Verizon PDA/Pocket PC/Smartphone

A

ajlpenguin315

New member
Hey all

I am a student at UNC-Charlotte, finishing my junior year, and I was just looking for some advice on switching phones. The two areas I am in most are Charlotte, NC and Pittsburgh, PA(when home for summer)

I am currently on a two year contract with Verizon and I have a LG VX8600, which I am looking to replace by buying a PDA or Pocket PC/Smartphone off of Ebay. My first question is whether or not this is a good idea, and if there would be any charges associated with switching phones mid contract? I am looking to get a phone with a full keyboard, mainly because the 8600's flush number pad drives me bonkers when text messaging, and also because I currently carry around my phone and a Palm Z22 to keep track of scheduling. Therefore, I guess the main features I'm looking for are just a good phone, with a good calender/schedule function.

Also, the reason I ended up with the 8600 is because I got a Q the first week of January 2007, and it died the first time I charged it. I went and got a new one the next day, and basically out of worrying about it locking up on me again, I went and traded for a 8600 within my two week grace period. So I also wondered if a newer version of software for the Q may have solved some of it's short battery life and lockup issues?

One last thing is, that I want a PDA-style phone, but I will not be using it to access the internet. I will be text messaging(i have unlimited IN txts, and 500 extra). I would like to get a PDA-style phone now, before I start my summer job, because my 8600 will get the crap scratched out of it with it's shiny cover. And the reason I would like to get a PDA now is because once I graduate, I want to have a phone that I can upgrade to have internet service.

The three phones I am considering are the Samsung SCH-i730, the Verizon XV6700, and POSSIBLY the Q again, if it is a little easier to get along with. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

THANKS!!!!
 
I have the i730 and it's great.

I wouldn't recommend buying a phone off eBay, especially a PDA phone. Maybe you could get a new line of service with the i730 and give the old one + 8600 to a friend/room mate/family member.
 
why should i not buy it off ebay in your opinion??? I'm just curious, because my roomate bought his blackberry off there, and it was a good experience for him....
 
You just never know what you're going to get. Pocket PCs and smartphones are very complicated devices and it could have so many things wrong with it.
 
I am going to disagree with that. I have bought multiple phones off of ebay, including multiple smartphones. I bought my i730 for a ridiculously low price, and it is perfect, and came with tons of accessories. I also bought an i600 smartphone, and a few GSM smartphones, including a blackberry and a sidekick2. I have had no problems with any of them. However, there are precautions to take. First, and most obvious, deal only with respectable sellers, look at the feedback, and go from there. You should use common sense and do not buy from a person with no feedback, or a person with bad feedback. When buying Verizon, and all CDMA phones, see if you can verify that the ESN is not blacklisted before you buy it. Many sellers will provide you with the ESN to verify with the phone company. Good luck, and I hope you are able to find a great deal on ebay, they are definitely there.
-z
 
i don't really like the env, it's too thick IMO for just being a std phone



thanks for the help and suggestions yachi! Is there somewhere on verizon's site i can check the ESN deal, or what do you suggest?


also does anyone have any words on the deal with data charges???? because i read the post on Data Plans, but if i don't use the phone to access the internet, is the thing still going to connect to the net?

thanks again fellas, i really appreciate everything!!
 
i guess what i meant to say, is how do i acquire the "block all data" plan spoke of in that post?

sorry i didn't just edit the previous post, but the edit button is missing from it for some reason....
 
alright, thanks.....and the edit buttons are not there on all except my very last post before this one

also, since you have the 730, what kind of batter life do you get out of it? If i stay off the internet, is that going to help at all?
 
I get 1-3 days on the standard battery (it comes with a standard and extended) depending on how much I do on it.

I haven't tried the extended yet since the standard works fine for me and doens't have the massive bulk.
 
one last question....is the screen bright enough to be visible outdoors in the sun? I just stopped at Verizon, and they had a 730 there, but it didn't seem very bright....is this the case?
 
Yes, the i730's screen works very well in bright sunlight, something I was very surprised about. The 6700's screen I know sucks in sunlight. As for being too dim in general, I disagree. I think it's good. Maybe someone turned the screen brightness down on the display model??
 
If you block the data you will not get charged, but you still need a data plan. From my experience the screen is fairly hard to read in sunlight unless it is at the highest brightness setting, and that eats battery like there is no tomorrow. I usually used the extended battery and had to charge it every day, but I bought mine off of ebay so there is no telling how old the battery was, and I text a lot, so i was constantly opening and closing the keyboard and such. Good luck
-z
ps since you are probably going to be using a data block (based on the information you provided), you should check out Quick 2 Net. It is a dialup service that is available on the i730 which allows you to access the internet, even with a data block, and it only uses minutes, not data. This means that it is free on nights and weekends. I used it when I was not near Wi-Fi, and mostly only to check my email and some light browsing. You said that you are in college, so I am going to assume that your campus has Wi-Fi, which is why you don't need a data plan, so this could be very useful to you when you are off campus and such. If you have any questions there are a bunch of threads about Q2N or you can just send me a PM and I can help you out.
 
Your welcome, I know the situation you are in, I am in pretty much the same one. If you have any specific questions please feel free to send me a PM and I will help you out if I can.
-z
 
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