Random cellphone babbling thread #1

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You really can't go wrong with Sanyo. I own three Sanyos, and all of them have always been reliable like nobody's buisness.

Sprint offers both the 3200 and the S1. The 3200 is an updated version of my SCP3100, which was an EXCELLENT phone. IIRC, the 3200 has a 1.3MP cam like it's predecessor the 3100, and also has Bluetooth, and eliminates the antenna.

The S1 is the phone I'm currently using. It's a vanilla, rugged phone and I admit that despite being just a phone (no cam, no memory card, just Bluetooth), I've grown fond of it.

The Katana might also interest you. The Katana was Sanyo's own answer to the RAZR, though cheaper and more reliable.

The 7050 is another good Sanyo, and this one is certified for shock, dust and vibration, so this one can take a beating and won't even flinch.

Apart from that... I assume you do not need a Crackberry or an iDEN phone. There's some LG and some Samsung, but I'd go for a Sanyo over a LG and a Samsung any day of the week.

 

Disciple - Oh, don't get me wrong, it still works. Took everything out and put it on top of my modem (it gets seriously hot) for about 3 days, and all the water's gone from the screen and everything, but my camera won't work.

Which kinda sucks, because I bought it for the camera. Grr.

 

Ok, going for a new phone, I pretty much get any handset I want for free on my contract, so I'm gonna need some recommendation's for phones out in the UK, preferably a SE, cos my last SE was brilliant.

 

Recommend a Phoney Ericsson? Over my dead body.

 

Well, what phone would you recommend?

 

First, I'll need to know your provider so I can take a look at the lineup and from there I can make recommendations.

 

If you're going SE, I'd recommend either the K850i or the K550i, both really great phones. But then again, both mostly camera-based.

 

I was lucky and they replaced my phone under the warranty. So I guess all I have to add is... w00t!

 

They did you a HUGE favor because cracked LCD aren't covered by warranty.

 

Opps, Sorry, forgot I had asked for advice here. I'm on O2 in the UK. Might be changing to 3 if O2 don't give me a better deal. So you could look at both of their ranges

Thanks.

 

I cannot access O2's online store so I have absolutely no idea what their lineup looks like.

Looking at 3's lineup, I see they have the N95, and you know I'm a die-hard Nok fan, so that would be my recommendation. It's been recently released in Canada, and this bad mother almost makes me want to switch back to GSM... 5MP, 8GB memory, a HUGE screen... keep in mind it's a Symbian smartphone, though, so it's more vulnerable to mobile viruses.

I know Barms will post here saying he has a N95 and that he's none too thrilled about it. Nokias take time to fully appreciate. If I do indeed switch back to GSM, I will once again have an exclusive relationship with Nok.

The Viewty isn't a bad phone either, but LG touch phones have been hit-and-miss.

I know you have owned a RAZR back in the day, so the RAZR2 might be an option - just make sure it's the 3G version as it's a big improvement over the 2G quadband version.

 

Hmm, will have a look if O2 have those phones. Thanks for the advice.

 

Ok, now, DotW, I know you hate SE's, but the N95 only has 1 day of life in it, and they offered me a far better contract, for cheaper, with the K850i.

 

*shrugs* Well, in the end, it's your call. Phoney Ericsson are wildcards, either they work just fine (the keywords here being *just fine*) or they F*** up like nobody's buisness. And by the incredible number of complaints and phones I sent out to service, from hard experience Phoney Ericsson happens to fall in the second category.

I know I wouldn't touch Phoney Ericsson with a 1000 foot pole. I'd pick ANYTHING over a Phoney Ericsson, even a freaking first-gen RAZR or a LG touchphone.

 

Random thoughts...

Last weekend, I was in NYC. I brought my brother's old Sprint phone, activated it to use as a local phone. I often hear that Sprint reception sucks... I beg to differ - I find Sprint to be pretty satisfying. As a a matter of fact, I was on Pier 17 when one of my friends called me, and I has zero problem holding a conversation, while some dude with an uber-expensive Verizon phone looked like he was about to throw the phone in the water and get another one. He saw me shaking my head and grinning, asked me what was so funny... I showed my Sprint phone holding a full signal and made a call on speakerphone just to piss off the guy even more.

