First Time Buyer Need Advice

S

stevenc

New member
OK here is what I have in mind as far as what I need. I wish I knew which carrier to go with but that is part of the reason I am here. The things I have in mind for it are

-web browsing
-instant messaging
-qwerty keyboard

Also
-It would be nice to have something sleek and sexy to stare out
-plus other little trinkets which seem run of the mill these days like digital camera wit video capture and those sort of things

In other words, I would like the best phone/carrier for the purposes of online access when I am not at home. I am in the NYC area.

Whenever I tried to do some research on my own, I more or less come across intimidating acronyms that I can't seem to make sense of it. EVDO this. 3G that. I can't make sense of it all

So it would be nice if someone could hold my hand through this process. Thanks in advanced.
 
A Samsung Blackjack would be a good option. (Cingular being the carrier)

Its very sleek and has everything you asked for and more. Turn off 3G to get more battery life since it will keep searching for a 3G network.
 
Well I'd go with the Blackjack just because its slim. The 8525 is much bulkier. And for the needs you mentioned, the Blackjack should be more than enough. The 8525 will feel like a brick in your pocket.
 
Only you can decide which carrier works best for you. You need to look at where you will use the phone - where you live, work, travel, play, etc. Talk to family, friends, coworkers and the like and see what works for them. Then make a choice. Generally speaking Cingular has the best GSM coverage and Verizon the best CDMA. Sprint and T-Mobile are catching up and should work well in the major metros. However, not every carrier will work well in every location, even NYC. All the more reason to check things out before you make a mistake.

EV-DO is the CDMA (Verizon and Sprint) high speed network. 3G is the GSM version for Cingular and Verizon.
 
It's going to be a comprimise in signal, cost, and preformance/device.

Right now, excluding the simple hack on tmobile prepaid, Sprint has the cheapest data plans. If you want to use the internet/email while away from wifi points you will need to have a data plan. Sprint sero are the best deal here, I use a $30 sero plan with unlimited data and 500 minutes, with n&w at 7pm.

The problem with sero is that, unless you purchase your device from the third party (like ebay) you will have to pay a bit more for it - sprint does not discount sero devices as much as they do in normal channels. You have to order the sero plan from a special site (sprint.com/sero - google for an sprint email address to get into the site or just go to a store and one off a business card) which means you have to get the device from there. If you want you can get the cheapest device (get one with powervision regardless - sprint CR's has some trouble when upgrading from a device with the old vision only to one with powervision) and then go to ebay and buy whatever you want and sell your purchased device. Still, it's going to be a bit expensive. I would recommend the Moto Q - small, slim, most of the bugs from verizon were fixed, and good RF + sound quality (outgoing and incoming).

Otherwise cingular blackjack - more money per month for the data + voice plans but if you are in a 3G area it's a bit faster (sprint EVDO is close to cingular 3G speeds but covers much more area total) and you can use the data connection while on a call (can't do that with sprint or verizon).

You need to see what carrier has the best signal coverage in your area - and the maps don't help too much. Talk to your friends and the like, see what works for them. Talk to people who go to the same places you do - work, sport events, ect, and see how well their phone works.

As for sprint coverage, they are less than verizon total coverage true, but now sprint has unlimited roaming on verizon and other carriers included with their sero and other plans. However each provider has their own advantages, and I know several places where cingular is the only service that works.

Take a look around and see what will work for you.
 
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