I forgot the flashlight in it that I use a lot as well. 🙂 All ways in your pocket.
Johny C. I am delighted that you have found the New Improved part15.org! And I will mix all your Smartphone recommendations into what I've been learning. I am very close to signing on the dotted line to get into this mobile phone world. I have not forgotten how much you have helped in the past with Zara questions and Windows Operating advice. It is wonderful that Rag FM is throwing 1-Watt to your portion of New Zealand!
Then I realized what you said. Flashlight? Wow. I never heard of a cellphone flashlight!
The phone uses the camera flash (keeping it continuously on).
When a learning curve is steep it's possible to fall off of it, and that's the point reached in my deep learning of what SmartPhones are all about. Most of the YouTube videos about cellphones mainly focus on the onboard cameras and picture quality, and the Amazon listings for SmartPhones are skimpy with technical specs, but Part15.org has provided the best and most helpful facts that result now in THE BIG DECISION. Yes, today, before tomorrow, I will announce THE WINNER to let everybody know what model I have chosen as a starter phone. This is very close to excitement.
The SmartPhone being considered
But there's a point of confusion that you may know how to solve...
The Tello listing (linked above) indicates Card Slot: micro SDXC, which, according to an advisor, provides up to 1 TB.
HOWEVER, the same phone at the same price on Amazon reports that the Card Slot can provide up to 256 GB Expansion, which would not be an SDXC type card.
One more thing...
A refurbished version of this model is available for a far lower price from Amazon. Would that be a risky choice?
That's a very good choice. I looked at it at one point.
As for the SD card slot, don't go by those maximums. It is SDXC if it can support anything over 32GB. The SDXC standard can support up to 2TB cards. Only 1TB cards exist right now. And a phone manufacturer may put additional restrictions on the maximum. If they say it will support 256GB cards, then that is the minimum they will support. They may support more (and likely will - but you just have to try it). Lots of times, and particularly with older phones, they'll just use a maximum of the most common card available - a few years ago, that would be 256GB. If they support the SDXC standard fully, then it will do 1TB.
I have a phone from 2013 (a flip smartphone) that even though they say will support 64GB SDXC maximum, it will take a 1TB card.
Refurbished means refurbished everything, including battery. It won't last nearly as long. Replacing a battery can be expensive, almost the cost of the phone. So I'd go with the new one unless you're really cash strapped.
The matter is settled! Artisan Radio's most recent endorsement of my phone choice was the GO signal for me, and I am now signed up with a carrier and the phone is on order. As Johny C. said, there is no looking back.
This forum is more helpful to my radio life than anything else. I may have been kicked out of the ALPB, but feel very welcome around here. Drinks are on me.
While getting ready to Activate my new cellphone, I became reminded of the fire hazard posed by the lithium batteries in cellphones, so I viewed some YouTube videos on the subject, and see that battery fires are ferocious and hard to extinguish. I think an abandoned microwave oven would provide a safe place to charge and store cellphones, to prevent burning down the house.
I would like to know your policy on potential battery fires.
There are many common household items that can cause fires. Matches come to mind. Anything that you plug into electricity. Virtually every house I've lived in has had issues with gas furnaces or gas lines. It's all about common sense.
Lithium batteries can have issues if stored improperly, or charged improperly. Internal short circuits can generate extreme heat and cause fires or mini explosions. Even then, given the huge number of batteries out there, these issues occur rarely.
How do you store these batteries? Don't let them bake in the sun for hours on end. Don't put them near a fireplace or a wood stove, where they can heat up. Don't put them in a frying pan or in an oven. Try not to drop them or hit them with a hammer.
Improper charging is a bigger issue. You don't want to overcharge the battery, as it can, again, cause the battery to overheat and potentially short circuit. Usually, chargers have electronics to prevent this, but they can fail. You also don't want to supply more voltage to the charging circuits than they can handle.
So what do I do? I rarely leave my cell phone or other things with lithium batteries charging overnight and/or unattended for long periods of time (particularly the first few times). I try to charge to 80-90% of capacity (it's better for the battery in the long run in any event).
I don't use $0.99 chargers from a dollar store - only the supplied ones, or good ones that have additional features and are well reviewed.
And to answer your implied question, I wouldn't charge them in an abandoned microwave, just for the heat buildup. I'd charge them in the open, with air flow, out of the sun, and just in case, away from any obvious flammable items. Again, common sense.
To put the issue into perspective, I've never had a single issue with lithium batteries. I've had lots of issues, as mentioned previously, with natural gas leaks and such which are far more dangerous. And most of the wildfires and house fires ignited each year in Canada (and the U.S.) are human caused by such things as non extinguished cigarettes, wood fires, etc. as opposed to lithium batteries.
Appreciate the guidelines, Artisan, and have a simple idea to provide a safety procedure in the rare case of a fire if one is lucky enough to be aware of the situation: namely, having a metal bucket and stick that the blazing phone could be dropped into with a metal lid that can cover the bucket while it is carried outdoors away from the building.
Now the next question. The setup instructions call for charging the phone with it turned off. But when it's turned off, how will you know when the charge is complete?
@carl-blare On most things when charging there is an icon similar to the MR-99. With my portable vacuum a light turns green. With my smart NimH AA charger an info screen indicates percentage as charging each individual battery and stops when charged. With that flip phone I have the indicator icon goes out. It doesn't keep charging when done.
Carl was asking how he can tell charging has completed when the phone is off.
On a lot of phones, you can press the side button (screen on/off) when it is off and charging, and it will display the amount of battery you have.
The easiest way is to charge when the phone is on, which is what I normally do. I've never heard of any reason why you should have the phone off when charging.
Many thanks. The 'Activate' instructions from the service provider told me to fully charge while turned off.
Skip ahead to later in the day and I got the phone Activated and given a phone number. I am now a member of the cellphone network.
My next confusion is how to connect it to Wi-Fi. But there's no rush.
I still don't know how to place a phone call on it.
I'm finding the manual to be skimpy and lacking in detail.
Does a Memory Card go into the same slot as the SIM?
I've got a lot of technical problems to bring to the forum. Quit your day jobs and spend all your time getting me out of complicated tech situations.
Now I'm more tangled up than anytime in this cellphone saga. Earlier, when I activated the phone, it generated a phone number and I was able to call the cellphone from my landline and hear my voice. But for unknown reasons that is no longer possible. Now when I call it I'm sent to voicemail. And the phone provides only two dead-end pages and no other phone features are reachable. In one instance I am told I need to connect to Wi-Fi. And although I have a wireles wi-fi router I have no idea how to establish a connection. If I try to go somewhere else inside the phone I get a page asking me to "Sign In to my Google Account". What Google Account. Neither the service provider nor the manual say anything about a Google Account. What is a Google Account?
This isn't going well.