Topic: Your Mobile Phone

Greetings again, everyone.

I'll be getting a new mobile in the next month and am doing a bit of homework on the latest offerings (in the US). I'm currently using a Windows Mobile phone, and am leaning toward staying with one. I'm heavily invested in the Microsoft infrastructure and rely on Office and Outlook day in and out, with my phone's contact list and SMS message store synchronized with my laptop.

So the current frontrunner is the upcoming Tilt 2 on AT&T. But I'm also considering an iPhone, with the primary hesitation being the lack of seamless bi-directional synchronization of the Outlook contacts. I do like it though... I just wish it didn't have that issue.

So, just curious, what are you all using as your moblies, and how do you like 'em? Perhaps I'm overlooking some good options.
Cheers,
-V

a pre-paid virgin mobile super slice. definitely my recomendation for a pre-paid phone. but if i could afford a real phone with a real plan, i would feed this to El Chupacabra in a heartbeat.

Even though my career is in tech and I am always following the latest gadgets, and even prone to pick them up superfluously at times, I have an odd aversion to cell phones. Or, more specifically, I have an aversion to needing to have a gadget in my pocket at all times with a billion features; sometimes I just want to be where I am and have a cell phone for basic contact or emergency, but nothing more! I also tend to get annoyed with cell phone service providers and their contracts. So, I just have a fairly cheap pay-as-you-go phone from T-Mobile, and I deliberately chose a model that has zero fancy features (no camera, web browsing, etc) but that has a very impressive battery life.

However, I do appreciate the need for a more complex phone when business is involved. I'm happy to be doing very little independent contracting anymore now that I'm in a single vested position that gives me all the work I need, but if I were still in that game, I'd certainly need to be able to check my email and other things while on the go.

Tracphone, but I rarely ever use the phone and don't give a dang about this whole texting thing, so I'm pretty satisfied overall.

The only real competitors are (IMO) Blackberry and Apple. Would you consider a Blackberry?

Um, ...iPod Touch, if that counts. And an old early '00s Verizon Cell Phone.

I considered a Blackberry, but nixed it. I don't like the idea of so little frontal real estate being dedicated to the screen.

First and foremost, the phone must be good at making calls. Sounds obvious, sure, but I've heard some horror stories about the iPhone in that regard. Secondly, the phone must be able to sync bi-directionally with Outlook, including all fields - even the obscure ones like secondary addresses, birthdays, notes, etc. I have nearly 1000 contacts and while many go unused, it's when you don't have the data handy that you suddenly need it, I've learned. Thirdly, a vivid screen is a must, and at 480x800 the HTC I'm considering is peerless - better than iPhone even, which itself would be plenty fine for me.

Beyond that, it's mostly gravy. Good speakerphone, music player via standard headphones, basic (very basic) browsing, and perhaps some apps... all nice but less than vital.

I do not carry a cell phone around with me. I keep a little piece of junk in the car for emergencies, but when I'm out and about, I don't want to talk to anyone. I guess that's why I've held off on the iPhone. I'd probably just leave it at home and play games on it.

You make it sound like leaving it home and playing games on it would be a bad thing, Corb. It's clear to all of us here on NLife that you don't already have quite enough home entertainment. The iPhone is pretty cool, but if you're not about carrying it around as a phone, why not just grab up an iPod Touch?

EDIT: And you're an Apple guy, right?

I have a 2G iPhone unlocked to work with T-Mobile (USA) and it's working great. I'm also a MobileMe subscriber, so I've invested in the whole Apple infrastructure and things work fairly smoothly. I'd heartily recommend an iPhone 3GS.

If you're worried about Outlook syncing, I thought iPhones supported that? The 3.0 update was supposed to improve Exchange support, or add it; does that include Outlook? I dunno, I've never really used that program.

I had an iPod Touch, but I sold it. Just not getting enough action out of it. That's my fear about the iPhone. I'm afraid I won't get my money's worth out of it.

I just have a cheap Tracfone. I do not use phones enough to buy the fancy stuff.

Not to be a Blackberry fanboy, but that sucks that Apple makes you pay for "MobileMe" which is essentially what all Blackberries do for free.

Lol, I have an old hand-me-down from my sister, an ancient Nokia 6230, which I think was great in 2005
I keep meaning to get a new one, but just keep forgetting/ can't be bothered

Same here!!!

Same as me, except my phone is a Nokia 3205i. But I bought it myself. I felt so cool having a cell phone in grade 6.

I have a Dark Blue Samsung.