Smartphone Discussion

[pianowizard]

A quick question about smartphone screen size. The Motorola Droid X that's coming out soon has a huge 4.3-inch 854x480 screen with a surface area of 7.90 square inches. The HTC EVO 4G's is also 4.3", but because it's less wide (800x480), it has a slightly larger surface area of 8.16 sq inches. These are the largest smartphone screens that I know of, but unfortunately neither of them has a physical keyboard. My question is, among smartphones that have keyboards, which one has the largest screen? Is it the Motorola Droid (3.7" 854x480, surface area 5.85 sq. inches)? My HTC Touch Pro2 has a 3.6" 800x480 screen with a surface area of 5.72 sq. inches.

[j-dawg]

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/23/noki ... -unlocked/

Want! So tempted!

[ThinkRob]

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/23/noki ... -unlocked/

Want! So tempted!

While I love Maemo from a software standpoint, I'm happy with my Nokia E71 -- and given the insane battery life and almost-all-metal build, I find it hard to convince myself to switch to something shinier.

[j-dawg]

Speaking of E71s...I am thinking of trying to work my way into an E72 or E73 to replace my N95, which has gotten a bit creaky and quirky. I don't know why Symbian phones continue to pique my interest more than any other, considering that they're miles behind the competition in terms of OS, but the hardware is just too nice for me to resist. (Also, my $6/mo T-Zones internet plan means I can't get any T-Mobile Android phones. If I get any Nokia I can keep going with it. If I get an E73, I can even get 3G.)

[ThinkRob]

Speaking of E71s...I am thinking of trying to work my way into an E72 or E73 to replace my N95, which has gotten a bit creaky and quirky. I don't know why Symbian phones continue to pique my interest more than any other, considering that they're miles behind the competition in terms of OS, but the hardware is just too nice for me to resist.

I've demo'd the E72, and honestly I think it's actually a step backwards. Sure, it's got a faster CPU and more RAM, but the actual hardware feels a lot less sturdy. The E71 was mostly steel, and it's insanely well-built. The E72... not so much. (Analogy: E71 == ThinkPad X301, E72 == ThinkPad SL300)

[j-dawg]

Dang, that sucks. I'd been reading that the E72's construction was mad solid. For all its fantastic features, the N95 feels like a '94 Skylark: rattly, squeaky, probably bigger than it needs to be, not any real solid foundation. The E71 always seemed like a solid, cold-shiny-steel sort of device, and I'd assumed that carried over to the E72/E73. Oh well - anything will be better-built than the N95, and E71s are cheap these days if the '72 and '73 are out of my price range.

[ThinkRob]

Dang, that sucks. I'd been reading that the E72's construction was mad solid. For all its fantastic features, the N95 feels like a '94 Skylark: rattly, squeaky, probably bigger than it needs to be, not any real solid foundation. The E71 always seemed like a solid, cold-shiny-steel sort of device, and I'd assumed that carried over to the E72/E73. Oh well - anything will be better-built than the N95, and E71s are cheap these days if the '72 and '73 are out of my price range.

Well the E72 isn't horrid by any means -- it's just not as solid as the E71 (again, keeping with what we know best: the SL300 isn't a bad laptop, it's just not as good as the T-series.)

I didn't use the E72 for more than a couple days, so I don't know how well it would hold up. The faster CPU and newer OS are something to consider too. I didn't really need a new OS (Opera + Profimail work great on the E71 and handle all my needs), but if you're a power-user the trade-off would probably be a good one.

[j-dawg]

To be honest it is the camera and 3.5mm jack that attract me to the E72 over the E71. It's funny that the N Series virtues are what make me want an E Series, but the N95 isn't really outstanding at much besides taking fantastic photos and videos. The keypad isn't QWERTY, the OS is sluggish, and it doesn't feel good to hold. I've heard the E71 solves these problems, but I use the phone as a music source and as a camera pretty frequently, so I need a good compromise - like the '72 and '73. The E73 has the added bonus of 3G for me, a T-Mobile user, which I wouldn't get with the '71 or '72 (or with my N95). But I will be happy with an E72, and if my N95 should die before a new phone awakes, I'd settle for an E71.

[ThinkRob]

The E73 has the added bonus of 3G for me, a T-Mobile user, which I wouldn't get with the '71 or '72 (or with my N95). But I will be happy with an E72, and if my N95 should die before a new phone awakes, I'd settle for an E71.

