advice on smartphones solicited

[winterbadger]

I'm looking at switching to a new phone.

I'd like to get one that has decent voice quality (which on my current one, an LG 160, seems to be not so good), and things like GPS and a camera would be handy, but my biggest priority right now, since I communicate with The Teacher by text a good deal, is to have something that has a proper keyboard instead of a standard phone keypad where I have to execute 11 key-presses to spell "love".

My options include the smartphones:
LG Optimus S
BlackBerry Style 9670
BlackBerry Bold 9650
BlackBerry Curve 9330
Samsung Transform
Sanyo Zio SCP-8600 (no real keyboard, but a virtual keyboard)

and not so smartphones:
LG Rumor2
Samsung Seek SCP
Sanyo 2700

There doesn't seem to be much price differential between the models, or none that I can connect to any rational breakdown of their capabilities.

At the moment, though I don't use it, my plan allows me to web surf at $2/MB of bandwidth used; they have an unlimited use plan for an extra $15/month. I'm not sure how much I would use web services on my phone. I suppose if I could replace my iPod Touch as my electronic vademecum I would, gut I gather that using WiFi or over the air is a huge battery drain.

I could also ditch my current provider (Credo) and get an iPhone or one of the other smarties from another provider, but I'm kind of happy with the service; I'd just like a better tool.

Any advice or suggestions?

Comments

[wolfette]

I love my Samsung Wave. My sister has the Samsung Galaxy. Touchscreen keyboards - but you do get a full QUERTY keyboard onscreen.

[lotuslion.livejournal.com]

I would stay away from any Blackberry. They kind of suck, honestly (I have had a Curve for the last 2 years and my husband had some other model for 2 years in DC), and they're a sinking ship: RIM was the only smartphone manufacturer NOT to post a gain this last quarter. I had a Samsung Alias before my BB, and for texting, it was fabulous. I've also had LG phones and found them to be reliable, so I'd go with an LG or Samsung over a BBerry. A friend has the same model Curve as me, and we're both about ready to smash them with hammers - thankfully, my upgrade is due, so I'm replacing it with an iPhone today. ;)

[ticktockmary.livejournal.com]

I have an HTC Incredible droid. It's good, though I might have liked a physical keyboard better; I'm not too good on this one.

[peaceful-fox.livejournal.com]

I adore my iPhone, and I am no huge Apple fan. I have never ever had a phone I like as much as this one. As a matter of fact, I stopped carrying a phone from 2004-2010 because I loathed them all! I also hear some of the Androids are good, but I haven't personally used them.

[azbound.livejournal.com]

I'm going to a Samsung Epic in the next few months. My only gripe about the iPhone is that they are problematic for the PHONE part.

I currently have an old Samsung Acclaim - I use it for phone (it's good), texting (which I do a LOT of, and it's got a full QWERTY board), GPS (which I surprisingly love) and Facebook.

I have Sprint - LOVE them!

But you'll like moving to a smart-er phone. ;-)

[tysolna]

I love my Swiss Army Knife, the iPhone. I don't know about the other brands (though I have not heard great things about Blackberry), but apart from functionality (and metric applecarts of applications free and cheap), there are also apps that make texting cheaper. ;)

[winterbadger]

How often do you find you need to recharge it? The one thing I've heard against iPhones is that they run down their batteries fast. And, in the States that they have sucky coverage, but they've added a new carrier recently which has vastly improved that.

[tysolna]

I give my iPhone fair use and don't have to recharge it more than once every two or three days. It can last longer if needed and I limit my gaming. ;) Also I have the older version of the iPhone, my bet is that the newer ones last longer.

iPhones run down their batteries fast if people play a game while listening to a podcast or watching a video. As usual, amount of usage equals amonunt of battery life.

And to be honest, I'd still prefer the iPhone and stick it on the computer or into the socket to recharge every day. Especially now that I turned it into an e-reader. :D