UK owners get the MobiWire Oneida for Whatsapp

Keith

If you live in the UK with genuine UK sourced single SIM then think about the MobiWire Oneida Smart Feature phone. Seeing that we haven't got the promised update yet for Whatsapp. Cheaper than the Banana phone. WhatsApp already to go. Facebook Lite also preinstalled. No Google apps but YouTube can be viewed from the browser. Infact Maps, your Google calendar and Google drive can all be viewed and bookmarked from the browser. No app store. Runs 4G and Hotspot. Includes Wifi . Only available fromm EE. Though they will unlock for a fee. 
https://shop.ee.co.uk/mobile-phones/pay-as-you-go/mobiwire-oneida-payg/details

Keith

Been using my MobiWire for nearly two weeks now. WhatsApp works a treat. Has no problem with video clips. Battery last well. Facebook Lite app works fine as well. No store with silly games either 🙏

orips

Does WhatsApp synchronizes to the cloud? Does it support WhatsApp web? Does it download the media to the device?

Keith

@orips it certainly has no problem downloading media. I haven't tried web version. It can receive video calls but can't make them.

duberry

> @keith said:
> Been using my MobiWire for nearly two weeks now. WhatsApp works a treat. Has no problem with video clips. Battery last well. Facebook Lite app works fine as well. No store with silly games either 🙏

Hi Keith you seem to know a few things on here. I have always been a Nokia fan even though I have a 3310 3g and was hoping the 4g version would come with WA. I had a 515 with it installed but lost the phone. Not sure if whatsapp even works with those phones anymore.

Anyway I like you saw this mobiwire that should be selling like hotcakes but there is nothing about it. I bought the nokosi (also known as the sakari) even though it was wifi etc and my dream feature phone with whatsapp there was one annoying feature. It did not support t9 predictive texts. Yes you have to type by pressing buttons multiple times. I just found it too slow especially with WA as you can send long messages.

After an email to mobiwire they confirmed that it would never appear in an update. However the rep said none of our phones have it. This is not true even the cheapest Ayasha has the option.

My question to you is does the Mobiwire Oneida have predictive text? I don’t mean pressing the button multiple times. You described the phone as t9 but that might just mean texting with the keypad and pressing the button more than once. Even a picture of you doing it could be useful? T9 means pressing the letters once to create a word but I’m sure you know what i mean. The nokosi does not support this feature. Unforgivable in a world with whatsapp.

Many thanks my friend.

Keith

@duberry Yes the MobiWire Oneida definitely has T9 predictive. It always switches on automatically when I start Whatsapp. WhatsApp even has emojis ☺️. In the UK this phone is exclusively sold by EE. Here is the link https://shop.ee.co.uk/mobile-phones/pay-as-you-go/mobiwire-oneida-payg/details
The Oneida is the replacement for the Nosoki. It also has 4G and WiFi. There is no app store but what it does it does well. I now have Whatsapp on my 8110 4G. The Whatsapp on the MobiWire is vastly superior. It can accept video clips of greater than 8mb. 

duberry

keith said:

@duberry Yes the MobiWire Oneida definitely has T9 predictive. It always switches on automatically when I start Whatsapp. WhatsApp even has emojis ☺️. In the UK this phone is exclusively sold by EE. Here is the link https://shop.ee.co.uk/mobile-phones/pay-as-you-go/mobiwire-oneida-payg/details
The Oneida is the replacement for the Nosoki. It also has 4G and WiFi. There is no app store but what it does it does well. I now have Whatsapp on my 8110 4G. The Whatsapp on the MobiWire is vastly superior. It can accept video clips of greater than 8mb. 

That’s excellent news Keith. I gather sounds stupid but the t9 is also for normal text messages? I will not go back the the archaic way of texting on the nokosi. It amazes me that this phone is marketed even less than the nokosi. Does Mobiwire want any money. Seems bizare.
Is it possible for you to add some pictures. If hmd released the 4g 3310 with WA they would have made millions instead no updates or nothing pathetic really.   
Many thsnks again keith 

Keith

@duberry The T9 predictive input works on everything. You have to turn it off. The version of Whatsapp is the same as standard Android. Facebook Lite is more like the standard Android version as well. They update the apps automatically. At the moment I got my sim sack in the Nokia so I can evaluate it. As I only use Whatsapp for messages and pictures the Nokia is sufficient for me. 

duberry

keith said:

@duberry The T9 predictive input works on everything. You have to turn it off. The version of Whatsapp is the same as standard Android. Facebook Lite is more like the standard Android version as well. They update the apps automatically. At the moment I got my sim sack in the Nokia so I can evaluate it. As I only use Whatsapp for messages and pictures the Nokia is sufficient for me. 

