Smartphone advice, anyone?

rockmafia said:
I have sprint. The only motorola they offer now is the photon. I've had one for about 5 months and cant conplain about it. I tether my computer to it pretty often with a free app, and unlimited data. They are 99 plus a 50$ trade in right now. . It ads $10 a month to your bill to move up to a smart phone. Best buy has all those pay as you go plans as well.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Motorola - Photon Mobile Phone - Dark Gray/Shadow (Sprint)/3005219.p?id=1218370449534&skuId=3005219&contract_desc=
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X2. Had mine since Oct last year. No problems, even have better signal than with previous phones. If you get one through Bestbuy, get their insurance. $9.99 a month, unlimited replacements. Sprint only gives you 1 replcement before asking for $$$.
 
I have the galaxy s 2 and its a great phone.. Its a android phone and it has the i phones daddy... Everyone at the sprint store i go to has it and now i know why. It just flat works and im glad they talked me out of getting the i phone. Me and the wife got the same phone its was like 215 each and we share a plan 1500 anytime and unlimited data text etc for 150 bucks a month.. She was with verison freaking paying 130 a month for one phone... And it wouldnt pickup at the house but sprint sure does!:D

Sent from deep space via Galaxy S 2
 
Ive got Verizon, still on my parents family plan (Because it saves me a freaking fortune) I am still grandfathered into unlimited data, and I have been happy.

I have a 4G HTC Thunderbolt, the equivalent to the EVO on sprint.

Ive been super happy with it, I have the extended monster battery, the regular one is a turd, I got it with extended battery for 150 with 2 year renewal.
 
I'll likely be switching back to iPhone in October/November. I don't have time to "admin" my phone. I need one that works, consistently, and doesn't require me to modify it to do the things I need it to do. I have the HTC Inspire 4G currently. In its stock form it was extremely limited, almost unusable. After rooting it, it of course got better, but I've yet to find a custom rom that gives me exactly what I want. If I buy another android, it will have to be running ice cream sandwich.
 
Chuckman said:
what is it that the androids do that the iPhones can't? the guys at work that have them can't do anything with them but call me and have me look things up on the iPhone.
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Tune in an FM radio station? Accept a microSD card? Allow you to swap in a spare battery without special tools? Allow easy access to your data from any computer at any time using a readily-available USB cable? Oh, there's lots of things! Neither is without fault, but Apple has always cheesed me off because they release a product with deliberately limited functionality. You can sometimes unlock these functions via jailbreaking, but that's no better than rooting your droid. You can't expand your memory at all. You bought an 8G iPhone, then realize you'd like to carry around more than 8G of music? Too bad. Wait a couple of months, the next slightly improved iPhone will be released to much media fervor. You can jump in line with the rest of the Apple cattle and wait to maybe get one yourself.

Apple sucks you into a lifestyle, requiring you to buy more and more Apple products to use all the latest features. Their interface is proprietary, and that has always bothered me. It's marketing genius, but for those of us who would like our stereo to control our non-Apple mp3 player, we're screwed. I believe it should be universal between manufacturers so you're not locked into one.

Apple releases new models to boost sales numbers. Droids offer more options, and the market is more diluted by various producers, but they still hold a larger market share overall than Apple. Google is a strong entity to do battle against. They made a company worth billions off a page that had nothing on it. I believe that between the loss of Jobs and the Droid getting more and more polished, you're going to see more of a shift towards the Droid market.

I carry a Droid on Verizon. A first-gen HTC Incredible. I'll likely upgrade this year when it's time, not because the latest and greatest has been released, and I sure as hell won't be lining up at midnight to get it! I've played with iPhones and own an iTouch. I prefer the interface, customizability, and physical feel of the Droid by far.
 
I have been considering going with an iPhone so I can get a waterproof case but my 2 year old rooted phone is fast and the battery lasts 2 days with normal use, running a custom android 2.3 rom and no bloatware. I love the android system and hate the iPhone keyboard, I am even considering a slide out keyboard this time, it really just is a personal preference though.

