Telstra ZTE F252 Next G phone deal

That is the most basic Telstra NextG phone on the most basic plan.

The ZTE phones are the "chinese cheapie" of the Telstra range. They have a very flimsy plasticky feel however I have not heard any reports of them being any less reliable than other handsets.

NextG is in fact the replacement for CDMA and offers better coverage than GSM (the "ordinary" network) in semi-rural and outlying areas. Whether it is better than CDMA is a hot topic!

Cheers
Muddy

Whoopsie - misplaced apostrophe. Hope Doug T is comatose today

Comparing the relative value of mobile 'phone plans is a PITA!

My wife was recently offered the same deal as your mate, as her 24 mth contract had just finished. Has your mate's plan just finished?

She was offered the choice of doing nothing (going off-plan), in which case she'd still pay $20 p/mth, but without any included ("free") calls ; OR signing up for a new 24 mth contract at $20 p/mth, in which case she's get a new 'phone and $20 worth of included calls for the period of the plan.

I personally think that NextG is great, however there are many people on this forum who've had a pretty rough time with the changeover from CDMA.

George

I replied to an earlier post re our experience with the F252.

To put it bluntly, the plan ($20) really suits our needs especially on our latest trip into western and north western QLD, HOWEVER, the quality of the phones leaves a lot to be desired.

We took 2 of these phones on a $20 per month plan 4 months ago in preperation for our 3 month trip and within the first 3 weeks my battery had died and was replaced under warranty and my wifes phone (ZTE F252) died and was also replaced under warranty.

By the time we returned home, my phone was dead (ZTE F252) and was also replaced under warranty.

I can assure you that neither phone was abused in any way and were used in a normal manner.

When I took my phone into Telstar Countrywide Office to get it replaced I was told "we are replacing thousands of these", so when I asked if I could upgrade to a better quality phone I was told that the only way that could happen was if I paid a $350 fee to cancel my contract then enter a new contract with the phone of my choice (this meant a higher plan such as the $30 or $40 plan)

My wife and I still have another 20 months to go on our $20 plan and am really concerned about the quality of the ZTE F252 and its ability to last that long.

I have been running the ZTE F252 for 3 months now and have had no problems with it. Only gripe I have is that it does not have the auto uppercase when creating text msgs at the start of each sentence. The other annoying thing is that each time you push a number you don't get an audible sound for every keystroke.

The phone comes with SW to view the internet via a PC. I downloaded an updated version of OziCE while away last month when passing through Adelaide and I averaged 25KB/sec download. Yes, thats KB not Kb. It was much easier doing it than on the phone screen.

I live in the Melbourne eastern suburbs and have had no reception problems at all with next G.

I have had a ZTE 252 since May with no problems.
I have a $30 per month plan which includes a car kit and $25 per month calls.
I have a 6DB antenna connected to the phone by patch cord.

I have not used it out of the city , but have used it for 2 weeks solid as a modem. It is fantastic as a modem, and the software is great as far as I am concerned.
The camera is crap
Initially the battery life was bad , but since I reduced the "lights on" period to mininum it has been more acceptable at about 5 days.If you intend to use it as a modem, make sure to buy a data kit.

If you buy a data kit part way through the billing month, they prorate it, ie if you buy a $39 kit, half way through the billing monththey charge you $20, but post say 32mgs of usage up front. Then if you go over the prorata amount left , you are charged at a higher rate.
So if you order a data kit partway through the month, order a bigger kit than you think you need eg if you think you need 64Megs, buy 120Megs or whatever.
Get It? Geez it took me a while to find that out.
Regards Philip A

The $20 per month plan from Telstra for NextG is really a $15 per month plan.

I took out a 12 month $20 contract and not only get a $5.00 per month rebate, but $15 of free calls per month also.
But wait, there's more.
One of the "Options" you can select also allows you to nominate a home phone line, or another mobile phone (as long as they are Telstra ones) and you get unlimited free calls to that phone for the first 3 minutes or so.

It was a far better deal that the CDMA one I had and this helped me to decide on the upgrade to NextG.

Major difference between GSM and Next G (apart from the coverge) is that GSM is per second charging and Next G is 30 second charging or part thereof. So make a 31 second call on GSM pay for 31 seconds. Make a 31 second call on Next G pay for 60 seconds.

wigger,
Have a ZTE on a $10 plan to replace my old CDMA Motorola.
Problems encountered so far are the phone turning itself off after changing from car power to 240 and viccy-verca.
You will need the relevant Pin and Puk numbers to unlock. They were on my receipt.
Apart from that, no problems.
Cheers,
Bros.

Re car kit an antenna.
The car kit is not as easy as some to use, as you have to insert the "d" plug in the side of the phone before putting it in the cradle and vice versa.
Otherwise its fine, you place it in the cradle and squeeze 2 buttons. To remove you press a different button.
The antenna plugs into the back of the phone, at the lower part of the rear. The antenna socket sticks up in the cradle, and is quite stable. I have read warnings on the ZTE forum not to use a patch directly into the phone( while not in a cradle) as it is too weak for it.
I think its fine.
Regard sPhilip A