What Tech NOT To Get - Smart Phones

This will be another new reoccurring type of post for the relaunch of the website. What Tech NOT to Get is a warning of sorts. Sometimes, companies attempt to dump their crap technology on you. I don't want to see you get saddled with bad, outdated, or otherwise poor tech. If it saves just one person, I did my job.

Smart Phones

This post is inspired by today's announcement of the release of the Dell Aero for AT&T, which is generating a lot of news, but not the type Dell should ever have hoped for. PC World called it an "embarrassment", while The Washington Post called it "Dell's Death Wish". It struck me; I read all these geeky tech news stories, but what about people who don't? If they're in the store, might they look at the Aero, and it's low price, and actually buy one? Here, with one for each of the major carriers, are the four currently available (and some downright new) smart phones NOT to get.

AT&T - Dell Aero:
It made me write this article. Dell makes (mostly) quality computers, and is trying to spread into other consumer technology. So what makes the Aero so bad, when made by a good manufacturer? It's all in the software. Dell is releasing the Aero running Android verison 1.5. Android itself is not the problem. Google's OS has become a consumer hit. But version 1.5 was released in early 2009. Since then, Android 1.6, 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2 have all been released, and added features that you will want. You wouldn't buy a brand new computer with Windows 2000 on it, so do not get this phone. Alternative: Seriously, just get an iPhone 4. If you have to have Android on AT&T, get the Samsung Captivate (which runs 2.1 and will be upgraded to 2.2 very soon after)

Verizon - Motorola Devour:
This one has a very similar problem to the Aero. It looks like the Droid & Droid 2, and runs Android. However, because Motorola put their awful "MotoBlur" software on it, it's stuck running version 1.6. Motorola just announced that this phone will never be getting an upgrade. Alternative: The Droid, which came out 4 months before the Devour, just got upgraded to the latest version 2.2. If you can find that guy in a Verizon affiliated store (it's out of stock in the official stores, replaced by the Droid2), snap it up for cheap. If not, grab the cheaper still LG Ally, running version 2.1, and getting great reviews.

T-Mobile - HTC HD2
I'm sensing a theme to this post. Great hardware maker? Check. Outdated software? Check. The HTC HD2 runs Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.5, which Microsoft is essentially leaving behind, with no upgrade plan, when they launch Windows Phone 7 this fall. In three months, this phone OS will be basically obsolete, on brand new hardware you just spent $150 on. Unless you plan to format it, load Android onto it (yes, nerds are doing this) your money is better spent elsewhere. Consider saving $50 and buying the Blackberry Bold 9700. It's sleek, popular, and Blackberry has announced it is upgrading it to the latest Blackberry OS 6.0, which looks like a big step forward.

Sprint - Palm Pixi (plus)
Palm has been purchased by HP, which has announced tons of plans for the Palm OS, including tablets and printers. None of these plans, so far, have included upgrading or advancing the current Palm phones. HP is quietly hoping people will buy up the remaining Palm devices. They're quality, with a good OS, but they're orphaned devices. People who have them love them, but they most likely bought them last year, when Palm was independent, and moving forward. I can't in good conscience recommend it now. Alternative: The same price will get you the Blackberry 8530, but never mind that. If you live in a Sprint 4G city, spend the extra money and buy the new Samsung Epic 4G when it comes out, or the slick Evo4G. You'll thank me later.

Till next time....