Cell phone question

[Big John]

I am at the end of a contract, and Verizon is "offering" me a RAZR or a KRZR phone for renewing. Any problems or recommendations on those phones or is there a different direction I should go?

[Ursa Majoris]

I am at the end of a contract, and Verizon is "offering" me a RAZR or a KRZR phone for renewing. Any problems or recommendations on those phones or is there a different direction I should go?

If you need to synch work email, you might want to look at PDA phones. I have one for business necessity. I'll let others weigh in on the merits of different phones.

 

BTW, I would recommend sticking with Verizon, FWIW.

[Big John]

If you need to synch work email, you might want to look at PDA phones. I have one for business necessity.

I don't need to do that. (I will let the company pay for a cell if it is for work-related activities.)

[Jimmy Neutron]

I can only speak of the RAZR - best phone I've ever owned & have had about 2 dozen. Great battery life, very good sound - louder than most which is important to me (bad hearing), great reception, great screen - I use V-Cast and like it a lot.

[Pope Flick]

Never had a razr - I've heard they're fragile. Is that true?

[Jimmy Neutron]

Never had a razr - I've heard they're fragile. Is that true?

 

 

I've had mine for a year now with no problems & I am hard on phones. Most seem to last me around 6 months.

 

I will say that the shell of the phone does get beat up - nicked a lot and such. They are not very tough that way, but I've had zero malfunctions.

[irish]

I can only speak of the RAZR - best phone I've ever owned & have had about 2 dozen. Great battery life, very good sound - louder than most which is important to me (bad hearing), great reception, great screen - I use V-Cast and like it a lot.

 

 

I agree with all these points except the battery. It's terrible. I just got a RAZR and from about 8 AM to between 4-5 if I use it about 4-5 times, more forget it, the battery has maybe 1 bar left. The phone needs to be charged nightly, whereas my old Verizon Samsung phone could go an average of 4 days without a charge.

 

I've had mine for a year now with no problems & I am hard on phones. Most seem to last me around 6 months.

 

I will say that the shell of the phone does get beat up - nicked a lot and such. They are not very tough that way, but I've had zero malfunctions.

 

 

It does get nicked up but it's a pretty solid phone for it's dimensions.

Edited February 3, 2007 by irish

[Jimmy Neutron]

I agree with all these points except the battery. It's terrible. I just got a RAZR and from about 8 AM to between 4-5 if I use it about 4-5 times, more forget it, the battery has maybe 1 bar left. The phone needs to be charged nightly, whereas my old Verizon Samsung phone could go an average of 4 days without a charge.

It does get nicked up but it's a pretty solid phone for it's dimensions.

 

 

Maybe I got a good battery, maybe you got a bad one???

 

I use about 1600 minutes a month - lots of short calls - and charge the phone about every 4 days - more if I watch more than a couple of Vcast clips.

[dabuffbills]

I agree with all these points except the battery. It's terrible. I just got a RAZR and from about 8 AM to between 4-5 if I use it about 4-5 times, more forget it, the battery has maybe 1 bar left. The phone needs to be charged nightly, whereas my old Verizon Samsung phone could go an average of 4 days without a charge.

 

I've had this same problem too. Even if I start with it fully charged, it will be almost dead after a couple of calls.

[irish]

Maybe I got a good battery, maybe you got a bad one???

 

I use about 1600 minutes a month - lots of short calls - and charge the phone about every 4 days - more if I watch more than a couple of Vcast clips.

 

 

No, cause I bought mine along with my wife, sister and 2 brothers. We all have the same problem. I even know a couple people in school and they have the same problems. So looks as though you got lucky with a good battery.

[Jimmy Neutron]

I've had this same problem too. Even if I start with it fully charged, it will be almost dead after a couple of calls.

 

 

Just a quick note for any that don't know - do not charge you phone unless it's nearly dead! If you do, battery life will suffer greatly. I can't explain why, but it is as true with cell phone batteries as it is with 5000 lb industrial forklift batteries.

[Ursa Majoris]

Just a quick note for any that don't know - do not charge you phone unless it's nearly dead! If you do, battery life will suffer greatly. I can't explain why, but it is as true with cell phone batteries as it is with 5000 lb industrial forklift batteries.

 

This should not be the case with lithium ion batteries but I know you're right. My XV6700 battery is way worse than it used to be because I charge it nightly.

[Trots]

Just a quick note for any that don't know - do not charge you phone unless it's nearly dead! If you do, battery life will suffer greatly. I can't explain why, but it is as true with cell phone batteries as it is with 5000 lb industrial forklift batteries.

 

Agreed. Get a new battery and charge it only when near dead. The batteries develop a memory if you charge them too often and will only hold the charge for 1 day or so. I learned this the hard way because I was used to coming home and charging it every day and all night. Now, I charge it every 4-5 days with no problem. Again, you will need to get a new battery once yours develops this problem.

[rocknrobn26]

Just a quick note for any that don't know - do not charge you phone unless it's nearly dead! If you do, battery life will suffer greatly. I can't explain why, but it is as true with cell phone batteries as it is with 5000 lb industrial forklift batteries.

 

Actually, w/ a NiCad that is true, but with Nickel Metal Hydride and I think Lithium-Ion it's not. LI's & LMH's have no memory, there fore a partial charge should not matter.

