austrya Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Jay and I are looking to get new cell phones. We'd like something that we can browse the web on, text, email, talk, etc. We were thinking about the Blackberry Curve but were told that they suck for browsing. Someone else recommended the Samsung Instinct, which looks pretty cool, but I don't know of anyone who has one to tell me how they like it. We'd really love an iPhone, but that's not in the picture right now. Any ideas, reviews, recommendations? We have sprint service, if that matters and would like the qwerty keyboard. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 BlackBerrys don't SUCK for browsing, but iPhone's are definitely better as for the iPhone vs. the Instinct... i think the monthly costs would be about the same if not more for Sprint no? what's the cost on the Instict? at $199 for the 8 gig iPhone (honestly, with all the streaming media apps for it now, capacity is no longer a big issue), i'd think it's a pretty good deal unless you can get 2 Instict's for free. i had 2 BlackBerrys the last 2 years (Pearl and it's bigger sister, the 8120), and loved both, but in the month i've had my iPhone i can safely say that despite a few small negatives, the positives far far outweigh them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spawn's dad Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I played with a curve for around an hour and bought an iPhone. I couldn't deal with the browser on the blackberry. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I played with a curve for around an hour and bought an iPhone. I couldn't deal with the browser on the blackberry. that's why you use Opera Mini the BB browser has improved a lot though with 4.5, and even moreso with OS 4.6 (only on the BB Bold currently) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
austrya Posted September 10, 2008 Author Share Posted September 10, 2008 BlackBerrys don't SUCK for browsing, but iPhone's are definitely better as for the iPhone vs. the Instinct... i think the monthly costs would be about the same if not more for Sprint no? what's the cost on the Instict? at $199 for the 8 gig iPhone (honestly, with all the streaming media apps for it now, capacity is no longer a big issue), i'd think it's a pretty good deal unless you can get 2 Instict's for free. i had 2 BlackBerrys the last 2 years (Pearl and it's bigger sister, the 8120), and loved both, but in the month i've had my iPhone i can safely say that despite a few small negatives, the positives far far outweigh them. I can get the Instinct for $129 after all the rebates. I'm not sure how much the service is. Jay said we'd be paying about $45 more per month than what we do now and I have no clue what we pay now but I think it's around $50-60. Currently, he has internet and unlimited text on his phone but I don't have any text and no internet. We're on the family plan with Sprint too. Can I get sprint service with an iPhone? I don't want to give that up because everyone we talk to has sprint and with the PCS to PCS it really saves on the minutes and the calls are free. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Can I get sprint service with an iPhone? I don't want to give that up because everyone we talk to has sprint and with the PCS to PCS it really saves on the minutes and the calls are free. no... and the minimum monthly payment for the iPhone is around $80. I love it but I can understand why someone would go a different direction. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spawn's dad Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 the iphone plans get cheaper per unit on a family plan, but yeah it's still pretty costly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
solace Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 no... and the minimum monthly payment for the iPhone is around $80. I love it but I can understand why someone would go a different direction. yeah, they're not cheap, but when i looked into my BlackBerry that i had on T-Mobile, it would have cost me $79-99 on Sprint, AT&T and Verizon to get a comparable plan the iphone plans get cheaper per unit on a family plan, but yeah it's still pretty costly. it's a $25 monthly premium over my BlackBerry (which was $59 for 1000 anytime, unlimited data & texts), but so far it's been worth it Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Central Scrutinizer Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 the iphone plans get cheaper per unit on a family plan, but yeah it's still pretty costly.My iPhone is part of a family plan, I pay $30 a month for the Internet access (you have to have it). Rest of the family has texting at $30/month for the group. My home and work computers are Macs so the Blackjack I had was worthless. The iPhone was what I hoped the phone would become back when PDAs first started becoming ubiquitous. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Duck-Billed Catechist Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 I have a blackberry 8700 (older). The browser is kind of lousy, but works well enough for what I use it for. Opera isn't much better, because it's hard to select which part of the page you want. Mine is free, though . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jenbobblehead Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 I have been happy with my blackberry's browser, especially since so many places i go now have little mobile versions that make it very easy. I need a new phone in October and I'll be getting another blackberry. