Well, my situation just got a bit worse...i lost my Treo while at a golf tournament yesterday Must have fell out of my pocket at some point. I left my info with the course but I don't know if I'll ever see it again. I'm just glad I didn't get a new phone on Monday (like I had planned) otherwise I would be ripping my hair out right now. Gotta go to the AT&T store later on to "fix" things. Looks like a new phone by default
Engadget has several good charts of AT&T's other offerings in smart phones and PDAs compared to the iPhone. It lays out plans, features of those plans and total 2-year cost including equipment cost.
iPhone comes out very well but it's only EDGE and on David Pogue's review, he cited some 2 minute loading times for some web sites using EDGE.
It really is too bad about mobile data networks. Yes Verizon has EVDO but what do they charge for that per month these days? Anyways, it has to be GSM since they plan to sell this all over the world.
I was also checking out prepaid plans in Europe where UMTS is suppose to be such a big deal. For prepaid anyways, it's very expensive to use UMTS data, it's all metered and the cheapest is like 1 Euro for every 4 MB downloaded -- when I load weather.com on my Nokia, it's like 700-800 kB.
wco81 wrote:It really is too bad about mobile data networks. Yes Verizon has EVDO but what do they charge for that per month these days?
I'm paying $55 a month on my BB, but that includes the $15 option to tether to my laptop...which is just phenomenal. Little steep, but worth it compared to At&t and T-Mobiles snail-like speeds. Sprint uses the EVDO network as well, and their pricing is better than Verizon's but their customer service is garbage and their coverage area isn't quite as good.
I think the one to look out for is WiMax, which Sprint has said they will start deploying this year.
I assume that is the Mobile version. But they're having to raise money with some partners.
Still, Intel is pushing WiMax and could include it in their chipsets, like they do with Wifi now.
The other thing is Clearwire is the big WiMax provider and Direct TV and Dish apparently cut deals so at some point, you figure the satellite services will offer a bundle with TV and WiMax for high-speed Internet.
Still not sure about latency on WiMax though.
I wouldn't have problems paying $55 if I could use that for my home and mobile use. But if you have to pay cable/DSL and then another $40-60 for mobile use, then the latter becomes an expensive luxury unless the company picks up the tab.
WiMax could offer one connection for everything (if it lives up to the hype) but Sprint and Clearwire are partnering with companies like Comcast, I believe, so I'm sure they will want customers to pay $50 for home and $50 for mobile, as well as any premium pricing on WiMax at first if it delivers the speeds and footprint promised.
Just got my Treo 680 and I'm happy so far. Just as I expected plus I ended up getting 15% off my monthly bilsl because I'm a teacher Whoda known! I transferred all my saved info via sync and it went smoothly. Saw a very cool kiosk showing off the iPhone. Looks like a very slick device.
How bad is Sprint's customer service to be considered better than Verizon's. Whenever I go to a verizon store to ask a question or something, I feel like I'm buying a car. They have improved a lot over the years. When I upgraded a phone two years ago, I remember waiting for 30-45 minutes just for service.
I think Verizon's voice network is just ok. Nothing great but in the west they have penetrated many places other companies haven't. Problem with Verizon is their prices blow. For 10 dollars more I will get an iPhone minus 50 minutes w/ unlimited data. (Ya ya, edge is slow). Verizon has improved their voice network but I think it could be better. A year ago, you would consantly get echos, static etc. I can say they did improve that.
I'm not worried the iPhone will be a bad product. May turn into a newton I don't know. I'm more worried about ATT. Not the best reputation when they were ATT then switched to Cingular. ATT's (then cingular) thing is the coolest phones, but I don't know how good their customer service and phone call quality is. I only had a work blackberry with them.
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Has anyone used or seen the T-Mobile G1? It runs the Google Android OS and looks damn slick... not quite as slick as the IPhone, but it does allow users to write code that runs in the background unlike the IPhone SDK. But it does not have a GPS.......
I was wrong, it DOES have GPS - My wife left her razr out in the rain so now the light stays on all the time and a couple of other things don't work correctly....
So, I asked her tonight if she wanted a blackberry.. she responded with, "you gonna give me yours and get that other phone "
Not going to be in ANY store within 2 hours of me do to the lack of 3g here.
Gonna order one and hopefully have it within a couple of weeks. I have been working with the SDK making a pretty cool app that hopefully will be ready to go by the time I get this phone.
Have fun sticking that banana in your pocket. The software is interesting as hell...the HTC hardware design is borderline atrocious. Who the F thought it was a good idea to make the bottom 1/3 flip up is an idiot.
It will hopefully at least part time replace my iTouch which I think is an oober slick device - if it does that, I will be pretty pleased.
The possabilities are endless with this thing as the OS / SDK is open - I have a blackberry now and there are some basic features that are missing like block call / sms from certain numbers... writing apps like that for the g1 should be simple - in fact, I bet some are already out there - but I have not had the time or reason to look yet.
I got to hold one tonight at the local t-mobile store as the guy that worked there had one. I did not mess with it though....
I hope to have mine by the first week of Nov.... we'll see.
Since our iPhone fiasco (see that thread for more info), I just wanted to comment on the LG Dares that my wife and I just got.
So far I'm very happy with it. It has all of the features we were looking for and then some. I like it's size, which is a bit smaller and thicker than the iPhone, and the battery life is really good, even with me hammering it constantly (hey its still new!)
The GPS was very impressive, using it in the Philadelphia area over the weekend it was showing traffic, and even marking where individual accidents were. Very cool and much better than our other GPS which will be seeing ebay shortly.
