Buying a smartphone

[Yamer]

While I love the concept, I just can't recommend an HTC Desire Z. I got mine because it was a great deal at the time, and the physical keyboard is something I really wanted on a phone.

However, after finding out that the phone will randomly lock up (have to remove the battery and reboot) with no solution in sight, I am more than extremely upset that I made the choice I did.

Not looking forward to that one emergency situation where I have to dissect my phone in the dark just to make a call.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Finner

Samsung Galaxy S...Great phone too.

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Samsung Galaxy S

Any specific reasons? Or just generally happy with it?

[Jing]

That is strange, I have only owned HTC built android phones and all of them have been very stable (even the Hero with 1.6).

Maybe you have a faulty unit?

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Yamer

While I love the concept, I just can't recommend an HTC Desire Z. I got mine because it was a great deal at the time, and the physical keyboard is something I really wanted on a phone.

However, after finding out that the phone will randomly lock up (have to remove the battery and reboot) with no solution in sight, I am more than extremely upset that I made the choice I did.

Not looking forward to that one emergency situation where I have to dissect my phone in the dark just to make a call.

i've never had that issue with my Z, when i was running the stock rom it ran flawlessly

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Any specific reasons? Or just generally happy with it?

I dont own it... but you mentioned not wanting a Blackberry, and not wanting an iPhone, so I named the best Android phone on the market.

I don't have a lot of experience with it. But it's a sleek looking phone, and from what I've seen/read it's impressive. The screen is gorgeous, it's fast, is an Android device so it's an open system, with access to all the Android Market apps etc. Great camera as well.+

[QuadCityImages]

Originally Posted by Yorkshire Flame

Because then you don't have to carry both. That was a huge reason for me.

I see your point, but he's already doing that now apparently. Part of me is tempted to split up the whole smartphone/PDA/tiny computer device and the "phone" device. Some kind of throwaway prepaid phone, and something else with the multimedia/3g stuff. I'm a huge Android fan, but its basically a computer at this point. Computers occasionally crash, and if the thing you need to call 911 on is temporarily unusable, that's a problem.

On the other hand, I'm tempted to just kill of my voice/data plan, get a mifi-type 3g-wifi hotspot device, connect it to my Droid and use Skype-out if I really needed to call someone. The fact that I'm paying $40 a month for voice that I rarely use is silly.

[wooohooo]

This is off topic but I went from having a smart phone to a regular? phone for a week. Holy hell I wanted to kill myself after a week. Okay not that bad but pretty close. I rather have a good smart phone than a laptop.

I have a blackberry 9700 and it's pretty decent replacement for my broken HTC legend but compared to the iphone 4 or the galaxy S, it holds no legs at all. Phones advance at a ridiculously fast rate I'm not sure if it's worth signing anything more than 1 year but then you're paying like $600-800 then.

[Mad Mel]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

i've never had that issue with my Z, when i was running the stock rom it ran flawlessly

Mine as well. And I've had it for a whole week now. Android FTW.

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Jing

That is strange, I have only owned HTC built android phones and all of them have been very stable (even the Hero with 1.6).

Maybe you have a faulty unit?

I have returned it twice already, this is my third phone with this problem. Checking forums around the net, this seems like a common problem (the salesperson who made the most recent replacement has the same phone, with the same problem although it doesn't seem to bother him as much). HTC doesn't acknowledge this issue, and I read a lot of comments from customers trying to guess on the cause.

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

i've never had that issue with my Z, when i was running the stock rom it ran flawlessly

Everything is stock on mine as well. I'm not tech savvy enough to root it or whatever. Everything is up to date as well. This is pretty much the only real issue I have with this phone. Well, I guess I wish it had a forward camera so I could make video calls and it had a battery life longer than 8-10 hours.

[PIMking]

i've made two calls on my phone and sent maybe 15 text messages since I unplugged it 8 hours and 45 minuets ago and I'm down to 40% battery.... 40% of that is just from Android OS so says the phone...

Redonkulas that I have to have a charger with me all the time because if I want to use this thing more than a phone (or even dont use is at all) it's dead too fast.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Didn't know this one was coming to Canada yet... but yah.. looks like a fantastic phone.

http://thecellularguru.com/2011/03/0...s-the-nexus-s/

[Mazrim]

Originally Posted by PIMking

i've made two calls on my phone and sent maybe 15 text messages since I unplugged it 8 hours and 45 minuets ago and I'm down to 40% battery.... 40% of that is just from Android OS so says the phone...

