> I'm looking to get a new phone, primarily for uses as a modem for a laptop
> but also for occasional web browsing and SSH sessions. I currently have a
> Nokia 6820 which (I recently discovered) has one of the slowest Java
> implementations out there and is quite painful to use for web browsing - it
> only has about 100K of free memory for applications so Opera Mini keels over
> after about three pages. As it's GPRS+EDGE only data isn't fast either
> (I've never used it anywhere that has EDGE signal).
>
> So I think I want a 3G phone. But first I have some questions about 3G
> performance...
>
> If you're using basic 3G (384Kbps), how likely are you to actually get this
> performance? Does it depend on signal conditions (geography, signal
> strength etc) or the number of concurrent users? I tend to use the phone in
> slightly non-mainstream areas (suburbs, villages etc rather than city
> centres). Assuming I have 3G coverage, will a weak signal cause my data
> rate to drop out? How likely are you to get the full rate (or is it like
> wifi where you never actually reach the peak throughput)?
>
> What happens with 1.8/3.6/7.2Mbps HSDPA, assuming the base station is so
> equipped? Does it become increasingly unlikely that you get near the full
> rate unless the conditions are perfect, or does it just mean everyone gets
> roughly the speed they did before scaled by the factor of the top speeds?
>
> In practice what sort of data rate do you get with plain 3G? Is it really
> worth the hassle to upgrade from GPRS? I want a phone rather than a
> datacard because sometimes I'm in reinforced concrete buildings which have
> next to no signal inside, but fine signal on the balcony. With a Bluetooth
> phone I can leave the phone outside, while with a datacard I'd have to sit
> outside too (or have a very long USB cable).
>
> In terms of a phone, I originally asked here for a fairly cheap secondhand
> (20-30 quid) no-frills unlockable 3G phone and was suggested the Nokia 7600.
> After looking at this I think the strange shape and button placement would
> drive me up the wall. So the next step in Nokia's 3G line seems to be the
> 6630, which looks much better as it's a Series 60 smartphone rather than the
> rather tame Series 40 the 7600 is. It seems the 6630 is fairly cheap to
> unlock these days, though there were lots of fake codes floating around in
> 2005 (anyone recommend somewhere that provides genuine codes?)
>
> I notice someone says of the 6630:
> 'Stable 384Kbps downlink. Somewhat flaky uplink, apparently due to phone's
> rather limited radio.'
> fromhttp://the.taoofmac.com/space/Nokia/6630
> This worries me somewhat. I wonder if anyone here has experience of it?
> They also comment that Bluetooth isn't as good as the V800's, and I wonder
> what that might mean?
>
> I'm willing to be converted if there's a really great phone out there that's
> not Nokia, but I currently have a pile of clunky Siemens phones that won't
> unlock and are thus doorstops, and wish to avoid this in future.
>
> Don't know yet which networks I'll be using - whichever do sensibly priced
> PAYG 3G data for laptops in the UK, plus WIND.gr.
>
> Cheers,
> Theo