Best Reception with 3G mobile phone
Submitted: Thursday, Mar 29, 2012 at 22:18
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GREENDOG !
Looking to update my phone but want to get one that works right to the coverage limit with Telstra eg (edge of the outback) thinking of buying the samsung galaxy s2? would that be a good phone to take with me?
Reply By: DDCman - Thursday, Mar 29, 2012 at 22:49
Thursday, Mar 29, 2012 at 22:49
Get one with a blue tick. This means it is better in regional areas apparently. I just got a Motorola Defy+ and am super impressed, but then this is my first smartphone. This android stuff is great!
Graham
AnswerID:
481808
Follow Up By: Jdavid13 - Thursday, Mar 29, 2012 at 23:57
Thursday, Mar 29, 2012 at 23:57
I bought the same phone after having an iPhone because of the blue tick and its more Hardy but have not yet been "OUT" to
test it seems a pretty good phone so fast though
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Follow Up By: TerraFirma - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 12:00
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 12:00
I believe you are better off buying an antenna, the Smooth Talker cradle and an Iphone. The Iphone is the perfect GPS, Navigator, and smartphone. The Blue Tick phones are limited in what they can do, waste of money in my opinion.
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Follow Up By: DesF - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 19:32
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 19:32
I have had a Nokia 6720 next G phone and have travelled a fair bit in most states and bush and it has had reception where most other brands have not , I have a data pack and use it as a modem for the laptop,
works really
well and I have yet to use over my 1 gig for the month, use it for Skype and Skype phone as
well.
Just bought a HTC wildfire s, seems Ok but have not been outback yet, I still take the 6720 as back up, can always slip the card in if needed,
Had a Nokia 6120 before the 6720, much the same .
Cheers Des.
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Reply By: Member - nick b - Thursday, Mar 29, 2012 at 23:30
Thursday, Mar 29, 2012 at 23:30
We have got the telstra T54..." tuff 2" works
well in most cases & take external antenna ...
AnswerID:
481817
Reply By: Motherhen - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 00:39
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 00:39
Why 3G? Next G gives a much wider area of coverage around towns, and covers more rural towns than 3G
Motherhen
AnswerID:
481822
Follow Up By: Member - Toyocrusa (NSW) - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 05:09
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 05:09
Hi. Telstra IS NextG. Not 3G. Get's complicated, Hey. Especially now Telstra also has 4G as
well. Bob.
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Follow Up By: Member - Boobook - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 07:00
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 07:00
Toyocrusa, it gets more complicated than that. :-)
Telstra have Next G AND 3G ( 2100Mhz) even though Next G is really 3G.
And the IPAD 4G wont work on Telstra or any other 4G in Australia for at least 4 years - if at all.
Now that's the easy bit over, Next Issue is Billing.
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My Migraine just came back.
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Follow Up By: DDCman - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 08:23
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 08:23
Technically, NextG is 3G, but 3G is not Telstra, it 'belongs' to Optus or Vodaphone or whatever, so it won't work on a Telstra phone(that's what understand anyway). The big T is really the only way to go if traveling remotely, even if not doing any real outback, beyond
the black stump type, traveling. I would assume Telstra did tests on these phones, otherwise, why bother with the blue ticks.
Graham
FollowupID:
757134
Follow Up By: Member - Boobook - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 09:03
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 09:03
Graham,
Telstra actually have 4 networks.
Next G 850Mhz
GSM 800 and 1800MhZ
4G 1800 mhz
.........and
3G 2100 Mhz.
The 3G as opposed to the Next G, is mainly in the cities, it was originally set up as a joint venture with Vodafone.
Generally you will connect to a 3G ( and not Next G) network in the big cities when using Telstra, though they are phasing out the 2100 3G given that their partnership with Vodafone wasn't renewed.
That is why an 850Mhz antenna won't help your signal strength in the capital cities much, or at all.
You can read more about it here at
Telstra's network description website.
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Follow Up By: Motherhen - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 10:14
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 10:14
A big difference in coverage between the two Telstra networks. I have a GSM phone for at
home use, but we take a Next G when travelling, and satellite phone for remote trips. I use Next G mobile broadband for internet, and use this rather than phones for family and business communication, with sat phone for emergencies and breakdowns. I have not tried 4G.
Telstra Next G - l
Next G coverage map
Telstra 3g/GSM -
3G/GSM coverage map
If you look closely at the coloured spots, they can 'turn to lace' when you drill in; even in areas such as here in the south west corner.
Mh
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757146
Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 07:33
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 07:33
Greendog,
Don't concern yourself with bluetick phones or you will limit your selection without gaining any real advantage.
I use an iphone with a Telstra NextG sim and get good reception in many areas of the country.
If there's a tower within cooee, the phone will work as good as any "blue tick" jobbies.
AnswerID:
481826
Follow Up By: Member - Mark (Tamworth NSW) - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 11:52
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 11:52
Bill
Have to disagree with you on the Iphone.
