Sunday, March 16, 2008

asking the Deaf community what smartphone is the best?



Vlog post asking for suggestions for a good smartphone because my sidekick 3 broke a few weeks ago. Considering iPhones and blackberries. I'd like to get a forum started in the comments if possible.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ahhh...too bad about your SK3.

What areas will you be using your new phone mostly?

Best to start with local suggestions...what are local deafies happy with?

Well, you can always return your purchases before a time period (30 days?) if you find your local connections poor.

Read Consumer Reports 1/08 issue.

How is ETSU going for you? (in second semester of grad school?)

Louis said...

I'm in the southeast part of the country where T-mobile service is poor. I travel around East Tennessee and North Carolina sometimes and there's poor T-mobile coverage around these parts.
I'm looking at AT&T and Sprint. I have narrowed it down to these two.

ETSU is going well. Thanks for asking.

Anonymous said...

Don't you think sprintrelaystore.com is a good deal? I'm thinking about the BB 8830 there.

Yes, about Tmobile...poor service around South Knoxville since they installed their tower. Previously. our Tmobile SKs were roaming on Cingular (ATT acquisition).

Louis said...

wow BB 8830 is the best thing that i've seen from sprint. very nice... I have added it to my list of pagers to consider.

Lantana said...

I am in my 70's and never had a mobile phone, so when I finally decided to purchase one,I did alot of research first.

I too am out in the "toolies" not much available around here, and other deafies informed me that T-Mobile did not perform well in these parts.

I wound up going with AT&T with a Blackberry Curve. It well suits my needs but it is not cheap and right, it does not work EVERYWHERE!

Good Luck, Lantana

Anonymous said...

Did you see this in Deafread Extra? Guess this caught someone's attention due to its front-sided webcam (ideal for mobile VP-ing). BTW, you sign very well...do you know Jon Hepner?
Nokia 810
http://www.deafread.com/go/40042

Anonymous said...

I think Lantana did not get a data-only plan. (she has a voice plan for her hearing hubby). Not sure why she is complaining....they are deservedly well-off. Perhaps Lantana should check sprintrelaystore and switch if she found she only needs a data-only plan.

(if there are any sprintrelaystore customers...I really would appreciate if you would leave your experiences with Sprint...thanks)

Louis said...

No I do not know Jon Hepner.

Anonymous said...

Sprint has good coverage in many areas. Our wireless devices monthly plans are $29.99 per month which includes unlimited data (email & internet), IM, SMS (text messaging), and PAM (phone as modem). Any more questions I can answer?

Hetty
Sprint Relay Outreach Specialist,
Independent Subcontractor

Anonymous said...

A clarification is in order...$29.99 before tax.

Hetty

Anonymous said...

I think Jon (deaf) graduated from ETSU majoring in Physical Therapy (might have been Carson-Newman) few yrs ago...not mean to change your topic but I'll shut up. :)

Hope you get many replies about smartphones.

Anonymous said...

Hetty, I wonder if I can take my sprintrelay phone to a Sprint corporate store (as walk-in) for repair if I have any hardware problems under warranty? Or will I have to mail-back the phone to SprintRelay?

I have seen a big Sprint corporate store in Knoxville that does repair.

I have not bought a Sprintrelay phone yet.

OCDAC said...

I'm sorry to interject in this fashion but its YOU the one that should be trying things out and YOU be the one to decide for yourself what works for you. You need not to cave into peer pressure or let others decide what's best for you.

IsraelBear said...

Hello Louis.

I wonder how can i get Deaf Events information for Tennessee?? Since I come Tennessee very often. Let me know thank you.

Louis said...

Thank you Richard, but I posted this blog so I could get suggestions and not "cave in to peer pressure." I have been researching phones for a few weeks since my sk3 broke so I'm trying to get ideas from the deaf community about what they are satisfied with.

This is exactly what I was trying to do, get a forum started for discussion. Thanks to everybody that has contributed so far!

Louis said...

IsraelBear, contact me through email. I will reply back with TAD activities for the Tri-Cities area. You can also try the Deaf Tennessean web site for other state-wide events.

Deaf Tennessean

Anonymous said...

personally i love any HTC devices such as at&t tilt(aka: htc tytnII), 8525 or Sprint 6800, sprint 6900. i do like motorola q9h blackjack and blackjack 2. most deaf friends i know have at&t tilt and bj2. you need to research which network is strong enough for you. i have been in your town for a couple of times. that is where my wife's grandparent live nearby. they live in elizabethtown - small town around beautiful mountains. at&t's network is good up there.

deafattemployee

Anonymous said...

Hello! It was good to see you at the TCCTAD event last Saturday..

I can answer your question about what smartphone is the best.. I can answer that one is iPhone! because of everything I need includes the touch in screen and sync from my Mac laptop for almost files is several reasons of my preference. that's my opinion.

Blackberry Curve is also good one.. Important thing for you is going to the store and see for yourself what can YOU can handle that may be fit your needs.

One thing I can advise you is DO NOT buy any pager with a window mobile system because I have had some experienced with my old Treo 700wx that has some problems like crashed system or freeze often, so I decided to switch that pager to iPhone that I have now and I am happy with.. I know the cost may be issue as long as you can afford to pay and be happy with it!

As for the coverage map which service is good for your area is Sprint, Verizon (best) and AT&T. One thing with Sprint I am concerned with: Customer Service that I had a hard time to contact with.. Others are good for your area but not T-Mobile because I have heard many issue with their service like I had two SK pagers before in East Tennessee was one of my reasons I stopped using the T-Mobile service anymore.

I hope you will find the right smartphone and be happy with it!

PMRjr

Anonymous said...

Hi!

For anonymous...yes, you can bring in your pager to Sprint store (not corporate). Contact the store first before going over to see if they have technicians at the store. Be sure to tell them you're under the Ensemble account. That way they'll not change your data plan to $39.99 a month. Do not take your pager to any authorized Sprint center like Radio Shack because they will charge you $29 for service charge as opposed to free service at Sprint store. If needed be, you'd need to contact your insurance company which is Assurion to find out the procedure of returning and replacing your pager.

As for customer service, email vcs@sprintrelaystore.com to set up a VP appointment with one of our Sprint Relay employees (they are both deaf). People have been pleased with their assistance and service. A lot faster than Sprint Customer Service!

Hope I answered your questions.

:)
Hetty
Sprint Relay Outreach Specialist
Independent Subcontractor

Anonymous said...

Your sweatshirt sucks ;)
You should go shirtless than wear OSU stuff!
Whitney

Anonymous said...

Louis?
LOL The T mobile service is improving and now is local in Knoxville and between Greeneville. Don't you know about it. Check it out. Smile

Anonymous said...

hey, what is your seesmic login? Mine is Nikonoel. I have written a blog post where i talk about you:
http://www.nikonoel.fr/post/2008/05/19/Seesmic%3A-Une-aubaine-pour-les-malentendants
Sorry it's in french, i just say that i think seesmic is a great opportunity for deaf people. Anyway you can see the videos: the first is a video by a deaf guy that i don't understand, the second one is my answer to him!

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