Need a New Phone Capable of Internet

exalted512

I'm wanting to get a new cell phone capable of the internet. I have Cingular and was looking at something like the MOTO Q. I also have small fingers, so having small keys isnt a big deal.

Things I'd like to have:
full keyboard
ability to edit microsoft office programs (Excel, word, etc)

things I must have:
bluetooth
wifi capable

What I'll be using it for:
trading stocks on Scottrade.com and checking my gmail acct.

Things I have some questions on:
If you connect through to the internet using AT&T and not a free wireless connection, does anyone know of the charges?

Is it per minute, or can you get unlimited amount of minutes/month for XX amount of $?

I've just recently started researching this and havent had a chance to go to AT&T store yet, just thought I'd run it by you guys first.

If anyone has any phone suggestions, let me know!
-Cody

BaggedLancer

Blackberry 8703


Blackberry does everything......and it does it better than any other phone. No bullsh1t with Blackberry service.

exalted512

Thats another one I was looking at. I also like the compact factor of a phone like the pantec duo. Anyone know of any problems with slider phones?
-Cody

polkatese

I am using this phone:

Nokia Communicator 9500. I have almost identical requirement as yours, and have ATT Wireless/Cingular too.

A bit bulky, but with a full keyboard flip, it's hard not to be bulky.

http://www.mobiletechreview.com/phones/nokia-9500.htm

shadowofnight

BaggedLancer wrote: »

Blackberry 8703


Blackberry does everything......and it does it better than any other phone. No bullsh1t with Blackberry service.

Could gorilla sized hands/fingers actually type on that blackberry ? I need something new myself to text messages to the wife.

Kris Siegel

I love my Sprint Mogul. It has EVOD which is pretty fast broadband speed and an upcoming update will give it EVDO Rev A which is even faster.

It has a full, slide out keyboard. Support for third party software (you can use Pocket IE, Opera, etc) and there is a TON of software out for the Mogul / Windows Mobile Device.

Sprint charges, at the low end, $15 a month for unlimited internet. They offer a $40 a month offer to let your computer connect to the internet via your phone, however I've heard you can connect the Mogul and browse the internet on your PC without the $40 internet plan.

exalted512

Bulkiness isnt that big of a deal at all. Itd be nice to have a small phone, but its certainly not a requirement. I also like the fact that on a lot of these phones you can edit microsoft office programs, which I didnt even really think about until I thought about I could type papers and edit **** on my phone at any time...which would be nice.

Still cant find anything on a price to get on the internet with a phone through AT&T though?
-Cody

exalted512

Think I found it, so this option would let me view/sell/buy/trade my stocks on scottrade?
http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/services/serviceDetails.jsp?LOSGId=&skuId=sku1160058&catId=cat1360001

thanks for all the help!! geeze you guys are fast.
-Cody

bobman1235

Keep in mind Blackberry's charge extra for the Blackberry service.

I also have AT&T. You can either pay by volume (ie per KB), or you can have a plan that has a capped amount (like 1MB or 5MB a month), or you can have an unlimited plan. I currently have 1MB a month which costs 10 bucks a month (that's a bundle that includes some number of text messages too). Unlimited data & text is 35, though if you don't use text it looks like unlimited data by itself is only 15.

The WiFi requirement is going to seriously limit your phone selection. If all you're doing is checking email GPRS (cellular data) will be fine, but for stock trading it'll be painful.

Good luck

BaggedLancer

shadowofnight wrote: »

Could gorilla sized hands/fingers actually type on that blackberry ? I need something new myself to text messages to the wife.

With the full size keyboard it shouldn't be a probably. As always, YMMV, so go to the store and check out one. Eventually I'll be upgrading to a Blackberry Pearl(smaller keyboard, thinner, and lighter than the 8703).

Valentine's Day is coming up....make sure you get your girlfriend/wife a red Pearl for the occasion!(Reference to the Blackberry ad last year that got pulled because of that statement )

Sami

bobman1235 wrote: »

The WiFi requirement is going to seriously limit your phone selection. If all you're doing is checking email GPRS (cellular data) will be fine, but for stock trading it'll be painful.

That's why you want to select a 3G phone, not EGPRS.

ability to edit microsoft office programs (Excel, word, etc)

That's where it gets expensive. You're looking at a $500 phone if you want to do this regularly. For me the combination of laptop and BT phone is all I need but if you want to do it all from your phone then you'll pay for it (in price and in phone size).

Jstas

I got a BlackBerry Pearl. Was inadvertently the first person in Southern NJ to have one but I got one. Needed to since my 6 year old cellphone was stolen. Why? That's beyond me but I went to the Sprint store the next day and laid down the $200 for the phone. I love it! It's the size of a regular phone but has all the good stuff a normal blackberry does and even a few more things. The keyboard is set up a little differently but once I got used to it I can type faster on the phone than I can on a regular keyboard on my computer.

BaggedLancer

Jstas wrote: »

I got a BlackBerry Pearl. Was inadvertently the first person in Southern NJ to have one but I got one. Needed to since my 6 year old cellphone was stolen. Why? That's beyond me but I went to the Sprint store the next day and laid down the $200 for the phone. I love it! It's the size of a regular phone but has all the good stuff a normal blackberry does and even a few more things. The keyboard is set up a little differently but once I got used to it I can type faster on the phone than I can on a regular keyboard on my computer.

If you don't mind me asking, what do you pay a month for it? I just called sprint to get one and they told me I was looking at $115 a month for a basic plan + text messaging + blackberry service.

AsSiMiLaTeD

Check out the Samsung Blackjack II - that's what I'm getting, great features including built in GPS.

