What cell phone to buy ??

[PongoUSA]

I know, I know, this thread has been here quite a few times, but technology and cell phones change so quickly nowadays, I thought, I would ask it again

My contract is up for renewal in early October, so I'm totally free to choose any carrier and phone on the market. I would love to have the phone on the bike, for several things , not for using it to make or receive calls !

What I would love to do : use it for streaming music ( spotify ), use it as GPS and weather radar, use it as tracking device ( maybe in connection with SPOT connect ), have a decent camera ( as backup ). Would love a rugged construction, maybe even water resistant, big screen. Battery live is not that important, I'll hook it up to the bike.

Does anybody have any recommandations or, even better, experiences, good or bad ? Would love to hear from you

Any advice is appreciated, Thanks !!

[Darth Lefty]

I have an iPhone. When it worked, I loved it, but it's an old model and not being supported. I'd get the very hottest and latest thing so you don't need to swap it out for three or four years.

There's supposed to be a new iPhone coming out later this or early next month. I'm going to wait and see whether it has actual 4G before biting down. If it doesn't I'm going to go explore the Droid world.

[CRASH]

Personal experience

Best Carrier - Verizon

I have chosen an Android 2 as my phone. I like it a lot, but it has a shortish battery life and it will lock up occasionally. I have tracked the lock ups to different apps I have had. It has a full keyboard which is a priority for me since I use it for e-mails and business apps a lot. Not all that rugged ... I will be looking for something similar myself soon.

As for the "SPOT" thing ... there is a software app available that is available that allows live on line GPS tracking - http://www.instamapper.com/. Oh, it is free too. The drawback here is that it can only send info when there is a cell signal. It dropped out in a few places on HWY 50 last time I was there but overall is a pretty good app but turning on the GPS feature on these phones sucks the battery to death. I have wired my phone for bike power when riding to mitigate this problem. I will show you what I am using next week when we ride.

[mr,spliff]

Motorola Atrix was my choice, and I would still choose it today!
It IS somewhat waterresistant, large touchscreen, Android powered phone. The battery life does suck, (even moreso with GPS, Bluetooth and apps running), but it does so much more than just a phone, and can make calls too!

The Bluetooth audio streaming, and GPS are the main thing I LOVE about the phone, plus all the nifty apps that you can download, customize and use. However, it's also AT&T, at least that's my service.

I use a few different GPS apps for tracking and ride recording, I have my gmail account linked in so I can make a map on maps.google.com and save to my gmail account, and anywhere with cell signal I can load up maps and choose from any of my saved maps (even download if needed outside of cell range). The camera on it is GREAT, plus it has a flash, and you can even use the flash as a flashlight with an added app, great for inside tents or searching for a dropped key at night. I also think it's the sturdiest phone I"ve owned... as I've broken 2 HTC phones after drops, 1 flip LG phone, and I've had an iPhone screen crack on me, I'm just a rough player and always have my phone on me! THe atrix has 'been down' probably about 4 times, HARD... Only once did I need to reboot it after a drop

I did get the USB Powerlet for my bike, and have recently picked up the custom travel mount for the phone but havn't mounted it to the bike yet (project in the works).

[packnrat]

sadly ALL of the new phones and smart phones do not have a external connection for better reception.

so getting out of any city will be hit and way too many misses.

do not get in with at&t as they do not care about there cell service only the tv junk.

and i still have a 3G iphone works great as a phone, gps, and map program, slow for the web or e-mails. camera is good enough for me. and more features then i have even used.

it has ;lasted longer then the life it was programed to have. but when it dies i am dumping at&t for verizon.

i phone is coming out with the 5g soon. so save the cash and avoid the 4g.
droid is not locked into just one carrier or computer support. and some of the "lesser" carriers are coming out with smart phones of there own...soon...in two weeks..yea right....

till the cell carriers improve there services outside of a city (except fresno for at&t as large no service areas with in the city limits) it will be very spotty.

[cywelchjr]

Originally Posted by packnrat

i phone is coming out with the 5g soon. so save the cash and avoid the 4g.

I just want to clarify what looks from what your writing might be a common misconception. There IS no 4g iPhone. The model names of some of the iPhones are misleading, mainly because the second model had the technology in the model name as in the iPhone 3g, but the iPhone4 is not 4g it's just a 3g phone. The iPhone 5 MIGHT be 4g, but nobody knows yet, but it certainly won't be 5g since there is no such thing (I would however expect the iPhone5 to be 4g or Apple is really missing the boat here).

But clarifying, there isn't even a phone called a iphone 4g it's just the iphone4 and the next will supposedly be the iphone5, no g in there, only the 3g and 3gs had that in there.

[Law Dawg (ret)]

I'd trade all the bells and whistles (email, camera, fill in the blank) for a robust (water proof, shock proof) phone with long battery life and killer transmit/receive ability. Want my phone to make/take calls, have an address function, and record missed calls...and that's it. Sort of a G-Shock watch type phone but even more simple than the watch...satellite would be GREAT but who can afford that?

That said, I am resisting the urge to get the Droid next time. I have used AT&T and Verizon and Verizon knocks AT&T off the road into the ditch for cell service.

[lakemaker]

I got my first cel phone back in ancient times... brick Motorola and Pactel Cellular service. That brick cost me $3000... business expense, you see.

I just bought my first iphone with Verizon service... IMHO it's the best.

Good luck.

[Helmetdance]

I agree Verizon is the best and thats not saying much because I think their performance is terrible. I live about 1/2 mile from the closest cell tower, and I can't even use the cell phone in my house without most calls being dropped. I am thinking of going back to the days of no cell phone at all. People lived without them for centuries, why all of a sudden are they worth spending $100, 200 or more in a month? That's ludicrous. We're all brainwashed. Given the number of years cell phones have been around, the absolutely pathetic marginal performance of the cell system, exhorbitant rates, is all a testament to corporate greed. I would be happy to see all Americans pick a day and toss them all in unison. That would either prompt the providers to improve the system, or go extinct. Personally, I'm OK with either one. My GMC pickup has a built in satellite phone, the performance is far beyond a cell phone, and all minutes are the same price, whether I call local or overseas, and all calls sound like next door.

My vote, get a satellite phone.

And where's a smiley that looks like a ray of sunshine when you feel like one.

[CRASH]

Originally Posted by lakemaker

I got my first cel phone back in ancient times... brick Motorola and Pactel Cellular service. That brick cost me $3000... business expense, you see.

Same and it was still a better phone with better clarity and reception than any phone i have ever had since. The size of a lunch box you could plug a fax into it and a little later a modem (9600 baud I think at the time - smokin fast ) for the computer. I miss that phone for it's clarity and reception.