Sent from my HERO200 using Tapatalk
 
You can get an otter box case for other phones than just the iPhone. Well you should, when I had my Evo otter box carried them. They came in black.


Sent from my microwave using a teleportation device.
 
Ah gotcha. That's cool. I use 2 different otter boxes. I use the commuter during the week and the defender out on the trails.


Sent from my microwave using a teleportation device.
 
I've only used the iphone when it comes to smart phones. It's my company phone, so I pay no fees of services.

that being said, I'd not use anything else. User friendly, and you can't beat their touch screen. That comes from other peoples comments after messing with the interface on my phone.

I don't think the iphone can do more than others, it just does it better. and also, the battery life. I can go 3 days heavy use without charging. Big plus to me.
 
catfishblues said:
Tune in an FM radio station? Accept a microSD card? Allow you to swap in a spare battery without special tools? Allow easy access to your data from any computer at any time using a readily-available USB cable? Oh, there's lots of things! Neither is without fault, but Apple has always cheesed me off because they release a product with deliberately limited functionality. You can sometimes unlock these functions via jailbreaking, but that's no better than rooting your droid. You can't expand your memory at all. You bought an 8G iPhone, then realize you'd like to carry around more than 8G of music? Too bad. Wait a couple of months, the next slightly improved iPhone will be released to much media fervor. You can jump in line with the rest of the Apple cattle and wait to maybe get one yourself.

Apple sucks you into a lifestyle, requiring you to buy more and more Apple products to use all the latest features. Their interface is proprietary, and that has always bothered me. It's marketing genius, but for those of us who would like our stereo to control our non-Apple mp3 player, we're screwed. I believe it should be universal between manufacturers so you're not locked into one.

Apple releases new models to boost sales numbers. Droids offer more options, and the market is more diluted by various producers, but they still hold a larger market share overall than Apple. Google is a strong entity to do battle against. They made a company worth billions off a page that had nothing on it. I believe that between the loss of Jobs and the Droid getting more and more polished, you're going to see more of a shift towards the Droid market.

I carry a Droid on Verizon. A first-gen HTC Incredible. I'll likely upgrade this year when it's time, not because the latest and greatest has been released, and I sure as hell won't be lining up at midnight to get it! I've played with iPhones and own an iTouch. I prefer the interface, customizability, and physical feel of the Droid by far.
Click to expand...

All this.
Plus - listen to music using your own service or just drag/drop files, no need for iTunes.
Charge &/or interact with phone just using a standard USB cable.
Tether for free using free (or very cheap) software.
Upgrade/change battery or memory.
Not have all your person info, including contacts, how often each is called, where you go, etc shared w/ any vendor that wants it... - oh yes, Apple is selling all that shit right from under you. At least w/ android you can block it.

The battery life on the androids is bad b/c the Android OS is really inefficient about resource allocation, etc.
Apple may have a better "product" that is easier to use, but you are definitely pigeon-holed once you have it. They can make a product that works consistently b/c they have complete control over all the software and everything in it. Android developers have a big problem b/c they have to make s/w that has to work on lots of different types of hardware, OS versions, etc. This is the classic Windows v Mac OS debate.

What I wanna know is, why didn't the built-in fingerprint readers on the back, like the ATRIX, get picked up by more OEs? That shit is great, the perfect unlock feature.
 
RatLabGuy said:
All this.
Plus - listen to music using your own service or just drag/drop files, no need for iTunes.
Charge &/or interact with phone just using a standard USB cable.
Tether for free using free (or very cheap) software.
Upgrade/change battery or memory.
Not have all your person info, including contacts, how often each is called, where you go, etc shared w/ any vendor that wants it... - oh yes, Apple is selling all that shit right from under you. At least w/ android you can block it.

The battery life on the androids is bad b/c the Android OS is really inefficient about resource allocation, etc.
Apple may have a better "product" that is easier to use, but you are definitely pigeon-holed once you have it. They can make a product that works consistently b/c they have complete control over all the software and everything in it. Android developers have a big problem b/c they have to make s/w that has to work on lots of different types of hardware, OS versions, etc. This is the classic Windows v Mac OS debate.

