Help the clueless phone 'tard choose a new smart phone

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’ve got a Samsung i760 Smartphone running windows Mobile 6.1. The phone is kind of clunky, but it does sync more or less seamlessly with my corporate server based Outlook Pro database and email.

In using the phone for anything other than making calls and email it’s kind of an embarrassment, as the Windows Mobile OS is widely regarded (with some justification) as the worst smartphone OS in the known universe. Web browsing on this phone is just … well… pretty frustrating.

I see all the fancy new phones my work peers are getting (we’re commercial real estate agents and as independent contractors, and pay for all our own hardware) as their Verizon contracts run out. Some are getting the iPhone, some are getting Blackberries, and some are getting android based phones.

I’ve seen the iPhone in action and it is pretty sweet re browsing and nifty apps, but Outlook syncing apparently takes some 3rd party sync services. Some are choosing to stick with Verizon and are getting the android phones, but I have not seen these in action. Others are going the Blackberry route but I don’t know much abut those phones. It appears that everything except the Windows Mobile OS based phones will require a 3rd party sync service to access OUtlook email and calendar.

What I want is (1) Calls- (2) Outlook email & appt calendar access - and (3) the ability to surf the web with some degree of utility.

What do you suggest?

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Well, to rest your mind a bit, Most of the Smartphones out there Including the iPhone cand do Over the Air Sync with an Exchange account and Sync your Mail, Contacta and Calender.

I Use an iPhone 3G with a Hosted Exchange account, and It works more or less flawlessly. You may need third party support if you get a blackberry and your Exchange server does not have Blackberry server installed.

Now on what phone to get .

Well the iPhone is definitely an option, as it covers the points you need , namely Phone, Mail and Web access. As long as the sites you need to access don’t use Flash, they should work fine. The main complain i’ve had is that the lack of multitasking and medicor battery life does mean that I need to either have an external battery pack with me or a charger nearby when ever possible.

If you do consider the iPhone, I’ll suggest waiting at least past Wednesday, 27/01/2010 as Apple has a big announcement and whicl its not very likely that the iPhone may be update its still a possibility. So it may be worth waiting a couple of days.

Another option is consider getting an Android phone. As far as I’m aware (As I currently don’t have one) all the android phones in the market support Exchange OTA sync, and have a webkit based browser, similar to the iPhones, so it should work pretty well. There are also some benefits with the newer 2.0 phones, especially if you use google services. Verizon had the Droid and Droid Eris and will be getting the Nexus One in the near future. T-Mobile has the Nexus One, which is currently the most advanced Android phone on the market, and has had pretty positive reviews.

If your Work Exchange server supports Blackberry enterprise Server, i’ll seriously suggest considering a blackberry. While the Os is not as polished as the iPhone or Android, it’s the best email machine I’ve seen. The keyboard is one of the best if not the best, and it does great job of handling mail and Calls. While the Built in Browser is currently not that great, an upgrade to a Webkit browser is expected soon to correct it. until Then Opera Minsi is available, which is a great browser.

You may also want to consider staying with WM, especially if you are used to it, though switching to a more powerful device like the HTC HD2. It has great specs and a great screen, and HTC has done a decent job of hiding the old WM Ui to a great extent. The advantage to this would be that all your programs would till work, while giving you much better performance and a improved browsing experience. Also the HD2 is also most likely to be upgraded to Windows Mobile 7 When it comes out a year or so down the line, so its pretty future proof.

While I am currently using an iPhone, I do on a daily basis get a little use of a WM phone (TYTN II) and a Blackberry, and each has its pluses and minuses. Best advice would be to go down to the store and try out the different models and see what seems to work for you.

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What carrier are you using?

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I’m a happy Verizon camper, and I just got a Droid, which I think is awesome. But you don’t necessarily need all that power. My wife got an LG touch, which does simple browsing, mail, and calls, and costs almost nothing. No cool apps though. I played with the Eris which seemed okay, but I preferred the larger screen size of the Droid, and Google maps for traffic info, which in my commute is useful. Both the touch and the Droid have real keyboards, the Eris doesn’t.

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Just an opinion, those of us that have members of our families that suffered from mental retardation consider the used of the words retarded or "tard as extremely offensive when used in your context. Come spend a day with my mid 40’s cousin for a day and learn just how ignorant your statement truly is.

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Maybe he meant “Help the clueless phone [bas]tard.”

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Since I only understood about a third of what Bbusyb said upthread, methinks I should stick to my Motorola flip phone (no camera) and Tracfone minutes. It seems overwhelmingly complicated to learn all those terms and acronyms and I don’t know many young whippersnappers who’d have the patience to teach it all to me.

It’s making me sad, because I’ve been thinking of finally coming into this century and getting an iphone or blackberry. I don’t even know where to begin. Maybe I’ll head over to Best Buy and eavesdrop.

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I went from a flip phone to a BlackBerry Storm about a year ago. The learning curve was not that bad.

I fact, many things are much easier to do because it’s got an honest to good keyboard (virtual) and a touch screen.

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Hmmmm. Blackberry Storm, you say? I’m off to read up on it. Thanks!
I expect a bit of a learning curve, and I’m up for the challenge. I can navigate my Kindle pretty well, so I figure I’m not a complete lost cause.

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Don’t worry about most of what I said. It was mainly aimed at someone who wants to use a work email account with their smart phone, and as such whats supported and whats not.

All smart phone’s Sold nowadays should work with Popular webmail services like Hotmail, Gmail, yahoo, etc as well as with your ISP’s mail. You should not really have to worry about Setting it up as Most Phone stores will be quiet happy to help you transfer your phone numbers from your current phone.

While there is a learning curve with most smart phones, With most its not very steep. For someone who is not very familiar with computers, I’ll really suggest going with the iPhone, as the interface is pretty easy to use and consistent, and you can get a lot of support at the apple store if you want / need any help.

Definitely seriously consider getting a smart phone, as once you get used to the ability to be connected anywhere its hard to go without.

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Thanks, Bbusyb. I’m definitely seriously considering getting an i-phone. I already have AT&T for internet, phone and cable, so I’ll see if I can add a 4th thingie to the bundle. At a reasonable cost, of course.

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I was jonesing for an iPhone, but can’t get AT&T service in my office - actually, only Verizon gets service in my office, and I’ve been pretty happy with them for the last 6 years or so.

I ended up with an HTC Imagio (CNet review here). I LOVE it! Touch-screen navigation, the web browsing isn’t a complete pain, my Gmail pops in, and it syncs with Outlook like a dream. It runs Windows Mobile 6.5, and there are plenty of apps available. I paid $199 when my “new every two” time came. The downside is the extra $30/month for data service, but it is so awesome I don’t mind that any more.