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Country/Provider: US / Verizon Current Contract: Family Plan, not the primary account holder Budget (phone/plan): Phone - No budget, although not unlimited. Plan - <$100 per month would be nice. Features: real QWERTY keyboard. Touch screen, WiFi, solid web browser, Smart Phone (for the huge world of downloadable applications). I have an LG enV that has lately been shutting off for no reason. On top of that, I want off my mother's family plan, and am willing to leave Verizon if I can find a plan & phone that appeal to my needs. It'd be nice to find a phone with a QWERTY keyboard similar to the enV's, but has a nice touch screen and slides up to reveal the keyboard instead of folds out. That way, I could utilize the keyboard and touch screen at the same time (for internet browsing and such). A phone with an applications repository like the iPhone or BlackBerry lineup would be nice, but neither of them have the nice tactile QWERTY keyboard I'm used to. I may be reaching for the stars, but would appreciate suggestions if anyone can provide. Thanks much.
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Aug 28, 2009 19:57
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Lord Fizzlebottom posted:Country/Provider: US / Verizon If the InstinctQ rumors are true (and the phone/hardware is actually worthwhile), this would probably be the phone for you. You'll supposedly get Android, qwerty, and Sprints awesome pricing (53/month for 450 minutes, unlimited text, and 5gb data with Alliant CU discount, 70/month without). http://phandroid.com/samsung-instinctq/ If you can wait another month, you likely would be able to get that phone (it hasn't been officially announced, just leaked innventory/release doc photos).
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Aug 28, 2009 20:23
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Lord Fizzlebottom posted:I want off my mother's family plan
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Aug 28, 2009 20:47
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porksmash posted:This was a mistake I made. I wanted my own cell plan to be cool and independent and now pay $50 more a month for it. If you don't have a real reason to get your own plan I'd just add the features you want for your phone and pay the difference to your parents. I no longer live with her, and only the primary account holder can do things like authorize new phones to the account or change features. With my phone not being so reliable, I'd rather not have to rely on her to change phones and whatnot.
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Aug 28, 2009 22:20
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Country/Provider: US / Verizon Current Contract: contract expired recently Budget (phone/plan): free offers! Features: just need a phone Verizon is trying to get me to commit to another 2 year contract, so I'm getting offers for free/low cost phones. I don't care for my current phone (Motorola Krzr). Right now I could get the LG enV Touch for $50, or an LG enV3 for $30, or an LG enV2 for free. All I use my phone for is making calls, and occasionally somebody will send me a text message; I also use the alarm clock feature quite a bit. I don't browse internet/check email or anything else, but the option to play music from these phones is cool and something I would probably take advantage of. Is there any reason I would want to avoid any of these/or should go with one over another? The only reason I would bother considering the Touch model is the keyboard, but I can't really see any reason to go with the more expensive enV3 over the enV2.
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Aug 30, 2009 01:23
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Country/Provider: US / AT&T (but not bound to anything) Current Contract: Currently out of contract and probably not looking to renew. Budget (phone/plan): Phone - Around $250-300. Plan - <$30 per month would be nice. Features: Something slim and basic with a good organizer/daily planner. Not going to use it for Internet access or for taking pictures -- just calls and some text messaging. Unfortunately my Motorola Razor keeps shutting down randomly on me, so I'm in the market for a new phone. On average, I send/receive about 50 texts a month and use about 300-400min/month for calls. Just want something basic that looks nice, and that keeps the monthly bills as low as possible for what I use. Not really looking for a 2 year contract because I'm not sure if I'll be in the states next year, but not bound to AT&T for any particular reason. Also, I just got back from studying abroad in Japan for a year to find my mom paying $34 for only using 60-90 min/month. She only uses her phone for calls anyway, so I thought it would be wise to switch to T-Mobile's Pay As You Go plan and just buy a cheap $30 phone for her. Any other recommendations? Would a family plan between the two of us work better somehow?
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Aug 31, 2009 21:02
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Country/Provider: US / Sprint Current Contract: No contract, month to month @ $70/unlimited text/data w/300 Anytime Minutes, free nights at 9pm and weekends. Budget (phone/plan): Free (preferably) though looking to spend $50/75 per phone if it means it will be a quality upgrade. Looking to get on a family plan with unlimited text (data plan doesn't matter to me) for both phones while spending less than $120 a month. Features: Features don't really matter that much to me so long as the phone is serviceable. Keyboard would be nice/preferable on the phones but not a requisite. Here's the situation: girlfriend recently moved in with me and we're looking to upgrade to a family plan that we could both share minutes on (to keep things cheaper than two separate plans). Any advice? I've looked on most major carriers (Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, TMobile) and most are hovering at $99.99 or so.
