Getting a new smartphone

[lef]

Obviously, I'm getting a new smartphone. I had an iPhone for a while and ended up ditching it due to the very short battery life and was scared of breaking it.

I'm looking for a phone that I can really play with as well as manage tasks. I won't say that Wi-Fi is preferred but I don't want to have to pay for a data plan and I'm not sure how useful a smartphone without the use of the internet is. I'm a college student so price is important but not a deal breaker.

Any and all advice is appreciated. I've spent all night reading smartphone reviews but I think actual person to person feedback and insight is more of what I need.

Almost forgot, AT&T is my carrier.

[Adama D. Brown]

Welcome to Brighthand, lef. Do you have a preferred form-factor? Say, fixed keyboard, sliding keyboard, no keyboard? WiFi models are a bit limited, but you've got the AT&T 8525, the Tilt, and the option of any unlocked phone that you want to use on the AT&T network.

[lef]

No real preferences. The Blackberrys have Wi-Fi don't they? I'm not to big a fan of the bigger slider looking phones.

Do I need internet to get the full effect of the smartphone?

[NetBrakr]

From my knowledge, only one BlackBerry phone have WiFi, the Pearl 8120.

Well, it's not required to have internet but recommended. Like me, I have the Palm Treo 680 w/o data plan (no internet for me), but sometimes I do want it.

JC

[questionfear]

No real preferences. The Blackberrys have Wi-Fi don't they? I'm not to big a fan of the bigger slider looking phones.

Do I need internet to get the full effect of the smartphone?

It depends a great deal on the smartphone you pick. A blackberry is not going to be terribly useful without internet. Same with the iPhone. They are OSes built around near-constant internet, and so many of their strengths play to that.

A palm os smartphone or a windows mobile smartphone offers more flexibility with programs that don't require internet access to showcase the talents of the OS. They'll function more as regular PDAs with a phone strapped in there.

The big question is what you want to do with a smartphone. Is it email? Browsing the web when a connection is available? Music and games and videos? Calendar and contacts? These help determine if internet is a necessary feature or a luxury.

[lef]

One of the biggest things I'm looking for is something I can use as sort of a planner. I forget where or what I was looking at, but it had little reminders on the home screen or something. I'd also like something with a lot of separate apps, I hear palms good for that. I was looking at the centro but it looked a bit chunky and outdated. Internet browsing I guess would be a "luxury."

I really appreciate the feedback so far, thanks a bunch and keep it coming!

[lef]

I've found these two blackberries (I don't like the pearl) that have wifi... I really liked where you were going with this Questionfear, so please let me know what you think.

http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices...d=H0,C201,P563
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices...d=H0,C221,P623

[NetBrakr]

If you ask me, the Centro far better then my 680 (Oops, did I say that ). Smaller and thinner.

Compare

http://www.palm.com/us/products/reso...martphone.html

JC

[questionfear]

I've found these two blackberries (I don't like the pearl) that have wifi... I really liked where you were going with this Questionfear, so please let me know what you think.

http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices...d=H0,C201,P563
http://na.blackberry.com/eng/devices...d=H0,C221,P623

Those are nice devices. Have you used a blackberry or played with the interface? it's a bit choppy, and you want to try before you buy. Also, are you syncing with outlook? If so you should be fine with using a blackberry, but if you're using any other calendar system just check compatibility.

I know a few people who use blackberries for personal use, mostly phone, text, and light email, and they love them.

[lef]

Well the one thing I was concerned with is it seems like Palm has waaaaay more apps available to them. I'm not *currently* using Outlook for anything, but I can use my gmail account through Outlook, correct? How is the calender and task (for lack of a better word) stuff for Outlook/Blackberry?