Cell Phone Advice Wanted

[carmine]

Trust me, there is no way I'm getting a new cell phone because I "want" one. I'd rather dig a ditch to China than go through this bi-annual torture. Here's my problem... I'm finally out of my Verizon contract and I've been nursing along my Blackberry Bold with cracked screen and weak battery.

You can all stop laughing now.

Things I don't do with my phone: Play games, videos, music, download "apps", start my car or call my dog.

Things I do with my phone: Spend a lot of time using it as a "phone", write a lot of emails/text, use the camera, surf text-based websites like this and Craigslist. I also use the phone as a modem for my laptop, and never exceed my 3GB limit.

Spending an absolute minimum time getting used to a new phone is what I desire above all else. When it comes to phones, I am one of those people that hates cars so they buy a beige Toyota and don't even bother mentioning it to other people.

I like my Blackberry because it has a little mousepad/trackpad thing (used to be a trackball) and a keyboard. This means I rarely need to use the touchscreen. Every website including AutomaticWasher is full of links, so when I have to use a touchscreen, I keep opening damn links to things I don't want. The trackpad prevents this problem, and allows me to zoom only when I need it. I can also navigate through stuff a lot faster by only moving my finger 1/16" of an inch vs. 3" across the whole screen. The trackpad rules.

I just came from the cell phone store (whole 'nother story) and learned that the latest Blackberry called the Q10 does not have the trackpad. Salesman told me they haven't sold a Blackberry in a year, and he claims his store is the 2nd busiest Verizon store in MI. That was before I wanted to punch him in the face... Like I said, another story...

Questions:

1) Are there any Q10 users here?

2) Will I get used to not having a trackpad or the non-virtual "back" and "menu" keys? I could see I'd also miss those.

3) Is there a trustworthy place were I could buy the highest level of Blackberry phone that has these features, even if it's reconditioned? That's fine with me so long as it has some kind of warranty.

---------------------

So you want to know the other part of the story? First I walk into the store, get put on a list and have to wait 25 mins to speak to someone. All I want to know is the current rate plans/offers.

Salespunk says he can't tell me unless I give him my driver's license. I say "What?" Then I get a condescending lecture about how someone might hear me say my name and open up dozens of new lines on my account. (There is no one around me.) So I tell him that I left my driver's license in my car. Believe it or not, I do not like just handing ID over to people like 19 y/o cell phone store clerks. (Yes I show it to bank tellers, cops, TSA agents and when I vote because these people have legit reasons to see ID.)

Mind you I wasn't actually signing up for anything, just asking about plans. So as he drones on, I roll my eyes and get it out of my pocket. Now he says "I have to hold it in my hand". So he's either being cute, or wants to scan it. So I tell him I have my own concerns about ID theft, and he can just look at it to verify my name. Then he says that he doesn't like the way I'm speaking to him (never raised my voice or got rude) and that he has a store full of other customers. Again, just like in idiocracy (the movie) I have offended a member of the "I can only follow a script" generation.

So Verizon can basically stick it up their USB port. I was already treated very well at a T-mobile store and was just giving Verizon one last shot at my business. Of course none of this solves the issue of hating touch screen phones, but I'm hoping I can get a reconditioned phone, use it on T-mobile (no contracts!) and make it long enough for BB to realize their phones suck without the features that made them different than all the other crappy touchscreen phones.

 

[hydralique]

Before you change your cell service ask around to make sure whoever you're going with has good reception in areas where you'll use your phone. Everyone claims perfect reception everywhere but don't believe it.

 

I've never had a phone with a trackball so can't miss it, but I've had phones with and without physical keyboards. I absolutely hate on-screen virtual keyboards and so love my Motorola with the little slide out keyboard, it means I can do email or text without a 30% error rate. Whoever designs the virtual keyboards must have tiny, tiny fingers, much smaller than mine.

