LDC - LoPo dot com » BlackBerry http://www.lopo.com Back to Basics or Something Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:00:12 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 What Is The Best SmartPhone On My Carrier? http://www.lopo.com/2011/07/27/what-is-the-best-smartphone-on-my-carrier/ http://www.lopo.com/2011/07/27/what-is-the-best-smartphone-on-my-carrier/#comments Thu, 28 Jul 2011 03:00:25 +0000 John Barsodi http://www.lopo.com/?p=254 I routinely get asked by friends and family which SmartPhone they should pick up.  This is always a difficult discussion as the Smart Phone industry of today, similar to the PC industry of the early 2000′s, is changing rapidly almost daily.   I’ve decided to start a post that I will maintain – though I’m [...]]]> I routinely get asked by friends and family which SmartPhone they should pick up.  This is always a difficult discussion as the Smart Phone industry of today, similar to the PC industry of the early 2000′s, is changing rapidly almost daily.   I’ve decided to start a post that I will maintain – though I’m unsure of update frequency at this point – that provides some basic information on which phones are the absolute best on the four major US carriers.  I’m not going to look at mid-range, free phones, etc.  If you’re still interested, read on.

Few assumptions: You know what platform you are interested in, with the exception of the iPhone, you should be well aware of what you are getting yourself into.  If you’re not, you’ll be finding yourself dealing with returns and exchanges at the often crowded Wireless stores(except Sprint’s).

AT&T Wireless

iPhone.  No further discussion required until they release multiple models.  The iPhone 4 is the current model and will be replaced in September with a 4S/5 model.  This is usually my first recommendation to people who aren’t technically savvy or don’t want to tinker with their phone.
NOTE: Jail-breaking your iPhone and running apps from Cyndia doesn’t mean you are technically savvy. A 2nd grader with Google can figure that out.

Winner:  iPhone 4, the 3GS is cheap, but why buy Ford Festiva when you really want the Ford Raptor.


Android. AT&T offers a handful of current top-of-the-line Android handsets.  You are essentially left deciding which User Interface(UI) you want to deal with for the next two years of your life.  The three phones are the HTC Inspire 4G, MOTOROLA ATRIX 4G, and Samsung Infuse 4G.  None of these handsets are truly 4G but that’s another post someday.  Of the three, I would recommend the overall ‘best’ selection to the ATRIX.  It has the right size mated with excellent hardware.  I would rate the UI 2nd to the HTC Inpire.  Most power users don’t care about the UI though because they are installing custom ROMS anyways.

Winner: MOTO ATRIX(Don’t waste your money on the laptop dock, no really don’t).  If you can sacrifice a bit of hardware performance, the Nexus S which was made available yesterday, July 26th, is a strong choice.


Windows Phone. Samsung Focus, HTC Surround, LG Quantum, and HTC HD7S.  All devices are essentially running 1+ year old hardware.  Thumbs up to Samsung for having the best screen of the bunch.

Winner: Samsung Focus for being the best of the worst.

BlackBerry. Not sure why I would include this platform, but hey someone might care.  Ah BlackBerry you used to be so good and AT&T was/is one of the best partners.  A whole slew of device refreshes – read: small hardware changes are coming down in the next 6 months.

Winner: BlackBerry Torch 9800.  If sliders aren’t for you as they aren’t for many, the two year old Bold 9700 should catch your eye until the previously mentioned refresh occurs.

Sprint

iPhone.  Not available, sorry.

Winner:  Not Sprint Customers – yet.


Android. Sprint likes Android, unfortunately not enough to maintain a large high-end selection of Phones.  You have a mashup of last year’s hardware with gimmicky 3D cameras.

Winner: Nexus S 4G.  If you want a fancy UI, the HTC EVO 3D would be a runner up.

Windows Phone. Not much to say here, they have one HTC Arrive.

Winner: HTC Arrive, winner by disqualification.

BlackBerry. RIM has yet to embrace 4G tech such as Sprint’s WiMAX so the CDMA compatible BlackBerry family is severally slim.  Sprint has a handful of low-end BlackBerry devices and a single “high-end BlackBerry” device in their line-up.

Winner: BlackBerry Bold 9650.  I’m bored.

T-Mobile

iPhone.  Not available, well until AT&T completes their purposed acquisition next year.  You can get your iPhone working with T-Mobile’s EDGE(2.5G) service but it won’t work with their 3G network or their 3G network marketed as “4G” network

Winner:  Slow performing data iPhones.


Android. T-Mobile was the first carrier to launch an Android phone with the awkward G1.  Today they have the largest Android selection, albeit more mid-range focused.  Recently TMo has been launching higher end phones, namely the recently launched HTC Senation 4G which packs some of the fastest hardware on current Android phones across any carrier.

