Korean Job Discussion Forums

littlelisa · Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Location: Seoul

Right now I have only a normal phone. I am considering upgrading to a smart phone, but not sure what phones are good.

Basically the main reason why I am considering upgrading is to have a phone that I can use when I travel where I can add a foreign sim card or something when I am abroad. And then for minor reasons (being able to use email on my phone, kakao, etc).

I don't think I need a really expensive latest gadget etc, but I would like something that I can use for a good while and not feel like it is going to be obsolete soon. I know people who got a brand new top of the line phone and then changed it 6 months later (in one example, it was a pre-smart phone... almost a smart phone, and then she changed her phone later when the smart phones all came out).

I'd also like something that is easy to text with. A friend showed me their phone and it had a pretty nice predictive text feature on it.

Not being overly expensive (both for phone and plan) is a plus.

I don't know much about advantages of the different carriers (SK, LG, KT), or much about the different phones out there. Does anybody have any suggestions (with reasons why it's good)? I'd be grateful.

six · Joined: 01 Oct 2010

definitely get the latest and greatest phone ALWAYS. you're locked into a two-year contract and the companies usually stop support...

the Galaxy S2 HD LTE is the best phone on the market right now and it's offered on all three networks. I prefer it because it has Swype, which makes texting incredibly easy. all the koreans I work with and am friends with are jealous when they see it, haha.

phones are not expensive on a 2 year contract.

schwa · Joined: 18 Jan 2003 Location: Yap

I'm interested in this issue too. I'm currently the owner of an antique samsung anycall phone which serves my purposes for calling & receiving calls. My account runs about 20000 a month. The batteries are finally dying.

Would I learn to "love" a smartphone at three times the cost or would I be throwing money away? Wondering what cheaper options still exist.

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

I personally just love what smartphones can do. The 65,000 per month seems well worth it to me.

It's my phone, my GPS, my MP3 player, my camera, my camcorder, my kor-eng dictionary, my alarm clock, my calender/organizer, my internet browser....and more, the list of apps is almost endless so your smartphone can always be expanding in what it can do.

There are going to be some very attractive contracts offered in the next couple of months. Samsung and Apple-Korea will be battling for customers for their two new phones.

Now's a great time to get on the smartphone bandwagon.

wishfullthinkng · Joined: 05 Mar 2010

at this point smartphones have matured enough to be an absolutely worthwhile investment. much like eamo i use my galaxy s II smartphone for everything. it's an absolute workhorse.

it's even take over the roles of my other devices. in a recent vacation i took i brought my point and shoot but didn't use it once because i used my phone.

last week some of my coworkers were talking about siri, apple's new personal assistant-type functionality for the iphone 4s platform and i showed them that android has this function built in too and that it operates just as well and they were shocked.

you'd be amazed what a smartphone can do. just for kakaotalk alone i think i'd be worth it, but that's just me.

The Cosmic Hum · Joined: 09 May 2003 Location: Sonic Space

carleverson · Joined: 04 Dec 2009

The Samsung Galaxy S2 phones are pretty cheaply built IMHO. They feel and look cheap, but they cost an arm and a leg to buy. I'm a big fan of the HTC smartphones. They look and feel like they're constructed much better with stronger materials. Plus, their Sense UI gets much better reviews and is much better than the POS "Touchwiz" Samsung puts on their phones. That's not to mention that the EXTREMELY BUGGY "KIES" software Samsung uses is absolute crap.

Screw the nationalistic support for Samsung simply because they're a Korean brand. Although Samsung hardware is quite good, their software makes their cell phones half-baked products.

No thanks. HTC FTW!

Beeyee · Joined: 29 May 2007

I just got the latest Samsung Galaxy HD LTE.

I've never had a smartphone before so I don't have anything to compare it with, but to me this phone is amazing.

FMPJ · Joined: 03 Jun 2008

pkang0202 · Joined: 09 Mar 2007

OP, what do most of your friends use?

If you are new to smart phones, I would get one that your friends also use so that they can help you with questions when you have them, and also tell you about new apps, etc...

I got an Iphone myself, most of my friends have Iphones as well. I was able to use my 3GS in the US when I went there. Before I left Korea, KT unlocked my phone and when I got to the States, I put an AT&T prepaid sim card in it and it worked like a charm.

Nowadays, you can get an Iphone 3GS for free, or an Iphone 4 for very cheap. The 4S is the latest model so that is expensive. Most people I know with an Iphone 4 are happy with the speed and functions (front/rear camera, etc...). If you want a good phone and don't want to pay a lot, take a look at an Iphone 4.

I'm sure you know someone in Korea with one. Ask them if you can play with it. Or have them show you what it can do.

BTW, with Android phones you should watch out for malware.

"Android Malware Up 427 Percent Since July"

FMPJ · Joined: 03 Jun 2008

pkang0202 · Joined: 09 Mar 2007

FMPJ · Joined: 03 Jun 2008

The iPhone 4S is plagued by even more severe battery-life issues than the iPhone 4 was...

eamo · Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.

I have to uncharacteristically back up the Fruit-lovers here....The 4S is up in the top-tier of smartphones.

It's has powerful CPU and graphics, has an intuitive OS, good app store......

The features it lacks are usually not needed by most people. Pkang is right. It doesn't pack in all the features that Android phones do because it's not targeted at the geeky, power-user market. It's targeted at the mainstream.

Although I think Apple's amazing run with the iPhone has peeked. The Android phones are becoming as easy to use as the iPhone as each version of the Android OS comes out. Ice Cream Sandwich might well be the version to nail that.

Plus, the 4S should be good. This is Apple's 5th iPhone. They need to be offering a very good product by now. Especially if you're buying a full-price unlocked version.

But again, I can't see Apple halting the advance of Android. It won't be too long before iPhone users who aren't raging fanboys will realize that the Android environment is as good if not better than the Appleverse, plus the phones are more feature-packed and better value.

littlelisa · Joined: 12 Jun 2007 Location: Seoul

@pkang:
I guess the majority use iphones, but I know people who use pretty much everything: HTC, samsung galaxy s2, LG's whatever it is with the 3d camera.

I guess I'm still debating cause it's so much more expensive than what I'm paying now. Like Schwa, I pay about 20,000 won a month right now, but it seems people are mostly really happy with their smart phones and it would be useful.

Thanks for the information everyone has given so far! I will look into getting one.