| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
inthewild
Joined: 28 Mar 2004
Location: Korea
|
 Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:35 pm Post subject: What are the best alternatives here to the iPhone? |
 |
|
Since the iPhone isn't here what's out there that's comparable?
I was looking around for the Samsung Instinct but maybe that's just a NA model? |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
Bigs
Joined: 15 Oct 2006
|
| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:48 pm Post subject: |
|
|
A Korean version of the LG Viewty (U990 - I think)...
Touchscreen phone, 5MP camera etc etc
That was the latest when I left 1/2 a year ago - not sure if the model's been upgraded/superceeded |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
orosee
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul
|
| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 6:38 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Bigs wrote: |
A Korean version of the LG Viewty (U990 - I think)...
Touchscreen phone, 5MP camera etc etc
That was the latest when I left 1/2 a year ago - not sure if the model's been upgraded/superceeded |
I have this one since April and I do not recommend it. It is not an iPhone replacement or even in the same league. The only similarity is (apart from being a phone) that it has a touch screen.
Some of the annoyances:
- touch screen is sluggish, needs a lot of pressure to react, but on some occasions fires off randomly,
- very slow to type text and there is no T9 or similar word prediction or correction system,
- nearly impossible to transfer your music to the phone unless you master (or have help with) the proprietary Korean language only software,
- same goes for personal ringtones,
- very unreliable vibrations and sound - the phone seems to decide randomly whether it wants to ring or vibrate, I have been missing lots of calls with the phone right in front of me on the desk,
- no Wifi,
- stinking internet capabilities (but that may be a general problem in Korea)
- Address book search does make a difference between letter case, so if you type "Friend" it will not find "friend", meaning to be quick I have to start with the second letter (I don't want to switch to CAPS mode),
- no copy, paste of text,
- many functions require tiny fingers to be uses, e.g. scroll bars,
- needs special cable to connect to USB,
- calendar is useless,
- non-intuitive and confusing user interface
- some odd English translation of functions
- lots more
What I like is (but is it worth the trouble?):
- 5 megapixel camera of not-so-bad quality in good light,
- slow-motion video capture
- looks nice, feels nice (before you put it in the protector case)
- okay battery life (although the time from 3 bars to auto-shutoff can be as little as 15 minutes which makes the power display pretty useless)
- ADD: it is a 3G and GSM phone, so it uses a USIM which can be replaced in non-3G networks with a regular SIM of a local provider. But I don't know if you can use text and MMS functions
And that's about it. My old Nokia N80 that also works here (3G phone) is not touch screen but beats the Viewty in pretty much all disciplines. Plus you are supporting a non-Korean company.
I WOULD have bought the Samsung HAPTIC but it was not available at the time. I suggest you get this one and post your experience after a few months (be my guinea pig). I think the Haptic is the closest phone in Korea to an iPhone.
Be careful when you use Korean internet, especially Nate (which is on every phone). They will charge you tons of money for "services" you are not even aware of. Seriously, I racked up nearly 200 US$ charges for services I never consciously used (next to a 35$ phone bill  )
By the way the Viewty with a different UI as sold in the UK seems to be a lot better than the Korean one. Maybe Koreans just cannot make good user interfaces (stinking Flash lovers  ) |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rocklee
Joined: 04 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:28 am Post subject: |
|
|
Wow I've never read so much complaint about the Viewty before. Daylight photos are good enough, its just the nightshots that aren't as good because of the lack of an Xenon flash.
I've read good things about the i900 Omnia in both the features and camera. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
orosee
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:22 am Post subject: |
|
|
| rocklee wrote: |
Wow I've never read so much complaint about the Viewty before. Daylight photos are good enough, its just the nightshots that aren't as good because of the lack of an Xenon flash.
I've read good things about the i900 Omnia in both the features and camera. |
Hmm, seems as if I had had to release a lot of anger there... still I have 4 phones at the moment (HTC Touch, Nokia N80, iPhone and Viewty) and I simply feel let down by the Viewty. A bit like marrying a hot woman only to find out that she is actually a post-op transsexual... looks nice but doesn't work as advertised |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rocklee
Joined: 04 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 3:15 pm Post subject: |
|
|
Well if you have the iPhone then you can't compare the interface with the Viewty, the LG does have a better camera though you need to download the firmware to solve some of the software problem. Try this site :
http://www.ku990.co.uk/forum/index.php
I almost got one asking questions in the forum above, in the end I wasn't too impressed with the quality of the photos.
BTW, I thought it has wifi? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
DCJames
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:12 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| rocklee wrote: |
Wow I've never read so much complaint about the Viewty before. Daylight photos are good enough, its just the nightshots that aren't as good because of the lack of an Xenon flash.
I've read good things about the i900 Omnia in both the features and camera. |
He said available HERE.  |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
orosee
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul
|
| Posted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:31 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I have been to that forum but I am not sure if installing UK firmware would disable the phone's functionality in Korea. Quite tempted to try it but I think I better hook up with a computer geeky Korean girl first so that I have someone to operate the backup software and carry me through the debris if things go wrong.
Sorry, no Wi-Fi. Bluetooth is there but only for accessories. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
keseki
Joined: 22 Mar 2007
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:25 am Post subject: |
|
|
| your iphone works here? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
orosee
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Location: Hannam-dong, Seoul
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:42 am Post subject: |
|
|
Huh, there are too many phones now, easy to get confused.
