New Verizon cellphone?

[Judy G. Russell]

My two-year contract with Verizon is about to expire and I'm entitled to trade for a new cellphone. The one I have now (an LG) is good but eats batteries. I don't want bells and whistles -- the features I use are the phone (duh!), the alarm and the silent/vibrate ringer. That's it. Anything beyond that is really kind of overkill. Oh, and I like small.

So... whaddaya recommend?

-- Judy

[Gary Maltzen]

Oh, and I like small.Did you ever watch (Ben Stiller in) "Zoolander"...

Check out the LG VX8100 at http://intelenetwireless.com/

[Mike Landi]

I've been carrying a Motorola V710. I has a camera, but the camera is basically a toy.

What it does is be a hell of a phone. Reception everywhere. Much better than my wife's LG. Speakerphone is excellent. Bluetooth (for a handsfree only) works well. Rugged. I am rough on a cell phone. Banging it, dropping it, gets rained on, at least 10 hours a month of use.

I charge it about once every three days.

Check it out. Ignore the camera, but check the functions.

[Judy G. Russell]

Check out the LG VX8100 at http://intelenetwireless.com/Thanks, Gary! I'm going to be heading over to the Verizon store this weekend to play with the recommended phones.

[Judy G. Russell]

I've been carrying a Motorola V710. ... Check it out. Ignore the camera, but check the functions.Will do, and thanks, Mike!

[Mike Landi]

Let us know what you decide. Good luck!

[fhaber]

(OT for Verizonites)
If anyone finds a GSM phone that meets the following specs, phone me collect.

o flip, color screen for eyes of a certain age.

o Decent RF.

o The ability to totally disable, or, alternatively, neuter and silence all buttons on the exterior sides of the )*)(&^^ accursed device, muting errant bleeps and blats when it's in my pocket or rattling around in my bag.

(Molly slammed us from Verizon to T-Mobile, because V didn't reach a certain critical locale she was frequenting. I miss the old V. I miss my old phone. Sniff.)

[Judy G. Russell]

(Molly slammed us from Verizon to T-Mobile, because V didn't reach a certain critical locale she was frequenting. I miss the old V. I miss my old phone. Sniff.)Ouch. Have you considered (gasp...) having two carriers?? One for each of you?

[Gary Maltzen]

Molly slammed us from Verizon to T-Mobile
The good news is that you can use your phone all over the world (provided you have to call TM and ask that international access be enabled).
The bad news is the (domestic) coverage loss.

If you do enable OTA (international answer) and OTC (international call) you need to learn to store ALL your numbers in GSM format.

[Peter Creasey]

So... whaddaya recommend?

Judy, I still have my old black Motorola StarTek. And love the fact that it is strong and easy on batteries.

I have had a number of people I don't even know see me using my old StarTek and they wax nostalgic about wishing they had kept theirs instead of "upgrading" to the new fangled phones with weak signals and dead batteries.

Of course, my daughter has the latest and greatest and just shakes her head about how old fashioned I am.

Truthfully, though, I rarely use it. And virtually never receive calls with it... only call out.

[Judy G. Russell]

Thanks, Peter. I'll be heading out shortly to see what they have.

[Mike Landi]

I still have my old black Motorola StarTek.

You lucky dog! That was hands-down the best phone I owned. I used it for three years until the ear piece gave out. When I wanted to get it fixed, Verizon said I could not get it repaired.

I liked everything about that phone, except it had no speakerphone.

I've yet to meet someone who had one and did not like it, and I know a few who still have it...and brag about it.

[Mike]

I gave mine up when my employer gave me a cell phone using another provider, and I closed my Verizon account.

[Mike]

I've liked Motorola phones for a long time. I currently have a Nokia, and I've been astounded by its battery life--with nominal usage, I only have to charge it every five days or so.

[Mike Landi]

Was the new phone better?

[Peter Creasey]

You lucky dog! That was hands-down the best phone I owned.

Mike, I am doubly lucky as I have two of them. When JoAnne was travelling in S. Amer. her cell phone number got cloned so Cingular had to change her number/plan. To do so, they had to upgrade her phone so I kept her StarTek.

Thus, I now have two StarTeks plus extra parts and batteries. Best of all, I have it on an old basic billing plan that is very cheap. Of course, if I ever need to change phone numbers or plans, my StarTek will be history.

My StarTeks are the originals...where you pull out the antenna when using it.

[Mike Landi]

My StarTeks are the originals...where you pull out the antenna when using it.

Were there others? <g>

[rlohmann]

(Molly slammed us from Verizon to T-Mobile, because V didn't reach a certain critical locale she was frequenting.I guess her secret is out. <sigh>

Frank, I don't know how to tell you this, but Molly has been hanging out at the Republican National Committee.

