Cell phones. Tips, tricks, problems, recommendations (all but the apps; see the other thread for that).
Re: Can you hear me now? The Cel Phone Thread Netdata, I think it is Cell...you know, with 2 L's Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
Re: Can you hear me now? The Cel Phone Thread PIM backup http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=299705
The wife and I have been looking into getting a pay as you go phone, you know those ones you see in Wal-Mart: Boost, Trac phone, etc. Which one has the best plan and best coverage?
I've heard talk of this Straight Talk from TracFone. It looks too good to be true. unlimited minutes, unlimited text, unlimited mobile web for $45/month.
I have one. I traded in an old Blackberry 8703e for this one so my experience with smartphones is limited. My primary uses are email/text. I didn't have a problem getting the native Exchange connector to sync to our webmail server. Mail, calendar, and contacts are syncing without any issues. I have a few other random accounts (gmail,etc) that are also working fine. I downloaded a few apps, but rarely use them. I use the Facebook app from time to time and it works fine, but I just don't have the time or desire to download a slew of apps. I did fire up Google maps during a road trip and used it to keep track of where I was (using the GPS). I did NOT use the turn-by-turn because I didn't like the route it was using. There may be a way to change which route it uses but I didn't want to try and figure it out while driving down the highway at 70mph. Coming from an old Blackberry with a physical keyboard, I wanted to keep a physical keyboard. The keyboard is bigger than my old Blackberry's, but the qwerty level of keys is fairly close to the screen and it takes some getting used to. Ditto with the little mouse-thing on the keyboard. It works well, but takes some getting used to. I haven't had any real issues with the touch-screen keyboard or navigating the screen itself. If you get one, you need to download a task killer app or the battery will die fairly quickly. Apps don't "die" when you navigate away from them and they end up running in the background. If you're not careful, you end up with a ton of apps running and it eats up phone memory and battery. Anything using the GPS seems to eat a lot of battery. You can also download a battery widget that will show you what apps are consuming battery power and how much. I took a few pics with the camera, but not enough to say anything about it. Ditto the media player, youtube app, etc. I played, but nothing enough to speak with any authority on it. I like mine. It does what I need it to do and it's cool. I have zero experience with anything else other than that old Blackberry though so it may be a piece of crap compared to some other smart phones. I can't say if it's better than an iPhone or an Eris or even a Storm2. For me, it's mostly a tool to get alerts from my servers and things like that. If you have anything specific, ask and I'll answer if I can. They were using all these apps at the Verizon store when we bought some, some kind of crap where you can scan barcodes (it has a barcode scanner built in) and find low prices and other meaningless apps but I don't have time to mess with them.
This. Is there a comparable Blackberry app out there that helps to conserve battery life? Or a battery app like the one he's describing above? Thanks.
I've had my iPhone 3GS for about 4 months or so now. I don't have that many applications installed on it, and just now have started downloading songs onto it -- I have like, less than 20. I charge it every night, and it used to last from the time I woke up and unplugged it at 6am (100% battery) til I went to bed and plugged it in to charge about 11pm (it would be about 15% battery or so by now). I would hardly ever charge it in my car, and wouldn't plug it in during the day either. Lately, I've been having it hit the 15-20% mark much earlier -- about 5-6pm or so, and am having to charge it while in the car and whatnot much more extensively in order not to have it completely die. I've been using it the same -- text/email/some Internet/simple apps/etc -- as I always have from Day 1. My question is, is there anything I can do to sustain battery life longer or is this common? My previous phone was an old Nokia I had for about 8 years or so, so I'm not used to actually having a good phone and don't know why the battery life is gradually declining. Any tips/hints/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for helping out a technologically-phone deficient guy.
Does anyone have any additional info on the rumored Google phone? Google phone It's supposed to be a Google-branded phone running Android that works not on a traditonial cell carrier but through VoIP. I'm getting canned end of year and losing my work phone and thought this might be a viable alternative to getting a phone through Verizon or ATT.
http://www.engadget.com/tag/GooglePhone/ Read through that. It looks like it's going to be ATT or T-Mobile only due to the GSM/CDMA crap. ATT is crap, avoid at all costs.
I was hearing it would be unlocked to work on all networks. Which is interesting, because cell phone companies usually take a loss on their expensive phones and recoup the cost from all the money you give them over your two year contract. So I just wonder who's taking the loss here. Google?
I am hoping that someone can point me in the right direction. Because of my business account Verizon has offered to give me any smart-phone they carry for free. I currently have the old brick of a blackberry (7100i) I mainly use the phone for email, but like the idea of a real qwerty keyboard and gps navigation. After searching their site I am more confused than before. Anyone with any of these phones....advice appreciated.
I've heard this from a couple of people now. I'm inclined to call bullshit but figure I'd run it by the people on here who know more than I do. Allegedly, when you call somebody on a cell phone, there's a way to tell whether they're on another call as it's ringing as opposed to just not answering. Something to do with the difference in the ringing sound on your end. I've never noticed any difference.
I'm heading to Daytona for the better part of January, and if I use my iPhone down there, the international data/roaming charges will bankrupt me. Anyone know if there's some way for me to get a 1-month local iPhone plan that I could use while I'm down there? (What can I say, I'm cell phone illiterate).
It has to be unlocked for it to take a SIM card beside the one from your current carrier. If it is, your options are either ATT, T-mobile, or a small local (GSM) wireless provider in that area. T-Mobile costs less but limits you to EDGE data, ATT costs more and gets you limited of 3G data. Check their sites for more details on plans. GO Phone is what you're looking for on ATT's site. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.att.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.att.com</a> <a class="postlink" href="http://www.tmobile.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.tmobile.com</a>
I can tell you how it works on Verizon at least. There's another beat at the end of each ring. It's real short and sounds almost like a hiccup or a skip in the ring. If you want to try and picture it visually it would look like *********__**. Test it out. Once you know what to listen for it's easy to pick up.
I'm looking for a new phone. In march I'll be moving back to america for the first time in about 7 years. That being said, i've never had a "smart phone" at all. I'm way behind on about everything related to phones period. I'm looking for a phone that can: Check email/surf net, custom ring tones, play mp3s, sync with a pc, usb chargeable, and doesn't die in 3 hours. I know this is kinda vague, but any suggestions beyond "get an iphone"?
It's been rumored that the iPhone 4G (possibly coming out in June)may be compatible with the Verizon network. Has anyone heard if there is any truth to this?