OT: Blackberry, iphone, smartphone hell.

[MCC620]

So it's really a wash. I'm not ruling out at&t at this point, however....

I was annoyed with at&t's service. I couldn't get reception in a lot of places.
I dropped them for verizon in 2006.

Now....*this* is important to me. and one of the reasons why I wont rule out verizon, just to jump on the iphone fad. I had at&t 10 years ago, and their coverage friggin blew monkey chunks. Granted, alot can change in 10 years...but I keep hearing the same thing even now...from lots of ex-at&t users, ex-tmobile users, etc...that all go back to verizon after having frustrating coverage issues with their former carriers.

A friend of mine....who's an anti-windows, mac-scob.....bought the iphone as soon as it was available....and has been singing it's praises for as long as I can remember. I asked him "How's the coverage?" His response was a shrug and "ehhh...it's not the best...it takes some getting used to....but DUDE, it's an iphone. you gotta get it!"

That scares me...and while I will admit that Marty's excellent comments regarding the iphone's bugs are concerns of mine...in the end, I want a phone that actually gets it's signal coverage.

frank, we are basically in the same calling area and i can tell you with my blackberry pearl the service was horrible. also, i hate the blue tooth thing and prefer a plug in ear piece, this due to a hearing loss suffered many moons ago. the blackberry was awful. i got the iphone about a month ago and the coverage and the sound and the service is amazing. sure it drops out in the usual spots here on long island, but not for as long a time. and while in the uk last month it never let me down. i agree with marty that the highlight is truly all the apps you can get, many for free. also, changing what music you have on it is much simpler than a regular ipod, as it work on a sync basis. just click what playlists you want. and let me not forget the joy of making my own ringtones....for free. and yes you are right, once you add on the data package the plans between at&t and verizon are about the same.

[AlteredDNA]

My 0.02...

I've been with Cingular / AT&T for years, but recently switched to Verizon. During the Hurricane, Verizon was the only system that didn't go down at all. Plus, I wanted to upgrade my phone for my business. I got the Verizon vx6900. So far, I love the phone and service.

[StevePerryHair]

The only thing I can offer to this thread (which isn't much!!!) is that it has been my experience that T-Mobile's reception is unparalleled.

Unparalleled in a good way or a bad? I've been told that there's not much worse than T-mobile...except for allhell, er Alltel.

In a positive way. I've probably had 5 dropped calls in the last 3 years.

But see, I feel that way about AT&T but some here had a lot of problems. Maybe it depends on where you live. My husband has Nextel and it's horrible. It's a work phone or he wouldn't. I get signals in a lot of places where he gets none. It's rare for me not to have a signal or to lose one. I had AT&T service on our cruise ship this fall, and on every port, and he had none.

[strangegrey]

I agree that it's location thing.

I'm actually interested to hear that Maria's had good reception with her iphone...and she's out in western suffolk....which is about 10 miles from me. My experience with at&t, which has been confirmed by a handful of folks...is that coverage is very spotty, compared to verizon. Maria's actually the first iphone owner in this area that's had positive things to say about at&t's coverage. Like I said, almost everyone else I've discussed this with has had very unflattering things to say about the coverage.

They will gush about the features and apps that you can download...but the coverage question has always been met with a shrug and a "well, I had to have the iphone...so I deal with the holes in coverage"


Regardless....I plan to spend some time this week trying out both devices...and we'll see what wins out.

[Enigma869]

But see, I feel that way about AT&T but some here had a lot of problems. Maybe it depends on where you live. My husband has Nextel and it's horrible. It's a work phone or he wouldn't. I get signals in a lot of places where he gets none. It's rare for me not to have a signal or to lose one. I had AT&T service on our cruise ship this fall, and on every port, and he had none.

It definitely depends upon where you live. Even when Consumer Reports ranks cell phone service providers, they do it by city. T-Mobile is ranked dead last in some areas and ranked second in some other areas. Verizon ranks number one for service in all but three major metro markets. Alltel ranks number one in Tampa, Phoenix, and Cleveland. T-Mobile ties Verizon for first place in the Minneapolis market. According to Consumer Reports, Sprint has the absolute worst cell phone service, nationwide.


