I Need to go 3G
July 12th, 2007 by Michael Gray in IdeasIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Read my top posts or learn more about Michael Gray. Want more frequent updates follow me on Twitter. Thanks for visiting!
Ok I’ve resisted the call of crackberry long enough and I need to go 3G. I’ve sidestepped the lure of the iPhone I’m just not a Mac kind of guy, but I’m totally lusting after the big screen. I need a keyboard and I have to be able to connect it to the laptop to do the internet thingy. So my minimum requirements are decent sized screen, full keyboard and laptop connection.
So lets hear it readers what are you using that love? What are you using that you hate?
Sphere It
July 12th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
I broke down and got a BB Pearl about 4 months ago as I knew I would be moving to another country and anticipated a lot of time away from the computer, missing important emails.
While it doesn’t have a keyboard, as you said you’d want, it didn’t take my long to get used to the reduced size, double-thumb action of the Pearl. The auto-word-complete software is very intuitive, and it learns all the time. I’ll be sticking with the Pearl models for a while… Very happy with it.
July 12th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Michael-
I’ve been using a bb for years, by far the best mobile email device. I recently purchased a Treo which I highly recommend. If you want more capability and software options then I would go with the Treo 700w. A slight compromise on email but makes it up in other areas.
Best,
Howard
July 12th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
I’m not a Mac person either (my Mac Mini sits unused), but I have to admit that the iPhone interface is very slick. The lack of a real keyboard is enough for me to avoid it, though.
Take a look at the Cingular 8525 (GSM) or Sprint’s CDMA version of it, the HTC Mogul. They both have what you need.
July 12th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
I use an o2 Atom and I love it, but i think I’m in the minority………I can’t stand blackberrys.
July 12th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Since your not going to get an iPhone, then get a Blackberry - I had a few and they were rock solid. I like full keyboards but some friends like the Pearl. Fred Wilson thinks the Curve is the best blackberry yet.
Treo’s are ok until you start adding third party apps and then it freezes and you have to figure out what the problem is and get rid of it. A friend had to manage a dozen or so of those and was always using four letter words before saying Treo.
July 12th, 2007 at 11:58 pm
Go top of the line…
I have a Cinglar (AT&T) 8525 and the wife has a shiny new iPhone…
If you are going to bone up and get the data plan - iPhone costs less than half > 20/mo vs. 49/mo for unlimited.
iPhone is slightly less capable - only views excel / word.
Also iPhone does not have SSH, games or any other downloadable progam available although websites are quickly creating web based iPhone apps that work w/ iPhones best browser in the small screen arena. 8525 is really like having a small computer w/ you.
iPhone weighs more (glass screen), but is less klunky and more beautiful.
Touchscreen is great, but for basic calling features both take more steps to initiate a call.
Both sync w/ Outlook, however iPhone doesn’t do Outlook notes… Hope to see a software update from Apple to fix this.
Both have storage capabilities… max 2gb on the 8525 microsd right now (more coming soon)… and of course 8gb on the iPhone - top of the line right
8525 beat out blackcrackberry for me, and would also be beat by the iPhone.
Having used both I think that the iPhone will beat out the HTC8525 because of usability and potential. Coming from a RAZR - both have increased my connectivity / communication / organization capabilities greatly.
July 13th, 2007 at 9:33 am
Another vote for the 8525 - big screen, nice keyboard, fast processor… plus you can set the alarm to barking dogs; iphone isn’t 3G
July 13th, 2007 at 10:15 am
I taped my cell phone to my iPod and I’m pretty satisfied so far. A little bulky however….
July 13th, 2007 at 10:20 am
I’ve had a Treo 700p for a couple months now and it still seems to be the best internet/email combo machine for my needs. I would advise against the Windows Mobile version (700w). Unnecessarily clunky and not as open to non-Windows software downloads.
July 13th, 2007 at 10:35 am
I must have written this post just for you:
http://www.vanessafoxnude.com/2007/07/06/of-iphones-and-blackberries-and-smartphones/
(Which is another vote for the 8525.)
I finally checked out the iPhone yesterday. I so cannot type on that keyboard at all.
July 13th, 2007 at 11:16 am
If I were in the market, which I am not since I am practically hardwired to my home/office machine…
I would take a serious look at the Helio Ocean.
See how it stacks up against Iphone.
http://compare.helio.com/
That dual slide keyboard rocks!
Anyone try it yet?
