Comments on: Smartphones Now: First-Time Buyer’s Guide

By: Mr. Brown John

Mr. Brown John — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 11:09:57 +0000

Dear Buyers,

Buy Nokia,N70,N80,N90,N91,N92,N93, N97,N95,6600,6680,8800,9300,9500,Motorola Razr V3i, Nextel i930,SideKick 3.Nokia 1261 Nokia 2100 Nokia 2220 Nokia 2260 Nokia 2300 Nokia 2300a Nokia 3100 Nokia 3100b Nokia 3108 Nokia 3200 Nokia 3210 Nokia 3285 Nokia 3300 Nokia 3300b Nokia 3310 Nokia 3315 Nokia 3320 Nokia 3330 Nokia 3350 Nokia 3360 Nokia 3390 Nokia 3395 Nokia 3410 Nokia 3510 Nokia 3510i Nokia 3520 Nokia 3530 Nokia 3560 Nokia 3585 Nokia 3590 Nokia 3595 Nokia 3600 Nokia 3610 Nokia 3620 Nokia 3650 Nokia 3660 Nokia 3810 Nokia 5100 Nokia 5100a Nokia 5110i Nokia 5120 Nokia 5125 Nokia 5130 Nokia 5148 Nokia 5160 Nokia 5180 Nokia 5185 Nokia 5190 Nokia 5210 Nokia 5510 Nokia 6090 Nokia 6100 Nokia 6108 Nokia 6110i Nokia 6120 Nokia 6130 Nokia 6138 Nokia 6150e Nokia 6160 Nokia 6162 Nokia 6185 Nokia 6188 Nokia 6190 Nokia 6200 Nokia 6210 Nokia 6220 Nokia 6250 Nokia 6310 Nokia 6310i Nokia 6340 Nokia 6340i Nokia 6360 Nokia 6500 Nokia 6510 Nokia 6560 Nokia 6590 Nokia 6590i Nokia 6610 Nokia 6650 Nokia 6800 Nokia 6800a Nokia 6810 Nokia 6820 Nokia 6820b Nokia 7110 Nokia 7160 Nokia 7190 Nokia 7200 Nokia 7210 Nokia 7250 Nokia 7250i Nokia 7600 Nokia 7650 Nokia 8110i Nokia 8146 Nokia 8148i Nokia 8210 Nokia 8260 Nokia 8270 Nokia 8290 Nokia 8310 Nokia 8390 Nokia 8810 Nokia 8850 Nokia 8855 Nokia 8860 Nokia 8890 Nokia 8910 Nokia 8910i Nokia 9210i Nokia 9250 Nokia.

And Manymore At Very Low Price.Ok
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Thanks And God Bless
Mr. Brown John
Director.

By: NappyImus

NappyImus — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 12:07:50 +0000

I think that the rationale for leaving out Blackberrys and Sidekicks is very questionable. Given the definition of a smartphone that’s given, I think they DO belong here. Ditto for the SonyEricsson models, M600i and P990i, which are apparently the only Symbian OS phones that have touchscreens.

It would also be helpful to see a head to head comparison of Symbian OS versus Palm OS, since so many users seem to have complaints about the former. Hard to use, slow, buggy, etc.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 04:24:41 +0000

Why not give the Blackberry the honor that it deserves. It is the forerunner to all of the smartphones out there; so does that not make it the orginal smartphone?

RIM makes only smartphones period….!

By: Paul

Paul — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 06:15:32 +0000

I have a question about data plans versus wi-fi and I can’t seem to get a definitive answer. I’m thinking about getting a UTStarcom that I plan to use as my phone (with a phone service plan) but only need to access the Internet through wi-fi hotspots. Would I still need to have a data plan with my provider, or will I be able to access the internet through wi-fi hotspots without having a data plan?

Thanks so much for any knowledge on this!

By: Matt Hickey

Matt Hickey — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 23:22:59 +0000

Beth: That’s a fine question, but I dunno the answer. heh.

By: Beth

Beth — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 17:38:13 +0000

Ok, i have a question. I am not technical so forgive me if it is a stupid question.

The E61 is wi-fi enabled, and the e62 is not. Did they take the hardware out or just disable it via the software? If software disabled, cant someone figure out how to enable it again?

By: Mitch Olson

Mitch Olson — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 20:51:56 +0000

I’v been using a HP Ipaq hw6965 (AsiaPacific verison of the 6945 I understand) for the last 6 weeks & I love it. Previously a Pocket PC user, I was looking for a cross between the power & familiarity of the Windows Mobile OS, & a one-handed cellphone experience. A square screen device with thumbboard seems like the best configuration for my needs.

The geewhizzboy inside of me liked the HTC-based slide-out keyboard models, but the combination of greater fragility, HTC so-so reliability & crappy warranty repair support (at least here in NZ), & difficulty in using with one hand ruled them out. I also liked the size & controls on the Treo, but the pussy processor primarily ruled that out.

In the end what swayed me was the availability of a 3 year next-business-day-replacement warranty option, 400Mhz processor power enough to run Skype over WIFI, & the bonus of GPS. No regrets at all & has exceeded my expectations, & I love driving to work listening to a Audible book with my headphones&integratedmic on, getting a phone call - the book automatically pausing, & then resuming after the call - awesome convergence!

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 19:01:41 +0000

I love my cingular 8125, I highly recommend checking it out.

