Talk to me about Blackberrys

Watch out for the Blackberry Storm. The clicking screens are the first thing to fail, just as you would expect.

You might be interested in a Windows Mobile pocket pc. There are a TON of apps out there for Windows Mobile. It comes standard with Microsoft Pocket Office, and everything syncs with Microsoft Outlook: tasks, notes, contacts, calendar. Pocket Excel is really handy for calculating grades.

The Verizon pocket pc's run off a standard phone plan, so if you don't need email and internet on the go, you can opt out of the ~$40 unlimited data plan. I have an old XV6700 that I run w/o the unlimited data plan, since I have campus-wide Wifi. Without the data plan you pay $1.99/mb, and I have a program that blocks data connections, so program's don't randomly connect and run up a bill.

Duke wrote:

billy3esq wrote: What about the dated-ness of the Palm OS bugs you?

I was wondering that myself, since he immediately goes on to say he doesn't need whizz-bang features. other than what the Palm offers. I'm in pretty much the same quandary; I'm fairly stuck with Verizon for decent coverage and I'm heavily Palm-based. I'm excited about the Pre because there's else nothing on the horizon to replace my Treo, which is luckily soldiering on well after 3 years or so. My main problem is the utterly nonexistant Macintosh support that Palm offers for the Desktop software.

I've said many times the iPhone is a real game-changer, but I'm following that Palm Pre fairly closely. Palm has some neat ideas packed into that thing. I'll be interested in seeing how it does. Google's Android platform is worth watching, too.

I use a Blackberry Curve for my primary phone. I have a BB 8830 World Edition.

I like the curve for what I use it for. Email, internet, phone. The speakerphone works very well for me. Email support is just as good. I installed Google Maps on it for navigation. My Curve has Wifi ability so it can latch on to wireless access points in areas that don't have good cell reception. It works pretty well. It works much better if I'm I'm able to use Quality Of Service (QOS) settings to give it's traffic priority on the wireless network.

The downsides to the Curve are it's small keys and screen. But I liked the size of it so it's a trade-off. It's rugged as well.

The 8830 is very different from my Curve. Larger screen therefore larger icons and text. The buttons are also larger. They both have Qwerty keyboards but the curve's smaller size means the buttons are tiny. The 8830 has decent sized buttons. The 8830 does not have wifi connectivity but does use the Verizon CDMA 3G network when it's available. Otherwise it drops back to whatever access it has. Speakerphone and such on the 8830 is just as good as the curve.

I'm like you. I don't play games. I don't really listen to music on them. I have an SD Card in my Curve but rarely use it for more than transporting data between pc's.

Since they're BB's they both sync with your computer. They each come with BB's own application to back them up to your pc. I haven't used one with outlook as I use Gmail for all my email. I use Google Sync on my Curve to update my Gcalendar online with my phone. They're always in sync with each other. That way I can update my phone calendar in the car and it's on the web calendar instantly. That or I can update my web calendar at the pc and I know it will be on my phone, sending me reminders not matter where I am.

I think a Blackberry is for you. If you don't mind the size of the 8830 and don't need the wifi ability I'd get that model.

jrw1621 wrote:

fiat22turbo wrote: . I'd say the Palm Pre or the HTC G2 (the Verizon versions of them anyway).

The Pre is likey not a good choice since it is not planned to be available for a few months and when it does become available it will work on Sprint only for about the first year. http://www.phonescoop.com/news/item.php?n=3796 I can find no evidence of a HTC G2. Can you give more info?

fiat22turbo wrote: . BTW, the iPhone is available on CDMA in Japan....

I believe that the Japan version is WCDMA, not CDMA and though only one letter different they are not intercompatable. http://www.phonescoop.com/glossary/term.php?gid=104

From an earlier post: HTC G2 HTC G2

HTC G2: Also a GSM only unit and not a choice for the Verizon network.
From article:
"...but recent FCC filings indicate it is likely to come to the U.S. soon with T-Mobile as the telecom carrier."

As others have commented, the Curve is likely a very good choice.

The reviews from the Pre are very good and people in the industry that I speak with that have actually touched the unit have only wonderful things to say about it. But...for this instance it will not be a good choice for you. The Pre will be dedicated to the Sprint Network-only for about the first year. Sure, maybe you could get your hands on one (when they actually come out) and hot-rod the software to accept Verizon but then you may have some functionality issues and certainly no warranty.