 

[carmine]

My first BB had the trackball and as with anything with moving parts, it eventually failed (although I got good at cleaning it). The new(er) version is just a little capacitive sensor and still works perfect after two years of rough use.

Having gone out cell phone shopping, I've found there is NOTHING at stores without a virtual keyboard except the BBQ10. I don't know how anyone can scroll a website without constantly opening unwanted links... This is even more annoying than typing errors for me.

However... Some browsing on Amazon seems to show me new BB Bolds that supposedly work with T-mobile. I've been pretty unhappy with the way Verizon treats customers and will be quite happy to say goodbye. I don't often leave metro areas, so I'm not too worried about coverage.

 

[hydralique]

Last time I checked Verizon (my provider) still had some phones with real keyboards from Blackberry and LG, I hope something is available when I need to upgrade. However when I bought my last one I had to ask for it at the store because they didn't bother to display it even though it was listed online.

 

I rarely leave metro areas either but have found plenty of cell weak spots, mostly in hilly areas. I regularly get dropped calls going through the Sepulveda Pass on the 405 or in the Palisades on Sunset, both of these are in the City of LA, and also on the Ventura Freeway coming up the Conejo Grade between LA and Ventura, hardly out in the boonies. Verizon seems to be the best here but only marginally better than AT&T and Sprint so there is little incentive to give really good service. T-Mobile has a bad rep for dropped calls here but may do better in other areas.

 

[warmsecondrinse]

which Bold do you have? There've been a number of different phones with that name over the years. If you give the model number (9650? 9930?) or show a pic, people would have a beter idea of where you're coming from. As for me, I have a 9930 on Verizon. I love it and don't care who laughs at me. I'm not giving up that keyboard! If you stay with Verizon, you should be able to go month-to-month and keep you present data plan.

I've played with the Q10 and love the keyboard. I don't know about function. I suggest you go to crackberry.com or berryreview.com or some such site like that and read reviews.

This fall there are supposed to be 2 updated Blackberries with full keyboards. One will appear more high tech, the other will be called the "Classic" and will have a track pad along with the other Blackberry features we love.

I would switch to Tmobile, but I spend too much time in areas where only Verizon seems to have decent Service. TMobile has acquired some new frequencies in the past 2 years or so. There are specific Q5 and Q10 models that work with ALL presently in use or slated for use by Tmobile.

If you stay with Verizon, I'd get a used 9930 and wait for the Classic. If you want TMobile, I'd go with a Q5, Q10, or LG Optimus FQ3.

Jim

 

[mattl]

Reports that Blackberry will be no more in 2015 FWIW...  I'd be hard pressed to even consider that brand.

 

[jamiel]

Carmine, I feel your pain. I'm in the same situation you are in. Carry a BB Bold (trackpad, non-touch screen) for work, and a Nokia E71 (rocker pad, non-touch screen--Blackberry clone) for personal. I go way way way back with Blackberry--worked in 1998 for BellSouth which operated the proprietary Mobitex network for the first Blackberries (the 4-line monochrome pager-like things). We thought we were the #### carrying those around...anyway. I'm blackberry from way back. I want one more blackberry from work (my company is making noises about ditching BB altogether) so just got the new BB Bold with trackpad and touch screen from Verizon. Had it several days, only problem I'm seeing is that the proportions are slightly different but it will be fine.

I'm in the market for my personal device. AT&T just jacked up my pricing (which was admittedly low because of a loophole in their systems) so I'm on the market.

Here's my advice. T-Mobile is doing a promotion right now where you can "test drive" their network. THey'll ship you out a IPhone for a week to do a test drive. They've done a couple of things in SE Michigan which now makes them plausible...they have built out their extra frequencies, they have incorporated the MetroPCS network which they bought, and they have built out up through and including Midland and Mount Pleasant (Metro had those areas built but T-Mobile petered out at the Bay/Midland county line and between Lansing and St. Johns...now those areas are native T-Mobile. Only caveat w/T-Mobile is that off network (upper lower peninsula/UP) where you're on AT&T or other carrier it is limited

Anyway, do two things with the test drive...make sure T-Mobile works for you (seems equivalent to AT&T/VZW in SE Oakland and Ren Cen), and play with a touch screen phone for a bit (I'm finding I don't like the IPhone very much...) to see whether you want to go all-in with Blackberry. I find the IPhone proportions aren't great for my taste and I don't like not having a dedicated back key. Blackberry had a good advertising campaign several years ago..."I want a tool, not a toy".

