Question about smartphones

[MarkII]

Are Java-based smartphones any good? Or are they dogs? These are phones that use a proprietary, non-standard OS (not iOS, Android, WebOS. Windows Mobile or Symbian) but which add functionality by being able to run apps written for Java. I've been looking at upgrading my two-month old prepaid feature phone to a Java-based (or Java-enabled) smartphone that is being sold by my provider for the princely sum of $49.99. It's one of the most expensive phones in their line and it would be the most expensive cell phone that I have bought, so I want to make sure that it's worth it. I just found out that there is no way to download the photos that I took with my current phone. I can send them to someone as picture messages, if I can find anyone I know who has a smartphone. Then that person can download them and email them back to me. (Sheesh!)

Anyone have any experience or thoughts on Java-based smartphones?

 

[Rocket_Man]

Mark, i have never heard of a java smart phone. I only know about Android, win7 & iOs. I would keep your cash till you can get an android phone. I am pretty sure you can get a pre-paid android phone just about anywhere. The only problem I see in using a pre-paid smart phone is that they are always sending data back & forth so your data allowance may be used quicker than you expect. You may want to try Verizon but for unlimited data and only 450 mins month I pay 69 bucks. Plus I bought my Samsung Fascinate when it first came out for $200. But I see the internet just like Iam sitting at a desktop.

Matter of fact I sent this reply from my Fascinate.

 

[MarkII]

Mark, i have never heard of a java smart phone. I only know about Android, win7 & iOs. I would keep your cash till you can get an android phone. I am pretty sure you can get a pre-paid android phone just about anywhere. The only problem I see in using a pre-paid smart phone is that they are always sending data back & forth so your data allowance may be used quicker than you expect. You may want to try Verizon but for unlimited data and only 450 mins month I pay 69 bucks. Plus I bought my Samsung Fascinate when it first came out for $200. But I see the internet just like Iam sitting at a desktop.

Matter of fact I sent this reply from my Fascinate.

I currently use a prepaid-only service. I buy airtime when I need it, and the minutes are valid for 6 months. There is no separate charge (nor is there any limit) for data; minutes are minutes, and the provider doesn't care if I use them for voice or data. My provider has never offered a smartphone for use in my area until now, and it offers two: one is a Blackberry-style with a full qwerty keyboard (LG 500c) and the other uses a full-face touch screen (LG 800c). The touch screen version is the one that I'm mainly interested in. The total cost would be $50 for the phone, plus whatever minutes I buy for it, and that's it; no other charges. (And I already have a pile of minutes, which I can transfer onto the new phone.) The provider says that both the LG 500c and the LG 800c can run Java-based apps, but doesn't say where I could obtain them from. The new phone would also have a much better camera in it and could also be used to store and play mp3 files, which my current phone cannot do. It also has much better (non-phone) connectivity, which as I mentioned is pretty severely limited in my current phone (LG 292c).

My purchased minutes are only used when I make or (very rarely) receive a call or when I use the web browser. I can go for a couple of days without using my current phone, and my minutes balance doesn't decrease at all during that time.

I'm trying to decide whether to get the new phone and switch my number and my minutes balance over to it (a pretty painless process - I just did it two months ago) or keep my still-new current phone. I don't know anything about Java app availability, so I don't know if I'll be able to benefit at all from this capability.

Paying $200 for the phone and $69 per month to use it is financially out of the question for me.

 

[quickburst]

I have an iPhone 3Gs and I love it. It's the only modern cell phone I've ever owned.

 

[MarkII]

I have an iPhone 3Gs and I love it. It's the only modern cell phone I've ever owned.

That's great to hear, Dave, but until I can get an iPhone from a service provider that requires no contract, sends me no monthly bills, doesn't charge an activation fee, doesn't impose overage charges and never charges a cancellation fee, then it will always be out of reach for me.

I'm just trying to find out the pros and cons of the phone (the phone platform) that I described. If I could afford the mandatory charges that are imposed by every provider that iPhones or Android phones are used with, I wouldn't have started this thread.

