When you get started with a GSM phone it will become like reps ... I own 4 phones now. BlackBerry Bold, Palm Treo 750, HTC StarTrek and a Motorola RAZR ... and rotate them based on what I am doing or where I am going.
I know, it's a sickness ... :D
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When you get started with a GSM phone it will become like reps ... I own 4 phones now. BlackBerry Bold, Palm Treo 750, HTC StarTrek and a Motorola RAZR ... and rotate them based on what I am doing or where I am going.
I know, it's a sickness ... :D
I want a weatherproof/waterproof satphone with broadband paid for by the company I work for!!! Well... unfortunately, I'll just settle for whatever they give me as long as they're picking up the tab. :D
top phones right now are iPhone 3G and HTC Fuze
I don't see you toting a N96, I don't know why, I just don't see it.
There are PLENTY of sites that compare the 2. They both do just about everything. Comes down to whether you want the iPhone OS and Multi-Touch TouchFlow Screen or if you want Windows Mobile Pro and a slide out keyboard.
Just an FYI the Touch Pro GSM is known as the HTC Fuze here in the US and unfortunately the US version of the Sony Experia X1 has been delayed until January. The Fuze is on ATT, the CDMA Touch Pro is available on either Verizon or Sprint... yeah, welcome to model name hell.
On OS's:
Don't rule out Blackberry, they own the professional business market. I don't know what company you work for but if it's a decent size, and they give the executives phones, there's a pretty good chance they're already running a Blackberry server... check with your IT department... take them cookies and beer (good beer).
The iPhone is typically not considered a good fit with business, however it is also seen as sort of a fashion / luxury phone so you might be able to pull it off from an image perspective. Personally I think it's been overhyped to hell and back, not particularly bad but I really don't see anything there that WinMo and Symbian haven't been doing for years other than a pretty interface. And if you want to use your phone as a turn by turn GPS, forget about the iPhone... it won't do it and Apple won't let anyone develop it.
Windows Mobile is a really powerful OS, the user interface is pretty damned clunky though when compared to the others. The OS comes in two distinct flavours, Smartphone and Professional. Smartphone is what runs on things like the Blackjack, they don't have touchscreens, some people like them, I don't. Pro is the way I'd go, that's what the Fuze runs, it's a touchscreen OS and a lot have slide out keyboards which are infinitely better than any onscreen keyboard I've ever used (including the iPhone).
Symbian is Nokia's smartphone OS, it's not very common here in the US but over in Europe it dominates. I've never really gotten to use it so I can't say much more.
Then there's Android, which is Google's new OS. Right now the only phone running it is the G1 on T-Mo. The OS holds a LOT of promise, and it's going to be showing up on a ton of devices in the coming years, but right now, unless you're a closet Geek I'd say pass. Android is sort of the anti-iPhone, the OS itself is pretty minimal, but it's damn near completely open so programmers can do just about anything they want, and they will. In a few years Android will be the OS to beat... but for right now it's the domain of people like me.
Specific Phones (these are just ones that I have some experience with):
HTC Fuze (ATT): For a WinMo smartphone it's pretty small, it is however quite thick. If you're looking for a phone that you can stuff into the back pocket of a pair of skintight jeans, you're probably going to want to look elsewhere. If you're just throwing it in a bag you should be fine. It is a very good looking phone but in terms of "fashion" it's going to get beat out by an iPhone or an X1. It is a WinMo phone so it's going to be a love or hate type thing, HTC has their own proprietary interface, called TouchFlo, loaded on top of WinMo but it's a pretty thin veneer so there will still be a potentially frustrating learning curve. TouchFlo can also have some lag issues straight out of the box, if you willing to "get your hands dirty" a quick registry tweak fixes this. Hardware wise it's about as good as you can get right now. The Fuze is pretty much identical to the HTC Touch Pro GSM except for one very key difference, the Fuze supports ATTs US 3G bands, the Touch Pro GSM does not... what that means to you is the Fuze is going to browse the web much, much faster than a Touch Pro GSM in the US.