T-Mobile, as you may know, is a German operation controlled by the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. That's why she switched.

Please don't take it too hard.

[Peter Creasey]

Quote: Originally Posted by Peter Creasey
My StarTeks are the originals...where you pull out the antenna when using it.

Were there others?


Mike, I may be wrong but I am pretty sure there was a subsequent StarTek with a small antenna permanently affixed (that didn't have to be protracted).

[Mike Landi]

I may be wrong but I am pretty sure there was a subsequent StarTek with a small antenna permanently affixed (that didn't have to be protracted).

I never saw one, and I went through my share of replacement antennas. <g>

[Peter Creasey]

I never saw one, and I went through my share of replacement antennas.

Mike, Knock on wood...I have never had to replace mine (or even realign it).

[fhaber]

Re: DT's sad excuse for a wireless carrier....

I expect the merger of the above + the German division of the VRWC to succeed about as well as that of AOL and Time-Warner. I shall be putting in my outrageous claim for 40% of the penalty settlement in the a.m. Thanks for the tip.

-he who remembers another merger in Barcelona, ca. 1936

(Molly denies it all, quite plausibly.)

[rlohmann]

I expect the merger of the above + the German division of the VRWC to succeed about as well as that of AOL and Time-Warner.Faugh!
I shall be putting in my outrageous claim for 40% of the penalty settlement in the a.m. Thanks for the tip.Faugh!

-he who remembers another merger in Barcelona, ca. 1936IIRC, it was your group that had infiltrated Barcelona with the help of Stalin and taken over. The Caudillo had to seek help from whomever he could get it from.

o/~Cara al sol con la camisa nueva
que tú bordaste en rojo ayer,
me hallará la muerte si me lleva
y no te vuelvo a ver. o/~

(Molly denies it all, quite plausibly.)
The husband is always the last to know. I think it was the endless train of IWW guys wobbling through your living room singing the Internationale off key that did it.

That kind of experience would drive Chairman Mao himself into our benevolent embrace.

<sneering complacently>

[MollyM/CA]

I miss the old V. I miss my old phone. Sniff.)

You must have the same Motorola I got with the new contract with what's now Cingular. Eats batteries too and I still haven't figured out how to turn it off.

I admit that some of my problems with it are that it's too simple. Hit the green phone button for a redial and you get a whole call log, not just the last number you called, for instance. Not sure it comes out even with all the time I spent looking for the call log, but it might by the time the phone's defunct.

We seem to be in a NOzone regardless of which service we'd be with. I would like to know why with antenna masts sprouting up all over everywhere the call areas get smaller and smaller.

The new Cingular contract is unlimited anywhere anytime calling in the US (seems to be parts of Canada too) with no roaming charges, for $29.95 a month, but the other day I tried to call an office building within sight of the one from whose parking lot I was dialing, and couldn't connect even though the antenna blips and the battery blips indicating signal strength and charge were as high as they go.

And by the way that was Frank's Molly that steamrollered him out of Verizon, not me. I'm MY Molly.

most of the time...

[Mike]

It depends on your definition of better. It has more features, but it can't use a universal headset plug. Battery life is a bit better, but I have to remember to lock the keyboard after using it, because it doesn't have the cover like my StarTak.

One think I definitely don't like is the interference it causes with landline telephones and computer speakers.

[Mike]

I may be wrong but I am pretty sure there was a subsequent StarTek with a small antenna permanently affixed (that didn't have to be protracted).
You are wrong. <g>

Whether the antenna retracted depended on the carrier. Phones on CDMA networks (Verizon, Sprint) used retractable antennae to provide the proper antenna length when extended. Phones used on TDMA networks (AT&T) and GSM networks (most of whom were borged by Cingular) used a different antenna construction and were rigid.

[earler]

Modern phones, at least gsm ones, don't have projecting antennae and they have good reception, too. I have a motorola razr v3 which is a delight and the bluetooth is good, too.

-er

[Mike Landi]

One think I definitely don't like is the interference it causes with landline telephones and computer speakers.

Ouch! Not good.

[Dan in Saint Louis]

One think I definitely don't like is the interference it causes with landline telephones and computer speakers.

I'm having trouble picturing that. In 46 years of dealing with radio-frequency energy in amounts up to several thousand watts, I cannot imagine a fractional-watt cell phone bothering landline phones or speakers. We regularly operated 1000 watt radio transmitters on the same desk as telephones, and of course all the other radios in the room had speakers.

Could you describe the circumstances and especially the symptoms?

