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Angie Mc
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| Posted: July 23 2009 at 12:56pm | IP Logged
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OK, my little old fashioned Palm (no phone) died and they no longer make it. Looks like I'm being forced into getting a smart phone. Any words of wisdom? Functions that you can't live without? To start, I would like an address book, calendar, notepad (where you can write on the screen with a stylus (sp?) like pen on paper), & memo. Right now I also have the cheapest cell phone and rarely use it...I'm trying not to resent being dragged into this next phase of technology  . Help!
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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Martha
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| Posted: July 23 2009 at 2:05pm | IP Logged
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If you're looking for palm features go with either blackberry storm or bold
or make sure the sprint coverage is GREAT in your area, and go for the Palm Pre. I thought the Palm Pre was awesome features of the iphone and blackberry, but the coverage in our area was horrendous so I couldn't carry a call or get a call!I wrote about that here. If you're wiling to wait a few months, I believe Verizon will be comming out with their own version of the Palm Pre.
I currently have the Apple iPhone The "palm"/business features of the iPhone are NOTHING compared to blackberry yet, but they are very good and I think they will get better. For our budget and dh's business needs it happened to have worked out better for our wallet and needs to get an iPhone, otherwise, I would absolutely have a blackberry.
I'm not a professional geek in real life.
But I play one at home and was one B.C. (before children) 
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Martha
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Sarah
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| Posted: July 23 2009 at 9:30pm | IP Logged
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Angie, I am lying in the dark right now and typing on my smartphone. It has freed up my time with the kids so much. I can quickly check email, google something like a recipe from my kitchen counter, and keep a notebook. For example, when you were doing those thinking distortions I copied the info into a notepad to study. I can do the same with novenas and such.
I especially like to lie in bed while everyone is asleep and read mom's blogs and 4real.
I can communicate instantly with coaches. And my other friends with smartphones email me too.
No longer do the kids see the back of my head at the computer. I'm hardly ever on the big computer anymore.
It slips in my pocket.
I love it!!!
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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Sarah
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| Posted: July 23 2009 at 9:45pm | IP Logged
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PS
I know some people may worry that we are getting too speedy in our communication.
But unless you shun all technology it doesn't make sense to bash some and accept others. You either dump the internet and ipods and blogs and such or or move along with the advances.
My sister lives 1000 miles away. She and I text each other late at night when both husbands are asleep and giggle in the darkness at each other. I am nursing and she is nursing too, or several weeks ago was feeling life kick in her for the first time. I couldn't be there for her. But this technology made it easier to connect.
Another time we were headed to a basefield and no one was there. I quickly googled the park name and found we were at the wrong park. We made it just in time to the correct field.
Now, just like everything out there you can get sucked in. I choose to not do facebook and such. Just don't have the interest and time.
You can set it to chime or blink when you are getting an email.
Times like right now while I'm lying in bed with my baby nursing in his sleep I can write this!
I can also use it late at night to pray prayers, even from blogs, when ladies out nice prayers on it.
Sorry, I just can't say enough.
I have a BlackBerry. I was laughing tonight as I was eating our blackberries in our yard. BlackBerry. What a dumb name!
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Six boys ages 16, 14, 11, 7, 5, 2 and one girl age 9
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Martha
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| Posted: July 23 2009 at 10:01pm | IP Logged
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well there is a reason they nickname them crackberries...  they can be rather addictive.. just like ANY other electronic gadget
I'm very selective about who I give my info to because some people will text you a lot or whatever.
but it's great and we find that we are using it a lot instead of the computer too. and I no longer have to go home to check emails or post on my blog or whatever. 
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Martha
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Sept 08 2009 at 7:13pm | IP Logged
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Thank you, Martha and Sarah!
Martha wrote:
If you're wiling to wait a few months, I believe Verizon will be comming out with their own version of the Palm Pre.
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We're with Verizon and now I'm wondering...should I wait or just switch to Blackberry? On one hand, I would like to transfer my old stuff to a new palm - yet - sheesh, does this mean I'm beholden to Palm forever? Any further words of wisdom?
Also, does anyone have both a laptop and a smartphone? Do their functions overlap?
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Sept 08 2009 at 7:34pm | IP Logged
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I'm so glad you bumped this up Angie.. I was just telling my dh that I think I need to spring for one of the "smart phones" just because I use the other features so much on my phone.. the calender and I would love one that would let me put my shopping list in and check it off.. things like that.
But I hate having to input the info.. what I think I would like is a feature where I could sync a calender on the computer up with the one on the phone.. then I could type wherever was comfortable.. on the computer or on the phone (especially if I'm out when I find I need to add something) and then just sync them up instead of duplicating everything multiple times.
we were also talking about getting one of the low end laptops.. nothing too expensive.. but would let him and I use it while the kids do school on the computer.. I'm looking at maybe next year having my oldest doing algebra on the computer. And then we also would have the option of sending it with dh when he's out of town for work. And then eventually adding a second better quality lap top for in house and having the less expensive one for travel.
