Smartphone Time Again. Opinions? Data?

[ArcticDiver]

My problem with Google is the Terms of Service and their publicly announced lack of regard for data ownership. Even in the case of the current monitoring flap their concern is not that the government got the info; it is that they can't pass the buck.

A couple of the places I've had information have had some serious data breaches even though they were "secure".

Up to now I've addressed those concerns by keeping the information on my machines and synching to each other. Also,as I mentioned, several places I travel have lousy internet connections. So, I'd like to synch PC and Smartphone.

OK, y'all have just about persuaded me to not follow the herd into iPhone land and to think multiple times about a Lumina or the like.

[DecidedlyOdd]

Blackberry jumped the shark a long time ago.

"jumped the shark"? What does that mean?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpraJYnbVtE

[ArcticDiver]

Blackberry jumped the shark a long time ago.

"jumped the shark"? What does that mean?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpraJYnbVtE

Couldn't get to youtube but wikipedia did the job. From what I read you may very well be correct even though the new devices are reported to be selling very well.

[ArcticDiver]

OK, got things narrowed down pending two checks. First, can my spouse use a virtual key board? If she can not then the Blackberry Q10 seems to be the only game in town. If she can the Samsung S4 or S4 Activ., or maybe a Note 2. Second, finding a way to keep the Contact, Task, Memo, Calendar info on my laptop and the device coordinated Without using a public "cloud" like Google, et.al.

Suggestions?

[Norris]

I am pretty certain you can sync your contacts from Phone to LapTop on all the Samsung devices. Might want to talk to the person you are buying from, or hit up support. Virtual keyboards have come a long ways

[ArcticDiver]

Both the salesperson and the manager said it is just a Drag and Drop to move everything from Outlook on the PC to a Samsung phone.

We ended up buying Samsung S4Active smartphones. The people in the ATT store spend about 4 hours with us setting up the phones and teaching us the rudiments of how to use them. Coming from totally different mind set we had a lot to learn. I asked if that was normal and the answer was: "Yes". They all have a good base wage and the cherry on top of a commission so getting us a useful tool to be happy with is primary.

There is a special on the Galaxy Tab Tablets with keyboard that is attractive. But, with that we leave the Windows world and many of the security features and programs available for Windows that are not available for Android. So, have to think about that.

And, of course, what about Blackberry? Frankly, their customer orientation is extremely poor. It starts with their device design, goes through awkward operation, extremely poor customer service and the pervasive insider/outsider attitude of those whose self-esteem is wrapped up in that inanimate device. Since they own the QNX operating system I doubt the company will go away, as long as they don't sell it. But, can't imagine them in the smartphone business too much longer.

Thanks to everyone's input.

[sitkadiver]

Where are you?

Here in Sitka, AT&T is down to a single tower and it's only 3G capable. When the tourist are in town, you can pretty much forget making a call, and text messages are best limited to as few characters as possible.

I'm seriously considering switching to ACS, but am worried this will create drama when we travel in the lower 48.