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Aug 31, 2009 22:36
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My sister's phone on AT&T broke so she needs to buy a new one without having any sort of upgrade eligibility. I told her just to look for unlocked ones on eBay and she found the Samsung Sync http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38&_nkw=samsung+sync+unlocked. It's $55 so I'm assuming that's what she is expecting to pay. She just needs the phone to text and talk. Is there anything wrong with this phone or is there another one she should look at?
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Aug 31, 2009 22:49
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Spydey, you should definitely look at the Nokia E71-2. It's the thinnest QWERTY phone on the market, it's made of tough-rear end metal, it gets nearly a week of battery life thanks to the 1500 mAh battery, and it's got a full-blown "business" version of Nokia's S60 operating system with crazy Microsoft Outlook calendar and e-mail sync features. It's also got a decent WebKit-based web browser and will work with AT&T's $15/month data plan if you go that route. They run about $300-310 new (though a friend of mine who got an iPhone has his week-old flawless condition E71-2 on eBay, and I have it on good authority he'd pull the auction and sell it to a goon for $270 shipped  you know, if you're shopping or whatever).For your mom, T-Mobile To Go is definitely the place to be. There's no need to buy a new phone though, especially if she's happy enough with what she's using now. Have her call up AT&T and tell them she's going to be traveling and needs the unlock code for her AT&T phone -- poof, her AT&T phone is now unlocked, you can put a T-Mobile prepaid SIM card in it, and it's a T-Mobile To Go phone. Alternately, eBay up something respectable like a Nokia 6133 since that'll be cheap and it's a nicer phone than the $30 trash you'll find at Walmart. Gazaville Slugger, you're a  and a half. You're out of contract but paying $70/month for a worse deal than Sprint's current offerings. Start by not getting a trash "cheap" phone. Why would you pay fat money for a data plan and then not get a phone that properly takes advantage of it? Without question, you want the Palm Pre or the BlackBerry Tour: there's a thread here in SA's Coupons forum where a Sprint employee is handing out $1 Pres and Tours to anyone who signs a new contract. Get on that poo poo! (He can also get you $175 per line if you go to the trouble to port your numbers to a T-Mobile prepaid phone from Walmart and then port them back to Sprint) After signing up through the goon, be sure to slap the 25% Alliant discount on there (details in the Sprint/SERO thread here in this forum). You'll come away paying $52.50/month for unlimited data and SMS, 450 minutes, and 7PM nights. If you add a line to that for your girlfriend you'll end up paying something like $90/month, I think? Sprint's website is down right now, but it comes out to be a pretty good price -- you'll easily beat your $120/month target. KingKapalone, the Sync is okay enough but it's definitely a dumbphone. If that's absolutely all she's looking for, cool. Otherwise I'd suggest looking for a used Nokia E51 or Nokia 6120 but those could get out of her price bracket in a hurry and maybe she's looking exclusively for a flip phone. EDIT: Yeah, E51's moving at $113-150 and the 6120 is a bit north of that. At 55 bucks, the Sync's probably as good as anything else, I guess. kbar fucked around with this message at 09:48 on Sep 1, 2009 |
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Sep 1, 2009 09:42
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I currently have a SERO plan with two phones (myself and my 13 year old daughter). I need two more phones for two more people: My 15 year old son needs a phone now. He wants to be able to text a little, talk a little, but mostly just have a nice phone he can rely on. My 8 year old daughter needs a phone ... I'm a single dad, she's only 8, but trust me, she could probably use one in case she ever gets stuck at school or something. I was thinking of Virgin pay as you go for her. What I wouldnt give to have all four of us on SERO though at $160 with insurance (currently paying $80 or so with insurance on a touch pro and moto q). So I'm hesitant to get my son started on a contract if I'm getting my 8 year old one, but then she's too young to have a contract. I don't want to pay an arm and a butt, but I shouldve thought of that while SERO was available.