John from Boston

[Saint John]

According to Consumer Reports, Sprint has the absolute worst cell phone service, nationwide.

That's easy to believe. I had Nextel and it was awful and it only got worse when Sprint bought them. Besides, I hate that walkit-talkie shit. I'm not fucking 12...though I certainly act it at times.

[MCC620]

I agree that it's location thing.

I'm actually interested to hear that Maria's had good reception with her iphone...and she's out in western suffolk....which is about 10 miles from me. My experience with at&t, which has been confirmed by a handful of folks...is that coverage is very spotty, compared to verizon. Maria's actually the first iphone owner in this area that's had positive things to say about at&t's coverage. Like I said, almost everyone else I've discussed this with has had very unflattering things to say about the coverage.

They will gush about the features and apps that you can download...but the coverage question has always been met with a shrug and a "well, I had to have the iphone...so I deal with the holes in coverage"


Regardless....I plan to spend some time this week trying out both devices...and we'll see what wins out.

hey frank, my iphone is a g3, that may be the difference with the others you spoke to. honestly, one of the biggest problems i had with the blackberry pearl was coverage. it was awful. i travel quite a bit for my job to upstate ny, connecticut and jersey also and my coverage with the iphone is a light year better. i haven't seen the email problem that marty spoke of, but i don't have my optonline or my work email hooked up. just an extra yahoo address. i have always felt that part of the problem with coverage is not just the carrier but the actual phone itself and that's experience from my days doing the cell phones for my company.

[bluejeangirl76]

According to Consumer Reports, Sprint has the absolute worst cell phone service, nationwide.

That's easy to believe. I had Nextel and it was awful and it only got worse when Sprint bought them. Besides, I hate that walkit-talkie shit. I'm not fucking 12...though I certainly act it at times.

Sprint and Alltel both used to be clients of ours at a former company - both suck.
Clients or not, I never would have given them my business. Nextel sucks as well.
Cingular / AT&T ran me in circles in two different states with all their buyouts and shitty service.
I've been happy as crap with Verizon since Feb. 2006, almost 3 years now.

[Rhiannon]

I've been happy as crap with Verizon since Feb. 2006, almost 3 years now.

I hate Verizon. Sure, sure, I get slightly better signal on the Kentucky AA going home, but that's for a 5-mile stretch of 100 miles. The rest is a dead zone.
Verizon's such a pain in the ass to have to deal with, I'd NEVER had a dropped call until I went with them.
US Cellular was by far the best network I'd ever had. And if I'll be switching back in about 10 months.

[Behshad]

Do yourself a favor Frank and get an Iphone through AT&T. Greatest phone ever. You will love this phone and you will wonder how you ever survived without this phone!
AT&T has great coverage, even out in the boonies where I live. Shall you be lucky enough to live in a bigger city with their 3G network coverage, youre in for a real treat. Internet at 3Mb on a cell phone is just amazing.... add to that the FULL Navigation, App Store, Itunes, Ipod, and you have a complete mini pc with all the gadgets you ever need. Oh and did I mention you can use it to make phone calls !?

Here is a detailed coverage map for AT&T
http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/

[MartyMoffatt]

Marty, thank you so much for the comments regarding the iphone. Those 3 bugs scare the bejesus out of me. Especially the email freeze. I'm not so sure I can give people the excuse "sorry, my iphone misplaced my emails" for a few days....lol...

If you don't mind, could you expand on a few things for me?

Can you say why you went to the iphone from the blackberry?

Are there any issues with the blackberry that you can expand on?

Do any of the signal coverage issues come into play with the iphone for you?

To be honest I had no problems with the Blackberry Curve, and in fact I resisted upgrading for months beyond the point I could have upgraded on my contract because the Blackberry was so reliable. Very occasionally the Blackberry email link would fail, causing me to have to re-confirm the settings etc but this was rare. In fact the biggest problem I had with the Curve was occasional sticking of certain keys. With a full keyboard of tiny keys it only needs a spec of dust underneath one for it to stick. But that's just a minor issue and easily fixed.

