The Official Cell Phone Junkies Thread

[BatMatt]

I have the X, the screen is definitely big but the phone is very thin, so thus very pocketable

 

[ComicChick]

Im really tied on what phone i want right now, im month to month right now with my motorola cliq (which already feels ancient thanks to motorola giving up on it) and im wondering if i should stick to tmobile and get the samsung vibrant or jump ship and get something else, i really like android especially now that there market is growing better and better everyday but then theres ios with the iphone 4 which is a quality phone and customizable to an extent only with the phone jailbroken, webOS is still going strong but i cant wait til they or ever release another palm phone.

So what do you guys think i should get? I know theres the droid x and evo, the incredible, but the 4.3 inch screens are a tad too much. Well im hoping you guys could help me out on deciding my new phone!

one of my friends has the vibrant and she loves it.
her roommate has the htc hd2 and has had to have one replaced. she's really not too happy with her replacement one at the moment either

 

[BatMatt]

The specs on the HTC HD2 are impressive, but it still in the end runs Windows Mobile, which is quite unstable, buggy, laggy, so I'm not surprised. I pretty much refuse to sell Windows phones at this point because the return rate is near 90%. We'll see if Windows Phone 7 is a viable platform or not

 

[knowsbleed]

I currently have a Sony Ericsson S001 8.1 megapixel Cyber-shot.

http://www.intomobile.com/2009/01/3...r-shot-phone-too-bad-its-a-japan-only-device/

Too bad I won't be able to use it if I go back to the US.

 

[War Party]

Ok I got a question, don't know if you guys have an answer for me or not. I currently have a HTC Droid Eris but I can't afford to pay the data plan now. So can I buy a basic cell phone, activate it in place of my Eris, and get a cheaper cell phone plan since the new phone isn't a PDA?

 

[BatMatt]

Ok I got a question, don't know if you guys have an answer for me or not. I currently have a HTC Droid Eris but I can't afford to pay the data plan now. So can I buy a basic cell phone, activate it in place of my Eris, and get a cheaper cell phone plan since the new phone isn't a PDA?

Yes, you can. If you don't have an upgrade, don't buy the phone from Verizon (cheapest full retail is about $200) but if you get one from ebay or 3rd party or activate older equipment the data plan will automatically fall off your account, assuming the device is a feature phone

 

[War Party]

Awesome and thanks for answering. My buddy is giving me his old phone. It sucks because I love my Eris, but I'm moving into an apartment in October and I can't justify paying the bill anymore.

 

[Raiden]

Im really tied on what phone i want right now, im month to month right now with my motorola cliq (which already feels ancient thanks to motorola giving up on it) and im wondering if i should stick to tmobile and get the samsung vibrant or jump ship and get something else, i really like android especially now that there market is growing better and better everyday but then theres ios with the iphone 4 which is a quality phone and customizable to an extent only with the phone jailbroken, webOS is still going strong but i cant wait til they or ever release another palm phone.

So what do you guys think i should get? I know theres the droid x and evo, the incredible, but the 4.3 inch screens are a tad too much. Well im hoping you guys could help me out on deciding my new phone!

I'm an Android phone user and I love my Hero, but if I have a choice I'd still get the iPhone (iPhone 4 if possible). iPhone imo is still the standard in which all other smartphones are measured against.

 

[BatMatt]

iPhone technology is usually behind the curve when its released, so I disagree. When it first came out it was revolutionary, but now each year they make a few tweaks here and there but nothing ground breaking (i.e, it took to 2010 for the phone to have flash, basic phones have had that for years)

 

[Kane52630]

Why you need a 'zombie apocalypse' phone

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/08/27/zombie.cell.phone/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motofone_f3

(CNN) -- You know it will happen someday: Zombies are chasing you down the street, groaning for your blood. You've been holed up for a week, and there's spotty cell service. It sure would be handy to request an emergency ammo drop from the black-helicopter guys.

No? OK, maybe there's a major blizzard. The power in your part of town goes out for days. Your landline is knocked out too. But there's still a faint cell signal from a couple of miles away. It would be no trouble to traverse that distance if there weren't eight feet of snow piled outside your door. You're running out of food and firewood. How do you call for a rescue?

So maybe the zombie apocalypse thing is a wee bit unlikely. But for emergencies, it still helps to have a simple, small, hardy backup phone that can make calls, send or receive text messages, and hold a charge for a very, very long time.

Yes, wireless networks often go down during disasters, but they also can come back online (at least in spots) before power has been restored to buildings. Or sometimes, voice service goes down, but text messages will still work. (During Hurricane Katrina, text messaging saved lives and was a key coordination tool for NOLA.com, according to Online Journalism Review.)

Or sometimes, wireless carriers or emergency personnel can set up temporary emergency cell towers within a few days.

But the battery on your regular cell phone may not hold a charge that long. So your nasty neighbor who won't share his drinking water might be chatting away to his daughter in Seattle while you're kicking yourself for not powering down your phone two days before.

A low-end, energy-efficient backup phone also can come in handy during smaller-scale emergencies -- if your car breaks down or if you just can't find your regular phone anywhere.

On the August 14 Engadget Mobile podcast (time stamp 50:35), co-host Myriam Joire (aka Tnkgrl) recommends the Motorola Motofone F3 as her preferred "zombie apocalypse survival phone."

This handset was designed primarily for users in the developing world, where access to cell signals and electricity can be very unreliable. It's available in the U.S. from many online retailers, in the $20 to $25 price range for an unlocked version -- one that operates on multiple wireless networks. This makes it an affordable part of anyone's emergency preparedness kit.

Joire's co-host Chris Zeigler advised Engadget podcast listeners, "Instead of spending $20 on a pizza tonight, go buy this phone."