Ping me if you want to talk further.

 

[yogitunes]

for one thing with Verizon.....you can stay with your plan without a contract from now on.....

the down side....you WILL start to experience drop calls and messages from phone calls that never ring, or recieve messages days after you got them.....TRUST ME, this is what they do.....I had Verizon for 5 renewed contracts......it all changes once you sign up again....once it expires, look for issues....

there are plans from several providers that don't require a contract anymore....

Consumer Cellular is one of them.....and inexpensive......

as for phones, you may even try Amazon or Ebay.....and just load up to your carrier....

 

[carmine]

Jamiel...

Great post. Makes me feel better to know there are others out there who "get" what I'm talking about. I feel like I'm some sort of weird demographic and that's why a lot of other more popular choices don't work for me.

For example; right now I'm on a short-term lay-off from my day job but that doesn't mean I've stopped doing work-related projects. In fact I'm putting together a presentation for an VP, but this is on my own time. I'm also one of 7 people who will choose my city's next executive manager. Yet by virtue of the lay-off, I have the time to go chop the old roof-top HVAC system off a small office building I own and pick up a few hundred bucks in metal scrap, rather than PAY someone a few hundred to do the same thing.

How does this odd grouping of white-collar/blue-collar work relate to phone choice? Well I need something that can work with a corporate and municipal OWA system. I need the camera to document conditions for both work & city concerns. I probably have to download and read a PDF a day. I'll write multiple emails, and text many people. I'll use the phone as a modem (tether) for a few minutes this morning on this website.

Then I'll climb up on a roof with a sawzall and start hacking away at an HVAC unit and I'll need the phone with me in case a constituent emails/calls. I can't have some huge TV screen in my pocket, and I need something that won't shatter when I drop it. My BB (9930) has a cracked screen from a piece of concrete hitting it while I demo'd a chimney. There is some paint on the back-key because I had to look up a city council email while using an epoxy paint (epoxy waits for no man).

I know one of those "jitterbug" phones isn't going to cut it for functionality. I know an iPhone won't last a week considering the punishment I give it. I don't have a spare moment in a day to learn how to play a game or watch a video. If I'm eating lunch, I'll check in at this or a couple other message boards... That is my "fun" time. In other words, I really do just need the thing to function as a tool that liberates me from having to sit at a computer for a few hours at a time. It allows me to get work done while I'm on a roof cutting up and HVAC unit! Wouldn't that be a helluva commercial?

So far I've found the "9900" BB both new and re-conditioned on Amazon for pretty good prices. They say it works with T-mobile. Just getting a new version of my old phone on a less expensive (and arrogant, lol) network seems to be in the lead right now. Do you know if there is a latest/greatest version of the Bold beyond the 9930 I have right now? That's what I think I'll be doing, plus joining/posting on crackberry.com.

Wish I could love the Q10, but without the trackpad/floating cursor and menu/back keys I don't see romance anytime soon. Just staying caught-up with real-life is more important to me than learning a new system.

 

[jamiel]

carmine, I'll just send u an email to the address on your profile tomorrow or over the weekend...we've got much in common here and specific knowledge which I'm reticent to go into publically.

 

[thomasortega]

2 cents.

 

I used to hate touchscreen phones. When I was still at Electrolux, all the staff received iPhones. I used mine for a day, hated it, put it back in the original box and kept it forgoten in a drawer until the day I left the company, when i returned it to the HR. I thought they would be great for kids to play until I got a Samsung Galaxy 5, a cheap and small android smartphone. I loved the way it was intuitive to use and how fast I got used to all of it's controls and the touchscreen.

