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new cell phone purchase?
JohnnyOnTheSpot
Banned by request
in Zocalo v2.0
Well I have been considering purchasing a new cell. I have been without a mobile phone since early 06 and now with the girlfriend I see it as necessary to get one once again.
Any recommendations?
I'm aiming toward Verizon, but any other suggestions are welcome.
Any recommendations?
I'm aiming toward Verizon, but any other suggestions are welcome.
Comments
I'd suggest wandering between them and AT&T but all I've heard about AT&T makes it out to be an occasional nightmare versus the constant dull pain that is Verizon. At the same time, Verizon has been on an upward trend away from "Rule 1: Be evil." Their new data plans are slightly cheaper than the older ones and are more appealing, and their future seems to indicate the use of SIM cards in the next-gen phones, making it possible that one of their biggest downsides (contact lists/ringtones/preferences being tied to a specific phone and trasferring being a pain in the ass) a thing of the past.
I'm currently on Verizon (and have been for a long time). Their signal is superb now--far better than it was four years ago--and makes for a generaly reliable connection. But AT&T has a very large network of their own, and post-merger appears to have come out with pretty good oferings.
Just avoid T-Mobile, Sprint/Nextel, etc. unless you expect to use your phone exclusively near a major city. These providers seem to have weaker phone offerings (Sidekick aside) with more gimmicky features attempting to bridge the gap (Push-to-talk etc)
Anyhoo...I'm looking to upgrade my phone, but I've hit a wall where I don't want a stupid gimmicky phone with a terrible interface, but I do want some enhanced functionality. I refuse to consider a touchscreen phone since they abandon the tactile interface that makes dialing so straightforward. Otherwise, I would be looking at the LG Voyager (VX10000) over the "EnV" (VX9900). My secondary considerations are the VX8350, a fairly basic phone that is built well and offers a fantastic interface and good reception...or the Samsung dual-flip U740, which offers a full keyboard--though on the small scale--but suffers from terrible reception.
[url]http://tilastokeskus.fi/til/tvie/2006/tvie_2006_2007-06-05_tau_006_en.html[/url]
[QUOTE=Sanfam;167813]Anyhoo...I'm looking to upgrade my phone, but I've hit a wall where I don't want a stupid gimmicky phone with a terrible interface, but I do want some enhanced functionality.[/QUOTE]Yep, despite huge amount of different phones finding reasonable ones is hard, some years ago I searched for phone with Bluetooth (for wireless handsfree) and outside big screen (big size) phones with short operating time there wasn't much any choises.
Actually, I was suggesting to *avoid* the voyager and instead consider the moree more reasonable EnV. It isn't as fancy, but it's a damned great phone from everything I've read and comes with an incredible camera (beating out some low-end last-gen consumer units in quality).
the 8700 is nice, but it's a bit too much of a fad phone for my taste. I seem to find myself heading towards wider, thicker phones with greater tactile response in the keypad than the modern slimline products. But that's just me, and my personal preferences may not match those of anyone else. :p Also check out Target. They appear to have some exceptional holiday deals on some Verizon phones.
[QUOTE=E.T;167817]
Yep, despite huge amount of different phones finding reasonable ones is hard, some years ago I searched for phone with Bluetooth (for wireless handsfree) and outside big screen (big size) phones with short operating time there wasn't much any choises.[/QUOTE]
I'll break down the problem I'm having right now. Given the 24 base phones I have to choose from, I narrowed it down to five. the LG VX8350, the LG EnV, the Samsung U740 Dual-flip, LG VX8700, Blackberry Curve. I didn't need a music phone, so the chocolate was out. The Backberry Curve is an option, but I don't think a smartphone would survive my regular use and I don't see the scroll wheel as being something easy to keep clean and maintain. This leaves a feature phone, a bare-bones base phone, and a slim messaging phone.
Initial requirement: Basic features as good as OR better than my phone.
Solid, large, clickable buttons that cannot be accidentially pressed (8350, 9900)
Logical contact sorting, including easy backup (all)
Intuitive messaging (9900)
Preferrably, QWERTY keypad (9900, U740)
Clamshell (8350, U740)
Sturdy flip/hinge (9900)
Reliable (not Motorola :p)
Bluetooth with Wireless Sync (8350, maybe 9900)
MicroSD, Optional: MicroSDHC (all; O:8350)
Bluetooth 1.3 (none)
Doesn't suck (8350, 9900)
Long Battery Life (8350, 9900 with extended)
Doesn't feel like crap when in use (9900)
Each one has downsides that prevent me from choosing it right out. Whether it's size and formfactor (9900), or simple shitty design (u740), or just an outright *lack* of features and possible long-term survivability (8350), I don't know where to go.