Too many tasks left open? Do you use push notifications for lots of stuff? Just curious, because that sounds a little high for battery usage.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Yamer

Everything is stock on mine as well. I'm not tech savvy enough to root it or whatever. Everything is up to date as well. This is pretty much the only real issue I have with this phone. Well, I guess I wish it had a forward camera so I could make video calls and it had a battery life longer than 8-10 hours.

this is where custom roms do make a huge difference. i'm running Cyanogen7 RC2 on my Desire Z, and i can go over 2 days on a single charge with light usage. this is why i could never go back to a non-rooted android phone, being able to remove all the bloatware that kills your battery life is to big a perk to give up

[Yamer]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

this is where custom roms do make a huge difference. i'm running Cyanogen7 RC2 on my Desire Z, and i can go over 2 days on a single charge with light usage. this is why i could never go back to a non-rooted android phone, being able to remove all the bloatware that kills your battery life is to big a perk to give up

I think I will educate myself on this a little more. The benefits do seem large.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by Mazrim

Too many tasks left open? Do you use push notifications for lots of stuff? Just curious, because that sounds a little high for battery usage.

Nope, I've got mostly everything set to auto close through the phones program. I'm not using it that much at all.

[Mad Mel]

Originally Posted by PIMking

i've made two calls on my phone and sent maybe 15 text messages since I unplugged it 8 hours and 45 minuets ago and I'm down to 40% battery.... 40% of that is just from Android OS so says the phone...

Redonkulas that I have to have a charger with me all the time because if I want to use this thing more than a phone (or even dont use is at all) it's dead too fast.

A few things that suck up the battery power:

• Leaving wifi switched on when you're not connected
• Leaving GPS turned on
• Using vibrate for a lot of alerts
• Screen brightness maxed out

You might already know all that, just some suggestions.

[PIMking]

Originally Posted by Mad Mel

A few things that suck up the battery power:

• Leaving wifi switched on when you're not connected
• Leaving GPS turned on
• Using vibrate for a lot of alerts
• Screen brightness maxed out

You might already know all that, just some suggestions.

I always have GPS turned off when I'm not using it; WiFi stays turned on all the time so that could do it, and the phone is on vibrate all the time when I'm at school or work. Screen is set to Auto since when I had it lower I couldn't see the screen during the day when I was outside.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by Yamer

I have returned it twice already, this is my third phone with this problem.

I have come to the conclusion, that you good sir, have the worst luck when it comes to electronics.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Maybe it's price ? Who knows.

I am not a contract guy, I won't let any of Bell, Rogers, or Telus lock me into some silly contract. And the thought of paying almost 800 bucks for a phone is insane for me (no contract, 32 gig iphone 4). A similar Samsung Galaxy S is 500 bucks, no contract.

There are the two best phones on the market though, can't go wrong with either. The openness of the Andriod would swing me that way though.

Being on contract has actually saved me tons of money, got me every latest device, and the only thing you are really locked into is a carrier. Contract = leverage.

Anytime a wiz bang new feature comes out, I just call and ask for it, they say no, I say I want to cancel. Over to customer retentions...thank you for the 6 GB data plan, and a new iPhone for the new customer price of $150 bucks.

Without a contract, I wouldn't have such a ridiculously cheap plan, plain and simple. As a OTC customer, my plan is about $145/mth. Working the system has halved it. Contracts lock you into nothing with cell phone providers anymore. The only thing that would cause me a penalty, is leaving the country. A fully unlimited $70 a month plan with 6 gigs of data, without time restrictions, will not be hard to find someone to take.

I am one of the few people out there that actually loves Rogers wireless. Nothing but great service, and upgrades.

Also wired tethering has been available with Rogers since 3GS iPhone came out. I was using it with my laptop 2 and a half years ago. Hotspot is the new thing, which is wireless, and allows you to tether iPads.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by pylon

Being on contract has actually saved me tons of money, got me every latest device, and the only thing you are really locked into is a carrier. Contract = leverage.

Well... yeah... That's my main beef with it.

Glad it works for you, doesn't work for me. Your post could read exactly like something I could post, but without the contract part.