NextG Mobiles

Second this.

If you want prepaid then the A411, same phone just prepaid.

Cheers
Ross

It has my vote as well.

Cheers,

I'll join the queue though I don't think they'd last long if you dropped them a lot as per a reply below.

I have a Samsung A411. I worked well when traveling on outback Vic & SA.

I dont have a car kit but have an old external antenna from a previous phone.

Does anyone know if you can buy a plug to go on the end of the antenna cable so I can plug it right into the back of the phone.

I dont' see the need for a car kit, but the external antenna would be good to use again.

Thumbs up from me also for the Samsung A411. Works well for me in areas where my CDMA struggled.
Fred.

I still have a samsung A501, think it was one of the original NextG phone, what a tough ones, must have dropped it 3 or 4 time on the hard stuff and not a worry. Will have to look at the new ones some time.

Cheers Bruce

Samsung A412 is good.
I also tried LG TU550 & Sony Ericsson Z750i, both hopeless.

My vote as well, we have found our A412 great.

Cheers

D

Vote 2 for the F165. I am yet to see any other Next G phone without a car kit have reception where mine hasn't. Of the 4 phones to choose from in our company they have the lowest return rate being able to withstand repeated dropping.
Cheers Craig...............

Vote 3, I have the proper car kit so as to use the 6.5bd antenna, have had reception in a few places I didn't expect. As far as phones go it is a PITA to use, not as intuitive but I got it for the reliability of range and the rubber stoppers on the holes to stop stuff getting in. I just swap out the sim card to my N95 nokia for runs to the big smoke.
MC

yep, another 6120 vote here.

Ditto - 6120 with force cradle and external antenna.

Mind you my criterea was that it had to be a Nokia, I have tried tons of other phones and they all fall way short of Nokia in ease of use.

Hi Ian,

I also give a vote for the Nokia 6120 and the Nokia cradle. It works brilliantly in the cradle with my external antenna. So much better coverage than I ever had on CDMA.

Willie

Does anyone have a link to a website the exact cradle/antenna that you use with the 6120?

Force cradle with charger connection and FME esternal antenna connection p/n RC-CR6120

http://www.forcetechnology.com.au/productsearch.php?p=products%2Fproductsearch%2F&srcstr=cradle&srcbrand=00000004WR00000006JK&srccat=0000003VWN0000000253&submit.x=37&submit.y=12&next=21&partno=RC-CR6120

Yes I remember. My first mobile was contained in a bag. The hand piece was on a cable the size of a normal phone. In the bad was all the workings and a large 12v battery plus a spare. The who thing must have weighed 5 kgs and was carried with a shoulder strap. Cost me $750.00 in the early 80s. There were no plans in those days and Telecom, as they were called then, had the monopoly.

You're really confusing people.

3G is only provided in major centres.

NextG is the ONLY network that has major coverage in remote areas.

Hi Mike

Hi Ian

Ian asked about OUTSIDE regional zones.

Check out the Telstra maps for Next G and 3G/GSM coverage maps.

http://www.telstra.com.au/mobile/networks/coverage/state.html

While Next G coverage may extend a bit further outside of the towns (in theory and according to their map; not necessarily when you get out there), the places covered by both networks are similar, and the vast rest of Australia is Satellite only coverage. Zoom in, and the brown area becomes very speckled.

NextG does not have major coverage in remote areas. NextG cover in remote areas is in fact very minimal.

The map is not all that useful when trying to work out exactly which towns or communities are covered, as it only shows a few place names on the map. Be aware also that many of the 'spots' in the outback are on Aboriginal communities which don't have public access, and are not on the 'through roads'.

Anyone buying a NextG phone thinking they have coverage for emergencies for their outback touring are bitterly disappointed. I found that in most towns that had NextG my old Nokia GSM also worked well.

Even the high profile international tourist destination of Kings Canyon resort in NT has NO mobile phone coverage whatsoever. Uluru resort does has excellent cover - about the best we found.

There are still staff in Telstra call centres telling people that NextG coverage is over 99% of Australia (it is 99% of the population - all the capital cities and a few more regional centres and the population % is covered), and are in total disbelief when told of the vast areas not covered.

We have a farm in the SW of WA - hardly remote. There was coverage on the hills with the old analogue, none when they changed to CDMA. Eventually new coverage points were put in for CDMA and it was covered - then it all changed. Now with NextG, there is reception at the highest points only - not even at the house which is on a hill top in the centre of the property.

For someone only travelling the highways on the east coast, NextG coverage may do. NextG is useless for genuine outback travel.

Motherhen

"It is only of use only in heavily populated areas"

????? Go to Next G coverage maps and go to Broken Hill and keep zooming out till you see Cobar also.

This is a heavily populated area ?

Everyone else posting here believe's that NextG is the answer to the question.

Mike, i have stated a number of different facts in my answers. These contain sound advice to those going out into the outback. The issue is the vast areas that don't have coverage - not the lesser percentage of areas that do. I also did mention cover in mining areas.

The original question asked about coverage outside regional zones, indicating a need for phone coverage in what on the Telstra maps is in yellow, where many of us ExplorOz members choose to travel.

Motherhen

I have a blue tick LG 500 It wont even work in highly populated areas. I recently took a trip thrugh the densly populated areas soth of Perth. It stopped woking about 10 minutes after leaving Pickering brook which is a Perth suburb. It worked occasionally through the weatbelt and obviosly through towns but for mos tof my trip arounf Nth of Albany and west of there it didnt work

Hi Ian

We got the LG phone with car kit - car kit cost hundreds for a bit of plastic which broke - cradle bit snapped off where it joins the bit that goes onto the dash - while on the bitumen (OK we had been travelling on dirt prior to it breaking). We had local techo wire in the speaker and mike, and have a switch so it can all be turned on and off independently of the ignition.

Mh

Yes it can be used as a modem. You need a "Data Pack" from Telstra and then just plug it in and surf away. You can get prepaid data packs or pay upfront. Check out Telstra's internet sites for rates.

Rod