Winner: HTC Sensation 4G.

Windows Phone. Not much to say here, they have one HTC HD7.

Winner: HTC HD7, winner by disqualification.

BlackBerry. TMo has a very limited BlackBerry offering, two models in fact.

Winner: BlackBerry Bold 9870. I’m really bored.

Verizon Wireless

iPhone.  iPhone 4, just get it.

Winner:  iPhone 4, the one and only Verizon iPhone.

Android. Verizon has the largest selection of higher end Android phones.  Verizon went bawls to the wall in November of 2009 with Android and their launch of the original Motorla DROID. A hugely successful phone.  This spawned the Verizon DROID product family.  It’s funny because their marketing worked so well, you often hear people refer to their T-Mobile Samsung Android phone as a ‘DROID”.  Since 4G is all the rage these days and Verizon has launched the largest actual 4G network, I’ll focus my recommendation there.

Winner: DROID CHARGE by Samsung.  Will be displaced in two weeks by the DROID BIONIC.

Windows Phone. Not much to say here, they have one, the HTC Trophy.  Probably one of the better Windows Phone 7 devices out there.

Winner: HTCTrophy, winner by disqualification.

BlackBerry. Verizon has the 2nd best BlackBerry offering.

Winner: BlackBerry Bold 9650. I’m asleep.

]]> http://www.lopo.com/2011/07/27/what-is-the-best-smartphone-on-my-carrier/feed/ 0 So I Resigned From My Pretty Awesome Job. http://www.lopo.com/2011/03/14/so-i-resigned-from-my-pretty-awesome-job/ http://www.lopo.com/2011/03/14/so-i-resigned-from-my-pretty-awesome-job/#comments Mon, 14 Mar 2011 19:40:21 +0000 John Barsodi http://www.lopo.com/?p=213 On Friday 3/4, I resigned from my current job as IT Systems Architect/Team Lead for our Systems and Messaging group. It was one of the more difficult decisions I’ve made in my ~12 year IT career. It’s hard to leave a company who has treated you well. In 4.5 years with them, I’ve been promoted [...]]]> On Friday 3/4, I resigned from my current job as IT Systems Architect/Team Lead for our Systems and Messaging group. It was one of the more difficult decisions I’ve made in my ~12 year IT career. It’s hard to leave a company who has treated you well. In 4.5 years with them, I’ve been promoted twice, given additional responsibilities, and selected for unique and challenging projects. Weighing this decision literally took a physical toll on me while I hashed it out and waited to provide my resignation. I’ve accomplished a lot and have much to be proud of and hope to continue that success on my future projects. Looking forward…. I’m heading to a Cloud! Service provider and will be on their Exchange Team, implementing and supporting both shared and dedicated platforms including their mobility offerings. This in itself is exciting as I’ve been working with MS Mail/Exchange since I started in IT. I also hope to help this company productize Lync Server 2010 as well. I’m excited as this new role will force me to obtain those certifications I wanted to pursue in 2011. Oh yeah, my new job is 100% work from home. I’m pretty excited about that too.

I get to meet my new team in a next week.

]]> http://www.lopo.com/2011/03/14/so-i-resigned-from-my-pretty-awesome-job/feed/ 3 Hay it’s December 31st, time for some New Years Resolutions… http://www.lopo.com/2010/12/31/hay-its-december-31st-time-for-some-new-years-resolutions/ http://www.lopo.com/2010/12/31/hay-its-december-31st-time-for-some-new-years-resolutions/#comments Fri, 31 Dec 2010 18:14:38 +0000 John Barsodi http://www.lopo.com/?p=133 Well.. I run 1920×1200 resolution at home and 3 monitors at 1600×1200 at work… think I will strive for 2560×2048 and 1920×1200 respectively. ok that was lame.

I never make New Years resolutions because I’ve always thought they were pitfalls for failure and most of the time forgotten by January 21st.  However, this year I have some [...]]]> Well.. I run 1920×1200 resolution at home and 3 monitors at 1600×1200 at work… think I will strive for 2560×2048 and 1920×1200 respectively. ok that was lame.

I never make New Years resolutions because I’ve always thought they were pitfalls for failure and most of the time forgotten by January 21st.  However, this year I have some goals that I want to pursue and what better way to wrap them up than by claiming them as New Years resolutions?

The obligatory “Get into shape and lose x number of pounds”. Actually, I want to work on my conditioning the first 6 months of 2011 as I want to start training in July for a marathon in January 2012.  It’s a Rock’n Roll marathon in Phoenix, AZ and I ran it in 2005.  My goal is to improve on my 2005 time by 1hr 10 mins, but I will be satisfied with dropping 40 mins.   Developing a schedule and sticking to it will be critical.

