i’m thinking of a PDA in place of a cell phone. i don’t text. i don’t twitter. i just call. but i think i might use it to communicate “blackberry” style, i don’t know.
i’m a mac user. i probably wouldn’t use it much for storing music, unless i can play music on my stereo thru wireless telepathy from the iphone to the stereo.
i do absolutely need bluetooth, as i have a bluetooth enabled car.
best is if it’s ATT, because that’s my current provider and it’s the best deliverer of cellular connectivity to my rural area.
am i looking for an iphone? i must buy a “data plan” if i buy an iphone, and i don’t really know what that’s for. is a data plan required for internet connectivity using your PDA? what am i looking for?
You need to figure out exactly what you’ll use it for.
I have an iphone. I love it. But it is fairly lousy as an actual phone unless you use bluetooth or the wired headset which improves matters somewhat. I use it mainly for internet and email so that’s not a huge issue to me and I use bluetooth when I actually use it for calls.
You need the data plan for data (internet, email etc) receipt and transmission via edge or the 3G network. At home it can use your wi-fi network for everything but calls.
If you intend to write a lot of email or texts something with an actual keyboard may be better.
If you are interested in an iphone go and play with one somewhere first to make sure you can use the (virtual) keyboard satisfactorily. The same goes for any device though really.
While I’m not an expert on an iPhone (most people I know don’t use them because of the difficulty in connecting to their work email systems), I know there are a ton of applications for it, they are easy to use (I have an iPod Touch as my music server), and frankly - they still look nice. However, it all depends upon what you like, dislike, or think you may want.
do you prefer flip phones to ones with all the keys exposed? I’ve had both, and while I traditionally went with flip phones (lighter, and those with exposed keys always had some annoying way they could turn on in my pocket - I recently migrated to a touch screen phone that I love (although a different carrier - so probably not applicable in your case. For the record, it is a Samsung Instinct on the Sprint’s service)
will you email quite a bit from your phone? If yes, anything with a full qwerty keyboard (individual keys as opposed to having to hit the “1” button 3 times for the “C”, the “2” button twice of the “E”, etc.) is MUCH easier for typing. As someone who has used Palm Pilots since the 90’s, I did finally give up on the frustration that the darned buttons are just too small for my fingers. I’m awaiting someone to make something with a larger button (but it looks like I’ll have to wait until the end of the year for something like a http://www.htc.com/www/product/touchpro2/overview.html . My girlfriend just received the current “Touch Pro”, and the wider keypad is really nice.
While on the topic of a phone like HTC’s “Touch Pro”, do you need a phone with a “processor”? With the Touch Pro, you can actually work on spreadsheets (not that I would guess you do much of that), or present a Powerpoint presentation directly from the phone (video out). There are others on the market as well - so it all depends upon if you want these.
Navigation - I didn’t really need it as all my vehicles have it…but then I’m too cheap to spend $$$'s on it while renting cars, so the real time nav on my phone is quite nice (and my 05 Acura is not “real time” so I am starting to use my phone’s nav more often).
Just about everything is Bluetooth enabled now - but make sure you ask about connectivity to your PC if you want a true PDA style phone (syncs to your Outlook or other contact manager). Even though I don’t use Outlook at home for email, I do use it as my address book/calendar - as it is much easier to type on a computer keyboard than my phone keyboard (even though it is still a full qwerty touch screen keyboard on my phone).
Email push - this is nice, much like a Blackberry. Some will “copy” email to your phone (and leave the initial email alone), others will “push” it to your phone (so it won’t show up on your computer). If you “sync” (like with a Crackberry), then it is irrelevant. If you don’t, then you probably want to “copy” to your phone.
I’m guessing an iPhone will probably work for you - especially with your connectivity to your Mac. They are also nice because the screen is larger than most - so if you travel and want to load movies on your phone - it is a nice personal movie server as well
I am completely addicted to my iPhone. I use it for far more stuff than I thought I would.
Yes, you need a data plan for all the data connectivity. The plan isn’t cheap but considering how much I use it I’m OK with it.
The montly minutes and other features are addition. We used to have unlimited text messaging but we realized we just don’t use it enough. We have 550 minutes monthly but that’s because it is the smallest number of minutes they offer us. We pay alot because the $30 iPhone charge for each phone. When I was training for Ironman Canada, working with a coach from Calgary or headed up for IM weekend, I would get a Canadian calling feature that allows unlimited calls to Canada and doesn’t charge an international fee.