Alonso wrote: My current blackberry's trackball wont scroll down, which makes life hard when it depends so much on the track ball.

The trackball on my Pearl did the same thing after about a year. I was able to buy it some more time by removing it and cleaning the gunk off the rollers (like cleaning a scale model of an old school mouse). When that no longer worked, I bought a replacement online for ~$15 shipped.

I have a Curve, also. Love it, other than battery life. I got spoiled with my Treo 700w that would last all week with no problems, but even with the Curve set to automatically turn off every evening and then back on in the morning, I can only get 2 days out of it before needing a recharge. my wife's Storm lasts longer. And now that she's got it updated, it's a really good phone. She also like the stuff from the new Blackberry appstore...

The only thing I didn't like about the Treo 700w was the bulkiness and the silly stubby antenna that always got caught in my jacket pocket. The Curve fits into pockets very nicely. Other than that, however, I really liked the Treo...

Hmmm my Curve would last most of the week with fairly heavy use. You may want to check into your battery.

Who is the provider for your wifes Storm? I was unaware that any of the US providers had pushed any of the updates yet.

It's all verizon, and she got a couple updates since she's had it. Seems to work good, though one of the games she got the other day tends to interfere with the app that turns it into a bubble level... lol!

I'll have to ask the Verizon store about the battery issue. As it is, it's the only thing that pisses me off about the phone.

Tim Baxter wrote: I've said many times the iPhone is a real game-changer, but I'm following that Palm Pre fairly closely. Palm has some neat ideas packed into that thing. I'll be interested in seeing how it does. Google's Android platform is worth watching, too.

I'd love an iPhone, especially since we're Mac-based, but I really have a problem with almost anybody except Verizon, just due to our network coverage in this area. Most of my wife's coworkers have to go outside for cell phone reception on other networks, but she gets decent strength at her desk.

Unless Cingular has upped their presence in this area.

Yeah I would check with them and see about the battery because my Curve had way better battery life than my Storm but I kinda figure with twice the screen size the Storm will suck down a bit more juice.

Can you find out which firmware she has on the Storm for me? I know there is suppose to be an update coming but my phone came with .75 which still has some problems.

Anybody using a samsung instinct? I currently have a palm treo, but i'm eligible for a new phone..

billy3esq wrote: Verizon used to have a Windows Mobile smart phone that was a regular flip phone form factor.

You might be talking about my Samsung SCH-i600, which was one fo the very first smartphones and to the best of my knowledge the only flip phone one. I've got 3 of them now, spares and backups and such, and used the phone exclusively for the last year and a half with no real complaints except size with the extended battery and volume. My employer didn't allow camera phones until just a couple of weeks ago, and it was just about as nice as I could get without a camera. I actually swapped between it and my new phone every weekend for about a month.

My current phone is the HTC 5800 (sold here as the Verizon SMT5800) and I've been pretty pleased with it overall. Still a bit lacking int he volume department, but a good bluetooth headphone can make up for that now. It's a medium-sized phone, not as big as most PDA phones but not as small as most flip or slider phones, so that may or may not be for you. Features wired stereo headphone and bluetooth connectivity, though, and a mini SD card slot, so it's super easy to use it as a music or data storage device.

I love my blackberry... when it's working right.

ManofFewWords wrote: Anybody using a samsung instinct? I currently have a palm treo, but i'm eligible for a new phone..

I have no personal experience to share about the Instinct since I have never used on but...
The Instinct is due to be replaced with a newer version very shortly.
Here is an online review and comments about the new vs old version http://www.phonescoop.com/articles/article.php?a=262&p=1958

Since the Instict is a Sprint only device, the big news to you may be the Palm Pre. It is being well reviewed (and commented about here on this thread. It should be out on Sprint only very soon. Here is some video about the Pre:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiQzCd2OnoM

Thanks!

How does the Samsung Omnia compare to the BB Storm?

driver109x wrote: How does the Samsung Omnia compare to the BB Storm?

The answer to your question can be found here in chart form:
http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/compare.php?id%5B%5D=1773&id%5B%5D=1864&id%5B%5D=&id%5B%5D=&id%5B%5D=

Also be sure to read the user reviews for each model. The link is in the 4th line of the chart.

Edit:
Okay, the link above appears to not be working. Follow these steps:
www.phonescoop.com
Once there search Omnia in the top right box
Click on that phone
When the page opens for the Omnia, under its picture will be a link to "compare side by side"
Click there then enter "storm"
This should take you to a nice chart.