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Sep 1, 2009 19:38
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kalibar posted:Gazaville Slugger, you're a Thank you very much for the advice, kalibar - I've been told as much in another thread where I was asking for a good cell referral. I know I've been paying too much, I've been on this plan for a while and my contract just ended in July. Plus my lovely Muziq is dying (flipscreen goes black if I unfold it all the way, so I'm basically stuck with what looks like a retarded star trek communicator if I try to see what number I'm dialing). One question I didn't get answered though is how exactly to do a prepaid phone port - I've never done it before, and I don't know what's involved as far as hassle goes with canceling my account, porting the # to a prepaid, then signing up a new account. I would LOVE to take advantage of that Palm Pre deal. Is there a step by step guide for that? If I don't want to do the $1 Pre and would prefer to sign up for the SERO offer, can you recommend me a good other standard phone(s) that would be affordable for two people?
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Sep 1, 2009 20:03
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I currently have a Motorola Q9c with Verizon. Love the form factor of the phone. I love the service coverage I get, the data speeds are good, and the price is acceptable. HOWEVER...I hate what Verizon does to this and other phones I've had, and the Q9c fails me on almost a daily basis. Apps crash. OS freezes. Data is lost. Before WM 6.1 it would regularly require a master reset to unfreeze. I'm on my second because the first bricked itself out of the blue. Can't turn off the camera shutter sound. Text/tone input is laggy and prone to error. If I type fast it repeats and rearranges my input. Checking my voicemail requires several attempts because there will sometimes be a several second delay between pressing a button and it showing up/making the tone, if it does at all. It is the worst phone I have ever had the displeasure of using. I want unlimited everything but voice. That is what I get right now from Verizon for just shy of $90/mo all said and done. However, I can't tether it without paying another $30/mo (and using their VZW access manager, WTF?), and can't get GPS (AGPS?) without another $30/mo, which I think is loving ridiculous. So I'm open to switching providers too.
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Sep 2, 2009 03:27
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Sprint Everything 450 with Alliant discount, BlackBerry Tour, $1 deal in Coupons, done. Same thing I just told Gazaville Slugger minus the girlfriend part. Verizon is robbing you blind. Gaza: to port to prepaid you'll need to buy a $30 Walmart phone. Take it to the T-Mobile store and tell them you want to port your Sprint number to it. Sign up for the cheap Pre or Tour in Coupons and then port your number to Sprint (hopefully as a new customer, maybe someone else can verify for me if this won't work). Sell the Walmart phone on SA-Mart or eBay to recoup most/all of your $30.
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Sep 2, 2009 04:04
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- Country/Provider: US / AT&T - Current contract status: None currently. Will be using a family plan - Budget (phone/plan): $100 or less, after contract and rebate discounts - Features I know I want: Not many. I'd like a phone with longevity since I'm the type to hang on to them. I'll probably be texting often but call quality is also very important to me (on both ends). I'd like a phone that can put out some nice volume when I need it to. A qwerty keyboard would be nice but isn't a must if the texting shortcuts are well-implemented. I'm not a huge fan of touchscreens but if it performs well and it's a good fit otherwise I'll deal. A decent camera would be a nice bonus. I don't plan on ever using it for web browsing or listening to music. I'm probably indifferent about anything I haven't mentioned. In summary I want a durable phone that is good for talking and messaging. Yip Yips fucked around with this message at 20:10 on Sep 2, 2009 |
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Sep 2, 2009 09:23
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kalibar posted:Spydey, you should definitely look at the Nokia E71-2. It's the thinnest QWERTY phone on the market, it's made of tough-rear end metal, it gets nearly a week of battery life thanks to the 1500 mAh battery, and it's got a full-blown "business" version of Nokia's S60 operating system with crazy Microsoft Outlook calendar and e-mail sync features. It's also got a decent WebKit-based web browser and will work with AT&T's $15/month data plan if you go that route. They run about $300-310 new (though a friend of mine who got an iPhone has his week-old flawless condition E71-2 on eBay, and I have it on good authority he'd pull the auction and sell it to a goon for $270 shipped A nigerian scammer won my auction so I'm currently waiting for my fees to be refunded and junk, but if anyone wants to paypal me $270 along with their mailing address, there's a pretty good chance they might receive the phone as seen in that auction link! No joke! If anyone is interested, send a PM or msg me on AIM (sn in profile)*. If you're from nigeria, however, you should probably SHOOT YOURSELF IN THE GODDAMN FACE. And yes, the story in my auction about not getting ATT reception is a lie, I just didn't want to accidentally convince a potential buyer to buy an iPhone instead. *I would of course make an SA mart thread so you could enjoy the illusion of security provided by the feedback system on this forum. It's only fair!
