Help me get started looking for a new Smartphone with Bell Canada.
August 14, 2011 12:54 PM   Subscribe

My Palm Pre recently gave up the ghost 2 years into a 3 year contract with Bell Canada. I'd like to get a new Android phone with a good physical keyboard and a touchscreen. I'm not looking for specific phone suggestions, but places to do research: How do I know what models will work with bell, can I buy them away from bell and then use them with my existing plan, what sites have reliable reviews and what are just churning them out for a quick turnover.

My Palm Pre recently gave up the ghost 2 years into a 3 year contract with Bell Canada. I'd like to get a new Android phone with a good physical keyboard and a touchscreen. I'm not looking for specific phone suggestions, but places to do research: How do I know what models will work with bell, can I buy them away from bell and then use them with my existing plan, what sites have reliable reviews and what are just churning them out for a quick turnover.

The main thing out of that if finding out what phones Bell supports. Once I have that I can google the rest to my hearts content.

With computers I'm not bad, but phones are confusing: The same models are not on all carriers, and are slightly different when they move between networks. I only got my Pre as I loved my Palm Pilot back in the day, read some reviews and I had a 6 year old Bell feature phone that was dying anyway.

I hope this isn't a horribly wasteful question, but I'm finding information on Canadian carriers. Some blog articles, but all focus on one or two models, and Some of the information conflicts.
posted by Canageek to Technology (9 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I switched from Palm to an HTC Evo Shift. Very happy.
posted by k8t at 1:23 PM on August 14, 2011


6 years? Wow. I usually go by Engadget and Gizmodo for reviews- these often will reference sister phones on other networks, as, you're right- the models can get overwhelming.
posted by tremspeed at 1:34 PM on August 14, 2011


Best answer: I had a Palm Pre that i LOVED (until it got bogged down and slow) and after searching for a replacement Android with a physical keyboard, and couldn't find one that seemed like a great option. I ended up going with the Motorola Atrix, and while i really miss the Pre's multi-tasking and the intuitive OS and consistency in functionality from app to app, i'm surprised to find that i don't miss the physical keyboard. So you might want to consider looking at phones without the keyboard.

Also, in case you're looking for a non-bell phone because of the contract issue, you should know that you qualify to upgrade your phone after 18 months. So as long as you're willing to extend your relationship with Bell another three years, there's no reason why couldn't get a phone directly from Bell at the discounted 'with contract' price, without any penalties.
posted by Kololo at 1:41 PM on August 14, 2011 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: That is god to know about the upgrade: It has been about two years, so I could upgrade my phone and get that price. I'm not sure about extending my contract though, as I'm on a student plan that is no longer offered.
posted by Canageek at 1:55 PM on August 14, 2011


Here in the US, the easiest way to get a new phone and make sure it will work with your existing carrier without a new contract is to buy one of the carriers prepaid phones and slide in your SIM card. These are usually cheaper than the regular phones. Not clear on Bell's site which phones are specific to their prepaid service.
posted by Yorrick at 2:24 PM on August 14, 2011


You basically have two options:

- Buy a phone from Bell (which will be locked to Bell) or

- Buy an unlocked phone or a phone locked to a different carrier and then get it unlocked

Any phone that works with Rogers, Fido, or Telus will work with Bell once it's unlocked. The only (unlocked) phones that won't work on any of those networks are the ones configured for Wind, PublicMobile, and Mobilicity. The difference is the frequency the phone works on. From here:

- Your device must be compatible - it must be HSPA (or UMTS) and 850 MHz and 1900 MHz compatible.
- If your device is currently locked, it needs to be unlocked.

Now as to specifics, I recently switched to Android (from iOS) and love it. I have had two phones, both of which have been Bell phones that I've had unlocked to work with Fido.

My first phone was an HTC Desire Z, which has a physical keyboard. It was an excellent phone but I found myself NOT using the physical keyboard and was therefore lugging around extra bulk. I recently upgraded to an HTC Sensation, which is awesome (though the battery doesn't last a super long time). It is very fast, light, stylish, and runs the latest version of Android.

Both phones are made for Bell's networks and are available from them. However, I bought both of mine off Craigslist, unlocked, for considerably less than they sell for new and contract-free.

I think that if you go for one of the larger-screen phones (like the Sensation, Atrix, or Galaxy S II), you'll find the screen sufficiently big and won't need an external keyboard. The weight you save is very noticeable, imo.

I would do the research you think you need to do and then just search for the phone you've decided on Craigslist and Kijiji. For reviews, I go to Youtube (search for the make/model) or AndroidPolice.com.
posted by dobbs at 2:44 PM on August 14, 2011


Oh, one issue I had is that my unlocked phone would only work when I had WiFi (even the phone part). What was happening is that because it was locked to Bell initially and then unlocked and being used on Fido is that the phone didn't know Fido's APNs. I googled them and punched them into the phone manually. The phone worked perfectly from then on.

So, if you have that issue with an unlocked phone, you basically just need Bell's APNs.
posted by dobbs at 2:46 PM on August 14, 2011


To echo dobbs' point: try a phone without a physical keyboard. You may find that you can live with it. It does make the phone much lighter and thinner. I'd been a BB user for years primarily for the keyboards. I recently switched to a keyboardless Android (Nexus S) and wish I had done so sooner.
posted by bonehead at 8:12 AM on August 15, 2011


Response by poster: I got a Motorola XT8600, the Canadian version of the droid 3. I've tries the touch keyboard, but really don't like it, so I am very glad I got a nice hardware keyboard. Thanks for your help, even if you did ignore my main requirement.
posted by Canageek at 2:08 PM on September 8, 2011


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