Smartphone Dilemna

by Jeremy on July 27, 2009

Well, I think that I am probably in the same dilemna as many people are with trying to find the right smartphone.  I can’t decide which mix of pros and cons that I want.  The obvious options that I see are the Blackberry Tour, the Palm Pre, and one of the Windows Mobile options available.  To make the matter worse, I am not certain which carrier that I want to use.  Currently, I am a Sprint user and have been for some time.  I am currently not certain that I want to stay with Sprint.  One of the big issues is when I go to visit family in a rural part of Minnesota, Sprint’s coverage is barely adequate.  On the other hand, Verizon is the preferred carrier there.  Based on research that I have done, I think that those are the only two carriers that I really want to deal with.  So that removes the iPhone and the Blackberry Bold from contention (as both are AT&T phones).  So here is the list that I see:

Blackberry Tour

Photo via BoyGeniusReport
Pros:

  • Blackberry
  • Push Email Technology
  • Ease of use
  • Rev. A
  • MicroSD Expansion Slot
Cons

  • No WiFi

Palm Pre

Photo via Engadget

Photo via Engadget
Pros

  • WiFi
  • Keyboard
  • Size
Cons

  • Sprint Only (thru 2009)
  • Keyboard Feel
  • No Tethering
  • Soft Dial Phone

HTC Snap/ Verizon Ozone

Photo via CNet

Photo via CNet
Pros

  • Blackberry Feel
  • Keyboard
  • Window Mobile
  • Rev. A
  • WiFi (on Verizon)
  • MicroSD Expansion Slot
Cons

  • No WiFi (on Sprint)

HTC Touch Pro

Photo via CNet

Photo via CNet
Pros

  • WiFi
  • Rev. A
  • Slide out keyboard
  • Windows Mobile
  • microSD Expansion slot
Cons

  • Price
  • Bulky
  • Soft Dial Phone
  • Some performance issues reported

I like the Blackberry Tour and I like the Verizon Ozone phones. My fundamental problem with Sprint is that their network is limited in certain places that I go (especially in rural Northern MN). Verizon solves this problem (at least in that area) but their smartphone plans are quite a bit more expensive that the Sprint plans are.

If Sprint would simply offer the Tour or Snap with WiFi… the deal would be done. If Verizon would just offer a more reasonable smartphone plan (see Sprint’s smartphone plans)… the deal would be done. As always the mobile companies seem to be more concerned about how to lock you into their network and not on what customers really want. The journey continues…

P.S. ~ For more reading about Phone options and issues Dave over at AnywhereMan has a similar article called “The only thing that stays the same is change“

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Tagged as: Blackberry Tour, HTC Snap, HTC Touch Pro, Mobile Phone, Ozone, Palm Pre

  • Laurie

    This is the first time I’ve seen a place to put Twitter ID in when commenting – cool!!

    Now, on topic, I feel your frustration. Last summer I got a new smartphone when starting my business. I was so unimpressed with the choices that were actually available. I’m in Canada, so different choices, different carriers, but very similar problems. I would have loved a wifi phone, but it was not an available choice on the models I liked at the carrier I wanted to use. Cell phone companies definitely are only concerned with getting you to sign a nice long contract, not with giving you the best features at a fair price. For what little it’s worth, in your shoes I’d probably go with the Palm Pre – I like full screens, not half screen/half-keyboard. I got used to a touch keyboard much more quickly than I expected (I use a Samsung Instinct for now) The HTC Touch Pro is also probably a good choice, but definitely looks bulky and the keyboard layout looks too “square”, not quite like a typical qwerty, so it would be harder for me to use I think.

    Good luck with whatever choice you make!!

  • http://robertstanke.com Robert Stanke

    Just a couple of other Pros and Cons for the Palm Pre…

    Pros:
    The Synergy feature is very slick
    Can run multiple apps at the same time
    App catalog is growing and everything is still free
    The integration of YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, etc. are cool

    Cons:
    Keyboard is small
    Battery life is ok
    No video capture yet

    Just trying to make your decision even harder…!

    RS
    http://robertstanke.com

  • http://www.refocusingtechnology.com Jeremy Lattimore

    Robert,

    Thanks for the “help”. The Pre is one that I was interested in (and sort of still am) but after handling it, I did feel the keyboard was a little small. If the Blackberries had WiFi on Sprint or Verizon I think that would be my choice. Going to have to consider it a bit more.

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