My phone is back in fashion

[ufkacbln]

According to all the "Police Reality" series, only drug dealers and criminals use these phones as they are more secure and less traceable

 

[ufkacbln]

It's not Nokia. A start up has licensed the name.

Isn't it a partnership between Nokia and HMD Global?

The article lists HMD as the startup

[

The revamped version will be sold under licence by the Finnish start-up HMD Global, which also unveiled several Nokia-branded Android smartphones.

 

[PaulSB]

I well remember enjoying my 3310 and 6230i but can't imagine using anything other than a smart device - I don't consider it to be a phone.

I've had a work "phone" for 20+ years. I retire on March 31st and two months ago felt I should get a new number and phone for personal use. In the end I grabbed an iPhone 5s which was sitting in my desk draw unused since an upgrade in 2016.

Orange gave me a £1 per week package for text and calls plus a very small amount of data. What I've discovered is I don't really need a mobile "phone," I make about two calls a week and send a few texts. The vast bulk of personal communication goes through email and FB Messenger.

What I could not do without is everything else the iPhone offers. Most of which I can access through home and public wi fi.

The only issue I've noticed so far, which I'll address later today, is having turned off mobile data (to preserve the very small allowance for emergencies) is the phone doesn't always pick up 3/4G when my work iPhone does.

 

[Dogtrousers]

That seems a bit odd because I thought 2G used much less power - and isn't that a good thing? It still bugs me that I must flip down the drawer from the top of the screen and tap the 2G/3G switcher manually before using data or making a short call and off again after, else the phone uses up its charge much quicker (it'll go 3 days on standby on 2G, less than 2 on 3G). Why isn't smart network selection a basic option on phone operating systems yet?

Didn't the mobile networks grumble about how the London Olympics Road Races should have used 2G for the on-course tracking too, or am I misremembering that? That said, it did seem a complete misjudgement of the capacity needed as phone networks crumbled as the spectators tried to use them - I took a radio to Richmond Park and had quite the crowd around me, even though the BBC were working out the time gaps by things like standing on a table near the top of Box Hill with a stopwatch, thanks to the aforementioned tracking collapse.

Back when I was working in mobile telco (about 2003 so not long after the introduction of 3G) the networks where I was would boot you off 3G down to 2G if you were only using voice, in order to keep the 3G network free for data. It resulted in the production of Handover Event Modules, which were the bane of my life at the time.

 

[jefmcg]

That seems a bit odd because I thought 2G used much less power - and isn't that a good thing?

Strangely enough, they didn't consult me.

I imagine running duplicate infrastructure with a population density 1/100th of the UK just was not economical.

And Australia won't be due for another Olympics for at least 30 years.

 

[mjr]

Strangely enough, they didn't consult me.

I imagine running duplicate infrastructure with a population density 1/100th of the UK just was economical.

Missing a not there? But it looks like externalisation to me: cheaper infrastructure for the networks, more recharging costs for the phone users.

As for consulting jefmcg, when will Australia come to its senses and accept the obvious best candidate for SABDFL?

 

[KnackeredBike]

According to all the "Police Reality" series, only drug dealers and criminals use these phones as they are more secure and less traceable

Probably because they are "throwaway" when no longer required, after all you could turn off GPS and mobile data on a smartphone and essentially have a smashable Nokia 3310.

Incidentally we still use (original) Nokia 3310s in my NHS trust for urgent messages if there is a network or power failure.

 

[jefmcg]

Missing a not there? But it looks like externalisation to me: cheaper infrastructure for the networks, more recharging costs for the phone users.

Well, that sent me down a tiny rabbit hole. Turns out Australia has about 30 million phones, and the 2G network is only used for 1% of the traffic, so call that 300,000 phones. Apparently it costs about $.50 to charge an iPhone for a year. So that's a total cost to consumers of well below $A150,000. I've got to assume maintaining an network over 7.5 million square km costs more than that.

But rabbit hole revealed they are shutting it down so they can reuse the frequencies, not save costs.

It still bugs me that I must flip down the drawer from the top of the screen and tap the 2G/3G switcher manually before using data or making a short call and off again after, else the phone uses up its charge much quicker

So this is saving you about 1 pence per month. Wouldn't it be less bother to recharge it every second day?

 

[Drago]

Yep, I can't abide smartphones, so when Mrs D bought me one I switched all the data off. I then switched the phone itself off.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Of course an unusable phone will have a very long battery life.

That is a good point. My Galaxy S7 when put on airplane mode (and not fiddled with during the day) was at 34% when I woke up, and was still on 20 something% when I went to bed. The battery life isn't the issue - it's the battery hungry users! And if you have any basic phone that you only use for the odd call, it's going to last ages.

 

[mjr]

...So that's a total cost to consumers of well below $A150,000. I've got to assume maintaining an network over 7.5 million square km costs more than that.

But rabbit hole revealed they are shutting it down so they can reuse the frequencies, not save costs.

Apologies for sending you to visit teh bunnies, but that doesn't surprise me: they've still got to maintain a network over 7.5 million square km, but presumably it saves them something not to operate the 2G bands and protocols, maybe including not paying for the licences.

So this is saving you about 1 pence per month. Wouldn't it be less bother to recharge it every second day?

Not really: it's a bother having it tethered to a charging point or on a charging mat. Plus you missed battery replacement cost from the limited number of recharges but I assume that's not particularly significant with a good battery manager.

 

[classic33]

Plus you missed battery replacement cost from the limited number of recharges but I assume that's not particularly significant with a good battery manager.

17 year old handset, everyday use during that time. Now on the third battery. Standby time of two weeks.

Will accept a 4G SIM card.

Battery dies on that one, I swap to it's predecessor. Down 4 hours on standby, 30 minutes talktime over 18 years.

Or get a replacement battery and charger.

 

[ufkacbln]

That is a good point. My Galaxy S7 when put on airplane mode (and not fiddled with during the day) was at 34% when I woke up, and was still on 20 something% when I went to bed. The battery life isn't the issue - it's the battery hungry users! And if you have any basic phone that you only use for the odd call, it's going to last ages.

First thing I do is install a system analysis app

Helps you keep more control and extend the battery

 

[tyred]

I don't think I could ever go back to an old style phone.

I was actually a very late convert to a smart phone. I would hate to be without it now (and mine is probably the most basic Samsung on the market).

I basically never call or text anyone but I do use the internet a lot. I keep in touch using facebook messenger with virtually all my friends. Having a mobile computer is great and free wifi is available almost everywhere now. When cycle touring I can check things to do, places to stay or bring up maps on the move or check the weather forecast

The organising/diary thing is really handy as well.

I could live without a mobile phone but not a pocket-sized computer as it's made life so much easier.

My old phone only needed charged every few weeks but that is probably because I so rarely actually used it.

 

[Dogtrousers]

How times change. My American niece was over this summer. Normally I organise a pay as you go cheapo phone for her (drug dealer style). This time, at her request, I just got a mobile wifi hotspot, so she could use her own smartphone to get on line. Need to use voice? Just use skype. While she was here she stayed in touch by FB messenger.