The great phone debate

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

Alright people, I'm finally looking at getting a smart phone. I've steered clear so far because...

-I know as soon as I get one, another one that is so much better will come out the next day
-I figured it would take me forever to learn how to use it
-I don't use my current phone for anything other than text and regular calls
-I don't want to be one of those people that are always messing around with their phone and missing what's going on around them

I'm not COMPLETELY sold on getting a smart phone right now because I don't mind my current phone. But I figure at some point I won't be able to buy anything other than a smart phone. I'm currently with Verizon, have been for about 7 years, but I've been thinking about trying another company. The bad thing is I don't really know what I'm looking for other than a decent to good battery life. My best friend has a smart phone (I don't remember what kind now) and his battery life SUCKS. He has to turn off almost all his apps just to get the battery to last half a day. I definitely don't want that. As far as apps go, I have no idea what I want haha. And I'd like to have good coverage too, obviously. Verizon is alright, but it's not as good as it was in North Carolina. Also, I'm not too sure how important it is to have a 32GB as opposed to a 16GB, etc. Do you really need a lot of space, what do you save on there? Do you need it for all the apps? Or is it for pics and videos?

So what phones do you guys have, what do you like about it/what do you hate about it, what company are you with, etc?

kingtut · Postby **kingtut** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

Sent from my EVO Shift on Sprint's Now Network.

I'm no phone guy/techy, but I like it...

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

LOL. So what do you like about it? lol

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

I just remembered something...I used to have a Blackberry Pearl when I first moved to C Springs. I liked that I could get on the internet, but the screen was so small it was almost pointless. What really ticked me off was the trackball. I started having problems where it won't only scroll down and not back up.

And another reason I haven't gotten a smart phone yet is because I'm always working on the car and I don't want to get my phone messy. But if it's a touch screen and I can just wipe the screen off, I guess it shouldn't be as much of a problem as getting gunk down in the buttons.

Operator · Postby **Operator** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

I've been with AT&T since 2005, and for the most part, I enjoy their service. I'm grandfathered to an old plan so the price is just right. I am somewhat attached to my phone, but it doesn't detract from me being able to socialize. I have a iPhone 4, but got my wife a Atrix, which is impressive in its own right. I personally don't use too much internal storage. But that's another thing I dislike about Apple, they don't let you add an SD card.

geo2maz · Postby **geo2maz** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

As far as space, you don't need more gigs, the smallest size should be fine, unless you want tons of music on there... Apps barely take up any room...

I have iPhone 4s 16gig, I love it, only thing is I despise iTunes which you need to set it up and sync... Luckily I found a program that lets me load music on here wo iTunes... The new camera on here is great too and it does hd video... $200 with a 2 year ATT contract, I pay $70/mo for service/unlimited data... One thing I don't like is that iPhone doesn't play website-flash, but I'm surviving...

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

Operator wrote:I've been with AT&T since 2005, and for the most part, I enjoy their service. I'm grandfathered to an old plan so the price is just right. I am somewhat attached to my phone, but it doesn't detract from me being able to socialize. I have a iPhone 4, but got my wife a Atrix, which is impressive in its own right. I personally don't use too much internal storage. But that's another thing I dislike about Apple, they don't let you add an SD card.

Yeah I'd kinda prefer to have extra storage if need be. I've never heard of an Atrix. I fear that by starting this thread I will be in even worse shape than before because I will have so much information it will be even harder to decide haha.

I don't know if a smart phone will make me even more antisocial, but I guess I'll see haha. I just don't want to be on it all the time if I'm out with friends or whatever. But it would be kinda cool to have handy apps and things like that. My roommate over here was telling me on his MyTouch he can scan a barcode and see if he can find the product cheaper somewhere else. I love that, but I don't know what else is out there.

geo2maz wrote:As far as space, you don't need more gigs, the smallest size should be fine, unless you want tons of music on there... Apps barely take up any room...

I have iPhone 4s 16gig, I love it, only thing is I despise iTunes which you need to set it up and sync... Luckily I found a program that lets me load music on here wo iTunes... The new camera on here is great too and it does hd video... $200 with a 2 year ATT contract, I pay $70/mo for service/unlimited data... One thing I don't like is that iPhone doesn't play website-flash, but I'm surviving...

