Smart Phones

[emr]

So there are these threads all over the place but things change so fast now-a-days. We are getting a couple of smart phones for work and I wonder what you guys have and what is working for you. We dont want to spend a ton of money to get the latest and greatest. We are not tech guys, we are tree guys. I am guessing we would be happy spending $100 or less on the phones, so basically the entry level models.

As far as features, we want one that you can make phone calls on (go figure), and receive calls on. A camera would be nice but a video camera in not important to us. We want the web so that we can check weather, check e-mails, show customers info that is relative to the job at hand and we want it to be fairly durable. I understand durable is most likely not an option, so we will be looking for some heavy duty cases for the phones. Any suggestions on those would be great also. Thanks.

 

[sotc]

I would think any of the snmart phones should do all of the things mentioned. I have the samsung galaxy x and am impressed with it. I have a body glove cover for it.

 

[NeTree]

The Droid is still the most bulletproof phone out there, physically, IMHO. in smartphone terms, I much prefer anything running Android.

 

[Paul B]

Android (HTC Desire) and happy here, had a Palm device/phone for a number of years, they dropped the ball somewhere around 2005. I bought a bunch of cases and chargers from someone in Hong Kong off Ebay for $20.

 

[emr]

I guess we will be getting something with Android. Thats about all I know so far. This stuff gets confusing for me with Droids, Androids, Windows, platforms, apps, so on and so on.

 

[Lou]

i have the iphone 4 and i love it!! it wouldnt be the most durable for a job site, but it suits me perfect!

for the most point it comes down to personal preference, cuz i had the HTC Desire and I hated it with a passion!

 

[Paul B]

Lou, was it the device or the Andriod system you didn't like?

 

[Blinky]

Not and iPhone, they aren't durable enough unless you put them in a $40 Otterbox... that's true with most touchscreen phones though.

The one feature I can't live without now is visual voice mail. You can see who called, when, whether they left a message and you can easily listen to whichever ones you want at your convenience without having to 'call' voicemail... it's a BIG feature. Same with text messaging, once you use it visually it becomes a lot more valuable and makes conversation simpler because you don't have to be up on the phone at the exact same time. Weather is less valuable than it seems, i check it once in the morning and once at night, having it on the job doesn't help much.

Android, Windows, IOS(iphone)... it depends on how your brain works as to which one you'll like best. I know of as much wrong with Android as with IOS... a little more actually. I wouldn't touch a Windows phone because I doubt seriously if Microsoft can make an OS small enough to efficiently run on a phone... they can't even run on 2GB, how are they gonna run on 200MB?

.

 

[NeTree]

Windows Mobile is a complete joke, for sure.

Ditto on the visual voice mail; it's way faster than dialing in, punching numbers, etc.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Ditto what Chip said regarding visual voicemail. Iphone 3gs has been superb for me, and extremely durable in an otter box. personally, IOS works much better than anything else I've tried.

 

[Lou]

Lou, was it the device or the Andriod system you didn't like?

It was the phone itself that I didn't like. I couldn't type worth poop on it. And I just love the simplicity of apple. Everything is right there on the surface, no searching for anything

 

[Lou]

What's visual voicemail? I've never heard if it. Is that an app that you use or a feature from the phone company?

 

[pigwot]

Agree with most of the above.
The newer Motorola Droid 2 is out, so the original droid is falling in price. It has been a great phone, despite the heavy use and abuse.
I did get a hard-case for it.

Chip doesn't need to check weather during the day.
If your area is prone to rapidly changing weather conditions or need to be sure you have the half an hour to take the last couple picks before
you need to get that lightning rod of a crane lowered then consider the app called Radar Now.
It has realtime visual tracking of storm activity in your region.
It has been a real asset.

 

[Blinky]

Lou, visual voice mail is the standard iPhone voice mail that comes with the phone... you might not even remember dialup VM without an alpha keyboard.

Pat, you're right, I don't do cranes at this point. I'm small time enough that we just go home when the lightning gets scary or it's too wet and cold. I may try that app anyway though.

 

[NeTree]

Chip, visual voice mail comes standard with Android, too.

Lou, one thing I like about the Droid/Droid 2... is the REAL keyboard to use, if you don't want to play with the "virtual" keyboard. I just upgraded to the Droid 2 Global, from my Droid last month. I especially like using the WiFi hotspot.

 

[Paul B]

It comes standard? I cant seem to find it on my android nor on Market. Is it a manufacturer deal like the HTC apps (facebook, twitter etc) on the phone I have?

 

[NeTree]

Beats me; every Android phone I've had has it.

Verizon Wireless, here.

 

[emr]

Well I got a Droid X an so far I am not happy, but I am sure its because I dont know how to use the f-in thing. What cool apps should I get now?

 

[sotc]

Theres another thread with a list of everyones apps

 

[emr]

I saw that one, but will those apps work on all phones? Excuse my lack of tech knowledge.

 

[sotc]

You will just have to try them and see. I think most all the android stuff with any android system. They have all worked that I have tried

 

[Lou]

Lou, visual voice mail is the standard iPhone voice mail that comes with the phone... you might not even remember dialup VM without an alpha keyboard.

So what's the difference then? I still have to call my voice mail, and push all the buttons to listen to it.

 

[Lou]

Ok, I just looked it up. I get what the difference is, but I don't have that on my iPhone 4. When I go to 'phone' then hit 'voicemail' it automatically calls out to it.

 

[FJR]

Lou, you do have visual voicemail.

 

[Blinky]

Lou, you have to setup the account with a password, then it will work automatically. It's in 'Settings', 'Phone', 'Change Voicemail password'.