long standby time (as I never remember to charge it) and a fairly easy UI for text messaging.   I'm currently looking at one of the Telecom ones either the Telecom R109 , Telecom U3100 or the Telecom R101 but can't decide which one to get.

My other problem is I don't spend enough on my phone to justify going on a 24 month plan.  My dad's home phone number was under my name when I got the phone so it's just been on a Go Onebill plan for years where I only pay 50 cents per call.  I spend roughly $25 a month on the phone and only pay my telecom bill every 2 months. I don't see myself going anywhere in 24 months but can't justify spending $30 - $40 on a prepaid plan a month just to get the odd $60 off the price of a phone.

Help me geekzone patrons ! Help !




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- Hone , Often accused of Excess Verbosity
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joff_nz
446 posts

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  #477940 5-Jun-2011 10:23
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Step 1: buy R101
Step 2: put it on 'on-the-onebill'

step 3: enjoy.

 
 
 
 

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eXDee
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  #478025 5-Jun-2011 16:33
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If the 1325 is the small black one im thinking of, they all seem to get that problem with the screen. It's from pressure being applied to the top of the phone and it cracks the top edge of the screen causing the LCD to leak. It's a design flaw with them, ive seen 20+ with the issue but i bet they would put it down to impact damage.

scuwp
3879 posts

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  #478032 5-Jun-2011 17:05
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joff_nz: Step 1: buy R101
Step 2: put it on 'on-the-onebill'

step 3: enjoy.


I would personally skip step 1.  Anything Nokia in my book is usually good build quality, AFAIK the Telecom branded phones are pretty bad for failures, both handset and network.

Step 2 & 3 - great advice...the "one-bill" makes it pretty simple





Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation





joff_nz
446 posts

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  #478039 5-Jun-2011 17:35
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I understand the Nokia sentiment, but the cheapest new nokia is twice the price of the R101. I don't think it's twice as good.

scheduler
264 posts

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  #478070 5-Jun-2011 19:55
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This is probably a suggestion from left field. Have you considered porting your number to 2 degrees prepay and purchasing a basic GSM only phone

My Logic is this a phone call on XT onebill will cost 59c a minute whereas on 2 degrees it will cost 44c a minute excluding top and get rewards. My experience is that you will get better battery life from a GSM phone then a 3G phone. ( I am sure somebody will correct me if this is incorrect) 2 degrees texting rates have got better then they were  although i suspect Telecom are still better. You can also set up a auto topup on 2 degrees which makes it similar to being on account.

honem

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  #478074 5-Jun-2011 20:10
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scheduler: This is probably a suggestion from left field. Have you considered porting your number to 2 degrees prepay and purchasing a basic GSM only phone.


Would this mean I can keep my 027 number ? And as a network are 2 degree reliable ?

2 more question for you guys : Is it possible to just buy a phone from the warehouse or some other third party and get it connected to the Telecom network ?

Also are any of the lower end of Telecom phones dual band ? In this case I reference the sticky above that said that if you have a 850/2100 phone in an area of low reception it will automatically switch down to 850 if need be.

Thanks for the replies guys !




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- Hone , Often accused of Excess Verbosity
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scheduler
264 posts

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  #478106 5-Jun-2011 21:55
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Hi. Yes You can keep your 027 number and operate it on anyt network in New Zealand. As far as 2 degrees reliability goes personally i have been with them from the start and have had problems on 1 day in that time. Any network can go down though.

If you buy a Telecom XT phone you need a phone that supports UMTS 850, UMTS 2100 is only used for infill and so has limited usefulness 



honem

194 posts

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  #478413 7-Jun-2011 05:35
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scuwp: I would personally skip step 1.  Anything Nokia in my book is usually good build quality, AFAIK the Telecom branded phones are pretty bad for failures, both handset and network.


As a point of interest here : I used to work as a CSR at Telecom on the 123 Blended que. Meaning I handled general 123 calls , mobile diagnostics as well as broadband.

So I well know Nokia's rep for being uncommonly good build quality (for most models). It's one of the reasons they kept giving out Nokia 2280's - they were cheap , they had boxes on boxes on them and were as tough as nails. I can remember many a trades person ringing up saying they'd sat on a Sanyo Flip phone and broken it and would I please send them a Nokia as one their mates dropped theirs in the cement mixer / off scaffolding and it still worked.

The reason why I'm wanting to get a good phone that will last me a while is because my Nokia 1325 has lasted me 3 years. Yes 3 years which IMHO is pretty decent for a cheap as mobile. I'm hoping to get a similar build quality.

So what I'm saying here is I'm willing to pay a little bit more if it's going to last me longer.




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- Hone , Often accused of Excess Verbosity
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joff_nz
446 posts

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  #478424 7-Jun-2011 08:09
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Then get the Nokia 2730 (assuming you want to stay with Xt, and buy new) And buy a 3 year warranty with it. Look after it and you will get 3 years out of it too.

Or just buy the R101 and a 3 year warranty.

honem

194 posts

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  #479362 9-Jun-2011 15:06
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Just a note here guys. Ordered the Nokia 2730 and got it today and I love it.

Going into the Telecom store to transfer over my contacts. Thanks for the help guys :)




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