 

[gdiscenza]

You can get a 1st or 2nd generation iPhone secondhand, then jailbreak it so that you can use any SIM. One World Computing has a good deal on replacing the battery in an older iPhone, and with a pay-as-you go plan that includes data, you have all the benefits of the iPhone without the monthly fees.

I did it for my wife when my father upgraded to the iPhone 3Gs, I gave him $50 for his 1st generation iPhone and jailbroke it for my wife to use.

G.D.

 

[troj]

LG phones have, for years run a flavor of Java. The thing is, while it's Java, you still have to develop for that particular Java platform. This means that your application options are going to be very limited -- most development is now targeting iOS and Android primarily, with Windows 7 and Blackberry taking most of what's left.

-Kevin

 

[MarkII]

You can get a 1st or 2nd generation iPhone secondhand, then jailbreak it so that you can use any SIM. One World Computing has a good deal on replacing the battery in an older iPhone, and with a pay-as-you go plan that includes data, you have all the benefits of the iPhone without the monthly fees.

I did it for my wife when my father upgraded to the iPhone 3Gs, I gave him $50 for his 1st generation iPhone and jailbroke it for my wife to use.

G.D.

GSM really hasn't been available where I live. Verizon is the only provider that really covers the area, and it uses CDMA. My cell phone provider uses the Verizon cellular infrastructure for service in my area. But even in areas where it uses GSM a jailbroken phone won't work. From Wikipedia:

"TracFone service is limited to TracFone-branded handsets (all TracFone handsets are pre-programmed by the manufacturer; therefore, the handset is locked including its latest GSM models). Other GSM handsets will not accept TracFone SIM cards, even if unlocked."
​

The phone that I would be upgrading from (and every cell phone that I have ever had) uses CDMA technology, so it doesn't have a SIM card that I could transfer over to another phone.

The LG 800c is the very first smart phone that Tracfone has ever offered in my area. I have been waiting years for this. Should I go for it or should I wait a few more years for something better? I am having trouble deciding since I know nothing about Java phones.

None of Verizon's plans appeal to me, and I couldn't afford them even if they did. For the most part, TracFone is the only other game in town, unless I want to roll the dice with ATT (a very iffy choice because we are just at the very fringe of their coverage area). And I probably couldn't afford them, either.

 

[gdiscenza]

You can buy the ATT GoPhone starter kit anywhere that AT&T has cell service for $20 and use it anywhere that TracFone offers service. You get a disposable phone (donate it to a women's shelter as it can make emergency calls without a SIM installed) and a SIM that will work in the iPhone. You can refill your minutes online.

If you want a data plan to work with the iPhone, you can do the same thing with TMobile, I just can't tell you where to get their starter kit.

I'd avoid the Java-based smartphones, they are too easy to hack. The LG is the easiest phone to clone, and your minutes will disappear in a heartbeat.

G.D.

 

[Rocket_Man]

Hey Mark, I think you are talking about the LG800G. If it was me, I would hold off until you could get an android based phone. What you are looking for is a phone that will deliver the internet as a desktop version. One that will let you on the internet so it looks like you are sitting at your desktop. If the phone specs says it has MOBIL INTERNET then I wouldnt mess with it.

I am sure you can get an Android phone pre-paid and be able to transfer your number.

 

[MarkII]

Hey Mark, I think you are talking about the LG800G. If it was me, I would hold off until you could get an android based phone. What you are looking for is a phone that will deliver the internet as a desktop version. One that will let you on the internet so it looks like you are sitting at your desktop. If the phone specs says it has MOBIL INTERNET then I wouldnt mess with it.

I am sure you can get an Android phone pre-paid and be able to transfer your number.