However, the deal on the iPhone was too tempting, and having made the switch I'm glad I did, because the extras make the iPhone a joy to use. The iPhone deal was about £5 ($8 ) more per month than I was paying for my Blackberry, but with virtually unlimited internet and data downloads all inclusive it is actually working out cheaper (I was always paying extra for data usage on the Blackberry).

My Blackberry was on the O2 network here in the UK, and the iPhone can only be contracted on the O2 network here so the coverage is pretty much the same. As far as phone reception is concerned I rarely have a problem. The 3G network is more patchy. The wi-fi connection is great when in range of a wi-fi, but eats up battery so I have to have it switched off most of the time. Bluetooth too is an intensive battery user but does work well.

The other thing I prefer about the iPhone is the structure of menus and settings etc - much more intuitive and context sensitive. They have thought this through well. I found the Blackberry menu sometimes confusing, to get to more obscure functionality.

As a photographer, one more area where the iPhone wins hands down over the Blackberry (Curve) is in viewing photos. It was cumbersome and slow to browse and display images on the Curve. On the iPhone not only do you have a much bigger screen, but moving from one image to the next is as simple as dragging your finger across the screen. The action is so smooth it's actually a pleasant experience. And it also can synchronise automatically with a Flickr account.

Marty

[Behshad]

I’ve had a Blackberry Curve for 18 months and have just switched to an iPhone about 2 months ago, so I’ve had experience of using both. I was happy with the Blackberry – its email push technology works fantastically well and some of the apps were quite useful.

When I switched to the iPhone the lack of a keypad initially took some getting used to but it does actually work quite well. The add-on apps are what make the product though. With the inbuilt GPS, so the phone always knows exactly where you are, it’s like carrying your own personal SatNav with you. Google maps and Google Earth work like they were built for this device. Youtube too works better on the iPhone than it does on a PC, and the MySpace and Facebook apps mean it’s easy to keep on top of things on the move.

There are only three things that prevent me from describing the iPhone as the perfect device – two are bugs that I’m sure will be fixed soon, and the third is a massive oversight on Apple’s part IMO.

Firstly, the operating system isn’t completely stable. Twice now in the two months I’ve had the iPhone I have experienced what’s been called the white screen on death (Google it – hundreds of iPhone users have had this problem). This is where the iPhone freezes completely and becomes unresponsive to anything. The only solution seems to be to do a hard reboot 6 or 7 times until the iPhone finally wakes up again.

Secondly, the mail push technology used by Apple is not nearly as good as Blackberry’s at the moment. It will work fine for a day or two and then inexplicably stop working. Unfortunately you can’t tell if the lack of emails coming through is due to there not being any or because the iPhone has stopped collecting them. The only solution if you have any doubt is to do a reboot. Then the mails come flooding in again.

Finally, I was annoyed to find that all the peripherals I have for my iPod WON’T work with the iPhone, despite having the same cable and connectors. This means my iPod camera connector, speakers, iTrip etc all are pretty much useless with the iPhone.

Things like the crap inbuilt camera don’t worry me, because as a photographer I wouldn’t dream of using any kind of phone camera anyway (that’s not snobbery, its just that the lenses and sensors in these things really are technically inferior to a dedicated camera).

However, apart from these small gripes, I am happy with my iPhone and do feel it is a much more useful all round product than the Blackberry. If you just want email and a phone, you can’t go wrong with a Blackberry. If you want all the other cool stuff, the iPhone is way out in front.

Marty

The system used to be very unstable, but since the last system update, I havent had ANY problemc as far as the White Circle of death as you described above. Once in a while you do experience an app crash, but I havent had to do the hard boot and restore anymore since the update.
Also, the push mail is "iffy" based on what account you use with iphone. The one account that I found working flawlessly is my Yahoo account. But youre right some problems do occur if you have other email accounts set up.
If you have any Ipod TOUCH accessories, then you CAN use it with IPHONE. otherwise youre screwed,,,

Overall Im very happy with my Iphone, however , there are few minor issues that I dont like about this phone. 1 being the camera, being a crappy one AND the fact that you cannot even record any video with it,,,, minor but still,,,,you find video recording on any cell phone these days
another 'standard' feature this phone lacks, is you can not send/recieve any pic/vids (MMS)
Other than that, I really like this phone and its the gadget every gadgetguy or gadgetgirl SHOULD have !

