Smartphone/PDAPhone Advice

[Scarecrow]

Originally Posted by Cringer

Apple throws a punch to the gut of Palm I guess. New iPhone 3G S comes out June 19, although a few of the new features of the 3.0 OS won't work until end of summer at earliest because of AT&T limitations.

-The current iPhone 3G drops to $99 today. That hurts Palm Pre.
-New iPhone has voice call (and iTunes control) and video. That hurts Pre
-Oh, and for the losers who don't know where north is, a compass.
-Other features I didn't find as big deals, though I might be forgetting something.

What helps Palm Pre - it's with Sprint. Here the comparison for my family:

Sprint
-3 lines (all with Palm Pre's)
- Unlimited data on all 3 lines
- Unlimited text on all 3 lines
Price per month: $119.99 ($149.99 + 20% work discount)

AT&T
- 3 lines (only 1 can have an iPhone)
- Messaging Unlimited for families
- Data plan for iPhone / PDA Personal
Price per month: $199.98

So, my choice is to make my family happy by giving them each a Palm Pre and saving $80 a month, or being handcuffed by AT&T by only getting 1 iPhone and paying an extra $2,000 over the life of the contract.

[GreenMonster]

Originally Posted by rjolley

Thanks for all of the info. After a bit of work to get the phone unlocked (issues with the newest ROM from Sprint), I got the HardSSPL installed, then the Unlocker, then, finally, Groove 5.

So far, I like the eye candy of 6.5. I'll put it through it's paces over the next couple of weeks to see if things perform better. Just need to install SensorLock, gAlarm, and that free Texas Hold 'Em, and it'll be all set.

Thanks again

Let me know how you like India's rom, I using the 6/5/09 Build. It should be a huge upgrade if you have just been using the stock Sprint rom..

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

What helps Palm Pre - it's with Sprint. Here the comparison for my family:

Sprint
-3 lines (all with Palm Pre's)
- Unlimited data on all 3 lines
- Unlimited text on all 3 lines
Price per month: $119.99 ($149.99 + 20% work discount)

AT&T
- 3 lines (only 1 can have an iPhone)
- Messaging Unlimited for families
- Data plan for iPhone / PDA Personal
Price per month: $199.98

So, my choice is to make my family happy by giving them each a Palm Pre and saving $80 a month, or being handcuffed by AT&T by only getting 1 iPhone and paying an extra $2,000 over the life of the contract.

Oh yeah, I like Sprint and I am really happy with how the Pre has been reviewed and what it will do for me once I get it. The iPhone means nothing to me as long as it is on AT&T only, except I get to here people talk about how many apps they can get and use one at a time. In all fairness though, overall the iPhone is probably the best phone (the new version coming out anyways, I would argue the 3G being better then the Pre). And for people who were looking to upgrade and thought of iPhone as the top level phone and may have leaned a little towards the Pre when it came out, were quickly drawn back to the iPhone by a $99 version. That was the big sucker punch to Palm I think.

The iPhone still doesn't have multi-tasking though. Pre will have that over them for at least a year. And the Pre will improve over the next year with software upgrades. They are determined to get flash video going on it, they have said they can provide video recording with an upgrade, and something else I am forgetting.

[stevew]

When they say that the iPhone doesn't multitask, that means that I can't surf the net, make a phone call, send a text or an email, or play a game at the same time? Like if I'm typing a email, and the phone rings, I lose that email?

Or is it that I can't run AIM and a game at the same time?

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by stevew

When they say that the iPhone doesn't multitask, that means that I can't surf the net, make a phone call, send a text or an email, or play a game at the same time? Like if I'm typing a email, and the phone rings, I lose that email?

Or is it that I can't run AIM and a game at the same time?

The typing an email and losing it when the phone rings is actually a service provider thing from what I understand. Writing that email is done while on a data connection, the phone call is on a voice connection. Some providers (like Sprint) don't allow data and voice connections to be made at the same time. Really it is one of the few true problems with Sprint IMO.

I may be wrong but I think the iPhone can do that because AT&T allows data and voice to be run at the same time.

Multi-tasking is having multiple apps open at the same time and being able to switch between them. Music playing, type up an email, check for something on the internet to double check what I wrote in my email, quickly buy my movie tickets in Fandango, and check my calendar and whatever else I can think of. People have had the Pre running up to 10-12 things at the same time. Though certain apps will hog more memory and then you may only get 3-4. You can switch between them, like you do on a computer. The iPhone is one app at a time.

