Lately, a singular obsession has gripped my psyche: I'm shopping for a smartphone.
I fought it for a long time, but the facts added up to this: I own a small business, and need to get my email a lot. On top of that, when we migrate to the City this summer, it would be nice to be able to read blogs and things on the subway. With my guilt ostensibly assuaged, I began doing the research. I decided to write this post in the hopes that someone will care enough to steer me a bit (other than Brian; more on this later).
I was able to narrow it down to four immediately. Because my needs are relatively simple, I restricted myself to the four phones Sprint has listed on their website. I don't feel any compelling need to change carriers as, despite the fairly wretched service I've had from Sprint historically, I don't think any of the others are that much better. In my experience, no one is unconditionally happy with their phone service. One possibility would make me consider changing my carrier; more on this later.
I dismissed the Blackberry 8830 out of hand, as it is not only the biggest one but also the highest in price. Portability is a big deal with me, I don't want to have to deal with this big clunky thing. I have to narrow it down somehow, so I'm letting these relatively minor points break the deal in this case.
Next up, the Palm Centro. It was an ad for this phone that got me started in earnest a few days ago, and at first glance it's not a bad choice. First, it costs only $100, which is indisputably a plus. It's essentially a smaller Treo, which is nice, as a Treo is bigger than I'm interested in, and it supports Gmail syncing, which is a necessity for me. There are a few problems. Reviews indicate that the main concern in the design stages was to make a smaller, more accessible smartphone, and that things like sound quality suffered. Also the keyboard seems a bit crowded, and when the phone rings, there's a touchscreen option for answering, a prospect that terrifies me endlessly, lest my pocket should answer a call for me. I've had this happen countless times with the Treo at work, and it's an annoyance that I could do without.
The Blackberry Pearl seems a good option, as it's basically a Blackberry but smaller, and Google offers a package to sync your Google calendar to your Blackberry. The major downside here is that, in order to get the phone so small, they crammed two letters onto each key. This feels like it could get really confusing and frustrating, really fast. Other than that, I have to say this thing is goddamn pretty. I'm leaning this way.
The one I've spent the least time looking at is the Moto Q 9c. From what I've seen, it has no discernible benefits over the Pearl outside of the full keyboard, which makes it wider. I haven't done as much reading on this one, though, so I might change my mind.
Unfortunately, any one of these phones would be settling, because, god help me, I really want an iPhone.
Beep has been trying to get me on the iPhone train since even before its release, and shortly thereafter it became clear why. I mean, the thing is almost perfect for me. It does everything I need, has great sound quality for calls, unprecedented wireless access, and is a perfect size. Any website you try looks great on it, and we've all seen how seamless the iPhone-specific Facebook interface is, but I have to say that when I saw the Unified Interface that Google offers, my heart just about melted.
The problem? Certainly not changing my carrier, which, as I've already described, I don't feel one way or the other about. I would have to get Wendy to load up and change with me, since we're on a family plan, but since she has her eye on the Centro, also available for AT&T, this could be easy. The problem unfortunately is that the iPhone is 100% touchscreen, and this bugs the hell out of me.
Aside from the unintentional phone answering thing, which I guess I could just add to the neuroses pile, I do an awful lot of texting, and I am actually getting this thing for the sake of remote email access. The few times I've tried the iPhone, I have gotten quickly frustrated by the typing mechanism - owing to the proximity of the letters, pressing down with enough force to elicit a response hurts your accuracy. I mean, I guess thousands of people have learned to deal with this, but I'm not convinced it's the right choice for someone whose main need for the phone is typing. But hell, I love this thing so much otherwise.
Recent news that you could get the iPhone for as little as $199 when you sign a new contract with AT&T is further complicating matters.
Please, someone make this decision for me.