Phone Selection Assistance

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OrangeWolf

Gawd
Joined
Jan 6, 2011
Messages
884
Hey there [H]ard Forum,

I'm trying to help my mom select a new smartphone. Currently she is using an HTC from a few years ago that runs some version of Windows. It was her first smartphone and she is adamant about getting something more suited to her tastes for an upgrade.

But I don't know a lot about smartphones since I don't use one myself (yet). I'm somewhat familiar with the pros and cons of Android vs. iPhone and that some phones are a lot 'snappier' than others, but that's about it. So I figured I'd ask for help.

What she wants:
  • A full keyboard (But she dislikes the keyboards on most Blackberries)
  • Speedy Internet Capability
  • Snappy Responses between Menus
  • As few "extras" as possible

What she does not want:
  • A lot of Apps
  • Random Extra Features
  • Facebook / Networking that will bother her

So basically a "simple" yet fast smartphone. She isn't going to spend a lot of time surfing the internet, she won't be watching videos or listening to a lot of music, she might take a few pictures or a video but it doesn't need to be high quality, she doesn't use social networking sites, etc. All the extra stuff can be confusing not helpful if you aren't going to use it after all -- some of these things even complicate the contact list to something almost unmanageable!

So she wants a smartphone that remains simple (check her e-mail, text message, browse wikipedia, google something, etc.). But we don't want to get one from a few years ago without all the additional apps/junk because it won't have the snappy performance of a new one.

It just seems like all of the new ones are overly complicated and contain FAR more apps/programs that you don't want than that you do.

Any suggestions? If there is anything remotely similar I might get one myself -- though she requires the full keyboard and I don't care. Heck, even my AT&T F160 phone has a ton of "Mobile" features that I don't want and can't seem to get rid of even though I've completely disabled my ability to use the internet on it.

Thanks in advance.

Edit: She uses AT&T and is not likely to change that -- so that is important. She also thinks that based on her current experience that Windows doesn't do a good job with phones, so she'd be happy to try something else. I'm sure Windows has updated now though, so that isn't a deal killer.
 
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Not sure if you need it to be on a specific carrier, but the HTC Arrive (Windows Phone 7) on Sprint sounds perfect for her from the requirements you listed.

I haven't used a WP7 phone, but I know they're really fast/responsive, don't have a lot of apps or are complicated and the Arrive is the only WP7 phone that I know of that has a qwerty keyboard.
 
Thanks! We do need to be on AT&T though -- I'll edit it to reflect that. I'll read up on the Win7 phone anyway though because it sounds pretty awesome (thanks for the link to it). I think she has determined Windows to be "bad" though based on her current phone, but I'm sure it's been updated since then so that's not a big deal.
 
The LG Quantum or the Dell Venue Pro. Keyboard, simple OS (Windows 7) and easy to use. The Quantum is in stores to demo, the Dell isnt.
 
OrangeWolf said:
Thanks! We do need to be on AT&T though -- I'll edit it to reflect that. I'll read up on the Win7 phone anyway though because it sounds pretty awesome (thanks for the link to it). I think she has determined Windows to be "bad" though based on her current phone, but I'm sure it's been updated since then so that's not a big deal.
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Ahh, well then the LG Quantum or Dell Venue Pro, as Entropism suggested, would probably be the best bet for her then. I'm not too familiar with the WP7 phones available on AT&T, so I didn't know about those or I would have suggested those in the first place.

Yeah, you can't compare Windows Phone 7 with any of the past Windows Mobile OS's at all since it's such a radical departure from them in terms of the UI and how it works. So any angst she had against WM before shouldn't carry over to WP7 devices.
 
Windows Phone 7 is actually QUITE nice, I'm recommending one to my girlfriend because it's so easy and simplistic. It works VERY well, and it's quite intuitive. AT&T gave me the Focus as a demo phone, and aside from not having very many apps, I really enjoyed the phone.
 
Sounds nice! I need to figure out what version my mom has I guess to make sure it's an upgrade, but otherwise these sound pretty solid.
 
OrangeWolf said:
Sounds nice! I need to figure out what version my mom has I guess to make sure it's an upgrade, but otherwise these sound pretty solid.
Click to expand...

If the phone is more than a year old, it's not a WP7 device and it's incomparable to one in every way ;). I'm sure it's going to be a Windows Mobile 6.x or below device and is a totally different OS than WP7. If you looked at the two OS's side by side, you wouldn't make the connection that they're developed by the same company at all.
 
Yup, I think it's nearly 2 years old. Awesome -- I'm glad to hear that Windows has gotten a solid update. I had no idea, so really, thanks!
 
Just checked out the LG Quantum based on both of your suggestions and comments about Win7 phones -- it looks great to me. Now if mom likes it I'm set -- thanks you guys :D
 
As others have stated, WinMo 7 is a dam good O/S. It's late to the party, so that's why it gets lost in the iOS & Android world.

I know your mom wants a physical keyboard, but she should go to AT&T and check out all their phones. I was once like your mom. Playing with my daughter's iPod Touch slapped that thought right out of my head.
 
Thanks guys! Much appreciated. Right now if she sticks to all of her requirements we'll probably go with the LG Quantum. Has the full Keyboard, Win7 OS (which you guys say it awesome and I believe you), and all the reviews I've read say that it is a fairly solid phone with a snappy feel. The one primary complaint is that some apps don't work well changing into Landscape mode -- but if things like Texting/Browsing are fine in Landscape she should be good. While I'm there I'll make her try an iPhone though. She might realize that she actually likes the touch keyboard after all (I know I would, but we'll see!). Great responses -- much appreciated to everyone here :)
 
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