Time for a new cell phone... massive selection!

[mrsilv04]

Yes, I saw the Droid thread. No, I don't need anything like a Droid phone.

***********

It is time for a new cell phone. I've carried the same phone since January, 2008. I've been very pleased with my Motorola RAZR, but it is getting difficult for those on the other end to hear me, and it seems to be getting worse.

I'm a Verizon customer, and I've been pleased with their service. Plus, I get a 20% employer discount on my airtime with them.

Since I don't have a land line, this is the only phone that I have.

I haven't shopped for a phone in three years now. I went to Verizon's website, and was stunned with the selection of phones that are available. It looks like there's about 50 for me to choose from.

I'm a little overwhelmed. What features do I need to consider, with a new phone? One that is water-resistant would be nice, as I do occasionally get caught in the rain while travelling on the motorcycle.

I've always been a Motorola guy when it comes to phones. What other brands should I consider, or stay away from?

 

[beanoil]

Move up to Droid. It will double as a GPS on your bike, can stream audio to a Bluetooth in your helmet, along with GPS directions, and has a couple hundred thousand apps to make your life easier. Makes phone calls too.
Seriously, the Droid platform does so many things, that if you use anything other than basic phone communications, it's a major player. As of yesterday, you can now get IPhone on the Verizon network, so Verizon can compete better with AT&T. If you are in a position to switch, Sprint has the all you can eat everything that includes 1400 minutes of cell to landlines. If you get 20% off Verizon, it's likely Sprint is in that deal too... at least with where I work it is. That 55.00 a month for access with Sprint begins to look pretty good for what you get.

 

[SLCraig]

I like Sony Ericsson phones. I also do not use a smart phone and could not care less. I text and make and receive calls. Anything else is a computer as far s I'm concerned. I have a C510 and I love it. I went to this phone from a Razr ([censored] battery life)
SE phones have excellent battery life.

 

[sangyup81]

Get one of the tough phones since you're a biker.

Go to Verizon wireless, click on phones, feature phones and select the ruggedized features under more features. For reviews on which is the best, I like phonescoop.com

 

[JHZR2]

I liked my razr. I had enough need for a smartphone that it was justified and I love my iphone. Not sure if you HAVE to buy a data plan for the droid phones the way you do for an iphone.

Ive always liked Nokia. I liked Ericssson pre-sony. Anymore not as much. Samsungs are ho-hum (have never touched one of their smart phones). My last one from work was slower than any phone Ive used, and I didnt like it.

Id look for a motorola or nokia. Whichever is free.

Bummer Verizon does not use sim cards. Otherwise you could just pick one up off of ebay and change it. Not quite as easy on Verizon...

 

[rshaw125]

Originally Posted By: beanoil
Move up to Droid. It will double as a GPS on your bike, can stream audio to a Bluetooth in your helmet, along with GPS directions, and has a couple hundred thousand apps to make your life easier. Makes phone calls too.
Seriously, the Droid platform does so many things, that if you use anything other than basic phone communications, it's a major player. As of yesterday, you can now get IPhone on the Verizon network, so Verizon can compete better with AT&T. If you are in a position to switch, Sprint has the all you can eat everything that includes 1400 minutes of cell to landlines. If you get 20% off Verizon, it's likely Sprint is in that deal too... at least with where I work it is. That 55.00 a month for access with Sprint begins to look pretty good for what you get.


I have another Droid story. This morning I am riding in heavy traffic and my phone rings.I reach for it and realize quickly that there is no way I can answer it. Too complicated. I could answer my old phone without looking at it. keeping my eyes on the road.Droids are a great device if you're sitting comfortably in your recliner. in the real world it is lacking.

 

[xxch4osxx]

" I also do not use a smart phone and could not care less. I text and make and receive calls. Anything else is a computer as far as I'm concerned." I totally agree, no need for a "smart" phone. If I need to use the internet, I will do it when I get home, lol.

 

[PandaBear]

Most of the non smart phones these days are very good, just check review online and see. My understanding is for the RF reception Motorola and the Koreans (Samsung / LG) is the best in CDMA and Nokia is the best in GSM.

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: rshaw125
Originally Posted By: beanoil
Move up to Droid. It will double as a GPS on your bike, can stream audio to a Bluetooth in your helmet, along with GPS directions, and has a couple hundred thousand apps to make your life easier. Makes phone calls too.
Seriously, the Droid platform does so many things, that if you use anything other than basic phone communications, it's a major player. As of yesterday, you can now get IPhone on the Verizon network, so Verizon can compete better with AT&T. If you are in a position to switch, Sprint has the all you can eat everything that includes 1400 minutes of cell to landlines. If you get 20% off Verizon, it's likely Sprint is in that deal too... at least with where I work it is. That 55.00 a month for access with Sprint begins to look pretty good for what you get.


I have another Droid story. This morning I am riding in heavy traffic and my phone rings.I reach for it and realize quickly that there is no way I can answer it. Too complicated. I could answer my old phone without looking at it. keeping my eyes on the road.Droids are a great device if you're sitting comfortably in your recliner. in the real world it is lacking.


Bluetooth headset. It's as much a part of my safety gear as is my seatbelt.

I've found the same with my Droid phone. My Treo was that way as well, but I could answer that a bit easier than my Samsung Captivate. There is probably a setting for one touch answering that will make things easier. But since I use my headset, I don't really look too hard.