Bottom line, if you guys down in the US think Sprint reception is abysmal... bring your arses over here and try a Bell phone, you'll understand what I mean.

 

Edited 6/1/09

Field test: Crackberry 7290

Modes: GSM 850/900/1800/1900

Battery life: RIM rates this battery for 9 days standby, 240 minutes talk time, and I am glad to say the 7290 delivers those numbers. Unlike my old 5810, the battery is removable... and changable.

Signal: After upgrading the BB platform to a more recent version, the phone application now works great. The 7290 still fails the dreaded Dead Zone test, but to it's defense, I get a pretty decent signal everywhere else. Updating the phone application paid some huge dividends. Prior to the update, the phone would freeze whenever I called someone and his voicemail. It's no longer the case.

Sound quality: The 7290 has a very clear sound, with almost no background hiss common to GSM (if you have a GSM phone, crank up the volume in a quiet environement and listen carefully, you'll hear it)... though when signal fades to almost nothing (rare occurence), there is some solid echo. Volume is decent, I had no problem hearing or being heard in noisy places.

Form factor: Candybar.

Phone and keyboard feel: Being a full QWERTY phone, the 7290 isn't a phone I'd call small. The 7290 feels surprisingly natural when in use as phone. The keys are a bit small for my big fingers, but I can email/text with minimal issues, just the occasional typo.

Screen: 240x160 65,535 colors LCD. The 7290's screen is very sharp, and I was surprised how realistic it looked for a 16-bit screen. Readability in the sun is impressive as well.

Camera: Buy one of the newer Crackberries if you want a cam. This perticular model is a no-nonsense workhorse.

Final score and the bottom line: After working flawlessly for a few weeks, the 7290 once again started doing freegames, the usual lose-the-signal-and-can't-find-the-network-even-though-I'm-in-a-great-coverage-zone.

Seeing as I have no other 7290 to test whenever I have a defective unit or if the 7290 just plainly sucks, I'm withdrawing my final score for this one. Screw you, 7290.

 

Field test: RAZR V3

Yep, the unthinkable happened... I got me a RAZR. Hey, it was a HUP that my friend's friend didn't needed and stashed away, so I got it for cheap.

Modes: Quadband GSM 850/900/1800/1900

Battery life: Rated by the book for 10.4 days, and the RAZR DOES NOT delivers the goods. I get a week out of it at best.

Signal: Ed Zander said the V3 had the best antenna on a Motorola phone, period. Bold words, Zander. The V3's RF is good, true - but I wouldn't call it the best.

Sound quality: Using this phone for too long makes my ears pray for mercy.

Form factor: Clamshell

Phone and keyboard feel: The V3 is definitively wider than your average clamshell phone, as a matter of fact every other phone I hold in my hand feels small. The slick metal keypad works pretty damn well, though it's difficult to type without looking.

Screen: The internal screen is a 262,144 colors TFT LCD, which at 176*220, looks pretty damn good. The outer screen is a 4096 colors 96*80 LCD. Setting a wallpaper on the inner LCD will set the same wallpaper for the outer LCD. The secondary screen is handy to quickly check time, messages, signal strength, caller ID, and stuff like that.

Camera: VGA, 1.3MP. Good to catch pics on the go, but not a substitute to a real camera.

Final score: 6.5. The V3 is overrated.

Random thoughts:

- Quadband GSM makes the V3 a world phone.
- Like other Motos, the V3 has a built-in ringtone composer.
- The V3 supports MP3 ringtones, but don't abuse it, as the original V3 does not have a memory card slot.
- The V3's Bluetooth works great, but Robbers has disabled FTP. [Censored] you, Robbers.
- Custom ringtones and/or Wallpapers (via MPT) WORKS OUT OF THE BOX. No DRM, no crap, nothing!

 

Just bought the HTC Diamond Touch... It's sexy .

 

Let us know how good it is, oli. Let's hope it's better than it's older sibling the Touch...

 

Well so far I'm having no problems with it what so ever. It's pretty fast and responsive and I've yet to stumble upon any sort of problems a little soft reset wouldn't fix right away. The only regret I have is not buying the pro version with the keyboard, I just hate using that little stick for text messaging; not very masculine to be honest .