What cell phone should I buy?

[bball1523]

This is my first time getting a cell service and phone. I need advice on what cell phone I should get. I want spend less than $100 ideally.

Here is what I want in a phone:

basic calender, address book, alarm
reliability
good enough battery life
good quality pictures
good enough video
instant messenger capable

anything else you guys think that I need?

 

[AnyMal]

Whch carrier have you decided on?

 

[caivoma]

If you go GSM phones, then ATT has really nice selection of phones while Tmobile doesnt ( I prefered Tmobile).
If you go CDMA phones, then you should check Verizon out.

BTW, try amazon.com for GSM phones since they have nice discount but you need to read the fine prince. N75 sounds like your cup of tea, it goes for -15 dollars if you sign up with ATT for 2 years on amazon.

 

[morkman100]

Amazon is definitely the way to go. Got my SE W810i from Amazon for free about a year ago (when Cingular store was still selling them for $150 or $200). Wife got the white Samsung D807 for $50 cash back. Plus, when my phone arrived with a 128MB memory stick (the unlocked version came with a 512MG memory stick and they pulled th web data from that page), they credited me $40 so I could order the Sony 512MB card. Ended up buying a Sandisk 2GB for the same price.

About 6 months ago, helped a friend get a black D807 for $100 cash back (corporate store was asking for $50-75).

 

[bball1523]

sorry for not mentioning, but I'm going to be using Verizon Wireless

 

[bball1523]

by the way, what cheap priced phone has the best picture quality?

 

[Rottie]

u might need to find cell phone with 2mp camera. My T-Mobile Sidekick 3 has only 1.3mp camera and it is not sooo great pix.

 

[vshah]

i wouldn't settle for less than a 2mp camera w/ flash

 

[Raduque]

If you're going with Verizon and have a budget of $100 or less, there's really only one choice: LG VX8300.

If you can spend another $50-100, the enV is the way to go.

 

[caivoma]

Go to
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb...ne&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go
there should be a list of the phone that verizon offers. EnV and VX8300 is both under 100 in it. EnV has 2mp camera while the rest got 1.3mp pixel camera. So look like your choice is the EnV. go here to read some user comments on the EnV if you going to go with it.
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?t=1203104

 

[bball1523]

well is the vx8300 good enough for pictures or does it look too grainy? Is it better than the razr v3m?

the enV seems to get complaints about its large size and I want something small to fit in my pocket. I think I may start off with the vx9300.

How does the amazon deal work? Do you really pay only ~$30 for the enV? How does it compare to buying it from a local Verizon Authorized dealer?

 

[caivoma]

I only signed up for tmobile on amazon, so i have no experience on the verizon deals on it. AFAIK, amazon is able to offer more discount because their contract has more restriction than regular Verizon Authorized dealers. Read the fine print and decided for yourself.

 

[caivoma]

Also, is camera is the deal breaker for you? because i dont think 1.3mp is a good camera at all. At least aim for 2mp if you want decent image quality.
Go to Howard forum and spend sometimes reading it up on the phones you want because you gonna get locked into 2 years contract and with Verizon, it is gonna be expensive and hard to changed phones.
I would suggested you go to a local Verizon authorized dealer, signed it up there and you have a 14 days period to change phones if it doesnt suit you (not sure about this). But again, do some research on the phones first.

 

[bball1523]

well I dont need a really good picture quality camera, just good enough. I've heard some good things about the LG VX8300, and I've seen some photos from it that look good enough...nothing like a digicam, but still good enough to take pics at a concert, which is my main reason for good enough camera on a phone.

Do you know if there's anything wrong with the VX8300? I've heard the front display doesn't show the person's number during caller ID, but only the name, and the light on it turns off too quickly or something. Are there any real nuisances with it?

 

[caivoma]

No idea on VX8300.
Hope your thread on the howard forum will get some answers soon.

Edit: found 1 review
http://www.howardforums.com/sh...48952&highlight=VX8300

 

[YoungGun21]

I have the VX8300...

The pics are nice. Its ok for txting but I hate that they put the Speaker button right in the middle, I always accidently hit it. Also sometimes when I erase just a single txt from my outbox the phone shuts off. You can adjust how long the backlights stay on. The thing I really dislike about the phone is the play button on the front. If you hold it in for a couple seconds then the music comes on, which is nice except the music comes on even if you phone is on vibrate or silent. So when it is in my pocket sometimes the music starts playing.

 

[caivoma]

Originally posted by: YoungGun21
Also sometimes when I erase just a single txt from my outbox the phone shuts off.

That sounds like something wrong with the phone, ask around because that shouldnt be normal. I guess you can get used to the texting without hitting the speaker key after you spend sometimes with it.
Dont know about the music part though. Enjoy the phone.
I believe you have 14 days to try the phones and their service out, use it well.

 

[bball1523]

cool, I'm going for it!

 

[agibby5]

Not sure if you're still in the market for a new phone or not:

Honestly, I'd go for anything currently offered under the SERO plan. I'd recommend the plan without question. Although choosing SERO forces you to get a Sprint/Nextel phone, the SERO plans are unbeatable and include free data usage (non-tethering of course). If you don't like the phone you can exchange it for any phone (even though its not offered on SERO) within the first 30 days generally with no questions asked. Check out the SERO Threads on this forum for more details.