I am due for a new phone in a few months and want to really do some research/get suggestions ahead of time so I know exactly what I want to get when the time comes. I trust the general tech-savvy-ness of DS and want to get some suggestions for some phones to check out and phones to avoid. By phones I am looking for a PDA/"smart"phone.

I have a relatively small list of requirements of what I'm looking for that I don't want to deviate from if possible.

They are:

Full QWERTY keyboard
Decent (at least 2-3MP) camera
Windows Mobile
Compact size (no more than roughly 4.5 in tall, 2.5 in wide, .5 in deep)
External memory slot (mini SD preferred)

Preferably worldwide compatibility, although this is by no means required.

I don't want to spend more than about $150 if possible.

Suggestions greatly appreciated!

Wow...that is the antithesis of the iPhone.

I guess I should have stated this in the original post, but I have an itouch so an iphone would be redundant in many ways. So yes, something other than the iphone.

Perhaps the Sony Ericsson Experia X1 would fit the bill...

Yes - Full QWERTY keyboard
Yes, 3.2 - Decent (at least 2-3MP) camera
Yes - Windows Mobile
Yes, 4.4 x 2.1 x 0.7 inches - Compact size (no more than roughly 4.5 in tall, 2.5 in wide, .5 in deep)
Yes, MicroSD support - External memory slot (mini SD preferred)



http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/corporate/...pecification/x1

Yo make uncle Carl henric happy.

Impossible. End of story. Unless you eBay it or something.

HTC Touch Pro... you can get it for 200 with sprint.

It has everything you asked for, and it has been getting rave reviews. (even if I just sold the one I picked up, heh)

If you must have Windows, go for anything from HTC. My favorite Windows phone right now is the SE X1 Xperia (the one NP mentioned, and also happens to be built by HTC.)

If you are willing to consider a different OS, I highly recomend the Nokia E71 and E63 (both are similar and use Symbian). If you have a lot of friends with Blackberries, you might want to consider that too.

HTC Diamond is what I have right now... I am really happy with it.

The Experia has gotten some great reviews, but I'm pretty sure thats waaaaay over his budget.

They're selling for something like $750 here, and they haven't been available long enough for someone to pick one up cheaper second hand.

Yeah...as much as I'd love an Experia, it's expensive as shit. As far as the $150 goes, it's not set in stone. I just don't want to pay anything ridiculous (i.e. $700 for an Experia). I am definitely considering a Blackberry, and the HTC's from Sprint are tempting, but Sprint would have to do something about my $100/month phone bill currently to make me renew my plan with them. I'm considering a switch to Verizon, in which case a Blackberry would make the most sense IMO.

Any other suggestions? I appreciate those thus far...

Unless you're not planning on getting data or if you enjoy sodomy in the form of a monthly unlimited data plan bill, don't you even dare.

...elaborate? Do/did you have Verizon?

I'm guessing he's talking about the bill for the BlackBerry services...over here it's a flat rate. I've been thinking about picking one up, as it's DSF (Dubai Shopping Festival), and there are some great deals around.

Have. Shoot me. I've resorted to not evening paying for unlimited data on EVDO and just using WiFi. My current phone has it, my next phone will have it, and until I no longer am on my family's plan in Verizon, I'm going to continue this trend.

the only thing I can say to the verizon's defense is that their service has been impeccable for the last 3 years that I had them (including the six months that I have had it with the crackberry).

That's really all they're worth to me too.

So basically they're data plan is just slow? Or not available in lots of places? Or what?

It's pay-through-the-nose expensive and not really amazing compared to what other companies have to offer. $30 a month for unlimited data? No thanks.

i have the htc touch pro with sprint and i'm pretty happy with it. battery life sucks balls though. i paid $300 for it on ebay when they had the 30% off promo through live.com

That WILL be my next phone. So, so sexy. How do you like the features? It's got that TouchFLO 3D thing going for it, yeah?

Its slow. Their Verizon special browser sucks ass.