The screen is a bit small, but I actually prefer the smaller overall size. The qwerty keypad can be a bit tight, but its still much faster for me than using the normal phone type system. I haven't messed with the handwriting input at all, since I can't see it being that fast. I'm sure I'll play with it eventually.
The camera is really nice, which I like because I end up using it a lot. It's 3.2 mega pixel, which is pretty good for a phone, and the shots look nice. There are some cool editing features on the phone also.
There aren't a lot of apps out for it yet, just a few games, ebay, and a very cool weather one. I'm hoping more will become available as the phone hangs around for a while.
I also like how you can use a standard headphone jack for it, instead of the specialized ones like the Nokias use.
It's a shame I couldn't get the iPhone, but I'm very happy with the Dare now that I'm with Verizon.
The Dares are VERY nice phones for Verizon...probably the best "dumb" phone out there right now. My bro has one and I've compared it to the iPhone many times. Now, if only they'd release that damn Storm so I can give it a try and possibly go back to Verizon. However, I still doubt that it will be able to out perform the iPhone. Oh well...I guess I'm stuck with At&t for a while.
The iPhone is no doubt an awesome device, especially with all of the apps available for it. There is just no way I was going to continue putting up with AT&T's crap just for the privilege of having one. Hopefully more apps for the Dare come out soon.
I actually got a customer service call from AT&T last night, with a survey about my experience. Lets just say there were lots of "1 out of 10" answers. I haven't been this disappointed with a company in a long time. At least when Sears screwed up the repairs of my HDTV, they stood up and fixed it by getting me a new one. And when it's time to get another I'll go back to them. AT&T just doesn't hold my trust anymore.
I got my G1 last Friday - its a awesomely geeky device. The fact nothing is really locked down is cool.
I have already released one app for it, and another app I am working on is on the way. The one I released Thursday night is called speedO - its a speedometer and tripometer.
I only have like 2.5 stars though - going to release an updated version today.
jLp vAkEr0 wrote:Well I went a head and got a BBerry Curve 8900.
It's actually my 1st smarthphone and I'm really liking it.
Ipod Touch's browser's is 100% better and RIM's Facebook app is pretty weak. Other than that, it's a great piece of hardware.
Can anyone recommend a better browser option for the Bberry? I'll try Opera mini.
Rim's facebook app, while not as flashy as the iphone is actually better because you can pull the email alerts off the mail server. That way you don't have to deal with all of the notification messages in your email box...it's all integrated seamlessly...something the iphone and touch lack.
I got a Palm Pre on Father's Day, but I've been waiting to post impressions until I could really put it through its paces. I work my phone very hard, using it as my sole business phone as well as personal use.
It's absolutely terrific. I've had none of the hardware trouble that is popping up for some folks. They keyboard is definitely not as good as the Treo's, but it's a damn-sight better than any of the virtual keyboards out there.
The OS is beyond slick, particularly the seamless integration of contacts from across various sources. The universal search concept is brilliant and executed very well.
The only downside has been the relatively sparse app store. While I've seen the comparison between this and iPhone launch, it's scant consolation. There is a booming homebrew scene, but I've been reluctant to mess with something that is so integral to my business though. And it does look like there will be a boom in the number of apps available in the Fall.
I strongly recommend that anyone who is interested in a smart phone take a look at one.
XBL Gamertag: RobVarak
"Ok I'm an elitist, but I have a healthy respect for people who don't measure up." --Aaron Sorkin
Yeah, the Pre is definitely interesting...and as soon as it's on Verizon, I'll probably get one because everyone knows I buy virtually every smartphone ever created.
Well after a week with the Curve 8900 I must say I really like it, but... I keep comming back to my Ipod Touch and saying to myself that what I've wanted all along is an Iphone.
I like the Curve a lot, but things like Internet browsing are way more better on the Ipod touch, and it doesn't help that the Curve runs only on EDGE (no 3g support) and browsing is painfully slow. T-Mobile doesn't have 3g yet in Puerto Rico anyways, but AT&T does.
I tried Pandora and songs suffered from buffering a ton because of slow speeds.
I don't know, I have 'till Sunday to decide if I want to keep it or port the # to AT&T and get the Iphone.
Still, AT&T prices are much higher, so that keeps me on the fence too.
1. Can you find enough Wifi hotspots that you can use your iPod Touch along with a basic phone?
2. Check into an unlocked iPhone or maybe an Android phone with Wifi.
Then just get a cheap T-Mobile prepaid or postpaid voice plan and look for Wifi for web access.
I got a company-paid iPhone but most of the time, I use it at home or at the office. About the only things that I use for 3G data are Google Maps (which is pretty nice, more usable than a Garmin) and things like Yelp.
3. See if you can get AT&T Premier discounts, often available to employees of bigger companies and students at some schools. It's like 20% off your monthly bill.
For personal use, the only reason to pay for 3G data would be if you're really into constantly updating something like Facebook or Twitter. Otherwise, most of the time I'm away from a computer for an hour at most during the day. If you're out in the field more often, then maybe you want some entertainment on the road.
Well, I went to the T-mobile store and took back the Bberry 8900. Since I can still cancel 'till Sunday they gave me the option to get the new MyTouch 3g (android fun).
I've had it for a couple of hours and right away, the browsing experience is 100% better. Really fun device to use and it looks "hot as hell", not my words.
Must have fell out of my pocket at some point. I left my info with the course but I don't know if I'll ever see it again. I'm just glad I didn't get a new phone on Monday (like I had planned) otherwise I would be ripping my hair out right now. Gotta go to the AT&T store later on to "fix" things. Looks like a new phone by default 
Whoda known! I transferred all my saved info via sync and it went smoothly. Saw a very cool kiosk showing off the iPhone. Looks like a very slick device.