Couple of times I have been out with people with Iphones, compared to my old Telstra country brick T165, I get another 10-20km.
Through much of the WA central wheat belt (away from the highway) the country brick gets one of two bars where as the I phone is dead, (without antenna).
I'm not anti Apple, my wife's Samsung II (smart phone thing) is no better, but yes if you can see the tower so as to speak the Blue tick is no better.
Mark
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Follow Up By: TerraFirma - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 11:58
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 11:58
I use an Iphone with a Smooth Talker cradle and antenna, works fantastic and in all the extended coverage areas. I would not buy a Blue Tick phone just to get reception, the Iphone does so much more including act as a GPS, Tom Tom, Motion X GPS, Memory Map, the list goes on.
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Follow Up By: Member - Mark (Tamworth NSW) - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 13:29
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 13:29
Terra Firma
Do you have proof that an I Phone with aerial is superior to Blue tick phone with aerial?
I don't, but I suspect that the I Phone would still be inferior as it has to rely on passsive connection it?
Blue ticks aren't a guarantee as I have seen basic Nokias work even better than my very old country brick T165 and the Nokias didn't have a blue tick. But I have seen I phones prove to has poorer reception and direct aerial conenction is superior to passive
No arguement that I phone applications aren't very handy, but the query was about telephone reception.
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Follow Up By: TerraFirma - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 13:39
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 13:39
Mark, I have a Telstra T165 and testetd it with the same external antenna on my boat and then the Iphone 4s and Smooth Talker cradle, both got the same reception at
Deal Island and offshore. I do not have exact reception measurement capabilities but it would appear to me the coupling system on the Smooth talker and perhaps because of the Iphone 4S internal antenna design that I could not pick the difference. More to the point Mark, given that the difference to me was not obvious the Iphone (Smartphone) was a clear winner as it allows me to run all sorts of critical navigation applications.
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Follow Up By: Member - Mark (Tamworth NSW) - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 22:09
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 22:09
Sorry Terra Firma I meant to write I phone applications ARE handy
I don't know here you live, but in rural NSW & WA grain belt away from towers, you don't see many smart phones.
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Follow Up By: Bush Wanderer - Saturday, Mar 31, 2012 at 01:07
Saturday, Mar 31, 2012 at 01:07
I agree with terrafirma with iPhone and smooth talker cradle and aerial. Reception is the best of all phones that i have use to date including blue tick telstra phones....apart from my sat phone.
Last time in GCR I was able to make a call at 105kms from
warburton.....
well work called me at that particular spot. Blew me away. That's a pretty substantial range from the
warburton tower. Had reception for atleast another 70 or so k's on the nt side of
warburton.
This works
well for me.
BW.
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Reply By: Member - Peter M (QLD) - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 07:49
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 07:49
Get a Telstra phone that will take an external antenna. Then buy the little external antenna from them. Then to realy improve reception get an antenna for your vehicle with either a splitter so you can use your lap top etc as
well as your phone or a single connector.
Regards
Peter M
Stay safe, stay healthy and stay on the wallaby
AnswerID:
481827
Reply By: MEMBER - Darian, SA - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 10:09
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 10:09
I just ordered my first smartphone through Telstra - the only blue tick they have on offer is the Nokia Lumia 800 - but I instead opted for the latest Samsung Galaxy S 2 4G on the S plan - I wanted the features of the Samsung and I'll take my chances on regional coverage (we have a blue tick dumb phone anyway if the chips are down)..... this 4G Samsung down shifts to the nextG network wherever 4G is missing. Even though the S2 (nextG) is not on their website, they have it available still - have to phone a consultant but. As I understand it, getting a blue tick phone from somewhere else is hazardous because it may not interface with a Telstra (locks etc.) Oh.... and all the above might be true.... I only have Telstra's word on all this (or at least, someone on a phone claiming to work for them, the location of which I know not :-o). India ? Philippines ? :-o).
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Sigmund - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 11:28
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 11:28
Telstra also has the 'Blue Tick' Motorola Defy + smartphone. This is water and dust resistant and a tidy package.
T. are the only crowd to classify phones as Blue Tick; they are sposed to have bigger internal antennae. While I have two of these plus an external antenna I'm not convinced the advantage is a deal maker. You still have to be within line of sight of a tower which means in or very near a
population centre. Choice did a
test of NextG mobile reception ranges and found the best unit worked up to 43km away - a Telstra Explorer (Blue Tick).
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Reply By: harry & the hobbit - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 12:20
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 12:20
do not buy a samsung galaxy s2 for reception purposes. I use one at
home(8km from tower) and have trouble getting more than 1 bar and have lousy reception.
Good phone otherwise.
regards,Robert
AnswerID:
481855
Reply By: GREENDOG ! - Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 13:40
Friday, Mar 30, 2012 at 13:40
Thanks to every one for all your replys,i'll be havin a real good look around over the week end.Thanks GD
AnswerID:
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