Cell Phones

[Bond]

So, it looks as though my holdout to be the last living person not to own a cell phone has ended. Apparently I really need one now. I haven't exactly been keeping up on what is the coolest thing for a few years, so any suggestions?

[Su-Yin]

depends what you want the phone for? you going to be texting much? you need a nice big screen with bigger font? one wiht a good colour screen and camera to take photos? just going to recieve and make calls? you want a handy one? slim with less features but light and not bulky?you want a cool and stylish one? whats your budget?...theres really lots to look into..tons of phones out in the market for different users...it really depends..no use getting a fancy ass one with tons of applications like calendars,radios,games,bluetooth,organiser,voice recorder,gazzillion games, stop watch, countdown timer.....etc...etc...too many to mention
I suggest you decide your budget and work from there. Sometimes deals which come with cellphone providers also make expensive and new models more affordable...so those are worth looking into as well.

[Bube]

Happydudette's right, you need to decide on what you want it for. But in the end, I suggest buying a Nokia, as it has the best support.

[MuGen]

Here is my rankings:

Reception
1. Nokia
2. Motorola
3. Sony Ericsson
4. Samsung

Features & Gadgets
1. Sony Ericsson
2. Motorola
3. Nokia
4. Samsung

User-Friendly
1. Nokia
2. Sony Ericsson
3. Motorola
4. Samsung

Ringtones & Multimedia
1. Motorola
2. Nokia
3. Sony Ericsson
4. Samsung

Customizability
1. Sony Ericsson
2. Nokia
3. Motorola
4. Samsung

Quality and Durability
1. Samsung
2. Nokia
3. Sony Ericsson
4. Motorola

All in all..... if depends on what is suited for your need. I use my phone for MANY things so I have a Motorola MPX220 Windows Mobile phone.

My suggestion based on just needing a cellphone to make calls, and having the occasional extras like polyphonic/mp3 ringtones and custom themes would have to be the Sony Ericsson V500. It has above average reception, almost on par with Nokia, and it has Bluetooth capabilities. Also comes with polyphonic/mp3 ringtones and over 5,000 downloadable themes to make your phone look the way you want it. Also has a video cam and it's not so pricey like others.

Second suggestion would be any Nokia.... whatever your need theres a nokia for it.

[Stonecutter]

I have only one suggestion.


Regardless of what brand of phone you buy, do not, not, not, NOT get Cingular Wireless.


Worst.
Service.
Ever.



Also, you may think that you're never going to send a text message.

You will.


You will send a lot of them.

[MuGen]

Well I was originally AT&T and then they merged so I guess I'm on Cingular now.... but the service isn't that bad.

[Jonbo298]

Also, you may think that you're never going to send a text message.

You will.


You will send a lot of them.

I agree with that. I went from sending a few to almost 2,000 in a month now..I just know my verizon bill is gonna be huge.

Stay away from Verizon. They wanna get your money/minutes in any way possible. Motorola and Sony phones are pretty good (Sony Ericcson, Motorola razr v3, etc..). I'd recommend maybe Sprint for a provider. They were good back then to me, alot better then Verizon. Verizon's service/reception is good but they just want to take your money/minutes in any way possible and screw with your phones.

[Canyarion]

I had to jump the ship a few years ago when I moved out and had no regular phone. And I half-owned a phone when I tried to correspond with a girl.

Now I like my phone. :) It's a simple Nokia 3310.

[BreakABone]

I have only one suggestion.
Also, you may think that you're never going to send a text message.

You will.


You will send a lot of them.

I never got the point of text messages so annoying to write on most phones, and you can't really say much.

The last time I sent a text message was probably X-Mas or something like that.

[The Germanator]

Yeah, I don't agree that you will just start sending text messages. I've NEVER done it and I've had this cell phone for over a year and a half. I'm just the cheapest bastard around though. I try to make the majority of my calls after 9 PM, or if that is not an option, then I make the calls on the weekend. Or I try to call other Verizon cell-phone users. I only make calls that will actually be charged when absolutely necessary...

