Which Smartphone?

[Camaro95]

I must admit, despite all of my whining about Telus, they're still better than Bell and Rogers. They might not offer the nice packages and "coolness" Virgin does, but Virgin doesn't have any phones.

I've narrowed it down to three phones and need some educated opinions, pros and cons.

LG iQ, Motorola Milestone and Samsung Omnia

I'm basically looking for a phone that doesn't have (or can have these removed) flashy graphics/animations etc for everything. I need it to be pretty plain and straight forward and kept as simple as possible. So I guess customization and longer term reliability would play a key role in this choice.

Please list some pros and cons of each or some good links that compare these devices.

Thanks

[jeffmorr]

First of all, I don't know how you feel about Windows Mobile 6.5. I personally hate it, and find it way too confusing. The Pros about the IQ, is that it has a great keyboard, and it has some great features. But the cons are that the OS just isn't that good... I think that if your gonna pay hundreds of dollars for a phone, it should be something you won't get frustrated with. I really love Android, so my decision might be unfair. Pros: Milestone is very thin, Android is fairly easy to use IF you get used to it, and Android is much more popular that WinMo (especially while developers are switching to Windows Phone 7 Series) so the apps are much better. Cons about the Milestone: Keyboard sucks A LOT, but there are some great options for software keyboards on the Market (or you could get swype online, which I use on my Hero). However, you might not like android, because it is a bit confusing to get to know, and it does take a while to really be a pro with it. Finally, I don't recommend the Samsung Omnia because it's outdated, and I don't consider it a Smartphone. To conclude, I recommend the Milestone, but you might want to look at the HTC Hero, I'm very satisfied with it (except for the laginess).

[jazzism21]

I second that. Keep away from Omina, that phone has been nothing but trouble. I work for a dealership and I know how often we have to send them out for repair.
IQ is a good phone, though not necessarily faster than any other phone in the lineup even with the snap dragon processor. It has a nice keyboard, and finger print recognition works more often than not. The snap dragon processor comes into play when you are multi tasking and the dedicated multi tasking key on the phone makes it easier to jump through different windows. Personall, I am not a big fan of Windows Mobile, although they are trying really hard to reinvent themselves with features such as "My Phone" and "Windows Market Place"
I have been using Hero since November and have been very satisfied with the phone. The phone can lag a bit, but if you understand multi-tasking and use an application such as task kill, its not a big deal at all. Though one thing that irritates me about Hero is lack of voice dialing, which would not be available till HTC does an eclair(2.1) update of Android platform (1.5) that Hero runs.
Hero is a very good deal for the money (at $49.99 for 3 year), but if I had to make a choice right now, I would shell out another 100 bucks to go for the Milestone. Keyboard is bit of a challange, but is the best value out right now.

[newton]

I would say the Milestone. it looks great and is a powerful smartphone. Has both touchscreen and QWERTY plus Android OS 2.0, apps etc.

[Brendanmurphy]

The milestone is an amazing phone. I love it. The only con is Motorola locking the bootloader. If they listen to everyone screaming at them over twitter, facebook and emails hopefully they will give us the option to unlock it in the 2.1 update but no one knows.

[Kronk86]

I say the Milestone or the IQ. Both are solid candidates.

The IQ has a pretty good keyboard, WAY better then the Milestone. WinMo 6.5 isn't too bad. I stay away from WinMo personally, but it does give you a lot of flexibility.

The Milestone is another good device (aside from the horrible keyboard). Android is awesome. Right now, it isn't going to give you the same fluid experience as a phone like the iPhone, but it will get the job done.

Speaking of which, why aren't you considering the iPhone? It is as simple a device as they come. No multi-tasking, no flashy graphics, pretty decent email support, awesome web browser, apps if you decide to go that path... It has everything you described.

As for the Samsung Omnia, they should all be destroyed! That phone is horrible!!!

If you can hold off for a few short months, the new iPhone is going to be released. Better hardware, better OS experience etc... It might be something to think about.

I personally own both the Milestone and iPhone 3GS. Out of all the phones I have owned, they are by far the best.

[Brendanmurphy]

I say the Milestone or the IQ. Both are solid candidates.

The IQ has a pretty good keyboard, WAY better then the Milestone. WinMo 6.5 isn't too bad. I stay away from WinMo personally, but it does give you a lot of flexibility.

The Milestone is another good device (aside from the horrible keyboard). Android is awesome. Right now, it isn't going to give you the same fluid experience as a phone like the iPhone, but it will get the job done.

Speaking of which, why aren't you considering the iPhone? It is as simple a device as they come. No multi-tasking, no flashy graphics, pretty decent email support, awesome web browser, apps if you decide to go that path... It has everything you described.

