On 14/07/2019 12:01, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 09:55:16 on Sun, 14 Jul
2019, Recliner remarked:
Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 08:21:37 on Sun, 14 Jul
2019, Recliner remarked:
Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 12:29:56 on Sun, 14 Jul


One of the reasons for having a Virgin second-SIM is it authenticates
Virgin wifi (for those also not on Virgin Cable) on the phone.

https://www.virginmedia.com/help/vir...ect-to-london-

underground

I'm on Virgin Mobile, partly for that reason, and find that it
generally
fails to connect to the LU hot spots. It's supposed to connect
automatically, but seldom does.

I think you need the Virgin "wifi-buddy" app running on the phone, but
it's a long time since I tried connecting.

Hoho, it's now called "Virgin Media Connect", and is one of those
Marmite apps with a predominance of 5* and 1* ratings. It's entirely
possible the 1* ratings are because of some fundamental incompatibility
issues, rather than fat-fingered users.

I do have the app, but it still doesn't work properly. I might not be
using
it correctly, of course, but I'm sure it (or the predecessor app) did
work.
I don't really have much need for it, as I'm not usually waiting long
enough in deep Tube stations to be able to use it. And I don't know of a
way of sending and receiving texts via station WiFi.

You'd need a phone and account which had "wifi calling", which might not
exist in a combination useful to you.

Needs Android 5, apparently, which is why it's not on my phone any more.

I'm on Android 9.

Oh, the irony; the reason I bought and am sticking with that phone
(dual-SIM) is the very reason I can't use the second SIM slot for this.

My Android 9 phone is dual sim.

Active, standby or hybrid? Maybe the Virgin trick doesn't work on a
standby basis, and all the hybrid I've seen today are also standby.

If I add in my requirement for a replaceable battery, 32GB, active
dual-SIM, I think that narrows the field to zero.

Accepting a hybrid dual-SIM doesn't help, unfortunately (with 32GB, I
probably wouldn't need an SD card).

Many of the OnePlus handsets are dual SIM and have been for several
years. Both SIMs are active in terms of calls and SMS, 1both can do
2G-4G. You have an easy toggle to switch which one is currently used
for data. No replaceable battery though.

In message , at 13:57:27 on Tue, 16 Jul
2019, Someone Somewhere remarked:
My Android 9 phone is dual sim.
Active, standby or hybrid? Maybe the Virgin trick doesn't work on a
standby basis, and all the hybrid I've seen today are also standby.
If I add in my requirement for a replaceable battery, 32GB, active
dual-SIM, I think that narrows the field to zero.

Accepting a hybrid dual-SIM doesn't help, unfortunately (with 32GB,
I probably wouldn't need an SD card).

Many of the OnePlus handsets are dual SIM and have been for several
years. Both SIMs are active in terms of calls and SMS, 1both can do
2G-4G. You have an easy toggle to switch which one is currently used
for data. No replaceable battery though.

Thanks, I'll bear that in mind. But they are about three times as much
as I'd want to spend.
--
Roland Perry

On 16/07/2019 15:00, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 13:57:27 on Tue, 16 Jul
2019, Someone Somewhere remarked:
My Android 9 phone is dual sim.
Â*Active, standby or hybrid? Maybe the Virgin trick doesn't work on a
standby basis, and all the hybrid I've seen today are also standby.
Â*If I add in my requirement for a replaceable battery, 32GB, active
dual-SIM, I think that narrows the field to zero.

Â*Accepting a hybrid dual-SIM doesn't help, unfortunately (with 32GB,
IÂ* probably wouldn't need an SD card).

Many of the OnePlus handsets are dual SIM and have been for several
years.Â* Both SIMs are active in terms of calls and SMS,Â* 1both can do
2G-4G.Â*Â* You have an easy toggle to switch which one is currently used
for data.Â* No replaceable battery though.

Thanks, I'll bear that in mind. But they are about three times as much
as I'd want to spend.

So the budget is around £200? The OnePlus stuff is good value but
admittedly not cheap anymore (ie for £600 you get what you'd pay maybe
£800-£900 for a Samsung or similar).

What's the desire for a removeable battery these days? I get that
batteries die progressively after a couple of years or more, but until
then portable power banks are higher capacity and more flexible (you can
use them with multiple things!) than a spare battery.

In message , at 15:49:03 on Tue, 16 Jul
2019, Someone Somewhere remarked:
On 16/07/2019 15:00, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 13:57:27 on Tue, 16 Jul
2019, Someone Somewhere remarked:
My Android 9 phone is dual sim.
*Active, standby or hybrid? Maybe the Virgin trick doesn't work on
a standby basis, and all the hybrid I've seen today are also standby.
*If I add in my requirement for a replaceable battery, 32GB, active
dual-SIM, I think that narrows the field to zero.