Things I love:
* Getting/sending work/home e-mails while i’m on the golf course or out and about.
* Texting or composing e-mails with a real qwerty keyboard
* 1.3mp camera is nice for snapping a quick pic
* touch screen interface is handy (although i’m still getting used to dialing phone #s this way)
* Browsing the internet for movie times, sports scores is extreemly handy on almost a daily basis when i’m out and about.
* using MP3s as ringtone is great (don’t ever buy a ringtone)
* storing my favorite pictures and quick video clips to show off to my friends is fun. (buy a 1gb mini-sd card)

By: Tim

Tim — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 17:54:18 +0000

Interesting discussion, especially around the BlackBerry aspect of things. Between colleagues we had all of the phones mentioned (or their equivalents that are available in EMEA…) and there were several “winners” depending on what you were looking for in your “phone”…

From a professional use perspective and for me personally there is only one device though: The RIM BlackBerry 8700 / 8707, nothing beats that machine with respects to speed, reliability and usability because at the end a phone, email, calendar and tasks is what I am looking for in MY smartphone, for pics I have my D-SLR, for music my iPod, navigation is handeled by the system in my car (know my way around while walking or can take a cab) and for movies/TV a smart person invented TV a couple of years back ;)

So you can see, it’s really a question of perspective and how geek you need to be without taking it to the absurd…

My two cents worth,
Tim

P.S.: If you are desperate you can still install mp3 as ringtones on the BB, you can use google maps to get directions just your pictures you still have to paint yourself ;)

By: Brian G

Brian G — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 16:58:49 +0000

I’ve got an HP HW6945 which as mentioned above is quad-band, GPRS, wi-fi, bluetooth and GPS all in basically the same size factor. I bought it to stay in touch with my business while I travel for 7 months. I’m happy with it so far although it is like all WM5 phones and not the greatest phone interface. However, it even runs Skype so I can make cheap international calls or check email while on the go from any hotspot. If you take photos with the camera, it auto-embeds latitude and longitude into them which has all kinds of potential along with the driving navigation capability. I waited a long time to buy this phone and it’s been worth it!

I’ve got more info about the (tiny) gear I’m carrying on my 7-month RTW trip if you click my name above.

By: Paul

Paul — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 09:04:33 +0000

I don’t think any smartphone review would be complete without taking the new Nokia N95 into account. It basically does everything and washes the dishes too. If anyone is interested, there is a post on the N95 on my blog.

By: stuart

stuart — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 06:21:00 +0000

given that this review is supposed to cover current and upcoming devices, why no coverage of the Cingular 8525 (replacement for the 8125 / MDA), or the HP hw6900 series?

By: Shaun

Shaun — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 03:52:15 +0000

I had a Sony Ericsson p990i for about 3 weeks. It’s just not ready with staggeringly bad bugs and there’s some questionable software changes over the older p910i. It’s got more RAM but the applications in ROM don’t execute in place so it actually ends up eating RAM very quickly. Worse than that though, it’ll randomly reboot itself to allegedly improve performance when it does run out.

I really tried to like it as the camera is great, wifi is great but the software just isn’t ready for primetime and there’s zero Apple Mac support too since it doesn’t support SyncML unlike the Nokias and there’s no iSync plugin for it.

I was actually very glad to get back to my p910i. I was missing calls on the p990 and it would crash mid call if you got an email. Maybe I’ll look again in 6 months time when they’ve fixed the software and added more RAM and Apple have a sync driver for it. Or possibly Apple will just release a phone!

The p910i is the most stable phone I’ve ever had. The p990i the exact opposite. I think I’ll give Symbian OS 9 phones a miss for a while. Pity really as there’s no phone OS I like - they all suck.

By: Matt Hickey

Matt Hickey — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 02:33:19 +0000

Khris: True, not everyone literally loves it. Many, many users I know personally, including yours truly, love it. Sure, it is a little bit buggy, but most smartphones are (trust me, I have five in my bag right now, they all have their problems). That being said, the comment about everyone loving it has more to do with the ease of use, handy qwerty, and nifty features (I heart my ringer-mute switch). Sorry you’re having bad luck with yours. I have a feeling things will be smoother with the 680.

By: Judi Sohn

Judi Sohn — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 02:19:57 +0000

Given the fact that the Cingular 8125 has wifi, the lack of it in the e62 makes absolutely no sense.

By: Thor Muller

Thor Muller — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 02:07:01 +0000

Another vote for the wi-fi enabled Nokia e61! I’m travelling in Argentina now and with so many wifi hotspots around this phone keeps me as connected as I could ever hope. You can use voip services and avoid the crazy international rates. Regular Internet access over-the-air is speedy too.

The e62 is the Cingular approved version, with the wifi disabled. Don’t buy it on principle. Fight back against the tyranny of the carriers.

By: Matt Hickey

Matt Hickey — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 01:39:47 +0000

Alpha, you’re right. Our table-making intern has been punished. Thanks for pointing it out.

By: Kirby

Kirby — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 01:36:12 +0000

enoch: I think it’s a “first time smartphone buyer’s guide”, the p990 is a VERY high-end and advanced phone for a first-timer, no?

By: hillary

hillary — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 01:32:32 +0000

not to be redundant, but what about the 6700 phones? Sprint’s PPC-6700 and Verizon’s XV6700 are the pre-curson to Cingular’s 8125, and in many respect are an all-around better choice. EVDO, WiFi, GPS potential, and as Robert mentioned, tethering the phone to a latop is a steal.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 00:27:24 +0000

Wow a comparison of SmartPhones without including BlackBerry?!

If BlackBerry is not a smartphone what is it? I honestly don’t see where else you would place BlackBerry.