Today is "Guide a n00b Friday" - very open-ended phone/carrier search

[Creakyknees]

I may be abandoning my Palm Treo soon.

Work has announced that a new cell policy is coming, meaning we can buy whichever device we like, get a monthly expense stipend for the plan. No Blackberries required (yay!)

Our Verizon family plan contracts are all expired so we're on grandfathered month to month billing, no commitments.

So I am now shopping for both a new phone (or several, for the family) as well as a new carrier.

Here's what I want in a phone.
- actually works reliably as a phone
- newer OS (implying, correctly, that I'm open to used devices to save $)
- larger screen (larger than an iphone 3, let's say)
- wi-fi, duh
- mobile hotspot capable
- gps <-- real GPS, not just the cell network stuff.
- expandable memory
- removeable battery
- physical buttons, especially if one can be set to open the camera app quickly.

Carrier - all are potentials. I'm partial to Verizon because they have good coverage just about everywhere.

If there's a reliable site where I can plug in these spec's, I'd appreciate the link... have been googling for a while and some of my requirements are a bit non-standard, it seems.

Thanks in advance.

Yes, I actually still use a Palm Treo 700p. It's a fantastic and utterly reliable phone.

 

[AntimonyER]

By physical buttons, do you mean physical keyboard? Or just operation buttons? (ie home, back, menu).

Also are any of your lines grandfathered on unlimited data with Verizon?

 

[Creakyknees]

By physical buttons, do you mean physical keyboard? Or just operation buttons? (ie home, back, menu).

Also are any of your lines grandfathered on unlimited data with Verizon?

By physical buttons I mean operation buttons. E.g. some devices have a programmable side button.

No, no unlimited data.

 

[Creakyknees]

Kyocera Hydro, Android 4.0 Full day # 1 report.

My Palm Treo is faster and more reliable than the Android phone in performing every operation that I expect it to perform during a typical day.

Boot up. Wake up. Unlock. Hit the phone button. Dial and/or lookup a contact then dial. Switch between apps while talking on the phone, then switch back. Check the calendar, send a message, switch from ringer to vibrate and back.

All of which, on the Palm, I can do with one hand, by feel, without looking at the phone. All of which, the Palm does way faster than the same operation on the Android. And, more reliably.

The Android, otoh, I have to watch and wait and carefully place my finger on the right spot, etc. I mean Holy Cow, no wonder people are so distracted while driving... this thing requires your full attention to perform the most basic tasks. I would be afraid to even try to answer a call while driving.

The Palm is not just faster because of the physical keys and buttons, though that has much to do with it. The Palm interface design is just better. Cleaner, organized to do what I need to do. Fewer clicks to perform a given action. Fewer hangs and crashes (basically the Palm never crashes). Far better battery life, as in days vs hours.

Did I mention that the Palm Treo 700p, released in 2006, has better voice call quality than my brand new Android 4 phone, bought this week?

I am seriously considering sending the Kyocera back.

I'm having a hell of a time getting the damn thing configured and operating with basic stuff like alerts - whether it vibrates or sounds a tone is apparently decided by some sort of random number generator.

Basic stuff like the preloaded music player, just crashes. I finally got the USB to PC cable link to work... again, randomly, no idea what caused it to start working. It also lost all the music I installed. Then it found it again but still wouldn't actually play it.

I was on the phone talking to a friend and heard a tone (despite the fact that 3 times today I went in and set all alerts to be on vibrate only) so I looked at the screen, which had gone dark because of the gee-whiz proximity detector (Palm doesn't need one because it's designed so your cheek won't hit the screen), so I had to figure out how to get the screen to light up again (it had somehow locked itself while I was talking on the phone).

Then, while still talking on a call, I finally see that the alert is from a pop-up message informing me that some service named com.phone.com had stopped running. Gee that's nice; having the phone crash, while talking on the phone.

So, now somebody's gonna tell me that none of these problems happen on the <your favorite phone>. Sorry, I know better. I've played with enough to know that other implementations may be better here and there but they all still suffer from the same root design problems.

These things are neat little tiny computers, for sure. As a cheapo GPS and music and game player, for $85 (or $45 for the used HTC Eris I bought) it's still a great deal. Add in that it can sometimes be used as a phone, also neat.

But as a business productivity tool, where time is money and reliability is absolutely mandatory, I just can't say that Android beats a Palm or even a Blackberry.

We'll see how day 2 goes.

 

[pearlie111]

It's always nice to find a Palm fan out there. I'm new to this site and wasn't expecting to find any! I loved my Treo and now have a Palm Pre 2. Productivity on my phone is important to me. Syncing contacts, calendar, To Do lists, Memos, and being able to switch between apps quickly, eg. phone call on speaker while I check my calendar, google maps, contacts, etc. I'm still looking for that in a phone, and was hoping to find converts on this forum that could speak my language. I really don't want to give up my free tethering app or unlimited data plan either.
I can tell from your post, you have gotten the "reaction" as I have on numerous occasions when I tell someone how I don't want to give up my Palm Pre. The eye rolling, the hrrumph, the nod.... like "you've got to be kidding me". Of course I don't care much about the games, movies, bells and whistles or big screens.
Issues with the Pre that are causing me to look elsewhere. No group message reply option like the Iphone has, repetitive problems with the device going into headphone mode randomly, and of course battery drain.
What do you think are the best phone to consider? I do know now I like the Sense UI you get on the HTC Androids. The Droid Incredible 4G LTE is one I'm looking at. It's small enough for my pocket.
Would love your input or others! Thanks for this great forum!

 

[Creakyknees]

It's always nice to find a Palm fan out there. I'm new to this site and wasn't expecting to find any! I loved my Treo and now have a Palm Pre 2. Productivity on my phone is important to me. Syncing contacts, calendar, To Do lists, Memos, and being able to switch between apps quickly, eg. phone call on speaker while I check my calendar, google maps, contacts, etc. I'm still looking for that in a phone, and was hoping to find converts on this forum that could speak my language. I really don't want to give up my free tethering app or unlimited data plan either.
I can tell from your post, you have gotten the "reaction" as I have on numerous occasions when I tell someone how I don't want to give up my Palm Pre. The eye rolling, the hrrumph, the nod.... like "you've got to be kidding me". Of course I don't care much about the games, movies, bells and whistles or big screens.
Issues with the Pre that are causing me to look elsewhere. No group message reply option like the Iphone has, repetitive problems with the device going into headphone mode randomly, and of course battery drain.
What do you think are the best phone to consider? I do know now I like the Sense UI you get on the HTC Androids. The Droid Incredible 4G LTE is one I'm looking at. It's small enough for my pocket.
Would love your input or others! Thanks for this great forum!

I'm not enough of an android expert to really guide you. I will say, I am glad I still have my Palm activated on Verizon, since the basic phone functions are so much more reliable than the new Kyocera Hydro on Boost.

I'm still learning to live w the Hydro, but it's very much living up to android's reputation for general weirdness... random reboots, hangs, etc.

 

[Digital Controller]

I would suggest looking at the Droid DNA it's a great phone

 

[AntimonyER]

Well, sorry, I lost this thread somehow.

I see you bought a Boost mobile Android phone. Not a bad idea to try it, although, based on the reviews, even though it is 4.0, it's less than stellar in the performance department. I would definitely hold final judgement until you get a chance to try an Android phone with more updated specs, and from a more established manufacturer. I will say I have none of the issues you are listing with my DNA.