[dustrho]

Let me first state that I have not owned my own personal cell phone and paid for my own service since 1998. I've always had the pleasure of using cell service on the cell phone my company has provided me. I've had either Blackberries or Windows Mobile phones, and like I said the service was already paid for. The compay I'm now working for has given me a Blackberry since I'm in IT, but they've stated they don't want us using it for personal calls. Plus, they audit everything on it, so I'm going to need to start shopping for a new cell phone and service provider. Here's my questions and comments, so hopefully everyone can give me some help here.

- What's a good cell phone? Is the Motorola RAZR V3 any good?
- How's T-Mobile for phone service? I live in the Chicagoland area.
- I don't want a Blackberry, iPhone or Windows Mobile device... just a simple cell phone and clamshell preferred.
- Won't need it for email or texting.
- Would like to be able to surf the net, but not totally necessary.
- Would LOVE for it to be able to sync up to my Macbook Pro, but again not totally necessary.

Thanks everyone.

[Atheist]

Before I got my iPhone I had a Moto SLVR L7. It's a great general purpose phone and I really liked it. Small, lightweight and very durable. Can't tell you how many times I dropped the thing. My partner has had three RAZR's and they all have had problems (mostly with the screens). I just don't think the RAZR is a durable phone. I don't have much experience with other brands so I can't make any other suggestions.

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by dustrho 

- What's a good cell phone? Is the Motorola RAZR V3 any good?

It works, but it's very old - it was released over three years ago. It doesn't even have EDGE, so don't expect to use it for browsing the Internet. It did also have some problems with its screen, as Atheist mentioned. The later versions of the V3 such as the V3i, V3t, V3xx, etc. are better. They're not big whiz-bang feature phones, but they're simple and they get good signal strength.

I've got the RAZR2 V8, and one thing about it is that the reception it gets is excellent. I have never used a phone before that was able to get this kind of signal quality. It also feels very durable (although I think I take fairly good care of my phones and don't drop them often, so perhaps I'm not the one to ask about that). The V8 also has a new Linux-based OS which is a lot better than the old Motorola OS used on the V3 series. The bad news about the V8 (and other Motos that use the new OS) is that it is not compatible with iSync yet, so if you want to sync it with your Mac you have to wait and hope that Apple eventually decides to support it. I believe that all the older V3 series RAZRs either work with iSync out of the box or can be hacked into working.

- How's T-Mobile for phone service? I live in the Chicagoland area.

My experience was that it worked extremely well - better than AT&T. Of course, this could be due to the aforementioned signal strength of the phone I have.

- Would LOVE for it to be able to sync up to my Macbook Pro, but again not totally necessary.

There's a complete list of officially supported phones here. Many Motos not on that list can be hacked into working, but this doesn't work with the V8 and other phones that use the new Linux-based OS.

Since you're looking at T-Mobile, I might recommend that you wait a while for some more of the Android phones to come out, but on second thought that would probably be overkill for what you've described your needs as being.

[Atheist]

With regard to service provider. I think it's generally hit-or-miss. When in the States, I work in Tyson's Corner, VA... just a few blocks from the shopping mall and I get zero bars in my office building with T-Mobile. Folks with AT&T and Verizon get full bars. Best to ask your friends and colleagues in Chicago about service if that's where you will use the phone most.

[thechidz]

razr's do get excellent reception so use it only as a phone. anything else like texting or internet is a no-no on it

[dustrho]

Thanks for the suggestions so far everyone, but please keep them coming.

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by Atheist 

With regard to service provider. I think it's generally hit-or-miss. When in the States, I work in Tyson's Corner, VA... just a few blocks from the shopping mall and I get zero bars in my office building with T-Mobile. Folks with AT&T and Verizon get full bars. Best to ask your friends and colleagues in Chicago about service if that's where you will use the phone most.

T-Mobile is good in the Chicago area.

[turtle777]

Most newer Motorola phones sync with the OS X Address Book w/o a problem.

If you want internet, forget anything but the iPhone.

-t

[CharlesS]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

Most newer Motorola phones sync with the OS X Address Book w/o a problem.

Except, as I said, for the ones running their newer Linux-based OS, such as the RAZR2 V8, which are not yet supported by iSync.

[dustrho]

I purchased the Motorola RAZR VE20 for $50 (after all these rebates) on 12/7 from US Cellular and got the Wide Area 1000 plan which includes the following (for $50/month)...

- 1000 anytime minutes
- Unlimited Incoming Calls
- Unlimited Night and Weekend Minutes starting at 7 PM
- Incoming text messages
- 30 built-in roaming minutes

Not a bad deal if you ask me.

So I've had this Motorola RAZR phone for over a week now, and the battery life sucks ass and it gets extremely warm when after using it for more than 15 minutes. Since I chose to go with US Cellular, I have the option of exchanging it for any other phone within 30 days of the initial purchase. I thought about possibly exchanging it with the Blackberry Pearl 8130, as my wife just got one yesterday and I am really impressed with it. I've always loved Blackberry phones, so I am giving it serious thoughts. Anyone else use a Blackberry Pearl here? I've never had issues with normal Blackberries, but since this is a bit smaller with the SureType keyboard I'm not 100% sold on it but am close.

Lastly, Mac users have been able to sync this up to your Macs, right? I noticed Blackberry has software called Blackberry for Mac, which seems to do just that. Does that work well?