Get a better Cell Phone

Americans use shitty phones, and it’s about time we stop. We endlessly pay up to $300 for phones with significantly less functions than the latest PDA/Cell Phone and it’s just bordering on ridiculous. The wake up call is here, and it’s thanks to the internet we’ll shout it from the rooftops, “We want better cell phones and we want them now.”

First we’ll take a look at some of the most popular “pure” cell phones. PDA/Cell hybrids don’t count, their functionality lies almost purely in the PDA category and will be treated as such. We will then dissect the functions these “pure” cell phones employ and what the draw towards them might be. We’ll then move on to cell phones released overseas and talk briefly about their functionality. Finally, we will share with you, our very own model of cell phone we would like to see created.

The United States (T-Mobile / Verizon / Cingular / Sprint / Etc)

By far the most affordable and lucrative carrier in the United States is T-Mobile. With offerings of the Razr and the equally popular Sidekick bundled with amazing rate plans and rewarding incentives including free camera phones with sign up, many would say this would be the company to beat. They would be correct. There is virtually nothing this company didn’t get right.

Cingular tries to play catch up with some of the worst field coverage known to man (at least in New York City), and can easily be seen as the market newbie with potential. Their rollover rate plans are heralded as groundbreaking and they offer the same GSM phones as T-Mobile making the switch, if you were to make one, as easy as swapping a SIM card.

Verizon is easily the “Nintendo” of the field, settled in as number 2 and losing ground as their reliance on the unpopular CDMA phones deteriorates their marketing power. The company’s use of CDMA phones harkens to Nintendo’s insistence on cart format. Don't get me wrong, the company itself has no problems, with some of the best coverage in New York City and decent rate plans. The inflexability and ease of use with the phones that use the service, high prices for phones that are issued free with other companies, and the lag in getting newer models of phones plays against this innovative company.

Who cares?

You should. Even if you don’t understand the difference between CDMA and GSM, understand the next three facts.

GSM can be used around the world, not only allowing you to potentially use your phone in any foreign country but also being able to import any foreign phone for use within the United States. This becomes important if you want to take advantage of Korean or Japanese phones that are leaps and bounds above that of phones currently issued in America.

GSM phones utilize SIM Cards, a little chip that is your personal ID card. If you current phone is on the fritz or it’s broken you can pull out your little SIM card and put it into a new phone. This allows the new phone to be instantly used with your current number with no additional set up. Great for guys with too much money and want to own a PDA phone for business and a “normal” cell phone for every other day.

CDMA phones do not. You break it, it’s over. You can’t use it overseas because most other countries utilize GSM frequencies. Although many phones do use CDMA formats, your phone won’t be unlocked for use on any other carrier. You can’t import phones either because your carrier won’t recognize it. That’s it. It’s stupid to own one. It’s not that the phones produced are necessarily bad, even though most are, but the fact that you can’t easily swap out is a huge problem that can’t be ignored.

Extra Knowledge: GSM phones are often referred to as “Quad” or “Tri”-band phones. The difference is one can utilize up to 4 GSM bands (850/900/1800/1900) and the other is one short of 4 bands. Excellent! If you don’t get it, it doesn’t matter. Just remember what I had explained above and you’d be fine.

I thought you were going to talk about phones?

Oh I’m getting to that. I had to cover ground to make sure the differences in phones were understood before I went on. The most popular phones at the moment would be between the Razr and the Sidekick. Their popularity, as I understand it, cuts an interesting line between form and function. Let’s take a better look at both these phones.

The Razr (The Form)

The phone has WAP 2.0 browser, J2ME MIDP 2.0 support for ringtones and other noises, POP3, IMAP4, and SMTP for messaging, Bluetooth, camera (0.3 megapixels) with video-recording capabilities and has a 5.5mb cache of memory. Oh yeah, it’s really thin! What’s all this garbage actually amount to? Pretty much every phone nowadays is standard to Bluetooth, and all that other garbage including the shitting camera is standard. Why are people paying out of their ear for one? Well it’s really thin and the buttons are shiney!

Sorry folks whoever bought one is a bloody chump. This is the type of phone you want to get for free because it offers absolutely nothing new or amazing. If I wanted to sell you a computer that only had a floppy drive for $300 but was REALLY SHINY you wouldn’t take it, but that’s exactly what you did for Motorola. Motorola is either the smartest company in the world or the least advanced. They knew if they packaged antiquated technology brilliantly that the uneducated masses would buy it. The gamble paid off. Time to buy some stock.

The Sidekick (The Function)

The phone is like the retarded little brother of the PDA/Cell hybrid. It has more functions overall compared to the Razr; including more memory, the ability to store email better, a full keyboard, and a fun swish display screen. It makes texting or instant messaging your friends a breeze while you knock back 40’s in the ‘hood. But with all this working for it, the phone still sucks, it doesn’t have a camera or Bluetooth capabilities. It’s also the size of a small Mexican, and if given the choice of keeping a Sidekick in my back pocket or a small Mexican I would choose the latter.

But what are we going to do about it?

Well, if you want a better phone for about the same price as those listed above get online or take a walk to Chinatown. You see, in a land far far away known as Japan, they have phones that are at least 2 years ahead of ours. They look better because we all know the Japanese have a knack for creating some nice looking electronics, and they are typically available in more than just “Solar-Panel Silver” or “Unimaginative Black.” Let’s take a look at some of the more popular Japanese phones for a bit why don’t we?