vB Easy Archive - Looking for the Best Smartphone

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Looking for the Best Smartphone
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Posted by: stlouie65

I'm currently using the MIO 8390 and not really impressed with it due to it loosing service just about any place I am. I'm looking to replace this phone immediately with a smartphone with great reception. Any suggestions?

Posted by: markgamber

The problem with the 8390 isn't reception, it's a crap connection to the sim chip. Try cleaning the contacts on the chip and in the phone and see if that helps. Also, try putting a small piece of paper or something on the sim, between the chip and battery, before replacing the battery. Granted, the 8390 has turned out to be a real piece of unsupported sh*t and I feel as though I may as well have flushed $500, but I don't think there is a windows smartphone available right now that doesn't have a larger list of serious problems than I'd care to put up with. I replaced my 8390 with a sonyericsson but I didn't have to pay for the SE and I still use the 8390 for development. If a couple cheesy fixes make the phone usable again, why throw good money after bad?

Posted by: aristoBrat

I agree w/ Mark -- fix your current phone if you can.

If not, I'm getting excellent RF reception with the SMT 5600.

The RF signal bars read low -- i.e. it shows zero bars in my house, which is in a low signal area, but my last Smartphone (SPV e100) always showed 1-2 bars in the same spots -- but the phone hangs on to calls like my Nokia 3650 does.

Posted by: daftpunk

I too get great reception with my imate SP3 which is just a variant name for the ATT branded 5600

Posted by: DJ E-Bam

I love my 5600.

IMHO, the MPx220 is a flimsy POS with issues that make it difficult to use.

I haven't found a single thing wrong with my 5600.....except for the lack of native voice recog.

Posted by: MotoBlowz

I agree....the 220 sucks. I have had the Nokia 6620 (really liked it and it's RF) and I now have the Ericsson P910a and it's my favorite phone I've owned to date.

Moto

Posted by: aristoBrat

Unfortunately for flip-phone lovers, the 220 is the only flip WM Smartphone released in the US.

It has the potential of being a great phone. Hopefully Moto will fix the issues with a new ROM... quickly...

Posted by: sclui56

It's really hard to label something as the "best" as we all have different requirements as well as expectation.

As far as current MS SP goes, I have 3 samples here with me (oops, the 220 is @ Moto right now) - Voq A11, SMT-5600, and the absent MPx220.

If you want an excellent flip out KB (better than Treo's), and you don't need cam or B/T, definitely go with the Voq, solid feel and great RF performance. And the bonus is that it uses standard SD card. The unique shape actually fits best in my hand.

SMT-5600 - Solid all around, slightly less effective in the RF department, but a very well put-together handset.

MPx220 - could be comparable to the 5600, but as you know, the camera sucks, and the in-call volume has plenty people pissed. I would expect the volume issue solved via F/W flash, but the camera is more a H/W deficiency.

The Voq is SIM/App unlocked, and at least the version of MPx220 I bought from Best Buy is the same, and the SMT-5600 will set you back additional $ if you want it SIM/App unlocked (around $40).

The Voq & 5600 are NA Tri-band 850/1800/1900 while the MPx220 is quad, if that matters.

All 3 phones are fairly easy to come by and the RF in SoCal has been doing well, no worse or better than other GSM handsets IMHO.

Posted by: dumwaldo

Quote:

Originally posted by aristoBrat
Unfortunately for flip-phone lovers, the 220 is the only flip WM Smartphone released in the US.

no it is not. the samsung i600 is also available.

if you can live without a camera the i600 also happens to be an excellent smartphone. as a matter of fact, in my opinion, the i600 is the best smartphone available in the united states.

the phone is nothing exceptional itself but the network it rides on makes up for all other shortcomings. lets face it, a windows mobile smartphone is for mobile internet. so doesn't it only make sense to go to the best network for data? GSM based GPRS is all right i guess if you don't mind the sub dial up speeds but at an average of 3 times faster it just makes a whole lot more sense to me to be on a CDMA network.

in america that would be sprint or verizon. well look at the phone lineups on both carriers and you will find the samsung i600. i use sprint because i do not need to use the phone as a modem and i think the pricing of sprints internet is more reasonable than verizon.

just something to think about.

peace out,
dumwaldo

Posted by: aristoBrat

A few more things to think about:

The i600 runs Windows Mobile 2003, not Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition like the MPx220 and SMT 5600.

It's been on the market for over a year, and its DISCOUNTED price is still near $500, 2x more than the MPx220 and SMT 5600.

The lack of a camera is a huge deal breaker for some business folks, like retailers and relators, although a huge bonus for people who can't have camera phones for security reasons.

