New Cellphone Recommendation

[benos]

ZH,

It would seem that if you can't update the software on an unlocked iPhone, that would be a bad thing.

I just remembered I have a local Mac-genius friend who works at a local Mac store. And I've seen him with an iPhone. So I'll milk him the next time I see him around Casey's.

[kgunz11]

The iphone IS a MAC phone, but only available through Cingular/AT&T wireless, and we know how you feel about them!

[zhunter]

ZH,

It would seem that if you can't update the software on an unlocked iPhone, that would be a bad thing.

I just remembered I have a local Mac-genius friend who works at a local Mac store. And I've seen him with an iPhone. So I'll milk him the next time I see him around Casey's.

Brian

I have heard, but only heard, that IF you try to upgrade an unlocked iPhone, it gets messed up. I have no corroboration of that tho.

Your guys should know tho

[outerlimits]

if you unlock it the "right" way, there is an option to restore it to it's factory state...then apply the updates, then unlock again. a little effort but worth it if u want another cell company...

[Front Man]

Check out the new BB 9000 before you make a commitment.

I don't know what providers will be selling them.

They make my 8703e look like a rotary phone.

(I might be exaggerating a bit.)

FM

[dlcrouch]

My wife and i both have BB Pearls - mine for work, hers for personal use.

1) Mine is integrated with our corporate Exchange email system and gives me exactly what I need - email, calendaring and contacts.

2) My wife uses her phone for yahoo email access, text messaging, MMS (picture) mail and is quite happy with it - she upgraded from a Razr.

3) Web Access - ok for getting specific info such as sports scores, weather, movies. Not worth a darn for browsing.

4) We both use ATT - i'm happy with the service and rate plan. That said, i get a pretty good discount through my company.

5) To access email and access the WWW, you'll need a data plan. I went with an unlimited plan (29.99 + voice plan)

6) Depending on your tech skills and patience, configuring a BB for email access and other web features can be a bit trying. Try to find a dealer who can help you out.

7) Here is a great BB forum http://www.pinstack.com/

In regards to the IPhone

1) Wait for the 3g version - access over ATT's edge network is (according to reports) fair to unusable.

2) If you really want to stay with TM (or hate ATT), there are rumors about Apple releasing an unlocked version sometimes this year.

[Front Man]

My wife and i both have BB Pearls - mine for work, hers for personal use.

1) Mine is integrated with our corporate Exchange email system and gives me exactly what I need - email, calendaring and contacts.

2) My wife uses her phone for yahoo email access, text messaging, MMS (picture) mail and is quite happy with it - she upgraded from a Razr.

3) Web Access - ok for getting specific info such as sports scores, weather, movies. Not worth a darn for browsing.

4) We both use ATT - i'm happy with the service and rate plan. That said, i get a pretty good discount through my company.

5) To access email and access the WWW, you'll need a data plan. I went with an unlimited plan (29.99 + voice plan)

6) Depending on your tech skills and patience, configuring a BB for email access and other web features can be a bit trying. Try to find a dealer who can help you out.

7) Here is a great BB forum http://www.pinstack.com/

In regards to the IPhone

1) Wait for the 3g version - access over ATT's edge network is (according to reports) fair to unusable.

2) If you really want to stay with TM (or hate ATT), there are rumors about Apple releasing an unlocked version sometimes this year.

The OPERA MINI isn't a bad web browser for BB.

It will look just like it would on your PC or MAC, just mini.

You can load it from your phone.

FM

[benos]

Thanks for the additional input everyone.

I talked to my local Mac-genius this weekend. He said to hold off for 2 - 4 weeks on the iPhone (if i go that route) because Apple's releasing a new iPhone in about 2 weeks. And he said in a couple more weeks "they" would be able to figure out how all the unlock/get to work with T-mobile bugs.

But I'm still on the fence as to whether I can deal with a phone that big. I wish I had one I could carry around in my pocket for a couple days.

be

[kgunz11]

Brian, a deck of playing cards is about the right size and weight. Slip those in your pocket and you'll have a good idea of what it's like.

[benos]

Cool - thanks Bobby.

be

[XRe]

The negative of the iphone to me is the cost of course and there is no insurance to buy.

No... no insurance through the phone company. Instead, you buy an Apple Care plan through Apple - good for three years. I've stood there and watched them replace 3 people's phones while waiting at the Genius Bar... cracked screens or whatever... No questions, they just move SIM cards and transfer data for them... and away they go....\

If you don't want AT&T, though, probably not the easiest option. Even though I'm technically competent, I prefer "it just works, stupid" for stuff like my cell phone. I'm an AT&T user - and happy with it (relatively speaking) around my area. I'm awaiting release of iPhone 2.0 (which will reportedly be 3G and possibly have GPS on it) - I need a new phone, but the current one is still working, so I can be a bit patient... But, having played w/ an iPhone, its really trick, and has added benefit for someone working in a multi-media industry... Yes, I know other phones can do much of that stuff, too, so...

[Dave Gundry]

Brian any updates?

I too am looking into the smartphone market, and will probably go back to T-Mobile. Would really like something with an organizer I can actually use to keep track of my schedule (I work odd and inconsistent shifts, match dates, family dates, etc.). Seems like using Outlook and syncing with the phone would be the easiest solution for me.... Or finding an editor that I can use on my computer and upload the dates/times to a standard 'dumb' phone (Rizr or Nokia 5310 are my current favorite choices)

Anybody have any input on the T-Mobile Shadow? Battery life, size, and durability are my concerns with that model...