[rjolley]

Originally Posted by GreenMonster

Let me know how you like India's rom, I using the 6/5/09 Build. It should be a huge upgrade if you have just been using the stock Sprint rom..

That's the version I'm using. There's a new one out, I believe.

So far, I like it. The only problem I had was with the camera having a black screen instead of what I'm aiming at, and the weather app trying to stay connected and draining my battery quicker than I'd like.

Otherwise, it's a nice upgrade. I'll have to tinker around with it for awhile, but it's definitely been worth it.

[GreenMonster]

Originally Posted by rjolley

That's the version I'm using. There's a new one out, I believe.

So far, I like it. The only problem I had was with the camera having a black screen instead of what I'm aiming at, and the weather app trying to stay connected and draining my battery quicker than I'd like.

Otherwise, it's a nice upgrade. I'll have to tinker around with it for awhile, but it's definitely been worth it.

You can change the settings on Weather to get the weather at different intervals or manually. I only get the forcast like every 12 hours but the weather every 90 minutes, so I have about the current temp. I just tried my camera, it seems to be working fine..

[rjolley]

Originally Posted by GreenMonster

You can change the settings on Weather to get the weather at different intervals or manually. I only get the forcast like every 12 hours but the weather every 90 minutes, so I have about the current temp. I just tried my camera, it seems to be working fine..

If you set it to every 90 minutes, does it disconnect the data connection? That seems to be the drain on power.

Yeah, not sure what it is about the camera. I've seen some posts about it on ppcgeeks, but no solution, and India says he saw the issue before, but not now. I don't use the camera enough for it to be a showstopper, but it is annoying.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm upgrading my 4 year old phone. Wife loves Verizon and doesn't want us to switch. Anyone have thoughts on the new LG enV Touch vs Samsung Omnia vs Blackberry Storm (I've heard/read the most feedback on the Storm and it seems very divided.)

[GreenMonster]

Originally Posted by rjolley

If you set it to every 90 minutes, does it disconnect the data connection? That seems to be the drain on power.

Yeah, not sure what it is about the camera. I've seen some posts about it on ppcgeeks, but no solution, and India says he saw the issue before, but not now. I don't use the camera enough for it to be a showstopper, but it is annoying.

I am sure it does, it hasn't been a drain for me since I changed it from the initial settings.

I am really digging 6.5 with the new start menu, and the new today page. It will really get cooking now that the SDK is out..

[Voo]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm upgrading my 4 year old phone. Wife loves Verizon and doesn't want us to switch. Anyone have thoughts on the new LG enV Touch vs Samsung Omnia vs Blackberry Storm (I've heard/read the most feedback on the Storm and it seems very divided.)

I've heard a lot of good things about the Omnia, but Im pretty sure there is an Omnia 2 coming out soon.

[AZSpeechCoach]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm upgrading my 4 year old phone. Wife loves Verizon and doesn't want us to switch. Anyone have thoughts on the new LG enV Touch vs Samsung Omnia vs Blackberry Storm (I've heard/read the most feedback on the Storm and it seems very divided.)

If you can hold out for a little bit, you'll have the Blackberry Tour as an option. The Tour is like the Bold in a smaller form factor. The Storm 2 is also coming out at some point this year. Previews say it fixes many of the original problems.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Eaglesfan27

I'm upgrading my 4 year old phone. Wife loves Verizon and doesn't want us to switch. Anyone have thoughts on the new LG enV Touch vs Samsung Omnia vs Blackberry Storm (I've heard/read the most feedback on the Storm and it seems very divided.)

I'd wait a few months till the Storm 2 or Tour come out from Blackberry. Otherwise I'd probably go with the Storm over the other two there. But I may be biased.

You either love the touch screen on the storm, or you don't. It's pretty dividing.

[Cringer]

For the second time in three days I am going down to get a Palm Pre, though this time we are told 100% they have them in and one saved for me. About stinking time, been actively trying to find one for a week now.

[Cringer]

Have had the phone for about 18 hours now, and I am in love with it. Take it with a grain of salt because this is my first smartphone, not too mention I have even had the internet and texting turned off of my previous phone for the past 18 months or so, until now. Still, very impressive phone, such a gorgeous screen, fun to use. I am very impressed. Hell, I already prefer running Pandora over my phone then over my computer while sitting here. it just works better even if not on wifi connection. I need to get some mp3s on there this weekend. The camera is great, and takes pictures much faster then any phone we have ever had in our family. I am very surprised by the keyboard. I have large fingers, and I have found it no problem typing with even my thumb. I bold it because I am actually very happy with the keyboard when I went in thinking I would have to adjust over time.

