Cell phones

[rwise]

My cell phone died, well not realy but the display no longer works lights up grey it will still make and recieve calls. I have been useing the sony ericsson z520a, and this is not the first problem I have had with this model. I am on cingular service and will be looking at new phones (or maybe one off ebay) (or both) what phones would all y'all say to stay away from?

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Cell phones

I think any new phone is decent any more. I have a Razr that I have had for a year and it has been dropped and abused and it still works perfectly.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Cell phones

I have had great luck with Motorola and Samsung.

 

[tommays]

Re: Cell phones

My big past issue was bad battery charger connections The old V-series was really bad

I have also found it nessary to have a USB cable and software if you have phone numbers you need to keep or you just do not like spending a long type putting them back in


Tommays

 

[i386]

Re: Cell phones

I thought I wanted a Razer but people that have them tell me the battery is crap. I've have good results with every LG I've had. It's close to time for me to get a new one too, but I'm not seeing anything new to get excited about so far.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Cell phones

I agree i386,my last LG was a good phone.
It would hold a charge for 2 days or more with moderate use.

 

[rwise]

Re: Cell phones

Well I bought the motorazr v3, I like the way its laid out (can we still say laid) bigger buttons than the others. Also got the mobile charger, USB cable and driver, and a leather jacket (for the phone). Hope I have better luck with this than I did the sony, the only thing good I can say about the sony was it got signal when others had none and even made a few calls in places it said it hade no signal (0 bars).

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Cell phones

I don't know, my battery lasts forever in my razr. The people who say their battery is crap might be the same people who talk on a phone for 6 hours and wonder why they are out of battery. I do know some models of razrs have different battery capacities, so that might be a factor.

What surprizes me is how long the battery in my bluetooth headset lasts. I have not had it die on me yet, and I have talked for a few hours at a stretch on it and still left it on all day. Handy little bugger even if it is kinda dorky/borg-ish...

 

[deejaycee_2000]

Re: Cell phones

my nokia N73's battery last about 7 days .... and I am permanently on it ......

 

[heyttown]

Re: Cell phones

Ive had good luck with Motorola...Had signal when people standing next to me with other makes and carrier service couldnt even get a line to call out....

My last phone I went with LG, and have had nothing but problems...In fact my ex had the same phone also....We have both had problems in charging the phone in the cradle,eventually the only way she could charge her phone was through the attachment for the car...Now my phone is starting to do the same..I could have 3 out of 4 bars when not on the phone, as soon as I call a number and connect the phone will drop to 1 or zero bars on the battery indicator...Once I disconnect the phone the indicator goes back to 3 or 4 bars...Plus Ive had alot more dropped calls with this phone...

Im up for a new phone next month....Last time I was in the store,I looked around...I will more then likely go back to motorola and get the razr....
I will never own an LG again....but thats just me.

 

[i386]

Re: Cell phones

I don't know, my battery lasts forever in my razr. The people who say their battery is crap might be the same people who talk on a phone for 6 hours and wonder why they are out of battery. I do know some models of razrs have different battery capacities, so that might be a factor.

What surprizes me is how long the battery in my bluetooth headset lasts. I have not had it die on me yet, and I have talked for a few hours at a stretch on it and still left it on all day. Handy little bugger even if it is kinda dorky/borg-ish...

Yea, that's another requirement for my next one. Bluetooth. Now, I hate seeing these dorks with their ear piece permanently installed in their head but I'd like to have one. It never fails when I'm driving that I light up a smoke and someone calls. I have the wired handsfree thing now and it sucks. I'll miss a call before I get the damn thing untangled and plugged in.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Cell phones

I don't know, my battery lasts forever in my razr. The people who say their battery is crap might be the same people who talk on a phone for 6 hours and wonder why they are out of battery. I do know some models of razrs have different battery capacities, so that might be a factor.

What surprizes me is how long the battery in my bluetooth headset lasts. I have not had it die on me yet, and I have talked for a few hours at a stretch on it and still left it on all day. Handy little bugger even if it is kinda dorky/borg-ish...

Yea, that's another requirement for my next one. Bluetooth. Now, I hate seeing these dorks with their ear piece permanently installed in their head but I'd like to have one. It never fails when I'm driving that I light up a smoke and someone calls. I have the wired handsfree thing now and it sucks. I'll miss a call before I get the damn thing untangled and plugged in.

Yeah, I don't "sport" my bluetooth like I'm all cool and shyte. I wear it when I am driving and working, and put it my pocket when I go into the store or whatever. If I get a call I pop it on and talk, but people still look at me like I've lost my mind when I am perusing the dvd section in Wal-fart and talking to myself...

 

[i386]

Re: Cell phones

Oh yea... Don't buy your chargers and accessories from the dealer. They're WAY overpriced. You can get the chargers for next to nothing on eBay (well you could last two times I bought a phone).

My bosses daughter had a Verizon store before they started building the big stores. The accessories would come piled into a big cardboard box. I think she paid $250 for the whole thing, then turn around and sell each piece for $20-$25. The guy in the kiosk in the mall ain't saving you any money either.


Jason, I didn't figure you were that guy. 8)

 

[technostingray]

Re: Cell phones

I 386, you have a PM>

 

[rwise]

Re: Cell phones

for less then cingular wanted for a case I got a case and usb cable delivered from ebay! and the case at cingular did not fit correctly,,,

 

[i386]

Re: Cell phones

Went to the Verizon store on Saturday. I found one I thought I liked (Samsung SCH-a990) but it was over $300. No thanks. I didn't care about the features, just liked the screen size and button layout. Kinda leaning towards the Motokrzr if the battery is good in it.

 

[i386]

Re: Cell phones

Update: I bought the Motokrzr

Appearance:
It's much smaller in my hands than my previous LG VX8000, which was a big phone. The frame is metal (I think) and feels very well made. The display is also smaller than my old phone, but my old phone had a huge display. The outside display is a little dark because it's behind the "smoked" clear plastic case. It's very nice looking but gets smudged with fingerprints very quickly.

Interface:
Pretty similar to any Verizon phone. Nothing remarkable to complain about.

Text Messaging:
I do a good bit of text messaging. The small keypad makes it a little harder to use than my previous phone. The text input "system" is called ITAP (instead of I9). It works ok, but I think I like the other way better. It's also hard to see the letters on the keys in daylight. I have to tilt the phone to the side to get a better angle on it. I probably need glasses though so it might not be an issue for most.

Signal:
Seems fine. No better or worse than my previous phone which I considered very good. So far, it works, and doesn't work in the same places as the old one.

Bluetooth:
I bought a Plantronics Bluetooth ear piece and it works fine. Very nice for driving.

Data/Fax:
After installing the drivers, I connected the phone to my laptop via USB cable. Windows XP recognized the phone and loaded the drivers for it. It installs as Motorola USB Modem.

I sent a test fax to the office via the "Fax" printer that comes with Windows XP. No worries.

I had already setup a dialup connection to Bellsouth months ago for occasional use when I couldn't find a WiFi hotspot. So all I had to do was edit that connection and make the Motorola USB modem available to it. It dialed right in and connected at 12mbps. I live in a hole near the lake so I have either 1 bar or none at all. I expect it might work better with good signal.

Music:
I'll have to get a MicroSD card to test this feature, but I have read that it will play MP3 files in addition to VCAST content. (Why anyone would BUY music from Verizon than can only played on the phone is beyone me) It's not something that's important to me but I might try it out sometime.



Overall, I like it but I'm a little dissapointed in text messaging with it.