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Verizon phones and blackberry

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1080ski
Posts: 4424 - Karma: 191
I am eligible to upgrade my phone on verizon. I am looking at the blackberrys, but the main reason for that is that most of the verizon phones suck.

i do not like any touch screen phone aside from the iphone, because the screens never work the right way. the only way i would get a touch screen phone is if it had keys/keyboard attached somehow. the blackberry 8330 looks really sick, but you need to buy the data plan with it (30 bucks a month). i am not totally sure i would pay for that. I would use the internet, and would love email on my phone, but when it comes down to it, i would rather check my email on my computer than pay 30 dollars to do it on a phone. the blackberry interface is really nice though, so i am unsure about what to do.

What verizon phones are decent? i was looking around at the enV touch, alias 2, and the env3. to be honest, i only will use it for bluetooth, texting, camera (only a little, i have a slr that i use for most things), and obviously phone calls, so i think that looking at those higher end phones is a waste of money because their interface is really nothing different than any of the cheaper phones. that is why the blackberry stands out to me. plus, they have free apps. Some people say that the blackberry plan is worth it, some dont. what would you do, and why? what are some nice phones that i may have overlooked?
Jul 13 2009 2:44PM
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Six.0.Tree-ski
Posts: 4059 - Karma: 67
envy3, thing is pretty sick and will get the job done, stay away from the evny touch and the glyde, both those touch screens blow
Jul 13 2009 3:00PM
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Dr.Rick_Marshall
Posts: 407 - Karma: 44
hmmm i had the same delimma when i had my blackberry. It is definatly not worth the extra money for a blackberry i think i was spending like 40 extra dollars a  month. I traded it in and got the alias 2 and its a pretty good simple phone with all those fun features you mentioned and no touch screen.
Jul 13 2009 3:03PM
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matt.rad
Posts: 1813 - Karma: 303

O RLY?

I've had the enV Touch since mid-June and I've been extremely happy with it. I haven't had any problems with the touch screen, at all. I use mine for calls, texting, bluetooth, and camera and it's exceeded my expectations. The camera is also 3.3 megapixels, not bad for a phone, and has a cool panorama mode that links together 5 pics to create a wide angle shot. I'd recommend the enV Touch.

Jul 13 2009 3:05PM
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matt.rad
Posts: 1813 - Karma: 303
My bad, the camera is actually 3.2 MP. And I'd agree that the Glyde has had a lot of problems. I decided between the Glyde and enV Touch.
Jul 13 2009 3:08PM
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Slinger1x1
Posts: 8853 - Karma: 66
Any smartphone or blackberry you get, you will HAVE to pay the $30 a month data plan. its a fucking sucker punch from verizon which makes me hate them

so just get yourself a nice flip phone. i text fast on a flip phone, and im not going to get email or anything without a blackberry anyway so i dont think there is a need for a touch screen.

there is a really nice flip phone that just came out, the casio exlim. its like a really nice camera and a nice phone, all in one. plus its like bombproof. literally. here is verizons discription "Meets Military Specifications 810F standards for: Water (Immersion & Rain), Humidity, Salt–Fog, Shock, Vibration, Dust, Solar Radiation, Altitude, Low & High Temperature Storage"

you cant break it. but its expensive (but when you think about it, nothing compared to $30 a month plus the cost of a blackberry)
Jul 13 2009 3:29PM
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Sufferboy
Posts: 4241 - Karma: 122
i just looked at that phone. sooooooooooooo dope
Jul 13 2009 3:37PM
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Slinger1x1
Posts: 8853 - Karma: 66
fucking so expensive. I'm due for an upgrade. I need to convince my parents that i should get a new phone (although my current phone is working fine, its pretty beastly actually), and then i need to convince them to pay $280 bucks or something for a phone. i mean in retrospect you pay $280 when you have a blackberry for 9 months, plus the cost of the blackberry, but its still a lot of money to pay. maybe i will wait for my current phone to really die out, and by then the new phone will be cheaper

isnt it weird how verizon cycles phones to the point where $200 phones are free? like the razr, it was AMAZING when it first came out, like i knew one kid who had it and he was rich and everything. now no one even wants to touch that piece of shit. some day this phone will be a piece of shit, haha
Jul 13 2009 3:44PM
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Sufferboy
Posts: 4241 - Karma: 122
hahahha i remember those days. i still have the same phone from about 6 years ago. just broke finally. did every thing i wanted it to do plus more. it was a black and white screen with no camera. but i loved it. Im thinking I am going to wait till August to buy a new phone when i go to college
Jul 13 2009 3:47PM
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1080ski
Posts: 4424 - Karma: 191
yea i saw that, its pretty sick, but i dont really want to pay money for a camera i wont use all that often. i'd rather have my real camera. i do like that it is waterproof and shockproof though, that would be pretty awesome for skiing (well, for when i fall on it haha).

what i dont like about the touch phones is that none of them work like the iphone, and when if i got the touch phone, i would always know that there is something that works way better and it would just leave me feeling like i got ripped off. and, they are usually not great for texting.

so iguess now the env3 and alias 2 are looking pretty good
Jul 13 2009 4:19PM
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*TURBONERD*
Posts: 15081 - Karma: 9,158
ya, i have an enV touch and its really nice, ive had no problems
Jul 13 2009 4:31PM
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skiminnesota
Posts: 9093 - Karma: 429
i have the glyde, and while it is no iphone. after having the software updated im pleased with the phone...

the keyboard rocks, there is no way i would buy a touch screen phone unless it was the iphone that didnt have a real keyboard.
Jul 13 2009 4:59PM
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AhrenStein
Posts: 1941 - Karma: 177
Sounds like verizon sucks.

