2009-05-27

New phone time?


Last summer I ditched my personal phone line and went mobile only. My phone is a Samsung A900, and I've been using it for nearly 3 years. I think this is the longest I've gone with the same phone (well, except for that land line phone I got in 1983). The thing still gets great reception and decent battery life. Texting is challenge but doable. And I may be the only person in America who is actually happy with Sprint's service.

And yet, I can't help but wonder if it's time to change.

I like the idea of the Android phone, featuring an OS developed by Google. Google just gave away 4,000 of them at a conference to promote it. The idea of an open platform appeals to me.

But I keep hearing that the hardware is terrible and the batterly life lasts only about 5 minutes. The panelists on Twit.TV routinely critiscize the hardware. Perhaps the next iteration will be a usable platform.

Then of course there's the iPhone. And while it's pretty neat, I don't think I'm an iPhone kind of guy.

The biggest problem I have with the iPhone is the small hard drive. The flash drive may help stretch the battery life a little (apparently not enough). But if I were to get an iPhone, it would be to replace both my regular phone and my iPod. And as it is my 60 GB iPod is too small.

I know I don't have to have everything on there, but I want to.

So once there's a longer battery life on a 100 GB iPhone, I might be interested.

I considered the Blackberry Storm, but the reviews and commentary I've heard all indicate it was a disaster. And besides, there just seems to be something wrong about buying a Blackberry for personal use.

I am looking forward to next month. The Palm Pre comes out on the Sprint network. Early buzz is positive. During the mid- to late-nineties I was a Palm PDA user so in some respects it would be like going home. I will have play with one and to give it some serious thought. By August we should know if the Pre lives up to its hype.

Or perhaps this is all just silly, and I should actaully just stick with my A900. After all, it still works. It's just not a shiny, new toy.

7 comments:

brokenteepee said...

Aaaah, but boys do love their shiny new toys....

Mrs Sweetwater said...

Funny thing is I just bought a new phone on ebay lastnite. unlocked i9++ model. it's an iphone clone with the same capabilities, but supposedly better battery life.
it also was unlocked which is why I bought it, so I can use it when and with which ever carrier I desire.

I have a samsung trace now and eversince I got it, I've wanted to get somehthing else. it feels cheap, it's lightweight look and bad software makes me never want anything else made by samsung.

it's amazing you also have a samsung and say the same thing about the software.

they should listen to their users instead of thinking for us.

Mr. New Dilemma said...

I say stick with Sprint till the Palm Pre launch. Apple will fight and rumors of an 8gb iphone for $99 dollars are beginning to circulate.

Now, at 99 dollars you should not think about HD space. Just be wowed at the technology in your hand for the price.

In the end, follow your heart. (lol, like your heart knows anything about electronics)

myi4u said...

I have been using Samsung i900 for a few months now. I quite like it and it just works like it supposed to work. Battery life is good but the screen is not that sensitive as it is a resistive touch screen.

The functions are great looking at the price of that phone. Software upgrade is easy and it does help a lot when you find your phone is sluggish and not performing.

Always, I like to think of getting a gadget for just about every function; game, mp3, mp4, phone, internet, wifi, hspda, camera and the likes. But sometimes, it is still better to get different devices for different purposes.

sen and qi said...

I use system restore every few months and guess what else it does! It gives me another 90 days free ad and spyware and protection for my computer ahaha courtesy of livecare shhhhhhhhhhhhhh or should I not mention that?

Anonymous said...

nice phone.,Have A nice Day!!

Cromely said...

@Pricilla: We never get tired of them.

@RE Ausetkmt: The software on mine isn't awful. It's just not that great. The big problem with texting is that it doesn't have either a real or QWERTY keyboard. And the back button sometimes doesn't do exactly what I would like.

@Mr. New Dilema: My heart just says "Buy Everything!" so I've been seeking a second opinion from my brain.

@Sen and Qu: Glad that works out for you. Sometimes system restore does help with those time limits.

@myi4u: Glad you like the i900. I'll have to take a look at it.