Phone Geeks, make the argument!

[Jester]

I currently have an LG Rumor. It's a pretty nifty phone, but it's been getting a bit beat up, and frankly, I think it's time for an upgrade. Since it's been a little bit of time since I upgraded to this, I figured I had some good upgrade credit with Sprint. So I went to the local Radio Shack to see what my upgrade options were.

Well, with the credit I have, I can get for free either an LG Rumor 2 or a Blackberry. (If I wanted to drop $200, I could get one of those fancy-dancy touch screen phones (not sure which one is aligned with Sprint), but I don't want to drop $200.)

So, since I don't know that much about these things (I just use them), I am hoping the phone geeks here can make the argument for either of these phones. They seem to fairly equal, though have some obvious differences. Both seem to be able to get to the net far better and faster than my current phone. Both have full QWERTY keyboards, which is good, since I am a text whore. Both keyboards will cause me some typos, as I have somewhat thick fingers. Both have cameras, but no flash, something I hate about my current one, since a lot of the times I am going to want to take pictures are when I am out and about at the bars...at night. In the BB's favor, it's camera has a zoom, which mine doesn't, and I think the R2 doesn't either. Both apparently are 3G (which I guess has to do with their speed on the net). I am used to the Rumor, and so would imagine the transition to the Rumor 2 would be easier. Another plus to the R2 is that it is not as wide as the BB. I tend to keep my phone in my pocket, so this is kind of important. Sure, I could use (and have used) a belt holder, but when I am at work, I can't exactly have my phone visible, as management tends to frown on us using them while working. (Not, mind you, that it really stops us.)

And that is about as much as I really know about these cameras. So, talk to me folks. The Rumor 2? The Blackberry? Or is neither really worth the effort of re-downloading all my ringers and screensavers (admittedly not all that many compared to some people) and getting my contacts (quite many) transferred over.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

[r2cagle]

I don't know anything about those phones, I have an almost 10 year old nokia phone that we got when we started with Nextel (now Sprint). However, my hubby has the same issues with a tiny keyboard on his LG, and we've agreed that the next phone that he gets will have bigger keys for his big fingers. It's worth a little extra money to get a phone that he can actually use for texting without getting so frustrated he throws it at the wall. Currently he makes me do his texting for him.

But, I know you said you only wanted to use your credit and not spend extra, hmm.. either would be fine... me personally, I would go with the smaller phone for ease of stashing in pockets. And I'd have the Sprint Rep transfer all your info to the new phone. Save yourself the grief, I've done it 3 times in the last 4 months, next time I will gladly pay someone to do it.

[It's me]

I can't comment on those phones.

But... I have an LG 8700.

It has the flat-one-piece keyboard, and I find that it is easy to press the wrong key. Also, the display is impossible to read outdoors.

[AccountingDrone]

play with any keyboard on phones you are looking at. Many men have issues with the flat keyboards as you can hit the wrong key - a keyboard with slightly rounded keys is better for big fingers.

Me? I love my motorola android [verizon] and you can have it when you pry it out of my cold dead fingers, unless something seriously shiney bling with better electronic toy bits comes along =)

Honestly, I change phones about every 2 years, for something that is just behind cutting edge, and rob is happy with an ancient treo650, and our roomie loves an ancient nokia flip phone that is about 7 years old... so other than suggesting that you thoroughly play with the features on whichever phones you are looking at, I got nothing

[trailerparkmedic]

My cousin has a Blackberry and I'm not sure if this is what she thinks or how it actually works, but you're required to set it up with your email account. She gets annoyed by this because she used her personal email and now she gets text messages when she gets any email. This results in 2 am text messages for random Amazon.com emails.

I know you didn't mention this, but I wanted to warn you about the Instinct. Two of my lab partners last semester had it, and they both said it was a terrible phone. One had hers replaced 4 times before giving up on it ever working correctly.