 

From the old days of Nicad battery use, you may be in the habit of trying to completely discharge your cells before recharge to prevent a problem known as "memory effect," wherein the cell would only charge to its last partial charge level, or something like that... This is not a factor with Nmh batteries. Indeed, you can ruin your batteries if you discharge them to rock bottom. Here's why: Consider a headlamp with two AA batteries. You leave it on until it goes completely black. No two batteries are exactly the same. Thus, at some point in the discharge of the headlamp one battery went completely down before the other. When this happens the fresher battery reverse charges the exhausted cell, and eventually ruins it. This is also why you use and charge batteries in sets. Doing so uses and abuses the same group of batteries in the same ways, so they'll always have similar charges.

 

http://www.wildsnow.com/articles/batteries...arg_battery.htm

 

 

Specs:

# Ultra Thin, Anodized Aluminum Case and Feather-Touch Precision Crafted Keypad is Very Sleek

# Long-Range Bluetooth Capability

# Vibrant, Beautiful Dual Color Screens

# Built-In Speakerphone

# 4x Digital Zoom Camera

# Java 2.0 Supports 3D Graphics

# PC Synchronization To Co-ordinate Calendar and Contact Information (with optional software)

# 400 Min Talk/250 Hours Standby

# Weight—3.35 Ounces

# Dimensions—3.86" x 2.09" x 0.54"

# 1,000 Entry Phonebook

# Ring Tones or MP3 & Vibrate Option

# Games—Skipping Stones, Golf, and Billiards

# Built-in Alarm

Edited February 3, 2007 by rocknrobn26

[Ursa Majoris]

Actually, w/ a NiCad that is true, but with Nickel Metal Hydride and I think Lithium-Ion it's not. LI's have no memory, there fore a partial charge should not matter.

 

The operative word is "should". Experience is telling me otherwise.

[Big Country]

I have to charge mine daily (have a Q, not a RAZR), but that is because I use it at work for just about all of my non-work related surfing.

[Jimmy Neutron]

Actually, w/ a NiCad that is true, but with Nickel Metal Hydride and I think Lithium-Ion it's not. LI's & LMH's have no memory, there fore a partial charge should not matter.

 

 

I heard that about lithium batteries too, but have still had better luck avoiding opportunity charging.

 

When my wife got a new phone nearly a year ago, she stuck it on her charger whenever she thought about it. Althought the battery was Li-ion, it soon was down considerably in its capacity. I bought a new battery and told told her not to charge it unless it's dead - the new battery is still rolling along despite my wife's and hundreds of text messages every month.

[Trots]

Mine was Li-ion also. The new one with much less charging works 10 times as well.

[rocknrobn26]

The operative word is "should". Experience is telling me otherwise.

 

 

Should was my word. In the quote below that they explain why it's bad to totally discharge.

If 2 people have the same phone and they are using it in the same way and one has much better battery life than the other, it tells me the battery is bad, and not the charging method. When I got my last 2 phones, my wife's was lasting 2x longer in standby than mine, and she made more calls. I complained to Verizon and they sent a new batt., and the problem was solved.

[Jimmy Neutron]

Should was my word. In the quote below that they explain why it's bad to totally discharge.

If 2 people have the same phone and they are using it in the same way and one has much better battery life than the other, it tells me the battery is bad, and not the charging method. When I got my last 2 phones, my wife's was lasting 2x longer in standby than mine, and she made more calls. I complained to Verizon and they sent a new batt., and the problem was solved.

 

 

Total discharge of any battery is bad, but most devices have a built-in control that prevents this - cell phones simply shut off and a preset level of battery discharge.

 

I do agree that there are large numbers of bad cell batteries. I manage an account of 13 phones for work and have found that most cell performance problems are battery related. Plenty of new phones come with sub-par batteries.

 

Another bit of advice I have is to not leave your phone in the car when it is hot or cold. Both seem tp have adverse affect on battery life.

[Puddy]

Big John -

If you are interested at all at changing companies then visit wirefly.com. You can get a heckuva bargain on the equipment (for example, the phone I use was completely free and then I got a $100 rebate on top of that). The catch is you must switch companies as they get paid on the activation fee ($35 or so).

Edited February 3, 2007 by Puddy

[chiefjay]

No problem with my Razr or battery but then again I don't use my cell phone a lot.

 

Solid phone thus far.

[Big John]

Big John -

If you are interested at all at changing companies then visit wirefly.com. You can get a heckuva bargain on the equipment (for example, the phone I use was completely free and then I got a $100 rebate on top of that). The catch is you must switch companies as they get paid on the activation fee ($35 or so).

 

I was not actively looking to switch, as I get good coverage with Verizon. But was wondering if there was something comong up.

 

So is the RAZR better than the KRZR (in which Verizon indicated was worth more, but is also in the "free phone" plan) or are there better phone choices with Verizon?

[Jimmy Neutron]

I was not actively looking to switch, as I get good coverage with Verizon.

 

 

This is why I really like Verizon. Features, phones and plan price mean nothing if you don't get service where you want it.

 

I've got a sample Sprint phone right now I am sending out with my drivers, but it doesn't pick up signal in a lot of places the Verizon phones work great in. Of course, that is in my neck of the woods - your results may vary.

[rocknrobn26]

I was not actively looking to switch, as I get good coverage with Verizon. But was wondering if there was something comong up.

 

So is the RAZR better than the KRZR (in which Verizon indicated was worth more, but is also in the "free phone" plan) or are there better phone choices with Verizon?

 

 

....I want to hear this also. I'm up for a phone this spring.