Yes I'm planning out about 3 years
I have to say though.. I love having my phone with the calender in my pocket. It's easier to make calls without alerting the kids. My dh can reach me pretty much 24/7 (he's not so easy since he works out where service is spotty.. no matter who your service is with) but then that's the point.. when he can call he can reach me vs his trying to be in a position to call when he *thinks* I might be home. I use the alert feature on the calender freely and it's so nice to not have to worry about remembering that the trash needs to go to the curb on Wednesday night.. my phone will ring and tell me I need to do that at 10pm Wed nights
And the more I use it the more I realize it would be so much nicer to add a few more things.. better useablity and flexibility.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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stefoodie
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I am waiting to see your verdict on this, ladies. Our contract is up in January and I'm checking out other plans and phones. We're with T-Mobile right now. I considered the BlackBerry in the past and nixed it, now I'm rethinking.
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stef
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Mary Chris
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So Martha you convinced me to get an iphone. Yeah I'm easy! Our contract with Verizon was up and dh wanted an iPhone. It was actually less expensive then the Blackberry. I'm loving it so far, but I think I'm going to need glasses, if I use it alot.
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mom to MacKenzie3/95, Carter 12/97 Ronan 3/00 and wife to Jim since 1/92
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kingvozzo
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| Posted: Sept 12 2009 at 8:34pm | IP Logged
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DH and I both have this phone.
I think I've had mine for 3 years...I'm very happy with it. I don't pay for the internet accessibility, I use it primarily for my calendar, address book, notepad, camera. It also has MP3 capabilities, which we never really use.
The best parts, as far as I'm concerned, are that it synchs flawlessly with our computer (we used to have a lot of problems syching up my old Palm, and it coordinates with our Outlook email and calendar, so I can synch the calendar from my phone onto our computer, and then email the "meeting request" to DH at work. That's been such a blessing in terms of keeping DH in the loop of what's going on. No more having to tell him, "put this on your calendar!"
and, in terms of transfering info from the palm to the other devices, i think they're set up pretty well to help you with that. I don't recall having a problem.
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Noreen
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Sept 18 2009 at 8:11pm | IP Logged
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Thanks, all! I got my Blackberry...more questions here.
Love,
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Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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AnaB
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| Posted: Sept 23 2009 at 9:35pm | IP Logged
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About a year ago, my dh offered me a blackberry or an Iphone and I turned it down!!! Now I'd really like one. All I would need it for would be calls, emails, and to read blogs on the go. A search engine would be helpful as well as a calendar. I guess the Iphone would be more what I would need?
My question is, does it charge you for your online minutes? How much does it cost to use an Iphone per month? We are in the process of moving and are considering NOT getting a land phone and just using cellphones. I would like some type of blue tooth capability to avoid cellphone effects.
Also, I've seen some moms not really use their Iphones that much and have it so that the kids can play games on it. Their kids know how to work it better than they do. I don't want to pay alot of money if I'm not going to use it or if it's too complicated to use.
One last question. Can you get a filter for the Iphone internet? I would hate for one of my kids to be surfing around with my internet and come across something gross. How do you handle that?
Are those enough questions? Okay, I'll go back to my lurking and wait for your replies!
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AnaB
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Bump
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His By Grace, AnaB blessed WIFE to Jeff and mama to 4 blessings!
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Sept 26 2009 at 4:26pm | IP Logged
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Thanks for bumping. The only thing I can answer right now is that my children will not be using my phone. My oldest is old enough to handle online issues. The next two have phones without online access.
I hope I get this right and please correct if I'm wrong...you need to find the network providers in the area you are moving to and compare their costs and packages. Also, certain network providers don't offer services for certain products. For exampel, where I live, Verizon doesn't offer support of iphone or Palm Pre. the Palm Pre is exclusively under contract with Sprint until ~ January. At that point Verizon will support them as well.
Anyhoo, I really shouldn't be talking about this...there are others much more in the know ...Maybe I'll be in the know in a few months  .
Love,
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Angie Mc
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AnaB
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Angie,
Wow! I'm so glad you said that! I know of two people who have an Iphone where we are moving to. And from what I understand, Iphone contracts through AT&T.
My friend showed me her smartphone through verizon that seems like it does all that the Iphone does. I guess there are more choices than I imagined.
I have some more to learn!
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His By Grace, AnaB blessed WIFE to Jeff and mama to 4 blessings!