Yeah I don't figure I need much room. I have an iPod for music so I'm not too concerned with playing it on my phone. As a matter of fact, I don't forsee myself putting music on my phone as well. It would just be too much of a hassle as far as I'm concerned. But, if I got a program like you're talking about where I wouldn't have to go through the hassle of iTunes I might be interested haha. $70 a month isn't bad at all! I think I'm paying closer to $90 a month and I don't even have a data plan. I'm not sure if I'll need website flash. Do you have an example of what you're talking about?

Thanks for your input guys!

alex_n/a · Postby **alex_n/a** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

I would recommend the palm pre plus. Don't forget you throw shet around when it don't work. Lol an iphone would be great but I'm not sure how it will last with harsh abuse. My palm pre is beat to hell and back. It takes a nose dive on to pavement like no body's business. And is still alive. There is nicks and cracks. You can't touch it with a needle without touching a crack or scratch. It is so easy to use. And fun to customize. If it is jailbroken. Hacked. Unlocked. Whatever you like to call it then there are more options on make it "yours" than an iphone. The major downside is lack of apps. There are 12. Everything else is shet. Unless you want apps like religious verses and such. If you look up videos on youtube of palm pre vs iphone or android phones vs iphone you will get good input on both sides of the story. Palm pre is by no means an iphone killer. But it's more like an iphone bully.

D Walker · Postby **D Walker** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

I have had a varied selection of smartphones over the last couple of years- including a couple different blackberrys, G1, Iphone3 and 4, Galaxy/Vibrant, and now a G2X. My favorite phone so far the was the G1, it worked awesome as a phone which a lot of smartphones suck at and it was a good size etc. The Vibrant was cool too, but I managed to crack the screen lad Feb and had to suffer through until a few weeks ago when I got the G2X. The G2X really is a cool phone, the internet is faster on it than on the Iphone 4 and I have the advantage of the phone actually working, being able to use an SD Card, not using Itunes, and it was not a bad price although I have no idea what I actually paid, I had a bunch of credits and stuff that affected the price. The Iphones IMHO suck and I would not buy another one, although my wife loves them -status symbol yo! She finally had to admit the other day that the internet on my G2X smoked her I4 into the dirt, just no comparison. ALL of the touchscreens are fragile and will crack if dropped or other stupid stuff happens. I have not had a Droid yet but Pat does and it seems to work OK. I would stick to Android because once you have learned it it sdoesnt matter which phone you get they will all function pretty much the same. I now avoid Blackberry like the plague and you could not get me to use one.

As far as apps go, honestly, most of them are just fad crap that you will use once or twice and then forget about. All of the important stuff you "need" will come pre-loaded. Some apps like Travelwhatever will run constantly in the background, so make sure you turn it off unless your actually using it. GPS, Wifi etc. will also drain the battery fast so leave that crap off too.

So basically go buy what you think is cool and use the fawk out of it.

kingtut · Postby **kingtut** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

speedjunkie wrote:LOL. So what do you like about it? lol

Oops.

- I can check/post on here.
- It's not an i-phone
- It has a touch screen and qwerty keyboard.
- It's not huge, like the regular EVO and i-phone.
- Unlimited Internet (as opposed to at&t/i-phone)
- It's faster than my PC at home (comp fail)

That's what comes to mind...

dommo_g · Postby **dommo_g** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

From your first post it sounds like you don't even really need/want a smart phone. But if you think you'll find it useful and enjoyable enough to justify the extra monthly cost, (most carriers will make you get onto a different data plan for smart phones), then here's my opinion:

You'll pretty much be choosing between the iPhone and an Android phone. I don't care for the iPhone because Apple has it so locked down that it seems like it isn't even your phone. You can't take out the battery, you can't upgrade memory, you have to use iTunes, nobody can service it, you can't really mod/hack it, blah blah blah. I know there's work arounds for some of these points, and the iPhone fanboys will surely point it out, but that's MY opinion on the iPhone. Not to mention most plans are more expensive for the iPhone JUST BECAUSE IT'S AN IPHONE. Gay. Unless they've changed that recently. I have friends with the iPhone and they mostly love it I guess.

