About the Smartphone Round Robin
How to Follow the Smartphone Round Robin
Each week our editors will be writing about their experiences with their new smartphones on our five sites and also in each others' forums.
If you want to see how it's all going down, keep an eye on our updates page here or subscribe to the Round Robin RSS feed.
The first Rule of Round Robin is ...you do talk about Round Robin. In other words, editors cannot call up another community editor and ask for help, or use instant message or email. All of our questions and impressions will be in the full view of the public.
This means two things. Everybody gets to see the real plusses and minuses of these smartphones; more importantly, it gives community members (you!) more chances to win a smartphone by discussing the smartphones in "Round Robin tagged" forums. See Contest Rules for more details.
What We'll Do
About every week and a half or so, each Smartphone Experts Editor will be trading their primary phone for another one. We'll start each week by heading out to the related forum and asking questions and asking for help getting started. Then, after we've started using the phones a bit, we will each post a Video Review and then later a full review of what it's like to use the new platform. Then -- we switch again. Every comment on every post or forum thread tagged "Round Robin" is another entry for your chance to win a smartphone!
The Round Robin will last through November and December and include all 5 sites. We'll also record 2 special Round Robin Podcasts that will be placed in each SPE Podcast feed.
The "Must-Dos" for Each Editor
It's important that we treat these smartphones by the same rules, so we'll all be attempting the following with each smartphone. Each Editor must
- Use their assigned smartphone as their "main brain" and may not use any other smartphone OR music device (such as an iPod) for one full week.
- Get their PIM data onto their phone. Ideally they will 'Sync with the Cloud," but a computer sync is ok too.
- Get up their email on the smartphone
- Use their smartphone to get directions at least once.
- Use their smartphone with a bluetooth headset.
- Install at least 2 3rd-party apps (if possible) on their smartphone.
- Play a game
- Bbrowse the internet
- Add music to their smartphone and use it as their music device.
- Watch a video on their device.
Meet the Editors
Above: the Smartphone Experts Editors get a little nervous about sending their favorite phones away.
Dieter Bohn - WMExperts
In addition to being the Community Editor for WMExperts, Bohn is also the overall VP of Communities and Editor in Chief at Smartphone Experts. You can check out his bio here. If you have questions about the Round Robin or about SPE Communities in general, send him an email.
WMExperts features news, reviews, and opinion about all things Windows Mobile - but in a more blog-like format. WMExperts' tone is as humorous as its content is informative - it's quickly becoming a go-to source for both Windows Mobile information, "smackdown" comparisons, and industry analysis.
Casey Chan - Android Central
Casey Chan is a writer based out in Los Angeles, California. He is one of the biggest sports fan alive--revolving much of his life around the Raiders, Dodgers, and Sixers. Yet he still manages time to fall in love over and over again with technology, gadgets, and smartphones.
Over at AndroidCentral.com, Casey provides news and analysis, in-depth articles and opinions, reviews and anything else about Android. First a Crackberry addict turned iPhone believer and now running with Android, Casey is well trained at seeing both sides of the coin.
Feel free to drop by and say hello at AndroidCentral.com--where we're always open!
Jennifer Chappell - TreoCentral
Chappell lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. She is a certifiable gadget freak with a passion for all PDA devices. Chappell has also been writing about PDAs and Treo for some time on other sites within the Palm community.
Committed to a vision of expert Treo reporting, in-depth reviews of Treos, accessories, and software, and an editorial slant that's as much "tough love" as it is "true love" for the Treo, TreoCentral is one of the most respected voices in the Treo community.
Kevin Michaluk - CrackBerry.com
Inspired by his love (some would call it addiction) to the BlackBerry, Michaluk had the idea to launch CrackBerry.com in 2006. A life-long entrepreneur with a Management Degree from the University of Manitoba, Kevin is a certified gadget freak.
While CrackBerry.com's team of bloggers report news and conduct reviews, the site also features an active forum community, an accessory and software store, and other unique utilities, including: a blackberry wallpaper maker, a user-contributed ringtone gallery, and the ability for members to activate their own @CrackBerry.com email address.
Rene Ritchie - The iPhone Blog
Rene Ritchie is Community Editor for the iPhone blog. He likes to draw, to design, to write, and to grapple. Not often in that order. His first computer was an Apple II, his first smartphone was a Treo 600, and his first foray online was as a moderator on Compuserve during the launch of Windows 95. He's written three books [so far!] and numerous articles. He's currently married to web, GUI, and graphic design at a database development company in Montreal, but philanders daily. Here. For you. Follow him on the Twitter @reneritchie or contact him via rene (at) theiphoneblog (dot) com.
