Need suggestions on a new cell phone

[Mayfriday0529]

I currently have a Blackberry Pearl 8100 from Cingular/ATT. Had it for almost a year, Treo 650 before.
I no longer can afford the BB data plan so I removed it. The phone still works. The only thing is I can't do MMS messaging or any browsing at all because you always need a BB data plan.

I'm going to sell my Blackberry on EBay and need another phone. I was looking for recommendation on phones that I could find that have full keyboards but are not PDA's; slider phones etc. I do lots of Text messaging (900 this past month) and I will miss the qwerty keyboard on my Blackberry.

If not a slider or full keyboard a good recent model that can do text easily, mms, Bluetooth.

 

[nboy22]

I don't believe I've seen anything on Cingular/ATT that has a qwerty keyboard that isn't a data device.

If you want a nice phone I would probably go with the Nokia N75, nice and sleek and I have not run into many customers that have problems with that phone.

If it helps, I work in a Warranty service center call center for ATT/Cingular.. so I can honestly say I know which phones have problems and which don't.

You'll most likely need to learn how to type on a regular keypad again, which sucks, but there's not much else you can do.

 

[bassoprofundo]

I'm going to sell my Blackberry on EBay and need another phone. I was looking for recommendation on phones that I could find that have full keyboards but are not PDA's; slider phones etc. I do lots of Text messaging (900 this past month) and I will miss the qwerty keyboard on my Blackberry.

Any phone that has a QWERTY keyboard is going to be considered a PDA or Smartphone by AT&T. Thus, if you want an unlimited Data plan, you're looking at $40 or more. If you don't want a slider but want a QWERTY keyboard, the Moto Q9h and Samsung Blackjack (and soon BJ II) and Treos are your options. If you're eligible for an upgrade on your account, you can get a nice deal on a refurb Treo or Blackjack, which IMHO, are exactly like new. I've used the Blackjack, Treo 650, 680, and 750, and the HTC 8125 & 8525 as far as non-Blackberry QWERTY phones go. If you don't need a full-fledged PDA (as you said), the Blackjack is very nice. Only possible cons in my book are the slightly less than stellar battery life and slightly cramped keyboard (if you have big hands like me), although I believe AT&T was offering an extended battery to remedy the battery problem.

 

[Mayfriday0529]

Originally posted by: nboy22
I don't believe I've seen anything on Cingular/ATT that has a qwerty keyboard that isn't a data device.

If you want a nice phone I would probably go with the Nokia N75, nice and sleek and I have not run into many customers that have problems with that phone.

If it helps, I work in a Warranty service center call center for ATT/Cingular.. so I can honestly say I know which phones have problems and which don't.

You'll most likely need to learn how to type on a regular keypad again, which sucks, but there's not much else you can do.

Thanks for the tip. I'm looking at it on EBay. Lets hope i get a good return $ selling my blackberry. I'll be using a simple motorola V220 while I go through this process.

 

[intogamer]

8525's are going for cheap after the release of the 8925 tilt (kaiser)

 

[tdawg]

Originally posted by: Jnetty99
I currently have a Blackberry Pearl 8100 from Cingular/ATT. Had it for almost a year, Treo 650 before.
I no longer can afford the BB data plan so I removed it. The phone still works. The only thing is I can't do MMS messaging or any browsing at all because you always need a BB data plan.

I'm going to sell my Blackberry on EBay and need another phone. I was looking for recommendation on phones that I could find that have full keyboards but are not PDA's; slider phones etc. I do lots of Text messaging (900 this past month) and I will miss the qwerty keyboard on my Blackberry.

If not a slider or full keyboard a good recent model that can do text easily, mms, Bluetooth.

Do you specifically need MMS messenging? I have a Pearl, am on AT&T, and have no data plan whatsoever, and I can send text/sms messages on a pay-per-message basis with no problem. I think you can add one of the messaging-only plans for between $5.99 and $14.99, rather than getting gouged the extra $40/mo and send MMS messages.

 

[onlyCOpunk]

Sell your phone, use the money to cancel your contract. Hop over to T-Mobile get a sidekick slide and unlimited text for like 10 bucks a month. I really wish there was a company though with simply a texting plan as I find it's much easier to text in most situations then make a phone call.

 

[Mayfriday0529]

Originally posted by: tdawg

Originally posted by: Jnetty99
I currently have a Blackberry Pearl 8100 from Cingular/ATT. Had it for almost a year, Treo 650 before.
I no longer can afford the BB data plan so I removed it. The phone still works. The only thing is I can't do MMS messaging or any browsing at all because you always need a BB data plan.

