Advice On Picking a Smartphone

T

Tor V

New member
I'm getting ready to buy my first smartphone and wanted some advice from people who have used these devices.

I've owned a cell phone for about 3 years now (a basic one). I'm a heavy computer user (mainly PCs with Windows or on rare occasions Linux). I love to tinker and build my own PCs.

What interests me the most about a smartphone is making my life easier. I buy the computers for our school (I teach 5th grade). I'd like to be get a phone that can keep my Google Calendar and Gmail on it plus browse the web from time to time. I'd also like to be able to do other stuff on it, like watch video clips, listen to MP3s, and take the occasional picture. Games might be fun too when I'm waiting around. I don't have much use for GPS at this point (though I admit it would be fun to play with sometimes). I like the idea of getting after-market applications and games to make the smartphone more productive/enjoyable. Being able to have control over how it handles phone calls is another plus. Size isn't too important to me. I'm more interested in functionality and smart design. I like the idea of a big screen and a QWERTY keyboard.

I've thought about Palm OS. It seems very smartly designed, but I don't like that it can't multitask. I will use my device for a variety of tasks at the same time (like I'm doing with my PC at the moment. I don't know much about the other OSes beyond the Windows flavors.

Right now I'm leaning toward getting a Treo 750 when Cingular comes out with one. Some of the HTC products look pretty good too. From what I've read (remember I have to experience with ANY smartphone) it appears that the Treo is one of the best designs (easier to use and more functional). I'm also impressed with some of the HTC phones, but users don't seems quite as enthusiastic about them (from what I gathered, it seems they have better specs but aren't as smartly designed). I've also looked at the IPAQ 6945, but don't know how it compares with the Treo overall.

Anyway, I'd love to hear some of people's opinions and advice. Thank you in advance for your input.
 
Keep in mind, when you say Smartphone, most of us think of the Motorola Q, T-Mobile Dash or the Samsung Blackjack. The phones you mention are actually Pocket PCs. There is a difference.

My initial impression would be to look at the Cingular 8525. My past experience will not let me recommend a Treo to anyone.

You might also try searching and looking at the Cingular PDA/Smarphone section of the forum for more info.
 
Three Treo 600s and one 650. Hardware failures, software issues. Kept resetting it self and deleting everything. Had to do a hard reset a couple times a day. Then the 650 refused to synch so I finally had enough and moved to a BB 8700 and now a Blackjack.
 
People are very passionate about HTC devices, and if you like to tinker there is no better community than the people who have HTC machines. I personally have an MDA and have never been happier with any piece of electronics I have ever owned. while it is true that there are people who like the Treo (and I admit it is a very nice design), there are tons of HTC devotees. I recommend the 8525, it is the most advanced pocketpc being sold by any carrier in the US. I also love the form factor, it is great to type on, and fun to play with. Good luck making a decision.
 
May be you"re right about typing, but you need your both hands to type. And one of the biggest advantages of Treo is one hand operation.

As for Treo instability, yeah... Treo is not perfect, but what is? After year and half with Treo 650 I'm quite happy with it and my next phone will definitely be Treo 750 as soon as it will be available from Cingular
 
That brings up an interesting question. Why is one handed so important to most people? Do a lot of people use it on the go?

Captainmicahp, I've mainly seen a big Treo presence online. Where can I find the HTC users?

Thanks for the replies and ideas. I'll look into the 8525.
 
HTC users (especially the more tech oriented) have a big community at xda-developers.com and one handedness is important if you use it in the car (which you should not do) otherwise, using both hands is not a problem. I live in New York, and dont drive here, so onehandedness is never a problem for me. It is mainly a personal preference, that is why it is so nice that there are many different pocketpc styles to choose from now.
 
You might want to also consider buying a pda instead of a smartphone. Pda's are faster, have a bigger touch screen, and are smaller. You can also use a pda all the time without having it ring (perhaps good for a school environment). Software is generally more available for pdas.

Also, things like calendar, email, and mp3 is easier on pda since pda's tend to have only a few dedicated buttons on the bottom rather than a massive querty keyboard. With pda's you can always sync with a cradle but with smartphones many times cradles don't even exist for many models.

On the other hand, if you get a smartphone and dataplan, you can get internet access anywhere. A pda with wifi has limited options and very limited battery life.
 
Thank you for the idea of where to find HTC users captainmicahp. I'll check it out.

I walk to work so I won't be using it driving. I'm thinking about getting the data plan just to try it out and setting up Wifi at work and home so 90% of the time I'll have net access.

sblive, I understand what you're saying and it makes a lot of sense. However, I want to have just one device.

Does anyone know what the screen size of the Treo 750 is in square inches? The 8525 is 2.8 sq. inches, but I can't find this info on the Treo. I know it's smaller but not by how much...
 
I read that in the review over at geardiary. http://www.geardiary.com/?p=1846
but that guy is in Australia, and not to sound ignorant but I wasn't sure if an inch was an inch down there. Please don't ridicule me too much for not knowing that.
 
I would recommend the Ipaq 6945 since you mentioned it.

Very easy at typing and using one handed. Very small (don't let the pictures fool you) and light weight. Fits in my front pocket easy. Great Phone quality (meaning voice sound). Has WiFi, Bluetooth, infrared and also comes with built-in GPS. Only thing it's missing is 3G. Camera is not the best tho. Battery life is good for use as a phone. Ofcourse with any other device, other types of use will cause battery to drain.

The Treo 750 seems Sweet too. I would say to pick either one. and I'm not a treo fan but this one caught my attention. No WiFi tho. But it does have 3G.

If you don't need or use GPS or WiFi, then I would choose the Treo 750 being that you will need some kind of high speed once in a while with any PPC. IMO


Since you experiment with pc's ....then you will probally have a very small learning curve.
 
One other option to possibly consider....even though it does not have a camera (in this specific model).....is the Nokia E62. It is also a phone you can get from Cingular.

It uses the Symbian OS. Excellent at multitasking. While not as popular here in the US as across the pond (and up to our Northern border brothers)....the Symbian OS has a thorough 3rd party software listing for functionality and fun. Tons of enthusiastic forums and blogs out there for this OS as well.

If you decide a camera is necessary, but can live without a QWERTY keyboard, the choices with S60 Nokias opens up a good bit. Their T9 implemention is much better than on other smartphones I've used (Moto, Siemens). It helped me to decide against a QWERTY keyboard and go with the N73 (which has a great camera).

Check out the S60 forum here on HoFo, and some of the phones like E62, N73, N80, and the upcoming N95 (a very full featured device). A good software listing can be found on allaboutsymbian.com.

HTH.
 
Thank you all for the ideas! You've mentioned several devices that I haven't even looked at yet. I'll check into them!

If anyone else has anything to add, please do!
 
850 is a radio frequency for cellular traffic. In the USA the governmnet has assigned 1900, and 850 MHz frequencies for Cellular communications, and in Europe The European Union has mandated 1800 and 900MHz for cellular communications. Most smartphones are quad band meaning That they have all four bands so when a business user travels over seas he can use his phone. However some phones only have three bands and may not work in some places, just be sure you get a quad band and you will be safe. I have used Tri band europhones n the US without a problem, but it is possible they may not work in all places.
 
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