Time for a new phone...

Ted

Ted

The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
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iFlyNothing
I've been a happy BlackBerry owner for the past year and a half. It's getting close to time to upgrade. Yesterday, the screen developed a leak. It's still completely readable, but it's slowly getting worse. Time for a new phone. So, I'm looking for ideas. Restrictions:

- I'm on the Verizon network, and have no intention of changing (I get a discount and I like the network)
- Needs to be a global phone for my trips to Mexico and Canada (and sometimes Europe)
- NOT AN IPHONE4! (I don't like iPhones)
- Need to be able to get eMail and internet on it (so BlackBerry or Droid)
- Preferably something I can get a 2-for-1 deal on

I like the Droid X, but I don't think it's global ready, which takes it out of the mix. The BlackBerry Bold seems to be the equivalent of my current Tour model, which I like and am happy with.

I'm going to go by Verizon today and see if they'll do a warranty repair on it, but something tells me they won't.

So, tell me what y'all think. :)
 
Ted,

I had the tour on t-mobile and now have the bold..

If you like your tour you will definitely like the bold. It is very similar but has a better , higher quality feel to it..

Good luck in your search ..

Jon
 
Take a look at the some of the Samsung smart phones. There are some nice ones out there. As for Android based products, MEH! I think their OS is getting close to being what it should be, but it ain't there yet.
 
Well, I went by the Verizon store today to tell me the phone's out of warranty, but I can upgrade for $70 more than it should because I don't get the "new every 2" being a few months early. Combine that with a bad salesman who was more concerned with annoying me than selling me a phone, and I just walked out.

I like the Droid X the most, but it's not a global phone. The Bold is a nice phone, a definite improvement from the Tour, so that is an option. I saw the Droid2Global and played with it. Yes, Chris, that is a neat phone. But really, I want a Droid X global. Unfortunately, they don't offer it.

The screen problem seems to be random dead pixels rather than a crack or a leak. So, I think I'll see how it goes a bit longer first. By that point, maybe the iPhone4 craze will have died down and the other phones will be more available. If it dies tomorrow, I'll probably order a BlackBerry Bold online - the people in the store are just idiots, and I don't want to deal with that frustration again.
 
I have a Treo 700p that I could sell myself for $0 if I really wanted. ;)
 
I got a Droid Pro in December. It worked fine in India and Germany. One neat feature is that it figures out which country you are in and handles the dialing prefix (at least for numbers in your contact list). It has a small keyboard that works was well as a Blackberry; the web browser is much better.

The phone takes a little time to boot up. I get 1.5 weeks on the battery.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I have a Treo 700p that I could sell myself for $0 if I really wanted. ;)
Click to expand...

My wife, my mother in law and I all use the 700P on the Verizon network. We like it because you can run a things like Excel and not have to pay for a data plan. It's old enough to be grandfathered in to their system. I put a 4 gig SD card in mine and use it as an mp3 player to listen to audiobooks. Also, they seem to be pretty rugged phones. And the Treonauts.com site offers a good support system on their forum. If you ever consider tossing it out, let me know, a spare in the kitchen drawer might not be a bad idea. :ihih:
 
Well, the screen is getting worse by the day, I'll have to do something.

It looks like CDMA will work just fine for Mexico and Canada, per Verizon's map. So in that regard, the Droid X will do it for me. I like its form, fit, and function the best. The rare trips to Europe (once every year or two) are probably a non-issue, now knowing that Mexico and Canada are covered (at least for the moment) with a non-global phone. Those are my top destinations that I expect to go to several times a year.

The BlackBerry Tour is my #2 pick, having a hearty dislike of iPhones. The Droid 2 Global just doesn't do it for me on the feel. I think it has to do with the screen.

What say ye wireless gurus? Any suggestions or other thoughts?
 
Ted DuPuis said:
It looks like CDMA will work just fine for Mexico and Canada, per Verizon's map.
Click to expand...

My VZW CDMA phone works well in Canada on the Rogers network. The roaming fees can be pretty pricey, but for the couple of times a year I go there, I can live with it. I do know that in Sept Iles, PQ, across the river from the very tip of Maine, I was getting good coverage while all my AT&T co-workers had nada. British Colombia and Ontario between Toronto and Thunder Bay was the same (as long as there was signal).
 
