On Mon, 6 Dec 2010 08:34:28 -0800 (PST), Roger Long
wrote:

My LG, a “Feature Phone” Verizon calls it, with Internet access just
had had its camera die. I don’t use the camera much but it’s nice to
have. About all I’ve used the Internet for is Doppler Radar when
cruising in cell phone range while thunderstorms are forecast.

They don’t carry the phone at Verizon any more so I’m faced with
choices:

Door #1: Keep the phone and plan I have and live without a camera.

Door #2: Keep my current plan but go to a clunky phone I don’t like
with a camera of poorer quality.

Door #3: Upgrade to a Droid phone for about 100 bucks and a 30 dollar
a month increase in my bill which would give me email on the phone,
and all the cool new stuff as well as a camera with more resolution
than my current real camera as well as usable video. This also
requires committing to a new 2 year contract.

The reason I’m posting this here is that I expect to be doing the ICW
Bahamas thing next fall. Will any of that Droid stuff via Verizon do
me any good in the Bahamas?

I’ll be in Canada most of next summer which they assure me will be
just the same as the US with a plan upgrade except for possible huge
roaming charges if I do too much Internet and data stuff.

It would be nice to have email on the phone so I’m not dependent on
marina’s for WiFi. I’m not sure it’s worth 30 bucks a month though.
Being out of touch is one of the nice things about cruising.

Does anyone here have experience with the slide out keyboards in a
salt water environment? The sliding contacts look like one drop of
seawater would put the thing out of business. I would like to get a
phone with a keyboard because I’ve found the touch screen on mine
rather difficult to use when it’s humid or cold. Should I go with a
fixed keyboard that has a full membrane over it?

Hello Roger, good to see you back on the group. I can't answer all
of your questions but I'll take a shot at those I know about.
Everyone I know with a 'Droid seems to be very happy with it. There
are also some very cool GPS street map and marine chart applications
for it at very inexpensive prices. I can't speak to the durability
issues but haven't heard any complaints.

No standard US phone that I'm aware of will work in the Bahamas.
Batelco has a complete lock on service there. What you need is an
unlocked GSM phone which you can buy online for about $50. When you
get to the islands look for the nearest cell phone tower and you'll
usually find a Batelco office underneath it. They can sell you a
Batelco SIM card for about $13 which gives you a local number in the
Bahamas. You purchase minutes as needed, also at the Batelco office.

If you have access to a fast WiFi connection you can also use a VOIP
service like SKYPE to make calls. If you're going to be spending much
time in the US it would probably be less expensive to get a plan here
where you purchase minutes as needed or on a month-to-month contract.