Hi All,
I'm going to be backpacking through South America and Oceania for at least a year and I've been trying to figure out which phone would be best for me.
Right now I'm using an iPhone 3G. It's a nice phone, but the main reasons I don't find it suitable for my trip are the battery life, size/weight, and fragility. I can't get through a day without recharging my iPhone...on my trip access to power will be potentially infrequent. The iPhone is a bit too large and a bit too heavy for what I prefer. And I'm sure everyone has seen lots of iPhone with crushed glass on the screens.
I did a bunch of research and settled on a Blackberry Pearl 8120. It has WiFi, it's small and light, has nice battery life, and it seems pretty durable. But now that I've got it, I think I'm going to give up. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to use this phone without a blackberry data plan. I put Opera Mini on the phone, but I'm still struggling with APNs and trying to get Gmail Mobile installed, and figuring out what will and won't work over WiFi rather than requiring EDGE/3G, etc. It's just too locked down and I won't be able to spend ages working through these issues on the road. I need something that "just works."
So I'm back to the drawing board and I'd appreciate some advice. Here are my requirements:
Must Have
----------------
1) Quad Band GSM
2) WiFi
3) Durable - probably this rules out touch screens
4) Good browser - While testing in brick & mortar stores I found many phones have crummy browsers. I like the BB browser, but now that I found Opera Mini any phone that can install that is great
5) Good predictive input for messaging - I was surprised how many phones I tested either had no predictive completion/correction while testing or very poor implementations
Strong Desire
-----------------
1) Ability to install Skype Lite or a third party equivalent
2) Good messaging interface - It's tough to find a full keyboard or a slider that doesn't make the phone bulky. But there were a few that were ok. I liked the SureType keyboard as a nice intermediate between full keyboard and just a number pad.
3) Camera with a flash, plus micro SD slot
4) Chargeable with mini-USB
5) Lightweight - under 4oz would be nice. And not too thick.
Would Be Nice
------------------
1) GPS / mapping
2) Inexpensive - I was able to buy a used BB Pearl for $100...so phones that have been out a year or two are just fine
Thanks for any advice you can offer! :buddies:
EDIT - Right now I'm looking at the Nokia N79. It looks almost perfect, except that it only has a minimal 12-key input pad.
I'm going to be backpacking through South America and Oceania for at least a year and I've been trying to figure out which phone would be best for me.
Right now I'm using an iPhone 3G. It's a nice phone, but the main reasons I don't find it suitable for my trip are the battery life, size/weight, and fragility. I can't get through a day without recharging my iPhone...on my trip access to power will be potentially infrequent. The iPhone is a bit too large and a bit too heavy for what I prefer. And I'm sure everyone has seen lots of iPhone with crushed glass on the screens.
I did a bunch of research and settled on a Blackberry Pearl 8120. It has WiFi, it's small and light, has nice battery life, and it seems pretty durable. But now that I've got it, I think I'm going to give up. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to use this phone without a blackberry data plan. I put Opera Mini on the phone, but I'm still struggling with APNs and trying to get Gmail Mobile installed, and figuring out what will and won't work over WiFi rather than requiring EDGE/3G, etc. It's just too locked down and I won't be able to spend ages working through these issues on the road. I need something that "just works."
So I'm back to the drawing board and I'd appreciate some advice. Here are my requirements:
Must Have
----------------
1) Quad Band GSM
2) WiFi
3) Durable - probably this rules out touch screens
4) Good browser - While testing in brick & mortar stores I found many phones have crummy browsers. I like the BB browser, but now that I found Opera Mini any phone that can install that is great
5) Good predictive input for messaging - I was surprised how many phones I tested either had no predictive completion/correction while testing or very poor implementations
Strong Desire
-----------------
1) Ability to install Skype Lite or a third party equivalent
2) Good messaging interface - It's tough to find a full keyboard or a slider that doesn't make the phone bulky. But there were a few that were ok. I liked the SureType keyboard as a nice intermediate between full keyboard and just a number pad.
3) Camera with a flash, plus micro SD slot
4) Chargeable with mini-USB
5) Lightweight - under 4oz would be nice. And not too thick.
Would Be Nice
------------------
1) GPS / mapping
2) Inexpensive - I was able to buy a used BB Pearl for $100...so phones that have been out a year or two are just fine
Thanks for any advice you can offer! :buddies:
EDIT - Right now I'm looking at the Nokia N79. It looks almost perfect, except that it only has a minimal 12-key input pad.