Stuff on the high-end smart phones is mind-bogglingly good, though, or at least what you can download. Skyfire. Opera Mobile. FTW.

I was just playing with the BlackBerry Bold over dinner, and I have to say I'm mightily impressed. The build quality is a big step up from the cheap plasticky feeling Curve and Pearl, though not quite up to my E71...if it weren't so damned expensive, I'd be tempted right now.

So I think I've decided that in order to really narrow down my phone choices I need to first decide on which provider I'm going to go with. I have had Sprint for a number of years now (can't really remember, I'm thinking 5ish though), and I've been impressed with their decent customer service and never screwing up my bill.

I am considering a switch to Verizon for 3 main reasons:
1) My girlfriend is on Verizon so free Verizon-Verizon minutes
2) Verizon gets better service in most locations in my area (although Sprint isn't that bad)
3) Verizon and Alltel are merging, so I'd have free minutes with my family

I'm considering staying with Sprint for 3 main reasons:
1) I like their customer service/lack of screwing anything up
2) If I'm not mistaken, they have better national coverage, which may be important after I graduate in a year or so.
3) I'm hoping I can talk them into giving me some kind of deal on a phone or plan if I agree to renew my contract with them

Both have a pretty decent line-up of phones.


So my questions are, has anyone had/does anyone have either of these carriers? If so, what are some positives/negatives you have had with both/either?

Thanks!

i like this one.. but it's not real yet.



http://i.gizmodo.com/5140211/dstl1-android...lacticas-iphone

I think I've decided I'm sticking with Sprint.

I think I've narrowed it down to a Blackberry, unless the prices of the HTCs goes down in the next 2 months.

The Blackberry Bold is rumored to be available at Sprint sometime "this quarter".

Does anyone have/had a Blackberry? Thoughts? Suggestions?

I'm leaning towards the 8330 (Curve) right now...I'm guessing the Bold will be significantly more expensive upon its arrival.

Personally, I think the build quality is pretty weak (especially considering how robust some of the older models were), and the interface isn't exactly great. But at the end of the day, you buy a Crackberry for the services, not really the phone. Initially I thought they were pretty cool, but I don't think I have a practical purpose for them, and don't want to be part of a worthless fad. I'll get a BB when I feel like I need one, until that day, I'm sticking to Nokia.

^A bunch of my friends are in government, and all use Blackberrys at work. Each of them goes through about three a year. I wouldn't buy a Blackberry without investing in a comprehensive warranty.

Hmm yikes. Honestly though, I can say I take exceedingly good care of my electronics. Sure, that doesn't stop certain things, but the Motorola Q I've had for nearly 2 years now doesn't have a scratch. If you picked it up off my desk and I told you it was brand new, you wouldn't question it. I would (and do) invest in the warranty for my phone.

I do feel like I make use of PDAs features (email, document viewing, media, internet, etc) quite often, so I definitely want to stick to those.

Anyone else have a suggestion for something different from Sprint?

When I said the build quality wasn't great, I didn't mean it in the same sense as Bjorn. I think BBs feel cheap and plasticky. They also pick up scratches and scrapes quickly and easily. However, most of my friends have them, and have had them for a while, with no issues whatsoever. Considering you really baby your phones, I think you're set.

Ok thats a bit of a relief. I'll just invest in some kind of protective cover for it.

http://gelaskins.com/catalog.php?Device=8&...gory=26&p=1



I have one for my iPod. Cheap and reliable. (And if its your taste, stylish as well).

I haven't been following this thread from the start but if you've decided to stick to Sprint, you might consider waiting for the recently announced Palm Pre.

http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/pre/#tab2

I've been paying close attention to the Palm Pre, and it's a fabulous piece of design, particularly the Touchstone charging dock. However, the absence of a memory card slot is a pretty glaring omission. I heard it was a design decision, but really, how hard is it to squeeze in a tiny microSD slot?

At this point I'm waiting to see if Sprint will be getting the new Blackberry Curve 8900. Fingers crossed they do. Their PDA line-up at the moment sucks/is outdated with a couple exceptions.