[Wayne Scott]

Judy, I have a Treo 650 from Verizon. This is the Palm system version of a blackberry. It does allow internet access which works pretty well all over the NJ-NY area where you spend most of your time. It is a lot bigger than the small LG's. I suspect that your phone has a color screen which eats batteries. It may also have a built in camera. It is very difficult anymore to get a phone with black and white screen. I have a Motorola 60v which I cling to as a second phone because it is just a phone. If your Verizon store or *611 can't get you a phone with black and white, you would have to try e-bay, but that won't be free.
The only other choice I can see is to have a charger in your office, in your home and in your car!

[Wayne Scott]

Frank: In my family, Ms. Zeta-Jones is known as "that lying little Welsh girl" because of her T-Mobile ads. One of my sons suffered with T-M for a couple of years and finally switched to Verizon. Since all 3 of his siblings, his father, and most of his nephews and nieces use Verizon the in-call deal is great.
My advice, ignore crazy Molly and get back to Verizon.

Sorry, Molly.

Wayne

[Wayne Scott]

You must have the same Motorola I got with the new contract with what's now Cingular. Eats batteries too and I still haven't figured out how to turn it off.

I admit that some of my problems with it are that it's too simple. Hit the green phone button for a redial and you get a whole call log, not just the last number you called, for instance. Not sure it comes out even with all the time I spent looking for the call log, but it might by the time the phone's defunct.

We seem to be in a NOzone regardless of which service we'd be with. I would like to know why with antenna masts sprouting up all over everywhere the call areas get smaller and smaller.

The new Cingular contract is unlimited anywhere anytime calling in the US (seems to be parts of Canada too) with no roaming charges, for $29.95 a month, but the other day I tried to call an office building within sight of the one from whose parking lot I was dialing, and couldn't connect even though the antenna blips and the battery blips indicating signal strength and charge were as high as they go.

And by the way that was Frank's Molly that steamrollered him out of Verizon, not me. I'm MY Molly.

most of the time...
I totally forgot that we have 2 Molly's here and answered Frank as tho YOU had slammed him into T-Mobile. That despite that fact that a couple of weeks ago a sat across the dinner table from Molly Haber for about 2 hours.
I'm old and senile and almost brainless.

[Wayne Scott]

You lucky dog! That was hands-down the best phone I owned. I used it for three years until the ear piece gave out. When I wanted to get it fixed, Verizon said I could not get it repaired.

I liked everything about that phone, except it had no speakerphone.

I've yet to meet someone who had one and did not like it, and I know a few who still have it...and brag about it.
I still have 2 that I bought on e-bay, one in use and one in reserve. Simply a great phone with LOOOOONG battery life.

[Wayne Scott]

You are wrong. <g>

Whether the antenna retracted depended on the carrier. Phones on CDMA networks (Verizon, Sprint) used retractable antennae to provide the proper antenna length when extended. Phones used on TDMA networks (AT&T) and GSM networks (most of whom were borged by Cingular) used a different antenna construction and were rigid.
Nope, I have a Verizon Motorola 60v or whatever that has gsm and the non-retractable antenna!!

[Judy G. Russell]

The only other choice I can see is to have a charger in your office, in your home and in your car!I already do! I thought about the Treo, and then decided I wouldn't use it enough. I'm leaning towards the LG 4650 at this point. No camera, just basic phone.

[Judy G. Russell]

I had AT&T and was almost eaten alive by roaming charges. Practically everywhere I went was out of my calling area, and the cost for a nationwide plan was more than what I considered reasonable. The minute my contract was up, I switched to Verizon. About a month later, my brother-in-law's father died and I ended up spending time in a section of Virginia where AT&T's roaming charges would have killed me. Verizon's charges? $0.00. I ain't ever leaving Verizon.

[Mike]

(For some reason, clicking on the "Quote" button gives me a screen in which I can't type a reply, so please excuse the lack of a quote.)

Believe me, it really happens. More than once, I've been on the landline phone, and if the handset or headset cord is anywhere near the cell phone, I periodically hear an interrupted buzzing noise. Moving the cell phone or the cord immediately reduces or eliminates the noise.

More than once, I've had the phone on the table in the conference room, and the speaker phone (not in use) started making the same noise. Moving the phone again alleviate the noise.

As well, I've set the phone on co-workers' desks and had the same thing occur.

The noise is periodic, as if the phone occasionally is broadcasting a signal. And it always occurs about three seconds before the phone rings.

[Mike]

Nope, I have a Verizon Motorola 60v or whatever that has gsm and the non-retractable antenna!!
If it's a Verizon phone, then it's CDMA. However, newer CDMA phones have rigid antennae.

The StarTaks used retractable antennae on CDMA networks, and rigid antennae on other networks.

