Hang onto yer britches....strap yerselves into yer chairs....

[RowdyRebel]

....don't need nobody gettin' hurt 'round here when I say this: I'm considering getting a smart phone.

I know...I'm still trying to figger out this danged ol' dumb phone I've had for a couple years now, but there have been times when the ability to get online and look stuff up for myself instead of calling people from the side of the road who might be sitting in front of a computer in order to have them look up a phone number or find a parts store in wherever it was I happened to be experiencing difficulties. The fiance has one of those smart phones and can tap on it a few times and get dang near anything she's looking for right there on the tiny little screen in her hand.

So I've been considering. Contemplating. Thinking about it. My phone is due for upgrade, and to be honest it hasn't been the most dependable phone I've had. I upgraded to this Casio Brigade phone after my Casio Type S phone gave me 4+ quality years of service despite all of the abuse I put it through...by far the best phone I ever had. The Brigade? Eh....not so fantastic.

I had looked at the Casio Commander a while back....saw pictures of it when I was looking to upgrade the last time, but went with the Brigade instead. I've read some reviews on it that say it works OK as a phone, but it is slow and unresponsive for "smart" features. The lack of an actual keyboard is also a drawback since me and touch screens don't always get along. On my GPS, if I want to have any sort of accuracy to what I'm trying to type I need to use the tip of my ink pen with the ink part retracted...which tends to scratch the screen if I'm not careful. My brother has the Commander, and says he is on his 3rd one because it isn't as "indestructible" as they claim.

So, I went to the Verizon store the other day and they had Motorola Droid 4 and Samsung Galaxy Stratosphere II non-functioning display models there for me to look at....slide-out keyboard with the full screen touch panel on both of them. I had bad luck with a Motorola flip phone...display would quit working and I'd have to replace it. Went through 3 of them before I was upgrade-eligible again...so I'm a little hesitant to buy another Motorola phone. Haven't heard much about the Samsung phone...girl at the Verizon store said from what she's heard, the Motorola phone gets a better signal....so if the Motorola phone is admittedly better, why would I buy the Samsung?

So I went home and got online to see what all else Verizon had that would meet my criteria.....needs to have a physical keyboard, one of those mini SD cards for removable memory, etc...pretty much the only set-in-stone requirements I have at this point. One other phone came up...a Pantech Marauder. Don't know jack about it, have never seen it, etc....only what the Verizon site says about it and for the most part it compares pretty well with the other 2....but still not sure.

Now when Blackberry announced it's new Z10, it piqued my interest...the ability to "fine tune" a photograph to get what you were trying to take a picture of (Dozer always seems to turn his head the moment I hit the button to snap a pic) seems pretty ingenious. Video chatting, etc...also would be nice at times. Cameras on the thing kick the snot out of any of the other phones...Droid comes close, but still falls short. Samsung is the only one that comes close on usage time...but again, it falls short. The fiance says I don't want a blackberry...that they don't have the most user-friendly operating system...but from what I'm reading, the Blackberry 10 OS is supposed to be significantly better. She says I should get an Android-based phone. I don't know, though...never used one. The major drawback I'm having on the Blackberry is the lack of a physical keyboard.

So then today I'm clicking around on the interweb and find that Blackberry also has a Q10 in the works due for release in April. I'm thinking "April is almost over...that means this thing should be in the stores soon!" It is everything I liked about the Blackberry Z10, but with a smaller screen =to make room for the physical keyboard. Oh yeah...and a bigger battery than the Z10, too. I'm seriously thinking that might be my next phone despite what the fiance says about blackberry's ease of use. Since I have no experience with any of them, I'm probably going to struggle with whatever I get until I figure the silly thing out....so from where I'm sitting it doesn't really matter.

I've always had that "oddball" phone that nobody else seems to have....never been one to jump on the bandwagon and buy the latest next-big-thing. Would buying a Q10 change that? Or is it still enough of a phone nobody else has that I'd be happy with it?

I don't know. I haven't even seen the Z10 up close and in person, let alone the Q10 that I'm now drooling over that isn't even released yet...and I'd kinda like to play with a working version of whatever I'm going to get prior to actually buying it to make sure it is everything its cracked up to be, but that probably means taking a trip up to the "corporate" verizon store instead of the local "authorized retailer".

But yes, my next phone will be smarter than the dumb phone I currently have...which is already smarter than me.

[hatcity]

^{Supposed to be a CAT branded phone out soon. Waterproof, and can be dropped from like 10 feet with no problems}

^{Without the need for an expensive case that leaks.}

^{Lemme look around and see if I can find the info}

^{Android OS about $500}

^{couldn't get the link to come along}

^{http://www.solycostacargo.com/category-s/2278.htm}

^{oh, and welcome to the 21st century}

[RowdyRebel]

Does it break down as much as CAT branded engines? Will it fall apart as quickly as CAT branded boots?

quick google search turned up http://catphones.com/

As ugly as their CAT branded trucks....and no physical keyboard.

besides...what kinda girly-man uses a phone utilizing the android™ 4.1 "Jellybean" operating system?

