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cell phonery
freshmasterfresh
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I am a Cingular subscriber in search of a cell phone. I don't want to spend more than $200, and I am thinking of getting one from ebay, rather than cingular.
Also use this thread for cell phone related complaints, desires, and braggadocio.
EDIT: oh yeah, and I like RAZRs, but I'm thinking of maybe getting a Samsung D807.
Also use this thread for cell phone related complaints, desires, and braggadocio.
EDIT: oh yeah, and I like RAZRs, but I'm thinking of maybe getting a Samsung D807.
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Everyone else I know with a razr hates it for it's crappy battery life and it's size. Sure it's thin, but it's quite wide. Though...I don't own one, but I think I'd get annoyed if I had to plug my phone in every night. :?
I am sorry if this stirs up a ruckus.
My Razr is fine. The battery life is also fine.
However, I now have one of these:
Motorola K1 Razr. It's damn nice.
Steam | Live
Don't get a SLVR or a RAZR. If you want a good Moto phone, get the V557. It is a solid phone with good features and staying power. You can get a "almost new" V557 for 50 to 60 bucks.
If you want a newer phone, look around for a LG CU200 or CU500. You can find one for around $100 to $200 respectively.
I've always liked the look of them, but they seem like a bit of a novelty/gimmick.
I haven't really had any sort of a battery problem with my RAZR, however 1) I do not leave my phone on 24/7, and 2)I'm not on calls for hours a day. So I suppose your mileage may vary.
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My pastor swears by them, but considering how often he was on the road, visiting hospitals and people and other clergy... he needed to have his address book and calendar with him at all times.
Also, pretty much all of the ebay sellers look shifty. It bothers me, but the Cingular branded phones are a lot more expensive.
How much better are unlocked phones, anyways?
You can get unlock codes off the intertronz. It's nothing special.
The best phone currently offered by Cingular is the Sony Ericsson w810i. The SE interface is the best I've ever used, the camera is much better than anything you'd expect on a cell phone, the Walkman music player is neat to have if you're into that sort of thing; expand it to 4GB of memory for $99 at Newegg. It has great battery life (something the newer 3G phones lack) and I don't ever see it returned for reception issues. If you don't need a 3G phone, and don't need a smartphone/PDA, get the w810i. Everyone I work with is an Ericsson convert now, they really are the best phones Cingular has. They've come so very, very far in just a year and a half, from the days of the craptastic z500, t610/616, and everything before. Starting with the s710a SE has made some of Cingular's best phones.
If you're interested in a Blackberry the new Blackberry Pearl is much more accessible for non-business users, although the trackball is vastly inferior to the scroll wheel on the old ones. Still, it adds a camera and music player and slims down the phone (we call the older ones Brickberries when discussing the size) and has the nifty Suretype keypad and software that makes using it easy. The 7130c is, in my opinion, a little bit nicer for Blackberrying purposes (email and such), but at the expense of size, camera, and music playing capability.
Other phones out with good track records are the LG CU500 (if you need a 3G phone, this is your best bet) and the Cingular 3125 for a Windows Mobile smartphone. The 8525 is a pretty badass PDA, but its predecessor had a really high rate of return at our store for just being clunky to use. Anyone with an above-average level of technical competence shouldn't have trouble with it.
If you're going for an unlocked GSM phone, make sure it supports the GSM 850 frequency, without it your Cingular coverage will be abysmal in most areas. Again with SE, the Ericsson k790a is fantastic, with a 3.2MP camera. Nokia makes some slick N-series phones, the N80 I think has a 4GB hard drive for music.
Really though if you're looking for performance in a phone anything in Cingular's line-up will do you right, the only real reason to get an unlocked GSM phone from Europe or Asia is to get a really fancy-looking one.
But hey, it makes phone calls, and that is all I need it to do.
