I need a new cell phone - help me!

[island911]

yes, the whole lobster claw thing is cool, but it gets old... Not having to zoom in and out all the time is much faster and easier.

It really sounds like you should consider an internet device(no phone)... for example: the Nokia N810 has a slide-out key board and a screen that is 2.5x more pixels than the iphone.

fwiw I've written this post with handwriting, cursive, with just my fingernail as a stylus. -the same way I respond to emails on my HTC touch, and as I did with the the old XV 6700. Keyboards are sooO last year.

[island911]

Since the iphone is Bluetooth I suspect you could use a portable keyboard with it...then again, it's an Apple product; so maybe it won't work.

[osidak]

Just picked up a Treo 700wx with out a contract for $120 - uses windows mobile 5 and seems to work rather nicely for browsing, email, and text. comes with ms office viewers as well. throw a sdio wifi card in it and you can browse using wifi or even use it for voip (skype) calls

[kstar]

Originally Posted by the

Checked out the iPhone. The web browsing is really, really cool! Very workable for viewing large pages, the way you can navigate around, then blow up and shrink what you want to see, is very slick.

But, the iPhone, I found, is very hard to type on. The touch screen was very difficult for me to use accurately, I was hitting the wrong keys all the time.

An iPhone with a slide out keyboard like the Samsung would be perfect!

The iPhone keyboard takes a few days to master and some of the "mastering" is psychological.

You have to learn to not worry if you mis-hit keys and just keep typing. The software will not only try to figure out what word you were trying to input, but looks at the letters around the key(s) you may have intended to hit to determine the intended word. It works remarkably well, believe it or not.

I can type an email quickly, but do not know how my speed would compare to a proficient "real button" typist.

Most of the folks who complain about the iPhone keyboard have not spent a few days with it, IMO.

Best,

[the]

Originally Posted by kstarnes

You have to learn to not worry if you mis-hit keys and just keep typing. The software will not only try to figure out what word you were trying to input, but looks at the letters around the key(s) you may have intended to hit to determine the intended word. It works remarkably well, believe it or not.

Ahh, I didn't know that. I checked it out at an ATT store, they of course didn't have any in stock (old or new), so the salesman was in full "whatever" mode.

The apple is far more intuitive, simple and fun to use, no doubt. The screen is so slightly bigger, but it seems to make a difference.

The lady at Verizon looked up my account, and said I was eligible for an upgrade phone - since 2002! She was amazed my phone was still working, on its original battery. I'd get quite a bit of a discount to upgrade, my new Verizon would be quite a bit off, and my wife's upgrade to a new phone would be free. The monthly charges seem less than ATT, too.

[Racerbvd]

Another plug for the HTC Touch, I was talking to a buddy yesterday and checking in a noise in the engine compartment when my phone slipped out & fell landed in the fan pully I turned off the engine reached in & grabbed my phone, & my buddy was still there & asked what all the noise was
Everyting still works fine.

[island911]

...is one of many to come that sport a VGA screen (twice the pixle count of the iphone, and 4x typical smartphones) More: http://www.phonesreview.co.uk/2008/06/25/new-july-release-date-promised-for-the-freerunner-mobile-phone-from-openmoko/



To their credit 'Glofish' had the first VGA phone back in '07 ...a WM phone. they have had some cool phones for quite a while, but very pricey.

[kstar]

I've used the iPhone for about a year now, and consider myself a "power-user", i.e. I exploit the device for all that it can do!

Island said:

yes, the whole lobster claw thing is cool, but it gets old... Not having to zoom in and out all the time is much faster and easier.

I rarely use the "claw" finger gestures; all one has to do is double tap the screen to zoom in and zoom out. In most cases (~95% of the time) this does the trick. The zoom knows where borders of photos and columns of print are and resizes to them.

Island said:

Since the iphone is Bluetooth I suspect you could use a portable keyboard with it...then again, it's an Apple product; so maybe it won't work.

I do not know if there is a way to pair a BT keyboard to the iPhone, but BT pairing to earpieces or hands-free devices is a cinch. Apple has, for now, locked the iPhone down regarding sending and receiving data from/to the iPhone over BT - I hope this changes with the 2.0 software due out in a few days.