I have the blackberry storm with unlimited data for 45/mo  including everything.  That is on Bell though which i believe is only in Canada. 

and by the way..  Storm is better than iPhone. 
Jul 13 2009 5:10PM
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Slinger1x1
Posts: 8853 - Karma: 66
storm is no where near as good as the iphone

and we pay $30 a month for the same thing. sounds like canadia sucks
Jul 13 2009 6:34PM
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LS.
Posts: 1841 - Karma: 858
pda smartphone dont require service plan
Jul 13 2009 6:45PM
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evan25
Posts: 931 - Karma: 20
i have the storm and it is awesome but i no way better than the iphone.  the iphone has such a better OS and way more memory than the storm.
Jul 13 2009 6:49PM
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Slinger1x1
Posts: 8853 - Karma: 66
false
even the samsung omnia, which has wifi, you still have to get the data plan to use the wifi
Jul 13 2009 7:00PM
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KravtZ
Posts: 6637 - Karma: 2,629
how many minutes does a plan that costs this much include?
Jul 13 2009 7:22PM
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Loges
Posts: 1928 - Karma: 21
I know someone with the env touch, and she hates it. plus, whenever i try to talk to her you cant hear anything.
Jul 13 2009 7:26PM
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SteezyasPie
Posts: 1160 - Karma: 15
false, ive had two pda smartphones, one with wifi, one without, never had a data plan (i have verizon)
Jul 13 2009 9:35PM
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Balto
Posts: 25985 - Karma: 4,404
verizon now requiers all smart phones to have a data plan no matter what. and black berries have always needed them or they cant even make a phone call. the data pans are nice tho, i love being able to go on ns in the car or if i need to google a phone number its very handy
Jul 13 2009 9:38PM
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evan25
Posts: 931 - Karma: 20
i just go on newschoolers and craigslist all day at work its awesome.
Jul 13 2009 10:02PM
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Yeezus
Posts: 3350 - Karma: 469
stay away from the dare. i am switching to at&t in a couple days. its gay. im gettin the iphone now.

Jul 13 2009 10:50PM
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AhrenStein
Posts: 1941 - Karma: 177
OS is really all preference.  I like both of them, both have their strengths and weaknesses. 

I have 17 gigs, iPhone has 8, 16, or 32.  I can have an unlimited amount depending on how much i want to spend on a media card. 
Jul 14 2009 11:43PM
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statuswhitegirl
Posts: 4058 - Karma: 883
my friend just got the blackberry tour, sickest phone ive ever seen, the internet is so sick, id never seen a phone like that
Jul 14 2009 11:46PM
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Peter.
Posts: 23796 - Karma: 13,014
i watched a review of that phone on youtube, and i guess the hinge feels really cheap, like it could break there

always youtube your phone you like, for reviews
Jul 14 2009 11:51PM
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Hansel.
Posts: 4583 - Karma: 112
whats a good rugid phone for verizon. cause well i give my phones hell
Jul 15 2009 12:03AM
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comeatmebro
Posts: 10720 - Karma: 66
sounds like you sucks. we pay $45 too for everything. it's called tethering, which would fall under the category of everything.

anyways...

i'd say if you want a blackberry go with the tour 9630. it is very fast and responsive and the OS is great and will be updated soon to the 5.0 platform which is sick. not touch screen but screen quality is very high and the phone is sick.
Jul 15 2009 12:09AM
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comeatmebro
Posts: 10720 - Karma: 66
no you can't. i'm pretty sure the storm can only handle 32gb of external memory (aka memory card) actually i thought it was 16gb which is the memory card i had. but somehow you have a 17gb one? which is an insane number.
Jul 15 2009 12:11AM
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AhrenStein
Posts: 1941 - Karma: 177
haha, 16 gig card + 1 gig built in. 

but when i got it they were explaining to me all the different cards you can get.  Anything over the 16 gb card gets super pricey though. 
Jul 15 2009 12:23AM
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pho[tog]rapher
Posts: 2618 - Karma: 494
Holy shit, my threads, I'm in the exact same boat as you, and I can sense my trusted cell is going to bite the dust any day now. Looks like some legit answers, thankss.
Jul 15 2009 12:31AM
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bermbuster49
Posts: 7445 - Karma: 90
i'm eligible for an upgrade too as i have a 1 year plan. 

