Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions LOLcat lover seeks cell phone advice

I declare a conflict of interest so I'll keep this as neutral as I can.

Here is an interesting article by a tech editor who just can't decide. Soooo, it obviously won't decide for you either, but I found it interesting how he compares the best and worst of several of the most popular smart phones in his quest to find the one to rule them all.

Alll I wanted was....

Also, Google for articles on the Palm Pre. I thought Palm was dead but this product is producing a lot of rumor and chatter.

In the end, the temptations of the IStore being sooo full of dollar store apps for the Iphone makes it a hard one not to choose. Like choosing a receiver, it should depend on your priorities.

That's a pretty good article, Murph. I agree with the author.

The Palm Pre certainly has a lot of hoopla going for it. I used to love Palm's, but their lack of innovation turned me off to them. The Pre's all-new though, so it should hold promise. The major problem with it (for me) is that the only carrier for it is Sprint. I had Sprint for a while a few years back, the customer service was so lousy that I do not intend to ever go back.

The G1 is a pretty slick device too, and T-Mobile's customer service is top notch. Better than AT&T. Again, from my experience. The problem with TM is (for me!) the coverage area. In several places where I needed a phone, T-Mobile had no service and no roaming agreements - so zero phone service, which is pretty much unacceptable. Still, if I had to give up my iPhone, the G1 is where I'd be. Even if I had to buy one unlocked for use on AT&T's network.

I've used a lot of these devices. From the Sharp Zaurus ZR-5000 back in Junior High (yeah, really... I didn't get many dates...), an old Apple Newton, to a couple of Psion's in High School, to an original Palm Pilot as I went through college, to standing in line at my local Best Buy for a Compaq iPaq, then a whole torrent of devices as I've "grown up". WindowsMobile PDA's, Blackberries, Treo's, Linux Sharp Zaurii, etc. I haven't used every one of them, but I've used enough to know what works and what doesn't (again, of course, for me). Yes, I have a PDA problem.

For me, the iPhone is the best one yet. It "just works". It's the first device of it's kind I've ever had that didn't leave me with a, "yeah, but it can't do X" feeling. It does not really feel like a 'compromise' device, like every other PDA I've ever used has. And I am not an Apple fanboy, really, I'm not. But I have to give Apple credit on the iPhone - they did a nice job.

Voice quality is on par with anything else, the email works well, and the web browsing is far superior to anything else I've ever used. That's the holy trinity for me. The app store and the integration with iTunes is just icing on the cake. It's not even that expensive, compared to the $500+ that I have spent on other devices.

It's not perfect. For email and text messaging, Blackberries are still king. I don't mind the on-screen keyboard of the iPhone, but if you've really got to bang-out an email, a Blackberry is superior. Push email is still kludgy on the iPhone, where it's darn-near perfect on a BB.

And Google integration is far superior on the G1. Push GMail is probably the one feature that the iPhone lacks that is an irritation for me.

Good luck!!!

I'm a gadget hound. And for full disclosure, I'm an Apple fanboy. Some of my work 'requires' that I be a fanboy...but I honestly like Apple gear, DRM and Apple tax be dammed.

During the past 10 years, I've had various phones including the Treo 600, Nokia candy bar, Blackberry 8700c, Blackberry Curve 8310, iPhone (1st gen), and now iPhone 3g.

I've had both iPhones from launch and last year lost my iPhone 1.0. Went back to my 8310 until the iPhone 3G came out. I have to admit, going back to the Blackberry made me realize how much better RIM is at text and email, as stated before. iPhone simply isn't close. If you want an all around entertainment device with a full breadth of apps, true iPod capability, video player, etc the iPhone can't be beat. That being said, you have to live w/ the crappy 3G coverage of ATT (for now). I live in Silicon Valley and work in Santa Clara, CA. Those of us w/ iPhones struggle to get a consistent 3G signal. Google and you'll find that's true in SF, NYC and almost every metro area. ATT's 3G coverage is horrible, Verizon is WAY better. BUT, I NEVER had coverage problems when using my Blackberries. RIMs simply have better antennas and hence better coverage. Now it's not only the iPhone's 3G radio that's to blame. I just came back from 3 weeks in the Philippines and their 3G coverage makes the US look pathetic. I could get 5 bars in places where there wasn't even a hot shower for hundreds of miles. So much for capitalism and free choice in America...

iPhones are also not for everyone. My wife HATES my iPhone. She can't type on it and for her, the GUI is not intuitive. She inherited my 8310, which she LOVES, and I'll probably upgrade her to the Blackberry Bold. IMHO, the Bold (right now) is probably the best smartphone.

If you want an iPhone, wait about a month. There may be an announcement at Apple's WWWDC next week but I doubt it. My guess (and it's an unbsubstantiated guess) is that Jobs will present it at as a new product upon his return to work. Count on next week to provide the official release of iPhone 3.0 SDK which should have some slick features.

I used to LOVE Palm. I had several Palm Pilots and even helped them work on a few, up through the Palm Lifedrive. I've seen vids of the Pre and know that there's some old Apple guys working on it. It's a GREAT phone, has a lot of the things that the iPhone is missing. It goes on sale this Sat and if it was on ATT, I'd consider dropping my iPhone for it. But I don't want to switch to Sprint.

Google made a valiant effort with the G1. And the latest Cupcake update makes it better. However, I think it's got a ways to go before it's a great phone.

Okay, I'm pretty much a cheapskate/luddite in this area, so my experience may not be highly relevant.

I still like Palm. My phone is a Palm Centro, and it meets my needs better than anything out there.

My deal-killer requirement is the ability to synchronize with MS Outlook (at the desktop level) WITHOUT an expensive data plan.

I still can't find anything else that does it better.

Nobody does it better
Makes me feel sad for the rest
Nobody does it half as good as Palm
Baby, you're the best....

If you love your Palm so much (snicker, snicker), why don't you marry it?

Great. Thank you SO much for that. Now I have Carly Simon stuck in my head.

Okay, I deserved that. But not the Carly Simon.

Ah, I missed the part about websites/info.

These are what I follow on RSS:
Engadget (including their sister sites for Mobile and HD)
Gizmodo


Engadget (including mobile and HD) has about 3 audio podcasts. The main Endgadget podcast is well done. The mobile one is OK. Gdgt is run by the founders of Endgadget and they are VERY smart. I also like Gadgettes and Buzz Out Loud. They're entertaining as well. GeekBriefTV also has some interesting stuff once in a while.

Thanks, all!

Once again, the Axiomite Brain Trust (TM) comes through. I'm going to wait for the next-gen iPhone and get one after my move to Georgia next month. Augusta, GA doesn't have 3G yet, but may get it - or the new upgrade (4G?) coming after it - within the year, according to my tech friends in the area.

Sounds like a good plan.

I was recently poking around on the Howardforum thread regarding AT&T 3G deployments. There were a couple of posts regarding Augusta, GA. Someone said that AT&T's 3G service was up and running the week before this year's Masters. So they may have 3G going already.

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And a news bit...

http://entrepreneur.com/PRNewswire/release/117660.html