Also, as of today, iPhone can't do A2DP BT stereo to a headset. This is not a big issue, IMO, because I have yet to use A2DP that actually worked well; it's typically low-fi, IMO. Also, IMO, Apple will activate A2DP (it can be done in software) when they get it right.

Island said:

Yep! Tha's why I'm saying forget the phones for web ...other than in a real pinch.

I like the best specs, and I would certainly not complain if iPhone had a higher res screen. But, day in and out with the iPhone, I have never felt its screen-res was an issue re web browsing. This is also not on the pick list of iPhone users and reviewers, AFAIK. FWIW, I often grab my iPhone to check email or read PPOT even when my computer is right next to me.

As I have posted before, iPhone web browsing represents a disproportionately high amount of all phone browsing based on number of iPhones . . . because it is so easy to use, and use effectively.

My list of weaknesses and/or fails includes:

1) Bad camera lens! 2MP is workable, but the iPhone lens is inadequate. I have an old 2MP Canon Elph that takes great pictures. It's not the iPhone sensor, but the lens that sucketh, IMO;

2) Lack of a file system. I would like to store documents and save items from the web into a "space" from which I could attach such documents to emails;

3) 32GB or more storage. iPhone 2.0 is still stuck at 16GB, but should be at 32MB, IMO. My number 2 above would work better with more storage;

4) Cut and Paste. I don't miss the feature a lot, but it sure sucks when it is needed and not there. Maybe this gets fixed in 2.0?

That's about it. iPhone is more of a computer with a phone than it is a phone with features. Running OSX on a little device certainly puts iPhone in the former category!

Of course, every user has different needs and would probably have different gripes and praises than I do. A huge plus is how iPhone integrates very tightly into the applications/flow of folks already using Macs.

YMMV.

Best,

[the]

posted from my new . . .























xv6800!

they all have compromises for different uses. this seems to work ok. the 760 was bulkier, but the same screen size.

internet a bit slow, but ok for what I need.

[kstar]

Originally Posted by the

posted from my new . . .























xv6800!

they all have compromises for different uses. this seems to work ok. the 760 was bulkier, but the same screen size.

internet a bit slow, but ok for what I need.

Well, at least it has a catchy name.

[the]

I have to admit the iphone is really a lot slicker. I do like the keyboard on this phone, though.

i'll also admit a lot had to do with being an existing verizon customer. and a lazy one at that. it is quicker and easier to stay with the same carrier.

if I were starting from scratch i'd probably have gotten an iphone.

[the]

I can't watch youtube videos on this thing?!? What's up with that?

[kstar]

Originally Posted by the

I can't watch youtube videos on this thing?!? What's up with that?

[scottmandue]

I need to look at one of thos HTC touch things.

I have done a little web browsing on a phone and not so sure I need it.

That and laptops are getting lighter, cheaper, and faster every day.

[the]

Originally Posted by kstarnes

I can read his lips at the end:

"Windows Media hates Youtube!"

[kstar]

Originally Posted by the

I can read his lips at the end:

"Windows Media hates Youtube!"

That's funny! Ha!

[lendaddy]

Originally Posted by the

I can't watch youtube videos on this thing?!? What's up with that?

Yes you can, it's a download.

[lendaddy]

http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2007/08/16/how-to-get-full-youtube-working-on-your-windows-mobile-phone/

I just checked and mine still works perfectly. That being said I rarely use it and neither will you once the novelty wears off

Here's another link:

http://discussion.treocentral.com/showthread.php?t=148801

[kstar]

Actually, I use YouTube on iPhone a lot, much more than I would have ever expected. I thought it was a novelty when iPhone was announced.

I now even get a bit pissed when I can't find some arcane piece of video history on YouTube.

Of course, YMMV.

[island911]

FWIW the big web-based apps for me is google maps, with "traffic" on. ...it's great for checking traffic conditions.

a side note; So that I don't have to go button hunting while driving I have mine set to launch with a voice-tag. (works great)

...a phone for vids like a big screen tv... for A dollhouse.