Okay, I need some help from you Fandroids. I have a friend that wishes to get their first smartphone on Verizon. Yes it sounds like a line…but it is not me, but really a friend. They have been a long time Verizon user, but on a tight budget. Not a high tech person and fearful of having no keyboard, so I’m not steering them to the iPhone (plus it is expensive). I’ve been looking at the Droid, not the X nor pro . Maybe a Droid 2. There are pre owned ones listed on Verizon for $29 and $49. That is a lot better than buying brand new for this person. What other places would be I get cheap Droids (new) for Verizon? Best Buy? Mobile Mike you had some deals that you used. Of course I need to keep in my mind that they can return it before 14 or 30 days in case the whole smartphone thing is not for them. Any other phones to recommend? Using Active sych Exchange is a must, so I thought a Droid or Droid 2 is best and it gives a keyboard and a touch screen. The X is too big.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. There are some awesome deals at AmazonWireless: Cell Phones. They have a toll-free number people can call if needed. Your friends would have to check with AW about their return policy period (if it's14 or 30 days). I've had great success with AmazonWireless. They are an authorized VZW retailer, so no 3rd party reseller surprises. It looks like the Droid 2 or Droid Pro would work. Not sure about ActiveSync, but I'm betting there's an app for it. I would NOT recommed ANY LG Android devices. Even checking reviews on Verizon's site show LG's smartphones aren't very good.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. There's not a huge difference between the original Droid and the Droid 2, so if your...er.."friend"..ahem... ...is on a tight budget, then I would say go with the original Droid, since you can probably get a better deal on it price-wise. The hardware differences are not that big, the newer version has a faster processor and a slightly improved keyboard (arrow keys replaced the crappy D-pad, and the keyboard has raised keys). The Droid 2 also has that R2-D2/Star-Wars edition version some people may also find interesting. I have the original Droid (well, the GSM version "Milestone") and it serves me well, I have no need to upgrade to a Droid 2 at the present time. I'll wait till my 2-year contract runs out, and hopefully the Droid 3 will be released by then so I can get a subsidy discount on that
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. The original Droid is not available at Amazon Wireless. The cost of the Droid 2 on AW is 1 penny, which is a lot cheaper than getting the original Droid through Verizon directly. Check out all possibilities with phones and sites to find the best deal. IMO, nothing beats Amazon Wireless right now.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. If you are looking for an Android phone with a keyboard on Verizon, you are pretty much destened to end up with the Droid2. If you prefer to walk into a store and get it, it is currently going for $99 at bestbuy, otherwise get it for near or at free online. No point in going with the OG (original droid) as the D2global is so cheap now. One pro-tip: also purchase the extended battery along with the phone, it makes a big difference.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. Thanks Mobile Mike. I get a price for the Droid 2 of $49. not 1 cent. Where did you get that? Also, is there a catch that I'm missing? I don't see anything about a return The txt plans offered are only per message or unlimited for $10. While Verizon has a $5 plan for 200messages or something like that.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. That's odd, viewfly. I went to amazon wireless and got the following for the D2g: Phone 1: Motorola DROID 2 Global Android Phone, Sapphire (Verizon Wireless) $ 559.99 List Price: $ 29.99 Price: Prices might vary by zip code, I guess.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. I agree with Yankees368. The Droid 2/Droid 2 Global is a good phone. The Droid X is also a good phone, although you mentioned that it would be too big for your friend. Both phones are well made, and do not have any signal issues.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. Oops, my bad. I input information for a new customer...:O Even at $49.99 for an upgrade, it's still a lot better than Verizon's so-called "discount" price, which factors in their silly debit card rebate program which doesn't help with the initial purchase price. Have them call Amazon Wireless if it is not clearly stated anywhere.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. The amazonwireless is the best deal. However the return language is a bit vague, meaning that they will take the phone back, but ask you to contact your carrier (Verizon) about going back to the old plan. Their may be some penalties, but I can't tell. I will have to give them a call about that. I think the Droid 2 is the way to go. I see some negative comments about call quality, but I'll brush them off. Every phone has a complainer, and most seem positive. Thanks guys. Any more ideas, feel free to post. I really got a feeling that this friend might just not like the whole smart phone thing, so I need to be careful for her.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. Yes, Amazon is right, you do need to contact Verizon (if the phone is returned) to have the plan changed. Once Verizon activates a smartphone, the data plan is automatically applied. It's not an add-on feature that gets added manually, it's triggered by the activation of the phone (so they say). As long as your friend follows Amazon's return guidelines, she'll be fine. There are cancellation penalties IF the line is not kept active for 6 months from purchase, but since your friend has had long-time service with them, this shouldn't be an issue. I think this rule is more for newcomers who get cold feet. Amazon's rules are worth it considering the price you get. You won't find a better price with Verizon. Also, Amazon's returns system is one of the best (in my over 12 years experience with them) of companies I've done business with.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. viewfly, the question I have for you is that if your friend is a non techie, first time smartphone user, why not something simpler like a BB, or even Palm OS? Just curious. Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.1-update1; en-us; SonyEricssonX10a Build/2.0.2.A.0.24) AppleWebKit/530.17 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/530.17
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. Yes, a good question. She works for a big global corp (that will pay the data/sms fees), about 100K employees in size. But after a decade of using only BB for corp mail, they dumped RIM and only direct Exchange Active Sync is allowed. Translation: only Windows OS or Apple iOS, absolutely no BB's. Androids are not part of the current selection, but they now have better Exchange security, so they are working 'under the table'. I expect soon they will be allowed, 'officially'.
