Showing my ignorance

[glenatron]

I've carefully not cared much about phones for a while and as it's time for a new one I've finally thought about what I need and come up with a fair idea of what I want, but I don't know if anyone offers it.

Given that nobody designs phones to be resilient to the forces exerted by things in my pocket and/or the environment of people who go outdoors occasionally, I figured I might as well get something gadgetty that will break after a couple of weeks instead.

There seem to be lots of neat gadgets around, but the one I would like is to be able to use Wifi rather than the cellphone network if I want to. Between my office and my parents' house I spend quite a lot of time in places where there is no phone signal but there is a wifi network I'm able to use, so it seems logical that given how far smartphone technology has come in the last few years one should be able to just switch between the two. I went to our local 3 shop today to ask about it but the guy didn't seem to have the slightest idea what I was asking him about or why, so he lost a pretty easy sale.

You're all more aware of gadgets and whathaveyou than I am- is the thing I'm looking for possible? Does it have a name or are there particular phones that offer it?

Comments

[foalstory.livejournal.com]

the iPhone does, but that's all I know :)

[fleefloodle.livejournal.com]

Having asked tech!boy, apparently if there's no phone signal you can't phone persay, but on wifi you can skype. Things like the iPhone would work for that. There's also the 3 Skypephone which apparently has free Skype to Skype calling.

Basically, the technology for it does exist, it just isn't currently being implemented on mobiles at all, and its use is very limited on landlines.

[fleefloodle.livejournal.com]

Apparently the Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 is pretty similar to the iPhone as well.

(Btw, I only vaguely understand this, I'm relying on the boy's knowledge and googling)

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

I like the look of the android smartphones I have to say. I'm baffled that there aren't more people offering VOIP stuff in this way though. I guess it cuts into their revenues if you can use it as a regular IP Phone most of the time, but I don't see why that should be my problem in a genuinely competetive market.

[fleefloodle.livejournal.com]

It does seem a bit ridiculous, I assume it's just something that they've never bothered to develop further because most places have at least some phone signal. If you're wanting to go for something sturdy, I've got a Samsung G600 which I drop, bash and occasionally have Willow chewing on which is pretty sturdy.

[foalstory.livejournal.com]

btw, there ARE good 'rough' phones out there, but I don't think any have wifi yet.

http://www.mobilewhack.com/reviews/lg_watershock_resistant_canu_502s_cell_phone.html

as an example. they're getting more common :)

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Now that looks quite cool. I could deal with not having the wifi/voip stuff if I had a solid phone. I used to have one with a little single-led torch in it that was probably the most used feature on any phone I have ever owned. GPS is a logical thing for a phone like that to include, but I bet none of them do...

[foalstory.livejournal.com]

nope, several do. toss in 'uk' into my search terms:

http://www.mphone.co.uk/rugged_tough_phone.html

[kittyfantastico.livejournal.com]

You also need to consider - does it blend?

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1668020/does_it_blend_the_one_ring/

[silks-ic.livejournal.com]

Blackberry Bold or Curve.
Has wifi and good 2g 3g swapping
Plus the holster it comes with makes it pretty hard to break
I prefer it to the wife's iphone

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

That's interesting, I'll look into those as well.

[gemmabowles.livejournal.com]

pfft, i just have what im told i should have! sony ericssons are good but seem to have a tendency to constantly switch themselves on and off. nokias are best, i think- my current N85 is perfect for me! and not touch screen. i hate touch screen.

[allezbleu.livejournal.com]

both my blackberry storm and my andriod g1 has the features youre after. theyre both pretty resilient around the yard, but the andriod, not so much in horses teeth but it still works fine!

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

Good tip, thank you. That may be what I decide to go for...