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Sep 2, 2009 18:25
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kalibar posted:Gaza: to port to prepaid you'll need to buy a $30 Walmart phone. Take it to the T-Mobile store and tell them you want to port your Sprint number to it. Sign up for the cheap Pre or Tour in Coupons and then port your number to Sprint (hopefully as a new customer, maybe someone else can verify for me if this won't work). Sell the Walmart phone on SA-Mart or eBay to recoup most/all of your $30. That's the part that concerns me. If I'm not technically considered a "new customer" after I switch, then I've pretty much screwed any chance I've got at getting on the SERO plan or utilizing the Sprint discounts, right? 
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Sep 2, 2009 19:12
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I know this might not be the right place, but how should I go about canceling my service with Verizon without a working phone? I had a two-year contract, but it's been longer than that and my phone's dead.
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Sep 3, 2009 15:56
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I think you'd just login online, or call them from another phone and cancel. Or have a new carrier port your number if you're looking to hop carriers.
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Sep 3, 2009 16:40
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Tedronai66 posted:Sprint eprp will give 450 min + unlimited texts for 40/month. Not sure on phones though. Sorry for the late reply, but thanks - this is exactly the plan we went with. I'm a big fan of Sprint suddenly.
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Sep 4, 2009 01:18
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natedogcool posted:Sorry for the late reply, but thanks - this is exactly the plan we went with. I'm a big fan of Sprint suddenly. Which phone(s) did you end up getting? I'm having a seriously hard time deciding between a smartphone with Everything Data (450) and a good dumbphone for texting with just the messaging plan.
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Sep 4, 2009 16:41
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Tedronai66 posted:Which phone(s) did you end up getting? I'm having a seriously hard time deciding between a smartphone with Everything Data (450) and a good dumbphone for texting with just the messaging plan. I'm thinking that I might end up doing this too. Anyone heard anything positive about the LG Lotus or the Sanyo SCP-2700? Both have good full QWERTY and the SCP-2700 supports threaded texting, which is great. The Lotus is $29.99 with a 2 year agreement and the 2700 is free.
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Sep 4, 2009 17:01
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Tedronai66 posted:Which phone(s) did you end up getting? I'm having a seriously hard time deciding between a smartphone with Everything Data (450) and a good dumbphone for texting with just the messaging plan. It was for my Chinese friend, so we got the LG Rumor 2 because the slide-out keyboard makes it easier for her to text (and because she's a cheapskate, and the Rumor 2 was free after mail-in-rebate). If you're getting Everything Data, get the HTC Hero on October 11th... awesome phone! (And I only tell you that because I wish I could get one, but I'm on SERO and don't think I can get Everything Data without a huge monthly fee jump.)
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Sep 4, 2009 17:18
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kalibar posted:Gazaville Slugger, you're a My contract with Sprint expires 9/17 - is there anyway I can do this without being a -new- customer?
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Sep 5, 2009 18:25
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jerman999 posted:My contract with Sprint expires 9/17 - is there anyway I can do this without being a -new- customer? Just port to a prepaid service like tmobile or gophone, then sign up for it. Should work.
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Sep 5, 2009 23:37
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Country/Provider: US/ATT Current contract status: None, open to changing carriers. Budget (phone/plan): < $75 a month Features I know I want: - Phone's got to be able to sync a calendar. Apparently the iphone is the only one that supports caldav right now, but it seems like most phones support OTA syncml, which I can deal with. - Phone also has to be able to tether to a laptop and have a good data plan. Must support 3g. - Need to get a large number of text messages in with that monthly fee, but the cheapest voice plan is fine. The iphone and blackberry don't seem like they have a plan available for < $90 a month. I sort of liked the Pre that I handled in store, but I've read that the tethering ability may come or go depending on how Sprint feels and I'm not thrilled with the data collection they do. I've got a motorola flip phone with the $15/month unlimited data plan which works great, and if I could take the SIM out and put it in an N97 without having to change my monthly bill I'd be satisfied. I tried putting the SIM in a blackberry once and it didn't accept it, so I'm a little concerned that it won't work easily in an N97. Edit: Poking around Nokia's website shows there's a N97 mini and N900 that look like they might be what I'm looking for, too. Ninja Rope fucked around with this message at 10:08 on Sep 6, 2009 |
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Sep 6, 2009 09:47
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Ninja Rope posted:Country/Provider: US/ATT http://www.berryosfiles.com/downloads/BlackBerryTourPAMInstructions.pdf Sprint BB tour on EPRP or try for Alliant 25%off (10% if you cant, so only 3$ more/month than eprp, and you can get the tour for $1.) So anywhere from $53-63/month pre-tax.
