OT: Smart Phones

[Ti-Boy]

My old PDA bit the dust. I'm in the market for a smart phone. Most important to me is synching up with Outlook contacts/calender with good phone quality. I use Verizon as the carrier. Any recommendations/reviews?

[Too Tall]

Blackberry.

[Bittersweet]

Work provides me a Blackberry ("BB") and for personal use have an i-phone. Each has its pros and cons for what it is great at and what it is adequate at. Even though each is a phone, and each has a telephone number, I don't use the BB as a phone. When I put my work device down I want to walk away from it to create a work/home buffer, but this is obviously not a typical users approach.

What the BB is much better at is the auto-syncing of the email to Outlook. This requires software that is installed on your work system. The i-phone on the other hand doesn't register all emails sent/received on your desktop/laptop as well as on your handheld. Tech guys chime in on why this is but my understanding is something about push vs. pull technology and that my i-phone is just looking for a POP account. For work I find a complete record of everything sent/received on all devices is key in order to maintain a proper chronology file in case something gets contentious.

Also if you are going to do a lot of typing on the handheld I find that the full qwerty keyboard of a regular BB is much better than a BB with two letters on each key or the touch screen of the i-phone. Hence for work I carry the larger format BB.

If it is critical to stay with Verizon then the i-phone is out.

The i-phone is phenomenal for all sorts of non-work stuff and blows the BB away on that stuff. Of course for an i-pod, but accessing the internet on a BB is a joke. Ask any true BB user and they'll tell you it is super slow, cludgy and everything is hard to read. Also the map feature on the i-phone is great. Getting to your answer is way quicker than going to a map site on your BB.

The i-phone is not subsidized by the phone companies and it is expensive. I can't comment on the Treo. My sister has it provided by work. She likes it but I am aware she has issues with it freezing up. You'll need to get a review from someone else.

Bottomline in my view is the BB is the best for email and good for a phone. Iphone is great for lots of other things and as a phone, OK for personal email but not for work. YMMV

[gt6267a]

My ex-g had a BB and the sound quality was not fun. At one point it was a long distance thing and I bought her a second phone because I disliked her BB that much. Of course, that might be model and/or service specific and I don’t have those details. I am curious to know if others perceive sound quality problems whether on or talking to people who are using a BB?

My personal phone is a treo 650. I like it but don’t love it.

[Bradford]

Originally Posted by gt6267a

My ex-g had a BB and the sound quality was not fun.

I was required to get one for work this year and expected that, but the sound quality has improved dramatically. The sound on my new BB is better than my last cell phone. I have the Verizon World Edition.

[SWorks4me]

I have a Motorola Q. I like it. I don't love it. It syncs very nicely. I can view WORD, EXCEL, pdf, PPT. Easy keyboard. Windows OS. I use Sprint, but they are widely available through Verizon.

[saab2000]

When Apple enables the iPhone to sync with business applications better they will dominate that market IMHO.

Maybe they are just after the 'gadget' market, but if they go after the people who actually kind of need smart phones they will clean up.

I want an iPhone. But I don't have an iPhone....... Just the old fashioned RAZR.

[DarrenCT]

i'd get the blackberry if i needed to. the iphone seems more like a toy. an expensive toy at that.

how do u guys think the itouch will do?

same bad web browsing connection as the iphone?

[saab2000]

Originally Posted by DarrenCT

i'd get the blackberry if i needed to. the iphone seems more like a toy. an expensive toy at that.

how do u guys think the itouch will do?

same bad web browsing connection as the iphone?

I get Mac World magazine and there was a review of the iPod Touch in the latest issue. It is said to have not as nice (bright) a screen as the iPhone.

Anyway, why do you call the web browsing on the iPhone bad? Most people I have talked to rave about it? Gives real web pages, not wierd ones like on some smart phones. My limited use of the iPhone convinces me that it is the way to go for any other than strict business applications. They need to modify a few features, and I am sure they will, but I am an iPhone believer.

[Bittersweet]

Originally Posted by saab2000

I get Mac World magazine and there was a review of the iPod Touch in the latest issue. It is said to have not as nice (bright) a screen as the iPhone.

Anyway, why do you call the web browsing on the iPhone bad? Most people I have talked to rave about it? Gives real web pages, not wierd ones like on some smart phones. My limited use of the iPhone convinces me that it is the way to go for any other than strict business applications. They need to modify a few features, and I am sure they will, but I am an iPhone believer.

Agreed. I've had the iphone since July and still think it blows away anything I've every had or seen. I'm not a Mac faithful, or even a Mac owner, but needed a phone a little while after it came out. Now my wife and father both have them based on my experience and love it as well. The web browsing compared to any other handheld is night and day different. On a BB or Treo you'll spend 30 minutes just trying to get to this site for instance and then struggle if you want to post ( and we all know that is the most important activity of any day).

