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shifuimam · Oct 2, 2007, 01:42 PM

I've got Verizon, and I'm up for a new phone in two weeks (hooray!).

I'm sticking with Motorola at this point. Being able to charge via USB on a computer, as well as the hackability of them (to add my own ringtones, etc) has sold me on the brand.

So. Right now it's a tossup between the W385 ($30), the KRZR K1m Fire ($50), or the SLVR L7c ($70).

Anyone have any of these? Love it or hate it? Any reason why I should pick one over the others? I really have no idea what to do at this point - they all look sexy as hell, so it's a hard decision. The music playback capability is pretty much moot for me since I have a 2G Shuffle and a Chinese shuffle knockoff AND a 60GB Photo, so I'm more concerned with reception, call quality, usability, battery life, etc.

BlackFC3s · Oct 2, 2007, 08:52 PM

go with the slvr. The Krazr is harder to hack. Your going to need a PC anyway to hack the phone if you dont have a Intel mac.

ghporter · Oct 2, 2007, 09:12 PM

I'd dump Verizon. Seriously, with all the crap they block in as many of the phones they offer as is the case, I don't see giving them any money at all. I've been with AT&T (and Cingular before that, AT&T Wireless before Cingular bought them, etc...) and one thing that this carrier has managed to do very well is provide phones that aren't crippled. I've had a RAZR for about two years, and I'm very impressed by it. I don't use my phone for my primary entertainment and surfing tool, so the few things the current RAZRs don't do in those areas aren't a problem for me. But I can send pictures I take with it via Bluetooth to my Mac. I can create ringtones and upload them to the phone without buying some huge and unnecessary Verizon package plan. I can do all sorts of things and all with the phone as I got it - no hacks or upgrades needed.

My 2¢...

SpaceRockness · Oct 2, 2007, 11:22 PM

I wouldn't complain about Verizon's crippling, some people are stuck with a carrier based on coverage. Where I live T-Mobile & Verizon whips Cingular/at&t and Sprint/Nextel. Not everyone is lucky enough to have 4 carriers to choose from, further north(VT/NH) where I live its down to Verizon vs Unicel(TMO roams on them) vs US Cellular. With the buyout of Unicel by VerizonWireless over the summer, next year it'll be down to VZW vs US Cellular

I'm a GSM user but my mum has a SLVR from Cingular and loved it. The Verizon version lacks iTunes, yet upgraded the camera and should support a 2GB microSD card. Its the better Moto if you're afraid of breaking a hinge on a flip or screen. Her SLVR has taken a beating over 1.5yrs from being dropped onto a tile floor and other regular hazards a phone may suffer. The SLVR impressed me so much, I later bought the cheaper version for my dad as the design is impressive. CDMA version should be as solid as the GSM model

Personally I'd never buy another flip phone esp Moto, the quality is a crapshot and the KRZR suffers the same RAZR "invalid battery" glitch with OEM batteries after a 12-14 months. A friend of mine had a KRZR do that... soon after my RAZR(exactly 12 months later) did it. Thankfully I bought a new phone(Nokia 5300) from my carrier and never looked back

shifuimam · Oct 3, 2007, 08:34 AM

Originally Posted by BlackFC3s

go with the slvr. The Krazr is harder to hack. Your going to need a PC anyway to hack the phone if you dont have a Intel mac.

The Mac thing isn't a problem - my primary machine is a Dell PowerEdge.

I did see on mark.cdmaforums.com that the bit to enable USB file transfer is the same on the KRZR K1m as the RAZR V3 and V3c...you know anything about this? Is it confirmed to work?

All I want, hacking-wise, is to be able to put my own ringtones on. I just added a $10 addon to my plan that gives me 500 pix/txt messages a month, so getting pictures off isn't an issue...but I want my ringtones.

Originally Posted by ghporter

I'd dump Verizon. Seriously, with all the crap they block in as many of the phones they offer as is the case, I don't see giving them any money at all.

Oh, I know about the crippled-ness on Verizon vs. AT&T, but AT&T's service sucks where I work and during the 40-mile commute home (lots of dead spots). I also get a 20% discount through my employer on Verizon, so I'm saving about $10/mo on my base plan just from that. I've gotten good customer support from Verizon, and nearly everyone I know is on it, so I have free in-network calling and txt/pix messaging.

I'll probably go to the Verizon store this weekend, play around a bit, and find out if they have a return policy on the phones. If they do, I'm thinking I'll get the KRZR and return it if I can't get it to let me put my own ringtones on.

CharlesS · Oct 3, 2007, 10:36 AM

My sister has an Alltel-branded KRZR, and it transfers ringtones fine, so if you flash the Alltel firmware onto the Verzion KRZR (which I understand is a popular way to enable features that Verizon blocks) you should be able to transfer ringtones that way. Unfortunately, iSync is very stupid and only recognizes the Verizon-firmware KRZR by default, but that can be fixed with a little plist hacking, and then iSync works with the Alltel KRZR too.

shifuimam · Oct 3, 2007, 12:50 PM

As long as I can flash back to the Verizon firmware if something goes wrong, I don't mind flashing to Alltel. I like Verizon's phone interface, actually, but I can deal with another UI if it means easier hacking.

I did find this handy post on some seem edits that appear to do what I want.

I've read some stuff online about the KRZR's front glass piece cracking. Is this frequent? I think I've settled on the KRZR, but I'm still not sure what I'm going to do.

That new LG VX1000 looks pretty hot...

butterfly0fdoom · Oct 3, 2007, 02:17 PM

Nah, I'd go for the Juke if I were going for something from Verizon. It's just plain cooler.

SpaceRockness · Oct 3, 2007, 04:36 PM

Flashing Moto RAZR & KRZR to the Alltel firmware is quite common on HowardForums VZW user area, just make sure you backup everything if you need to roll it back for a phone replacement/exchange. Yeah, most utilities for modding is on the Wintel side so be prepared to reflash then do a handful of seem edits to tweak things to your needs. Just remember some carrier firmwares will have slight variations of SEEM #s... VZW vs Alltel could be just like Cingular/att vs T-Mobile (one has a specific feature and the other is missing and seem editing may not bring it back)

As far as the glass piece breaking on the KRZR, some people may have not been using a proper case or left the phone facing outwards while within the case and it took some shock. With CDMA phones getting thin like GSM, there isn't much protection to external/internal displays anymore.

shifuimam · Oct 3, 2007, 04:41 PM

Originally Posted by butterfly0fdoom

Nah, I'd go for the Juke if I were going for something from Verizon. It's just plain cooler.

Oh, yeah. That Juke looks really awesome. The new ones are going to be too expensive though... estimates put it at like $150 after rebates with a two-year service agreement. That's just too much for me.

I'll go play with all the phones this weekend at the Verizon store and see what I come up with.