sad times and sad crimes: i probably have to get a smartphone

[dhex]

fer reals. email (outlook and gmail) and, ideally, something i could pop into excel sheets and/or basecamp with.

it wasn't so long ago that i was happily without a cell phone.



on a side note if i ever hit the lottery i'm opening up an apocalyptic folk themed diner a la that metal burger joint in chicago and the salad entrees will be the then kill caesar salad and the sick sick sick of six six six house salad with death is the martyr of blue cheese dressing.

[FortNinety]

Welcome to the hell that most of us have to inhabit. It's not like I love lugging around a tiny (and expensive) supercomputer in my pants all the time, but especially these days, when I'm trying to hustle for every dollar I can get my hands on, missing an important email can be like life or death.

Since you're on Verizon, I would highly recommend the Droid, which has excellent integration between Gmail and all of Google's other apps/services. Also, you won't have to deal with shit call quality... at least until later this year, when the iPhone makes its grand appearance.

I'd also say wait for the Palm Pre as well, but only cuz I like it, and I don't know if you're so fine with all the finger gesturing and all that jazz. Though I forget which has the smaller keyboard, the Pre or Droid.

As for support for Excel, I dunno about that. I guess Windows Mobile could (or should) handle anything Office related, but for the most part, they are complete garbage phones to avoid like the plague.

[dhex]

how fucked am i looking at in terms of monthly cost? i pay around 40 a month now.

[FortNinety]

Obviously the worst part is the data fee. Not sure about Verizon, but most forces you to cough up $30 a month, on-top of your regular voice plan. Most folks pay $40 a month for voice, so plus that and $30 for data, let's say $5 for text, and assorted taxes and surcharges... its about $100 a month.

[FortNinety]

BTW, and apologizes for not having such info off the top of my head (many expect me to be the cell phone expert, and I feel so as well), but you might want to explore the contract-less options, like Metro PCS, which offers smart phones and the ability to use them for like $45 a month. Usually they're geared to those who are not heavy cell phone talkers, and most yap more than they realize, though I don't think you're the case.

[dhex]

i will have to do some exploring. i'm kinda stuck with verizon until june 2010 anyway. i've been told by others that i should check out the blackberry storm and the droid.

[FortNinety]

Oh God, no offense to anyone around here, but you DON'T want to be someone even remotely associated with BlackBerries.

Was gonna mention how offensive its OS is to me on the eyes, but I just remember that you like your XP in ultra classic mode, so I guess that doesn't matter.

[dhex]

well, the ability to get directly into excel sheets is mad tight, yo. i don't really care what they look like so long as i can talk on it and use it during meetings to try and stay ahead of the shit tsunami.

[loopback]

What makes a Blackberry any more of a Shitheel Signifier than, say, an iPhone?

or is there An App For (explaining) That?

[FortNinety]

Your average iPhone user is some annoying, laid back hipster douche who uses his device to use Twitter, take pictures, play games, or listen to music, all in a manner that screams "look at me, I'm so fucking kewl". Your average BlackBerry users is some insanely high strung business asshole who uses his device to run his Fortune 500 company remotely, one that is close to going bankrupt, hence the "IF HENDERSON DROPS THE BALL WITH THE MYCORP PROPOSAL, I'M FUCKED" aura that permeates throughout the train.

A broad generalization, but those are always the most fun. Though from my experience, BlackBerry users are far more prone to just stop in the middle of a stairwell on the way down to a subway or to check their stupid toy in the middle of a face-to-face conversation.

Though Mike, I guess you can forget about getting an iPhone even if you were interested...

http://www.tuaw.com/2009/12/27/breaking-atandt-stops-selling-iphones-in-new-york-city/

[dhex]

the brother in law is offering me a free blackberry curve, so i figure i'll test drive that for a while and hopefully it will fulfill my needs. this bodes well since i hope to be the high strung asshole making bank one day.

[dhex]

i was wrong, it's a blackberry storm. i'll have it tomorrow and probably activate it monday. do i have to go to the store to do that or can i do it over the phone?

i get an employee discount from the local verizon store so i should probably take it there regardless. 25% off is awesome.

[Chairman Meow]

I've got an older BlackBerry Curve 8330 and I really like it.  If you're just looking to get actual work done and not dick around with games and apps it works great.  They're also built like tanks, mine got ran over by a couple cars sometime August and it's been working fine since.

[dhex]

ran over by cars?

[FortNinety]

I will admit, the REALLY good thing about BlackBerries (and iPhones as well) is that they're built like tanks. I guess for the premium one is paying for, they had better be.

And re: activation, I have no idea. With iPhones, you can do it at home, since everyone has the software already (iTunes), but I've always viewed BlackBerries are more business devices (at least they were originally), so it's going to be more by the rules.