July 13th, 2007 at 11:59 am
go for the 8525 the best phone I’ve ever owned, I actually leave my laptop at home sometimes now because the 8525 lets me do all of my normal daily pc actions. there is a new one coming soon called the kaiser which is even more nicer than the 8525.
July 13th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Here is the BEST option going right now and I’ve had it for 1 month and it is outstanding, hands down the best thing going.
Blackberry World Edition 8830 from Verizon Wireless
Wolf - get it!
July 13th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
btw - stay away from AT&T. Horrible reception in NY.
July 13th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Michael, I bought a Treo 700P last year and have been very happy with it, though I admit some of the phones that have come out since make me a little jealous.
The Treo has a pretty good screen and can be used as a modem. It’s biggest drawback is a lack of talk time before needing to recharge. I think it’s about 4 hours, which is fine for me, but may not be for others.
The keyboard could be a little bigger, but I’m able to use it fine. What I like most is it’s ability to read PDFs and Word Docs and Excel files. I don’t really edit anything on the phone, but it’s nice being able to read some documents when I’m out. And it feels good knowing I can edit some documents even if I never do.
There’s a simple voice recorder, which I can see you finding useful. It’s got the usual half useless camera and video that most phones have.
Setting up email to work was fairly simple.
It also has a decent music player if that’s important. I added a 2GB card to it so I can store a good amount.
I’m on Sprint’s network and when I’m in New York visiting family (Rockville Centre) I’ve always gotten good reception.
July 13th, 2007 at 4:46 pm
Well I have had my BB pearl for about 5-6 months now. And mind you, I’m the type of person that destroys things within minutes of unpacking them. I have nervous twitches that end up breaking everything in my hands, and I like to stuff my phones in my back pockets.
I love the pearl. hasn’t broken once! has great functionalities, integrates with gmail perfectly , great camera, and tons of add ons and downloads to enhance,.
the only downside is the half azz keyboard! BTW, The 2 people i know that have gotten the Iphone , its a 50/50 split . One loves it, the other wants to flush it down the toilet.
July 13th, 2007 at 11:11 pm
One pet peeve about my 8525: my phone is no longer a good replacement for my watch.
For a long time, I’ve not worn a watch because I could easily take my phone out of my pocket and glance at the front to check out the time. But now with the pda phone, I have to take it out, wake it up from sleep mode, wait until the screen updates and shows the current time, and then put it back to sleep. It’s a lot more inconvenient than my old plain jane phone.
This probably applies to a lot of other pda phones, too.
A nice-to-have feature on a pda phone is a VGA resolution screen, but I find the 8525 usable even with its 320×240 screen.
July 14th, 2007 at 1:30 am
I’ve had a BB for the last 6 months after putting it off for several years and love it. I thought the keyboard would be a bit fiddly and slow and that I’d never use it… but it’s been surprising how convenient and easy to use it is… But to tell you the truth, if I lived in the US I’d definitely get an iPhone
July 14th, 2007 at 1:31 am
One other thing. Here’s the best review on the iPhone I’ve read: http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/no-bs-iphone-review-276116.php
July 14th, 2007 at 5:53 am
I’ve been using the Samsung Blackjack for several months now. I love it! Full keyboard, 320×200 crisp screen, wi-fi, 3g, mini sd slot, views all types of attachments in emails (doc, pdf, excel). I installed opera mobile and now I can manage everything in my Adwords account. Fully connected, always
July 15th, 2007 at 10:52 pm
Read the reviews and you’ll see there is no good phone, and we are all slaves to the networks and their half-baked solutions w/2 year contracts. Many carry two phones these days (yes, 2 contracts!).
I’ve been burned by Winblows Mobile 3 times… the latest is my HTC Apache (XV6700). So bad I turned off the data plan, and now it’s just a lousy phone.
Most people only know what they have.. and that’s important to the networks so they can keep hopes up. But nobody has it all in one device/network.
My Treo700 works great back and forth to China with easy-to-buy SIMs. No worries there, but the device and it’s sw/os is pretty poor.
July 15th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
I’m disowning you if you buy anything other than a blackberry
July 15th, 2007 at 11:26 pm
And a blackberry is better than an iphone for business purposes should you even THINK of choosing an iphone.
July 16th, 2007 at 10:26 am
Ok maybe I’m a caveman, but I can’t figure out what I would need a BB or Treo for. I work in front of a PC all day as a desk jockey and at night I have a laptop.
About the only time I see people using BB’s are at their kids school recitals.
