The best or the most convenient phone?

September 10, 2007 4:58 PM

Should I keep my super cool cellphone and crappy provider or switch to something much more convenient?

This is going to sound kind of silly, but I have until tomorrow night to decide, I am completely unable to make up my mind, and this will be a major expenditure for me over the next 3 years. So, logically, I'll let strangers help me decide.

So I got a cell phone (a Sony Ericsson k790). I decided to go with Rogers (who are more expensive than everyone else here) simply because they were the only people with this phone.
I chose the phone because it is the best camera phone anyone around had (3.2 MPs - remember this is Canada guys) and the internet says good things about the phone. And I absolutely love it - except for one thing: it is huge. Not exactly 90s brick phone huge, but large enough that is doesn't really fit in my pocket (I'm skinny). I've thought about carrying it around in my bag, but I can't hear or feel it that way, and I've already scratched it doing that. I don't have a landline, as I'm on the go all day.

I can either put up with the phone I really like, switch to a Sony Ericsson W580 which I know will fit in my pocket.
The downside is that it's buttons are too small for me, the camera doesn't have a flash and I don't really like the interface or the fact that it is a slider. It would still be an expensive phone with an expensive monthly fee.

The third option is attempting to get out of my contract (possible, not uncommon, but up to them) and going with one of their competitors which will be ~$15 less expensive a month with a phone I dislike - considerably more so than the W580.

Or am I completely crazy to think that I could get a decent photo out of a cellphone?

posted by Ctrl_Alt_ep to technology (9 comments total)

I would lean toward sticking with your current phone if you use the camera. Camera phones aren't great, but carrying around a real camera is way bulkier and harder to manage. You can buy/make a phone cover that attaches to the outside of your bag, or to your belt if you don't mind looking dorky.
posted by anaelith at 5:19 PM on September 10, 2007

Why not get a protective case or skin for the phone? Then you could put it in your bag and it's less likely to get scratched.
posted by deinemutti at 6:15 PM on September 10, 2007

I was on a similar mission for a long time. That is, I wanted a cell phone that took Great Pictures. I searched and searched, and spent a long time looking at GSM Arena camera pictures.

And then my girlfriend bought a wee little 6 MP pocket cam for ~$220 that absolutely blows every cameraphone on the market out of the water. And it's as small as my wee little slider phone.

Cancelling your contract will cost at least as much as a quite-nice camera, and you'll still need to purchase another phone. I say buy a wee phone off ebay and buy a camera you like.
posted by TheNewWazoo at 6:22 PM on September 10, 2007

Actually, until tomorrow night, cancelling my contract is free.
posted by Ctrl_Alt_ep at 6:42 PM on September 10, 2007

Is there anybody at all who will sell you service w/ no phone, and can you get your own phone and put in a SIM? Looks like Rogers uses GSM, so could you get a 1 year contract, w/ no phone or a lowend phone and get your own unlocked phone. They get the cost of the phone covered by the contract; I'm happier getting my own phone on ebay.

I was delighted to get a no-contract deal from Unicel, and now have a quad-band sony-ericsson with FM radio that was affordable on ebay. Locked phones & contracts are a drag.
posted by theora55 at 7:17 PM on September 10, 2007

Which competitors would be cheaper? What plan do you have now? You can always negotiate with Rogers if you aren't happy with your price plan.

Here's their number: 1-877-764-3772

Give them a call and let them know that their competitors are offering a much better deal and you would like to see what they can do for you. Be very open-ended. You'll get some representatives who will be unwilling to help, if that's the case, call again.

In my experience, Rogers is open to negotiations on EVERYTHING - plans, phones, anything. Just be nice, don't demand anything, and see what happens.

Good luck!
posted by 913 at 9:56 PM on September 10, 2007

Is there anybody at all who will sell you service w/ no phone, and can you get your own phone and put in a SIM? Looks like Rogers uses GSM

That'd be my suggestion, to buy an unlocked phone. If Rogers does use the GSM SIM cards any unlocked GSM phone should work. Tigerdirect, as an example, carries quite a few unlocked phones. I've not bought one from them but I have bought other things and they're generally pretty competitive on price.
posted by 6550 at 10:20 PM on September 10, 2007

Fido also uses GSM networks. You could take your phone over there. They're owned by Rogers now anyway.
posted by loiseau at 8:22 PM on September 11, 2007

Thanks for all of the replies. I'll call Rogers and see if they can give me a deal.
For the benefit of those that may read this in the future, I had a look at Tigerdirect and similar sites and figured that they didn't have anything obviously better than Rogers. If I got an unlocked GSM phone, I'd have to go with Rogers as Fido is MIA where I live (making the plan cost issue moot). The phone I have now is $400 locked and significantly more unlocked. What I'll do is keep it and sell it - I got it for $200, so I expect to be able to resell it for at least that within a year.
posted by Ctrl_Alt_ep at 8:41 PM on September 11, 2007