Smartphone entry barriers

[Felon]

So, the mourning period for the Creative Zen WS that I lost some months ago is over. I want something that has internet access--and I mean real internet, with full support for graphical page layout--as well as a phone and multimedia player. I think the iPhone is probably the way to go, but looks like it will cost me $500 to get one unlocked (with my current plan, I'm not eligible for an upgrade for a while). And I suppose 3G internet probably ain't free, so I thought I'd ask you guys what it's going to cost me--up-front and down-the-line--to jump on this bandwagon?

[Pyrex]

iPhone is pretty pricey.

Your up-front and continuing costs will be quite a bit cheaper if you were to go with a WindowsMobile smartphone from, say, Sprint or maybe the new googlephone from TMobile.

[Felon]

Originally Posted by Pyrex

iPhone is pretty pricey.

Your up-front and continuing costs will be quite a bit cheaper if you were to go with a WindowsMobile smartphone from, say, Sprint or maybe the new googlephone from TMobile.

Yeah, I've heard some real horror stories about $1000 iPhone bills. I figured they were due to bad judgment more than anything. Still I have friends that tell me that they routinely pay $120 a month. Even putting phone and 3G internet on that bill, I still don't see what that price covers.

The Blackjack looks like a nice option. Screen is too small though.

[Rackhir]

Originally Posted by Felon

Yeah, I've heard some real horror stories about $1000 iPhone bills. I figured they were due to bad judgment more than anything. Still I have friends that tell me that they routinely pay $120 a month. Even putting phone and 3G internet on that bill, I still don't see what that price covers.

The Blackjack looks like a nice option. Screen is too small though.

You can get essentially all the capabilities of the iPhone minus the phone/3g portions (but with WiFi) in the iPod touch. It will run all the iPhone aps (minus the phone ones obviously).

The $1,000 iPhone bills were people who didn't set their phones right when they were doing overseas trips and the phones kept trying to access stuff by linking back to the US networks, which is why the bills were so outrageous. It really hasn't been an issue since the early days of the first iPhone and the default behaviors have been changed and lockouts added to prevent that sort of thing from happening.

As far as the monthly bill goes the $120 sounds like it's for one notch below the unlimited everything plan (data/text/messages). My bill runs about $84 with taxes and fees, for the basic plan (450min talk/unlimited data/no texts). But I don't do a lot of talking on the phone and with the roll over minutes I rapidly build up more than I could ever use.

The user interface is really quite slick and it does get a lot of stuff very right about making it into a mini-computer and an extremely usable phone. The 3G data speeds are a vast improvement over those for the EDGE network, but they aren't going to match a fast broadband connection like cable or FiOS.

Basically I'm quite happy with it. Battery life is the main area where it could really use some improvement, but it just means I can't go a week in between charges like I could with my old phone.

[Felon]

Originally Posted by Rackhir

You can get essentially all the capabilities of the iPhone minus the phone/3g portions (but with WiFi) in the iPod touch. It will run all the iPhone aps (minus the phone ones obviously).

The $1,000 iPhone bills were people who didn't set their phones right when they were doing overseas trips and the phones kept trying to access stuff by linking back to the US networks, which is why the bills were so outrageous. It really hasn't been an issue since the early days of the first iPhone and the default behaviors have been changed and lockouts added to prevent that sort of thing from happening.

As far as the monthly bill goes the $120 sounds like it's for one notch below the unlimited everything plan (data/text/messages). My bill runs about $84 with taxes and fees, for the basic plan (450min talk/unlimited data/no texts). But I don't do a lot of talking on the phone and with the roll over minutes I rapidly build up more than I could ever use.

The user interface is really quite slick and it does get a lot of stuff very right about making it into a mini-computer and an extremely usable phone. The 3G data speeds are a vast improvement over those for the EDGE network, but they aren't going to match a fast broadband connection like cable or FiOS.

Basically I'm quite happy with it. Battery life is the main area where it could really use some improvement, but it just means I can't go a week in between charges like I could with my old phone.

Thanks, very insightful. So, $84 provides unlimited internet access? Is the bandwidth sufficient to watch streaming video (like Netlix's Watch Instantly selection of movies)?

[Rackhir]

Originally Posted by Felon

Thanks, very insightful. So, $84 provides unlimited internet access? Is the bandwidth sufficient to watch streaming video (like Netlix's Watch Instantly selection of movies)?

The unlimited 3G access is $30, the least expensive phone plan is $40 and the taxes + fees come to about another $14. You have to get the 3G/data plan.

I'm not sure how usable the iPhone is with any of the DRMed streaming video is. Due mostly to the DRM needing to be supported. Your bandwidth with 3G is also going to be dependent on coverage and signal strength, so it is not always going to have sufficient bandwidth. But playing back streaming video is also largely a matter of how long it has to buffer the stream, before playing back. So it's unlikely to be completely incapable.

Though you can also use WiFi which will offer better throughput than 3G can possibly deliver. And it is a pretty good media player in it's own right, so you can just convert stuff from DVDs and such to play back on it.

[Mercule]

I've got an HTC Mogul with Sprint. I don't remember what the price is, but it's less than any competitor offered for unlimited data connection.

You aren't going to get perfect Internet display on a phone. Most forums look like crap and Flash-heavy sites are worthless. But, Internet enabled apps (like Google Maps) are really great.

If you're replacing an mp3 player, keep in mind that some phones (like mine) don't have a headphone jack. I got Bluetooth headphones and they do me just fine for my day at work, but wired phones do get better sound.