Joire noted, "It's very refreshing to have a phone in your car that can only do three things: make calls, do text messages and set alarms. That's it! And the text messages are all lower case."

The Motofone F3 is a very thin (about 9mm thick) candy bar-style phone with a small e-ink display -- a technology with extremely low power requirements, since it mostly draws power only when the screen changes. The handset weighs just 68 grams (2.4 ounces). The charger is also very small.

Joire especially likes this phone's voice-prompting feature: "When you plug in a SIM card, it tells you to pick from three languages. When you pick a language, it asks you whether you'd like voice prompting. You should say yes, because then, for pretty much everything you do, you'll get walked through by voice. That's helpful because this visual interface is very minimal. The segmented OLED display is mainly just icons baked into the e-ink, hard to interpret."

According to Joire, the phone's lithium ion battery "lasts for a month or more on standby, with something like 200 hours of talk time." A 2007 GearDiary review of this phone reported the battery life as about two weeks. Neither estimate had been confirmed.

Joire was planning to take her "zombie apocalypse" phone to the Burning Man gathering (August 30-September 6 in the Nevada desert). While there's no official cell service in remote Black Rock City, some attendees may set up ad-hoc wireless networks. (Last year, a cell tower installed on private land near the festival proved highly controversial.)

Joire tweets at Twitter/tnkgrl, and you can tweet via text message, so it's possible she may tweet from Burning Man via her F3. Also, she plans to blog about her zombie apocalypse phone when she returns.

Whichever phone you choose as your emergency backup, get it ready to go. Put a SIM card in it -- and if prepaid, top it off with enough credit to cover lots of talking and texting. When you first charge it, condition the battery by letting it drain completely, then recharge it completely.

Make sure you top off the charge at least weekly. Store the phone with its charger in an easily accessible place, and maybe put some reflective tape on it so you can find it better with a flashlight.

Consult local, state and federal emergency preparedness agencies to find out which numbers you should program into the phone, for both calls and texting. Also, program in numbers for your family communication plan.

And of course, program in the numbers of your zombie apocalypse phone tree. Better to give them a head start early than a head shot later.

 

[Kane52630]

can anyone describe to me what is the difference between a locked and unlocked phone?

 

[KALEL114]

Some phones use a SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card. It is issued by a carrier and provides cell service by activating any phone it is put in. A locked phone will only accept a SIM from a certain carrier. An unlocked phone will accept a SIM from any carrier.

Example: I you are a Verizon user, but you like a phone from AT&T, you could purchase an unlocked version of that phone and simply put your SIM card in it.

 

[Marx]

...so smartphones still use sim cards?

 

[KALEL114]

Depends on the carrier. Sprint doesn't. I'm pretty sure Verizon and T-Mobile do.

 

[Marx]

Depends on the carrier. Sprint doesn't. I'm pretty sure Verizon and T-Mobile do.

Do you see how far out of the tech loop I am?

 

[ComicChick]

t-mobile does. i confirm

 

[FlawlessVictory]

Depends on the carrier. Sprint doesn't. I'm pretty sure Verizon and T-Mobile do.

Verizon doesn't. T-Mobile and AT&T use them.

 

[KALEL114]

Good to know. Thanks.

 

[BatMatt]

You can get an unlocked Verizon phone, but since only the global models have sim cards, basically what you would look for is a device with a "clean" ESN (electronic serial number). So if I use an upgrade, agree to the terms and conditions of the contract, but don't activate the phone on my line, I can sell the device as unlocked, because anyone can buy the phone and use it on their Verizon service

 

[camp Blood]

Should I get a epic 4g or a evo 4g

 

[BatMatt]

Really will come down to if you feel more comfortable with a physical keyboard or a touch keyboard. Each phone also has its own "feel" to android too. Evo has HTC's sense UI, and the epic 4G has Samsung's TouchWiz 3.0. Personally I like HTC's better, plus EVO is 2.2 right now, where you will have to wait for that on the Epic. Again, really would come down to what you feel most comfortable typing with

 

[Malice]

So what android apps do you guys have?

 

[camp Blood]

Thing is that i got used to a screen keyboard , right now I am typing this on my 32gb itouch

 

[KALEL114]

Should I get a epic 4g or a evo 4g

This is the decision I am faced with, but I have decided to go with the Epic. A few factors that put it on top of my list.

• The Super AMOLED screen is amazing. I mean you have to see it person before you make your decision. Absolutely stunning.
• The keyboard is important to me, because I plan on playing games on it. Not a fan of using touchscreen buttons with my Super Mario 3 or FFVII.
• Comes with a 16gb SD card comapared to the Evo's 8gb.
• The Hummingbird (Epic) processor looks to own the Snapdragon (Evo) in speed and handling a lot of things at one time.
• Although the Epic is a bit thicker than the Evo, it is actually lighter and smaller in length and width.

In the end I feel the Epic gives me what the Evo does, but with extras (the screen and keyboard). I do admit that I am very fond of HTC Sense. In fact it was the deciding factor when I chose the Hero over the Moment, but I can get over the blandness of it because of all of the extra goodies I get with the Epic.

 

[KALEL114]

So what android apps do you guys have?

I use a ton, but these are the ones I use the most.

Since I have to a bunch a multi-tasking, I have been using Vlingo a bunch. It is very precise and I have had zero issues with it.

I love poker so Live Hold'em is great. Best Free poker app on the market.

Shazam is great for finding out the name of that song on the radio.

Astro is a great file manager. I use it to save my apps to my SD card, although I cannot run them off of it (only have Android 2.1)

SportsTap is a great app to check on all sports.