pacozorro.com

Before I begin, I’d like to thank my favorite RSS feeds:

Engadget
Gizmodo
Kotaku
Ars Technica

Without them, my tech addiction would go rancid…
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Onto phones!

With all the talk about iPhones and AT&T, I’ve started to look around at my best options for a new cell phone. I currently have Verizon and this clunky phone but it does exceptionally well at multi-tasking. It has WiFi, Windows Mobile 5, Outlook, EV-DO, Bluetooth, a microSD slot, 1.3megapixel camera, voice activated dialing, touch screen, full QWERTY keyboard… and the list goes on.

Looking ahead (my contract ends in August 2008), and yes it is way ahead, I want to know what my options are, what the other cell phone companies are thinking. As a tech buff, I want to make sure I get the most of my money, get what I want and make sure I’ve made the right decisions. Let’s look at the different wireless options:

Verizon:
Now that I can change plans whenever I want, here is a look at some of the new Verizon phones:

Engadget has a great article on these new phones. The only 1 of real interest to me is the Blackberry Pearl. Considering I was really interested in the Blackberry 8830, this Pearl may give the 8830 a run for its money. Now you might be asking, why a Blackberry? Well, when you email on the road as much as I do, would like a camera for the “just in case” moments, and with GPS built in to these phones with pre-loaded Verizon Navigator, why wouldn’t you? And the fact that I use the Outlook calendar function on a daily basis (for work and personal life), and to keep my contacts squared away, this phone should be an organizational masterpiece.

With the new release of these phones, should I wait for this? It is basically the same phone I have (xv6700), only a newer model…

AT&T:
iPhone… need I say more? But of course!

While the iPhone is one sweet piece of technology that I just want to get my hands all over (because of its multi-touch surface). But what are the rumors of the iPhone extreme? If Apple releases a new iPhone by the time my contract ends, I will revisit AT&T. It would need to be very similar to the 2 Blackberries that I had in mind up in the Verizon section. But the main difference between the 2 phones are simple as commented on Boy Genius Report:

“BB’s (Blackberries) will never be popular consumer devices, and iPhones will never become popular corporate devices.”

While I want a phone that is very suitable towards the corporate world, I also want some entertainment from them (i.e. music, video, WiFi). I’m just hoping that by next August, Apple will come out with a BB/iPhone hybrid.

Not currently exploring T-mobile or Sprint.

With that said, there is certainly a lot of technology waiting to happen in 9 months. I mean, within 3 months, Apple already cut the prices of the iPhone bye $200! What’s to say they won’t release a new iPhone in 3 more months? Also, if you want to explore other cell phones that may not have been listed here, or cell phone releases for T-mobile, Sprint or AT&T, visit Phone Scoop.

Until then, happy research!