I have been (painfully) doing research on these. The conflicting reviews are so incredible polarized and exaggerated. It looks like every side has its fanboys (especially the Blackberry/iPhone). I am looking at a PDA/phone hybrid. I am in medical school, and they use Microsoft Exchange server for their e-mails, contacts, etc. The med school IT's website recommends either Blackberry or phones with Windows Mobile. I am favoring phones with windows 6.1 mobile since I use Microsoft Outlook for e-mail. Plus I kinda like the interface since it looks familiar. I prefer a real keyboard. I may be getting the phone tomorrow, so any quick feedback would be helpful. The phone I am favoring is the Samsung Epix because it is fast, has a powerful battery, and a really cool optical mouse + touchscreen.
We've used the Moto Q9c across our company the last about 18 months. Great business phone. We use Exchange and such, so Windows Mobile was our choice. 7.5 hour talk time. And if you don't talk much, the battery will last for days, even while constantly synced to an Exchange server and a bluetooth device (via Windows Mobile 6.1). It's not a touch screen. We specifically didn't want one this time around. Great keyboard. Also has a Blackberry-esque wheel on the upper right hand side. Best phone I've ever had. We don't need the iPhone's capabilities. This phone costs less. And our unlimited plans with Sprint are $60 cheaper than that of the iPhone/AT&T. FYI - Apple and Microsoft made a deal for ActiveSync about a year ago. So the iPhone will absolutely sync to Exchange now. I've heard that there are/were still some issues with DirectPush draining its battery, requiring you to 'tone down' a few things with the sync process. But that may not be an issue anymore.
whatever you do.....dont get a palm centro......it crapped out on me 2 weeks after my 1 year warranty ended....and from what i have researched online, it happens to alot of palm users. i now got a LG VU its awesome....i love it.
I had an HTC running windows mobile for about 2 months, i absolutely hated it. It was SLOW, it constantly froze up, you couldn't really run more than one app at a time without it going crazy, the touch interface was a pain to use. I hated the email format on it, typing on it, everything about it i disliked I think. Well, the one nice thing was the menu's simply because they reminded me of actually using windows. Other than that though I found the phone useless. So useless that I took it back, which was a huge issue for my carrier as I was 2 or 3 months into my new 3 year contract. Luckily for me they let me changed after i begged haha I ended up with a blackberry curve. i LOVE it. Once you play with all the settings and get it how you want it, everything is so simple. The browser is 10x better than that on my htc, email is easier, typing is easier with the full keyboard, the trackball is simple to use. On screen, it lacks the "flare" or some other smart phones because its not all fancy looking, but the great thing about it is while it looks plain, its so powerful. Everything can be customized, theres more settings than I can shake a stick at. As far as Im concerned its the greatest phone I've had. Hope that helps...
The other phone I am looking at is the Palm Treo Pro, but from what I have read, it doesn't have as good of a battery life or processor as the Samsung Epix.
Q's are great phones and have more functionality than advertised. I still have the original and love it. If you thinking of getting one, head over to http://www.everythingq.com. They have an awesome forum there that will allow you to get the most outta your phone.
I ordered the Epix from AT&T by phone. Turned out to be 100 dollars cheaper, and they even waived shipping for me. Included unlimited texts with the 30 dollar data plan. AT&T's tech support and phone insurance has always been great to me.
Don't buy a Blackberry. My g/f and I each have them and I'm counting down the days until I can get a good deal (meaning my contract will have less than 1 year left on it) on a new phone. I'm on my 3rd and she's on her 2nd. We've each had a roller ball fail and my 2nd replacement had the O/S crash and burn so badly they could not recover it.
Yeah, I didn't like the roll ball at all when I was fiddling around with phones at the AT&T store. Too slippery. The Epix has a nice optic mouse instead of a D-pad or roll ball. The only thing I liked about the BB is that it was easy to enter appointments, but I found WM 6.1 to be more versatile. For example I loved how my appointment reminders are right in my front page in familiar Outlook format.
I have a Palm Centro and it is the best phone I have ever owned... was totally free too. I'd highly recommend this phone, personally.
I have a blackberry storm and absolutely love it. Tons of free apps like Pandora, I heart radio, stuff for news, sports, stocks, weather, navigation, pretty much anything. The majority of them are free. Verizon and blackberry are still expanding the apps available but there's well over 1000 which considering its only been available for about a month isnt bad at all. The OS is blackberry based as it always is but can still be used with an exchange or enterprise server and can create/edit/view word/PP/Excel. I never really use it for that but it can absolutely do it. The browser is fast and displays like a regular webpage not some mobile browser. Using an all touch phone is different for some but I dont notice much difference between the Env2 I had prior to this and a touch and press keyboard like the storm has. Comes with an 8GB memory card to store music, pics, videos, documents etc. Best phone I've ever had.
Blackberries sync and receive Microsoft Outlook email the same, if not better then the windows based phones. i would go with Blackberry depending on your carrier. Storm from Verizon and Bold from at&t. although the bold is a little wide, it wouldnt bother you if you have big hands, some people dont like the size. check this non-biased website out comparing those 2 phones with the Epix... http://www.phonescoop.com/phones/compare.php?id[]=1655&id[]=1613&id[]=1864&id[]=&id[]=
with blackberries they are very customizable. you can have your upcoming appointments right on your front screen of there as well...
So I got the Epix and I absolutely love it. I love Windows Mobile and its interface. As I get used to this phone more and more I think it will get better and better.