The wife got one as well, which surprised me. Her review would be more critical I think, but she is also one who doesn't like change in certain areas of her life. That is why I was surprised she got the Pre instead of the Pro like she had planned. Anyways, she has trouble adjusting to the tough screen, mainly because on her Treo she has always used her nails on the screen, this requires skin touching. She has also had a couple little "hmm, problem?" moments, and if she has anymore I will get her to take it down and exchange it for another one. Overall she seems to like it, but she hates having to adjust to something new like this.

edit: we will probably be getting an extra battery.

[JeeberD]

Keep me up to date on how it goes, Cringer. I have a friend who works at a Sprint store and she's advising me to wait a few months before buying one so that all the bugs get worked out. Of course, I have to wait a few months anyway because I'll be buying it through my sister, who is a Sprint employee, but I'm still curious to see what might pop up for you...

[Cringer]

Posting with the Pre now. Jeebs, I would say this thing will be even better in a couple of months. There are already rumors of another OTA update in a week or two, solid rumors I guess. Them enabling video recording is part of that rumor.

[JeeberD]

Sweet, good to know.

And how's the battery life? I noticed you said you'll be getting an extra battery, and battery life was one of the main issuess my friend mentioned. I work 10-12 hour shifts regularly I don't want my phone dying on me every day.

[Cringer]

Honestly, I can't give a solid opinion of that just yet. Give me a few days, a week, and I will know better. I say that because since I got it I have been on it non-stop it seems. Adding what I want, setting things up, or mostly playing around. Non-stop use, I could probably drain it in 5 hours. At work 10-12 hours, I would guess at this point you might be fine depending on how much you use it. Plus they already of what are supposed to be some good power saving tips that I have ignored, because I know for the most part I will be able to charge it right now. Turning off wifi/bluetooth when not needed, lower how often it checks for email, that sort of thing. I have been mostly at home, so I have wifi on, email coming through instantly, basically everything to eat up power.

But, I say I will be getting a battery just because I know at some point it will be useful, as opposed to phones I have had in the past where I wouldn't care. There is already an extended battery out, and that same company will be coming out with an even bigger one, which only adds a couple millimeters to thickness.

[Cringer]

Whores at Palm (a.k.a. me getting what I deserve for buying in the first month)!

The Pre is being dropped to $150, and the Palm Pixi was announced tonight. The Pixi is basically the new Treo Pro/Centro to me, not a slider. Has 8GB of storage, slightly smaller screen then the Pre, WebOS of course, and is pretty dang thin looking. Thinner then the Pre of course, 10% thinner then the iPhone 3G S, and 20% thinner then any Blackberry (so Palm says). The odd omission was wi-fi, kind of to prove it is the cheaper version I guess. They said it would be out before the holidays, no price but everyone assumes $99. Looks like a nice phone, though I have learned to love the wi-fi connection with the Pre. The Pixi processor power wasn't announced, but I guess it is clearly weaker then that of the Pre (so not as many cards/apps open and running at once).

[fantom1979]

Palm's intro video for the Pixi:

http://palm.cdnetworks.net/pixi/pixi...40x400_750.mov


Image:

[sterlingice]

After a couple of years in the desert, Palm has just come roaring back this year in a big way. I'm happy for it as I've always liked the PalmOS

SI

[Danny]

Ok, so I am looking for one these devises. I also need a new phone, so if it can be both a phone and serve the function I need then the better. I need an exceptional calendar/scheduling feature. It has to have detailed, easy to view, easy to setup daily events, reminders, alerts, etc... Also a good contact feature would be good too. Any suggestions?

[stevew]

Might be a good idea to list your carrier of choice.

[ISiddiqui]

True... because that makes a large difference.

I'm on Verizon and just got the Blackberry Tour. Think its great for calender/scheduling features and syncing to your outlook or Google Calender.

It's also VERY GOOD as a phone. I've had people be impressed by the call quality (and even speaker quality).

[GreenMonster]

If anyone is in the market for a Sprint HTC Diamond let me know, I don't think I am going to be able to not by a Touch Pro 2.. So far I have stayed away, but I am not sure I can much longer..