I would like a phone that can take decent 2MP pics, 640X480 video and have at least 8G of memory for MP3’s and is a small package.
July 16th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Ya, BB is the way to go if you are a power email user. I have had mine for over a year (8700). If you are looking for more apps that look slick maybe a Treo. I’ll be getting a new phone soon, it it will mostly like be another blackberry. Im very happy with it.
July 16th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
Hey Michael, I’ve been in a very similar search for a while now. So far I’m down to Verizon and Helio as far as Data requirements. Helio has VERY competitive data+voice plans. Data is unlimited, and since I’ve been trending to use more data (email, IM, TXT, and MMS) than voice lately, having an inclusive plan is very appealing. The Helio Ocean also does GPS (and Google Maps like iPhone was touting) and has a decent keyboard with a landscape screen. I haven’t picked up one yet, so I can’t give an honest review just yet, but I’m leaning that way.
Oh, and it does YouTube too. ZOMG!
July 17th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Nokia N800. VOIP for the win.
July 17th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
I use Nokia Smartphone which is almost two years old. I’m not able to buy a new brand iPhone yet, but trying very hard. Probably I need another half a year to afford buying it! Thanx for the good topic, this really helps me take the decision to work more smart, and have goals to buy what I need!
July 17th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Unfornunately we’ve been testing the new iphone. Can’t comment much on the Blackberrys.
July 18th, 2007 at 6:34 am
Hi i have some suggestions. i love phones and have had a new one every 4 months and can comment on what i own. i have had several BBs, and have always thought the processors sluggish and the software klunky. But the full keyboards are a must, and they are solid with email IF…
Now i do not have a BB server taking care of my email like many other folks do, so i have to warn you about this situation if it applies. I have IMAP mail (vs. POP) which is what everybody should have. It does not work at all with BBs. What has to happen with a BB is confusing, but you have to get a BB email account (on your server or on the carrier’s server). So you end up changing your email address which is not acceptable really. Moreover, if people send to your regular non BB email, you have to have that forwarded to your BB. Then on your BB you cannot delete the mail from your non BB account, and you have to reply with your BB account… so you can imagine that there is a TON of maintenance you have to do constantly deleting old emails from both accounts and keeping track of who said what where. Its terrible actually. Also as a phone, the BBs are bad bc the number keys are so small… i know i shouldn’t be dialing while driving, but this is also a huge drawback for me. The Treo’s are much more than a BB. Will set up to whatever email you previously had, and have much more robust software you can add. Good phones too, the whole screen becomes your keypad like the iphone. it is annoying to me though that you have to take out the pen… as their keyboard somehow doesn’t fit my hands like the full keyboard on the BBs. try it to see. I do like the slider style of the 8525, yet i have never owned a window mobile device… because i’ve just heard about them hanging too frequently. But its obviously a viable choice and a large keyboard is good to have trust me. I will tell you that also, after all this, i think i was too eager in the past to have a mobile device that i could constantly use as a email machine. Now i have been using smartphones like the LG CU500, the Nokia 6131, the Sony Z710, and now the Motorolla KRZR. ALL are EXCELLENT phones that you can check your email on too. I found that my email could wait and that i preferred to carry a phone in my pocket like i did before. besides, when i travel i always have my laptop with me, and isn’t that what the BBs and the Treos were trying to replace?
July 18th, 2007 at 6:43 am
Oh yes, and also you can hook up any of those phones to your laptop to use as a portable modem.
July 18th, 2007 at 4:09 pm
I recently moved from a Treo 650 to a Blackjack to a HTC TyTN (Cingular 8525). I needed 3G for my laptop connection. So here’s what I did and why:
I got the 8525 from Cingular because it is the most powerful. I needed 3G, keyboard, 3rd party application support, and relative stability. I liked the treo 650 keyboard better, but Palm (P)OS is total crap and not stable at all. Worst mobile “OS” ever.
I’m not a Windows fan, but I can easily tether via bluetooth to my 8525 and have relatively high speed Internet everywhere I go. I use this a TON.
Cingular is a good company to be on because they don’t do a good job of tracking what you use your data for. Sprint can and will tell if your tethering and charge you exorbitant fees. As long as you know how to set up your phone on cingular, you’re fine with the $20 media NET plan. They will look at bandwidth though, so if you’re going to be downloading DVD torrents, you will need the $80 PDA connect plan.
If you go over their bandwidth “soft cap” they won’t charge you, but they might cancel your data plan or call you and try to get you to upgrade. Better than just charging you.
