New Phone Advice...

[Schitzo]

Helloo! I'm due for an upgrade next month and am uncertain/confused as to which phone to get...

At the moment I have a touch screen Samsung Pixon. I love everything about the phone except the touch screen. I seem to be all thumbs when it comes to using a touch screen device!

I struggle navigating through the menus on my phone and my contacts all suffer due to my touch screen texting blunders!

I also find it impossible to see the screen when I'm outside and directly under the sun.

My biggest grievance is that I have to press a button, then do complicated hand motions on my screen when I'm on a call and need to press the keypad to select numbers.

I've decided to go for a Blackberry 9780 as I like the QWERTY keyboard and simple layout of the phone itself. However I've become reluctant to purchase a BB after reading about all the drama with BIS being slow and a pain in the ass these days.

Now I've been browsing the Android forums and have fallen in love with the Motorola Android Razr! I like the rugged features of the phone and think it would be ideal for me... BUT I'm reluctant to purchase another Touch Screen phone and go through the hassle of not being able to text and use the screen properly.

If I do opt for a Touch Screen phone, can I download a 3rd Party Keyboard application, that would give me a BIGGER keyboard layout?

Are these new Touch Screen Android phones easy to use?

TIA and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

 

[ColonelJAck]

I'm in a similar boat. I'm due for an upgrade since November, but I cannot decide what to get.
I've sorted narrowed my choices down to :

iPhone 4S
Samsung Galaxy II
Nokia N9

4 months ago, I had decided on going over to Blackberry, but all the recent issues I've read about have changed my mind.

Still undecided on which phone to eventually take...

 

[Schitzo]

I'm in a similar boat. I'm due for an upgrade since November, but I cannot decide what to get.
I've sorted narrowed my choices down to :

iPhone 4S
Samsung Galaxy II
Nokia N9

4 months ago, I had decided on going over to Blackberry, but all the recent issues I've read about have changed my mind.

Still undecided on which phone to eventually take...

I'd love to know how you're going to solve this dilemma!

I had a look at the Nokia N9 and liked the Menu layout and general design. I did find the phone a little sluggish compared to my older phones...

I've tried the Samsung Galaxy II and loved it. I like the idea of being able to customize and tweak just about ANYTHING on the phone and having all that versatility at my fingertips. This phone is would be my 1st choice if it weren't for the glare I get on the screen from the sun...

Have you seen the Samsung Galaxy Note or the Motorola Razr?

 

[FNfal]

I am pretty useless with typing on a touch screen ,but now i have a galaxy S2 the keyboard on the touch screen is quite big so it is no problem and the phone is awesome razr has a similar size screen
go in to one of the stores and try the phones you like out

 

[Elimentals]

Personally hate the default touchscreen keyboards that come standard.

Use to think iPhone's implementation was the best, even with the blinders in my typeing it was better than the default Android keyboards. Well that was untill I started using Swipe like keyboard called Touchpal. There are other as well like Slide IT but for me this one was my 1st and for some reason I just fell in love.

I guess its because it supports "blind typing" in other words the language system it use is so good that it actually "knows" what I wanted to type.

See Video Demo:
[video=youtube;74Cr8eXuKl4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74Cr8eXuKl4[/video]

I am now so bad that I can not use a physical QWERTY keyboard on Crackberry like phones as I find them way to slow.

 

[Schitzo]

Hey there! Just wanted to thank everyone for all their advice and help! I've decided to get the Motorola Razr and hope I've made a good decision.

I'm relieved to know that there are options as well as applications to change the entire keyboard layout when I text. I've managed to play with a few of them on a Samsung Galaxy Note and love them!

 

[RandomGRK]

Good choice there. You're definitely going to enjoy the phone. Just make sure you get a decent data bundle. You don't want to throttle your experience by being stingy with data.

 

[SCHUMI-4-EVA]

Flip the phone on it's side when texting?

 

[Polymathic]

I'm in a similar boat. I'm due for an upgrade since November, but I cannot decide what to get.
I've sorted narrowed my choices down to :

iPhone 4S
Samsung Galaxy II
Nokia N9

4 months ago, I had decided on going over to Blackberry, but all the recent issues I've read about have changed my mind.

Still undecided on which phone to eventually take...

IPhone Vs galaxy sII

Reasons to consider the iPhone 4S
3.5G, Apple iOS 5.0
Much more internal storage 64 GB vs 32 GB 2x more internal storage, which means more music, photos and movies
Much higher PPI screen 329 PPI vs 218 PPI More than 50% crisper display of text, images and video
Significantly newer bluetooth support 4,0 vs 3,0 Typically faster data transfer and lower power consumption connecting to other bluetooth devices
Significantly higher resolution screen 960x640 vs 800x480 60% higher resolution screen
More apps available iPhone App Store vs Android App Market The iPhone App Store has over 350 000 apps vs 270 000 (around 30% more)
Slightly smaller 58x115x9 mm vs 66x125x8 mm More than 10% smaller

