Sat Nav for Trip to Isaan?

[Up2u]

There are reputable sellers at Tukcom but there are too many horror stories as well. I like and prefer Central Festival and shops like Samsung, Powerbuy, Winner, etc. also Numchai on Sukumvit. There is a new Oppo shop at Central and their phones pack a lot of value for your baht. I also like using my cc so I have additional protection. You also can buy phones at AIS, DTAC, TRUE etc. but their selection is not as good.

[TomUK]

Tukcom is a place I would not go to for buying a mobile phone. Even my Thai friends have advised me against it. Central Festival sounds like a good option. It is also not too far from my hotel.

[Jun]

Does anybody have any recommendations where to buy a smartphone in Pattaya or Buri Ram or Roi Et? I won't be going to Bangkok. Which smartphone would you recommend? I have a pay as you go sim card in the UK and a 1-2-call sim card for Thailand. I am not interest in the latest high end model but a reasonable priced phone which will last for a couple of years. It doesn't need to be able to switch on the kettle but allowing me to make phone calls would be a nice feature.

I'm not sure if your user name suggests you are living in the UK, but if that is the case, I would buy it in the UK. That way, you can just do a google price search for the best price and buy it competitively & have less hassle if it needs returning.

Suggestions:
One of the high end Samsungs, but an older model such as the Galaxy S4, about £190. You can swap the battery (maybe useful in 18~24 months time) and it has a micro SD slot for storage expansion.

Some of the Motorola phones were considered a good choice a couple of years ago, since they pretty much had the stock Android, with no added bloatware. However, you might need to spend an hour or so on google checking latest trends.

I was a late adopter & started with a cheap Huawei, but used it more than expected and bought a Samsung about a year later.

Unless it was an emergency, I wouldn't buy anything from the upstairs stalls in Tuk Com.

[TomUK]

I'm not sure if your user name suggests you are living in the UK, but if that is the case, I would buy it in the UK.

Jun, I do live in the UK. Due to a long period of absence from the board I had to reregister and I was sorely tempted to change my username to TomEU, if only to stick two fingers up at all the brexiteers.

I don't have the time to shop for a new mobile in the UK before my trip to Thailand. That's why I asked about shops in Pattaya. Thank you for your suggestions. I especially like the idea of getting a Samsung phone and I will see what's available in the shops in Thailand.

[christianpfc]

Apart from bloatware, I have been happy with the Asus Zenphone I bought in Dec 2015 (5.5 inch, 5900 Baht at that time). How I got to that choice and extensive review is here:
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/875 ... ry/?page=1

Beware: It's my only phone, I can't compare to others other than my previous (from 2013, which I had to replace due to a defect with touchscreen). A friend bought a 5 inch for about 4000 Baht a few months ago.

[Gaybutton]

What it boils down to is it really doesn't matter whether you use a separate Sat Nav system or a smartphone GPS. Both will easily get you where you want to go.

[loke]

I have been driving all around Thailand with my smart phone Google maps. It works surprisingly well , somtimes you will find that roads are closed that the GPS did not warn you about but I would say 95% if the time it's reliable.