The Latest in Cell Phones…

I’ve been keeping an eye on some of the newer cell phones over the last year, seriously considering an upgrade. The mobile that I have now is very simple, rarely used, and pretty much does everything that I need it to do at the moment… which is make a quick call or stay available to the kids when I’m out of the house. That’s about all I use it for.

I actually used to be a major ‘gadget geek’, but that was back when I had the electronics shop open. I had the cool stereo with remote, the latest in TV’s, custom built computers for audio/video & gaming, a cellular modem in my laptop – making me completely mobile and online anywhere and everywhere. I can remember broadcasting video “from the road” through my laptop even. Nothing exciting about any of that now, but hey… that was way cool in 1999

Since closing the shop though, I have simplified my life to an extreme. Outside of my home office set-up, electronics just havent been at the top of my list like they used to be. I rarely watch tv at all anymore, and when I’m “mobile”… I prefer not to be “working”. That said, I cant deny that the latest cell phones – and all of the cool new options they come with – have grabbed my attention this past year…

With all of the features and capabilities they have now, it’s more like a Social Network than a mobile telephone. From file sharing to messaging, audio & video, personalization, etc… it’s like a “Mobile MySpace”!

The obvious attraction for those of us that work from home is the ability to log on and manage business and communications from practically anywhere. Most of the newer cell phones even come with miniature keyboards and wider screens.

It was the commercials in recent months for the BlackJack that really fueled my interest. Since then I have been checking out various models and reading up on comparisons. I’m still not entirely sold on the fact that I actually need one of these gadgets… but you have to admit, they are cool

The one site I have hit more than any other is WireFly. They have all of the latest comparisons in both phones and carriers – including the current “free phone” deals. They feature just about anything you would want to find in cellular offers, including: pre-paid plans, family plans, AT&T cell phones, plans from Verizon Wireless, Cingular, T-Mobile, Sprint, Nextel and more.

Some of the cool features that are on my “wish list” include GPS, quality digital camera & video capabilities, decent screen size, compact keyboard… and of course something that is convenient to carry and easy to use. I would also prefer to stick with Verizon (I like my “In Network” ), and obviously want a great plan to go along with the super-cool phone.

I am particuarly fond of the LG series that Verizon carries. In fact, I was just looking at the 9900 on WireFly this morning. A friend of mine has the 9800 model, and it is a sweet phone. It is almost as compact as a traditional cell phone, but flips open with a miniature keyboard and mini-monitor. Very nice. I actually watched a movie trailer on it and the video & sound quality were impressive.

I’d love to hear about the model you are using – what you like about it, what you dislike about it… or what’s on YOUR wish list when it comes to cell phones. Do you find that you use it for business as much as personal, or less than you thought you would? How convenient is it really?

Tags: cell phones, cellular, wirefly, verizon, LG9900, gadgets

Category: Online Reviews