We get given a lot of devices to test at work, and everyone always comes back to the blackberry. The 7280 (in your picture) was a fine, fine device back in the days of AT&T Wireless, but the 8700 is the big boy on the block, with the Pearl going more for the consumer side. You can find a 7130 or 8700 for about $150 to $200. A 7290, which is still a damn fine device will go for around $50. I quote "ebay/craigslist" prices.
Anything Sanyo
Honestly I don't like the W810i. I suppose it is more personal preferance, but I dislike how it manages drivers on a PC and the interface felt a little clunky to me. I am more of a v557 person. It has all the basic features (cam, bluetooth, good speaker, rugged design) and EDGE for the data.
3g phones, LG CU200/500
Data phones, 8700 or the Pearl. I am testing the Pearl right now and so far it is not too bad for the "Pro-sumer" side. 8700 kicks ass for a "QWERTY" device. 8525 is rather fun as well. Fuck the 3125 and fuck anyone who likes the "Smartphone" OS. Also fuck the Blackjack.
A comment on "unlocked" phones. 90% of the Cingular network right now is 1900mhz. TDMA was mostly 850, but it is really only used in "Fringe" areas these days. Also, I am a Nokia whore when it comes to "Euro" phones.
Truth, when I sold Sprint it was the only brand I felt confident in. Whatever their 8000 series is at should be great, I loved the 8200 way back when. The 7000 series was good too, dunno if they still have it. The 7400 was a phenomenal phone. Their Samsungs aren't bad, but I've never liked the Samsung UI. It's only marginally better than the Motorola UI.
A general rule of thumb with cell phones: if the outright price at the store is under $199, don't expect much. With a few exceptions, the "el cheapo" phone bracket is prone to fail right around the point that the carrier will let you renew your contract. They tend to give them away free with a renewal; these phones exist purely to keep people under contract, generating revenue. Nokias make solid phones in the cheap price range, but probably 75% of phones you can get for under $199 outright are not worth buying. Subsidies on cheap phones are low, usually under $80, and phone salesmen love to sell them for this reason. Plus it's an easy sale.
When you get into more expensive phones the carriers use them to leverage feature and accessory sales. They attract more loyal customers with a higher ARPU (average rate per user) and are lower churn risks, so it's actually better for the carrier if the phone you spend $300 on lasts 2 years or more. The carrier subsidy on expensive phones is usually higher because the manufacturer positions them as a "Brand recognition" thing. Cingular was subsidizing $150 or more on RAZRs way back when they cost $300+, but they were drawing in customers as a Cingular exclusive phone. PDAs in particular have huge subsidies, but they pretty much require high-priced data plans to use, so it evens out for the carrier.
Plus James Bond uses my phone. James Bond.
Satans..... hints.....
I just use it as a phone and an address book and it's quite nice. go to the store and play with one, remember: you have 30 days to return a phone if you buy it from Cingular. with my upgrade, the phone was only $50 after rebate (which was a $100 visa giftcard... kind of lame but functional enough).
I so noticed that James Bond uses Sony Ericssons.
I've been sorely tempted to get a smartphone or PDA just to browse PA during downtime at work, but I'd have to pay for my data plan so not going to happen.
My girlfriend has a Razr from Cingular and I like it a lot better. Cingular's version of the Razr firmware sure beats the shit out of Verizon's crippled piece of shit.
If you're Cingular, there's plenty of good Samsung, Nokia and Sony phones available.
If you're TMobile I think you're stuck with Samsung(pick up the T809, its basically a D820).
If you're Verizon I think you've got one of the best samsung's(A990) and Nokia.
I loved my 600...but this thing sucks, the speaker's average, and it freezes for 10 - 20 seconds if you're doing something while exiting/entering an area of reception. It also freezes for upwards of a minute after sending text messages. I can't explain how unhappy i am with this phone.
The D600 isn't as thin as the D807, but it's an infinitely better phone. My father carried one for a while and when I played with it (I was eying the Nokia 6270 at the time) I was surprised how light it was. The size is really unobtrusive considering the exceedingly low weight of the damn thing.
