need advice

[BushmasterSOH]

Ok, I would love to get some input on this. I currently have Alltel in NE Ohio. I am not sure about the whole merger thing, but am ready for a new phone. I also have one phone still in contract, so there is no switching at the time, not to mention I like the plans and pricing. I am totally new to smartphones and really think I’d like one. I currently have a Razor v3c and get reception with it everywhere I need and that is very important. The biggest need for the phone besides the voice calls is a great calendar and to do lists. I saw someones that had reminders on the home screen. Although it was nice amd would be used, I’m not sure it’s needed. It will also be used for text messages and web to kill time working midnights. I get a lot of animated or picture like texts. Email is not a necessity, but am sure I’ll use it from time to time. Sync with pc is not a necessity as I don’t keep a calendar on there. Editing documents is also not a necessity. I doubt it’ll be used for music, but maybe an occasional video and tv on the web. I am sure the videos eats the battery, so what do I have to sacrifice? I have heard about apps available for phones and sure I will venture there too to play around, A LOT. I will have lots of time to play with it. It will be on almost 24/7 (used for alarm clock too), so stability is very important. I understand computers, but am far from an expert, so if there are technical things that may need done, I’m ok with it as long as I can find the answer ok with step by step instruction. I have heard a couple pros and cons for both Windows Mobile as well as BB OS. Ijust know I need it to work without issues. I have no experience with either. I also have no experience with either qwerty or virtual keyboard, but think I’d like a qwerty.

From what I see at Alltel, I have three to choose from: Blackberry Curve 8330, HTC Touch Pro, and Palm Treo Pro. Any suggestion, pros and cons to them?

Thanks in advance.

[Quirk]

Since your in the TP forum, I think the most popular answer you'll get is the Touch Pro. It will do everything you listed as important, along with the things that aren't important to you.

TBH, you might even be able to get what you want from a 6800 (Mogul), but I still recommend the Touch Pro.

[Wingzfan]

Blackberry Curve 8330 - (my wife has this one) is good but I hate having to pay for the Blackberry features on top of my phone plan.

Touch Pro - will do everything you want and then some.Its got one of the best screens to watch tv, surf the web, play games, watch videos, stream music, navigation system, email clients, texting, the list goes on and on. Basically its a mini computer

Treo Pro - is one Ill be trying out for a week or so in a couple days. Ive messed with one in a store and while it doesnt have the size or quality of the Touch Pro's VGA screen, its still pretty nice. Being that its a windows mobile device , you can still find alot of apps for it to help organize, watch tv etc. It'll do most of the things a Touch Pro will do but wont look as nice doing them. The keyboards a little cramped but overall its not bad.

The one issue your going to have is battery life. Your coming from a razor which can go 2 days on one charge with moderate use. You wont get anywhere near that when you go to a windows mobile or a smartphone.

Blackberry Curve can get you through a full 24 hour period with very limited data use and moderate phone/text use.

Treo Pro from what Ive read can get you thru 24 hours with hardly any data use and very limited phone/text use.

Touch Pro can get you thru a 24 hour period if you turn it off for those 24 hours. You can average around 12-15 hours with light phone/text use and extremely limited data use. I average around 8 hours with maybe 30 minutes of web surfing, 2 hours of phone calls and probably 30 or so texts. I also pop on a game a couple times during those 8 hours. However, sometimes I dont get thru 6 hours before being at 20% battery.

Touch Pro is by far the best of the 3 but you have to sacrifice battery life to get its features. For me its not a huge deal because Im always near a charger but if Im planning on going out for the day I make damn sure Ive got a full charge before leaving the house.

Im not sure how Verizon works but Sprint allows you to try a phone for 30 days and if you dont like it you can return it for a different model. If Verizon does that I'd suggest taking full advantage of it.

[BushmasterSOH]

I am kinda looking for any other owners/users of all to comment please. I see in some profiles of people that own all, but they have not yet responded.

The whole email push, mp3, editing documents are not big deals to me.
Primarily a phone (w/ good reception), calendar (2nd most important), text message, and toy. Meaning that I will kill dead time at work surfing and playing with applications.
I do not want it to be freezing up on me and from what I read Touch Pro will have that problem as well as it's short battery life. Is the freezing up a Touch or WinMo issue? I can deal with the Touch battery issue, I will be in a car where I can charge it most of the time.

I am still torn between the three: Treo Pro, Touch Pro, BB 8330

Remember, I am a first time smartphone owner and do not want to be dissappointed or totally frustrated.
Thanks for your help!

[vpr5703]

I went from a Motorola RAZR V3m to a Moto Q9c and then the Touch Pro. I find with a reasonable amount of usage I can get through a day on battery (Ive flashed my ROM, so maybe thats to do with it.) But the sheer amount of fun I have with the device far offsets any sort of issue I have with battery life. I agree with Wingzfan on the differences between the three phones. In addition, if you are looking for a device with low frustration and high fun, WinMo is DEF the way to go. Easy to use (IMHO, blackberries are a pain in my tail), TONS of free apps, and the ability to flash different ROM images are a great plus to having one of these devices. My only latent issue with the Pro is signal reception. I live in the boondocks, and sometimes its hard to get service. But even my Motorola struggled a bit, if that gives you any idea of how far our I live. Keep in mind there IS a learning curve, it took me about 2 weeks of steady fiddling before I learned where everything was, and to this day Im still finding cool features.

You wouldn't be wrong gonig with a Pro, and Verizon does give you 30 days, so it's practically risk free if you dont destroy the phone! Good luck, and if you decide to go with a Pro, come back to the forums for some cool apps and great support.