Looking for a new smartphone
- Thread starter Rupp
- Start date
Every modern smartphone supports wi-fi afaik. I would probably narrow it down to the Droid 2 or Droid X, the Incredible and the new Samsung Fascinate. It all depends on what your requirements are (screen size, keyboard, etc.). I suggest you go to any Verizon kiosk/store, and go play with them. There are also tons of reviews/comparisons between these phones.
Frunple
Active Member
You may want to hold off for a while. there are some amazing phones coming out in the next couple months, just in time for Christmas of course, and most of them are running Android. The Samsung Galaxy S line will probably take the "lead".
Or you could go my route and hold off til next year, I just can't bring myself to buy a new phone now when the Verizon 4G network should be nation wide by next year. Any 3G phone you buy now will basically be obsolete, of course it'll still work but at the 3G speeds only.
Or you could go my route and hold off til next year, I just can't bring myself to buy a new phone now when the Verizon 4G network should be nation wide by next year. Any 3G phone you buy now will basically be obsolete, of course it'll still work but at the 3G speeds only.
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
I just got my son a Samsung Galaxy S Captivate and it is the most amazing phone I have ever seen. It is a bit large for my taste, but I would recommend taking it out for a test drive as it has an amazing screen. 
The only downside that I saw was the integration with Outlook isn't as smooth as I would like (compared to my windows mobile phone).
The only downside that I saw was the integration with Outlook isn't as smooth as I would like (compared to my windows mobile phone).
mustangcoupe
Senior Member
I *think* the Samsung Fascinate is the Samsung Galaxy S line. but not sure
I love my Droid X but the only thing that sucks is the battery life, but I have heard this about any android phone.
I love my Droid X but the only thing that sucks is the battery life, but I have heard this about any android phone.
I think all smartphones have battery issues (all the ones I know of at least). My iPhone 3G eats the battery in about 8 hours. Thats the worst part of the iPhone in my opinion.
The Droid phones I have seen look great. I really dont hear anyone complaining about anything but the battery. Maybe next year I will try a droid.
troymt
Member
I have the Droid 2 (R2D2 Version) and love the phone.
The key to battery management on any smart phone is turn off services you are not currently using (Bluetooth, WiFi, or GPS).
Some of my employees have Droid X's and Samsung Captivate's and those phones are really nice. The screens are gorgeous.
Dan's advice is spot on.. Goto a store and put your hands on them and see what what best fits your needs (Physical keyboard vs virtual for example)
The key to battery management on any smart phone is turn off services you are not currently using (Bluetooth, WiFi, or GPS).
Some of my employees have Droid X's and Samsung Captivate's and those phones are really nice. The screens are gorgeous.
Dan's advice is spot on.. Goto a store and put your hands on them and see what what best fits your needs (Physical keyboard vs virtual for example)
Frunple
Active Member
Yes it is. It seems Samsung put their own little "name" on their line of androids like Verizon did with the "Droids" , Droid, Droid incredible, droid x, droid 2 pro blah blah blah.
So All Samsung androids will be a part of the Galaxy "S"amsung line. And I can tell you from what I see, the next couple of months are gonna bring some amazing galaxy S phones! Finally breaking the 1Ghz processor with a 1.2 and 1.3ghz and the screens are going to blow your mind!
linuxha
Active Member
I have a different carrier (AT&T) but I love the Samsung Galaxy S (Captivate for AT&T). I really love being able to surf for data while on a voice call (I don't think you can do 3G data and voice at the same time on Verizon - if this has changed please correct me). I am of the habit of turning off the WiFi when I leave home and turning on/off the bluetooth as needed. I do have to charge it daily (but could get away with every other day). Network searching (3G, WiFi, or Bluetooth) do take it's toll on charge life. The user interface is not as smooth as the iPhone UI but it's not that bad. I wish the PIM (Personal Information Manager) and Contacts list were better integrated into everything (like the Palm stuff). The screen is fantastic! I works great in sun light (can't say the same for the iPhone) and I've kept the screen at less than full brightness. I'm able to put my own apps on Android using Eclipse, Android SDK and a USB cable. You don't have to root the phone to do this. My phone is using Android 2.1 but I hear good things about Android 2.2 which should be available soon (just saw the announcement the other day). I've had the phone for 3 months and it's worked very well and I've pounded on it. I don't have a protective screen on it but I did get the rubber body case (doesn't add much to the size). I love the HP 48 calculator app I got for Android (free ).
PS: Oh, in the interest of full disclosure please let it be known that I work for AT&T Labs in a section that has nothing to do with wireless. I've been a customer of both Verizon and AT&T (my current WSP). If I have any above information incorrect please let me know and I'll correct them.
).PS: Oh, in the interest of full disclosure please let it be known that I work for AT&T Labs in a section that has nothing to do with wireless. I've been a customer of both Verizon and AT&T (my current WSP). If I have any above information incorrect please let me know and I'll correct them.
Check out an application called Touchdown - best outlook client I have ever used! It will set you back $20 but well worth it!!!
For superb calendar integration check out Pure Calendar. You can integrate all of your disparate calendars into one view, outlook, google, etc. My wife maintains our family calendar on google; she has shared the calendar with me, I now have visibility to all family events without having to worry about syncing anything. Great stuff!
On the phone question, if you are sticking with Verizon as mentioned earlier, Verizon is on the cusp of introducing the next gen wireless and the devices to go with it. You might check and see what their roll out schedule is and whether you will be covered by the updates. 2 years is a long time to wait...
Regardless, the best thing you can do is play with the devices hands on, VZ store, friends, get a feel for keyboard vs touch screen vs Swype text entry. This will at least give you an idea on form factor, size, etc.
I have an HTC Hero on Sprint that I got in Dec of last year and I can say that for me this is the first smartphone (Android!) I have had that I have not grown tired of, I'm still finding new and useful things to do with it. That and this is the first smart device where I have truly realized a degree of convergence of capabilities that I did not have to work so hard at to achieve that it irritated me into not using due to the amount of extra work to achieve a given result.
-Ben
Steve
Senior Member
As stated already its all the Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS, etc that kill the batteries on these smartphones. You can test that for yourself by one day shutting them all down and seeing how much longer your battery goes. For the Android phones there is an app called Tasker which is almost a mini event driven app. For example, say you only want use WiFi at home under normal circumstances - you can have tasker turn WiFi on/off based on things like your GPS coordinates or perhaps something else it can sense. I believe Dan does this with his phone. If you have a Android phone I think its worth trying out the tasker app to tweak things.
BraveSirRobbin
Moderator
Yes, good points, and I should have stated there are programs that will let you perform Outlook (contact/calendar/etc...) integration, but it is nowhere near as seemless as the Windows Mobile OS. Not that I'm a fan of Windows Mobile, but just wanted to make this point before anyone purchased the Android OS (also not a show stopper IMO).
linuxha
Active Member
Oh, if you get a smart phone without a keyboard learn to use swype. It makes entering messages a lot easier (though it does mess up the Zork game emulator called Twisty). I love the touch screen and I can now do without those tiny keyboards (actual worse than the touch screen in my opinion).
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