[rjolley]

Not sure which phone I'm going to move to next. I have a Diamond and with the ROMs, it's like having a new phone whenever I want.

Right now, it's between the Pre and the Pro 2, though the Hero looks interesting as well. I may just wait 6 months or so and see what new phones roll out, seeing as Palm just announced a new one and HTC may bring new their phones over.

[Danny]

I'm with Verizon now, but I am ok with at&t as well though keeping Verizon is the easiest.

[GreenMonster]

Originally Posted by rjolley

Not sure which phone I'm going to move to next. I have a Diamond and with the ROMs, it's like having a new phone whenever I want.

Right now, it's between the Pre and the Pro 2, though the Hero looks interesting as well. I may just wait 6 months or so and see what new phones roll out, seeing as Palm just announced a new one and HTC may bring new their phones over.

I love custom Roms, they are the main reason I stay with Windows Mobile phones. Right now I am really digging Windows 6.5, my home screen is just how I like it now, with access to everything I use..

[stevew]

Verizon has bogo deals running on Blackberry this month. 2 phones run about 160ish a month though. But you can probably be a good husband if you get her a cool phone

[Danny]

Can I get the second phone without signing a new contract? My wife has a long time left on her contract, but if she could use the phone on her current one with just adding the Internet that might be better.

[stevew]

No idea. But I know they were cool with us going to a BB even though we had time on the contract. It might be better to see what happens if she upgrades and adds you to her account.

[Cringer]

Sprint appears to be in full attack mode to try and stop the bleeding of losing customers.

They have added a new feature to their Everything Data plan. This is their unlimited data/sms/mms plan that has 450 anytime minutes ($69/mo) or 900 anytime minutes($89/mo). Any Mobile, Anytime feature adds free minutes to any mobile phone, any time of the day. Any mobile phone means any, as in phones on other networks.

hxxp://anymobile.sprint.com/

Doesn't help me though, we both already have the Simply Everything plan with unlimited everything for $99 a month. Over 3000 minutes between the two of us and a week left in our billing cycle, so it's worth it.

[Danny]

Ok, so the soonest I can upgrade with Verizon is in a month. The current cancellation fee is $85. So basically there are my choices

Wait a month and then upgrade getting the Blackberry Tour for $150

Or

Switch my provider to At&T, get a refurbished Blackberry Curve 8900 for $10 and pay the $85 cancellation fee

I kind of do need the phone now and like the fact At&T has rollover minutes.

But also not sure if the Curve 8900 is as good as the Tour, any recommendations?

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Cringer

Sprint appears to be in full attack mode to try and stop the bleeding of losing customers.

They have added a new feature to their Everything Data plan. This is their unlimited data/sms/mms plan that has 450 anytime minutes ($69/mo) or 900 anytime minutes($89/mo). Any Mobile, Anytime feature adds free minutes to any mobile phone, any time of the day. Any mobile phone means any, as in phones on other networks.

hxxp://anymobile.sprint.com/

Doesn't help me though, we both already have the Simply Everything plan with unlimited everything for $99 a month. Over 3000 minutes between the two of us and a week left in our billing cycle, so it's worth it.

i'm on Simply Everything too, but now that there's no longer TCB I could seriously use to downgrade, as my actual time on the phone now is miniscule.

i just need to get around to doing it.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Danny

Ok, so the soonest I can upgrade with Verizon is in a month. The current cancellation fee is $85. So basically there are my choices

Wait a month and then upgrade getting the Blackberry Tour for $150

Or

Switch my provider to At&T, get a refurbished Blackberry Curve 8900 for $10 and pay the $85 cancellation fee

I kind of do need the phone now and like the fact At&T has rollover minutes.

But also not sure if the Curve 8900 is as good as the Tour, any recommendations?

I'd try to get a bold personally, if I were going the ATT route. Check and see if Walmart(believe it or not) might have it cheaper than the ATT store.

[stevew]

dola-
Amazon.com: BlackBerry Curve 8900 Phone, Black (AT&T): Cell Phones & Service

New Curve 8900 for 1 cent, free activation if you do it today(sept 28). Thats like 35 bucks you save.

[Danny]

Any reason for the bold over the curve? It seems the primary advantage the tour/bold has is the 3g network and being slightly more powerful hardware wise.

[Danny]

Just noticed I can get the tour from amazon for $49 with a 2 year plan to Verizon wireless. So would it be possible to order this and get my number switched to this new phone and cancel my current membership. This way I pay the $49 +85 cancellation fee, but that is still less than the $149 tour price straight from Verizon.