[bluejeangirl76]

there are few minor issues that I dont like about this phone. 1 being the camera, being a crappy one AND the fact that you cannot even record any video with it,,,, minor but still,,,,you find video recording on any cell phone these days
another 'standard' feature this phone lacks, is you can not send/recieve any pic/vids (MMS)
Other than that, I really like this phone and its the gadget every gadgetguy or gadgetgirl SHOULD have !

It doesn't record and you can't send pic/vid messages?! Wtf? I didn't know that.
I would absolutely expect the freakin' iPhone to have those features.
Even my silly ass little VZ Nav has those.

[brywool]

About 4 months after I bought the thing I was walking through the mall. Walking past a Verizon dealer, a dude...well more like a carnival barker, called me over to find out what kind of phone I had.

OH MY GOD!

never

N-E-V-E-R

Make eye contact with them!!! Walk by, eyes down and you'll be alright.
Went to the mall yesterday and those barkers are everywhere, not just for the phones.

They scare me. Small hands. Smell like cabbage...

[Rhiannon]

N-E-V-E-R

Make eye contact with them!!! Walk by, eyes down and you'll be alright.

The lotion people are worse.

[strangegrey]

there are few minor issues that I dont like about this phone. 1 being the camera, being a crappy one AND the fact that you cannot even record any video with it,,,, minor but still,,,,you find video recording on any cell phone these days
another 'standard' feature this phone lacks, is you can not send/recieve any pic/vids (MMS)
Other than that, I really like this phone and its the gadget every gadgetguy or gadgetgirl SHOULD have !

It doesn't record and you can't send pic/vid messages?! Wtf? I didn't know that.
I would absolutely expect the freakin' iPhone to have those features.
Even my silly ass little VZ Nav has those.

This is a deal breaker for me. If I can't take a picture and email it to someone, that's wrong.

Why would someone come out with a gadget rich phone like the iphone and prevent you from sending a picture you take out via email?


The blackberry storm is looking better and better....

[Angel]

there are few minor issues that I dont like about this phone. 1 being the camera, being a crappy one AND the fact that you cannot even record any video with it,,,, minor but still,,,,you find video recording on any cell phone these days
another 'standard' feature this phone lacks, is you can not send/recieve any pic/vids (MMS)
Other than that, I really like this phone and its the gadget every gadgetguy or gadgetgirl SHOULD have !

It doesn't record and you can't send pic/vid messages?! Wtf? I didn't know that.
I would absolutely expect the freakin' iPhone to have those features.
Even my silly ass little VZ Nav has those.

This is a deal breaker for me. If I can't take a picture and email it to someone, that's wrong.

Why would someone come out with a gadget rich phone like the iphone and prevent you from sending a picture you take out via email?


The blackberry storm is looking better and better....

Are you guys talking about the iPhone? A friend of mine has one and she emails me pics all the time-and they are decent pics too. In fact, she took a pic of me all snuggled up next to a naked man and emailed it to my husband seconds after it happened.....but that's a topic for another thread.

[Rocker Chic]

We're strongly considering getting iphones in late january, when our verizon service runs out. First we have to try out the iphones and see if we dig the interface. Personally, I hate the fact that the iphone doesn't have a querty keyboard....but the open architecture (those of you that have verizon with phones that have 3/4 of the functionality turned off by verizon know what I'm talking about) is something that's a plus.

I have an AT&T Tilt (which is the same as an HTC 8925/TyTn II -- http://www.htc.com/us/product.aspx?id=10896) and it has a slide out qwerty keyboard. Since the keyboard slides out, an on-screen keyboard doesn't take up half the viewing space (screen is a nice size -- about 1 11/16" x 2 5/16"), although you can choose to use the on-screen keyboard.

My Internet cost is $30 (unlimited, w/o texting - I hardly ever use text anyway), and I get a corporate discount, too.

What I like about it is that there are always 2 or 3 ways to navigate around the device, by using the keyboard, touch screen, or front/side controls. I can easily customize it since it is a PocketPC. With the help of a xda-developers forum, I learned how to get rid of the AT&T bloatware that is loaded on it and tweak it to my specifications. I believe that the device will accomodate up to a 32GB microSD card (although I believe they've only just came out with 16GB size). Works on the Windows Mobile 6.1 operating sytem, has a 3MP camera and built-in GPS receiver.