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Sep 6, 2009 10:59
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Tedronai66 posted:http://www.berryosfiles.com/downloads/BlackBerryTourPAMInstructions.pdf That looks like a pretty good option, I'll have to go to a store and play with the Tour. Not all my laptops run windows, but I guess there are third party pieces of software that let you tether your BB to any OS. Too bad there's no built in way.
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Sep 6, 2009 21:43
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Ninja Rope posted:That looks like a pretty good option, I'll have to go to a store and play with the Tour. Not all my laptops run windows, but I guess there are third party pieces of software that let you tether your BB to any OS. Too bad there's no built in way. BlackBerry Desktop Manager is finally coming for Mac so you'll be fine unless you have Linux.
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Sep 6, 2009 21:49
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Provider: Verizon Wireless Features I desire: I would like to have an OS that isn't proprietary to Verizon, and I don't want windows mobile. I have heard that the PalmOS and Google OS's are pretty good. I need a decent web browser. It's really kind of important. I want to be able to install programs and addons that can be found pretty easy. (like turning the infrared into a TV remote for annoying restaurants that play baseball on their TV's where I want to watch the Cartoon Network.) I want to be able to (have the ability) to attach a dongle cable to connect to the internet. Maybe have EDVO2? More specifically it must have the ability for me to be able to watch youtube, update my twitter (like an idiot), and maybe check my gmail, facebook, and forums. (ie SA and a couple of others.) Phone designs I have liked/disliked: I mostly disliked my MotoQ because the qwerty keyboard had fat buttons and they were always getting pushed on accident. I like the design of my eNV2, however it's a piece of poo poo with the OS, support, and the ability to do poo poo... I am interested Smartphone or BlackBerry. I just have no idea on which one. I live out in the boonies, and I know jack, that is why I am posting this. I have very good / excellent reception out here under Verizon. Things I could give a poo poo about : I don't really care about minutes! I always get the lowest possible minutes and I don't think I have ever gone over. (Except that one time my mom called and I put the phone down for like 3 hours, picked it back up and she was still talking) I hate actually talking over a phone. If I could get away with a Palm Pilot with internet only. I don't really care about MP3's. If I wanted an MP3 player, I would buy one. I don't really care about bluetooth, though I hear that bluetooth is awesome for local file transfers. Everyone tells me to dump Verizon and get AT&T and get the iPhone; it is exactly what I want. I would love the iPhone, but I hate AT&T with a passion. Thanks in advance!
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Sep 6, 2009 23:26
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rahepsi posted:I am interested Smartphone or BlackBerry. If you want a Blackberry, you are overpaying if you're not on Sprint EPRP (see Sprint thread). Granted, you might be in a place where you're stuck on one provider. Check coverage maps for other carriers and see what they cover. If the only place you don't get coverage is home, Sprint will sell (or give if you complain and their maps says you should be covered) you an Airrave in-home cell site that uses your Internet connection and gives perfect coverage. Oh, and you want the BB Tour, the latest and greatest. If you want an iPhone, well, you already know what you're up against.