[Front Man]

Brian any updates?

I too am looking into the smartphone market, and will probably go back to T-Mobile. Would really like something with an organizer I can actually use to keep track of my schedule (I work odd and inconsistent shifts, match dates, family dates, etc.). Seems like using Outlook and syncing with the phone would be the easiest solution for me.... Or finding an editor that I can use on my computer and upload the dates/times to a standard 'dumb' phone (Rizr or Nokia 5310 are my current favorite choices)

Anybody have any input on the T-Mobile Shadow? Battery life, size, and durability are my concerns with that model...

BB OS will sync with Outlook.

I can't function with out Outlook.

FM

[benos]

No - I'm still waiting until my neighborhood Mac-Genius says he can get the new iPhone (that's coming out real soon if it's not already) to work with T-mobile.

be

[j2fast]

No - I'm still waiting until my neighborhood Mac-Genius says he can get the new iPhone (that's coming out real soon if it's not already) to work with T-mobile.

be

This maybe be harder than before according to Gizmodo:

http://gizmodo.com/5014764/iphone-3g-prici...online-ordering

Update 2: David alerts us to this bit from Dow Jones' report: "AT&T and Apple are working on a form of penalty for users who don't activate their iPhone within 30 days of purchase." Whoa. Guess that'll cut down on unlockers, eh?

In this article as well as others it's stated that all iPhones must be activated in-store now (whether its bought at Apple or AT&T) meaning no more take home activations so its sounds like getting the new iPhone on another network my be challenging and likely expensive. I'm sure someone will be able to do it; AT&T and Apple are just working against it harder than ever it would appear.

The release date for the first 22 countries (incl US and Canada) is July 11th.

[zhunter]

New iPhone came out today!!!

[gunnerBU]

Any updates Brian?

I am really considereing an iPhone right now, but wanted to see what everyone thought of the new 3G.

[ChuckS]

Any updates Brian?

I am really considereing an iPhone right now, but wanted to see what everyone thought of the new 3G.

I just saw a spot on CNN about many complaints about dropped calls (globally) on the new iPhone. Apparently it has been traced back to the chipset in the iPhone. The CNN person said that there will be a hack released next week to try to fix the problem but added that if that does not work Apple is looking at a global recall.

This is CNN but you may just want to wait a couple weeks...

more info:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/t...y-problem_N.htm

[gunnerBU]

Wow! Never saw that coming. I guess I'll wait...

[ChuckS]

The beat goes on:

Apple slammed with lawsuit over iPhone 3G

Apple may be wishing it had reacted faster to the reported connectivity issues with the iPhone 3G. A lawsuit has been filed against the company by Alabama resident Jessica Alena Smith claiming that the iPhone's 3G performance and reliability has not measured up to what the company claimed in its marketing campaign.

Smith purchased her iPhone 3G after seeing advertisements claiming the phone was twice as fast for half the price. But she immediately noticed that the iPhone's data connection, email and other communications were slower than expected and the phone appeared to only connect to AT&T's 3G network less than 25 percent of the time. She also experienced an "inordinate amount of dropped calls," according to the lawsuit.

Smith is hoping her lawsuit will become a class-action complaint. She's aware that others are having the same issues and is requesting that the suit be approved as a class action. Apple had no comment about the pending litigation.

Earlier this week Apple released an iPhone software update that it says improves communication between the iPhone 3G and wireless networks. However, the company has refused to provide specifics about what the software update fixes nor has it commented on what exactly is causing the iPhone 3G problems.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=5617800&page=1

[benos]

I'm going to try an iPhone, with my T-mobile service. It looks like the new 3G model can already be unlocked:

http://www.unlock-the-iphone.com/?gclid=CM...CFQcVswodDV6ikQ

http://www.unlocksiphone.com/?gclid=CIv887...CFRJdxwod8zux-A

I've heard the new 3G's are still hard to even get. I don't plan to use it for internet stuff that much, so I'm wondering if I should just get the old 2.0 version.

Our forum's Mac Genius, George (Geoff Linder) called me a few days ago, and his single word message was "iPhone"! Apparently he just got one and is pretty excited about it.

be

[kgunz11]

His message was only one word because his new phone dropped the call. There is a class action lawsuit currently filed against the service related issues with the new iphone.

When I just googled it there are actually tons of these lawsuits now against Apple and AT&T.

http://www.google.com/search?q=class+actio...lient=firefox-a

[benos]

After doing some more googling, I'm just going to buy an old iPhone.

There's quite a few on ebay:

Any advice on 8 GB or 16 GB? I guess that would just depend on how much music I would put on it. My first thought was that I probably wouldn't use it for music that much. But then that's probably just because I'm used to dragging my iPod around with me on trips. And with the 16 GB, you could stash a movie or two on it, for if you're really bored sometime.

be

[kgunz11]

Bigger is better. I run out of room on my phone all the time because of pictures and short video clips. Never hurts to have it.

[benos]

Well, I'm holding off on the iPhone for a bit. As I was trying to decide on which one to buy off ebay, I called Geoff Linder for some last minute buying advice. (Cause I know he just bought one.) When I told him I really needed to make it happen because my Razor no longer has any sound (other than through the Bluetooth or Speaker Phone), he said, "I've got an almost brand new Razor setting right here than no one's using. I'll send it to you." Thanks! That's the perfect solution for me right now, cause I got so much going on I don't have time for the learning curve a new phone requires.

be