Need New Cell Phone Help

[piperpilot]

My husband's old cell phone died last weekend. He can't seem to decide between the SonyEricsson S710 and the Motorola RAZRv3, both available from Cingular. Anybody have any experience with one or both of these phones that could make a recommendation? I had the disastrous SonyEricsson t68i and have tried to stay away from SonyEricsson ever since, but the S710 seems to have more features than the RAZR, most notably EDGE compatibility. Both phones, however, have been out for a while and I'm thinking there has to be something new and better on the horizon. Any thoughts on that aspect?

[piperpilot]

My husband's old cell phone died last weekend. He can't seem to decide between the SonyEricsson S710 and the Motorola RAZRv3, both available from Cingular. Anybody have any experience with one or both of these phones that could make a recommendation? I had the disastrous SonyEricsson t68i and have tried to stay away from SonyEricsson ever since, but the S710 seems to have more features than the RAZR, most notably EDGE compatibility. Both phones, however, have been out for a while and I'm thinking there has to be something new and better on the horizon. Any thoughts on that aspect?

[emuelle1]

My wife and I just got new cell phones. We had the old Motorola T722.

I did a lot of research on cell phones and providers, and came to the conclusion that Cingular would work better for us, because they have the best plans and prices and also the best phones.

From the research that I did, if money were not an issue in any way, shape, or form, my first choice cell phone would be the Nokia 6620. This phone has the best Geek factor that I've come across. My friend bought one on my research, and though it doesn't fit the best in your hand, it is a very cool phone. The browser supports html, not just WAP, it has BT, and the video camera can take up to 10 minute clips. It has an MMC card.

My second choice would be the Nokia 6230. IT is almost as cool and full of options as the 6620, and also adds an FM radio. It sounds silly, but the other night when my wife and I got to a restaurant to meet her parents, and a talk show host said he would reveal something in 20 minutes, I told her she should have let me get that phone.

My third choice is the Motorola v551. It is a good, sturdy phone, full of features such as Blue Tooth, and camera, etc.

We settled on the Sony Ericson z500a phones, because they were a good financial compromise on the features that I wanted. I wanted a camera and I wanted a speaker phone. This has both, but no Blue Tooth. I actually did own the Motorola v551 for about an hour, but my wife was not pleased with that decision, so in the interests of marital harmony I took it back and got the Sony Ericson.

I'm sure you'll get plenty of other advice, including Pocket PC phones. But based on my research and current needs, those three are the top on my list, and as I said, the z500a is a decent, lower end, lower cost phone.

[Jacob]

I guess it depends on what he wants/needs.

I just recently got the RAZR and I'm happy with it. The speaker on it is pretty small so if I put it in the wrong spot on my ear I can't hear it well, but if I move it to the right spot - it's clear as a bell. I also wouldn't mind if the volume were higher.

Other than that, I don't really have any complaints about it. If your husband wants the EDGE support then it's not your choice.

There's always something else on the horizon and the RAZR's been out for a while.

You might want to check Phonescoop or Howard forums for more info on recent phones.

[emuelle1]

http://www.cnet.com also has some good cell phone reviews, and they've also added videos which I found helpful in my research.

[piperpilot]

Originally Posted by emuelle1

http://www.cnet.com also has some good cell phone reviews, and they've also added videos which I found helpful in my research.

Yeah, I looked at them (including the videos). The editors liked the RAZR better, while the users liked the SonyEricsson better. I'm with you about the videos. They're short but very helpful in terms of gauging size, etc.

[emuelle1]

I'm really impressed with CNET lately.

[Janak Parekh]

Originally Posted by piperpilot

They're short but very helpful in terms of gauging size, etc.

Also take a look at the data at Phone Scoop -- less useful for size, but more useful for the other specs.

Anyway... what does he want in a phone? The S710 is known for its camera, IIRC, while the RAZR is awesome for a thin phone that fits in one's pocket. If it were up to me, though, I'd consider a Smartphone instead. From what I've heard, the SMT5600 is really nice. Smartphones work like regular phones than the Pocket PC phones do, but they're still Outlook-syncable and support custom software installation. To me, both are killer features, and they work well on my i600 with Verizon. The Nokia smartphones are also worth a look, but from what I've heard their syncing features are lacking.

--janak