Smartphones: bathroom breaks will never be the same

I use a Nokia N81. I didn't really choose the phone, it was a gift about 3 years ago. Yeah it's not a smart phone (which I'm going to get eventually) but this thing is a monster. It has been through damn near anything you can think of: water, snow/ice, fire (dropped coals on it a few times), sand, mud, falling down massive hill etc. It still works perfectly, but the bottom corner of the screen is a bit cracked and is slightly melted from the coals.

 

I have a Blackberry Storm. Such a piece of shit compared to the iPhone and Android phones I've tried. Slow, only 128mb for App memory (of which half is used by the OS), and a non-responsive touch screen. I don't even understand why I got a non-3G blackberry. I love BBM though and email integration. I was very careful with my phone for about a year until I dropped it playing golf and there's a huge crack in the screen. Now I hate even looking at it.

My next phone will probably be the iPhone or the Blackberry Pearl 3G. I miss having a small cell phone, and the Pearl is just the right size while being just as functional as the other BBs.

 

I think of buying phones like I buy cars; a lot of thought goes into my purchases because I use them for several years. My phone is the connection to the world most of the time (internet, close second), so, what I use needs to work well. I recently picked myself up an iPhone 4 and I love it. It's fast, easy to use and is adaptable for what I need; sure, Droid phones can do the same but in my eyes, they're not yet established enough in the market for my money.

That said, I'm sure there is little difference between an Apple phone and a Droid phone, quality wise. In fact, in my eyes both are on the same level and it was just the reputation that Apple products has (no matter what your viewpoint is, Apple does make a damn good product, even if it's overpriced) that sold me. Maybe when my phone turns into a paperweight then I'll look into other options but for now, I like what I have.

On the flip side, I use a Blackberry Curve for work and I hate the stupid thing. It's clunky, has a terrible interface and it's about as versatile as a cheese grater in a butter factory.

 

This thing.



Only covered with shitloads of duct tape. Why? Because it's all I need out here in Hicksville. Important calls only for this guy.

Several downsides however: rapage on texting and roaming, lack of picture messages, camera, or any other bells and whistles. Tracfone blows, but whatever, I can live with it for one more year before I head back to the city for college.

 

I guess everyone has pretty much written off the WinMo platform? Not even a poll option?

Sprint SERO 500 plan on the HTC Touch Pro 2 running MightyROM. Coupled with Google Voice and free Pick3 I've pretty much got unlimited everything.

Did I also mention I've got tethering, WiFi router? Forget the stock ROM though, slowest POS I've seen. I've seen faster texting on broken BB's.

Also, looks like as of the 1st of November Android will be available for legacy Sprint SERO plans for an additional $10 and another $10 for 4G Evo.

 

I love my Metro PCS Samsung slide phone. I can make calls with it, it uses internet just enough I can google a song if I can't remember who sang it, GPS if I need it, and a camera that takes pretty decent pictures (nekkid or otherwise).

 

I have a BlackBerry Tour on Sprint. Before that, I had a BlackBerry Curve. Both BlackBerrys have served me just fine, but I know there is more out there with the Android phones. I am eligible to upgrade in November, and I will be getting the HTC Evo or Samsung Epic at that time.

BlackBerry is great for email and has a phenomenal keyboard. But it is slow, and outdated as far as apps go.

 

Old school bitches.

 

Oh iPhone 4, how I love you. My romance with this beauty just started 9 days ago, but I think it's real love. I went from a blah nothing phone to this stunner. I barely know how to operate it, but I sure love trying!

I am not a label whore and don't care a lick about technology, but when I decided to get a smart phone I talked to everyone I knew about theirs. The words that stuck in my head were "If you're going to go there, get the best. Get the leader". He was right and I jumped on the 4.

I totally lucked out and walked into a store shortly after delivery of a shipment of these bad boys. A bunch of my friends are on waiting lists. Boy, were they pissed! And it turns out there is some kind of nerd rivalry between Blackberry and iPhone users. Seriously? I already fight enough with the Calgary/Edmonton rivalry (go Oilers!). I certainly don't need to get my back up over a damn phone (no matter how fucking cool it is).

But....... I need a tutorial. I'm like a freakin' cavewoman with this thing. Net Daddy, can you come help a girl out?

 

Doubtful purely due to Fiscal austerity. All those fancy features on phones lead to higher and higher data charges. Given most people are idiots who go to town on a new toy they are not paying for I can see BB/RIM surviving for sometime as they simply meet the needs of most companies supplying employees with email centric devices at the lowest cost.

 

I had shitty flip phones for many years but picked up the iPhone [first version] on the cheap earlier this year.

My productivity at work has gone down about 75% since making the switch. Being able to check up on scores, use Facebook, internet, etc has basically been a game changer for me.

Jailbreaking the phone took it to a whole new level. I can tether internet through my phone to my laptop. Which is perfect for my job writing about boxing. While on the road, I can type an article up and use the net while someone else drives. HUGE.