[BreakABone]

Yeah, I don't agree that you will just start sending text messages. I've NEVER done it and I've had this cell phone for over a year and a half. I'm just the cheapest bastard around though. I try to make the majority of my calls after 9 PM, or if that is not an option, then I make the calls on the weekend. Or I try to call other Verizon cell-phone users. I only make calls that will actually be charged when absolutely necessary...

Now this is closer to how I use my phone.

Which works out great at my school since 90% of the cell phone users have Verizon since there are only two companies.

[Jonbo298]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention. msot of my text messages isnt to other cell phones. Its to people on MSN/AIM :p So..yeah

[Dyne]

Bond, you aren't the last person to have a cell phone on the face of the earth. There are a ton of poor (fortunate?) souls that don't have one.

Yeah, I didn't think I'd text much either, but it's a great alternative to talking. My friend is a whiz on the keypad for typing messages, christ. Whenever I send him a message I get one back in less than ten seconds.

[MuGen]

Bond, you aren't the last person to have a cell phone on the face of the earth. There are a ton of poor (fortunate?) souls that don't have one.

Yeah, I didn't think I'd text much either, but it's a great alternative to talking. My friend is a whiz on the keypad for typing messages, christ. Whenever I send him a message I get one back in less than ten seconds.

Some phones have T9 Predictive text input...

instead of tapping multiple times to get a letter just type a number combo...

for the word don't... u type 3, 6, 6, 8 and a number of words come up as a possibility of what your trying to type.

since D is on three, and O, and N is on 6 and T is on 8.... it will appear DONT...

It's a cool feature, makes things faster.

[Dyne]

Oh, I know about it. I hate how it finds ways to turn itself on every once in a while.

[BlueFire]

I have only one suggestion.


Regardless of what brand of phone you buy, do not, not, not, NOT get Cingular Wireless.


Worst.
Service.
Ever.

I agree.


I used to have a cell a year back.


Don't have one now.. haha

[Canyarion]

Text messages are pretty useful, especially if you can send them for free from the internet. :D That's how I sent most of mine!!

[Happydude]

www.sms.ac

FREE TEXT MSGS FOR ALL!!! :)

[KillerGremlin]

I have cingular, and their service flucuates considerably. Right around my house, I get decent service, sometimes it's great, sometimes it's not. I do agree that there is better service out there though. *coughverizoncough*

Anyway......Nokia has excellent support, but right now they don't make flip phones, and let's face it, flip phones rock. Motorola makes the best flip phones by far, and they usually are feature packed. LG flip phones are nice too, but I think motorolas are a bit better.

Regardless, there's a ton of good phones out there. I recommend doing research before you start talking to us though, because I know I'm biased towards motorola, and likewise, I have friends that disregard Motorola phones for their Nokias. To each his own I suppose. The moral of the story is, put at least 2 weeks of research into the subject before you go out to the store and decide to make a purchase.

[Professor S]

Cell Phones and Email are the two worst invention sin the history of mankind. They were intended to give us more free time and flexibility. Instead they've made us slaves to technology.

E-mail: Instead of being prepared to receive information via "snail mail" and wait a number od days, now people expect it instantly. People expect you to not only check our e-mail daily, but several times a day if not hourly. Imstead of giving us more free time, it has raised expectations to the point of absurdity.

Cell Phones: This is my least favorite conversation to have, and I have it all the time...

"Yo, I called you last night. Where were you?"
"I went to the mall and picked up a few things, why??"
"I tried calling you and you didn't pick up."
"Oh, I didn't have it on me."
"Why didn't you have it on you?" *has disgusted look on his/her face*

Why didn't I have it on me? BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO TALK TO ANYONE AND I ESPECIALLY DON'T WANT TO BE EXPECTED TO BE "ON CALL" WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE CALLING ME. I HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO IN MY LIFE OTHER THAN MAKING SURE YOU CAN REACH ME.

This drives me nuts. Because of cell phones people noW expect you to be reachable 24 hours a day, wherever you are. Well I for one refuse to allow technology to make demands of my time.

[BreakABone]

Cell Phones and Email are the two worst invention sin the history of mankind. They were intended to give us more free time and flexibility. Instead they've made us slaves to technology.