*Accepting a hybrid dual-SIM doesn't help, unfortunately (with
32GB, I* probably wouldn't need an SD card).

Many of the OnePlus handsets are dual SIM and have been for several
years.* Both SIMs are active in terms of calls and SMS,* 1both can do
2G-4G.** You have an easy toggle to switch which one is currently
used for data.* No replaceable battery though.
Thanks, I'll bear that in mind. But they are about three times as
much as I'd want to spend.

So the budget is around £200?

More like £150.

The OnePlus stuff is good value but admittedly not cheap anymore (ie
for £600 you get what you'd pay maybe £800-£900 for a Samsung or
similar).

I'd never pay that for a Samsung (or anything else).

Having said that, I've got a locked 8GB Samsung J3 here for a project,
and if the client paid more than £100 for that, they were robbed!

What's the desire for a removeable battery these days? I get that
batteries die progressively after a couple of years or more, but until
then portable power banks are higher capacity and more flexible (you
can use them with multiple things!) than a spare battery.

I suppose if there was a thin power bank I could superglue to the back
of a phone, and have an unobtrusive permanently connected cable, that
might just substitute for having a phone where I can change a normal
battery in under a minute.

But I suspect that the power bank wouldn't do a pass-through for
connecting to the phone's internal storage. How do you suggest fixing
that?
--
Roland Perry

On Tue, 16 Jul 2019 19:49:55 +0100, Roland Perry
wrote:

In message , at 15:49:03 on Tue, 16 Jul
2019, Someone Somewhere remarked:
On 16/07/2019 15:00, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 13:57:27 on Tue, 16 Jul
2019, Someone Somewhere remarked:
My Android 9 phone is dual sim.
*Active, standby or hybrid? Maybe the Virgin trick doesn't work on
a standby basis, and all the hybrid I've seen today are also standby.
*If I add in my requirement for a replaceable battery, 32GB, active
dual-SIM, I think that narrows the field to zero.

*Accepting a hybrid dual-SIM doesn't help, unfortunately (with
32GB, I* probably wouldn't need an SD card).

Many of the OnePlus handsets are dual SIM and have been for several
years.* Both SIMs are active in terms of calls and SMS,* 1both can do
2G-4G.** You have an easy toggle to switch which one is currently
used for data.* No replaceable battery though.
Thanks, I'll bear that in mind. But they are about three times as
much as I'd want to spend.

So the budget is around £200?

More like £150.

The OnePlus stuff is good value but admittedly not cheap anymore (ie
for £600 you get what you'd pay maybe £800-£900 for a Samsung or
similar).

I'd never pay that for a Samsung (or anything else).

Having said that, I've got a locked 8GB Samsung J3 here for a project,
and if the client paid more than £100 for that, they were robbed!

What's the desire for a removeable battery these days? I get that
batteries die progressively after a couple of years or more, but until
then portable power banks are higher capacity and more flexible (you
can use them with multiple things!) than a spare battery.

I suppose if there was a thin power bank I could superglue to the back
of a phone, and have an unobtrusive permanently connected cable, that
might just substitute for having a phone where I can change a normal
battery in under a minute.

But I suspect that the power bank wouldn't do a pass-through for
connecting to the phone's internal storage. How do you suggest fixing
that?

Clip-on/piggy-back power banks with USB pass through are available but
you're probably stuffed if you haven't got an iPhone or a Samsung
Galaxy.

In message , at 22:31:47 on
Tue, 16 Jul 2019, Charles Ellson remarked:
What's the desire for a removeable battery these days? I get that
batteries die progressively after a couple of years or more, but until
then portable power banks are higher capacity and more flexible (you
can use them with multiple things!) than a spare battery.

I suppose if there was a thin power bank I could superglue to the back
of a phone, and have an unobtrusive permanently connected cable, that
might just substitute for having a phone where I can change a normal
battery in under a minute.

But I suspect that the power bank wouldn't do a pass-through for
connecting to the phone's internal storage. How do you suggest fixing
that?

Clip-on/piggy-back power banks with USB pass through are available but
you're probably stuffed if you haven't got an iPhone or a Samsung
Galaxy.

Now you mention it, I did once have a case for a smartphone that had
power bank integrated, which meant having a pass-through connector. But
the battery inside that died very quickly (a matter of months). The fact
they are so rare makes me think there's something systemically wrong
with them.

Is it also perhaps because the backs of phones increasingly have buttons
and camera lenses/flashes and so on - which would tend to get obscured
unless the case had exactly the correct cut-outs in it.
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 22:31:47 on
Tue, 16 Jul 2019, Charles Ellson remarked:
What's the desire for a removeable battery these days? I get that
batteries die progressively after a couple of years or more, but until
then portable power banks are higher capacity and more flexible (you
can use them with multiple things!) than a spare battery.