Also, being able to play Pokemon Gold version with a Gameboy overlay on the screen is by far the greatest time waster ever.

Side focus: Who hates those fucktards that download the useless apps like turning your phone into a beer for you to fake chug, or, turning your phone into a shotgun to fake shoot. So queer.

 

Samsung Exclaim (not pink). It's nothing too fancy but it's a decent phone. I'll probably keep using it until it dies, and by that time smartphones will probably be the only option. I don't have any problem with smartphones, I've just never had any big need for one. I actually kind of dread getting one because of how easily distracted I can get.

 

I have a Storm 2 because only BlackBerries connect to my work's email server and I wanted a touchscreen. The screen is greatly improved over the original storm and you should have no problem using it unless you're 90. I don't have any complaints and the phone rarely fucks up compared to my old Curve. However, I do run QuickPull every morning on my way to work. If you have a BlackBerry and don't do so already, get this program and run it once a day. You just transformed your puppy that chews the sofa and pisses on the floor into the cute, well-behaved one that attracts women at the park. Seriously, it's that good.

That being said, if I didn't have to have a BlackBerry I would get a Droid X in a second. Or maybe even an iPhone if Apple gets its head out of the sand and offers its phone on Verizon. Then again, I have a functional media player, Pandora, Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, Skype, Bloomberg Mobile, and Settlers of Catan, how many more apps do I need?

 

I use an LG Lotus, pictured here:



I got it free for signing up to another year of phone service with Sprint. The "QWERTY" keyboard is kind of annoying, but I have had worse phones.
It is more than I need/want. I just send and recieve calls/messages/pictures. That is it. I don't surf the web on my phone because I find different ways to entertain myself.
I never wanted a phone to begin with; when I was of legal driving age, my dad's girlfriend told him that he should get a cell phone for me incase I had some kind of emergency on the road. I turned down the proposition of a free cell phone (this was 1997) so I could take the first steps to becoming an independent individual.
I did just fine using payphones/store phones/other peoples' cell phones for years whenever I was away from the house and had to make a call.
The only reason I ever got a cell phone to begin with is because of my son, ie:the prodding of my ex-wife.
The only reason why I still have a phone is because it has become necesarry for me to make money as a roving mechanic.

 

I just took the plunge into the smartphone world a month ago. Got myself the Motorola Devour. It is pretty similar to the Droid except it was $100 cheaper. Like others have echoed, apps are what make these phones amazing. I did a ton of reading on which apps to get and having my kindle books in my pocket along with a google reader app means I am never standing in line watching the clock. I get so much reading done that I couldn't before.

One of the reasons I got this was the slide out keyboard. I thought I wouldn't really like the touch screen keyboard. Boy was a wrong. I haven't used the slide out in weeks. Especially since I got the swiftkey keyboard app, my texting speed completely blows everyhting else out of the water. The predictive text is incredible. It learns words incredibly fast and it even tracks your previous text messages to learn your writing style which has made the predictive powers increasingly valuable. Also for anyone else that has an Android, I would highly recommend swapping out the stock browser for Opera mini. It is much faster and the options are much more intuitive. TED mobile has also made morning and evening bus rides to and from school wonderful especially since my ride is about 25 mins long, the perfect amount of time for a TED talk.

The devour also has a fairly tough aluminum exterior with rubber bumpers so I was able to eschew a case and just got a $.02 screen protector.

USB tethering has also been mentioned and enable me to always have a free wifi connection available for my laptop. Godsend.

As far as drawbacks go, Android phones, are definitely victims of bloatware. A bunch of programs that are built in when you buy it, always reboot themselves after a while if terminated, and cannot be uninstalled (as far as I know, if anyone knows how to get rid of these things permanently, please let me know).

Also, I recently learned my phone will not be getting the upgrade to FroYo which really pisses me off. I've been considering exchanging it for a phone that will be getting it but I'm not too certain on what the pros and cons of FroYo are.

 

I use a POS nokia while I wait for phone co or work to sort their shit out. Given a choice - I'd use either a Nokia N900 (It's a linux laptop with a tiny screen), or Android - Probably a Samsung Galaxy if I couldn't find something equally shiny with a qwerty keypad.

 

I've got a Google Nexus One with T-Mobile. I used to have an AT&T Pantech Duo phone with Windows Mobile. Jesus was that a shitpile. If it wasn't the fact that I could barely get my sausage fingers to push one button on the keyboard, it's that Windows Mobile would shit its pants anytime you tried to do more than one thing at a time.

Due to the nature of my job, my work pays for the internet on my phone so they can email me whenever they need to. Plus, being able to read up to the second news or watching youtube on the can is the greatest thing ever. I went with Android because of Flash support and the fact that the Android apps market doesn't have to go through the draconian and arbitrary approval process that Apple's store does. I'm pretty sure Steve Jobs is Satan with a hybrid.

 

Yup.

 

Can't seem to make the image work so I'll just tell you peeps the model.

The almighty Nokia 2310.