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SusanJ
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Ana,
I'm not an expert, either but I did just shop for a ridiculously long time for a phone. I wanted a smartphone but dh was concerned about how expensive the monthly data plan was (more than our home internet) and encouraged me to re-evaluate my priorities :)
I used Consumer Reports quite a bit for phones and service providers. For service, Verizon wins in every single market and the other three companies shift around. We were already with Verizon so we stayed with them even though they are the most expensive plan. Each company carries its own phones. I think you can get a Blackberry from any of the major companies. AT&T has the iPhone, T-Mobile has the MyTouch (which is what I wanted) and Verizon has Blackberries and a new Samsung touch phone.
On Consumer Reports the iPhone ranks first, a different model of iPhone ranks second, the MyTouch (T-Mobile) ranks third and a Verizon Samsung phone ranks fourth.
I think every company offers only an unlimited data plan for smartphones. These typically cost $25-$35/month. You can get web-capable phones with smaller and cheaper data plans--anywhere from pay/MB to $14.99/month. My phone browses the web but I don't use this function much so we just pay per MB.
I think the companies offered parental control features for the web phones for a small monthly fee. My kids are too little for this and are never allowed to touch my phone anyway.
If you have other questions feel free to ask. I'll feel better about my obsessive cell phone research if it can benefit someone else, too.
Susan
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JodieLyn
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It would be lovely to hear more Susan. Which particular phones are good, or not. We're with Verizon and for the area we're in it's close to the only choice.
I want a phone for the PDA type features, calenders with good features for using alarms with appointments and other things you need to remember. Putting lists somewhere. It would be lovely if it would sync with something on the computer.. windows calender or I suppose goggle calender (haven't seen that one).. something that would let you type on the computer AND on the phone.
My problem is when I go looking, those type of features aren't even really mentioned.. they're all about the camera or hands free or getting online or whatnot.. which I really don't need my phone to do.
I am LOVING having a calender that reminds me when things happen and I would love it to be more user friendly than this lower end phone is.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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MicheleQ
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JodieLyn wrote:
I want a phone for the PDA type features, calenders with good features for using alarms with appointments and other things you need to remember. Putting lists somewhere. It would be lovely if it would sync with something on the computer.. windows calender or I suppose goggle calender (haven't seen that one).. something that would let you type on the computer AND on the phone.
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Jodie,
I just got (a few weeks ago) a Smart Phone / Pocket PC through Verizon when I renewed my contract. It was ridiculously inexpensive at $9.95! It has Office Mobile and syncs to my computer so all my appts. in Outlook can easily go right on my phone --I love that! It has alarms, reminders,etc. which is just great because although I do use my paper planner extensively, and love it, I haven't figured out how to make it beep at me to remind me I have an appt. coming up.
It has Word, Excel and One Note which also all sync perfectly with my desktop files.
I didn't get the internet package. I can add it at any time for $29.99/month but it's not required to use all the other features. There are some Smart Phones that do require it but this one does not. I can get online with it and pay as I go but it's ridiculously expensive (ask me how I know ) though still good to have in an emergency since it does have GPS. It also has a nice big touch screen and I like that I can "write" with the stylus and it transfers it into text. The phone sound is also very good.
I highly recommend this phone for what you are looking to do. Though I have only had it a few weeks my 23 yr. old son has had the same phone for over 6 months and still loves it. He has internet on his and I have used it and like it.
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Michele Quigley
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SusanJ
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Well, again, I'm no techie and I certainly welcome feedback from others but, Jodie you might really like the Samsung Omnia from Verizon. I was going to get this one because the price for the phone itself was great. It seems like it has the best PDA features available from Verizon right now. But it requires the more expensive data plan to get online with it and it's not clear whether or not you can sync to your computer without a really expensive data plan. I found the live chat feature on the Verizon website to be quite helpful as well as in-store help. This phone is the top-rated smartphone from Verizon.
You could also ask about something like the enVTouch from LG. I just got a touch phone from LG (but a much cheaper one) and it so much faster and easier to navigate. The LG phones work with the cheaper data plans and you might be able to use Google calendar features from your phone that way. But you'd want to ask someone about the browser. It is amazingly hard to get specific browser information on these individual phones.
And, also, most companies have a separate coverage map for their voice system and their 3G system (which supports smartphones) so make sure you check that before investing in a plan that depends on it.
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[URL=http://thejohnstonkids.blogspot.com]The Kids' Blog[/UR
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SusanJ
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| Posted: Sept 28 2009 at 1:21pm | IP Logged
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Cross-posting and apparently should have checked with Michelle before ordering my phone. Sounds like exactly what I wanted!
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Mom to Joseph-8, Margaret-6, William-4, Gregory-2, and new little one due 11/1
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Topic: Smart Phone / Laptop?