[draggar]

The Blackberry OS takes some getting used to - it's not typical of Windows or Palm OS. They're good phones BUT sometimes require a different (a.k.a. higher) plan - if you do not want the different plan then skip the BB.

My wife has the Rumor 2 and she loves it. It's a lot like the Rumor but better, 4 rows of keys instead of 3 on the Rumor (seperate for the numbers), full 3G as opposed to the Rumor being 2G (I think they called it something else, though, so it didn't look obsolete).

3G is primarily about data speeds. Yes, there are some voice differences but 99.999% of the users will never notice them, it's mainly network enhancements (higher call volume per tower etc..). Unless you're surfing the web a lot you won't notice that much of a difference.

Jester - incoming PM (a second one)

[pssorens]

I've heard a lot of really good things about the HTC Eris Droid. My IT friends have been raving about Android. I picking one up in 3 weeks when my contract is up.

[Jester]

Thanks for the input so far folks.

One thing....a few people have mentioned other phones. I am limiting myself to Spring phones since I am with Sprint, I have been happy with Sprint, and I am not sure when my Sprint contract actually runs out. Getting a new phone will require a further 2 year commitment, but since I am happy with my provider, I don't see this as any kind of problem.

In short, while I am sure many of the other phones out there are great, if they are not Sprint-compatible, they are not really part of my decision-making process.

...we've agreed that the next phone that he gets will have bigger keys for his big fingers. It's worth a little extra money to get a phone that he can actually use for texting without getting so frustrated he throws it at the wall.

I don't get that frustrated, nor do I make that many mistakes. But since I type like a demon normally, any typos drive me a little bit batty.

That being said, both of the phones had small keyboard keys, so either way I will probably be making some errors in texting.

But, I know you said you only wanted to use your credit and not spend extra...

I wouldn't mind spending a little extra. Fifty bucks would be fine. The $200 they wanted for the phone in question? To be blunt, fuck that shit!

My cousin has a Blackberry and I'm not sure if this is what she thinks or how it actually works, but you're required to set it up with your email account. She gets annoyed by this because she used her personal email and now she gets text messages when she gets any email.

The guy at Radio Shack said either phone (Blackberry or Rumor 2) would be email enabled, meaning I would be able to quickly get my email. When I said I didn't want all my email coming to my phone, since I get a lot of junk email (oh lordy do I!), Shack Dude assured me that it merely enabled me to get my email, it didn't trigger my phone each time I got an email. THAT would drive me batty! Even a lot of the emails I get from my friends are not that imperative that I get to. If it's that important, they'll call me or text me directly, after all!

They're good phones BUT sometimes require a different (a.k.a. higher) plan - if you do not want the different plan then skip the BB.

I doubt it would require a higher plan for me, as I already have a plan that has unlimited everything. Also, since I don't believe in assuming, a while back I actually called Sprint and asked them if my plan would cover a newer better phone, since there was a possibility I could get a free better phone from a coworker, who himself was upgrading. Sprint said my plan, since it is unlimited already, would be completely unaffected and unchanged.

3G is primarily about data speeds. Unless you're surfing the web a lot you won't notice that much of a difference.

I don't surf the web a lot now, but a lot of that is because my phone is ssslllllooooowwww with that. I wouldn't mind higher speed, if only so I could check sports scores or my email or other things on the net more quickly when I am away from home.

[draggar]

I doubt it would require a higher plan for me, as I already have a plan that has unlimited everything. Also, since I don't believe in assuming, a while back I actually called Sprint and asked them if my plan would cover a newer better phone, since there was a possibility I could get a free better phone from a coworker, who himself was upgrading. Sprint said my plan, since it is unlimited already, would be completely unaffected and unchanged.

Not higher as in more minutes, I meant higher as in more expensive. BB plans need to also have the Blackberry service to run (separate).

Blackberries go though RIM's (Research in Motion) service / servers for email, web access, etc. They charge the carrier and the carrier passes the savings onto the consumer. I'm not sure but it's somewhere between $10 and $30 a month for this.

