google friendly phone

March 22, 2006 8:57 AM

new cellphone that runs gmail and google maps?

hi- i need a new phone, that does:

1. gmail
2. google maps (google local)
3. isn't a blackberry (too expensive)

any recommendations?

my friend has an Audiovox SMT-5600 which i like and meets these requirements, but i'd have to buy it on ebay and get a new plan separately, etc. (is this route no big deal?)

thanks, AskMeFi!

posted by cgs to Technology (12 answers total)

V330 does all these, as will most Java/Symbian phones (Nokia 6620, etc.)
posted by kcm at 9:03 AM on March 22, 2006

Any phone with a working web browser should be able to access GMail Mobile
posted by blue_beetle at 9:04 AM on March 22, 2006

Mobile gmail (http://m.gmail.com, IIRC) works with most phones, so I think #1 is pretty easy to achieve...
posted by unixrat at 9:07 AM on March 22, 2006

Google Local is available for almost all java phones. Mobile gmail works on my old school Sanyo 8100, too. My Sanyo 8100 is not a blackberry :-)
posted by twiggy at 9:31 AM on March 22, 2006

Google Local just requires j2me (mobile java). Many phones will support that too.
posted by reverendX at 9:32 AM on March 22, 2006

Just go to your GMail settings. Set your mail to forward to "(yournumber)@cingularme.com. All your gMail will now be sent to you as a text message.
posted by sourwookie at 9:40 AM on March 22, 2006

Crap. Why did I assume you used Cingular? Somewhere on Google sevices they have a list of all forwarding addresses for all cell providers.
posted by sourwookie at 9:41 AM on March 22, 2006

Response by poster: ok...does anyone own a j2me phone that they like? google local is definitely the bottleneck on this one...
posted by cgs at 9:42 AM on March 22, 2006

Opera seems to be the market leader when it comes to mobile browsing. They actually run your pages through their server, and compress the images and layout to fit your small screen.

Here is a list of phones with j2me.

Here is demo of what it will look like on your phone. Try it on google maps. Looks like it might kind of work, as long as you don't need to click the map.

If you need google maps, you might want to go for a phone with a larger than average display. Also see this list of phones that support more advanced browsers.

Wow this post was really Opera-centric. They should hire me for stuff like this.
posted by cheerleaders_to_your_funeral at 10:12 AM on March 22, 2006

Google mobile is notoriously picky about which phones it will run on. In theory, all Series 60 / Symbian phones should be able to run it via the built in browser, but it either times out or hangs on an error. Even Opera Mini (which is SUPERB by the way) can't get to it.... UNLESS you go to the regular Gmail page and log in first. Kind of silly when Opera Mini makes the main Gmail page eminently usable.

I haven't tried Google Maps with it though. At the very least, I'm guessing you wouldn't be able to scroll the map easily.
posted by coach_mcguirk at 1:28 PM on March 22, 2006

Response by poster: thanks for your suggestions, everyone....cheerleaders - i found the motorola slivr on that list of j2me phones, but then it isn't on google local's list of phones.

i wonder if it will become available on the slivr as time goes by...
posted by cgs at 7:16 AM on March 23, 2006

The only mobile phone browser that will run Google Maps (and other AJAX apps) is Minimo, which will only run on Windows Mobile devices.
posted by exhilaration at 9:45 AM on March 23, 2006