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Sep 7, 2009 15:15
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Hi, I read the FAQ but I'm still none the wiser, and I don't know how the info applies to England. I'm currently phoneless, and in my last year of university. I don't know how much I'll be using my phone, but analysing a 12-month contract I had in my 2nd year before studying abroad, my usage was around 60 minutes of calls a month and 200 messages a month before spring break, then from spring holidays onwards it halved to 20 to 40 minutes a month and around 100 messages a month (probably because of exam revision over the holidays, exams in summer term, then summer holidays where all my friends went back to their hometowns and I didn't really contact anybody much). I guess this indicates that my usage is fairly cyclical whilst I'm at university, which is putting me off getting a contract before I graduate and begin working. This is making me consider pay-as-you-go for the next 12 months and purchasing a cheap but decent phone to go with. I can always get that iPhone 3GS/Blackberry/HTC Hero when I'm a salaryman in the future! So: ・United Kingdom ・Contractless/Phoneless ・Preferably no more than £15-£20 per month ・Bluetooth for transferring photos and mp3's from my laptop would be nice, above all the usual (SMS/Voicemail/Camera/mp3 player)
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Sep 7, 2009 18:36
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Hey guys, need a phone. Current situation: My phone is an SPH-A640 (worst phone ever) and I'm currently on the Sprint network. I don't get any reception in my apartment or at work but everyone else does. So something needs to change. Paying $58 bucks for 450 minutes and 1000 texts Location: San Jose, CA - USA Provider: Anything with decent coverage. I'm OK to signing a contract. Plan: -Minutes: 300 or 450 minutes should be plenty -Texts : I average just under 500 texts per month It would be nice to have: Picture mail The world wide internets Phone Features: Must have: A QWERTY keyboard 3G It would be nice to have: Wifi GPS Hope that helps. thanks in advance
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Sep 7, 2009 19:32
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So I've narrowed my choices to either the Pre or the LG Lotus as far as a new phone goes. Here's what I'm looking at: 1. I'm okay with the Lotus being a "dumbphone". Really, I am. The vast majority of my communication is through texting and the Lotus seems ideally equipped for it with the QWERTY keyboard and threaded conversations - I am on a 300-minute plan currently and I use about 200-250 a month, max. I do occasionally browse the internet from my phone at work, so even if it was a sub-par browser (it is) I would be fine with that just to read news articles and check things like billing. Its pricepoint is also a drat sight lower at $29.99 rather than $199.99. I don't know how thrilled I am with it being another LG clamshell though, as the reason I'm even looking to upgrade is because my LG Muziq's screen is dying and my wall connector jack is now just a bare plastic covering.  But... 2. The Pre really intrigues me. It looks like it would be a very capable smartphone and I like that it's easily moddable/open to third party developers. I understand that it's not an iPhone, and it is a first generation product, so there will be some hiccups. It's also (obviously) a smartphone, and can do text and email just as well as the Lotus. But given the problems I've heard with the hardware of the phone - screen cracks, wobbly/loose slider, sharp edge to the bottom of the slider, and small/hard to use keyboard - I'm hesitating a bit. I've read through the Pre thread. It's also $160.00 more than the Lotus. I would be signing up for a new 2-year contract with Sprint, as I can't afford to plunk down $500+ on a set of new phones at the moment, and I've been relatively satisfied with Sprint's service. I guess the question I need to ask is - is buying the $199.99 Pre worth it if I dont do a lot of emailing/web browsing/calling from my phone? Time is, unfortunately, a factor, otherwise I would more than likely wait for the HTC Hero later on this year, but I can't. ex post facho fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Sep 8, 2009 |
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Sep 8, 2009 17:14
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Provider:AT&T, not the primary account holder Budget: $200 I just need a replacement for my rapidly dying Motorola Razer. My whole family got them a good number of years ago, and mine is the only one that's surviving, though I've cannibalized one of the broken phones for the screen I currently have on my phone. From what I understand, I can take out my sim card and put it in an unlocked GSM phone and have no problems. I don't really need much in the way of features. Needs to be: Relatively slim Somewhat durable I don't care about a full keyboard, or any keyboard at all for that matter. I'm careful enough that a touchscreen wouldn't get destroyed, but something defined as "flimsy" probably wouldn't last the 3-4 years that my old phone has. The Razer was nice because it's relatively thin and didn't get in the way. It survived 2 transmissions sitting on my leg, being dropped hundreds of times and I've used it as a hammer at least twice. e: I'm a huge nerd and really just need something that'll tide me over until I get something that will run Android. I can't imagine there's anything sub $200 that will. Hypnolobster fucked around with this message at 17:05 on Sep 9, 2009 |
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Sep 9, 2009 16:57
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If your line is out of contract and you want to renew, you could get an iPhone 3GS and sell it on eBay or SA-Mart for $600-700. That would give you plenty of money to buy a cool phone. $200 is dubious pricepoint. You're just past the dogshit phones and just below the good phones. My advice would be to save up some extra cash and buy a Rogers-branded HTC Magic off of eBay or HowardForums: it runs Android, you can put your SIM in it, and you can even get $15/month 3G data if you feel so inclined (as opposed to the $30/month data that will be absolutely required in the event AT&T sells an Android phone themselves someday). I feel like I've seen them in the $375 USD ballpark brand new, so used ones should run less. Don't spend $200 on a phone you'll end up unhappy with. EDIT: Alternately, if you really don't care about data (and are sure you won't ever care about it), don't mind the dumpy aesthetic, and aren't particularly concerned with future system updates, you can grab a used HTC Dream (branded as "T-Mobile G1") for $180-220 on eBay. EDIT2: In retrospect, prices aren't that bad. Just ran a search for Rogers HTC Magic on HowardForums, and found a guy selling a brand new one for $300 CAD ($286 USD, according to PayPal). So there you have it, you're $86 away from a brand new, decent Android phone -- save your pennies. kbar fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Sep 10, 2009 |
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Sep 9, 2009 21:10
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kalibar posted:I'm not sure if you have answered this question already, but what's your opinion of the Pre, Kalibar? I'm obviously going to stick with Sprint because of the EPRP plan and the family plan that I am going to get on, and the price has dropped to $150 rather than $199. Worth it, as far as a smartphone goes?