Thanks viewfly, sounds a bit like us, although BB is still allowed and no Windows Phone, but iOS has been approved and work being done on getting Android approved. Sorry for the off topic post. Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.1-update1; en-us; SonyEricssonX10a Build/2.0.2.A.0.24) AppleWebKit/530.17 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/530.17
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. These are the messaging packages available on Verizon: 250 messages for $5 500 messages (plus unlimited Verizon messaging) for $10 5000 messages (plus unlimited Verizon messagng) for $20 Also, unlimited messaging is available with the Talk & Text plans; these plans are $20 more than the Talk plans.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. Our company uses ActiveSync - but they decided in Nov that the native android encryption wasn't good enough, so we have to use Touchdown Exchange to access the ActiveSync. I have last November's release of the ERIS. I like it better than the Motorola's because of the size. Your friend really needs to look at and feel the differences. I personally wouldn't use the physical keyboard, and don't like the extra heft that comes with it. If you can find a used HTC ERIS or Incredible, they are great - and don't have the weight of the Moto's.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. If anyone decides to go the touch screen only way, no one should ever go with the Eris at this point. It has not been sold for quite some time, and for good reason. Everyone that writes about it says that it is practically unusable without rooting and using a custom ROM. The incredible is a HUGE step over the Eris.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. Yes that is right. However the only options given with Amazonwireless are 1) none or 2) the $10 plan. We were set on the $5 plan.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. I understand that the most recent version of Android OS support Active Sync very well (from another friend). I agree with you on the keyboard. I liked my iPhone from the beginning without the hardware keyboard. I see that a lot of people on WA have turned around on their thoughts on Keyboards.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. Not sure why Amazon is only pushing just 2 options... but the messaging options can be changed at anytime. Although making changes can be a pain.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. Sure - The Incredible is a faster phone - but my rooted Eris is pretty sweet, small and fits comfortably in my pocket. There are people who understand how best to ROM them and are still buying them - same as other customizable "old" phones.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. The most recent OS does support ActiveSync well - as did my 1.5 version of the OS. I never had a problem with it. Though my company doesn't believe the encryption is where it needs to be - thus we have to use Touchdown - which I personally like much better than the native ActiveSync as it does tasks and is better with the Global address book
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. Actually, 1.5 only supported Exchange because HTC made an app for it. Android 1.5 does not offer native Exchange support.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. You're right - it was a Sense/HTC thing. Been so long since I used it, I forgot!
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. Hmmm, this is not going well at all. I see today from various sources (wall street journal, etc) that Verizon is dropping the $15/150Mb plan at the end of the month. My friend was counting on that, and we figured out from various calculators that she would be fine there. The only option will be $30 for unlimited. I'm guessing if we move before the end of January, it will be locked/grandfather in for her. And then I read that the $30 unlimited plan is just a come-on for a short period of time, and then Verizon will go back to a tiered planed later... Geez. Helping other people is not easy!
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. I thought that I saw some of the new multimedia phones can support activesync. So not a true smartphone, but does qualify for the lower data plan.
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. I hadn't considered that. Found out that you are right, see here A bit nervous recommending a feature phone that I have no experience with for exchange. I've never seen it work well on anything other than a 'smartphone', like RIM, iPhone or Droid. It may all be a mute point. This person is wavering, learning about all the choices and changing plans, an not wanting to go into a data plan that they can't get out of. We'll see. Thanks for all the help and inputs!
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. If the program is well written, it is just like using an email app on a smartphone. The Sprint Mobile Email program can pull calendar and email from Exchange servers. Not sure if it can do contacts or not, since I never would have attempted to sync my work contacts to my personal phone. Before my company "broke down" and paid the $50 or whatever it costs to get a proper SSL certificate, no Windows Mobile phones could access the Exchange server but Sprint "dumbphones" with the mobile email program could. :lmao:
Re: Need help selecting Verizon smartphone. I really need to make a suggestion that is completely 'low' or 'no maintenance' for me. That is why I like the Droid option, and would prefer the iPhone choice as #1, if it wasn't for the lack of keyboard. We definitely require the Certificate and the phones become automatically password locked (with a 4 digit) in case of a stolen phone.