Is it a perfect device - no, and hence my first post. But Saab is right, that if they decided to make the email sync like the BB then it is the killer device. If you are daring you can add all sorts of cool stuff via the Jailbreak software and then it can have GPS, etc, etc. A friend has done this and if Apple would loosen its control the thing would be even more amazing. Completely customizable to do what you want.

[dauwhe]

I have the iPod Touch, and think it's wonderful. Note that it only connects to the internet via a Wi-Fi connection, so you can't use the internet features everywhere. But the screen is great, and I'm very impressed by the web capabilities.

That reminds me--I should listen to some music on it now. Hmmm. Tommy Flanagan? Henry Threadgill? 8 Bold Souls?...

Dave

[avalonracing]

Originally Posted by DarrenCT

i'd get the blackberry if i needed to. the iphone seems more like a toy. an expensive toy at that.

how do u guys think the itouch will do?

same bad web browsing connection as the iphone?

I've found that the people who call the iPhone a toy haven't used one.

The iPhone is far from a toy. I'm a real estate agent and use may phone non-stop (even in this slower market). I use my iPhone for email, to access the multiple listing service (great web browser), for emailing images to clients and for contact management. Last, but far from least, the phone interface is fantastic!

Also of note... There is almost zero learning curve. I handed it to a friend who had never seen one and it was able to use it like he had read a manual.

The funny part is that I don't even use the iPod functions. Even though I have thousands of songs in iTunes on my home computer I don't get into listening on an iPod.

No, I don't have Apple stock, and no, I don't work for Apple. I am just big on supporting innovation that makes my life better or easier.

[ThasFACE]

Originally Posted by Bittersweet

I'm not a Mac faithful, or even a Mac owner

I cannot stand apple and their overly smug advertising, but I have an iphone and really love it. As for the comments about the browsing, I agree that it's not perfect, but it's only imperfect when compared to a desktop. The iphone web browsing is seriously impressive for a handheld.

[SoCalSteve]

Originally Posted by avalonracing

I've found that the people who call the iPhone a toy haven't used one.
The iPhone is far from a toy. I'm a real estate agent and use may phone non-stop (even in this slower market). I use my iPhone for email, to access the multiple listing service (great web browser), for emailing images to clients and for contact management. Last, but far from least, the phone interface is fantastic!

Also of note... There is almost zero learning curve. I handed it to a friend who had never seen one and it was able to use it like he had read a manual.

The funny part is that I don't even use the iPod functions. Even though I have thousands of songs in iTunes on my home computer I don't get into listening on an iPod.

No, I don't have Apple stock, and no, I don't work for Apple. I am just big on supporting innovation that makes my life better or easier.

Just curious as to where the "business software" is on a iPhone..I sure cant find Outlook, Excel or Word, can you?

Come on, lets get real...Its a very nice "toy". Its not a business tool. Go into a Mac store and ask a salesman, he will tell you the EXACT same thing...

And, if not on WiFi, the Internet is truly sloooooow on an iPhone.

Oh, and it is quite large as well.

Try the new HTC Touch on Sprints new G3 network.
Small, fast, syncs up to all business software, fast, great easy to use interface...Now, thats a smart business phone.

To say the iPhone is a business phone is to say a hybrid bike is a race bike. They were meant for 2 different purposes, just like the iPhone was not meant for business.

Just sayin'

Steve

[avalonracing]

Originally Posted by SoCalSteve

Just curious as to where the "business software" is on a iPhone..I sure cant find Outlook, Excel or Word, can you?

Come on, lets get real...Its a very nice "toy". Its not a business tool. Go into a Mac store and ask a salesman, he will tell you the EXACT same thing...

And, if not on WiFi, the Internet is truly sloooooow on an iPhone.

Oh, and it is quite large as well.

Try the new HTC Touch on Sprints new G3 network.
Small, fast, syncs up to all business software, fast, great easy to use interface...Now, thats a smart business phone.

To say the iPhone is a business phone is to say a hybrid bike is a race bike. They were meant for 2 different purposes, just like the iPhone was not meant for business.

Just sayin'

Steve

Large? Have you held one? It is as small or or smaller than any Treo or Blackberry that I have held and it is thin too. I put mine it my pocket so I don't look like another geek with a phone clipped to his belt (sorry geeks).

As for business... I can open Word, Excel and pdf docs and use web based Outlook. Hey, so I can't create Excel docs from the road... Does anyone do this on their cell phone anyway?

In the end, I use mine for business all the time and it helps me make a very decent living... Therefore... It's my business phone of choice.