[slackline]

These Bamboo Android phones  look rather swish...



Keep an eye on their site for release

[tomtom]

I woodnt mind one of those, though an Android phone wood go against the grain...

[Jaspersharpe]

They look very smart but is the actual phone any good?

[slackline]

Not a clue, haven't seen anything on the specs, now't on the site either.

One thing I'd be wary of is the effect of heating (the CPU when under load) has on the wood.

[underground]

Not a clue, haven't seen anything on the specs, now't on the site either.

One thing I'd be wary of is the effect of heating (the CPU when under load) has on the wood.

I'd expect wood to be better than plastic for lower SHC

[Plattsy]

I hate to be a sod but bamboo is a grass.   

Phone looks good though.

[Jim]

plus it looks like it belongs on the dash board of a shit old rover

[underground]

It's bloody wood. I didn't say 'tree'

[TobyD]

plus it looks like it belongs on the dash board of a shit old rover

My bro writes for a tech magazine and did a review of this. I think the phrase he used was something like shit 70s volvo....
apparently the phone isn't actually that good either.

[TobyD]

Incidentally, does anyone have an opinion on the relative merits of the Sony Arc S, the Galaxy S, and that HTC desire that comes with the Dr Dre headphones? (that's not the appeal of the last one btw, i just can't remember the name off the top of my head)

[Jaspersharpe]

It's the Sensation XE. My mate at work has one, nice phone but the Galaxy S2 has a much better screen and is all round a nicer thing. Nothing in it on performance etc but I'm glad I went for the Samsung. Don't know about the Sony but Techradar rates it number 4 in this list (after S2, iphone 4s and Sensation XE). Looks nice.

[Bubba]

If I were in the market for a new phone now I'd be waiting for the Galaxy S3 - rumoured for April.

[Oldmanmatt]

If I were in the market for a new phone now I'd be waiting for the Galaxy S3 - rumoured for April.

Sneak preview...


2012-02-05-14-03-20_F382E68D-DC5E-46D8-B94F-F5C860D3374B by oldmanmatt, on Flickr

[yorkshireman]

i have a samsung galaxy s2,amazing phone,pretty much everything you could want from a phone unless you are a fashion fanboy and you have to have an apple logo
the galaxy s3 rumours are just that,rumours and i doubt it will be out before june but regardless,a dual core phone with 1mb of ram is enough for anyone,mine opens the bowderstone pdf and other pdf's in no time at all so very handy for climbing,has good receptions(on vodafone).downside-battery life is very poor,mine doesnt last a full day most of the time but i use mine lots.you can get spare batteries(unlike an iphone) for about £5 off ebay so not a problem

[slackline]

mine opens the bowderstone pdf and other pdf's in no time at all so very handy for climbing

PDF, pffft, you need to get yourself over to The Send and grab Steve's Bowderstone and Minus Ten Apps.

[TobyD]

i have a samsung galaxy s2,amazing phone...,mine opens the bowderstone pdf and other pdf's in no time at all so very handy for climbing,has good receptions(on vodafone).downside-battery life is very poor,

nice one mate, that is the sort of information that the world needs about these things. What about its resistance to mistreatment involving impact and chalk dust?

[Jim]

a dual core phone with 1mb of ram is enough for anyone

personally, I need more than 1mb of RAM

[Jaspersharpe]

i have a samsung galaxy s2,amazing phone...,mine opens the bowderstone pdf and other pdf's in no time at all so very handy for climbing,has good receptions(on vodafone).downside-battery life is very poor,

nice one mate, that is the sort of information that the world needs about these things. What about its resistance to mistreatment involving impact and chalk dust?

I got a rubber case for mine for about £3 on ebay as I'm always dropping it. So far no damage. Also stands up to my son smearing bits of food etc all over it as he plays Angry Birds.

[slackline]

i have a samsung galaxy s2,amazing phone...,mine opens the bowderstone pdf and other pdf's in no time at all so very handy for climbing,has good receptions(on vodafone).downside-battery life is very poor,

nice one mate, that is the sort of information that the world needs about these things. What about its resistance to mistreatment involving impact and chalk dust?

All the reviews rate the S2 as a pretty top notch phone (most brands top-ends hit the spot too though), its resistance to impact and chalk dust however isn't covered, but to date mines been fairly robust (simple slim-line rubber case and a concious effort not to drop it helps).  Pretty well sealed so chalk/dust tends to wipe off, but then I've only had it ~3 months so time will tell.

You can get all sorts of applications to aid battery life, I've just been reading up on using Tasker to scale CPU which adds a bit of juice, and this guy has written some nice tutorials and has specific profiles for extending battery life.

Tasker really should be part of the Android OS itself.

[yorkshireman]

i keep mine in my pocket while climbing and get chalk all over it,never a proble. but i do occasionally clean the dust out of the charger socket with a brush.these bounce very well too

[Bubba]

I think that until battery technology advances you just have to accept poor battery life as an inevitable part of owning a modern smartphone.

Galaxy S2 is an amazing phone but battery life is shite if you use it a lot, and especially when combined with GPS / Bluetooth.  I bought a spare genuine Samsung battery for about £15 from fleabay.  It's rare that I'm away from a charger for long enough to drain 2 batteries so that works fine for me.

A mains battery charger is again a few quid from fleabay so you can charge both batteries easily when you reach civilisation again.

[Jaspersharpe]

It's good that micro USB is the standard connection on phones now too so you can use pretty much any charger or plug in to anything with a USB connection to charge.

[slackline]

Until the next 'standard' comes along 

Got a desktop cradle which came with a spare battery (not convinced as to its authenticity, but holds a charge ok).  Was a present and pretty sure its not that listing (as there is no included battery) but it was bought from fleabay for around the £10-12 mark and haven't had any problems with it so far.

Also grabbed a dual USB ciggie charger with dual sockets so I can charge the phone whilst my wife is driving and still get to where we are meant to be heading as the battery won't have died on her GPS.

And a couple of supposedly genuine Samsung micro-USB cables at a bargain price.

[Jaspersharpe]

Also grabbed a dual USB ciggie charger with dual sockets so I can charge the phone whilst my wife is driving and still get to where we are meant to be heading as the battery won't have died on her GPS.

What do you need a GPS for when the phone has Navigate? 

[slackline]

  Its not me who needs the GPS, missus doesn't trust Navigate and hasn't realised you can download maps in advance