As for the Samsung Omnia, they should all be destroyed! That phone is horrible!!!

If you can hold off for a few short months, the new iPhone is going to be released. Better hardware, better OS experience etc... It might be something to think about.

I personally own both the Milestone and iPhone 3GS. Out of all the phones I have owned, they are by far the best.

This is speculation. No one knows what the iphone 4g or w/e the hell its going to be called will have.

[ben]

Go with the Milestone, it is the most versatile of the ones you listed, comes with 16GB of memory on MicroSD card and has a great screen. It has a very strong build (slider is reliable, and a stainless steel body) and is super easy to use. Omnia is old technology now. It was good at one time but the few issues that there have been with it and its age don't warrant a purchase. LG IQ is cool but since Winmo 6.5 is going to be abandoned by MS soon for Winmo 7 I have trouble recommending it to anyone. The IQ is definitely a good phone though from my experience with it.

[Camaro95]

Thanks for the suggestions.

The iPhone isn't in the running simply because I don't like Apple products (aside from the Macs). And the camera cannot hold its own against anything else.

I had the iQ for about two weeks in December/January and wasn't too impressed. I love LG devices, they haven't failed me yet so I wanted to give it a try but it was frustrating; too many ways to access different programs/apps/tools and each way looked and functioned differently. I was just hoping to give it another chance because I liked the keyboard and the fact it was LG.

The age of technology doesn't really matter much to me. I was still using a Kyocera 5 years after my 3 years contract ended. It worked for calling and texting and that's all I needed. I've test driven the Omnia and didn't have any issues, it was pretty simple, the camera worked well and it wasn't confusing or unnecessarily flashy. However I haven't been able to get any solid information on it and each review/person I ask is a different answer. I question its long term reliability as I do with everything else Samsung.

The more I read/learn about the Milestone the more it appeals to me. Apparently when 2.1 comes about it will be able to be upgraded and the price drop is an extra bonus. I don't have any concerns about its long term reliability as I know Motorola for solid, well built phones. I know a couple people still using the original RAZR with no issues after dropping them, washing them, flushing them and you-name-it-ing them.

I will be shopping the local Telus stores to see if anyone will do me a favour to get my business and a 3 year contract by dropping the price a little or throwing in some bonus items.

Speaking of bonus items, what's the availability like for cases/covers and what not for the Milestone?

Thanks again

Jared

[Kronk86]

This is speculation. No one knows what the iphone 4g or w/e the hell its going to be called will have.

is it? lol

I say go for the Milestone for now then. There aren't really any good cases. Motorola was giving away the carkit for free, but I believe they stopped that.

[Brendanmurphy]

Thanks for the suggestions.

The iPhone isn't in the running simply because I don't like Apple products (aside from the Macs). And the camera cannot hold its own against anything else.

I had the iQ for about two weeks in December/January and wasn't too impressed. I love LG devices, they haven't failed me yet so I wanted to give it a try but it was frustrating; too many ways to access different programs/apps/tools and each way looked and functioned differently. I was just hoping to give it another chance because I liked the keyboard and the fact it was LG.

The age of technology doesn't really matter much to me. I was still using a Kyocera 5 years after my 3 years contract ended. It worked for calling and texting and that's all I needed. I've test driven the Omnia and didn't have any issues, it was pretty simple, the camera worked well and it wasn't confusing or unnecessarily flashy. However I haven't been able to get any solid information on it and each review/person I ask is a different answer. I question its long term reliability as I do with everything else Samsung.

The more I read/learn about the Milestone the more it appeals to me. Apparently when 2.1 comes about it will be able to be upgraded and the price drop is an extra bonus. I don't have any concerns about its long term reliability as I know Motorola for solid, well built phones. I know a couple people still using the original RAZR with no issues after dropping them, washing them, flushing them and you-name-it-ing them.

I will be shopping the local Telus stores to see if anyone will do me a favour to get my business and a 3 year contract by dropping the price a little or throwing in some bonus items.

Speaking of bonus items, what's the availability like for cases/covers and what not for the Milestone?

Thanks again

Jared

They have a couple of snap on cases at the telus store for it. I highly recommend you stay away from these on slider phones. The clips that grip the device push the screen away from the device causing the slider to get lose after time.


is it? lol

I say go for the Milestone for now then. There aren't really any good cases. Motorola was giving away the carkit for free, but I believe they stopped that.

We know there is going to be an iphone 4.0 but we do not know any specs. For all we know there going to take the iphone 3gs add their knew 1ghz chip they used in the ipad and call it the 3gss ( 3g Super Speed ). Adding multitasking to the iphone will require a complete os rewrite. Id say iphone firmware 5.0