E-mail: Instead of being prepared to receive information via "snail mail" and wait a number od days, now people expect it instantly. People expect you to not only check our e-mail daily, but several times a day if not hourly. Imstead of giving us more free time, it has raised expectations to the point of absurdity.

Cell Phones: This is my least favorite conversation to have, and I have it all the time...

"Yo, I called you last night. Where were you?"
"I went to the mall and picked up a few things, why??"
"I tried calling you and you didn't pick up."
"Oh, I didn't have it on me."
"Why didn't you have it on you?" *has disgusted look on his/her face*

Why didn't I have it on me? BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO TALK TO ANYONE AND I ESPECIALLY DON'T WANT TO BE EXPECTED TO BE "ON CALL" WHENEVER YOU FEEL LIKE CALLING ME. I HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO IN MY LIFE OTHER THAN MAKING SURE YOU CAN REACH ME.

This drives me nuts. Because of cell phones people noW expect you to be reachable 24 hours a day, wherever you are. Well I for one refuse to allow technology to make demands of my time.


Yeah, I really hate that, which is why I loathe cell phones.

Only reason I keep mines is my mother feels better be able to reach me at school if I have it...

Other than that I usually scan calls.. don't carry it with me unless I know I will be gone for a good portion of the day and well... if I have things to plan

[GameMaster]

The ultimate cell phone!


The Motorola Razr V3 is one of the thinnest clamshell mobile phones in the world. It is only 13.9 mm thick, with the display only 5 mm thick. Made of anodised aluminium, this feature-packed, quad-band GSM phone sports a sleek design with dual color displays, a VGA camera, long-range Bluetooth, MPEG4 video clip playback, and Java 2 with 3D graphics. It also has a 22 kHz speaker for full mp3 ringtones.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/5d/Motorola_Razr_V3.jpg

[Dark Samurai]

If I had my choice of cell phone it would be...

http://www.cifrovik.ru/cifrovik/services/catalog/images/5463-photo-extra-2.jpg

The Samsung SCH-a790... I just love it...

Good thing I have Verizon...

Thanks to Cifrovik for the image... (just evaded charges... *whew*...)

[Su-Yin]

Anyway......Nokia has excellent support, but right now they don't make flip phones, and let's face it, flip phones rock.
.
mines a flip nokia...7200
and there are tons of new nokia flip phones out in the market now...
if youre looking for an afforadable gadget-full phone with video cameras and the whole lot...take a look at BenQ....if you dont care much bout brand names BenQ phones are really userfriendly and the cameras/colour screens beat nokia's quality flat...Cause its a taiwanese brand...its fairly inexpensive...but it doesnt slack in quality....just make sure it supports GSM in your area...
http://benq.com/index.cfm

[Jonbo298]

mmm, Razr v3 mmm

[Teuthida]

If phone calls are what you wanna make, get my phone...cause it does nothing else. :(

http://www.hellocellphone.com/images/R225.jpg

Got T-Mobile. It sucks everywhere but in Manhattan for me...and seeing as I don't live in Manhattan... Eh, it's cheap.

If nothing else it's a nice clock.

[Bube]

The one GM posted, the V3, is a very nice phone. It has almost everything you could get these days, and it's very thin.

I use a 6600, and the best part of it is the Symbian OS. Tons of programs and games for it.

The V3 doesn't have symbian as far as I know.

[Jason1]

Im suprised nobody has mentioned this, but if you really dont plan on using your phone much, I would suggest pre-paid. Ive got Virgin Mobile, and Im liking it a lot. The minutes are much cheaper than Tracphone, and text messages are just like anywhere else, 10 cents to send, free to recieve. But if you plan on using the phone a lot, dont get a pre-paid. You will definatley end up paying more. But right now with my minimal usage, I can get by pretty easily with spending only 20 bucks every 2 months, maybe even less.

[dropCGCF]

For me, nothing beats this:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v298/felixr/peanutphone.jpg

There's no fancy camera, I don't have text messaging, or funky ringtones.

But it's perfect for me because I get unlimited calling with Cricket.