Then after a year, I got the  just launched Samsung Galaxy SIII. I just loved it more and more and more.

Less than a year later, on my birthday, my boss gave me a Samsung Galaxy IV. I can't say I'm not addicted to my smartphone after that wonderful device. It's impossible to accidentally click on the links and also, it has a feature that uses the front camera to "follow" my eyes and match the number of lines on the screen. the phone knows exactly hat I'm reading and scrolls down the screen automatically, following my reading speed. It happens so naturally that i barely notice the screen is scrolling down.
Other feature i love is the handsfree answering. Sometimes my hands can be dirty or wet (from example when cooking) and the phone rings. i can answer it on speakersphone or ignore the call without touching the phone.
Voice recognition is other feature that impressed me a lot. I can literally dictate SMS, Facebook and Whatsapp messages instead of typing them. It really recognizes my voice and types everything correctly. I can even text and drive safely.
The voice recognition also works for several other actions. The phone also interacts perfectly with my Ford Focus, my DSC alarm system and my Samsung Smart TV. I simply can't think of my life without it. The great about the voice recognition system used on Galaxy is that it understands everything. for example, I can be talking to someone then the person suggests I save his or her contact information. I just say "Go galaxy, save john's number, the phone number is 12345678 and the email is [email protected]." the phone says "is it john, 12345678 and [email protected]?" "yes" "new contact saved".

or Go galaxy, text mary. "Mary, i'll arrive later. love Thomas." Is it "blablah blah the same message?" "Yes!" "SMS, Whatsapp, Facebook or Skype?" I just say "regular message" and the phone understands i mean SMS. "Message sent!"

"Go galaxy shut up!" or "go galaxy be quiet"... "Silent mode active. should I vibrate?" Yes" "Understood! I'm silent and vibrate." 
Honestly I don't know what's samsung going to launch for the next model. I simply can't think of any feature that could be invented. At the same time, my boss has an iPhone 5. it also has several features, costed a fortune but it doesn't compare to my Galaxy. She always complains the phone thinks it's smarter than the used and decide to do unrequested things or refuses to do things she really wanted to do. SIRI also can't understand some commands unless they are spoken clearly.

Until a few years ago, I'd say the best phone I ever had was the Motorola PT-500

 

[warmsecondrinse]

TMobile 9900

As far as I've been able to determine, the BB 9900 predates TMobile's expansion into new frequencies and LTE. It's only compatible with the AWS (1700/2100) 4G service TMobile had available PRIOR to acquisition of 1900mHz frequencies, everything from MetroPCS,and LTE.

The Q10 does work on all those frequencies as well as the 700mHz spectrum chunk slated for LTE it recently got from Verizon.

For me there are 2 problems:
1) Verizon is the only cell service that consistently provides a signal everywhere I go. I also get a 19% discount (covering the WHOLE BILL, unlike AT&T) through work.
2) I'm overwhelmed as it is; I don't want to add having to learn a new OS to everything else.

BB is supposed to introduce a new, updated version of the 9900/9930 the 4Q of this year. Called the Classic, it will have the all the traditional Blackberry controls and will run android apps (should one wish to). I'll probably jump on one as soon as it hits Verizon or TMobile.

I do have a 5" android 'phablet' that is good for web browsing and reading. In everything else, my Blackberry 9930 blows it out of the water.

 

[rp2813]

I can't find a single option on Verizon's site for a phone with a tactile keyboard.  I guess I'll be hanging on to my LG Octane. 

 

I hate touchscreens for a multitude of reasons, and I don't need aggravation from a phone so presumptuous as to think it's smarter than I am.

 

[westie2]

Stylus

I use a dollar tree stylus with my iPhone. I was a hold out with my 1o year old Nokia and work BB. Retired got me IPhone _s Nokia no longer supported. Works great for fat finger me.