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Cell Phone Shopping?

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BRiT

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I'm still shopping around for a cell phone. Any suggestions on which model to get or what service provider to go with? It'll primarily be used in the North-East and Central Ohio areas (Cleveland and Columbus).

I appreciate any and all shared experience, both good and bad, everyone has had. Thanks!
 
By and large, VZW is still the best provider in terms of availability of the network, and sound quality of the calls. They're basically available everywhere, and have a variety of plans to choose from.
Unfortunately, they tend to lag behind when it comes to the latest technology, and really tend to not treat their customers that great (Do a search for 'Verizon bluetooth V710' and you'll get an idea of what I mean).

On the whole, however, they still provide the best cellular service around.
AT&T/Cingular has had, IMHO, horrible call quality for years, and I know a lot of people who have left them for other providers.
 
i have less than a year of cell phone experience, but T-mobile has been pretty good. very satisfactory coverage, and they have a cool feature to check your minutes using the phone..
 
Well I know Cingular has turned for the better in the midwest. The minutes rollover so you don't lose any excess minutes. They have text messaging and internet access. They also have a feature to use your phone at home to ring into cellphone so you don't have to use a cordless or corded phone (that's free too); it's when your cellphone is near base charger at house it knows to ring your landline into cellphone. Ironically I'm not promoting Cingular but wish I had gone with them (some other family members are with them). I like some of those features that Cingular has that my provider does not.
I happen to be with Sprint since they ever started in cellphones and have a plan that you wouldn't believe if I could tell you. Sadly I am not allowed to disclose my plan (part of contract) since it's not even available to anyone else EVER again and they don't want to hear "hey I know someone that has this unbelievable plan, how come I can't get that?" Sprint however is prime in midwest since they are based there. If you plan to use phone in Eastern States, which you are somewhat Eastern, Verizon I know from my clientele claim is the best in that area.
 
Hrm, shame about Cingular having bad quality... I've been intrigued by the Amazon RAZR V3 cell-phone for free with a contract with Cingular. It looks like a decent cell phone with a lot of tech-features. I'm torn between getting a decked out cellphone+pda combo and just getting the base cellphone. Do current cell-phones operate well enough as PDAs?
 
Not really. Unless you get a smartphone, it's not really useful as a PDA due to lack of sync'ing features.
For example, my phone has an address book that's good for little more than phone numbers, a calendar that's only a calendar (not a datebook), and little else in the way of PDA features.
However, if you get a Palm or PocketPC smartphone, you're getting a cell phone fully integrated into your PDA, including syncronization with a PC, dialing from within the address book, etc.

If you're looking to combine the two items into one, definitely go with a smartphone. However, it makes for a pretty bulky cell phone.
 
I use a Samsung Palm computer phone. It's about the thickness of a deck of cards and about almost the same size in length and width. I don't find it bulky in SIZE and I'm against flip phones (more suspectible to breakage because two parts) so this phone is nice as one flush piece. There are no buttons for dialing as it's a fully accessible touch screen. Part of screen is for stylus for Palm use. I can easily sync to computer with base charger attached to computer. Also have a base charger/handsfree set installed in car (worth it eh!). Some features if you wish to go this route:
Color screen
Voice recorder for memos
Plays music if you sync.
Palm games/applications (too many for me to list here that I have on phone)
Internet access and phone as modem for laptop.
addresss book (real database one)/calendar datebook
speed dial/speaker phone

I have customers in the thousands; that plus family and friends--they're all listed in the address book with ALL their information (email, birthday, spouse, address, more and more, etc. even customer file notes)

From what I know Verizon and Sprint are the only two using Samsung phones.
by the way mine is SPH-i300 if you want to look it up (they don't make it anymore as it's an old one) They have updated models that blow mine away in memory/screen resolution/etc... Also some are PocketPC form too

Hope this helps you decide!

p.s. Diesel does have a point that these phones are bulky in WEIGHT. Mine is heavy!
 
BRiT said:
I'm still shopping around for a cell phone. Any suggestions on which model to get or what service provider to go with? It'll primarily be used in the North-East and Central Ohio areas (Cleveland and Columbus).

I appreciate any and all shared experience, both good and bad, everyone has had. Thanks!
Click to expand...

The cell phone that I use is the Sprint LG flipfone ( LG VI-125 ) - I purchased it from Wirefly.com! I suggest that you look there for something that you need. If you need any sortof help just ask and I'm sure someone will give you a hand. Good luck, and happy phone hunting.
 
the new RAZR looks really cool

if you are into PDAs I would suggest getting the Palm Treo
I have an older Treo 600 and I love it
 
Can anybody help me with a Nokia N90 question?

A friend of mine has sent me a link to an amusing movie clip that was supposedly shot on an N90 but the video quality is so good I believe its been 'enhanced' digitally. He tells me the video is genuine and is the best on the market, but I still think its been tampered with? This is what I'm talking about.

Would I get the same quality for my movies? Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,
Ash.
 
I honestly just don't understand the point of being able to shoot video from a cell phone. It's not like you're going to be using it to record keepsakes, and otherwise, it's just a cheap gimmick. It really doesn't serve much of a practical function for several reasons.
1) Lack of viable recording options
2) Lack of available memory
3) Limited functionality
4) Exceptionally low quality (compared to alternatives)

While I find the video clip to be of decent quality for a phone, I have serious doubts as to the veracity of the claim that it wasn't enhanced.

It just strikes me as more of a toy than a "feature". There are more important things to look for in a phone than the quality of it's video features. Don't get caught up in the marketing hype. If you need to record video, invest in a camera, not a phone.
 
i feel the same way about cameras in phones - i carry a camera with me almost all the time anyway. the one nice thing would be to have pictures on the phone to identify callers, i guess, but that's about it.
 
yeah but, it's so annoying trying to hook your camera up to the printer if you want... it takes so long to print it.. people should atleast make the camera easier to use..
 
monsieurjohn said:
the one nice thing would be to have pictures on the phone to identify callers, i guess, but that's about it.
Click to expand...

My phone already has that feature, and it's a vastly overrated feature. I basically never use pictures to identify a caller, since my outer screen (I have a clamshell flip design phone) displays my phonebook information for an incoming call.

ie. If the phone number of the caller matches one of my address book entries, the phone displays their address book name instead of the number.

In order to view the pictures, I'd have to open the phone, at which point I've just answered the call.
 
lol.. you have a point it is overrated so are many other features
such as the fancy ringtones.. they don't even have the whole song so
why bother? it's just crazy... phone makers are lowering the price of their fancy phones, and raising the cost of service for the phones...
i don't like that thought. it's just that most services are crap and they charge you say 1 dollar a minute who would want to do that if you can
just pay a monthly plan for the phones....
 
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