Tom-Guy

It's time to get a new cellphone, mine is beat beyond submission.

I've also been looking at PDA phones as I'd like it to double up as an ebook reader - I keep looking at used Tungsten E's and stuff for $50 but it doesn't make sense if I can score an okay PDA phone on the cheap. If it opens .pdf/.doc/.html/.lit/etc files I'm a happy ----------er, which I am ASSuming is all of them.

Steer me in the right direction, HMT, I know jack and ---- about phones. Here are my criteria:

- cheap
- Verizon compatible (nothing else gets signal in WNC)
- PDA
- basic WAP/web access ability
- not too fragile
- prefer a slide open keyboard so it doesn't get trashed in my greasy work environment, but really not important as I can use a bluetooth headset when my hands are dirty and trash it.

I've got a list of them on the verizon site if posting those would be important.

Scott-EP

i hate all PDA phones except the iPhone. only problem is the only thing it does that you listed is the ebooks.

with all of the windows based phones there are downsides. you always have to trade something. the best one i have ever used was the tilt which i dont think you can get on verizon. it has a 3mp camera, gps and wifi. it does most of that stuff pretty well, but sucks as a phone. all of the others have shitty camera, or no wifi or no gps. you just have to pic which options you can live without.

another thing i hate about windows based phones is how they are very notchy to use. programs load slowly, nothing moves smoothly and they lock up a lot just like a PC. all of this is coming from a PC user, i have never owned or even used a mac in the last 10 years or more.

you couldnt get me to give up my PC for a mac but you couldnt pay me to use a windows phone ever again. my advice is to go into the store and play with each phone that intrests you for a while. there probably isnt much anyone here can do to help too much. you are going to get so much mixed advice its going to confuse you more

Tom-Guy

I don't care about camera, wifi, or GPS. I just want a phone with ebook capability and regular WAP access through Verizon so I can check email.

Sounds like I should hop on the Palm Centro, I never had a problem with Palm OS and they are $99 through Verizon.

Scott-EP

yea, if you dont care about those things then i would fully recommend the palm stuff. they make solid stuff, just not enough options for me. i either way the iPhone or the most standard phone you can imagine. all or nothing

TunerToys

JD, I have been using a Windows SmartPhone device for a couple of years now, and bought an app for it called tiny ebook reader. Opens .lit and .txt files, but does not work with PDFs. If you are going to buy eBooks, the .lit will work for you, and you can get them from Amazon for download. I have tried to find a warez source for lit files (sci fi) and have yet to find a solution. It was painful enough that I gave up and continued to read paperbacks.

Am looking at the iPhone, and will have to look up the eBook capability for that device. It's a requirement for me as well, and I totally forgot to check it for the iPhone. I forgot about this because I had picked the iPhone for it's screen size and non-wep page internet viewing capability, which appealed to the surfer/reader in me. I was unwittingly substituting web browsing for reading.

Now that you have cleared my head, I did a quick search for eBook readers for teh iPhone, and hit a couple of links. This one stood out.

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives...ook_reader.php

TextOnPhone is also interesting. It's a website viewable with an iPhone, where you can upload all your own text for later reading, as well as have access to 20K books online. http://www.textonphone.com/

I'd really like to find an eBook reader app that lives on the phone, where the books themselves can be stored there as well.


Craig

Scott-EP

if you jailbreak the iPhone you can load ebooks to it. its really easy with ZiPhone and if you have problems, you can reset it back to factory specs easily so you wont void the warranty

Tom-Guy

http://www.anonib.com/bookchan/

http://fennetic.net/pub/bookwarez/

The majority seem to be pdf or html, but those are viable formats in my mind. Last time I tried a pdf to converter it was glitchy as hell, but that's likely changed in the last four years. I know you can transcribe the html (and other formats) to lit, etc. I'll have a poke around and see if I can find some free/shareware that does the job well.

Also, I have 6-7 gigs of sci-fi and fantasy... I didn't know you liked the good stuff, too. You'd like my paper library, it takes longer to move than everything else I own put together.



Being on Verizon the iPhone is a no go for me, and with the new one coming out at $200 it eclipses my pricerange by $50. Also, my E815 is dying, all my calls are breaking up to th point it is unusable. The more I look at the Palm Centro the more I like it, but I am uncertain I am still eligible for the rebate since I recently redid my two year contract to add the daughterunit to the plan. I've got a couple tuning victims who are Verizon employees, so I've put out some feelers, cross your fingers for me pls kthx.

Jorsher

iphone suggestions/comments are useless. As JD said, they're not usable on Verizon.

JD, why use Verizon? The only real benefit is the fast data network - which AT&T also has, and T-Mobile has finally begun rolling out. GSM will open the doors for hundreds more phone options, has cheaper service plans, and you can get better deals on phones since GSM equipment can be stolen/resold while Verizon phones get locked.

I've used Windows Mobile phones for quite a few years. As far as "locking up" or "running slow," it depends on the firmware and phone specs. My MDA (HTC Wizard) was slow and had its quirks. My Wing (HTC Herald) has the same processor (OMAP 850 200mhz), newer version of windows, and runs helluva lot smoother and can use it for days without it having to be restarted. Adobe has an Acrobat Reader just for WinMob, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were homebrew pdf readers as well. Oh, and you don't have to "jailbreak" to install anything.

Be aware, pdf reading on phones is not very enjoyable. The resolution is low (320x240 usually, very few have 640x480) and it limits how much text can be on the screen at one time. The adobe reader annoys the ---- out of me because you either have to zoom out to where the text is too small but the page fits, or zoom in and have to scroll left and right. Maybe there's 3rd party pdf readers that skip the pictures and scale the text so you can avoid the left/right/up/down scrolling to read? Haven't checked, but maybe it exists.

Memory...the iphone has 8-16gb, not really that special. I have a 4gb microsd card, and I know they make at least 8gb cards. EBay has memory for crackhead prices.

I haven't used a palm device for a long time, so not sure how the UI is now, but it wasn't bad a long time ago. Also, what about Symbian-based phones? Nokia loves symbian and so do many geeky developers, so there's a pdf reader I'm sure.

I don't keep up with Verizon phones, so can't suggest any specific ones, but there's some ---- to think about.

Why not head to the GSM side?

Tom-Guy

Try making a call outside of a downtown metro area in western North Carolina with something other than Verizon. It ain't happening.

Smith-02

ever look into a samsung u740?