Help me with a "smart phone" purchase

[lazydazy8]

I would love an Iphone, but hear they are the most expensive to get service for. I would really like a phone with internet access, but am just starting to look into my options. I am not apposed to going with a cheaper phone and buying an Itouch for my internet option.

Please tell me what you have done/liked/hated, etc.

TIA!

 

[crazelion]

I love my Samsung A737. I have internet access that I use everyday. It's hard get phone out of my hands. I pay 15.00 a month for unlimited internet access. It's a mp3 player so I can take my music with me every where. Do does have TV access but do not have that service.

I do not text so I can't help with that part.

I want a new phone now I want the either LG Xenon or Samsung Eternity.

 

[lazydazy8]

Thank you, Crazelion!

If anyone else uses a smartphone and can offer any advice, I'd really appreciate it!

 

[btgandar]

Well, I just got the Blackberry Tour and LOVE it so far. I really wanted the iphone, but was under contract with Verizon, plus I get a discount through work with Verizon, so it was hard to justify the switch to AT&T. I have my personal and work email on the berry, plus browser capabilities. It also has a pretty decent camera built in, plus all sorts of other buttons that I haven't even figured out yet There are quite a few free apps to download too. So far it's meeting all my needs. As a matter of fact, on Sunday we were waiting for our son's football game to start, DH spent the time happily browsing sports pages (this after he sorta made fun of the berry!) The Tour gets my vote!

 

[jamounger]

Amazon has ATT phones(except for Iphone) for 1 cent with 2 yr contract today only. I think one was a blackberry.

 

[G's mommy]

My son just got the Blackberry Tour and he loves it also! I am thinking of getting one myself when my upgrade comes up.

 

[chyam]

I have the Palm Pre offered by Sprint...I absolutely love it! The screen everything about it...I am able to use the internet very easily....even Facebook and my hotmail acct.

 

[actionvaughn]

I have an iPhone myself, and I wouldn't trade it for anything out there. I know there are probably plans out there that are cheaper but I've tried quite a few of my friend's phones, (Intinct, Palm Pre, etc) and they can't match up to the iPhone at all. It's worth the extra money, in my opinion.

Also, one of the downsides to getting the iTouch and the cheaper phone is that you won't be able to have internet access at all times like you would the iPhone.

 

[robinb]

You're right to look at the phone/data plan. That is the most expensive part of the whole thing. Many people concentrate on the cost of the phone and miss that the service plan is too expensive. You might spend a bit more on one phone over another, but if your plan is more expensive you will spend more over the two years of your agreement for a phone you will not be as happy with.

I have an iPhone. When I purchased it I was out of contract with Nextel and could go anywhere. I found that the voice/data plans were just about price fixed across the board ... and some plans were even MORE expensive than the plan for the iPhone. I'm not much of a talker, so the 450 minute plan (with roll-over minutes) has worked quite well for me. As for my phone, it was $200 but if you prorate that over the two year contract it's about $8.30 per month. I have to tell you that I LOVE my iphone and it is worth an extra $8.30 per month over my DH's Blackberry Pearl hands down.

 

[RedPanda]

If you can stand to wait--especially when it's not a sure thing--Apple's contract with AT&T is set to expire in June 2010. There's a lot of speculation that the iPhone may become available with Verizon (and possibly other carriers), but there's no guarantee that they won't renew exclusively with AT&T. I think availability through Verizon is the only way I'm ever likely to get an iPhone, since we like the free calling with family/friends who are on Verizon (as most of ours are).

On smart phones in general, I work with a lot of them, and most of them drive me nuts! Too many features, not enough actual phone. My most important phone feature is battery life, since it does me no good if it's dead, and most of the smart phones I've seen have no lasting power when you use their fancier features!

 

[kathyell]

I have a G1 with T-Mobile and I love the phone and my experiences with T-Mobile so far. There are way more apps available for the G1 than I thought there would be. There's even a theme park ride wait times app available on the G1 now.

 

[skgtechnologies]

I'll go for the Iphone 3gs, it is packed with all the features you need. IMO, it's worth every penny.just my 2 cents

 

[WendyisDarling]

If you can stand to wait--especially when it's not a sure thing--Apple's contract with AT&T is set to expire in June 2010. There's a lot of speculation that the iPhone may become available with Verizon (and possibly other carriers), but there's no guarantee that they won't renew exclusively with AT&T. I think availability through Verizon is the only way I'm ever likely to get an iPhone, since we like the free calling with family/friends who are on Verizon (as most of ours are).

On smart phones in general, I work with a lot of them, and most of them drive me nuts! Too many features, not enough actual phone. My most important phone feature is battery life, since it does me no good if it's dead, and most of the smart phones I've seen have no lasting power when you use their fancier features!

