[ubuntu-uk] Choosing a new phone

[Darren.Mansell at opengi.co.uk]

Written from my perspective as a G1 Android user..
> 
> Hey everyone,
> 
> I have been using a Nokia 3220 since around late 2004. Recently I've
> been doing so over the free Blyk network but as that's now shutting
> down (in 2 and 1/2 weeks) I'm in need of a new phone network. My
> phone's battery dies very quickly (although I just ordered a
> replacement one to maintain some use of the phone).
> 
> As I now need to get a new network I figured it would be great to have
> internet access out and about. Of course this means getting a modern
> phone as well but I've been planning on replacing my current phone for
> a *long* time.
> 
> Also factor in that I'm a student who's never had a contract before so
> the idea is very daunting to me. Especially because of almost no
> income and mostly loans. I figure that I will have to take a contract
> to get decent rates for texts/minutes and internet.
> 
> So next comes two epically difficult tasks:
> 1) Find a network with decent rates on texts, minutes and a reasonable
> "unlimited" plan (500mb is not reasonable). At the same time don't
> lock myself into an 18-24 month contract.

T-Mobile with the G1 do unlimited data with a fair use policy. I'm a fairly heavy user and haven't fallen foul of any fair use restrictions yet.

You will struggle to get a phone without a 12-18 month contract without paying through the nose.

> 2) Select a phone that complements the above network.

I have my G1 on T-Mobile but I know of other that have bought them for around £190 from eBay unlocked and use them on Orange. Not sure of the data deals there though.

> Offering me a decent web browser, 

Android browser is webkit based and works great. No gesture support by default but if you load a community ROM (like I have) it puts gesture support like pinch zooming back in.

> much customisability (geek factor), 

G1 is ideal then, root it (easy) then put whichever community build you want on. You then can tweak lots of things like startup, shutdown screens, themes, amount of virtual screens, get a shell directly on the phone, SSH to other devices, use it as a WiFi/BT router etc.

> good calendar
> system for my awful memory, 

The Google Calendar syncing is brilliant. Google Calender itself is great and the phone client works very well with it.

> decent media playback (ogg would be a plus
> but I suppose I could always write a script to convert to MP3 when
> copying files over), 

The built-in music player plays OGG. The video player is restricted to H.264 because of the built-in hardware decoder but it makes for very nice quality, smooth video at a decent res.

> anything else that people think is essential(?)
> Bluetooth compatibility with Ubuntu would be useful.

I've got a Brodit car kit for my G1 and it sync's hands-free Bluetooth with the car stereo and Bluetooth audio streaming. Add CoPilot Live 9 Android for £25 and it's the ultimate car PC. Play videos on the move, audio through the car stereo, play audio while sat-nav directions overlay, phone calls break through the BT audio connection seamlessly. It's an awesome bit of kit. All your contacts are sync'd from your Gmail account so you don't have to edit anything on the phone.

> 
> I think that what complements my needs best in terms of a phone might
> be an Android one but I think they cost around £400 so wondering what
> everyone else has/knows of.

As I said, others I know have bought them for <£200

> 
> I'm able to provide additional information as required. To anyone
> who's read through this mountain of text and then taken the time to
> reply, thank you :)
> 
> Jai
> 

At the risk of annoying iPhone users, to me the G1 is a more capable phone and will give you a lot more freedom. It's great fun to use and the Qwerty keyboard is the absolute killer. I've used the on-screen keyboard and it's no comparison to a real keyboard.

HTH. 
Darren