I had a Blackberry for a while because my former job used them. It was OK but I like the iPhone MUCH better. Since you already use a Mac it is a natural fit.
I can use my iPhone in my car because it has an auxillary port. And, you can get nice speaker sets for you iPhone. Not sure about plugging it into your stero but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was possible.
Dan-
buying an iPhone requires a data plan @ $30 a month. The data plan gives you unlimited access for email, web access, and general internet usage by some apps you have loaded (required for most GPS applications like Google Maps, for example). You might ask about return or phone exchange policies if you are uncertain about your need for these capabilities.
There are iphone accessories that support streaming of music from the phone (or other ipod) to suitably equipped home stereos. For the car, you can either do a cable from the headphone jack in the phone to the aux input on the radio or there are FM transmitter phone accessories that will transmit to your radio. Cables work better I think, in crowded FM areas.
There are other phones with feature lists roughly comparable to the iphone - many of them have better battery life than the iPhone and optional instead of mandatory data plans. In exchange you give up some amount of usability and (at least in the near term), anything like Apple’s App store.
You’re a mac user who wants ATT. Iphone kind of screams “MEEE!” at this point.
Buy a dock that will connect to the stereo. Pop the iphone in the dock, and your music is on tap through your stereo (you use itunes, right? Putting your music on a hard disc is a bit of a PITA one-off pre-requisite for using itunes).
The data plan allows you to use the internet, send and receive emails and (I think) send and receive texts on your iphone. Also gives you access to maps (the GPS unit in the phone uses maps dl’d from google to display anything) and allows you to use any app that takes a data feed (eg stock prices).
The calendar on the iphone is a bit basic, but adequate.
You sound, Dan, a bit technologically challenged. You’ll like an iphone. It’s the sort of device my wife can pick up and use from the off. Unlike (for example) the tv, the dvd player, the stereo…
iPhone.
But, whatever you do, DO NOT COME BACK FROM A LONG RUN, PEEL OFF JACKET, LEAVE THE IPHONE IN JACKET, AND TOSS SAME IN WASHING MACHINE. For some strange reason, Apple declined to let the warranty kick in… So, other than not being waterproof, you need the iPhone. Your Mac would never forgive you for going with anything else… Plus, anything else would be a bear to sync with the Mac - trust me on this, I’ve been there…
Dan, my 2 cents - it really just depends what you want to do. I just picked up a Blackberry and am really happy with it. Check out crackberry.com and do some hunting around. The iPhone is cool, Apple has really gotten good with marketing and technology with clear feedback mechanisms, but since you’re on At&t you should at least check out the new Blackberry Curve 8900. If you’re going from an “old school” phone to a smart phone, plan to spend a handful of hours learning how to use the features. After that, you’ll probably be pleased with almost anything.
I’m on an AT&T account for my business and my wife also has here phone through our account.
I am a Windows user and for my phone I have the Blackberry. I’ve had it for 2 years or more now and love it. The web-browsing is ok but I really like how it syncs and meshes with my Outlook for sending and receiving e-mails which is mostly what I use it for (that and browsing slowtwitch of course). I am not a huge music guy and I don’t even own an Ipod but I have tried to put some music on my Blackberry and it just seems ok but not great to do and manage. Pictures are fine and are easily synced or downloaded to my hard drive using the Blackberry software. Of course it is bluetooth compatible. About 6 months ago our cell phone rep convinced me to try a Palm (treo I think) but I really didn’t like it and got rid of it after a month and went back to the Blackberry. I have the Blackberry Curve for everyday use and kept my old Blackberry Pearl that I use (just switch SIM cards) when I am traveling or riding as it is smaller and easier to carry.
My wife, on the other hand, has and loves her Iphone through At&t. It definitely comes with more apps and they seem very easy to download or purchase through the Istore, and obviously it is easy to get and organize music through the same Istore as it is also basically an Ipod (and so much more). Some of the apps are pretty cool but are not ‘business related’ or needed, but nevertheless they are neat. While I don’t think I’d switch my Blackberry to the Iphone I do steal hers occassionally just to play with it. Borwsing is also easier on it than the blackberry.
Not that I offered any clear advice but I hope the above helps. Also my At&t guy said he uses and loves the Iphone but the new blackberry (Storm I think) they carry is a close second in his opinion.
- I recently migrated to a touch screen phone that I love (although a different carrier - so probably not applicable in your case. For the record, it is a Samsung Instinct on the Sprint’s service)