As far as 3G goes, Sprint and Cingular offer the only decent solutions with EVDO and UMTS respectively (and their big brothers Rev. A and HSDPA). I get HSDPA coverage in my area and can download ~800-1000kbps when I have full bars. I will say, however, that the blackjack seemed to be twice as fast as any other 3G phone cingular offered. I don’t know if it was a fluke with mine or what - but that’s what I’ve observed. you can test them in the store using dslreports.com
Blackberry does not offer a phone on Cingular that supports 3G, so you’ll have to go with a Palm or Windows Mobile phone (if you want a keyboard, that is).
The 8525 has it’s drawbacks, but for what I needed it is the best phone available. I wish it was smaller. Stability is decent even when loaded up with all sorts of crazy apps.
You might have good luck with the Trep 750 - it wasn’t available when I got my 8525 and it has a smaller screen.
I think this is going to be a good year for phones though. I only bought my 8525 because I got a great deal and didn’t have to renew my contract. I really think a phone that I ACTUALLY WANT (candybar, keyboard, 3G, touchscreen, 3rd party apps, small, etc.) will come out within the next 12 months. And when it does I will buy it. Until then, the 8525 is the workhorse of smartphones (oh it has wifi too, and is easily hackable for more bluetooth profiles/wm6 roms etc.)
If you end up going with at&tingular email me and I’ll tell you how to set up the data plan so you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg (may be outdated info since the switchover ???)
July 19th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
I caved in and purchased “The Mogul” by HTC (Sprint).
It’s new, used WM6 and is loaded full of features.
July 20th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
I’m looking forward to August when the HTC Kaiser gets AT&T branding.
3G, GPS, slide-out keyboard, 3 megapixel camera, HSUPA support, Windows Mobile 6.
I can’t wait.
July 25th, 2007 at 8:36 am
Hey, is Greywolf OK?
July 27th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Hey there
The answer to your question is here:
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=iphone
August 8th, 2007 at 2:28 pm
I have a Cingular 8125 (HTC Wizard) and my wife has the Blackjack. I have also used the 8525 and considered the upgrade because of the ability to use the HSDPA service. The 8125/8525’s are great due to the touch large screen and touch screen…but, it sucks for dialing phone numbers (but, that is what the add-on VoiceCommander app, not the built in one, is for). But, I am getting a Blackjack for myself. The thin profile is just way more usable for me. I have a few geek friends that have made the switch and all are on the Blackjack team. They both are unfriendly to batteries, especially if you use Bluetooth a lot. At least Samsung is smart enough to give you two batteries when you buy a Blackjack.
August 13th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
I would get a Blackberry but it doesn’t work with anything but Windows so I wouldn’t be able to sync it to my computer (Linux). The Treos looks alright. I have a Palm T|X that does it’s job. I know many people who hate their Blackberries.
August 16th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
GW, I would go with the kaiser from what I’m seeing. It should be available in less than 30 days from AT&T as the “tilt”. Not sure about their service in NY, possibly bad as suggested above. It’s also supposed to be available through t-mobile perhaps.
It’s called the HTC Kaiser so I’m sure you can come up with creative searches to figure out what it’s called on any other networks.
September 1st, 2007 at 1:56 am
I have the 8525 its a good phone, but battery life could be better you wouldnt want to use it for media items except if you have a usb port or an outlet available to charge it. microsoft office items work great atleast for word because thats what i use, for adobe i cant open a certain file its kind of big i dont know whats wron. I’ve tried to the i phone at the store and its prettey fast it moves like an ipod it looks great the internet seem to look great because when i was on youtube it worked great but to me the iphone is more for media to me but the 8525 is for business screen is decent but no where as big as the iphone but the keyboard is on the screen so thats all to your preference the 8525 you have a wide range of operations it connects easily and can be used as a modem ive seen it used and done. the problem is att’s network is not great on 3g because it’s not available everywhere although i dont get to much dropped signal. but sprints version might definitely be the service for you plus the windows mobile is upgraded, but att’s will soon be also i dont know a damn thing abou bb’s
September 27th, 2007 at 9:40 am
I used the bb pearl for a long time, it’s worthless. You want 3G, typing capabilities browsing and more? Check out the Helio Ocean. It is the first phone that has got me really excited in a long time. They even do a comparison on the Ocean vs. the iPhone which is great for people like me who are geeks, but not necessarily gung-ho mac lovers.
Enjoy.