I would suggest to shop for a phone that does what you NEED it to do, not customizability.

[Canyarion]

Yeah, prepay way to go. :)

[MuGen]

I've owned 3 cell phones in the past month and a half...

my first one (AMONG THE 3), was a Z600 by Sony Ericsson:
http://www.internet-guide.co.uk/products/mobiles/Sony-Ericsson-Z600.gif

my second one, the V3 RAZR... which i recently gave to my sister:
http://images.businessweek.com/mz/04/45/techbuy/images/razr_phone.jpg

now, my current phone is the MPx220 with Windows Mobile in it... email... internet explorer... I was even on GameTavern with it...
http://www.handys-mobile.de/img/motorola_mpx220.jpg

[Dark Samurai]

^ Lucky bastard...

[MuGen]

You'd be doing the same if you had a GSM carrier... Verizon sucks up your money ... makes you think the IN-network is big.... .

[MasterMind]

Here's my phone. Not too bad, I'm a little behind, but it works :D

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/cell-phone-old.jpg





This is actually my phone. Just had it replaced a week ago because the side buttons stopped working on it. Probably because I dropped it, but Sprint didn't need to know that.

http://www.mobileburn.com/media/toshiba/4050/vm4050_open_side_quarter-150_5095.jpg

[Crash]

just having entered this thread but not read anything


I just got a new phone. I've been with sprint pcs since they launched in like 99 or whenever they launched. I like em, I'm happy.

I just got a Sanyo 8200 I think. It's red, it's cool it plays MobiTV and takes pictures. Games on the phones are retarded, keep using a gameboy for that.

the MobiTV is cool... streaming audio and about 1 fps..... 10 minute delay from live tv, and it's pretty nice to have.

[GameMaster]

Three excellent cell phones in 1.5 months, you're disgustingly rich and powerful... :mad:

:p

[Jonbo298]

Never heard of the mpx220 but damn, it sounds great. I must have it

[Dark Samurai]

I just found my new phone....

http://www.3dnews.ru/documents/news5/20050112_motoces2005_01.jpg

Motorola E815

Due out by June probably... I want this phone bad....

[Canyarion]

Here's my phone. Not too bad, I'm a little behind, but it works :D

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/cell-phone-old.jpg





This is actually my phone. Just had it replaced a week ago because the side buttons stopped working on it. Probably because I dropped it, but Sprint didn't need to know that.

http://www.mobileburn.com/media/toshiba/4050/vm4050_open_side_quarter-150_5095.jpg
Haha that's awesome, +rep! :D

[MasterMind]

Have any of you guys needed to get your phone replaced on factory warranty and how was your providers service? I've had to have two of my phones replaced because they went bad within a year and Sprint was great at replacing them without any questions.

Just wanted to know what other's experiences with other providers were.

[Crash]

never had to replace a phone really.. they always work for freaking ever... just time for an upgrade

[GameMaster]

Same as Crash, never had a faulty phone, only upgraded because I had the right to. My sister's gone through a couple of phones but only because she's careless with them. I like to keep mine wrapped in a small shroud and then I put it in my pocket. One time I wore with the included clip but when I came home and saw some dust on the screen I scrapped that idea.

[MasterMind]

I've never used the belt clip thingy. Don't like it so I've always carried it in my pocket.

[gekko]

My advice: Go Bluetooth.

As for phones, I've always been happy with Nokia. If you own a BMW, I'd go with Motorola.

Do not buy the RAZR.

As for providers, Cingular has the largest coverage network. Does it matter to you? Maybe, maybe not. Something to consider though, if you travel a lot. Also, a big thing I don't think enough people think about, if you're on the phone for hours with the same person, as in calling your girlfriend for hours each day, look into free mobile-to-mobile and get the same service provider!

And if you text message, get the plan. Obviously don't send 2,000 text messages if you have to pay .20 a piece. That's irresponsibility, or stupidity. Know your plan. However, Cingular not having free incoming text messages does bother me. You have no control over receiving a message. Or, you probably do somewhere on your phone, but still.

I change phones every year or so. Federal law makes them cancel contracts for free when you deploy, so I just cancel before I go, and get the new-user deals when I get back.