RANT!
My current phone is an Audiovox CDM-9900. It is almost the perfect phone, offering a wonderful keypad with no ergonomics problems, an earpiece that fits exactly where it should a menu structure that makes [B]almost[/B] perfect sense, and just enough messaging functionality to have been ahead of the times. The hinge has withstood years of me opening and closing it out of sheer boredom, dozens to hundreds of times a day since I initially got it. The original keypad wore down, but I replaced it with a spare I picked up. the original display was broken in a door, but that was a quick replacement. And oh, the screen. It's bright, it's clear, and even now only a select few displays come close to matching its clarity. The camera, while a first, was terrible and I try not to use it. :p It still works, but it feels like I'd be safer getting a replacement and keeping it as a spare after so many years of regular use. Before that, I had a CDM-9500 which I adored just as much. A great line of no-frills phones that just worked well. Why can't phones just do that part right and not focus on other stuff second? :P
nuff said.
Yes it has its flaws but it will give the rest of the mobile makers the kick in the ass they needed... i.e. make bloody decent software for your products and stop thinking its all about the casing (points to the Moto Razor... yeah nice case, rubbish software).
And I would be up for the phone if it had some sort of physical keypad, if only for standard numeric input. The software is incredible, doing everything exactly the way one would suspect it should. The browser is fantastic, and everything short of coverflow is nearly perfect. (I just can't stand the Coverflow navigation system at all. Useless for a portion of my collection which doesn't have album art through not being part of albums). I could live with the on-screen keyboard if it had a physical numeric keypad, perhaps a fold-out or something.
I've just dumped them at home entirely, they dont even carry my local dialtone, I finally totally jumped away from them when i was going back through old phonebills and noticed an odd charge, and called them and was informed that since last novembe, i had been paying them a monthly fee for the privilidge of NOT having a long distance carrier.
Granted, i dont have much of a choice as i live on an island off the coast of Maine and only 2 carriers work, But i've been with AT&T/Cingular for almost 10 years, and have NEVER had a single problem.
I honestly do not understand how US telecoms get away with that sort of behaviour. I think it was Sanfam who discovered a few months ago that his ISP was charging him for sending him a coupon every month. Telecom NZ are evil, and quite possibly the worst telecoms company in the world, but at least they don't do that sort of thing. The Commerce Commission would probably come down on them so hard there was no company left afterwards if they did. They've done it to major international banks...
I had a Sanyo candy bar phone from Sprint that lasted from 2000 to 2007. I just got the Sprint HTC Touch and I love the thing. I am not a fan of Palms. RIM tech is miserable. I like windows mobile six. I've got five e-mail addresses all "pushing" up to my phone. Sprint TV Basic. Good calls. Two days of battery life with moderate use one full day with very heavy use.
I love being on the ski lift and being able to check the weather radar.
At home I use Time Warner Triple play package; Cable Interent , Cable TV and phone with unlimited long distance for about 129 a month. They actually have a free upgrade to get a HD cable box but havent had the time to trade in yet.
Nokia seems to have finally dropped their own data cables and replaced them with standard USB-cables. Finally. One of my only gripes about their earlier models.
Wishful thinking? :P
Hear, hear!!!
Back when I lived in Houston MCI put two charges on my credit card, and I wasn't doing any business with them. And guess what, they did the same to my wife's credit card in the same period (when they were going bankrupt).
Not only ripping off customers, but trying to steal from non-customers!
Of course a simple call to reject the charge sufficed, MCI never challenged our charge cancelations, and the case was closed by the credit card companies.
I just wonder, since some people don't check the list of charges in their statements so carefully, how many people they stole from this way?
As for cellphones, I've only had one for a few months, a Nokia 6170, which was my wife's, she upgraded to a new one with her cellphone plan renewal.
I only got it because she wanted me to have one, I rarely use it. The company is Telcel, which is OK, but also kinda evil... the costs, even if not the steepest, are one of the reasons the owner (Carlos Slim) is the wealthiest man in the world (he started from a monopoly position with Telmex, which he leveraged to make the mobile company Telcel a near monopoly).
All in all its a nifty little phone, and I've already tallied up over 5 hours of talk time on it. Gonna have to find a way to curb the usage im already pretty close to my limit as it is. But the damn girlfriend talks for upwards of thirty minutes so what can ya do. Thats another thing entirely were close to breaking up for good this time. Shes just rubbing me the wrong way.