I'm going to sell my Blackberry on EBay and need another phone. I was looking for recommendation on phones that I could find that have full keyboards but are not PDA's; slider phones etc. I do lots of Text messaging (900 this past month) and I will miss the qwerty keyboard on my Blackberry.

If not a slider or full keyboard a good recent model that can do text easily, mms, Bluetooth.

Do you specifically need MMS messenging? I have a Pearl, am on AT&T, and have no data plan whatsoever, and I can send text/sms messages on a pay-per-message basis with no problem. I think you can add one of the messaging-only plans for between $5.99 and $14.99, rather than getting gouged the extra $40/mo and send MMS messages.

Thats what i dropped the phone service to now. No Data and added the $14 1500 text message plan. Pay-per-message would be too much money. I did about 900 messages last month @ 0.10 cents a message that would be extra $90. I do want MMS, I don't send a lot of them more like 50 a month but its nice having that feature.

Originally posted by: onlyCOpunk
Sell your phone, use the money to cancel your contract. Hop over to T-Mobile get a sidekick slide and unlimited text for like 10 bucks a month. I really wish there was a company though with simply a texting plan as I find it's much easier to text in most situations then make a phone call.

I wish I could. There is another phone in this plan also (family plan). I don't want to disrupt the service for the other line.

 

[intogamer]

I concur with onlyC0punk. T-Mobile family time offers unlimited messaging(Text, IM, picture, or video messages) for $19.99 that includes up to 5 lines. You can get the $5.99 T-Zones Data package on your own line.

$60 Basic Family Plan
$20 Unlimited Family Messaging
$06 T-Zones Internet

$86 TOTAL

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=606620

Get 2x T-Mobile Wings for $49.99AR. Then sell on ebay and buy whichever phone you please. Hell you can open up additional lines @ $9.99 making it $120/yr + $50 Wing = $170 final cost of the phone. Sell for atleast $300 minus $170 cost = $120 profit... Depending on your credit you can open up to 10 lines!!!!

If you do decide to go overboard, it would just pay for your entire phone bill + phones of your choice + a little cash + 8 extra lines

That deal includes waived activation @ 1 Year contract

 

[Mayfriday0529]

Originally posted by: intogamer
I concur with onlyC0punk. T-Mobile family time offers unlimited messaging(Text, IM, picture, or video messages) for $19.99 that includes up to 5 lines. You can get the $5.99 T-Zones Data package on your own line.

$60 Basic Family Plan
$20 Unlimited Family Messaging
$06 T-Zones Internet

$86 TOTAL

http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=606620

Get 2x T-Mobile Wings for $49.99AR. Then sell on ebay and buy whichever phone you please. Hell you can open up additional lines @ $9.99 making it $120/yr + $50 Wing = $170 final cost of the phone. Sell for atleast $300 minus $170 cost = $120 profit... Depending on your credit you can open up to 10 lines!!!!

If you do decide to go overboard, it would just pay for your entire phone bill + phones of your choice + a little cash + 8 extra lines

That deal includes waived activation @ 1 Year contract

Breaking out of contact from Cingular would cost me $175 and I don't know if thats per phone or not. I would end up paying more to just switch. Can't do that right now. I think I should be able to get between $150-200 from my blackberry and accessories. Maybe will go back to a Treo for now.

 

[z28dreams]

If you want a nice phone I would probably go with the Nokia N75, nice and sleek and I have not run into many customers that have problems with that phone.

I can't disagree with this enough. I'm on week 4 of using my N75 and am badly trying to return it to amazon.

Serious problems I've had with the phone:
- Randomly shuts off during a call. phone can only be restarted by removing the battery and then replacing it.
- Sometimes just won't start up. goes to a white screen. I have to remove the battery and try again.
- Battery life is quite short (but not unbearable)
- Build quality is poor. The battery panel on the back has a lot of give, and the phone doesn't feel sturdy at all.
- poor durability - I dropped my phone from about 2 feet off the ground last night, and the plastic frame popped off the phone, the battery flew out, and the sim card popped out of its slot.
- slow slow SLOW. The processor in this phone trying to run S60 chokes hard. Hit the soft key to create a text message, and it takes close to 6-7 seconds to open. Ridiculous.

I highly recommend checking out a different phone.

 

[z28dreams]

Wanted to add: A customer service rep at the AT&T store I visited later told me that they had reports of a lot of problems with the N75. May just not be me.