My collection of Nokia phones

It just dawned upon me that I do have quite a colourful collection of Nokia phones.

My latest acquisition is the orange one, the Lumia 530, which I got for a bargain basement price of just AUD39 a few days ago. It has the latest Windows 8.1 mobile operating system. It is minimalist in design, yet equipped with all the essentials like GPS, wifi, bluetooth, memory card slot, etc. The processor and display are not cutting edge, but good enough to please the down-to-earth-practical me. This is my foray back into using a smartphone after deliberately abandoning smartphones for a year.

Yes, a year ago I gave up my Samsung S2 for the yellow Nokia Asha 210. The Asha 210 has a rudimentary capability in the areas of wifi, camera, web, Whatsapp and Facebook; all of which I rarely put to use due to poor performance. In a twisted way, that helped wean me off smartphone addiction, while I grew to love the alarm clock (works even when powered off), calendar (never missed any appointment), keyboard (helps when you don't have a smartphone keyboard), and 3-4 days battery life. It also has dual SIM, which is great for travelling.

The incredible shrinking telephone rates

Not many of you will agree with me that telephone charges are reducing at a rapid rate, unless like me you are in the habit of constantly scouting for the lowest rates. I take special delight in visiting the frontiers of low cost telephony.

(Lycamobile and Lebara, while still cheap for overseas calls, has raised its prices for local Australian calls. It stinks of anticompetitve behaviour (read: collusion). Stay away from these two)

A friend of mine introduced me to Fring, which works pretty much like Skype. Fring can be installed on most mobile devices and across various platforms. You can install Fring on Android, iPhone, and Symbian platforms. (That said, another friend sadly found that it was not suported on Android 2.1). Fring gives you the ability to make video call or voice-only call, while FringOut works on prepaid credit, which you can use to make calls to non-Fring phones.

I installed Fring on my Nokia E71 phone. I also bought FringOut credit. As my phone runs on free 3G (thanks to TPG's generous $1 mobile plan), I can make Fring calls through Wifi at home, or through 3G away from home.

Now for the cost. There is no flagfall charge. Calls to Australian landline is 2.1c per min and to Australian mobile is 9.5c per min. The only way to beat this super cheap rate is to install Fring on the other end. Fring to Fring calls are free. Forget about paid-Skype; it costs 3-4 times more than Fring for local calls.

How does this compare with VOIP?
MyNetFone charges 12.5c per min to landline (untimed and no flagfall), and 24c per min to Australian mobile (plus zero flagfall).

(For your information, FringOut calls to Malaysia landline is an incredile 1c per min, and to Malaysia mobile is 3.3c per min. As for quality of the call, it varies. I am happy enough with it, but I have yet to find out how consistently good it will be in the long run)

Updated on 30 May 2011
The quality of Fring cannot be depended upon. It is useable, but not good enough to carry on a conversation for long without wanting to fring wring somebody's neck.

A minimalist phone

These days there are so many smart phones with advanced features. The prices have also come down quite a bit. At one time I used to look at which ones I would love to have, carefully comparing all the specifications and features. I have stopped doing that now. There is such a glut of good smart phones with decent prices to match that I am actually put off by them all. Now I just wish somebody would come out with a bare-bone minimalist phone.

Here's what I propose. First of all, I just want the phone to handle only calls and text messages; no camera, no social networking, and not even an MP3 player. I just want a large screen with e-ink that is highly readable in bright sunlight while consuming very little power. Without an LCD screen and without 3G or Wifi, and powered by a low-end processor, such a phone would theoretically last for weeks on a single charge for somebody like me who likes to keep calls short. It would probably be very cheap to make. It would probably be small enough to turn into a wearable phone that I can wear like a watch (borrowing the idea from the Apple Nano, which unfortunately draws so much power that it needs to be charged everyday). That would be my dream phone - for now.

Saving your mobile phone

Are you having problems with your mobile phone? You might want to replace the battery.

My Nokia N73 played up a few months ago. Even after charging it overnight, I found that it would switch off by itself in the middle of the day. At first I thought I had forgotten to switch it on, but in time I realized that something was wrong. I was inclined to believe that the phone was faulty and that I needed a new one. Anyway, I found that I could get a new generic battery for ~AUD$10, so I gave that a try. This time, the phone didn't shut down by itself, but the battery would suddenly run down in the middle of a conversation. I thought this further confirmed the phone was useless. But since the symptom was different from the first battery, I felt it was worth trying out with another new battery. This time I bought it from eBay for AUD$11. I am happy to say the phone has been working like new ever since I got this third battery.

My son's phone (a different model) also showed the same symptom as the second battery I had. He also thought he needed a new phone. Instead, I got him a new battery from eBay for AUD$9. It solved the problem rightaway.

I believe that the electronics in a phone far outlasts the lifespan of a battery. I believe that many people unwittingly throw away their phones after a few years when they could have just replaced the battery. The marketing strategy of service providers makes it very tempting to go out and get a "free" phone and a new plan every two years. The phones are by no means free. Those plans that look cheap, e.g. $19 per month, have very low cap values and most users end up paying much more than the $19 per month. Save yourself some money; buy a new battery the next time your phone plays up.