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 I love my iPhone. For example...Last night, when I was waiting for some babies at the hospital, I had my iPhone set up a picture gallery web page that updated with new pictures I took from the iPhone. So my siblings/relatives got to see the new family members within minutes of them being brought into the waiting room. Also the browser is awesome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spawn's dad Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 battery life does kind of suck though Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 battery life does kind of suck though true! I have to switch on and off shit depending on where I am, to maximize battery life. i.e. I turn off Wifi if I'm not around a wireless network, I turn off 3G if all I'm doing is taking phone calls, and I turn off GPS if i don't need it. If you turn off Wifi and 3G and just use it as a phone, the battery life is significantly better. Also there is an iPhone update (2.1) coming out on Friday that will (reportedly) improve battery life. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spawn's dad Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 wow. I never tired any of that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
austrya Posted September 11, 2008 Author Share Posted September 11, 2008 I'm still undecided. I'd love an iPhone but the phones would be another $70 each and the plan would end up being about $15 more a month. We get a discount through sprint because Jason works at the U of Michigan (13% off per month). We'd have to share about 1/2 the minutes we'd get through sprint and we'd lose the free calls to all of our family and most of our friends. I just wish we could get the iPhone through Sprint. It's such a bummer. I have a feeling we'll go with the instinct, but I still need to look into it a little more. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spawn's dad Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 true! I have to switch on and off shit depending on where I am, to maximize battery life. i.e. I turn off Wifi if I'm not around a wireless network, I turn off 3G if all I'm doing is taking phone calls, and I turn off GPS if i don't need it. If you turn off Wifi and 3G and just use it as a phone, the battery life is significantly better. Also there is an iPhone update (2.1) coming out on Friday that will (reportedly) improve battery life. how do you turn off the GPS? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 Settings -> General -> Location Services (OFF) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spawn's dad Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 ah. and then if you go into maps and use the locator it seems to automatically turn back on? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 ah. and then if you go into maps and use the locator it seems to automatically turn back on? i believe so Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spawn's dad Posted September 11, 2008 Share Posted September 11, 2008 thanks. good tips Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Central Scrutinizer Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 true! I have to switch on and off shit depending on where I am, to maximize battery life. i.e. I turn off Wifi if I'm not around a wireless network, I turn off 3G if all I'm doing is taking phone calls, and I turn off GPS if i don't need it. If you turn off Wifi and 3G and just use it as a phone, the battery life is significantly better. Also there is an iPhone update (2.1) coming out on Friday that will (reportedly) improve battery life.I haven't noticed it being that bad. You can put it to sleep quickly, plus I just dock it whenever I can, so no problems. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
myboyblue Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 true! I have to switch on and off shit depending on where I am, to maximize battery life. i.e. I turn off Wifi if I'm not around a wireless network, I turn off 3G if all I'm doing is taking phone calls, and I turn off GPS if i don't need it. If you turn off Wifi and 3G and just use it as a phone, the battery life is significantly better. Also there is an iPhone update (2.1) coming out on Friday that will (reportedly) improve battery life. wow... yes, great tips. I had no idea. One of the primary reasons I got the iPhone is so that I didn't have to drag multiple devices with me on trips. With the short battery life, I was thinking I would need to anyway. I'll try these out and look for the new 2.1 update. As good as the iPhone is today, imagine it in a few years. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Spawn's dad Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 wow... yes, great tips. I had no idea. One of the primary reasons I got the iPhone is so that I didn't have to drag multiple devices with me on trips. With the short battery life, I was thinking I would need to anyway. I'll try these out and look for the new 2.1 update. As good as the iPhone is today, imagine it in a few years. right. I can't imagine the battery holding up to music playing on a cross country flight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
OOO Posted September 12, 2008 Share Posted September 12, 2008 The 2.1 update is out and has lots of fixes, including battery life improvement and less dropped calls, better reception, etc. Also, if you guys have not downloaded the free application "Shazam", I really recommend it....It's the coolest thing ever. Basically if you are listening to the radio or are at somewhere where music is being played and you don't know the song, you turn on this application and have it listen for 10 seconds and then it thinks about it for another 10 seconds and tells you what the song is. It only works for recorded music, but its still mind bogglingly cool. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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