What I wanna know is, why didn't the built-in fingerprint readers on the back, like the ATRIX, get picked up by more OEs? That shit is great, the perfect unlock feature.
Click to expand...

Some of those are the exact problems why people don't want to mess with Droid phones. Apple may lock you down, but their stuff simply works. You don't have to worry about some half ass inception of their OS, they are smart about that locking everything down so they know it works and knows what it can do and not. Each Droid phone can work completely different, and a lot of consumers hate that. Both have plus's and minus, you just have to figure out which one works for you. Also, it is not apple's fault about tethers costing money, that is a choice that the carriers implemented, apple doesn't care if there is a charge. I will admit that I wish I could just drag a song onto my phone without using itunes, but really it isn't bad to use at all, i open itunes then drag a song onto my phone, and I am done. The debate of IOS vs Droid is just like ford vs chevy, everybody has different likes and dislikes. You have to think also this is just like buying a car, 99% of people will not add a memory card, they won't want to tether, they just want the phone to work, Apple likes to aim at the consumer that just wants to plug it in and work. I have few friends with Droids that have not rooted them because they hated the phone with the stock ROM, most consumers don't want to have to do that.

I keep looking at the droids to replace my 4S next time, but that is still a while away, only time will tell who has the best phone then. For now my 4S works great for everything I want to do.
 
apple is not a player and will not be for me until they have 4G LTE...and no the 4S isnt full LTE.

Seriously my bionic on 4g downloads faster than my home cable internet..by a considerable amount.
The dead battery = new phone = no apple.

You asked what my droid does that iphone cant.
lets see Ive had voice search funcionality for 3 years..hey Siri Im looking at you

When I get in my car and pull away at a speed grater than 5 mph it automatically turns on my bluetooth receiver in my car and pairs on its own. When I walk in my house it converts to loud mode from vibrate only, discabls the data radio and turns on Wifi and automatically enters my password. When I upate a contact it is instantly updated on my google account and downloaded to my work phone. unless its on the charger and then it svibe only again. All this is customizable. I ahve GO plots of every customer I have's branch locations my phone will not ring inside their buildings, vibe only.

Now windows docs. I can create, edit, export and import word, excel, powerpoint, access and pdf files.

I can HDMI mirror out from my phone direct to my TV or broacast through WiFi to my TV or computer.

I can probably come up with more if I think for a second.
 
I've always heard that the android battery doesn't last long but my 2 yr old droid 2 lasts longer than my wifes 2month old Iphone 4 and I use mine a lot more than she does, if you believe the report on your bill each month. I have used my wifes iphone and I'm gonna stick with the droid, and of course its still whatever each person likes better just like my wife likes her iphone more than her old droid. But everything that Ron said above is awesome to mess with and have done for you automatically. The droid in my opinion is a more manly phone, or for people that like a lot of customization. The Iphone is more girly, nothing to technical just standard across the board , you tell me how it works os.
 
I find such humor in the hatred expressed about "the other smartphone". That goes for both sides of the fence. Pepsi vs Coke, Ford vs. Chevy vs. Dodge.

MINE'S BETTER AND YOURS SUCKS!:flipoff:

:flipoff2:
 
i-phone is much, much easier to use than android. faster, less lock-ups, you do need a pc (who doesnt have one these days???) and i-tunes (free) if you want to download apps and/or use it as an mp3 player.
 
A smartphone is only as smart as the user. Get what is appropriate for yourself.
 
I have the Galaxy S2 with Sprint.

Why Sprint? A comparably priced Verizon plan was going to be capped at 2GB/month of data transfer (anything beyond that would cost $10/GB extra). In addition, Verizon blocks tethering to your laptop unless you pay $20/month or something for a "Mobile Hotspot". Sprint does not do this. There was a tethering option built into my phone and it works very well. In addition, the latest/greatest Droid at Verizon was $300. Sprint had the Galaxy S2 for $200. The salesperson knocked $50 off for me and they gave me a $125 credit for porting a Verizon number to their network. Net cost for the phone was $25 + tax (taxed at $150).

