Help me pick the right cell phone!

May 30, 2008 5:23 PM

Please help me choose a new cell phone, I need to replace a broken phone. Details-My plan is Verizon, I have no desire to change providers. I'm eligible for the "every two years" upgrade. I use a Mac (OS 10.4). I would like the phone to have the following features: small as possible, qwerty keyboard (screen or hardware), web access (email, weather, news), can sync contacts and calendar with my mac. I DON'T need a camera (still or video), or mp3 player. And, of course, I want to spend as little as possible.

I've been cruising the Verizon site and reading reviews for about a week, and can't determine what is going to be the best phone for me...

posted by HuronBob to Technology (10 answers total)

I know several people who use Blackberry Pearls, and have been very happy with those features. It's not exceptionally small, but otherwise meets your requirements. Sync to OS X with either PocketMac or Missing Sync.

I've a BB8800 myself which I use for everything you describe.
posted by NucleophilicAttack at 5:39 PM on May 30, 2008

Best answer: Phone Finder
posted by rhizome at 5:42 PM on May 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

You may find in the very near future that there's a load of used and refurbished iPhones on the market, what with the new models expected June 9. Obviously I can't say what they'll be sellnig for, but if the new models cost the same as the old, I'd expect a deep discount. Idon't follow the iPhone rumor mill very closely, but it seems to be hinting at Apple's opening-up the market beyond its heretofore exclusive deals with a single-carrier per country. So, you mightn't even need to jailbreak the iPhone to work with Verizon. Yes, it will feature an extraneous camera and mp3 playing capability, but you don't have to use them, and it would most definitely integrate with your Mac-based mail, ical, address book, etc.
posted by mumkin at 7:29 PM on May 30, 2008

The iPhone in its current state won't work with Verizon, since Verizon uses CDMA, not GSM.

I'm very happy with my Samsung i760 on Verizon. It's not all that small, but it has a very nice keyboard and decent web access. And, it can sync contacts and calendar with whatever you have, with the addition of third-party software. Web access requires a data plan, though, which isn't especially cheap.
posted by me & my monkey at 7:34 PM on May 30, 2008

If you're near a store, you can "try out" a few models and get a better sense of what you like as far as size, keyboard, etc. I did my "new every two" deal in-store and avoided blindly choosing something online. The service was great.
posted by desjardins at 8:25 PM on May 30, 2008

I recommend LG phones. All the others strike me as crap from a quality standpoint.
posted by BrooklynCouch at 9:35 PM on May 30, 2008

Does Verizon still sell the Blackberry 8703e? I'm a Mac user and I love this phone. In fact, I'm typing on it right now. It doesn't offer fun stuff like a camera or mp3/video playback, but it's rock solid and has a full qwerty keyboard.
posted by 4ster at 11:56 PM on May 30, 2008

I would look at a Blackberry because of the OS X sync requirement. Otherwise, I would try the LG eNV2, which has a nice qwerty keyboard, mobile web, and doesn't require a spleen-gouging Verizon data plan.
posted by selfnoise at 10:29 AM on May 31, 2008

Unless you get one of Verizon's Palm Ddvices (there's a Palm Desktop for Mac that syncs with your phone right out of the box - but with itself, not iCal, Address book, etc.) your options for syncing data with a non-apple device are going to be limited to what works with The Missing Sync, a third-party program that acts as a bridge between the Mac and the device. (Or PocketMac if you've got a PocketPC.) Most home and workplace computers are Windows, so most phones are built to sync with Windows. Sigh. I've got a Mac, Missing Sync, and a WM6 smartphone, and I get about 75% of what I want out off the arrangement. YMMV.
Blackberries seem to do well with it, but most models are not that small. Your best bet might be a BB Pearl. (Or a Palm OS device, which also wont be that small until Verizon offers the Centro in your area - but it will work right out of the box as far as syncing with a Mac (and with a windows PC too - I used to sync a palm with windows at work and mac at home and I don't know why I thought something else would work better, 'cause I haven't found it yet.)
posted by bartleby at 5:48 PM on May 31, 2008

Response by poster: thanks all for the feedback..

I actually ended up with an Lg env2... syncing contacts via bluetooth manually, calendar, not yet but hoping that bitpim will update and let me do it soon..

and, it's a nifty little texting phone...if anyone is interested....
posted by HuronBob at 2:04 PM on June 8, 2008