Basic XT phone with external antenna connection?

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kiwitrc

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Topic # 106494 25-Jul-2012 05:50

With the looming demise of the CDMA network my elderly but sharp as a tack neighbour wants a new phone. He drives part time around the Wairarapa where coverage can be a bit sparse.

As above I was wondering if anyone knew of a phone that, is basic, preferably with bigish buttons (not essential) but most importantly an external antenna connection or at the very least better than average reception.

Behodar

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Reply # 661419 25-Jul-2012 07:51

I'm not sure about an aerial connection but here is Telecom's list of phones with good reception.

cyril7

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Reply # 661420 25-Jul-2012 07:56

Interesting Telecom list the iphone 4s, if I remember correctly JohnR noted that they were around 10dB deaf compared to just about any other phone, and yes I am aware they are different bands but still. Also from my experience iphones are most definitely deaf by comparison to my SGS.

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_Allan

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Reply # 661429 25-Jul-2012 08:09

I have a customer who had the identical problem. It was important he could plug in his external Antenna.

The local telecom shop sold him an attachment which you attach to the phone. It sticks to the back of the phone in the area where the internal antenna resides. He can then plug his antenna cable into this attachment.

I have no knowledge of brand names, but I am positive that he sourced the solution from his local telecom shop.

I asked my customer some time back if the solution works and he said yes.

_Allan (my blog, my tweets, company tweets, company web site)
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Behodar

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Reply # 661431 25-Jul-2012 08:11

cyril7: Interesting Telecom list the iphone 4s, if I remember correctly JohnR noted that they were around 10dB deaf compared to just about any other phone, and yes I am aware they are different bands but still. Also from my experience iphones are most definitely deaf by comparison to my SGS.

Cyril

I live in a valley and my 4S is my first WCDMA phone that works in my "backmost" room. Previously I had a Sony Ericsson W705a and a Nexus One. Prior to those I had a CDMA Nokia of some sort (6275i?) which also worked in there. I haven't tried an SGS.

cyril7

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Reply # 661445 25-Jul-2012 08:25

_Allan: I have a customer who had the identical problem. It was important he could plug in his external Antenna.

The local telecom shop sold him an attachment which you attach to the phone. It sticks to the back of the phone in the area where the internal antenna resides. He can then plug his antenna cable into this attachment.

I have no knowledge of brand names, but I am positive that he sourced the solution from his local telecom shop.

I asked my customer some time back if the solution works and he said yes.

Hi, couplers are commonly used to get around the lack of connectors on modern phones and whilst not as efficient as a real connection do work, its no different than the through glass type coupler for external car antennas, they are not expensive but do require a bit of first time setup to find the best point on the phone to locate it, just use velcro to hold it in place.

http://www.jaycar.co.nz/productView.asp?ID=AR3316&keywords=3g&form=KEYWORD

Cyril

n00dy

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Reply # 661449 25-Jul-2012 08:32

The Telecom R54 has an external connector port

kiwitrc

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Reply # 661461 25-Jul-2012 08:50

Thanks folks, looks like the T54 is a good option being a bit weatherproof as well.

plambrechtsen

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Reply # 661538 25-Jul-2012 10:37

My own personal view is I sorted out my very technically challenged Mother in Law with a Nokia C3-01 as it's a basic Nokia with large buttons and it's a WCDMA 850 phone. It has good coverage in marginal areas as most Nokia's tend to have. It was also because she was familiar with the Nokia user experience I went for this phone.

It's worth taking your neighbour into the Telecom store, having a play with the phone itself and make sure they are comfortable with it.

If they are happy with the R54 then brilliant, otherwise I do highly recommend the Nokia C3-01 (make sure it's this one specifically) as a good phone for oldies. It's just a shame that Telecom doesn't sell them directly.

JamesBalloch

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Reply # 661549 25-Jul-2012 10:50

http://www.cellutronics.co.nz/Telecom_phones.php

These guys have a list of Telecom phones and whether they have a direct or passive connection. Personally I am a fan of the R54 also. Nice keys and pretty straight forward phone to use :)

eXDee

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Reply # 661751 25-Jul-2012 13:51

Consumer Magazines recent testing rates the R54 with the best reception, with the Samsung 5511T also scoring a 10/10.
The Defy+ had a 9.3, equal with the iPhone 4S.
The Lumia 710 comes in at 9.2 and the lumia 800 at 8.6

Interesting telecom suggests the Blackberry Bold 9900 which consumer rates at 8.1