[Dan in Saint Louis]

The noise is periodic, as if the phone occasionally is broadcasting a signal. And it always occurs about three seconds before the phone rings.
Actually, it is transmitting. When a cell phone is turned on, it stays in contact with the nearest towers so the system always knows which tower is getting the clearest signal and should assume control of the phone. That's how they keep from having to broadcast every message from every tower.

Three seconds before it rings is probably the the tower checking that the phone is ready to receive a call, and the phone saying "yes".

I have never heard the symptoms you describe, however. Is yours the only phone that causes them?

[RayB (France)]

Actually, it is transmitting. When a cell phone is turned on, it stays in contact with the nearest towers so the system always knows which tower is getting the clearest signal and should assume control of the phone. That's how they keep from having to broadcast every message from every tower.

Three seconds before it rings is probably the the tower checking that the phone is ready to receive a call, and the phone saying "yes".

I have never heard the symptoms you describe, however. Is yours the only phone that causes them?


I get the 'bip-bip-bips' on my computer spkrs and digital clock/radio in the bedroom from nowhere sometimes but not often and always on incoming and outgoing calls if I am at my desk. We are pretty close to a tower.

[fhaber]

Verizon ain't THAT bad in NYC. I'll omit the little incident that my and my neighbors' cells for a mile up and down my avenue never updated us to Eastern Standard. A little trip into civiliz^H^H midtown fixed that.

I tell, you, I'm totally a fossil. Molly (mine) saw a woman typing 40-50 wpm into her Blackberry with her *thumbs*. Upper/lower case, too, and no teen abbrevs (cul8tr, alig8tr). Even given that the new Blackberries may have initial-caps firmware, I am just floored. People not only love their BB nose rings, love their slavery, but *enjoy* typing away on the things. On the *subway*.

(Joining Wayne in the senior section)

[fhaber]

Blackberries in their cradles produce a tweedle-toot that's so characteristic that you can recognize it in the computer speakers of a friend, over the phone. I call it, "Blackberry music," and rib my friends about it mercilessly.

[Judy G. Russell]

ENJOY typing on those things??? Egads... move over, the senior section is getting full...

[Lindsey]

ENJOY typing on those things??? Egads... move over, the senior section is getting full...
Is there a special section for those who have never even held one? Much less actually typed on one?

--Lindsey

[Judy G. Russell]

I've only held someone else's, not really typed anything for real -- but my thumbs are too big -- or too clumsy!

[Jeff]

Is there a special section for those who have never even held one? Much less actually typed on one?

--Lindsey

How about a section for those who have never even seen one, whatever they are.

- Jeff

[RayB (France)]

How about a section for those who have never even seen one, whatever they are.

- Jeff

We have jillions of them growing here on the farm. Delicious on ice cream!

[Dan in Saint Louis]

We have jillions of them growing here on the farm. Delicious on ice cream!
I grind one up and put the powder in my gas tank every time I fill up. More HP, and better mileage too!

[RayB (France)]

I grind one up and put the powder in my gas tank every time I fill up. More HP, and better mileage too!

Sure it's not brandy you're making?

[ndebord]

Blackberries in their cradles produce a tweedle-toot that's so characteristic that you can recognize it in the computer speakers of a friend, over the phone. I call it, "Blackberry music," and rib my friends about it mercilessly.

Frank,

Give me an old IBM Selectric or even a Northgate keyboard. Anything but a PDA or a Blackberry. I remember when I saw all those people using styluses (sp) to laboriously type in their schedules, I knew madness was widespread!

<sigh>

[Lindsey]

How about a section for those who have never even seen one, whatever they are.
I'd qualify for that, too!

--Lindsey

[Dan in Saint Louis]

Sure it's not brandy you're making?
Well, I have tasted some brandy that was not that far from gasoline.......

[Mike]

Other people in the office with the same brand phone encounter the same situation. As well, I briefly used a phone of the same brand (but under TDMA, not GSM) last year, and it also exhibited the same symptoms. <shrug>

[Nick Cvetkovic]

I don't have any specific recommendations but I'd go with whichever phone has the longest talk time.

THEN, buy a spare charger and a second extra-capacity battery from eBay.

That's how I deal with my color screen PDA phone which doesn't go more than about 12 hours if I use the PDA a bit.

I'm surprised you don't want bells and whistles.

If you did, this would be the way to go, the VX9800 which, essentially, is a 'candy bar phone' and a Sidekick-derivative back to back.

http://community.compuserve.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&tsn=13&tid=256&webtag=ws-gadgetsgear

[Judy G. Russell]

I'm surprised you don't want bells and whistles.Not in a phone. In my newest-biggest-bestest computers, yes. But telephones to me are mostly ways for other people to intrude on my time, and I prefer to allow that as little as possible!