Hi Nick
I too was very much looking forward to buying a new iphone to replace
my very old Sony Ericsson model. This was until my daughter came to
stay in our new house and we found that it could not receive the 3G
signal inside. This has been the case with a number of other models,
and it seems that the colourbond roof and outside walls together with
the large amount of insulation does just that: it reduces the signal
strength inside the house. I found this to be the case with the recent
Bigpond wireless broadband that I now have, and require an aerial to
outside on the roof!
After looking around for blue tick and the you-beaut phones that would
work, I have settled on the new Telstra T90 model, that is supposed
to have a very good reception. It has, and works inside the house, so
now I dont have to go outside to either ring someone, or answer a call.
The T90 is not a fashion statement! But it works and is marketed as
the 'tradies phone' as it is has a rubber casing and some water
resistance as well. Go have a look at one of the telstra shops. I
bought mine from Busselton Telephones on a 24 month plan.
So far so good, but Im waiting for my first bill
I will have to wait until the iphone gets a big upgrade! Damn, as I
really wanted one.
All the best
chris
On 11/01/2010, at 9:51 PM, Reg Whitely wrote:
Hi Nicholas
Thanks for your reply.
On 11/01/2010, at 8:23 PM, Nicholas Pyers wrote:
On 11/01/2010, at 4:31 PM, Reg Whitely wrote:
Does anyone out there have any advice, other than to buy an
iPhone, which isn't an option as it really doesn't have enough
range for our country travelling?
Why not consider an iPhone?
The "range" is more dependent on your choice of carrier and you've
already said you are looking at going with Telstra, which I have to
admit does have the best network coverage in the country, so you
should be covered there.
We already have a $40 plan with Telstra, with the LG, which is out
of plan but still working Ok, except for poor battery life.
Can you borrow a friends iPhone for a "weekend" to test the
"range"? I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at the coverage
and the iPhone 3GS has even better reception than the 3G.
I admit I've never tried the iPhone in Gero but all reports suggest
it won't work over the extended travel distances we endure here in
WA. We need a phone that will work from Geraldton to Perth, Bunbury,
Albany and elsewhere for our camping, wherever there is Telstra
mobile range. They provide the best mobile coverage and charge the
most.
Plus you can add so many useful apps like one of the GPS apps (save
having an extra GPS unit, or as a back up)... the Free Maccas WiFi
(so you know where you can free WiFi, a bite to eat and most
important a pit stop :)... Then there are dedicated Toilet
finders :)... Install Skype on the iPhone and on the kids computers
at home so when you are at a free WiFi spots you can call them for
free :) and that is the tip of the iceberg (and don't forget a few
simple games can relieve boredom for the passenger(s) :)
Sounds Ok if it is in range. There's a Macca's in Geraldton and
quite a few in Perth. So what? We don't go there. The Tomtom does
GPS very well. Is the iPhone satellite enabled or is it reliant on
mobile phone triangulation? If it is restricted to that, that's not
an option.
I've also seen people grab a cheap pre-paid SIM from both Optus (or
a reseller like Woolworths) and Vodaphone and had them handy with a
small amount of credit ($10-20) on them for the odd occasion when
Telstra coverage is poor but you still need to make a call... just
make sure your iPhone is unlocked to access all carriers (and don't
forget to take your SIM removal tool with you - keep it with the
spare sims in say an empty tic-tac container or similar size)...
but I think this is more likely to useful over here on the East
Coast, rather than in WA :(
What is the best iPhone deal available at the moment for users in
rural (Western Australian) areas? I suspect that Victorian services
are more compact and that you may not appreciate the distances we
have to travel; that perhaps Telstra gives almost 100% coverage of
Victoria, compared to Western Australia.
See here:
http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/networks/coverage/index.html
Regards
Reg
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