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Yet another attempt to understand mobile phone pricing in HK.....

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  1. #11

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    I have an Samsung Galaxy S II running Android and I use Good Technology - I like it much more than my blackberry for use in HKG.
    When travelling, I use the blackberry as that is a company plan and I don't want to pay data roaming charges myself!


  2. #12

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    ANDROID!!!!


  3. #13

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    I agree with Moving.

    I can't e-mail or message anyone without a hundred errors because of the touchscreen. Half the time I don't even "see" the errors because I am on the move. It looks so unprofessional.

    There are a few android phones which have keypads but none are outstanding. If nothing comes out in the next six months which can compete with the BB 9900, I will also be going for that.

    MovingIn07 likes this.

  4. #14

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    Muckycat

    Fat Fingers dude

    Satay Sue, TheBrit and luckycat like this.

  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dreadnought:
    The iPhone is a cute little gadget, but nothing can beat the BlackBerry for communications. The iPhone would be pretty much useless without Whatsapp, because whatever the iPhone seems to be able to do, the iPad (larger screen) can do just as well. Just picked up the 9900 last week and I haven't seen any other phone do what this BlackBerry can (save for the time-wasting apps/games of which there don't seem to be any for the BlackBerry), great browsing experience, great design, very fast and solid OS with highly customisable and user-friendly interface.

    F.A.O. MovingIn07:

    Suggest you insist on SmarTone (assuming you're still with them) waiving the prepayment. Make it clear you will not pay them one dollar for a new handset if they want to keep your business. I received my 9900 free of charge (well, HKD 300 prepayment, which is refunded monthly over the period of my new contract) in exchange for renewing my current plan (expiring next month) for another 22 months. Have the guy speak to his supervisor or someone senior from the customer service department and I'm sure they will come back with a good offer, although I could/should have argued a bit to have them drop the pointless 300 dollar prepayment.
    Thanks. Pretty much mirrors my view. I planned to push smartone (yes we are with them and they have the entire company business... I don't think we did prepay last time, but I'm 18 months into a 24 month contract and my handset is dying so I'm just thinking about the best strategy. ) Very helpful insights, thanks.

    PS My handset is most likely dying because I keep taking it hiking and it gets damp making phone calls while I'm dripping with sweat (like last night) rather than any fault of the phone, before anyone makes daft comments!

    PPS Again last night, typing emails while walking along a hiking path in the dark. Try doing that with a touchscreen phone!

  6. #16

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    Original Post Deleted
    My colleague did this 2 years ago. About 1 year ago he reapplied for a blackberry because the iphone was just too hard to type decent emails on.

  7. #17

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    I have both iPhone and BB. The BB is our corporate phone, and I own the company. All the BB can do is get emails quickly and that is it end of story. Attachment rendering is so poor as to be embarrassing, browsing is painful and slow and the keyboard ain't all that. As so few people have one nowadays BB messenger is pretty redundant. We won't be renewing for corporate because they are a hindrance not a help.

    So the iPhone (and Android). With the advent of push mail it's almost as quick as the BB. You can read it easily, view attachments and browsing is superb.

    BB has ended up where Nokia was. An archaic OS, poor hardware and lack of features. Sure you'll get your email 0.00000003457832 secs before your other phone, but really. Is that it?


  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by MovingIn07:
    We don't employ any IT guys. If it can't be set up by idiots, we don't do it. My experience over 20+ years of corporate IT guys in multiple different companies was that they existed to make life harder for employees and prevent anyone from being effective. Now, at least if we make mistakes we know we chose to make them rather than being forced into it by IT.
    So is this why you come to Geo each time you have a work tech problem?

    OK, now back to topic.

    Moving, the way things work here is you have two options:

    1. On day one you can buy your phone outright for say HK$5k and then buy a separate contract over a period of 1 year to 18 months.

    2. On day one you "pay" nothing, but have to provide a say HK$4k "holding" fee. This amount is reimbursed to you over the course of your contract, but is normally for two years or more. However the monthly fee is normally higher than 1.

    Net result is depending on the phone one of option 1 or 2 will work out cheaper over the course of the contract (yes, this sentence makes no sense at all). Obvious benefit of option 1 is that you have a shorter contract, but you have to make a massive upfront price commitment. With 2, this holding fee can often be reduced with a credit card promotion or some negotiation, especially if you are a business customer. Now, if you had an IT team, they would probably be able to handle this for you....

    Re this whole iphone v android v blackberry discussion, is frankly retarded. At the end of the day different phones work for different people, hence we have choice in this world.

    I personally have an android and a work blackberry. I don't bother using my work blackberry and just get work emails sent to my android. Now, the keyboard is probably easier to use on the blackberry than on the android, but its not that much more of an issue compared to having to carry two phones around with me.
    MovingIn07 likes this.

  9. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by MovingIn07:
    My colleague did this 2 years ago. About 1 year ago he reapplied for a blackberry because the iphone was just too hard to type decent emails on.
    The iPhone is only difficult if you have Fat Fingers or long nails.
    Never had a problem with typing emails or long sms's on the iPhone.

    Dreadnought

    Your theory then about the iPad being better than the iPhone because it's bigger.
    So the Playbook is better than the blackberry too then?

  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by jimbo:
    The iPhone is only difficult if you have Fat Fingers or long nails.
    Long nails.

    If I could use the ends of my nails to type, I would probably be fine, but I can't.

    My tab has a MUCH bigger keyboard (but otherwise the same kind of technology) and it drives me crazy. I carry it with me all the time, and often use it to read geo threads because the screen is bigger. Then I see a thread I want to reply to... put down the tab, pick up the bb and type my reply on the crappy tiny screen (and risking weird subscription outcomes) because I can type 3x as fast on a bb with double the accuracy .... its the keyboard that wins for me, not the slight improvement in email speed. Keyboard, keyboard, keyboard. And I see the 9900 has a slightly larger keyboard. Even better!

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