Reasons to consider the Galaxy S II
3.5G, Google Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
OLED screen Super AMOLED Plus vs LCD The Galaxy S II has a OLED screen, which are generally brighter and more vivid
Much faster max data speeds HSDPA (42,2 mbps) vs HSDPA (14,4 mbps) Higher theoretical max data transfer speeds over cell networks (around 3x faster)
Much more standby time 29,6 days vs 8,3 days More than 3.5x more standby time, less frequent charging
Significantly more memory (RAM) 1024 MB vs 512 MB 2x more RAM, typically more responsive and better for multitasking
Significantly more talk time 18,3 hours vs 14 hours More than 30% more talk time per battery charge
Significantly faster processor Unknown, 1200 MHz vs Apple A5, 800 MHz More powerful processor, snappier and more responsive (50% faster)
Larger screen 4,3" vs 3,5" More than 40% larger screen
Lighter 116 g vs 140 g Around 20% lighter
Slightly thinner 8 mm vs 9 mm Around 10% thinner

Iphone vs N9

Reasons to consider the iPhone 4S
3.5G, Apple iOS 5.0
Much more internal storage 64 GB vs 16 GB 4x more internal storage, which means more music, photos and movies
Much newer bluetooth support 4,0 vs 2,1 Typically faster data transfer and lower power consumption connecting to other bluetooth devices
Runs multiple apps at once Yes vs No Switch between running apps, surf the web while talking on skype for example
Higher resolution movies 1080p @ 30fps vs 720p @ 30fps Shoots higher resolution Full HD (1080p) video
Includes the iPhone App Store iPhone App Store vs None Includes the iPhone App Store app store, making it easy to add new games and programs
Significantly higher PPI screen 329 PPI vs 251 PPI More than 30% crisper display of text, images and video
Significantly higher resolution screen 960x640 vs 854x480 Around 50% higher resolution screen
More talk time 14 hours vs 11 hours Around 30% more talk time per battery charge
Thinner 9 mm vs 12 mm More than 20% thinner
Smaller 58x115x9 mm vs 61x116x12 mm Around 30% smaller

Reasons to consider the N9
3.5G, MeeGo MeeGo 1.0
OLED screen AMOLED vs LCD The N9 has a OLED screen, which are generally brighter and more vivid
Significantly more memory (RAM) 1024 MB vs 512 MB 2x more RAM, typically more responsive and better for multitasking
More standby time 16 days vs 8,3 days More than 90% more standby time, less frequent charging
Faster processor ARM Cortex-A8, 1000 MHz vs Apple A5, 800 MHz More powerful processor, snappier and more responsive (around 30% faster)
Slightly larger screen 3,9" vs 3,5" More than 10% larger screen

Galaxy s2 vs N9
Reasons to consider the N9
3.5G, MeeGo MeeGo 1.0
Higher PPI screen 251 PPI vs 218 PPI Around 20% crisper display of text, images and video
Slightly higher resolution screen 854x480 vs 800x480 Around 10% higher resolution screen

Reasons to consider the Galaxy S II
3.5G, Google Android 2.3 (Gingerbread)
Super AMOLED Plus Super AMOLED Plus vs AMOLED The Galaxy S II has a Super AMOLED Plus screen, which are clearer, thinner, and use less energy
Much faster max data speeds HSDPA (42,2 mbps) vs HSDPA (14,4 mbps) Higher theoretical max data transfer speeds over cell networks (around 3x faster)
Much more talk time 18,3 hours vs 11 hours Around 70% more talk time per battery charge
Runs multiple apps at once Yes vs No Switch between running apps, surf the web while talking on skype for example
Higher resolution movies 1080p @ 30fps vs 720p @ 30fps Shoots higher resolution Full HD (1080p) video
Includes the Android App Market Android App Market vs None Includes the Android App Market app store, making it easy to add new games and programs
Significantly more internal storage 32 GB vs 16 GB 2x more internal storage, which means more music, photos and movies
Significantly more standby time 29,6 days vs 16 days More than 80% more standby time, less frequent charging
Significantly newer bluetooth support 3,0 vs 2,1 Typically faster data transfer and lower power consumption connecting to other bluetooth devices
Thinner 8 mm vs 12 mm Around 30% thinner
Faster processor Unknown, 1200 MHz vs ARM Cortex-A8, 1000 MHz More powerful processor, snappier and more responsive (20% faster)
Slightly larger screen 4,3" vs 3,9" More than 20% larger screen
Slightly smaller 66x125x8 mm vs 61x116x12 mm Around 20% smaller
Slightly lighter 116 g vs 135 g More than 10% lighter

http://www.compare-cellphones.org

 

[Speedster]

I've been using Swype since it first launched (back then on my HTC Touch Diamond 2) and love it. It really works well - much better than any other touch keyboard I've tried.

 

[Sly21C]

I'm tired of my current BlackBerry 8520 phone, browsing the internet is a pain since it is slow to load pages.

In about 6 months time I'm planning to buy a phone that has iPad capabilities. I want a phone that will allow me to read a book with ease. A phone that will allow me to surf the net with ease. iPhone 4S seems like the phone to go for, I'm wondering though if I shouldn't wait a year or so in case a newer iPhone product is released?

 

[Speedster]

I'm tired of my current BlackBerry 8520 phone, browsing the internet is a pain since it is slow to load pages.

In about 6 months time I'm planning to buy a phone that has iPad capabilities. I want a phone that will allow me to read a book with ease. A phone that will allow me to surf the net with ease. iPhone 4S seems like the phone to go for, I'm wondering though if I shouldn't wait a year or so in case a newer iPhone product is released?

Once you get into that cycle you'll never buy a phone because there is always a newer, better one just around the corner. If you're looking at an iPhone have a look at the macrumors.com buyers guide. They have some pretty useful advice as to the timing of one's purchase.