That's a sound plan. I'm on T-Mobile as well (when I'm in the US), but e-mail is about 80% of my usage, bandwidth isn't really an issue.

[tylerwylie]

I had a Palm Pre Plus, that phone is awesome. WebOS is quite amazing when you root it. I'm currently using the Droid Incredible now, that's a great phone as well.

[hellosailor]

I'm amazed that the high-end smartphones are all made for the "pretty pretty shiny shiny" audience and the vendors all ignore folks who are looking for PERFORMANCE.

For instance, the internal battery in the iPhones. I know, that's Apple, why confuse folks with a battery. But I regularly used to pack a couple of extra batteries for my Startac (which could take a piggyback battery too) if I was going away for a couple of days and didn't want to fuss with a charger that I might leave behind someplace. At least Motorola and HTC have remembered how to build a battery compartment!

And then there's antennas. Ignoring Apple's latest bollux with having a bare metal antenna located where the user will ground it out...Pretty much everyone has stopped making an external antenna port. Maybe they've forgotten, but boaters were big early adopters of cell phones--and an external antenna is NEEDED when you're offshore. Ditto for use in cars, if you plug in an external antenna you pretty much always get two more signal bars, and you can grab a tower from all sorts of "no signal" places, compared to phones with internal antennas.

Heck, if they'd at least rememeber to put an antenna stub or nub on the corner of the phone, so it isn't masked behind the user's palm. Or a metal phone back--another flub Applie made on earlier iPhones.

Don't these folks hire ENGINEERS any more? Is it only and all about accountants and stylists?
I want a phone with superior communications abilities, not just a pretty case and tiny buttons.

[ThinkRob]

Don't these folks hire ENGINEERS any more? Is it only and all about accountants and stylists?
I want a phone with superior communications abilities, not just a pretty case and tiny buttons.

They do, it's just that as cell phones have moved from the realm of the rich/early-adopters, the engineer's goals changed. It used to be "make the best performing ____ you can, and people will buy it." Now, marketing to the masses has changed that to "here's the best looking _____ (so people will buy it), now make it."

[Marin85]

My question is, among smartphones that have keyboards, which one has the largest screen? Is it the Motorola Droid (3.7" 854x480, surface area 5.85 sq. inches)? My HTC Touch Pro2 has a 3.6" 800x480 screen with a surface area of 5.72 sq. inches.

That would be interesting to find out! My O2 Xda is slowly but surely moving to his last days, so I am too looking for something with big screen and real keyboard. Typing on a keyboard is so much faster and more comfortable than using the virtual one...

[tylerwylie]

That would be interesting to find out! My O2 Xda is slowly but surely moving to his last days, so I am too looking for something with big screen and real keyboard. Typing on a keyboard is so much faster and more comfortable than using the virtual one...

I felt the same way too, in fact I think the Palm Pre Plus is probably one of the better solutions for those who want keyboards, the Droid keyboard isn't much better than a virtual keyboard in my opinion however.

[pianowizard]

I felt the same way too, in fact I think the Palm Pre Plus is probably one of the better solutions for those who want keyboards, the Droid keyboard isn't much better than a virtual keyboard in my opinion however.

I like my HTC Touch Pro2's keyboard very much. From the reviews I have read, it is much better than the Droid's. Before this Touch Pro2, I had a Palm Centro for 2.5 years, whose keyboard is quite similar to the Palm Pre's. I liked the Centro's keyboard, but think the Touch Pro2's is even better.

[tylerwylie]

I like my HTC Touch Pro2's keyboard very much. From the reviews I have read, it is much better than the Droid's. Before this Touch Pro2, I had a Palm Centro for 2.5 years, whose keyboard is quite similar to the Palm Pre's. I liked the Centro's keyboard, but think the Touch Pro2's is even better.

That looks like a solid phone, I've had horrible experiences with Windows Mobile on older phones, I hear the newer releases coming out are better however. There are some alternate keyboards I've installed on my Droid Incredible that are quite nice, while they're still software I am missing the hardware keyboard less after trying some of these options.

[j-dawg]

Update to my earlier rambling - I picked up a Nokia E73. It's an improvement on the N95 in every respect except for the camera. I haven't had a chance to use the camera properly, but my first impression is that, while quite good, it's not up to the N95's spec.

This is disappointing because I know it could have been. Nokia keeps the good cameras off the E-series phones so people will go to the N-series. But they haven't updated the N-series cameras in literally several years. What was once the gold standard is now merely above average, and the E-series is a tiny step below that.