Keith Lane said:
My VZW CDMA phone works well in Canada on the Rogers network. The roaming fees can be pretty pricey, but for the couple of times a year I go there, I can live with it. I do know that in Sept Iles, PQ, across the river from the very tip of Maine, I was getting good coverage while all my AT&T co-workers had nada. British Colombia and Ontario between Toronto and Thunder Bay was the same (as long as there was signal).
Click to expand...

That was one of my questions yesterday that they couldn't answer. A quick look at the Verizon coverage map shows CDMA is in Canada wherever there's cell service, hence why you and I do so well with it. When Chisasibi, Waskaganish, and Chibougamau have signal, then you're doing pretty well.

I'm conflicted between the Droid Pro (global) and the Droid X (like using it better), or the BB Bold (global, like similarly to the Droid Pro). Grr...
 
One thing to check out before jumping on the DroidX is to figure out if you can deal with the lack of physical keyboard. My boss was a long-time BB user. He recently got an Android flavor phone without a physical keyboard. He said he will go back to the BB soon because he can't handle the lack of physical keyboard.

You might want to test drive the on-screen keyboard if possible to see if you can handle the change...

Other than that.. Let us/me know how you like it. My BB is up in April and I'm itching for some flavor of Android.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
That was one of my questions yesterday that they couldn't answer. A quick look at the Verizon coverage map shows CDMA is in Canada wherever there's cell service, hence why you and I do so well with it. When Chisasibi, Waskaganish, and Chibougamau have signal, then you're doing pretty well.

I'm conflicted between the Droid Pro (global) and the Droid X (like using it better), or the BB Bold (global, like similarly to the Droid Pro). Grr...
Click to expand...

I guess one caveat I should mention is that I have not been there since last March or April. I don't know if things up there are the same now. Buyer beware, I guess.
 
I spent about 30 minutes playing with the various Droid options at the Verizon store yesterday while I was waiting for them to tell me my warranty was up, and explain how my Tour didn't have a SIM card in it and wasn't a global phone (wrong).

Anyway, I found that the Droid X had an on-screen keyboard that I could deal with, whereas the other variants I tried I didn't like at all. I didn't like the Droid 2's slider keyboard. The Droid Pro's physical keyboard reminded me of the BlackBerry, and I liked it well enough.

The thing I always felt was missing from the BlackBerry was the touch screen. The Treo had both a physical keyboard and a touch screen. I still like the Droid X the best, but the Droid 2 is probably the practical solution.
 
Keith Lane said:
I guess one caveat I should mention is that I have not been there since last March or April. I don't know if things up there are the same now. Buyer beware, I guess.
Click to expand...

I was there with my BlackBerry last month, and checked the coverage map an hour ago. :)
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I was there with my BlackBerry last month, and checked the coverage map an hour ago. :)
Click to expand...

If you want to know who has coverage where, check this out:

http://opensignalmaps.com/

Seems to work all over the world. It is easy to see why Verizon leaves AT&T in the dust where I live (I'm a Verizon subscriber, and have a Droid - which I'm satisfied with).

Dave
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I still like the Droid X the best, but the Droid 2 is probably the practical solution.
Click to expand...

I dislike onscreen keyboards, but I have a Droid X and love the Swype keyboard that comes installed.
Unlike 'hunt and peck' onscreen keyboards, the Swype keyboard uses gestures. You put your finger on the first letter of the word and 'drag' your finger over all the subsequent letters.

After about an hour or two, it's blazingly fast. I've gotten *really* good at BB keyboards over the last 5 years, but the Swype is much faster and more accurate. Instead or recognizing single keypresses (and typos), it analyzes the 'shape' of the word and is amazingly accurate.
You have to teach it jargon or other unlisted words but physically typing them in, but it remembers words you typed. It also learns what words you use and don't use, and gets very accurate in a very short time.

Select "video" on the left, then demo video. It's much easier to see than to explain.
And for some reason, the Droid X comes with the generic Android keyboard active rather than Swype. You just have to change the default keyboard (Swype in installed from the factory, you just have to turn it on)
http://swypeinc.com/product.html

Alan
 
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I've heard of the Swipe thing, and it sounds like a neat idea, and sounds like it would be fast.

I'm still asking myself the question of whether I need GSM or not. If I don't, I'll get the X, which is what I want. If I do, I'll get the 2, which isn't what I want.
 
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