 

[hillclimber]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
Originally Posted By: rshaw125
Originally Posted By: beanoil
Move up to Droid. It will double as a GPS on your bike, can stream audio to a Bluetooth in your helmet, along with GPS directions, and has a couple hundred thousand apps to make your life easier. Makes phone calls too.
Seriously, the Droid platform does so many things, that if you use anything other than basic phone communications, it's a major player. As of yesterday, you can now get IPhone on the Verizon network, so Verizon can compete better with AT&T. If you are in a position to switch, Sprint has the all you can eat everything that includes 1400 minutes of cell to landlines. If you get 20% off Verizon, it's likely Sprint is in that deal too... at least with where I work it is. That 55.00 a month for access with Sprint begins to look pretty good for what you get.


I have another Droid story. This morning I am riding in heavy traffic and my phone rings.I reach for it and realize quickly that there is no way I can answer it. Too complicated. I could answer my old phone without looking at it. keeping my eyes on the road.Droids are a great device if you're sitting comfortably in your recliner. in the real world it is lacking.


Bluetooth headset. It's as much a part of my safety gear as is my seatbelt.

I've found the same with my Droid phone. My Treo was that way as well, but I could answer that a bit easier than my Samsung Captivate. There is probably a setting for one touch answering that will make things easier. But since I use my headset, I don't really look too hard.


How's that Captivate working out for you? I'm considering ditching my Razr for one. The reviews look good.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I like dumb phone that I can easily make/receive calls. If I want to go online I use my laptop, if I want to watch new/movie I turn on my TV/DVD.

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: hillclimber

How's that Captivate working out for you? I'm considering ditching my Razr for one. The reviews look good.


I'm not very good at typing on the screen. I used a Treo for years and really like having a real keyboard. If I had a different choice, I'd go with a phone that has both a nice screen and a slide out keyboard.

But since this was the only AT&T option for my company phone, that's what I have.

There are a few annoyances, but that will come with any phone. If I plug it into my computer via USB, it gets an IP address assigned to the usb0 port, and it corresponds with the address of my router at home, so it requires a reboot as I've not found an app that will allow me to take down an interface.

I've not rooted the phone since it's a company supplied phone. If I would do that, I could probably bring the interface down with a command in the command line.

But there is far more to like than dislike. The screen is excellent. I was even able to get the same app I was using to track my car gas and maintenance and transfer my data from my Treo.

 

[hillclimber]

Originally Posted By: javacontour
Originally Posted By: hillclimber

How's that Captivate working out for you? I'm considering ditching my Razr for one. The reviews look good.


I'm not very good at typing on the screen. I used a Treo for years and really like having a real keyboard. If I had a different choice, I'd go with a phone that has both a nice screen and a slide out keyboard.

But since this was the only AT&T option for my company phone, that's what I have.

There are a few annoyances, but that will come with any phone. If I plug it into my computer via USB, it gets an IP address assigned to the usb0 port, and it corresponds with the address of my router at home, so it requires a reboot as I've not found an app that will allow me to take down an interface.

I've not rooted the phone since it's a company supplied phone. If I would do that, I could probably bring the interface down with a command in the command line.

But there is far more to like than dislike. The screen is excellent. I was even able to get the same app I was using to track my car gas and maintenance and transfer my data from my Treo.


Hmm, an app to track gas and maintenance? Cool.

I've never had a phone with a keyboard so I don't know if I'd like that, or not. The buttons sure look tiny on most of them. I think typing on the screen would be OK, but that's something to think about.

Thanks.

Mark

 

[BearZDefect]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
Most of the non smart phones these days are very good, just check review online and see. My understanding is for the RF reception Motorola and the Koreans (Samsung / LG) is the best in CDMA and Nokia is the best in GSM.

PandaBear, my experience with Nokia in recent years is their cheaper phones are horrible - hard to hear, hard to be heard, etc. Once upon a time, perhaps around 10 years ago, Nokia made some of the best basic GSM phones. Not anymore.

I've found Samsung to be a mixed bag - a few gems but many duds. The percentage of duds seems to have increased in recent years.

Are these big companies riding on their respected names to sell lame products?

 

[meep]

i've had bad luck with my LG envy qwerty feature phone. 3rd refurb and gave up. can't use external keys/screen for anything. read verizon reviews, and all phones are strung with repeated failures regardless of new, refurb, whatever.

Most of the attn is going to the smartphones, but $30 a month surcharge, even if you have no intent for data use, is a racket.

M

 

[stranger706]

Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Yes, I saw the Droid thread. No, I don't need anything like a Droid phone.

One that is water-resistant would be nice, as I do occasionally get caught in the rain while travelling on the motorcycle.

I've always been a Motorola guy when it comes to phones. What other brands should I consider, or stay away from?


Based on these comments, I highly recommend a Motorola Barrage. Very simple, rugged, water resistant flip phone.

I beat the heck out of cell phones. Always have. Let me tell you, this is one tough phone. I used to have a fancy Samsung touch screen with full slide out keyboard. Man I hated that thing. It drove me crazy. So, last year I sold it online and got the Barrage. Its just your basic Motorola flip phone, made for use with the military. You can either get it through Verizon, or on Ebay.

 

[mrsilv04]

Originally Posted By: stranger706

I beat the heck out of cell phones. Always have. Let me tell you, this is one tough phone. I used to have a fancy Samsung touch screen with full slide out keyboard. Man I hated that thing. It drove me crazy. So, last year I sold it online and got the Barrage. Its just your basic Motorola flip phone, made for use with the military. You can either get it through Verizon, or on Ebay.


This is the phone that my Dad carries.

 

[The Critic]

My iPhone 4 has been a great device, and it will be available on Verizon's network on Feb. 10. The interface is incredibly simple and well-designed, and the apps work well in harmony with the OS. Get a $20 Otterbox Defender case for it, and you will solve nearly all durability issues.