The lack of BLUETOOTH on a ~$500 phone is unacceptable. Period. BlueTooth headsets are rapidly becoming the standard.

The phone is dual-mode digital only. IT CAN'T USE SPRINTS OR VERIZONS ANALOG NETWORKS which make up a huge part of their coverage.

I owned the i600 for 13 days when it came out last year. The only thing I found CDMA useful for was streaming audio/video. Loading web pages wasn't significantly faster than on my GPRS phone.

You're correct that Sprint has the best deal for data. How much is Vision? $15? Unfortunately, Verizon's cheapest unlimited data plan for a phone is $45.00

Anyhow, I thought it was a good phone for its time, but was very dissappointed to see that when it was introduced on Sprint a few months ago, nothing was new.

Posted by: dumwaldo

Quote:

Originally posted by aristoBrat
The i600 runs Windows Mobile 2003, not Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition like the MPx220 and SMT 5600.

so what can SE do that the first edition can't?

Quote:

Originally posted by aristoBrat
It's been on the market for over a year, and its DISCOUNTED price is still near $500, 2x more than the MPx220 and SMT 5600.

if you are going to take that into account you should also take into account the fact that the i600 comes with an extended battery, desktop cradle, leather carry case and stereo earbuds that the 220 does not come with but i am not sure about the 5600.

Quote:

Originally posted by aristoBrat
The phone is dual-mode digital only. IT CAN'T USE SPRINTS OR VERIZONS ANALOG NETWORKS which make up a huge part of their coverage.

huh? maybe if you area farmer in iowa

Quote:

Originally posted by aristoBrat
Anyhow, I thought it was a good phone for its time, but was very dissappointed to see that when it was introduced on Sprint a few months ago, nothing was new.

actually prior to the sprint release the phone ran windows mobile for smartphone 2002. sprint released it with WMSP 2003 and at the same time verizon offered an upgrade for existing customers.

it is kinda funny how earlier you made a point to mention that the mpx220 has a newer revision of the same OS but when the entire edition of the OS changes you characterize it as 'nothing new'.

i mentioned in my first post about no camera so i won't even go into that but the bluetooth issue i was lax in not mentioning. this is because most people are insterested in bluetooth for tethering and as i indicated before i don't need this functionality. for the purpose of a hands free headset, have you seen this product? http://www.jabra.com/products/FreeS...onBluetooth.htm

peace out,
dumwaldo

Posted by: iJITSU

As I've had the mpx200, SCH I600, mpx220, and SMT5600, I'll put my vote in for the SMT5600. By far the best MS smartphone I've had (The Nokia 6620 is right there with the 5600 if you are considering other OS smartphones). Small form factor, great audio playback, OK camera, stable, excellent construction and design. I liked the mpx200 and I600, but they froze consistently and had relatively poor battery life. I've found both the mpx220 and SMT5600 to be improvements in stability and speed, but the 220 had the volume issue and the screen just seemed cramped (although that may have been an optical illusion). But I'd make my decision based largely on what carrier I had (assuming I was happy with them). If I had Sprint or Verizon, I'd go with the Samsung. If I had a GSM carrier, I'd go with an unlocked SMT5600 (assuming that only Microsoft OS-based smartphones were being considered).

Posted by: chiapete

I just got the smt 5600 and I was very impressed with its battery life after owning the mpx200 . I haven't had to recharge it for 2 days.... which is amazing compared to my 20 hours on the mpx 200. But all of you guys with the mpx 220 how was battery life on that?

Posted by: jhebert

OK, lots of info on this page, but the only option i saw available for me was the MpX220, because it works on the 850 network, anyone know which other smartphones (if any) work on the 850?

and i read all of these lines saying how horrible it is, but no real specifics, can anyone tell me them? if they aren't big issues i may snag an unlocked one offa ebay..

Posted by: aristoBrat

SMT 5600 also supports 850mhz.

If you're not up-to-date on the MPx220 issues (and hopeful fix coming out), you'd be doing yourself a favor to go through one of the many threads on here about it.

Then you'll know if you should buy a box with an Orange sticker on the side, or a Black sticker.

OTOH, someone posted a "advanced copy" of a Best Buy "Black Friday" ad that showed MPx220's for $50 (after rebate) for new Cingular subscribers. For that cheap, I'd deal w/ the issues (esp. nice Moto appears to be working them out)

Posted by: jhebert

as a best buy employee, i gotta tell you, dont trust it, the advanced ads get changed a thousand times before black friday, and a $500 phone for $50? get real :P