Why the Galaxy S2? At the time I bought the two top phones from Sprint were the Galaxy S2 and the Motorola Photon. Galaxy S2 had a more powerful processor (1.2Ghz dual core vs 1.0Ghz dual core iirc) and the best screen on the market (at the time.) It is larger in length and width, but it is notably thinner and lighter. When it's in your pocket it feels like the smaller phone, but when you pull it out you get that huge screen.

Working for a large company I get a discount on both Sprint and Verizon. The Sprint discount was better though, so I came out ahead there too.

Verizon's nickel and diming needs to stop. If I pay for 2GB/month of data transfer I should be able to use it as I see fit. There is no excuse for crippling an Android phone's natural tethering capability so you can sell another product at $20/month. Every year they find new ways to charge customers for their usage. I just hope Sprint's data network catches up as they steal more of Verizon's disgruntled customers.
 
You can download an app for free tethering on some Droids. I downloaded EasyTether on my Droid X, it's free (one time fee for the unrestricted version, but I have yet to need that). The guy @ Verizon told me the other day, he had a (4G) Samsung phone, not sure which though, that there was an app that could be downloaded for free wireless tethering, but the phone he had was the only one it worked on.
 
Easytether does a good job of doing something Android phones can already do. The real value add is that it is easy to install and get working. In my case I installed the Samsung phone driver and the driver to allow Ethernet over USB on the PC (Windows XP does not do this automatically). All I do to tether now that I have those two drivers installed is plug my phone cable into the laptop's USB port and go into the phone's settings to turn tethering on. No additional software required.

If you use the free version of Easytether I believe it blocks all secure connections. I know it won't allow you to log into a corporate VPN and I don't believe it will allow you to access SSL websites (such as your online banking, email, etc.) They want you to pay for the full version to get all the features. The phone's built-in tethering does this just fine as long as you can get your PC configured to work with it.

Verizon began blocking tethering apps last fall. Unless something has changed programs such as Easytether will not work on the Verizon network. When customers tried to use them they would get this:

awww.droid_life.com_wp_content_uploads_2011_05_screen_20110531_1433_600x375.png



It's a cheap shot on Verizon's part. If I pay for 2GB of data transfer I should be able to use it however I see fit. If I go over they make more money ($10/GB). Google licenses the OS out to phone companies for free. It's a sorry move to cripple phone capabilities to all your customers in hopes that you can sell them an extra product.
 
^^ FYI I have a POS old Windows Mobile phone, Omnia.
I tether it all the time, using a program I downloaded years ago. Never had an extra charge or forced to do the Mobile Boradband Connect crap.
 
Well she ended up with the iphone 4s, and I got a Motorola Photon (which BestBuy was selling for $50).

After day one, neither of us are disappointed.
 
I have the Evo on sprint network, and let me tell you, I CANNOT wait till August when my contract is up.I am going over to Verizon....my 3g speeds with sprint are horrible, the phone itself is a good phone but it does lock up alot and is super heavy.....I held the Droid Razr the other day and it is super light and feels great in your hand....but I am waiting for Quad Core phones to be released....hopefully sometime this year.
 
I had a Motorola Droid (the original) and I now have an iPhone. There are some things I like better about the Droid, there are some things I like better about the iPhone. I dont consider myself a techie expert but in my opinion and my experience, its 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. A lot of user brand preference comes from how you tend to use your phone and how much customization you like to do. Custom ring tones on a iPhone are a big PITA, Droid, you simply upload an mp3 file. The navigation software that comes with a Droid is much better than what comes on an iPhone if you want to use it as a GPS. Autosuggest/correct on a Droid works better than on an iPhone. If you like to play games or use a lot of apps, the iPhone has much better graphics and more/better apps to choose from. The camera and video are better on an iPhone to me. It takes HD video and is very clear for a cell phone. The Droid has expandable memory, it uses a micro SD card. The iPhone has what it has, no more. I will say if you plan to load a lot of msuic and apps, go ahead and get the 32G iPhone. I have a 16G and have filled it up. I had to take a lot of my music off of it (had around 9G) in order to load more apps.
 
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