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Sep 9, 2009 21:28
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I really dislike the Pre, but I'm the wrong person to talk to about it -- I'm overwhelmingly in the minority. If it were me, I'd hold off until the forthcoming HTC Hero drops on Sprint. If you absolutely need a phone with a physical keyboard, the Pre is certainly a better choice than the LG Lotus (and it just dropped to $149.99). You need to reframe the way you look at this: you're going to pay $1,440 for Sprint service over the next two years. It'll cost you $1,470 to spend two years with a lovely LG Lotus, it'll cost you $1,590 to spend two years with a Pre, or it'll cost you $1,620 to spend two years with an HTC Hero.
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Sep 9, 2009 21:38
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kalibar posted:I really dislike the Pre, but I'm the wrong person to talk to about it -- I'm overwhelmingly in the minority. If it were me, I'd hold off until the forthcoming HTC Hero drops on Sprint. Ugh. I'm kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place for my phone choices then unless I want to sign up for a prepaid TracFone from Wal-Mart or something. I do really like the Hero, but the decision about the phone(s) need to be made within the next few days. Can you tell me what specifically you don't like the Pre? I keep getting this vibe that the Pre and webOS in particular are going to be dead platforms in 1-2 years time, which is making me really hesitant.
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Sep 9, 2009 22:01
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If you need to make a move right away, it doesn't make a lot of sense to sit on your dick for a month waiting for the Hero. There's always "something else" around the corner, and while I'm personally a big Android fan I don't think the Hero is going to really change wireless or anything -- it's just an attractive Android phone with a headphone jack. The Pre is a perfectly servicable choice. I don't like the Pre because I don't like Palm, and because I don't like the form factor. The OS is actually pretty cool, but seeing Palm in the driver's seat makes me uncomfortable since they pulled a pretty big hit and run with the last phone of theirs I owned (Treo 800w, released Sept '08 and end of lifed just a few months later with no software updates to fix critically broken issues). The Pre probably won't fall victim to the same trouble since it's such a high-profile device. And in spite of webOS being pretty slick, I find its existence irritating in general -- I would have much rather seen them license it for use on any device from any manufacturer, like Android has been. In its current form, it comes off as "poor man's iPhone OS" to me. If a customer wants a bunch of manufacturer-specific lock-in, they'll go with Apple who has at least done a phenomenal job with it. I wasn't a fan of the device's build quality and I hate the new gel-capped "Centro-style" keyboard they're using these days -- it's much worse than the old clicky keyboards they used on the Treos, and it seems to only exist because some designer told them to use it. I'd rather just smack a screen with my thumbs (iPhone, Hero, Magic) than put up with that type of keyboard. Also, I'm tired of phones that have slider mechanisms. Again, this is all really subjective stuff, and I'm completely in the minority on this. Compared to a lot of the poo poo you can buy today, the Pre is head and shoulders a better product. It's just not one I'd pick for myself.
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Sep 10, 2009 00:21
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| # ? May 12, 2024 13:06 |
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kalibar posted:If you absolutely need a phone with a physical keyboard, the Pre is certainly a better choice than the LG Lotus (and it just dropped to $149.99). You need to reframe the way you look at this: you're going to pay $1,440 for Sprint service over the next two years. It'll cost you $1,470 to spend two years with a lovely LG Lotus, it'll cost you $1,590 to spend two years with a Pre, or it'll cost you $1,620 to spend two years with an HTC Hero. Did you notice the BB Curve for $49? If you're in a crunch and getting EPRP, that's the best "need cheap phone now" deal, period.
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Sep 10, 2009 00:54
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