HI Chris,
The other alternative to your in-house problem would have been to buy
a signal booster, since it was only occurring in your house. These are
available for $150-450 depending on how much coverage you need.
I only say this because I've seen the "blue tick" range and frankly
it's crap and I don't think people should have to settle for the
reject handsets that Telstra deem worthy to certify. The only people
that truly need "blue tick" handsets are those travelling around
australia on a camper van or with no fixed address. Many of the phones
on the market meet or exceed the blue tick spec, it's just down to
telstra reducing costs of certifying handsets.
Dave
On 11/01/2010, at 10:10 PM, Chris Burton wrote:
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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