Android phones come in many flavors from many manufacturers with lots of different features. Some have better cameras, screens, keyboards etc. Some have 4G, most have wi-fi. Lots to choose from. The Android phones are also for the most part a lot more 'hacker friendly'. There's a large community of mods and hacks to try out if you're into that sort of thing. Some people might say the Android marketplace doesn't have nearly as many apps as the iPhone. Bullshiit. Anything that matters is there. You might miss out on the crappy ### homemade apps, but anything with substance is available on Android.

There's also the new Windows phone. Not as much support in the app department yet, but seems to be growing. My son has the HTC Arrive Windows phone and he loves the hell out of it. I don't care too much for it, but it does have a slick interface. They've also added the Zune software on there which is familiar to me because I have a Zune MP3 player. There's also cool Xbox Live integration and games. The Windows phone seems to me to be geared as a media centered phone. Worth a look I guess.

My suggestions would be to get one of the Android phones. But not just any one, one of the more high end phones. You'll really be better off with the better display, better camera/video and better performance. Also, get the biggest memory card you can get, because with a phone that has a top notch camera/video, you'll definitely be taking more pics and videos and maybe putting music on it in place of an MP3 player.

speedjunkie · Postby **speedjunkie** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

Well so far I haven't hit my MacBook...might be because I paid so freakin much for it, or might be that I learned my lesson when my last laptop didn't make it but about 4 months (doubtful)...but I like your through process HAHAHA. I have thrown my phones before so that is something I forgot to take into consideration. One thing, to me, that makes a smart phone what it is, is apps. So that is a downside, but I'll take your phone into consideration. Who are you with and what is the monthly bill and service like?

I would say in order of importance, this is what I'm looking for (that I know of)...
-good service (reception) and battery life
-a reasonably priced monthly bill
-not prone to glitches, ease of use, etc (thus why I've thrown my phones haha)
-apps (not as big a deal, but if there aren't many apps or no apps, then there is no sense in buying a smart phone as far as I'm concerned)

Thanks Alex!

EDIT: Damn you guys are posting fast haha. I'll come back in a little bit and respond to you guys too.

dommo_g · Postby **dommo_g** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

alex_n/a wrote:I would recommend the palm pre plus. Don't forget you throw shet around when it don't work. Lol an iphone would be great but I'm not sure how it will last with harsh abuse. My palm pre is beat to hell and back. It takes a nose dive on to pavement like no body's business. And is still alive. There is nicks and cracks. You can't touch it with a needle without touching a crack or scratch. It is so easy to use. And fun to customize. If it is jailbroken. Hacked. Unlocked. Whatever you like to call it then there are more options on make it "yours" than an iphone. The major downside is lack of apps. There are 12. Everything else is shet. Unless you want apps like religious verses and such. If you look up videos on youtube of palm pre vs iphone or android phones vs iphone you will get good input on both sides of the story. Palm pre is by no means an iphone killer. But it's more like an iphone bully.

I came from Palm phones, so I'm by no means bashing Palm, but that platform is dead. The only reason to get that phone is if you're strictly a fan of the new Palm OS, or whatever HP calls it since they took over Palm. I wanted that phone so bad when it came out, but decided against it after researching more. It has absolutely no advantage over an Android phone other than the fact that it offers true multitasking. And it will have the smallest fraction of apps available compared to Android. That's if anyone is even developing apps for it anymore.

dommo_g · Postby **dommo_g** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

No matter what, if you have a smart phone, you'll have:

Bad battery life.
A higher monthly bill.
Glitches.

Comes with the territory.

D Walker · Postby **D Walker** » Fri Nov 11, 2011 9:14

My G2X allows me to surf the web or text or check email while on the phone, not sure I could do much more multitasking lol! The I4 did as well but it was reaaally slow if you were trying to search the web while talking on the phone.

The great phone debate

The great phone debate

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