The Official Cell/Mobile Phone thread!

[JonathonWally]

I know we usually have our fair share of cell phone hate threads, but I thought it would be an interesting idea to have a positive thread where we can discuss our phones, I guess just for the hell of it.

What Cell/Mobile phone to you have? What are some of your likes and dislikes about your phone? What new feature would you like to see added to cell phones

I figured since most of the people who post here are Star Trek fans besides being tech fans in general. And in my opinion our phones are the most "star trek like" device that has really become a part of our culture.

So what phone to you use? Do you use a "smart phone"? Such as a blackberry/Iphone, Palm, G1, Nokia, etc?

And if so what are some of your favorite apps that you've added to your phone, whether they productive or just games.

I just upgraded my Blackberry and went up to an 8900 curve, I'm a fan of em, this is my third one as a matter of fact. and honestly, IMO they keep getting better and better.

I don't know if I would classify any of these as "killer apps" but they're ones I use:

First off, facebook, love having it on my phone, yet another way to reach friends, family, coworkers etc.

My twitter, and I'll be perfectly honest, in the grand scheme of things, it's a nonsense fun app that's just another to stay in contact with people.

And besides my favorite sports teams apps, a few scoreboard apps and the such.

And then of course, there's all my work related apps which take up the bulk of my apps in there.

Amd at this moment, I can't think of anything new I'd want as an added feature to my phone.

So what about everyone else, all my fellow cell/mobile geeks out there, what are you using and what apps to have and recommend?

 

[Garrovick]

I have an iPhone 3G and a $10.00 Tracfone. The cheap phone is for wet days and drity jobs. The iPhone is for generating income and looking cool.

 

[Arrqh]

There is a constant voice in my head telling me to purchase a smartphone... especially the iPhone or perhaps the new HTC Magic/G2. Realistically, though, I know that I wouldn't use any of the data stuff on it enough to justify signing up for a mandatory data plan (as an example, I know someone at work who's had an iPhone for like a year and has only transferred a few mb lifetime... between his wireless network at home and the one at work it almost always connects over wifi). So I've been able to resist that.

Instead, I've got one of those touchscreen phones that looks like a smartphone but isn't. Specifically the LG Dare. This means I can pretend to have a cool smartphone without actually paying for a data plan, so I'm happy.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

I use the BlackBerry Curve 8330 on Sprint. I use the Bolt web browser (far superior to the built in BB Browser, Opera Mini, etc.) as well as AIM, Facebook, Pandora, Google Maps, Sprint Navigator, BBLight, Mobile Bartender (comes in very handy), a whole ton of different themes to spruce up the interface, and the MLB.com link for the Giants. I'm looking forward to the new BlackBerry Niagra coming out some times later this year.

 

[RoJoHen]

I have the Samsung Eternity. The whole thing is a touchpad, similar to the iPhone. I don't really use it for anything other than calls and texting. My wallpaper is the Nerd Herd logo from "Chuck."

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

I have Helio's Ocean 2 which is a newer version of the Pantech PN-810. It's a super sexy dual slider with so many cool features; i love it.

 

[pookha]

all right i could use some advice.
i am about to drop my landline.
right now i am considering going with sprint as my cell phone provider.
i reallly like the free minutes after 7pm as opposed to 9pm that a lot of providers do.

a lot of the people i call are older and some maybe going to bed by 9pm.

i want to do somethings on the phone like email ect..
but i dont think i will be doing an overwhelming amount of web browsing
.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

You could always get the basic talk plan of $39.99 then add the $15 data pack that gives you unlimited data usage. You can also upgrade to free nighttime minutes starting at 6:00pm for an extra $5 a month.

James, does this at work.

 

[pookha]

is that with sprint or verizon.
for certain reasons like they are lying bastards i dont want to go with att.

 

[Tiberius Jim]

That's with Sprint.

 

[StolenThunder]

I have a Sony Ericsson w890i in brown.

I'm not particularly fussed by smartphone abilities. So long as it has robust software and a few shiny features I'm fine.

 

[pookha]

That's with Sprint.

thanks..

 

[RoJoHen]

is that with sprint or verizon.
for certain reasons like they are lying bastards i dont want to go with att.

Eh, I have AT&T (though it was originally Cingular), and I've never had a problem.

 

[Roshi]

I have an iPhone 3G. Waiting for the 3GS upgrade.

 

[Iasius]

I have a seven year old Nokia 6310. I can make phone calls with it.

 

[RoJoHen]

I have a seven year old Nokia 6310. I can make phone calls with it.

Ooh, fancy.

 

[Emher]

I've had a Sony Ericsson W300i for two years now. Don't really need much more, it's a walkman phone so I don't need an extra mp3 player, it's got an okay camera, and most important of all it's a flip phone so I can answer it easily and not worry about button locks.

 

[pookha]

is that with sprint or verizon.
for certain reasons like they are lying bastards i dont want to go with att.

Eh, I have AT&T (though it was originally Cingular), and I've never had a problem.

maybe just the home landline division just lie then.

 

[Holdfast]

I use an O2 XDA2 (basically the HTC Artemis I believe).

It's about 2 years old now, but still does everything I want to, so when it came to contract renegotiation last year, I chose to haggle for a better package and 50% off the monthly subscription rather than choosing a new handset.

The smartphone aspects of it get used very intensively (calendar, contacts, tasks & internet especially) and frankly I couldn't manage without it. It makes remembering/organizing what I need to do for work a breeze, and the internet access means I don't need to carry reference texts with me either. Can't remember an obscure drug interaction & no BNF around? No problem - just log on and bob's your uncle. The camera is poor, but I hardly ever use it and to be honest, I only use the Office apps rarely too, though it's nice to have them there on the rare occasions I need them.

What's really useful is the built in GPS receiver. I use it with TomTom Navigator with the Traffic Update package so I can dynamically reroute around jams using the latest traffic data. Very useful. The pedestrian mode is also useful on the rare occasions I visit London or another big city I haven't been to before. Talking of which, Tube is a very useful app to get from A to B in London for non-residents like me, esp. if you combine it with the street map overlap and link it in with the GPS receiver, so you can have an integrated way to get to the right Tube station and then instructions on what trains to take. Very quick & efficient.

When the phone finally gives way, I'll be looking for something very similar I think.

 

[John Clark]

I currently use a Motorola SLVR on a pay as you go scheme and the only reason I upgraded to it was because I needed a phone that would work overseas at the time. (Got it mid 2006 if I recall).

My main downside with it is that the loud mode isn't that loud so you can't hear it ring in in a nightclub. I don't really use it that much nowadays though