Professional Growth.  I’m now the Team Lead/Architect for my group.  I touch a number of major technologies.  I want to get certified in the technologies that I spend the most amount of time with.  I’ve always had the opinion of “meh” when it comes to IT Certifications, but I’ve recently had a different outlook on taking a test and striving to complete the certification that aligns with your experience as something you have should do to remain attractive in the job market and validate your skills and experience to your current employer.

Two areas of technology excite me and I believe they are the direction of the industry and this is where I’ll focus over the next 12 months.

Messaging, Collaboration(UCC), and Mobility – Exchange 2007/2010, Office Communication Server 2007/Lync Server 2010, Email Archiving,  BlackBerry Enterprise Server, GOOD Technology, iOS, BlackBerry, Android, and Windows Phone 7.

2011 Goal: Achieve MCITP status for Exchange 2010 and Lync 2010.  I’m still debating about finishing my Exchange 2007 MCITP status.  I have 1 of the 3 required tests complete.  I don’t think it’d be terribly difficult to study up and pass the remaining two.

CLOUD! –  Vmware & Hyper-V R2, Cisco UCS, Storage, and Management tools.

2011 Goal: Work towards VCP status, training budget pending of course.  VMware requires a mandatory 5 day class before you can take the test.

Here’s to a successful 2011!

]]> http://www.lopo.com/2010/12/31/hay-its-december-31st-time-for-some-new-years-resolutions/feed/ 1 Storm and Bold, my new toys http://www.lopo.com/2008/11/21/storm-and-bold-my-new-toys/ http://www.lopo.com/2008/11/21/storm-and-bold-my-new-toys/#comments Fri, 21 Nov 2008 05:00:53 +0000 John Barsodi http://dev.lopo.com/?p=3 Welp, today finally came…today as in the release date of the Blackberry Storm.  I picked one up this morning at 0′dark 30AM.  I was first in line and frooze my rear off in doing so, but it was worth it.  So far I’m   pleasantly surprised, it’s  better than my expectations and I really like it.  [...]]]> Welp, today finally came…today as in the release date of the Blackberry Storm.  I picked one up this morning at 0′dark 30AM.  I was first in line and frooze my rear off in doing so, but it was worth it.  So far I’m   pleasantly surprised, it’s  better than my expectations and I really like it.  I also got a AT&T BB Bold this week at work and it’s definitely a sweet device. I can pound out emails like usual on it while the Storm’s SurePress will take some getting used to.  Both devices have beautiful displays, top notch for mobile devices…and arguably the best of any smartphones.

I’m going to need a few days to get used to the Storm’s SurePress technology.  I’ll report back after!

Here’s a pic of my new toys.

112108

]]> http://www.lopo.com/2008/11/21/storm-and-bold-my-new-toys/feed/ 0 T-Mobile Pearl 8100 http://www.lopo.com/2006/09/12/t-mobile-pearl-8100/ http://www.lopo.com/2006/09/12/t-mobile-pearl-8100/#comments Wed, 13 Sep 2006 03:48:06 +0000 John Barsodi http://dev.lopo.com/?p=12 Tonight I picked up my new Blackberry Pearl(8100) by T-Mobile. I must say, having owned/used the Blackberry 5790, 6750, 7750, 7250, 7130, 7520, 8700, and now the 8100 – the 8100 is my favorite.

This phone feels solid and feels right in your hand and on a call.

Tons of new features offered for the [...]]]> Tonight I picked up my new Blackberry Pearl(8100) by T-Mobile. I must say, having owned/used the Blackberry 5790, 6750, 7750, 7250, 7130, 7520, 8700, and now the 8100 – the 8100 is my favorite.

This phone feels solid and feels right in your hand and on a call.

Tons of new features offered for the first time by Blackberry are:

  • Voice Activated Dialing
  • Bluetooth GPS compatibility w/ Blackberry Maps
  • Trackball/joystick – no more traditional Trackwheel
  • New style themes, similar to Pocket PC’s “Today” Screen
  • A 1.3MP camera
  • Media player – Movies, MP3’s
  • Stereo Headset
  • Expandable Memory slot – MicroSD
  • MP3 Ringtones – currently available on the 8700.

The phone came with OZ Instant Messaging Client. I’m not sure if this is a T-Mobile only included software or not. We’ll see when the Pearl comes out on Cingular sometime in November.

Check out a few pics:

091206-002091206-001

091206-003091206-004

]]> http://www.lopo.com/2006/09/12/t-mobile-pearl-8100/feed/ 0