I have also heard it is rumoured that the iPhone may be available with other carriers in Spring/Summer 2010. Hard to wait that long.
I use Verizon because it is the only carrier with decent coverage where we live. No other option. DH has a Blackberry of some sort supplied by employer and he really likes it, it seems his battery is always going dead--which I hate, so hard to get in touch with him.

I have also been considering a smart phone, but the plans are so expensive. DS has an iTouch. I played with it yesterday. True you won't always have a connection, but I can live with that. Pretty nifty device. I'm very much considering going that route and keeping my regular cheap calling plan.

 

[momof2OH]

I have the Blackberry Storm (Verizon) and I love it! No problems at all! Takes great pics and video too (for those times I forget my reg. camera/video camera)

 

[SuzanneSLO]

My DH and I bought Iphones in June and would not think about switching. We get a discount on our ATT service becase I am taking a class as the local college. As a reuslt, our service is about the same price as it would have been if we stayed with TMobile.

There have been rumors for a while about Iphone being available for Verizon customers, but the current Iphone will have to be reengineered to run on the Verizon network since the Iphone is designed for a CDMA networks and Verizon is a GSM network.

I have a co-worker who bought an Iphone in June but does nto have reliable ATT service at his house. Not surprisingly, this is a source of continual frustration for him.

We have an Apple store very close to us and we love the access to classes and technical help this gives us. -- Suzanne

 

[dawson5]

Here is a different side to the smartphone:

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=2888&tag=nl.e101

I have an HTC touch, it's a nice little unit that does a lot of things well except being a phone, which defeats the purpose of owning it. I can't wait to get a new phone. Hubby has the instinct, not enamored with it either. The reception on both are horrible inside the house. The sound-quality is horrendous. Both his and mine are touch screens, I do not like texting this way. I would rather have the full QWERTY keyboard, that is me though. He hasn't said one way or another if he likes to text this way, he rarely texts.

 

[PeterBanning]

My wife has the iPhone, I have a BlackBerry Storm. Our plans are close to the same price. While I love my Storm, I have to admit the iPhone is a better phone, mostly because of the available apps and speed of the iPhone. BlackBerry is supposed to be releasing a new Storm this fall which I'm sure will make it perform better/faster.

All that said, CHECK ATT&T COVERAGE IN YOUR AREA! Everyone I know that has an iPhone where we live has frequent problems with dropped calls and poor call quality. My wife is to the point where she wants to sell her iPhone so she can switch back to Verizon. Don't trust the coverage maps that ATT&T publishes either. Ask people you know with ATT&T how reliable the coverage is. If you determine you're OK with ATT&T, go for the iPhone.

 

[justcantwait]

We just got a deal on our Blackberry Tours from Verizon. The phone lists at $249, was on sale for $149, then a buy 1 get 1 free promotion was going on, and there's a $100 mail-in rebate. So, the grand total for 2 Blackberries was ... $49! Just got it Monday, but so far, I love it! I've been on it a LOT for the past 2 days and just had to recharge it. Once the novelty wears off a little, I'm sure the battery will last even longer. LOVE Verizon and didn't want to switch. I have a friend who works for Verizon and he doesn't think they'll be getting the iPhone. 2 different types of networks (G3 vs CDMA) so Apple would have to make a new phone just for Verizon users. And Verizon is too much of a control freak. IPhone users can't get customer service on the phone itself from AT&T, they have to go to the Apple store. Verizon doesn't want their customers to have to do that. So, long story short, have the BB Tour and love it so far. If you can get a deal like I did (BTW you have to call them directly and order over the phone), it's WELL worth $25 a phone! HTH

Kathy

 

[clutter]

I have an iPhone. When I purchased it I was out of contract with Nextel and could go anywhere. I found that the voice/data plans were just about price fixed across the board ... and some plans were even MORE expensive than the plan for the iPhone. I'm not much of a talker, so the 450 minute plan (with roll-over minutes) has worked quite well for me. As for my phone, it was $200 but if you prorate that over the two year contract it's about $8.30 per month. I have to tell you that I LOVE my iphone and it is worth an extra $8.30 per month over my DH's Blackberry Pearl hands down.

I agree wiith everything here. ATT is one of the few services that still has only 450/month. That's plenty for my dd, me and my dad. When it's not enough, I've got rollover minutes built up. That said, ATT has decent service where I live. I tried a touch screen LG phone with a QWERTY keyboard. It was trash. I LOVE my iPhone.

 

[Mersmom98]

I just got TMobile's new MyTouch & I LOVE it!