I would definitely call and speak to someone before this - find out how much adding a BB onto your plan would actually cost per month (I can try to get an answer for you today, too).

[Jester]

Not higher as in more minutes, I meant higher as in more expensive. BB plans need to also have the Blackberry service to run (separate).

Ooooohhhh. Now that's good to know. When I previously checked with Sprint about a better phone I might be getting, it was not a Blackberry, so that would not have come up. I will make sure to ask the appropriate questions when I go about getting said new phone. Which is getting less and less "likely" and more and more "impending."

[r2cagle]

I was just on my Sprint account and just for kicks went to see what upgrade options were available.

I definitely like the LG Rumor 2. It's good and seems compact. This and the Samsung Reclaim would be no out-of-pocket cost to upgrade. But....I reeaally like the Samsung Moment. I'm getting quoted $199.99 with a $100 mail in rebate for the Moment... so I think I'll wait.

I prefer the Qwerty keyboards being slide out, or hidden... so I'm not crazy about Blackberry or other brands with the keyboard on the front. I'm pretty rough on phones, and most of the buttons do not need to stick out from the phone very far.

My vote is for the Rumor 2.

[fma_fanatic]

Yes, you will pay more for the data plan as Sprint is requiring the unlimited data plan for all smart phones, which runs I think $20-30 extra. I've currently got a Palm Centro, but I plan on getting away from it with the problems I've had with it over the past couple of years (random restarts, etc.).

I'm actually looking into maybe getting a Rumor or Rumor 2 and Da Dairy Druid is interested in the Lotus, but only if it's in black (I guess purple or red aren't manly enough for him )

[Jester]

I prefer the Qwerty keyboards being slide out, or hidden... so I'm not crazy about Blackberry or other brands with the keyboard on the front. I'm pretty rough on phones...

I'm somewhat rough on phones too, and this is a factor I had not considered. I usually have a protective case for my phone, but still, I will take this into consideration.

Yes, you will pay more for the data plan as Sprint is requiring the unlimited data plan for all smart phones, which runs I think $20-30 extra.

I'm actually looking into maybe getting a Rumor or Rumor 2.

So if I understand you correctly, the Blackberry would cost me $20-30 more, but the Rumor 2 would not cost me a thing more? Or is the Blackberry not one of the smart phones you were referring to?

[r2cagle]

So if I understand you correctly, the Blackberry would cost me $20-30 more, but the Rumor 2 would not cost me a thing more? Or is the Blackberry not one of the smart phones you were referring to?

I think that you would or should be able to 'opt out' of the mobile data plans. What I'm seeing Sprint label as the smart phones is those that are capable of GPS Navigation, web browsing, and email capable. Sprint cannot make you sign up for that just because you buy a phone that is capable of those things. If you already have an unlimited plan that you are happy with - get the phone you want and just activate it. Just say 'no'!

I say that because while activating hubby's Rumor, the rep kept trying to push for upgraded services that we did not want. I only wanted the unlimited texting added to our plan, and that's pretty much what I got. But you might have to try through several rep's if calling their customer service center, you don't always get someone that is comfortable working outside the company script.(i.e. -new hires).

[draggar]

I think that you would or should be able to 'opt out' of the mobile data plans. What I'm seeing Sprint label as the smart phones is those that are capable of GPS Navigation, web browsing, and email capable. Sprint cannot make you sign up for that just because you buy a phone that is capable of those things. If you already have an unlimited plan that you are happy with - get the phone you want and just activate it. Just say 'no'!

I say that because while activating hubby's Rumor, the rep kept trying to push for upgraded services that we did not want. I only wanted the unlimited texting added to our plan, and that's pretty much what I got. But you might have to try through several rep's if calling their customer service center, you don't always get someone that is comfortable working outside the company script.(i.e. -new hires).

It seems like Jester is on the unlimited everything plan so he wouldn't need the unlimited data plan tacked on.

The extra charge is for the Blackberry service- which you cannot opt out of if you have a BB.