phone gadgetry

[nathanjw]

My current cell phone seems to have tripped its warranty-expiration circuit, and now misbehaves in maddening ways. For example, if you can make a call, it tends to drop in about 30 seconds. Or it will show five bars of service, and show the carrier on the network list, but claim to not be registered on a network. Or displaying incoming calls but not actually letting you answer them, and so on. So I've taken the sim card out and put it in my backup phone, to have something that works, and I've been reminded that I replaced that phone for some good reasons. It's large and has a clunky UI, and the assorted gadgetry like data speeds and camera resolution aren't as good.

So, livejournal readers, what phones should I be looking at? I'm somewhat attached to t-mobile, since I have an unlimited data plan for relatively cheap that you can't get anymore, and I definitely want to use data+bluetooth to connect my laptop to the world (very important when I visit my broadband-deprived family), but I'm not on a contract anymore. I have a preference for flip phones, and I've become kind of attached to having a megapixel+ camera, but those aren't dealbreakers. I definitely don't care about playing music.

Comments

[avacon.livejournal.com]

I'm in the same boat and am waiting since T-Mobile is supposed to announce their US 3G plans RSN. I also have a strong Nokia preference since I like them as a company. The Nokia 6263 announced today may fit your needs
nicely and will work well if they move to 3G...

http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cellphones/t+mobile-rolls-out-second-3g-phone-nokia-6263-still-no-3g-network-330324.php

I'm not as much of a fan of flip phones so I'm hoping they release
something like an N95 or N83 in the US.

[nathanjw]

Interesting. I saw that phone in the store last night (harvard square), and it was the one that triggered the "I don't care about music" reaction, with those buttons on the front. But it does seem like it would do the job.

I hadn't really thought about 3G, though I don't know if it would really be useful to me any time soon.

[nathanjw]

The HowardForums thread on the 6263 have been informative. There are reports that, as a general policy, T-Mobile is disabling the feature that permits apps (j2me ones) to access the network, so things like Google Maps can't work. I've noticed this on my current dying phone, but I figured it was Samsung being annoying, not T-Mobile, since I couldn't find that the option existed at all. The "free" alternative seems to be the 6267, which as a bonus also has a 2MP camera insetad of 1.3MP.