As far as the D807 goes, it's crap. I've played with a few of them... they're thin, yeah, but the sliding mechanism is terrible, normally resulting in excessive smudging on the screen.
If you want thin and quality, spend some more money on the D900. This is my father's current phone, and having spent a bit of time with it, it's phenomenal, and thinner than the D807, too.
Edit: a good tip for buying phones on Ebay is also, when you can, buy phones from Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, it's illegal to simlock your phones, meaning you'll never have to worry about whether it's unlocked or not. Also, most phones sold there come with a slew of accessories that you won't get for free in the US. Your typical phone in HK comes with a good quality first party headset and an extra battery. My father spends a lot of time there and won't buy his phones anywhere else... and he goes through a lot of phones a year.
Every phone in my house (except for mine) was a hand-me-down from my father... people are constantly asking my mom and sisters about their phones, because they're all so badass.
or Brawl. 4854.6102.3895 Name: NU..
My job is not possible without one. However, I would loathe using one outside of work.
razr all the way. Also cingular pwnz.
3DS: 1650-8480-6786
Switch: SW-0653-8208-4705
If you travel a lot, have to check your email on the go, have to send email on the go, and pretty much do some hardcore business shit, then it it real nice. My dad has used his for 3 years now and I have heard him say that it is probably one of the best things his company could give him.
This is confusing. I'm have a D807 sitting next to me here at my desk. I've had it since July. I highly recommend it. The sliding mechanism is, in fact, smooth as butter. In fact it feels just about perfect. I don't think there are any more smudges on the screen as there are on any other cell phone.
Oh, and if I remember correctly, I think I've seen one provider with an unlimited data plan for as low as $30, but most others seemed to be $40 at the cheapest which is more than I think I'd want to pay for something that I technically don't need for work.
Edit: Gizmodo raves about the Cingular 8525, and it does look fantastic, but holy crap is it expensive.
Perhaps, it's simply the ones I've handled, but the slide mechanism I've used haven't been as good as other Samsung sliders I've had my hands on. If yours is better, then good, I'm glad you like it because Samsung makes a great phone.
or Brawl. 4854.6102.3895 Name: NU..
I've not had any problems with battery life, but then again I charge mine every night. If I leave bluetooth on, the thing is pretty much dead in about 1.5 days standby.
The camera sucks, it's only got, like, 5 megs of internal storage, if you have things in memory it only slows the phone down even more and bluetooth compatibility sucks. Sometimes I can't even connect to other phones and compatibility with my PC is spotty.
Next month I'm totally getting a Sony or an LG or something faster and more responsive.
http://i.expansys.it/i/b/b138236.jpg
@ Septus: TyTN/8525 has a touchscreen+stylus, great processor speed, full web browser, aim/yahoo/etc. IM clients, qwerty, you can hook it up to a laptop and use it as a modem, can get TV/YouTube etc. feeds from it, can hook it up via Slingbox, and can play PocketSNES/NES as well!
It's something to consider.
As far as data plans... If you ebay the phone and keep your old, regular phone on your plan, you can upgrade to cingular's MediaMAX plan for only 20 bucks a month. I did that and just swapped the sim from my (crappy) razr to the TyTN and havent had a problem. (MediaMAX also comes with a good amount of text/mms messages)
it also has a neat feature where you can press a button on the side and the phone flips open. it's a total gimmick, but i never get tired of it
i had been with Cingular before, but their service (at least in Boston) is horrible, and their customer service i've found is even worse. dunno if you're on contract, but i would also recommend ditching for another provider.
steam | Dokkan: 868846562
My only complaint with the w600i is it's a little bulky (too thick), but the new w300i looks great:
My fiancee has that exact phone. It's a real sleeper phone, since it's not very widely available here in Germany. Man was I impressed with that phone. Speedy interface and it does everything you'd expect a phone to do.