[dds92780]

Get the Mack R model #686ST

[hatcity]

Does it break down as much as CAT branded engines? Will it fall apart as quickly as CAT branded boots?

quick google search turned up http://catphones.com/

As ugly as their CAT branded trucks....and no physical keyboard.

besides...what kinda girly-man uses a phone utilizing the android™ 4.1 "Jellybean" operating system?

Would go well with your "Hello Kitty" sandals

[RowdyRebel]

What's "hello kitty"? Sounds like something Dozer would enjoy eating...

[mike69mackman]

Rowdy the cat phone won't hold up if its branded an Acert. Seriously though I have an apple I phone through AT&T and after I got used to it I love it. Can't go wrong with a smart phone no matter what you decide to buy. Mike

[stev]

get an iPhone. i understand you might be biased against it for various reasons, but there are several good reasons for you to go in that direction:

1) apple still provides security updates for older versions of the operating system. (this means you will be less vulnerable to problems)

2) apple still supports phones that came out three years ago with the current operating system. (you will get the latest features, if you find that they release something you are interested in. when apple introduces the new software, support is available at the same time for older phones. with android, you will likely wait on the order of six months for updates, if they ever become available. usually, vendors dont update everything, and they are more interested in getting the software on new phones, rather than updating the older phones. read this if you are interested: http://news.findlaw.com/apnews-lp/547b525438ee4680b233226f9310c05f )

3) there are very few apps you are likely to want that are available on android and not available on apple.

4) something like 97 percent of all virus software is on android. is your phone where you really want to be dealing with this?

5) it just works. i have had the same iphone for almost three years. i have *had* to reboot it once (for various reasons, i have rebooted it more often than that, but it only has gotten scrod once). my neighbor has one of the motorola droid phones, and it hangs on him two or three times a week.

6) when you need help, any kid can help you. the problem with android is that because the various vendors put different skins (interfaces) on it, phones dont always behave the same.

there are cheaper phones out there. there are different operating systems, like Black Berry or Windows, aside from andriod and IOS (apple). look around, if you find something you like, consider it. before you buy, i suggest you search the internet for comments about the phone.

good luck.

[other dog]

I have a Fisher-Price phone, with pictures of Goofy on it. Had it for years- doesn't work all that well, especially up in the West Virginia hills, but it's a very durable phone. Made entirely of plastic.

[Reuhlz]

I will also +1 on the iphone.

I work and consult in the IT industry and sell mostly Microsoft and IBM products. I agree with above comments and would say that apple has been doing the smart phone game very well since they first invented it. I would say that the initial startup with itunes could be a small challenge but after that there is so much more you can do with it than you ever thought. I have had an iphone 3, iphone 4 and now an iphone 5. My two year old daughter loves my old iphones and can zoom around faster than you think possible on them.

I have never had a need for a removable sd card. Just email whatever you need back and forth to yourself and you can open it on your phone or pc. The physical keyboard could be an argument, but you get used to the onscreen keyboard. Nowadays, just talk and it will text so you don't even have to type.

Good luck with your search.

Drew

[vision386]

I have a Fisher-Price phone, with pictures of Goofy on it. Had it for years- doesn't work all that well, especially up in the West Virginia hills, but it's a very durable phone. Made entirely of plastic.

Do you have the hand-held one?,or a fancy new mobile like mine?.........................................Mark,

[MACKS]

I just got a free upgrade on sprint network,I went for the kyocera toqure smart phone,its supper tough has direct connect and decent camera has some new sound technology and works with out a speaker,sound vibrations go directly to your ear drum when you touch the phone to part of your ear,love sending pictures via text message,smart phone is the way to go,just get something durable,have fun..

[RowdyRebel]

In all honesty, I'm leaning towards the Blackberry Q10...just gotta wait for it to hit the stores before I fully make up my mind. I've lived this long without a smart phone...a few more weeks won't kill me.

...and I need the SD card because I pull snippets out of my favorite songs and save 'em to use as ringtones. Files are pretty large, so the "extra" memory is handy. And iphones are out....I've had bad luck with batteries in the past, and if I have a problem with the new phone's battery, it's a heck of a lot cheaper to replace a battery than it is a whole phone. And like I said, touch screens don't always do what my fingers are telling them to do...so if I have to type something, I want that physical keyboard.