I suppose if there was a thin power bank I could superglue to the back
of a phone, and have an unobtrusive permanently connected cable, that
might just substitute for having a phone where I can change a normal
battery in under a minute.

But I suspect that the power bank wouldn't do a pass-through for
connecting to the phone's internal storage. How do you suggest fixing
that?

Clip-on/piggy-back power banks with USB pass through are available but
you're probably stuffed if you haven't got an iPhone or a Samsung
Galaxy.

Now you mention it, I did once have a case for a smartphone that had
power bank integrated, which meant having a pass-through connector. But
the battery inside that died very quickly (a matter of months). The fact
they are so rare makes me think there's something systemically wrong
with them.

Is it also perhaps because the backs of phones increasingly have buttons
and camera lenses/flashes and so on - which would tend to get obscured
unless the case had exactly the correct cut-outs in it.

Yes, they all have one or more camera lenses and flash, and often the
fingerprint reader too. Plus, most people wouldn't want such a clumsy
device anyway. Phones are slim because that's what the market demands. They
want phones they can slip into a tight jeans pocket, not clumsy bricks more
than an inch thick.

Most people can get through a day on one charge. And if they can't, there
are plenty of places to recharge. And if they're not available, it's easy
to carry a small power bank separately in a bag.

Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 22:31:47 on
Tue, 16 Jul 2019, Charles Ellson remarked:
What's the desire for a removeable battery these days? I get that
batteries die progressively after a couple of years or more, but until
then portable power banks are higher capacity and more flexible (you
can use them with multiple things!) than a spare battery.

I suppose if there was a thin power bank I could superglue to the back
of a phone, and have an unobtrusive permanently connected cable, that
might just substitute for having a phone where I can change a normal
battery in under a minute.

But I suspect that the power bank wouldn't do a pass-through for
connecting to the phone's internal storage. How do you suggest fixing
that?

Clip-on/piggy-back power banks with USB pass through are available but
you're probably stuffed if you haven't got an iPhone or a Samsung
Galaxy.

Now you mention it, I did once have a case for a smartphone that had
power bank integrated, which meant having a pass-through connector. But
the battery inside that died very quickly (a matter of months). The fact
they are so rare makes me think there's something systemically wrong
with them.

Is it also perhaps because the backs of phones increasingly have buttons
and camera lenses/flashes and so on - which would tend to get obscured
unless the case had exactly the correct cut-outs in it.

The case has to be designed to fit the size, shape and connectors of the
phone anyway; putting holes in the right place for camera, microphone,
speaker etc isn’t rocket science. Plain cases for every variety of phone
manage it, so do the powered cases.


Anna Noyd-Dryver

Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 15:49:03 on Tue, 16 Jul
2019, Someone Somewhere remarked:
On 16/07/2019 15:00, Roland Perry wrote:
In message , at 13:57:27 on Tue, 16 Jul
2019, Someone Somewhere remarked:
My Android 9 phone is dual sim.
Â*Active, standby or hybrid? Maybe the Virgin trick doesn't work on
a standby basis, and all the hybrid I've seen today are also standby.
Â*If I add in my requirement for a replaceable battery, 32GB, active
dual-SIM, I think that narrows the field to zero.

Â*Accepting a hybrid dual-SIM doesn't help, unfortunately (with
32GB, IÂ* probably wouldn't need an SD card).

Many of the OnePlus handsets are dual SIM and have been for several
years.Â* Both SIMs are active in terms of calls and SMS,Â* 1both can do
2G-4G.Â*Â* You have an easy toggle to switch which one is currently
used for data.Â* No replaceable battery though.
Thanks, I'll bear that in mind. But they are about three times as
much as I'd want to spend.

So the budget is around £200?

More like £150.

The OnePlus stuff is good value but admittedly not cheap anymore (ie
for £600 you get what you'd pay maybe £800-£900 for a Samsung or
similar).

I'd never pay that for a Samsung (or anything else).

Having said that, I've got a locked 8GB Samsung J3 here for a project,
and if the client paid more than £100 for that, they were robbed!

What's the desire for a removeable battery these days? I get that
batteries die progressively after a couple of years or more, but until
then portable power banks are higher capacity and more flexible (you
can use them with multiple things!) than a spare battery.

I suppose if there was a thin power bank I could superglue to the back
of a phone, and have an unobtrusive permanently connected cable, that
might just substitute for having a phone where I can change a normal
battery in under a minute.

But I suspect that the power bank wouldn't do a pass-through for
connecting to the phone's internal storage. How do you suggest fixing
that?

The product you want is a charging case; they’re available for some
smartphones but not all. The case has a built-in external battery, and you
can use the case’s usb socket as if it was the phone’s one. However they’re
*considerably* more expensive than a plain external battery of the same
capacity (like ~10x the price).


Anna Noyd-Dryver