That would be excellent, as long as I can get one from a provider that doesn't require a contract, doesn't charge any kind of monthly fee, doesn't charge an activation fee, and will let me load my phone with airtime minutes that don't expire and that I can use any way I want, any time I want, for either voice or data. Verizon's prepaid plans come with a $69 per month "access charge" that I would have to pay on top of any airtime that I buy, and I would have to pay it even if I only used one minute that month. That's not affordable for me, and frankly, it's an egregious rip-off anyway. I haven't found the kind of arrangement that I have with TracFone from any other provider. Most of the others don't even have coverage in this area.

I got mobile internet for the first time on my current phone. It's... interesting, but I run out of memory real quick on some sites. There's no way to add memory to my current phone. As I also mentioned, there is no data cable for it, and the ability to transfer data off the phone with any kind of cable that I might come up with has been disabled on the phone. I didn't realize that when I bought it, and TracFone made no mention of it. (They also don't provide a manual for it, either inside the box or online.) I like using TracFone, but their selection of phones for my area leaves a lot to be desired.

Being able to recreate a desktop browser window on a screen that fits into my pocket would be nice but isn't critical. I'm more interested in the ability to run apps and to be able to download data, such as photos I took, off the phone.

Yeah, you're right; it's the LG800G.

 

[Rocket_Man]

Well what I used to do was access the internet through my Android Fascinate via tether with a USB cord and a program called PDANET. So I wasnt having to pay for an internet provider. I dont know how you access the internet but you might be able to save some money there. You are right about the 69.00 plus taxes & fees = $75.00 a month being jank but the way I see it I am getting janked by the govt, oil prices, groceries, everyone is janking me so at least I have a pretty slick toy (the Fascinate) to play with. Maybe you can nip & tuck some money from someplace else to get the phone you really want.

My dad is sick and I take him to a lot of doctors and having full internet access on your phone in doctors waiting rooms is priceless though.

Course if you just have to have the LG 800G and cant do without it thats understandable to. Its just like taking advice about building and launching rockets in my view. Gather a lot of opinions and advice just realize when you push that button its all your idea! LOL , good luck man!

 

[MarkII]

OK, well I think I found the ideal solution. Virgin Mobile has a no-contract, no activation fee prepaid plan called "Beyond Talk." For $25/month, it provides 300 minutes of voice and unlimited text, email data and web. It has a couple of Android phones (LG Optimus V and Samsung Intercept) and a Blackberry Curve 8530 (among other choices). 300 minutes of talk per month would be an unbelievably huge allotment for me; in all of 2010 I used about 60 minutes. This seems like an absolutely fantastic deal!

Just one catch, though.....










...there's no coverage in my area! (Or even anywhere nearby!) I can't win, I just can't win for trying...

:cry: :cry: :cry:

 

[Rocket_Man]

well if you do get an Android phone you can go to places like here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=721
where people have become obssesed with their phones and spend 24 hours a day re-programming the operating systems and doing ground up developement of things like the next future version of android, which is GINGERBREAD. Sometimes leaving Pandoras box closed is a good thing.

That link is to a site of JUST FASCINATE developers who build and flash roms and all kinds of stuff. I used to be big into it
but think God I woke up one day and said "its just a freaking phone!" and stopped screwing with it.

 

[MarkII]

well if you do get an Android phone you can go to places like here
https://forum.xda-developers.com/forumdisplay.php?f=721
where people have become obssesed with their phones and spend 24 hours a day re-programming the operating systems and doing ground up developement of things like the next future version of android, which is GINGERBREAD. Sometimes leaving Pandoras box closed is a good thing.

That link is to a site of JUST FASCINATE developers who build and flash roms and all kinds of stuff. I used to be big into it
but think God I woke up one day and said "its just a freaking phone!" and stopped screwing with it.

Quite right. I just want to get a smart phone. If I ever DO manage to get one (a big IF it seems), the very LAST thing I would ever want to do is start mucking around inside it. Yikes!

 

[Rocket_Man]

yea, once you hang out at the developers site long enough you get invited into their IRC chat channel crap where all kinds of warez B.S. is passed around. There are people I know who do nothing but develop and flash their phones
24 hours a day.