[Freightrain]

I"ve had my Motorola Photon for 1.5 yrs now. Been pretty reliable for the most part. Still get dropped calls occasionally but not sure that is phone or service? Does more then I ever want it to do. I deleted a TON of crap off it after I bought it. Just not a social butterfly I guess. At least it now comes with a calculator? My old "I" series flip phones made you buy the app? My first one had it, then next two didn't> Guess they figured it was something they could make money on(what else is new?).

Got friends with Verizon and ATT, we all have issues of some such. Ain't none of them perfect. I'd get a warranty for the first phone. Will save you tons of money if you crash/burn it. Mine was like $100(paid up front instead of over 2 yrs. Save like $30 doing it that way). Don't want to have to buy a $600 phone if something happens to it. They will fix or replace it.

[RowdyRebel]

I've never had insurance on my phone before...figure if I can't afford to replace it, I shouldn't be carrying it with me. Besides, I'll still have my current phone that can be reactivated....and the phone before that as a back-up to the back-up. I just can't see paying extra every month "just in case".

Speaking of insurance, though...passed an insurance company today with a sign out front that said "LIFE INSURANCE IS FOR THE WHAT IFS, NOT THE WHAT IS"...guess that could be applied to ALL types of insurance. Gotta be careful though or I'll be off on an Obumacare tangent before we know it....

[rsb502]

Insurance used to be worth it, it was $1.99/mo and you got a new phone with like a $40 copay. I quit paying for it when it was $3.99/mo and I had to pay $60 to get a refurbished phone with more scratches than the one I broke. Now its creeping in on $10/mo for certain phones and a $100 copay and you still get a refurb, not no but hell no! I say save your $5.99+/mo and in year take that and your $60 copay and buy it yourself and you get a NEW phone. That's almost $72 in premiums and $60 copay for a total of $112 look around you can buy em for that, not a smart phone but that is more ins. Money.

[Freightrain]

I don't like paying insurance, but figured it might be worth it for this first smart phone. Didn't know what I was going to get into and just figured it was worth it. Now that I've made it this far without issue and plenty of them on Craigslist I won't get insurance again. This was a no deductible/co pay, replace it with new plan. What's another $100 in the whole game of life??

[h67st]

I'm not a big fan of Apple in general, but I've had an iphone for over a year and it's been extremely reliable and very easy to use. My son has a Windows phone and he really likes it, the rest of my family has Androids and they work but can be pretty finicky.

[1958 F.W.D.]

Another vote for the Iphone.....And get yourself an OTTERBOX protective case for the iphone or whichever phone you buy if OTTERBOX has one available for that phone. They are kinda expensive, but the damn things make your phone BOMBPROOF.

[dds92780]

It's easier to talk into text these days. I used to use a flip phone and it was very easy to text and drive without looking because i had the keys all memorized, but when you get a good smartphone like the S3 Heres what you can do. You can talk to text, you can use navigation, you can download programs to listen to music even through the phone or bluetooth or connect to the aux port and play it that way. You can be listening to music through the phone and streaming and if you like the song and want to remember it, you just swipe three fingers across the screen and save a screenshot, and the biggest plus is that if you take a video, pause a part of it, swipe across it , save the image as a screenshot, go into you gallery and there you have a picture within a video that you can zoom in and crop! Another good feature i have found on the phone is that when you are talking on it, look at the keypad when its lit up and on the upper right there is an icon for a speaker, you hit it and it makes the earpiece way louder, kinda like a motorola, I have had iphone, many sprint and us cell phones, i have seen them all, blackberry isn't great for a truck driver, S3 gets my vote for ease of use and technology! hope i helped.

[RowdyRebel]

I don't touch my phone when I'm driving. I've got the Cobra 29 LX BT LCD in the truck...shows the caller ID on the display (and even reads it to me). I also screen my calls...probably let 75% of my incoming calls go to voice mail (where they are notified that my box is full before the call is disconnected....haven't checked my voice mail in at least 3 or 4 years). Texts can wait until I get where I'm going...not really a fan of distracted drivers, and REALLY don't care to be one.

Really the only reason I'm even thinking about a smart phone is so that I can get online and look up a phone number if I need to instead of calling people who might be in front of a computer and try to explain what I need them to look up for me. If I want to browse the internet, watch youtube videos, read my e-mail, etc..., I'll do it from home on my computer where I've got a decent sized screen. 99% of the time it'll just be used for phone calls, text messages, and taking pictures.

[farmer52]

I still use my rusty but trusty Motorola flip phone with roman numerals. I only turn it on to make calls (no long distance service on home land line) or if I am expecting a call. I have voice mail so if someone calls when it is turned off...leave a message. When I had a J-O-B, I had a Crackberry. It was nice to use it for internet. It was also connnected to my email which I HATED. I normally received in excess of 50 emails a day. I gave it up when I retired and do not miss it 99% of the time. I use a cell phone to talk, digital camera for pics/videos, computer for internet, iPod for music, and Garman for GPS. Nuff said.