Smartphone advice

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Pat
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Smartphone advice

Post by Pat »

Hi

I am considering getting a smartphone sometime soon since work/travel requires it and my current phone + provider is pretty shit. Going to go with telstra of course since coverage is the main requirement.

Past history with phones has me wary of nokia and ericcson in particular. Problems being unwieldy interface/hand cramping keypads or superhot batteries that make phonecalls >5mins unbearable since I dont like my ears cooked. I can be swayed if anyone can convince me that current models have no such issues in their experience.

Looking on telstras page I see the following phones on various plans.

The main smartphones I see are the following:

htc desire/mozart
nokia n97/n8
blackberry bold 9700
iphones

I know also there are decent phones from samsung/LG/motorola and something called torch but I cant find those atm.

Any recommendations so far as data performance on telstra's network are welcome. Virgin mobile has some pretty shitty connection speeds where I am and anything would be an improvement.

I'm not wildly interested in touch screen since I find input of text awkward on such on screen keyboards, but if there is any phone with a decent input or if stylii can be made functional on a capacitative screen it might be good to know.

Not interested in input from zealots of any persuasion, but if anyone insists on bringing their agenda to the thread then it will be noted.

Other functions that would be nice:
GPS function
robust calendar/appointment/reminder software
strong material design/casing
stylus support if touchscreen only
trackpad might be handy
inset/shielded screen if the screen itself is large relative to the whole phone

Any input on UI issues/features/benefits greatly appreciated. Some phones have really awesome simplistic menus etc, others you get lost in.

Thanks in advance :)
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by Madmya »

Windows 7
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Pat
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by Pat »

Thats an OS, not a specific phone though. If you could advocate reasons for a particular model then that would be nice.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by Madmya »

Well don't get an iPhone cos they're gay.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by GreyWizzard »

the Symbian OS on the N8 has been dropped... as in what you get on the phone is no longer supported by Nokia. They are going with Maebo... Meebo... Meabo... maybe the first one... on all of their new phones.

The N8 is just an awesome camera with a phone attached to it. 12 megapixels and HD recording. drool...

If you don't care that they have ditched the OS go for that. I am thinking about getting one later in the year for the camera.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by Megaman »

Hang on, the forum's leading expert on why smartphones are useless for gaming doesn't even own one??
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by unfnknblvbl »

Don't get a Smartphone. You'll be doing us all a favour :P

(no really, they all have shit battery life, with the possible exception of the Nokias, but they're not very good anyway)
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by selfish »

Megaman wrote:Hang on, the forum's leading expert on why smartphones are useless for gaming doesn't even own one??
I find that curious also. I wondered why he didn't like rolando or eliss, they both seem like games which would be right up The Expert's alley.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by AgOnNy »

I have a Desire and love it. I find that the quality of the build is great, nice & sturdy and HTC have built an awesome UI for Android. Android is the best OS I've used for a phone and there are plenty of useful apps out there (and increasing everyday!). However the battery life isn't great (I charge it pretty much everyday) and has limited phone memory (more apps can now be added to SD, but ROM is your best bet). You could look at the Desire HD for more oomph, but it's big!

I don't like Telstra, but went with them due to the reliable network. Very happy with reception (probably the best I've had) and speed of Next G is more than adequate.

There are a slew of new phones coming over the next few months, I'd suggest waiting for them if you can bare it.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by pilonv1 »

Megaman wrote:Hang on, the forum's leading expert on why smartphones are useless for gaming doesn't even own one??
what a shocking turn of events
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by Burnzoire »

The topic is Smartphone advice not Smartarse advice :D

As much as people love to give iphones shit, I don't know anyone who's owned one and regretted it. The same can't be said about the (current) competition.

the iphone 4 does it all right - great camera, great phone (with telstra), great music player, and there's always an app that you'll wonder how you ever got by without it.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by Ekin »

What burnzoire said. I never knew how useful my iphone would be until i got one. Just jump on the bandwagon, in this case it isnt such a bad idea.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by GreyWizzard »

Most smartyphones offer the same features these days. You have to decide what else you want besides a phone, and then see which offers that extra functionality the best.

Did someone here get a Samsung Galaxy? For some reason I thought someone picked one up... maybe I dreamed it.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by Talez »

If you buy an iPhone now you'll have a walled garden, a superseded model in 5 months although it'll get new features for 2-3 years.

If you buy an Android phone now it'll be superseded in minutes and you might want to get good at rooting your phone since official updates might as well be russian roulette. But you have a million different form factors, specs and brands to choose from.

If you buy a Windows 7 phone you better not use Yahoo mail or have a 5GB data pack and you're just plain crazy.

Pick your poison.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by AgOnNy »

Talez wrote:If you buy an iPhone now you'll have a walled garden, a superseded model in 5 months although it'll get new features for 2-3 years.

If you buy an Android phone now it'll be superseded in minutes and you might want to get good at rooting your phone since official updates might as well be russian roulette. But you have a million different form factors, specs and brands to choose from.

If you buy a Windows 7 phone you better not use Yahoo mail or have a 5GB data pack and you're just plain crazy.

Pick your poison.
You've basically pissed on everything but the iPhone with that post. Don't get creative, just call it straight up and say what you think fanboi :D
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by selfish »

But iphone doesn't have a stylus, that means it's no good!

If you want to talk about hating iphone, boomy has a hand-me-down 3gs, and seems to hate/love it. Well maybe love is too strong a word, ask him about tolerating it.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by GeneraL CyberFunK »

I have a HTC Desire and love it... It does everything I need and it's zippy and very customizable. Has plenty of apps and emulators for it too... just started playing Final Fantasy 7 on it and I always like some Alien Vs Predator Arcade and Street Fighter Alpha 3 when I'm between clients.

http://www.cnet.com.au/top-phones-of-2010-339308177.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This might help though.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by Ambrose Burnside »

Didn't you say you wanted one with a keyboard Pat? And isn't the Blackberry one the only one with a keyboard?
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by GreyWizzard »

Avoid Blackberry.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by Madmya »

lol talez.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by Burnzoire »

OT... but I wonder if keyboards will be replaced with tablets for input devices on desktops? I love the concept keyboards that have displays on each key, but a long multi-touch tablet would rule as a keyboard/off-screen GUI device.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by Talez »

AgOnNy wrote:
Talez wrote:If you buy an iPhone now you'll have a walled garden, a superseded model in 5 months although it'll get new features for 2-3 years.

If you buy an Android phone now it'll be superseded in minutes and you might want to get good at rooting your phone since official updates might as well be russian roulette. But you have a million different form factors, specs and brands to choose from.

If you buy a Windows 7 phone you better not use Yahoo mail or have a 5GB data pack and you're just plain crazy.

Pick your poison.
You've basically pissed on everything but the iPhone with that post. Don't get creative, just call it straight up and say what you think fanboi :D
I specifically called out walled garden and form factors in that post. Don't blame me because you think Android's greatest strengths are irrelevant in choosing a phone handset.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by Madmya »

Yet you think a handset being superseded is relevant? It's like telling someone to buy a Mac over a PC because if you bought a PC someone else will have a better one in a minute's time.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by unfnknblvbl »

GreyWizzard wrote:Did someone here get a Samsung Galaxy? For some reason I thought someone picked one up... maybe I dreamed it.
Hi.

I love my SGS, but Pat would probably hate it. If he's looking at the Desire though, he should definitely consider the SGS, as almost everything about it is better than the Desire.
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Re: Smartphone advice

Post by Cardsy »

I think a 3DS with pictochat is the only real answer here.
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