Need your Help with New Phone

[djw19]

I am currently up for a new phone and wanted some opinions on what to get next. I am on Verizon and use the Blackberry Curve. My girlfriend uses the Motorola Droid and absolutely loves it, however it seems a tad too big for my pockets (not completely opposed to it). I was also looking at the HTC Eris. I've heard great things about both but can't really decide. There are rumors that the Nexus One is coming to Verizon sometime this spring along with the HTC Incredible.

So, what do I do? Do I purchase the Droid or Eris, or do I wait for something better to come out sometime this spring? If anyone has personal experiences with the Droid or Eris, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

 

[JBjunior]

I am currently up for a new phone and wanted some opinions on what to get next. I am on Verizon and use the Blackberry Curve. My girlfriend uses the Motorola Droid and absolutely loves it, however it seems a tad too big for my pockets (not completely opposed to it). I was also looking at the HTC Eris. I've heard great things about both but can't really decide. There are rumors that the Nexus One is coming to Verizon sometime this spring along with the HTC Incredible.

So, what do I do? Do I purchase the Droid or Eris, or do I wait for something better to come out sometime this spring? If anyone has personal experiences with the Droid or Eris, I'd like to hear your thoughts.

I have been a traditional Blackberry user, most recently the crappy Pearl, but I have used the Curve for a considerable time as well. I have switched over to the Iphone and it is definitely a different world. It is a handheld computer that happens to be a phone. I have heard incredible things about the Droids and they are all relatively the same with minor differences between the different phones such as the google, nexus, and the others. The Iphone is still the standard though I think especially with the new OS coming out this summer that does multitasking and fixes many of the restrictions that has turned people off of it. Regardless of what you go for it will be a world of difference to the Curve.

 

[C Reed]

2nd the Iphone, I don't know how to live without one and all my buddies who have switched from blackberries love it, unlimited texting replases BBM and your set to go.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Another vote for the iPhone; I'm posting from one at the moment. I've carried an iPhone for nearly three years and it has been wonderful.

My one caution is that you should hold off for about two months. There will be a new iPhone in June or July, so don't buy one now. You might go nuts over the new model or you'll be able to get a cheap 3Gs. I'm still using a 3G, but will retire it for the new model shortly.

I've fiddled with a few other smartphones. Most are good to great. However, I haven't seen anything substantially better than the iPhone.

 

[danek]

I'm not a fan of the iPhone. In my neck of the woods (West coast), Verizon has better coverage area than ATT. When I've called friends and family on their iPhone, the voice quality hasn't been very good (sounds like either they are in a bucket or lots of static) and calls seem to get dropped a lot.

I've used the Droid (tested for a month at work) and I like it quite a bit. It has all sorts of fun, gadget-y apps that are really quite neat and the scrolling, finger-drag navigation makes it easy to operate. It's fun to use, but just that - kind of gadget-y.

However, since my primary use is for work, the best device for my purposes that I've used has been the HTC Ozone (although never used Blackberry). It's voice quality and reliability are strong, and the 3rd party software that we use to synchronize to an Exchange server (Good Mobile Messaging) allows me to remote-wipe a users phone if it gets lost/stolen/priated/etc. It's this security feature that has sold me on Windows Mobile products.

 

[AndrewWiggin]

The "rumor" is a fact. Later this spring, the Nexus One will arrive on Verizon. However, I would ask myself several questions:

Do I hate soft-keyboards (touchscreen)?

Do I want customization?

Do I want a GPS system for my car?

If you answer yes to any of these, get a Droid.

The N1 has some issues, and reportedly horrendous customer service because Google has never sold a product before. The iPhone is nice but you're locked into Apple (wait until the summer and there will be an iPhone on Verizon). The Droid is a great phone, it runs the same OS as the N1, and gives you a soft and hard keyboard which will come in handy when you're typing up emails/addresses, etc.

Whatever you do, I would not go with the iPhone. If you don't re-up on a Blackberry, get a phone with Android. Apple's iPhone OS is not the future of computing, Google's Android is.

 

[AndrewWiggin]

Oh, and Droid on Android 2.1 is basically the gadget I wanted as a kid: a computer that I could speak to and get answers from (almost everything can be voice activated at this point).

I have totally geeked out.

 

[texasPI]

The HTC Incredible is rumored to hit Verizon soon too. I'd avoid the Eris since it will soon be an end of life product.

I have the Moto Droid and love it, particularly since I'm a big Google apps user. It is a tad bigger than I'd prefer but it makes up for it in awesomeness!

 

[toucanlamp]

I have an HTC Hero and I really like it.

I personally kind of regret buying it since the plans for these smartphones are expensive and I really don't utilize even a fraction of the features they're capable of. But it definitely is really amazing how many functions there are available.

I like the touch screen. Really good battery life and super fast recharge. The interface you can really customize to how you want it. And it has about 5 different screens you can slide between and put whatever you want in them, like clocks, weather, stock updates, music, pictures, calender.

I'm hardly an expert, but if I had to pick a smartphone over again I'd definitely pick it over an Iphone or Blackberry.

 

[Mojo88]

I have a I-Phone that is mine and a company supplied Blackberry. On a recent sales call I had them sitting next to each other on the passenger seat. The I-Phone had no coverage for at least 30 minutes while the Blackberry had full 3-G coverage. I prefer the I-Phone, but for work, the Blackberry(Verizon) is the only way to go. If you can wait Verizon is supposed to announce something in a short time .

 

[Go West Young Man]

If you're anywhere near major cities like NYC, San Fran or Chicago, the ATT network is being completely bombed out by iPhones and now iPads. You'll likely have a lot of bad reception and dropped calls.

 

[tg16]

I've used the iPhone until our coverage bombed and tried the Eris. The Eris was good, but what I really needed was a keyboard so I went back to the curve 8330. I have an iPod Touch which has the apps and all I use.

You may want to look at one of the Palms. You may find the best of both worlds there.

 

[C Reed]

If you're anywhere near major cities like NYC, San Fran or Chicago, the ATT network is being completely bombed out by iPhones and now iPads. You'll likely have a lot of bad reception and dropped calls.

This is true it took me about 20mins to make a call in midtown manhattan the other day around 6:30.

Just one more reason never to go above Houston.