Q. Hi Judie,
I’m looking for an expert opinion on smartphones. I’m a Verizon customer, so I am due for my new every 2 free $100 in August.

I have a Palm TX, which I lovingly refer to as my electronic brain, and my cell phone LG8600.  The problem is that my brain often forgets the electronic brain, which is really bad for remembering meetings.    So, I want to get an all in one device.

I’ve been reading reviews and checking out all kinds of info, but I’m so confused between Treos, Blackberries, etc.  What I need is a phone, calendar, to do list (mainly some organization software), contacts, camera, and the occasional internet use.  I don’t need to check my e-mail.  Work has not given me a phone to make me constantly check my e-mail, and until they do, I don’t want them to think I’m going to spend all my free time working. 

With that said, I thought maybe a blackberry would be overkill.  I don’t need the super-duper data package for my phone.  Plus, like most people, I’m all about the speed (RAM needed???), and reception.

I’ve thought about taping my phone to my Palm, but that’s just not the fashion statement I want to make.  Plus, the doublesided tape doesn’t hold very well.

Thanks,
Heather

P.S.

I had another question kind of related to the cell phone question: why is it that GSM seems to get the more advanced phones before CDMA.  I’m not talking about just the iPhone, but it seems that way for most new phones.  I thought it had more to do with the fact that more people use the GSM ‘network’, but is there something different about the tech that makes it more difficult to make CDMA phones.  I’m happy with my Verizon service, but I guess I’m a bit frustrated.

A. Hi Heather,

Let me first say that YES – a BlackBerry sounds like it would indeed be overkill after hearing your needs described. Since you listed “phone, calendar, to do list (mainly some organization software), contacts, camera, and the occasional internet use” as your wants (no texting?), if you stay with Verizon you do have a few choices – let’s look…

I’m going to assume that you want to go with a smartphone running either the Palm or Windows Mobile OS. You are already familiar with Palm; do you like it? Have you bought a lot of software for it already? If so, then you might want to stay with what you know and get a Palm OS Treo 755p. These are certainly great PDA phones that will do everything you need, and they also use a very tried and true, albeit slightly long in the tooth form factor and version of the Palm OS.

If you want to try something different, then you might like the XV6800, which is essentially the same WM Phone as the Sprint Mogul Doug Goldring and I reviewed last year.

There really aren’t that many choices, if you want a newer smartphone that isn’t all about the texting, if you are going to stay with Verizon…so, I guess that’s the 64 thousand dollar question.

Do you really want to stay with them? Because as you’ve pointed out, the really advanced (and cool!) phones are often found on GSM networks, and when you move to a GSM carrier, your options really do open.

I guess my next question would have to be, how is the coverage where you live? If Verizon’s CDMA is everywhere, but AT&T or T-Mobile’s GSM is spotty, then your decision is already made. But if you live somewhere with excellent coverage from both types of carrier, your options suddenly open.

Regarding your question as to whether there is something about the tech that makes it more difficult to make CDMA phones, I think the broad answer would have to be absolutely not, but the more focused answer would be yes – because the carrier and market dictate the technology used, and the CDMA markets are found much less worldwide, versus GSM.

The issue, from my perspective, is where the companies can make the most money. Let’s talk about numbers: According to CDG.org, there are approximately 431,100,000 CDMA subscribers worldwide. In contrast, according to 3GSM Americas, there are 2.9 Billion GSM subscribers.

Another source, WCIS, says that 81.3% of the world uses GSM, and only 11.4% uses CDMA. I’m not going to beat on CDMA or say that its market isn’t growing – because of course it is! But so is the GSM market, and CDMA appears to have a long way to go before catching up.

Therefore, I think that there should be no denying that the most money to be made worldwide is in GSM, which is probably why it always seems like they get the coolest phones. Makes sense, right?

And yes, I am over-simplifying a bit…but I really do think that in the end, the decision about which type phones a company should bother producing comes down to where they have the best chance of making the most money.

OK. So let’s assume that you have decided to go GSM, but you don’t necessarily want to go with Palm or Windows Mobile; here are some of the latest and most interesting things coming, but you’ll obviously have to dump Verizon…

The AT&T LG VU, which my buddy Vincent explored at CTIA…

The Vu will [be] AT&T’s flagship mobile TV handset when it launches, with widescreen display, haptic feedback and Bluetooth 2.0 with the A2DP stereo profile.

Google’s upcoming Android…which, hello! The prototype Vincent filmed is capable of playing Quake!

All of this doesn’t even take into consideration some of the really great currently available GSM lineup including the Nokia N95, the AT&T Tilt / TyTN II, and yes – the iPhone.

The beauty of GSM mobile phones is that so many times you can buy unlocked versions of your favorites – even when your carrier doesn’t offer them – which will work on any GSM network.Try doing that with a CDMA phone…oops, you can’t.

Wow, I realize I veered a bit from Smartphones, but as you can see – there are a lot of options out there!

For a ton more of the latest GSM eye candy, be sure to check out PhoneMag.com’s CTIA coverage. I think you’ll find that the most exciting CDMA phone, the Samsung Instinct, is coming out on Sprint. All Verizon has to compete with it is the Voyager.

I’ll bet that I have only served to confuse matters further, but I guess what I am trying to say is that you can have a lot of fun finding the right phone, but your options are a much more limited when using CDMA.

With that, I’m going to turn it over to our readers. Does anyone have a recommendation for Heather…Verizon based or otherwise?

J

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