Oh well - it's still far and away better than the cameras on most cell phones. And while I'm a little disappointed in that, I find the rest of the phone excellent. Its build quality is light-years past that of the N95, it's slim, feels good in the hand, and has a great QWERTY keyboard. I also am digging the battery life. Very interestingly, T-Mobile has not emphasized the UMA capabilities of the phone. That basically means it can use any Wi-fi connection as a cell signal, so I can make and receive calls and texts from anywhere with a wi-fi connection - underground, in another country, whatever. This is important because I spend much of my time in a basement, where there's no signal, but where there is a strong wi-fi signal.

[hellosailor]

"it can use any Wi-fi connection as a cell signal, "
Yes and no. It isn't using WiFi as a cellular signal, when it uses WiFi it becomes just another VOIP phone, like Skype or GoogleVoice or MagicBox. That's nothing to do with cellular at all.

And that's a problem because you are using an UNSECURED WiFi signal, which is prone to exploits and malware attacks. The same way that folks using unsecured WiFi in airports and coffee shops are prone to being attacked if they don't use a strong firewall and some cautions.

The cellcos in the US were all adimantly against using WiFi connections because then they can't sell you overage minutes...but that policy has changed as the cellcos realize they can't provide enough bandwidth to support their customers on their own cellular networks.

Apparently malware attacks on cell phones are first really beginning to happen, so that's something to keep an eye on.

[ThinkRob]

And that's a problem because you are using an UNSECURED WiFi signal, which is prone to exploits and malware attacks. The same way that folks using unsecured WiFi in airports and coffee shops are prone to being attacked if they don't use a strong firewall and some cautions.

The cellcos in the US were all adimantly against using WiFi connections because then they can't sell you overage minutes...but that policy has changed as the cellcos realize they can't provide enough bandwidth to support their customers on their own cellular networks.

Apparently malware attacks on cell phones are first really beginning to happen, so that's something to keep an eye on.

Well UMA can work just fine with a WPA2-protected network.

Also, IIRC UMA actually allows for (and typically uses) encryption as part of the protocol, so there's actually not that much risk of a breach of privacy.

Now personally I never use open APs directly (I *always* tunnel out), but that's another matter...

[j-dawg]

If we must hinge on every technicality, my phone can utilize wi-fi in the absence of a cell signal. That is what I meant.

I don't have anything super-secret to discuss on the phone, I just like to keep in touch, even under subterranean conditions. I'm not a stickler for security, but the basement in which I spend my time is blessed with a WPA2-encrypted network.

[hellosailor]

It is handy that your phone can work with your own secured WiFi in your own basement. The problem is, of course, for folks who aren't aware of these issues and do let their phones roam on unsecured public WiFi nets. As apps like cell phone BANKING become way more popular...cell phones become a nice target for hacking. Suppose I set up camp at Starbucks (richer crowd than Micky D's, I think<G>) and put a worm on whatever cell phones come in using the WiFi.

Then two weeks from next Tuesday, my trojan has them all dial in and transfer their balance to my account in Belize courtesy of Western Union, home of the untrackable transfer of cash. (I don't look like an evil super-rich super-successful hacker online, do I? <VBG>)

Whether it is the iPhone (Apple won't discuss security but acknowledges upgrading it) or Android (Right, *NIX is secure)....one of these exploits will make the news sooner or later. At least when phones stay on the cellular network, that's got some encryption and security built in as a baseline.

[ThinkRob]

I'm not a stickler for security

Everyone who I've known to have their accounts/computers/phones compromised has said something like this at one time prior to the breach.

I don't know a single person who's maintained that stance afterwards. Take from it what you will...

[Yakl]

WinMo 7

Sorry but MS has announced this as a new OS whose code was written from "scratch" and is not going to be an extended form of, or update of the windows mobile platform.

I know this because I too am a HUGE enthusiast of smartphones, and any computer based technologies for that matter, and am highly anticipating microsoft's new Windows Phone 7.

[j-dawg]

Everyone who I've known to have their accounts/computers/phones compromised has said something like this at one time prior to the breach.

I don't know a single person who's maintained that stance afterwards. Take from it what you will...

I certainly won't be logging into my bank account over public (or, in my case, school) wi-fi. Though I have WPA2 at home as well, I actually used to switch wi-fi off and use the wire for my banking. But I don't mind making personal calls over secured institutional WLAN.