[Danny]

Scratch that, I called them, not possible. They do have a blackberry bold with At&T for $90 though, so it would be $175 with my cancellation fee. So is the bold as good or better than the tour?

[jeff061]

I've briefly used the Tour and the Bold. The Tour is really a smaller form factor Bold for the most part. I liked the Bold better, the keyboard is damn near perfect. Tour is to compact and the keyboard suffers.

If I was going to get a blackberry right now I'd get the bold. I'm holding out for the Pre in January.

[stevew]

Cancel your contract and have your wife add you? I think you can get promo pricing for a second line.

If you haven't gone into a store I'd also try that. Or go see someone else. Rules get bent When a salesperson sees a commision.

[Danny]

Not possible, my wife is still on her parents phone contract paying $20 a month. If the bold is better I don't mind going with that for $180 from At&T instead of the Tour from $150 from Verizon.

[ISiddiqui]

If you are going with the Bold, wait for the Bold II (coming in November) which has a track pad, faster internals, 3.2 megapixel camera, etc. Of course the Bold II has a Tour like keyboard (as most people seemingly prefer the size of the Tour).

[Danny]

Can't really wait until November, plus it will probably cost an extra $200 and I don't need the better camera.

[dervack]

Trackpad is better than the trackball, imo.

[Danny]

Ended up waiting and just got the new Bold 9700 that was released. Haven't had much time to play around with it, but so far it is awesome!

[ISiddiqui]

See, waiting is good .

[Cringer]

Originally Posted by Danny

Can't really wait until November, plus it will probably cost an extra $200 and I don't need the better camera.

Originally Posted by Danny

Ended up waiting and just got the new Bold 9700 that was released. Haven't had much time to play around with it, but so far it is awesome!

Did you mean November 2010 in that first post? I am pretty sure it is December, though I could be wrong. Time flies eh?

Speaking of time flies and phones, I find it hard to believe I have had my Pre for almost six months now. I am at an odd intersection of "still feels new" and "been long enough they should have fixed a couple of these small problems by now." Love the phone and maybe the only thing I could think of having over it right now is an Android phone, though Sprint doesn't have one that blows me away even with the Hero now. Still, with monthly updates from Palm and now up to webOS 1.3.1 (soon to be 1.3.5) there are several things Palm needs to get off their ass about and correct.

1. This phone has a GPU that is not used, at all. They are supposed to enable it (allegedly) which would make the phone faster. The phone is fine but more speed is welcome and I would like to see this done.

2. Still waiting for video recording ability to be flipped on.

3. You have a memory limit for how many apps you can have installed (supposed to be fixed in 1.3.5 update) which is a bit annoying.

4. Their SDK needs to be improved (or so I hear), because of the 500 apps in the catalog there is not one I am interested in paying for so far.

5. European owners are getting screwed on the app catalog with only 100 apps if they are lucky. I don't live there though.


The good:

1. Multi-tasking on this phone rocks. Use it ALL the time now. Email open, notes open, task list open, phone dialer open, Evernote open all at the same time, flipping back and forth. Couldn't be without it now.

2. Modding the phone is super easy. The community for this phone has done excellent things. I can change complete themes, add things (I have roughly 30 "patches" installed changing things from number of icons per row in the app menu to how my pictures files are named). All of this is done through an app installed to make the changes. Simple to uninstall when upgrading the OS too. Love this part, big time.

3. Web browsing is a pleasure with this phone. Email is great (for me, I know some might complain how it handles certain things). In fact I check three of my five email accounts only with this phone and never on the computer.

4. Having four calendars synced up is nice.

5. Just a great camera for a 3.0 megapixel(though I do wish it had focus like the iPod 3Gs has), use it for work pictures even. The focus problem only comes into play on very close shots.

Overall, wouldn't give up the phone, though if they don't speed along the OS some over the next six months then I may end up seeing an Android phone on Sprint I like.

[Alan T]

I just got a new Blackberry Bold 9000 for work, and I like it much more than the old Curve 8300 that I had. The Bold fits better in my hand, feels better and is much much much easier for me to type on (I have fairly large fingers/hands).

Obviously the applications all run faster/smoother, and I'm in love with the wifi connectivity that allows me to watch my slingbox (television) around the house on it (or in various wifi cafes anywhere I go).