Sony Xperia X1 (no carrier): The X1 is by far the best looking Windows Mobile phone ever built. Unfortunately the US version has been delayed until January, the difference between the US and international version is in the 3G bands... the US version will be able to work on ATTs 3G network, the international one can't. You'd think that this would mean that ATT would be carrying it, they're not, it's only going to be available unlocked, and you will pay for it... to the tune of $800... sounds bad until you realize the international ones are going for $900 on eBay and an unlocked GSM Touch Pro will run about the same. In terms of size it's a bit taller than a Fuze but also a bit thinner. Also like the Fuze, Sony has tried to cover up the Windows Mobile OS, and they haven't done any better than HTC.
iPhone 3G (ATT): If you're looking for a fashion phone, this is it right now. I sort of think of the iPhone as a smartphone for dummies, that's not to say I think iPhone users are stupid, it's just that Apple has taken the basic capabilities of a smartphone and made them userfriendly in a vertically integrated fashion. Everyone hypes the sh*t out of this thing but you need to know that it has some pretty serious limitations, you can't copy and paste, you can't send proper MMS messages (it's got a sort of jurryrigged email thing), it inserts an annoying "Sent from my iPhone" line into any emails you send from it, the battery is not swappable, the applications system is a closed environment that stifles innovation... Mobile Safari is a bit better than the Opera 9.5 browser on the X1 and Fuze... until it crashes.
G1 (T-Mobile): For a geek like me this phone is pretty sweet... From what I know about you, probably not what you're looking for. First of all the G1 is far from pretty, it's about the size most smartphones were a few years ago, ie. a bit of a brick. Then there's the software limitations, you said you needed to sync with Outlook, the G1 won't do that out of the box... It'll sync in with your gmail and all your Google apps over the air, but not Outlook through a dock. I liked the web browser on the G1 more than any of the others... to paraphrase Apple "it just worked".
I have Sprint.... I have a Q with extended battery......... I like it.
As a former iPhone HATER, after getting one I have to disagree. There is almost nothing the iPhone doesn't do that my old WinMo Blackjack 2 can. My brother's hospital just gave all the doctors free iPhones. My friends IT company just bought all the PMs iPhones. If a hospital and an IT company are buying iPhones, you know there is some serious power there. Looks-wise, ok, maybe not the most business-looking phone, but what does that mean? It's not boxy enough?Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Monkey
Yes, you can copy/paste. There are 3 apps that fix this issue already. You can send and receive MMS. Just download an app called SwirlyMMS. Also, the MMS thing is true for all AT&T phones as far as I understand. At least with the iPhone there is a way around it. "Sent from my iPhone" is default can be deleted or even changed to "Sent from a RepGeek." The App system is completely open once you "jailbreak" your iPhone which takes all of 30 seconds.Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Monkey
And yes, you can use GPS on it. The whole hype about the iPhone 3G was that it had 3 things the regular iPhone didn't. GPS, 3G, and WiFi.
Having used Opera 9.5 (not mini!), Safari does a better job, plain and simple. Opera is AWFUL. You have to tap L/R/U/D to try to find an input box and sometimes it doesn't even recognize said box.
The ONLY thing I will give WinMo devices over the iPhone OS is that you can download programs like Dashwire (Dashwire.com) which backs up your phone online for free and SkyFire (skyfire.com) which lets you run java on websites. But the iPhone OS is not nearly as old as the WinMo OS and these programs will come all too soon.
And this is all coming from an APPLE HATER AND PC-USER!
AND...... does your phone have an App that turns it into a Fart Machine Proximity Mine?!
