Should I get a smart phone? (BlackBerry, Palm, etc.) - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

MetalGeek · 05-07-2008, 08:20 AM

OK, my current cell phone plan is about to be up and I'm looking into getting myself a new one in the next month or so. My current phone is a Motorola E815, and I'm pretty sick of it. It's had some issues, especially with charging, and I really want something new. FAST.

I'm looking for something from Alltel, so I don't have a whole lot of choices. For what I want in a plan Alltel is basically the cheapest, and my current plan is with them, so I'm already familiar with their service.

In the flip/slider realm, basically the Motorola Razr2 and the LG Glimmer are the frontrunners. I like the size of the Razr2, and the Glimmer is kinda neat because of the touchscreen interface as well as the regular number pad, although it has a real sissy name.

For the smart phones, the BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry Curve, and Moto Q are the leaders. I'm pretty interested in a smart phone because I'll be starting my career as a mechanical engineer soon, and I want to help keep myself organized. Also the ability to get internet on the go is pretty cool, especially if I can pair the phone up with my Asus EeePC.

So does anybody have experience with any of these phones? Any useful advice about smart phones and what to look for and/or avoid?

leftnose · 05-08-2008, 03:45 AM

Ask the service rep about the batter life of the Razr2. I have a Razer V3 and I'm lucky if I get a day and a half on a charge. Add on top of that the fact that I have to take it in for service every 3 months to get re-flashed because it gets corrupted and you've got the worst phone I've ever owned. As soon as this contract is up (next Feb) I'm getting a new phone.

As far as the smartphone is concerned, if you have an ISP that will push your mail for you, get a Blackberry. I like the Curve for its fullsize keyboard. If your ISP doesn't push, you'd have to leave your PC running all the time with the desktop redirector to get your email.

MetalGeek · 05-08-2008, 03:53 AM

Are you talking about POP3/IMAP? Does it work similar to, say, Mozilla Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook?

Yeah, I've decided against anything Motorola at this point. It seems that most Motorola phones have issues. Maybe not something that happens to everybody, but enough problems that due to Murphy's Law, I'd end up having to deal with something.

I'm really leaning toward the Blackberry Pearl, but the Curve is also pretty intriguing. I like the full QWERTY keypad on the Curve...I'm not too keen on the Pearl's smart type or whatever they call it. But there are more things to consider than the keypad; price and size being the two bigger issues for me. The software features seem to be pretty much the same.

cyberspyder · 05-08-2008, 04:02 AM

JUst get a Sony Ericsson K850i and call it a day.

bassoprofundo · 05-08-2008, 04:30 AM

Get a smartphone only if you're willing to pony up for data charges... IMHO, it's useless to have all that available functionality with no connectivity. I'm on my 5th Windows Mobile device, and I've used Palm-based Treos as well as Blackberries. I found the Blackberries to be absolutely useless without a data plan since they're all about email. The Palms and WinMos are less so, but I still found they're relative functionality to be at least halved by not having a constant connection.

saint.panda · 05-08-2008, 10:05 AM

The iphone could be something to consider. If Apple releases the 2.0 in June as promised and with the features as promised (push, Cisco VPN, remote wipe, Microsoft Exchange support, etc.), it'll be as good as any other business smart phone, if not better.

MetalGeek · 05-09-2008, 02:12 AM

I just got my BlackBerry Pearl today. It's awesome! I can get and send e-mail on my phone, I've got internet...it's great. I'm glad I went for it.

Haha...100th post!

Elluzion · 05-09-2008, 01:54 PM

personally I love smartphones. Most have full keyboards which are easier to text with. They also are more organized and you can update them through outlook and its pretty cool. My favorite smartphone of all time is the palm treo 700w, (its the windows treo). It is very easy to use and navigate. I just got a motorola q, and its a little harder to use but I still like it a lot.

^data is very expensive. $40 extra a month for internet on the phone

jilgiljongiljing · 05-09-2008, 07:05 PM

I have a Samsugn BlackJack II and I love it. Email, internet and google maps are the highlights in my opinion. Its very convenient, and battery life is decent as well.

vo328 · 05-09-2008, 07:18 PM

I've been using a Cingular/ATT 8525 and receive push mail on it. Great phone, except that within a year I had to replace the battery because it would not last me through the day. However, in the phone's defense, I was using it heavily. I guess there's the AT&T Tilt now that is the next iteration of this phone. Check it out to see if it's your cup of tea.

Good luck.