Jstas

BaggedLancer wrote: »

If you don't mind me asking, what do you pay a month for it? I just called sprint to get one and they told me I was looking at $115 a month for a basic plan + text messaging + blackberry service.

I gotta look at my cell plan but I know my basic plan includes text messaging. I know the BlackBerry service is only about $30 month and I think my basic cellphone is $30-$45, don't remember for sure. I know I get some kind of excellent customer discount and the fact that I've been a Sprint customer since 1996 has an effect on my rates too.

Best thing to do is go to a Sprint Store and talk to the people there. They are much more knowledgeable than the outsourced people on the phone and more capable of answering questions. I hit my favorite local Sprint Store often enough that they recognize me when I walk in.

Jstas

Polkmaniac wrote: »

Check out the Samsung Blackjack II - that's what I'm getting, great features including built in GPS.

That's why I got my BlackBerry. It's also capable of being a cellular modem, has the Sprint Navigation which makes it work just like a Garmin unit plus it will give you a compass and your actual GPS coordinates with the compass or the map feature and you can select topography maps, terrain maps or things like surface streets maps. I also have a bunch of my email accounts for various businesses I do side work for tied to it and I have a full access browser. I got myself a 6 GB memory card for it and that made the options so much more usable. I have a tremendous amount of power in the palm of my hand now.

It's a modem, a media player (music, video, pictures) with an audio output, has Bluetooth capabilities too. It's a GPS unit, has a 2 megapixel camera. Has a full keyboard and the best feature is the trackball for which it is named the "Pearl". I have a word processing program for it plus a spreadsheet and a database program. It'll play games, has a calendar with PDA like features too. It's a voice recorder and with the 6GB card will handle something like 6 hours worth of voice recording. The video camera has sound recording too. I can watch streaming video and even watch TV shows and download music with it. Of course it's a phone too and does all the phone things like make calls, send text messages and instant messages and stuff too. It has two transmitters so I can put a call on speaker phone and do something on the internet like look up movie times and talk to the person I'm on the phone with about what movie we are going to see.

Since my life got real complicated recently, I'm not home a whole lot and this thing has been a life saver in letting me keep up with my business commitments and still manage to have some assemblance of a social life. I've even posted to Club Polk from my CrackBerry!

Poee7R

With Cingluar/Att i would say go with an 8125, 8525 or the newer Tilt i think its called. Any of those should do all that you are asking for, not sure about editing MS stuff, but if there is a phone that can, these should be able too.

I have an 8125 and love it, isnt too big. Has wifi and data if you pay for the package, with a slide out keyboard right behind the touchscreen. Its also Windows based so its pretty intuitive and easy to get used to.


Dave

wizzy

Just got a Q on Verizon, the new one. $99 after rebate. Not as good as other stuff, but it works to do what I need it to. I'm too much of a phone dropper to get a $350 phone

Maurice

Polkmaniac wrote: »

Check out the Samsung Blackjack II - that's what I'm getting, great features including built in GPS.

I just got one a few weeks ago, excellent phone.

exalted512

Well, I went to the AT&T store today.

Didnt come out with anything, but I really like the Tilt. It does everything I want and quite a bit more. Love the keyboard, I think itd be fantastic for people with big fingers as well. It is a slider phone, which I kind of wanted to stay away from, but the guy there said he hasnt had any reliability issues with any of the slider phones hes seen.

I might go back and get it in the next couple weeks. We shall see.

Thanks guys!
-Cody

bobman1235

I have a slider phone, and my only complaint about the slider aspect is that fi you keep your phone in your pocket, if you go to take it out sometimes you'll inadvertantly open and close it. I've hung up on a few people that way.

[Deleted User]

Here is my thought, considering I have been with AT&T since analog as a young man. You are with the GSM service and with the true GSM or should I say 3G now, meaning, the digital world along with its speed, I would not use anything cellular for trading! I noticed no one mentioned the iphone, but again it does not support true 3G, edge yes. But it is a true internet experience. No moving parts such as slider or what not.. Dependable equipment requires less moving parts! As far as Evo, Wcdma cdma2000 blah blah blah it comes down to the switches at the towers... ultimately one is not better then another( AMD v Intel) its time frame. I would recommend an aircard for your portable laptop. Stay away from motorola and samsung.(chryslers withouth the benz spirit) I do not care what anybody says about the aforementioned brands, they truly impress me with how bad its quality is. And, if anyone mentions about AT&T is not great after the merger, well, blame the scare of a monolpoly and AWS had to rid of their exsisting towers.. anyhow, another story for another thread.

Ultimately.. I still recommend the aircard! If you are proactive on your Scott trades, I will be honest, wireless is not the way to go, unless you live in EU countries or Asia.

exalted512

Hate hate hate hate hate the iPhone. Dont like the interface and I'm certainly not going to dump $400 into a phone I dont like.

Now I've traded stocks on 28K dial up before, scottrade has a very fast, easy to manage website, not understanding why a phone would be any worse? Sorry, I'm new to the whole phone on the internet thing. I dont go through phones very often (3 over 7 years) and really, the only reason why I got new ones was because I switched carriers. This purchase would be more than I paid for all three of those phones, but if its really that bad, I'll save my money and keep my phone, because that was the primary reason why I wanted a new one.
-Cody

[Deleted User]

Blackjack II...

Shizelbs

I got the new Moto Q and its pretty awesome.

exalted512

The Moto Q seems really nice but it doesnt have the ability to edit microsoft office programs like some of the others do.

Ive read some more reviews about the tilt and some people say they are having problems with them freezing and having to do hard resets...I think this might end up being more trouble than its worth and I'll just stick with my slvr.
-Cody