Are these in the Apps store or Cydia / Installer? Last I heard Apple was rejecting anything that stored information outside of its own little walled garden, thus making a copy/paste program impossible in the App store.Quote:
Originally Posted by LoganX3
My friend can send pics and movies from his old ass RAZR, on ATT. The SwirlyMMS is the email based workaround I was talking about.Quote:
Originally Posted by LoganX3
Didn't know that.Quote:
Originally Posted by LoganX3
Which voids your warranty and will likely have to be redone after each update as Apple continues to try to lock down their device.Quote:
Originally Posted by LoganX3
Not for turn by turn... that is specifically off limits under Apple's dev agreement.Quote:
Originally Posted by LoganX3
The original iPhone had WiFi. And the hype was because it's Apple.Quote:
Originally Posted by LoganX3
I said that it was better, however my experience with Safari Mobile was that it crashes... a lot. There has been an update since then so it may be better now. I don't have as much time playing with Opera, but it never crashed on me.Quote:
Originally Posted by LoganX3
Don't hold your breath. The only way those apps can get made is if Apple loosens its grip on the Apps, I don't see that happening. Adobe has been trying to get Flash onto the iPhone since day one, Apple won't cooperate and let them do it. Since then Flash has been announced on both Android and WinMo... and still no word from Apple.Quote:
Originally Posted by LoganX3
I'm sure there is one.Quote:
Originally Posted by LoganX3
Well, both OS's have their ups and downs.
Like I said before it boils down to the OS for most people, whether they know it or not.
Best of luck with your search Poshy
Wow. What a long-a$$ post. If the story ain't covered in less then 3-4 paragraphs, I get bored.
all i have to say is....
http://www.mobilemag.com/content/images/15629_large.jpg
Posh...
I don't have an answer or any advise on phones. But I will post away. I had a good laugh with your read and understand the challenge of shopping for a phone. I have been doing it for the last 6 months and have not been sold on anything.
Aside from the phone dillema your post touches on a bigger issue in America that I am sure you could make another GQ editorial out of; customer service. It is my number 1 complaint and will pay extra for it. In all my travels around the world I find that the CS in the US just gets worse every day. I don't mean to be a 'Debbie Downer' but I don't think I need to be shopping for a luxury item to get that feeling I am being taken care of by a $3000/night escort.
I do think that in the realm of sale jobs cell phones is the entry spot just before car salesman. I don't mean to go on a rant but; when I check into a hotel, purchase a car, order a meal, or drop off my dry cleaning...please LISTEN to what I, the customer, need. I don't walk around with any sence of entilement or with a chip on my shoulder. But I also don't want to hand you my money and feel like I was just mugged.
Anyway...Posh, I love reading your posts I bet you are one hell of a talker.
BWP
T-Mobile G1 if you like full keyboards and T-Mobile service
dear Posh
wait for Feb 09
TMobile's G2 will blow them all outta the water
hit me up before ya pay retail though ... i might be able to get you insider pricing ;)
i think you guys confused her, All she really needs is a nokia.
Where did she go????
Slightly late to the party, but I definitely recommend the Samsung Omnia/i900.
Was dithering between that and the iphone 3G and other touchscreens from HTC and Sony. But the samsung won hands down in terms of user friendliness.
But if you text/email obsessively, should think of getting one with a fold out keyboard (ie, no to samsung omnia and the iphone), maybe the Sony Xperia?
Good luck posh!
Gone forever...
:)
Agreed, stay away from windows mobile. It sucks.Quote:
Originally Posted by smcx
IPhone crashes a lot too. Recovers better than windows mobile but crashes just the same.
I wish there was a better Linux based Mobile OS than there is.
a little late to the party
Windows mobile=memory hogger for OS & apps, I prefer PalmOS but they don't sell as many Palm smartphones anymore...
Iphone is the best phone i've ever had. I unlocked it for T-mobile with full internet. Iphone 1000 min, unlimited internet and nights and weekends........$45.00 a month.....You just have to work the angles!!
Nokia 2140 FTW
where is Posh??????
My guess: either studying a thesaurus and learning new adverbs, or polishing off a pint of Ben & Jerry's while watching Sex and the City DVDs. Possibly all of those things at once.Quote:
Originally Posted by JCYL
More importantly: Can someone please recommend a cell phone for ME? Has to work with Sprint, can't be the Samsung Instinct, and preference is given to larger hi-res screens and a tactile keyboard (real buttons, not just a touch screen) as I use internet and email a lot. I'm considering the HTC Touch Pro, but I'm not completely sold on it.
what's wrong with the Instinct ?
2 of my cousins have 'em and i thought the service/coverage is pretty good, especially the GPS feature