- The Viewty and Nokia N80 are both 3G phones and work well in Korea.
- The Viewty has no WiFi and its Bluetooth is crippled
- The N80 has fully functional WiFi and Bluetooth
- The HTC Touch and iPhone both are GSM and do not work in Korea
- The iPhone has fully functional WiFi so that function can be used to access the internet (HTC Touch as well)
So the short answer is: The iPhone does NOT work as a phone but can be used of course as an iPod or to access the internet. If there was Skype for the iPhone it would work here as well.
The new 3G iPhone should work in Korea after official release or after cracking it.
CORRECTION: For details see below. I was wrong about the N80 working with a Korean USIM. It will connect to the network but after a while or if you dial, the network will disconnect you. So apart from roaming, only Korean phones with Korean USIM work here. 
Last edited by orosee on Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:48 pm; edited 3 times in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
DCJames
Joined: 27 Jul 2006
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 5:40 am Post subject: |
|
|
| orosee wrote: |
Huh, there are too many phones now, easy to get confused.
- The Viewty and Nokia N80 are both 3G phones and work well in Korea.
|
This is simply not true.
If you have a Nokia N80 from another country. It will work here via roaming at roaming rates ($$$) from your home carrier, but you can't register and use it here as a regular phone. Also, all of the features of the N80 won't be available when roaming in another country.
Get your facts straight. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Bigs
Joined: 15 Oct 2006
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:25 am Post subject: |
|
|
| DCJames wrote: |
| orosee wrote: |
Huh, there are too many phones now, easy to get confused.
- The Viewty and Nokia N80 are both 3G phones and work well in Korea.
|
This is simply not true.
If you have a Nokia N80 from another country. It will work here via roaming at roaming rates ($$$) from your home carrier, but you can't register and use it here as a regular phone. Also, all of the features of the N80 won't be available when roaming in another country.
Get your facts straight. |
Are there SIM cards available in Korea? I have a Nokia N82 which would appear to work on Korea's CDMA network. Don't the carriers supply any sort of SIM card? |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
stealth_fighter
Joined: 22 Oct 2006
Location: Seoul
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:46 am Post subject: |
|
|
| Bigs wrote: |
| DCJames wrote: |
| orosee wrote: |
Huh, there are too many phones now, easy to get confused.
- The Viewty and Nokia N80 are both 3G phones and work well in Korea.
|
This is simply not true.
If you have a Nokia N80 from another country. It will work here via roaming at roaming rates ($$$) from your home carrier, but you can't register and use it here as a regular phone. Also, all of the features of the N80 won't be available when roaming in another country.
Get your facts straight. |
Are there SIM cards available in Korea? I have a Nokia N82 which would appear to work on Korea's CDMA network. Don't the carriers supply any sort of SIM card? |
Yes, a USIM. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rocklee
Joined: 04 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 7:50 am Post subject: |
|
|
| DCJames wrote: |
| rocklee wrote: |
Wow I've never read so much complaint about the Viewty before. Daylight photos are good enough, its just the nightshots that aren't as good because of the lack of an Xenon flash.
I've read good things about the i900 Omnia in both the features and camera. |
He said available HERE. |
Wow that's surprising, a Korean phone not available in Korea :
http://blog.naver.com/handphone79/50033139513
and
http://cafe.naver.com/omnia3g
and :
| Quote: |
삼성전자 구미2사업장 애니콜연구소에 있는 아는분께 여쭤본 정보입니다.
햅틱2와 얼마전 살짝공개된 로모라는폰은 엄연히 다른폰이라네요.
햅틱2는 현재 햅틱에서 색상(매직실버)과 WVGA액정만 업그레이드된폰이랍니다.아직 확실한것은 아니지만 현재 햅틱폰의 문제점인 배터리커버의 기스문제때문에 햅틱2는 배터리덥개가 알루미늄으로 제조된다는군요.다음달에 SKT와 KTF로 출시예정이구요..어제 공개된 i900의 국내버전이 올8월~9월에 출시될 괴물폰입니다.
단지 해외용과 다른점은 i900은 뒷면은 햅틱과 유사하지만...국내용은 뷰티처럼 디카처럼 생겼고
500만화소 오토포커스,손떨림방지,DMB와 내장메모리는 500MB에 외장은 8GB까지 지원하고
아쉽게도 해외처럼 PDA기능은 없답니다;;;;액정은 WVGA액정에 풀브라우징지원이고 SKT,KTF로만 출시한다네요~더욱 중요한거는 이번에 국내괴물폰에 최초로B&O앰프기능을 넣을수도있다네요ㅡㅡㅋ출고가 80만원대할듯합니다;;ㅎㅎ |
Not surprisingly there are variations of the same phone.
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
rocklee
Joined: 04 Oct 2005
Location: Seoul
|
| Posted: Fri Aug 15, 2008 7:55 am Post subject: |
|
|
| orosee wrote: |
I have been to that forum but I am not sure if installing UK firmware would disable the phone's functionality in Korea. Quite tempted to try it but I think I better hook up with a computer geeky Korean girl first so that I have someone to operate the backup software and carry me through the debris if things go wrong.
Sorry, no Wi-Fi. Bluetooth is there but only for accessories. |
Haha, well if you think its worth the trouble of upgrading the software as some people do.
Anyway, Omnia and the Haptic looks good. I'm looking at the Omnia at the moment hopefully the camera comes as promise because Samsung's other camera phones are really good (7mp and 10mp). |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