You might be able to get a really good deal on it from AT&T with a 2-year contract, since I've read that it's most likely going to be replaced by the HTC Fuse next year. They may be looking to get rid of some of their stock. I got mine for free with my company's discount.

EDIT: Since this is a main issue for you, Frank, and we both live in NY... My connection always seems consistent and with the 3G, my internet connectivity is much faster, and when there is no GPRS/3G signal, it automatically switches to Edge. I practically never loose a signal now, where I always lost my signal in the Battery Tunnel. Now, it just switches to Edge and I'm good to go! I've been with AT&T since before Cingular taking them over. Their service, for me, seems so much better now and the rollover minutes can be a nice plus, if you find yourself going over your minutes every so often.

Debbie

[Deb]

I’ve had a Blackberry Curve for 18 months and have just switched to an iPhone about 2 months ago, so I’ve had experience of using both. I was happy with the Blackberry – its email push technology works fantastically well and some of the apps were quite useful.

Love my Blackberry Curve, could never go back to a phone keypad again.

[Behshad]

there are few minor issues that I dont like about this phone. 1 being the camera, being a crappy one AND the fact that you cannot even record any video with it,,,, minor but still,,,,you find video recording on any cell phone these days
another 'standard' feature this phone lacks, is you can not send/recieve any pic/vids (MMS)
Other than that, I really like this phone and its the gadget every gadgetguy or gadgetgirl SHOULD have !

It doesn't record and you can't send pic/vid messages?! Wtf? I didn't know that.
I would absolutely expect the freakin' iPhone to have those features.
Even my silly ass little VZ Nav has those.

This is a deal breaker for me. If I can't take a picture and email it to someone, that's wrong.

Why would someone come out with a gadget rich phone like the iphone and prevent you from sending a picture you take out via email?


The blackberry storm is looking better and better....

you CAN send pictures via email using your Iphone. You can not send pic's through text-messaging.

[strangegrey]

there are few minor issues that I dont like about this phone. 1 being the camera, being a crappy one AND the fact that you cannot even record any video with it,,,, minor but still,,,,you find video recording on any cell phone these days
another 'standard' feature this phone lacks, is you can not send/recieve any pic/vids (MMS)
Other than that, I really like this phone and its the gadget every gadgetguy or gadgetgirl SHOULD have !

It doesn't record and you can't send pic/vid messages?! Wtf? I didn't know that.
I would absolutely expect the freakin' iPhone to have those features.
Even my silly ass little VZ Nav has those.

This is a deal breaker for me. If I can't take a picture and email it to someone, that's wrong.

Why would someone come out with a gadget rich phone like the iphone and prevent you from sending a picture you take out via email?


The blackberry storm is looking better and better....

you CAN send pictures via email using your Iphone. You can not send pic's through text-messaging.

Oh ok....thanks for the clarification...

[Angel]

there are few minor issues that I dont like about this phone. 1 being the camera, being a crappy one AND the fact that you cannot even record any video with it,,,, minor but still,,,,you find video recording on any cell phone these days
another 'standard' feature this phone lacks, is you can not send/recieve any pic/vids (MMS)
Other than that, I really like this phone and its the gadget every gadgetguy or gadgetgirl SHOULD have !

It doesn't record and you can't send pic/vid messages?! Wtf? I didn't know that.
I would absolutely expect the freakin' iPhone to have those features.
Even my silly ass little VZ Nav has those.

This is a deal breaker for me. If I can't take a picture and email it to someone, that's wrong.

Why would someone come out with a gadget rich phone like the iphone and prevent you from sending a picture you take out via email?


The blackberry storm is looking better and better....

you CAN send pictures via email using your Iphone. You can not send pic's through text-messaging.

Oh ok....thanks for the clarification...

Ah, OK, so that explains it!

