vB Easy Archive - Opinions - iPhone or unbranded K850...

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Opinions - iPhone or unbranded K850...
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Posted by: Lizard 1

Alright. I'm pissed AT&T is waiting until March for the K850 release. My contract is up at the end of the month and I need to get my wife a new phone and was going to get one for me, as well.

I really like the asthetics of the iPhone, but I really don't give a whole lot of worth to getting on the internet and listening to music with my phone. I have a Touch so, maybe I'd rid myself of that and go solo with phone and iPod capabilities in one package...

The K850 is a great sounding phone as an upgrade to my W810. I really like SE's operation system and how it works. It would be an easy switch over to the K850 in terms of ease to adapt. I like taking pics with my phone for not only work, but for fun, as well and obviously, that 5mp camera has me intrigued...

Here's the spin. I live in a rural area and my cell phone is used more than my home phone. I travel extensively for work and am in remote areas a LOT. I need a phone that can get the same signal strength as what I have with my W810. My concern over the K850 is that it does state 3G and the quad bands used here.

My question is will the K850 provide me with AT WORSE equal signal and performance as my W810. If I am going to pay this much for either phone, I'll learn to use internet and certainly email stuff, but will the K850 do what I need it to do? I know the iPhone will as it has been around and is an AT&T branded set-up.

I am just worried about dumping money into a phone that could essentially be a great looking paperweight and I having to use my W810 more than the K850...

Both are in the $400 area I am willing to pay for a phone so, it is essentially which is best deal...

Don't give me gizmo type responses. I want the following in order of importance:

1) Signal strength and high percentage of use. Same at WORSE as my W810.

2) 3G for the K850 - works well in the US market? Not going to have connection issues being it isn't a US based phone even though it has 3G capabilities and Quad band...

3) Internet and email capable. Needs these both to be useful and easy to use - no issues with connection and having to find a solid signal/area of use.

That's seemingly it. The camera and use of the phone as a phone is no worries to me - I can find pros and cons for each...

Posted by: zerilos

Go with the K850 and don't look back, the difference between EDGE and HSDPA data speeds is like night and day.

Reception on SE phones are pretty much the same all around, and there's really no reason to be scared of an unlocked phone not working well. You can easily confirm that the K850 has quadband GSM and triband HSDPA (that means YES, it has US 3G), so no worries there.

I'd suggest looking at the ATT 3G deployment forum and check out the maps to confirm if your rural location is covered.

Posted by: scaredpoet

Quote:

Originally Posted by zerilos

Go with the K850 and don't look back, the difference between EDGE and HSDPA data speeds is like night and day.

The OP said he's in a rural area, which means he's likely on EDGE and will be for some time. WiFi, however, can beat HSDPA hands down, and if he has WiFi access, the iPhone can take advantage of that. He can also buy music through the WiFi connection.

Posted by: Lizard 1

Quote:

Originally Posted by scaredpoet

I'm only rural when at home... I'd use our broadband for internet and such.

For traveling, I am rarely staying outside a major city so, I suspect that won't be an overall issue.

I just want to feel secure knowing the K850 will act no worse than my W810 where I am right now...

Posted by: tjmonkey15

The nice thing about getting the K850 is that lets you get some free phone from your AT&T upgrade, then you can sell that to get some of the $$$ back you spent on the Sony.

Just a thought. I've never used either phone though, so I'm no help there

Posted by: zerilos

On that note, I'd suggest picking up a Tilt, unlocking, and selling to recoup some of the costs. That's what I'm planning on doing with my next phone upgrade.

Unless of course you decide to keep the Tilt... and just out of curiosity, have you also considered that phone as an option?

Posted by: Lizard 1

Quote:

Originally Posted by zerilos

On that note, I'd suggest picking up a Tilt, unlocking, and selling to recoup some of the costs. That's what I'm planning on doing with my next phone upgrade.

Unless of course you decide to keep the Tilt... and just out of curiosity, have you also considered that phone as an option?

Nah, too bulky and cumbersome to me...