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Your daughter actually talks on the phone? I thought kids only did text these days.

Have a brand that you think well of, El Jeffe?

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James DeBenedetti
Your daughter actually talks on the phone? I thought kids only did text these days.

She hasn't had one of her own, yet, so I have no data points. Like as not, you'll prove right.

I kind of like one of my son's phones. Size, the display/interface, and keyboard.
Samsung Seek http://tinyurl.com/7494983
It also vibrates (haptic?) when an interface control (button) is pressed-confirming the input.
I just think the interface works simply, and well, for a non-smartphone phone.
When I have to borrow a phone to text with, between a Palm Pixi, LG Rumor and this Seek, I'll take the Seek every time. The Pixi keyboard is almost too small to use. The rumor is raggedy/crappy. The Samsung feels good to me.


My other son's LG he says is already crappin' out on him.


Most of our hardware is old/outdated compared to other folks'; but that's ok.

I was looking at this one. I wonder how sturdy it can be at that size.

I wanted one of these. Simple, dual antennas, built for developing markets.

ddt

I got one of those MOTOFONEs for my wife since she prizes battery life and loses phones often. It's a little too hard to text on, though. I think I'll use it instead if I don't pull the trigger on a Lumia.

JW, also check out http://mysimplemobile.com for good contract-free prices. $40 for unlimited talk/text/data.

Interesting, Johnny, thanks!

The only reason to sync an Android device with any computer would be for music in which case you would want to install the DoubleTwist application on her Mac. Its UI is similar to iTunes and it will allow you to sync your iTunes library (with the obvious exception of DRM-encumbered files) with the Android phone.

For Windows Phones, Microsoft has a similar application called the "Windows Phone 7 Connector" that is clean and simple.

For Voice/Text/Data plans, your best bet price-wise is going to be T-Mobile.

If she REALLY wants a physical keyboard, her options are limited to some crappy or expensive phones.

The best option for a physical keyboard device would be the MyTouch 4G Slide from T-Mobile which is actually a really nice phone. There is also the Samsung Gravity Smart which is cheaper but is a very low-end device.

The only Windows Phone with a physical keyboard that you can currently buy here is the HTC Arrive from Sprint.

Thanks, CS, good info. I'd forgotten about DoubleTwist.

In related news, I'm REALLY conflicted about my Windows Phone experience. There are so many things about it that are fantastic but there are some shortcomings that are really frustrating.

The fact that it has been over two weeks and I haven't switched back to my Android device at all is a bit surprising.

I'm going to spend two more weeks with it at which point I will post a detailed analysis. I wish I could get my hands on an iPhone 4S so I could spend some time with the latest iOS device for a more thorough comparison.

Give me a taste, CS. So close to pulling the trigger on a Lumia against my better judgement, just for the novelty.

Okay, I REALLY like where Microsoft is going with the Metro UI. I thought it was going to be one aspect of the phone that I would hate but it has a lot of promise. It still needs work, though.

For example, you get to choose the primary color used for the tiles but you're limited to a palette of nine colors. Yes, nine.

You can't choose different colors for different tiles, either. That would have been a nice touch to make it easier to distinguish between tiles at first glance.

That's all relatively minor.

The biggest complaints I have are the inability to use 3rd party input systems like you can on Android. Typing on a smartphone without Swype is just way too slow.

Here are the notes I've been taking on the shortcomings of Windows Phone:

* No 3rd Party Keyboards (Swype)
* You can install custom ringtones but not Custom Alerts
* You can't set alerts separately for different mailboxes.
* Can't use Microsoft/XBox Live points to buy apps or games (even XBox Live games for Windows Phone)
* No Expandable storage
* No Backup (phone replacement or accidental wipe sucks)
* Apps and alerts have the same volume
* You can't mute all sounds. You can only mute the ringtone and alerts. To silence apps you have to manually turn the volume all the way down.
* There are limited apps in the Marketplace (no native Gmail or Google Voice).
* It’s hard to sort through junk in the marketplace because the search function isn't smart enough yet.
* The app ratings system uses your XBox Live Gamertag and most people never change the auto-generated Gamertag (for example, Player0234523723) so every app rating looks like spam… especially since most people don’t write any comments to go with their rating.
* No sideloading of apps.
* You only get one warning that your battery is getting low. After that, you actually have quite a bit of time remaining. Once it does decide that you’ve run out of battery, it just shuts down without giving you any time to stop whatever it is you’re doing (or plug it in to a power source so you can keep going).
* There are only 9 pre-defined colors you can select from for the system theme.
* You can’t modify the color of individual Live Tiles. It would be nice if I could set the tile color for each email account to better distinguish between them with a quick glance.
* Only allowing Live Tiles to be scrolled vertically limits their usefulness because you can only have so many tiles before it becomes difficult to find one particular tile.
* Bluetooth capability is limited to audio. No provision for mouse, keyboard, PAN, etc.
* No bookmark syncing.
* No “Chrome-to-Phone” functionality.

How many primary colors are there? Additive, there's RGB. Subtractive, there's CMYK.

The visible spectrum is ROYGBIV.

ddt

DPBD: Isn't AT&T offering a $100 rebate on that phone, which is going for $99? http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2012/04/nokia-to-give-lumia-900-users-100-credit-software-patch-due-to-data-glitch.ars

ddt

ddt, yes! That makes me feel better about missing AT&T's $100 for new customers at pre-order. The glitch appears to have affected few; I think it's cover for an desperation discount.

CS, to be honest, almost none of your minuses bother me. The difference between coming from iOS and Android, I suppose.

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ddt
How many primary colors are there? Additive, there's RGB. Subtractive, there's CMYK.

The visible spectrum is ROYGBIV.

ddt

Yeah, I chose my words poorly. I didn't mean "primary" in that sense. You get to choose one main color.

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johnny k
CS, to be honest, almost none of your minuses bother me. The difference between coming from iOS and Android, I suppose.

Moving from iOS to Windows Phone would be much simpler. Then you're mainly going to be concerned about the somewhat limited app catalog.

I think I'll be content if they just have an Instapaper alternative and a note app that syncs with Dropbox.

The $100 rebate is a real kick-in-the-teeth for Nokia, though, which really needs this phone to succeed both in market share and in profitability. I hope it makes it; I think Windows Phone looks interesting and genuinely different. Not that I'll be selling my iPhone...