[ajw1100]

Hi

If you can take the time to read this and post a reply it would really help a ‘Senior’ out!

Thinking of getting a Lumia....800?

I am soon to get my pension and am not really into high tech equipment, I have a Nokia ASHA300 phone on Orange PAYG as I make very few calls and it did all that I needed, until we recently bought a Toyota Avensis with a multifunction satnav and phone system. It seems that in order to use the system to its full I need to have a Smartphone with Wi-Fi so that the car can connect through the phone to Toyota in order to download/update various functions. The car at present shows all my phonebook contacts but does not seem to be able to discover any addresses.

The satnav uses the phonebook for destination address details, If I have Auntie Mary and her address in my smartphone phonebook I can select Auntie Mary as a destination from the phonebook, but I cannot save Auntie Mary as destination in the satnav, there I can only seem to enter her address or postcode and I would rather say let’s visit Auntie Mary than say let’s visit CH23 9QX!

So I need a basic smartphone that I can easily enter addresses that the car will accept, preferably via my PC used as a database as I can with the ASHA and Nokia PC Suite.

Is there a PC Suite version for the Lumia series?

I would like to have GPS navigation and to be able to enter a FULL Post Code for when we go walking.

We have BTinternet so assume we can use Wi-Fi BT hotspots free of charge while out? Then use our home hub for the car updates when at home.

It should be sim free or on Orange and take a normal sim card if possible but I think the Lumia takes a micro card sim.

I do not  need twitter or facebook.

I cannot think of any additional apps I might want at the moment but that will probably change later!

Is the battery is ‘replaceable’ on the Lumia?

The suggested requirements in the cars manual are as follows:

Bluetooth ver 2.1 + EDR or higher

HPF (Hands free profile) Ver 1 or 1.5 recommended.

DUN (Dial-Up Networking profile) Ver 1.1 or higher

PAN (Personal Network Area) Ver 1.0

PBAP (Phone book access profile) Ver 1.0 or higher

MAP (Message access profile)

Application:

PIM (Personal information manager)

There are a bewildering range of phones out there but in shops they do not have many to try functionality and staff are really only interested in selling you a ‘contract’. From the requirements list above is there is a better alternative to the Lumia 800 or one that  is cheaper that will cover my requirements? My budget is around the £250 mark.

Best regards

Alan.

[93tid]

Your car is not connecting to the phone via WiFi, but via Bluetooth. There doesn't seem to be any Lumia model which supports all BT profiles required by your car's system. As for the Lumia 800, the battery is sealed and I would guess you would not be happy with the font size. Maybe someone else can come up with a workable solution.

[ajw1100]

Thanks for the reply, I see your point, bluetooth not Wi-Fi is correct, my error!

I will need Wi-Fi for gps navigation though so is it correct that using the BT HotSpots would not mean any carrier connection charges?

I accidentally connected to the internet with my Asha300 when I first got it and suddenly found I had lost about £6 in a very short space of time!

[93tid]

I don't see why you will need WiFi during the navigation and in fact I don't see how you will be able to. Before you start your trip I can understand.

You should be able to use BT WiFi hotspots for free, depending on your BT terms. As long as your handset is set up correctly you should not connect to carrier's mobile network instead.

[ajw1100]

Thanks for the reply but I did not mean the cars satnav, I was meaning the phones satnav:

Quote

I would like to have GPS navigation and to be able to enter a FULL Post Code for when we go walking.

Unquote.

As long as the phone does not connect through the carrier (Orange) then using BT Hotspots would be fine.

Please bear in mind that I do not know which of the 'Requirements' I actually need, some or all. If I get it wrong then it could be an expensive mistake! I need to get it right before handing over my credit card.

My questions may seem odd or silly but only because I do not know the answers, or how to ask the question properly.

How far we have progressed since connection was 'Press Button A' to speak or 'Press Button B' to get your 4d returned!!

Regards

Alan.

[93tid]

I also meant the phones satnav. If you start walking from within range of a BT Wifi hotspot you should be fine.