Many thanks keith. I just don’t like that bannna phone. Why can’t the 3310 get kai os. It looks like the doro 7060 flip phone has kaios and the cat b35. If whatsapp come to all kai os then hmd would have to up their game. The other problem with the 8110 is no notifications. I don’t need video calls but voice calls would be useful on the kai os for when your abroad. Finally an answer to android and ios. Even though kai os is fire-fox. I hope this will be like symbian s40. We need a good feature phone os. 

luckyjim17

Hi everyone, been looking at the discussions on the  Mobiwire Oneida and I’m v.interested. Details on internet are very sketchy. Can anyone who has the phone say if it can be used as a hotspot to link to a tablet or old android phone (I.e. to use as a satnav). It would be great to know if anyone has tried it. Many thanks for the information so far guys 🙂

Keith

@luckyjim17 The Mobiwire Oneida can be used as a WiFi hotspot. The Mobiwire is a very basic Android OS, but with no Playstore or built in Google services like the Nokia has. You can watch Youtube and browse Maps via the browser. If you just want a feature phone with a decent Whatsapp Client and a better FB Lite app then the phone is very good.  The Nokia is good because it has the Google Assistant and Maps built in so it feels a bit more Smarter. 

luckyjim17

Just want a fairly basic phone for calling, messaging, calendar, to do / notes that can also be used as a hotspot for a tablet / old smartphone to do the rest (I.e. use as satnav, etc). The Mobiwire Oneida looks like it could do that. App Store not needed as tablet would be used for that (bit like a cheaper option to the Punkt MP02. Can’t expect the security features or build quality however also not nearly £300 either).

luckyjim17

Oh forgot to say, want a phone that is pocketable. The curve on the 8110 looks like it could be a problem. Pity HMD didn’t take this into account. They could have used the Nokia 106 body shell with the 8110 insides (might have reduced production costs while making it more functional for everyday use?).

Keith

@luckyjim17 the mobiMobi Oneida calendar doesn't sync with Google. But you can view Google calendar via browser by signing in on the Google Home page. 
I think the Nokia 210 would be better than the 106 as it has a 2.4" screen and not the 106. The Banana phone does seem to fit in pockets surprisingly well. No chance of pocket dialing with the slider. 

luckyjim17

@Keith yep see what you mean 210 would be better than 106. Slider on 8110 sounds ok on paper however it does look a bit awkward to use from what I’ve seen on videos. I remember reading something about why HMD decided not to make it spring loaded. I know it’s an iconic phone but maybe they should of looked at one of Nokia’s clamshell / slider designs instead (just a thought).

duberry

Nokia 810 tough and 2770 flip phone. Think i’d rather kaios than a forked version of andriod. What you think keith? 

Keith

@duberry Now that I got WhatsApp on my Banana phone I use it again. Overall the KaiOS powered phone is more enjoyable to use because I like the Google apps and the store has got much better. Nothing wrong with the MobiWire Oneida as such but you get no extra apps what so ever. The WhatsApp version is basically the Android version so is superior but I only use the text message and photo sharing abilities anyway. I certainly like the look of the 2720 Flip. 

JamesN

I'm looking for a phone really just for whatsapp, but do you know if this phone can do voice calls via wifi?

Thank you Keith

James

Keith

@JamesN It certainly can receive call over WiFi but couldn't make them, possible that this has been fixed by now. Haven't used this phone for several months. 

orips

@Keith

Does the MobiWire Oneida have WhatsApp Web (e.g. can you use WhatsApp on your PC via it?)

Keith

@orips I have now sold that phone so can't answer that question. The app is the Android app so wouldn't be surprised if it could. The phone is excellent if you just want to Talk, Text and Whatsapp & Facebook Lite.  There is no other apps available as there is no store.