i however, am choosing to wait till this fall for the Samsung Omnia 2

look it up on youtube or phonearena.com
Jul 15 2009 12:36AM
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danbrown
Posts: 11939 - Karma: 21,826
I have a Blackberry Curve and it's fucking sweet
Jul 15 2009 12:36AM
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Slinger1x1
Posts: 8853 - Karma: 66
how do I/we suck? we have the same plan for $15 less than you. and what does tethering have to do with it? in fact, i don't think you even know what tethering is
Jul 15 2009 1:20PM
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comeatmebro
Posts: 10720 - Karma: 66
no actually i have the $30 dollar unlimited internet and email plan on my blackberry as well. which includes unlimited internet (not actually unlimited, vzw caps usage at 5GB) and email. the tethering option is an additional $15 which makes the true "unlimited plan" $45. i simply don't have it because i can download a 3rd party aps for a one time $20 fee and be able to tether without a monthly fee. oh and tethering would be linking your phone to your laptop using either bluetooth or a usb cord and simply "intercepting" your cell phones signal so you can use the internet on your laptop/computer whatever.
Jul 15 2009 1:29PM
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djty111
Posts: 1103 - Karma: 93

I have the BB 8330 and i can say that I totaly get my 30 a month out of it. Email and internet are simple and you can replace your wireless internet and conect your laptop or whatever off it. Being able to get the avalanche advisorys early in the mornings sent right to my phone is nice so i do not half to fire up a laptop. The 8330 has been very sold and I have not broke it yet, which I tend to do with other phones.

Jul 15 2009 1:31PM
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caucasian_chad
Posts: 4078 - Karma: 3,625
It's hit or miss with the GLyde.  I have one with a perfectly functioning touchscreen (even though the display itself is broken) and another that glitches out constantly.  It's unacceptable to have as many problems as the glyde does though.
Jul 15 2009 1:36PM
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Slinger1x1
Posts: 8853 - Karma: 66
well you do know what tethering is
but im pretty sure tethering is free in the states, making the $30 data plan truly everything
Jul 15 2009 1:38PM
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comeatmebro
Posts: 10720 - Karma: 66
it was going to be an additional $15 for me, and i live in PA.
Jul 15 2009 1:43PM
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spruitm
Posts: 2221 - Karma: 1,069
the iphone is coming to verizon this fall
Jul 15 2009 3:23PM
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Hansel.
Posts: 4583 - Karma: 112
no its not. would have said something in the keynote. and plus apples contract with at&t is not up until 2010. the contract makes apple only sell at at&t

Jul 15 2009 3:24PM
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Valind
Posts: 4358 - Karma: 17
get the new Blackberry Tour.  That phone is sick!!
Jul 15 2009 3:27PM
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spruitm
Posts: 2221 - Karma: 1,069
april fools
Jul 16 2009 11:02AM
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KennyC
Posts: 1922 - Karma: 46

whats wrong with the dare? i was going to get the phone.

Jul 16 2009 11:46AM
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Robert.T
Posts: 230 - Karma: 230

If you are into simple phones and no data fees, I would recomend the LG Chocolate.  But not the stupid new flip one and not the super old, completely heat sensitive one.  The slider with the click wheel.  With this version they finnaly got it right and made it strong AND small unlike most the new phones out there.  Its easy to use and you can text extremely fast on it.  Plus no data plans.  At first I was skeptical about how well the click wheel would work, but it is awesome.  You would have to ask about the phone though cause verison stores don't advertise this phone, but they usually have some in the back...

Good luck on your phone searches!

Jul 16 2009 12:01PM
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0ptions
Posts: 2198 - Karma: 60
I did this with Bell, should work similarly with Verizon.

1) Go into a store, and find a plan that suits you, even if its much more than you're willing to pay. Also get info on any discounts/upgrade deals on the phone

2) Call up customer service, ask to speak to retention. When you get them, say that you've been a customer for however long blah blah blah. Say that you're in the market for a new phone and although you would like to stay with Verizon, but before you commit X number of dollars to a contract you want to make sure you're getting the best deal. Then say you were wondering what Verizon could do to ensure you stay with them.

It may work, it may not. When we did it, and were in the process of doing it again... We got a blackberry storm for 50% + 300$ in upgrade credits, so it was free. Then we got a 70 plan for 35 a month. Its not a bad way to get a good deal, but sometimes you gotta deal with some nasty customer service reps.
Jul 16 2009 12:20PM
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Valind
Posts: 4358 - Karma: 17

Fail!  Apple and att has a five year contract.  So were on the thrid iPhone, which means it has been three years (one has come out every June).  So no other carrier will have that phone for atleast another two years.

Jul 16 2009 12:25PM
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short_and_steezy
Posts: 760 - Karma: 18
i just got the alias 2 last night. its wickedd sick. i love it. deff check it out
Jul 16 2009 12:33PM
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Slinger1x1
Posts: 8853 - Karma: 66
Fail!
att and apple are only in contract untill 2010!
http://www.theiphoneblog.com/2008/08/01/apple-extends-exclusivity-contract-with-att-until-2010/
Jul 16 2009 12:35PM
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gmack24
Posts: 4636 - Karma: 31
iPhone is the only phone worth a data plan....everything else sucks and is a total waste of money in comparison.
Jul 16 2009 2:39PM
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