[Enigma869]

she took a pic of me all snuggled up next to a naked man and emailed it to my husband seconds after it happened

John from Boston

[MCC620]

there are few minor issues that I dont like about this phone. 1 being the camera, being a crappy one AND the fact that you cannot even record any video with it,,,, minor but still,,,,you find video recording on any cell phone these days
another 'standard' feature this phone lacks, is you can not send/recieve any pic/vids (MMS)
Other than that, I really like this phone and its the gadget every gadgetguy or gadgetgirl SHOULD have !

It doesn't record and you can't send pic/vid messages?! Wtf? I didn't know that.
I would absolutely expect the freakin' iPhone to have those features.
Even my silly ass little VZ Nav has those.

This is a deal breaker for me. If I can't take a picture and email it to someone, that's wrong.

Why would someone come out with a gadget rich phone like the iphone and prevent you from sending a picture you take out via email?


The blackberry storm is looking better and better....

you CAN send pictures via email using your Iphone. You can not send pic's through text-messaging.

exactly.....and people get it pretty damn quick too....like when someone is on stage doing a coundcheck over in another country.......... also sends you an email too.



btw you can also upload the photos taken with the iphone to your computer too. th3y are pretty decent unless of course you move like i did.

[StevePerryHair]

About 4 months after I bought the thing I was walking through the mall. Walking past a Verizon dealer, a dude...well more like a carnival barker, called me over to find out what kind of phone I had.

OH MY GOD!

never

N-E-V-E-R

Make eye contact with them!!! Walk by, eyes down and you'll be alright.
Went to the mall yesterday and those barkers are everywhere, not just for the phones.

They scare me. Small hands. Smell like cabbage...

I had to teach my kids that when we walk by those booths in the mall because I try to ignore them and then my kids yell, "mommy, that guy is talking to you."

[bluejeangirl76]

I had to teach my kids that when we walk by those booths in the mall because I try to ignore them and then my kids yell, "mommy, that guy is talking to you."

Kids can always be counted on, can't they.

My neice, in the middle of Red Lobster, asked me very LOUDLY "Auntie Kim, why are you taking all the Splenda?!"

[StevePerryHair]

According to Consumer Reports, Sprint has the absolute worst cell phone service, nationwide.

That's easy to believe. I had Nextel and it was awful and it only got worse when Sprint bought them. Besides, I hate that walkit-talkie shit. I'm not fucking 12...though I certainly act it at times.

I think that's the feature my husband's police dept. liked, because they can talk phone to phone and the city doesnt' get charged for the phone calls, and they can have private converstions they may not want to have on their police radios. It's a nice concept for them, but the service sucks.

[StevePerryHair]

I had to teach my kids that when we walk by those booths in the mall because I try to ignore them and then my kids yell, "mommy, that guy is talking to you."

Kids can always be counted on, can't they.

My neice, in the middle of Red Lobster, asked me very LOUDLY "Auntie Kim, why are you taking all the Splenda?!"

Yeah, yesterday someone was trying to get me to buy a 50/50 ticket and I said go ask my husband, I don't have the money, and my daughter said "yes you do mommy, you have all kinds of money in your wallet, I saw it when we bought our food"

[Angel]

I had to teach my kids that when we walk by those booths in the mall because I try to ignore them and then my kids yell, "mommy, that guy is talking to you."

Kids can always be counted on, can't they.

My neice, in the middle of Red Lobster, asked me very LOUDLY "Auntie Kim, why are you taking all the Splenda?!"

My two little girls were playing at a park last summer and one of the toys there looked like a cracked egg shell that they could climb into. One of my girls sat in it and said "look mom, I hatched out of an egg." My other daughter, from across the playground yells "no you didn't, you grew in her uterus and came out of her vagina."

OK, maybe I HAVE taught them a bit too much.

[bluejeangirl76]

I had to teach my kids that when we walk by those booths in the mall because I try to ignore them and then my kids yell, "mommy, that guy is talking to you."

Kids can always be counted on, can't they.

My neice, in the middle of Red Lobster, asked me very LOUDLY "Auntie Kim, why are you taking all the Splenda?!"

My two little girls were playing at a park last summer and one of the toys there looked like a cracked egg shell that they could climb into. One of my girls sat in it and said "look mom, I hatched out of an egg." My other daughter, from across the playground yells "no you didn't, you grew in her uterus and came out of her vagina."

OK, maybe I HAVE taught them a bit too much.

You win.