[Jonbo298]

I already know my plan :p Its only .02 to receive and .10 to send so I'm not in a huge worry about price as I can make up the difference :p

[MuGen]

I pay the extra $2.00/month for unlimited incoming and outgoing text messages. Besides I get e-mail to my phone now... no worries...

[AzeaL]

http://gsm1.tomsk.ru/img/motorola/model/V220.jpg

I got a Motorola v220 phone, not the best but hey! it has a camera :D

with a Cingular plan{1100 rollover minutes}

[Canyarion]

The buttons of my Nokia 3310 http://www.handy-discount.de/3310.jpg
are messed up. Sometimes it doesn't register my push, other times it registers 1 long push instead of 2 short, deleting my text message. :mad:

[Krypton]

Well I was originally AT&T and then they merged so I guess I'm on Cingular now.... but the service isn't that bad.

Yeah, I have a cingular plan too not that bad at all.

[RagedHybrid]

I'm a happy Camper. I have a T-Mobile Sidekick 2. I get reception everywhere i go and i have an extra 20 bucks a month and i get unlimited aim, web browsing, my own e-mail accoutn and unliimited pic msgs. pretty much unlimited data. I usuallyvisit GT while my Sidekick 2 often

http://www.mobiletracker.net/archives/images/SidekickII_WhiteScreen.jpg

http://www.mobilemag.com/content/images/3072_super.jpg

http://www.myetoys.com/bluetooth/upload/2004_08/040809195860551.jpg

And the whole thing about being hacked on T-Mobile is not that easy. Look at Paris hilton. the question to retrieve her password is what is your dog's name? well everyone and their mother knows that so the pass is eay to get. Doubt someone will wanna hack my account to see my pics of my friends and some animals, lol

[Bond]

If anyone is interested in the kind of phone I got, I decided to go with the Motorola V262:

http://www.letstalk.com/img/prod/100/511/27368_pdi.gif

I just got it today so I haven't used it at all, but it seems pretty cool to me so far.

[Jonbo298]

My current phone is the Motorola v710 (did I say before or not? If i did, oh well :p )

http://www.amobile.ru/tel/motorola/img/motorolav710.jpg

Only complaint about it is that Verizon crippled some of the stuff in the phone. EVen though I may not use them much, I'd rather have it be there just in case.

[BreakABone]

If anyone is interested in the kind of phone I got, I decided to go with the Motorola V262:

http://www.letstalk.com/img/prod/100/511/27368_pdi.gif

I just got it today so I haven't used it at all, but it seems pretty cool to me so far.

Looks like my mom's phone.

Anyhow, my phone has started acting up (after almost 2 yearS) but if I hold out till Aug 29th I get a free upgrade. So I hope it can tough it out like a true soldier.

[Krypton]

My dad got the new Nokia 6255i, I think its pretty sweet, better than the phone I got.

http://www.pcphotoreview.com/Channels/PcPhotoReview/images/products/product_330311.jpg


http://www.cellforcash.com/phone_pics/Nokia6255i.gif

[DimHalo]

i just got a samsung flip phone. i don't like it.

[Happydude]

i got a nokia 6170

http://www.inside-handy.de/img/handies/487_g.jpg

[Bond]

i just got a samsung flip phone. i don't like it.
What is wrong with thy Samsung flip phone?

[Jonbo298]

i just got a samsung flip phone. i don't like it.

How about naming the brand first

To Happydude: Interesting looking phone

[Happydude]

How about naming the brand first

To Happydude: Interesting looking phone
it actually looks really cool and neat as if made specially for business people. and loaded with tons of features...it only came out in NA a month or two back...Happydudette bought for me in february though so i had it before it was even here :p

i really like, it's not think or anything, and it has a cool carrying case, and no antena sticking out.

[Jonbo298]

I meant Interesting in a good way if I came out sounding bad, heh

[DimHalo]

http://www.samsungtelecom.com/usa/b2c_m_sph_a660.gif

Samsung SPH-a660/VI660

That is my phone. I just don't like many of the features. I have to flip it open and then press a button to answer it. That is annoying.