How long did your smartphone last?

[zoom-zoom]

Gah, I just had to pop the battery out, again. My phone locked-up after a phone call and wouldn't hang-up. This is ridiculous.

[ny biker]

Gah, I just had to pop the battery out, again. My phone locked-up after a phone call and wouldn't hang-up. This is ridiculous.

I just had a chat with a guy at the Verizon kiosk at the nearby mall. He cleared out the memory error on my phone by clearing data for Facebook for HTC Sense. I had logged out and cleared cache, but apparently you have to clear data, too.

More important, he told me they are phasing out "new every 2." They have two prices for phones -- the price if you are switching from another phone during the time that you qualify for an upgrade, and the regular price. If I wait until the end of January, I can get $30 off the upgrade price as a result of new every 2. Another customer might save more with their remaining new every 2 if it's been longer since their last upgrade. After new every 2 is totally phased out, everyone will either pay the regular price or the upgrade price -- nothing will be free and there will be no added discounts.

Anyway, it's kind of confusing. But the impression I got is that you might want to talk to them about just how much you would save by waiting until August, and also find out if you qualify for any earlier upgrades that might cost you a little more than new every 2 but still save you money over the regular price.

I also asked him if he had any general sense about some brands being more reliable than others. He didn't really answer, but he did say that some Samsung phones are also having problems with the Gingerbread upgrade. He has an Incredible that is having battery problems -- the battery was dying after only 20 minutes, and since he got a new one it's been running really hot -- but he is planning to get another HTC phone anyway.

I looked at the phone he wants to get. I don't remember the name, but it's 4G (not the Thunderbolt) and I must say the screen looks really good. Much crisper than my phone. And yes, they are all bigger than the Incredible so I will definitely have to bring my bike bag for a fit test when I buy a new phone.

Also, the iPhone 4S is only 3G. So if want 4G I have to stick with Android.

I think there is no good decision here, just a bunch of trade-offs.

[zoom-zoom]

I think there is no good decision here, just a bunch of trade-offs.

Yup. I'd like to wait until the iPhone 5 comes out. The rumors I've read have this happening anytime between March and June. Though I don't really care about 4g vs 3g. 3g is plenty fast for my needs. I'd perhaps look at a 4s once the 5 comes out, since I'd likely save a lot of $$ doing that.