# Lookin at a smartphone



## GatodeCafe (Aug 28, 2010)

...I really have no idea what the fuck I'm doing. TBH I'm leaning in the iphone's direction, just for the volume of apps and the name recognition, but I'm also thinking about the droid phone. My dad insists I should wait for the windows 7 phone but I seriously have no idea. Anybody mind giving me a hand?

thanks folks!


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## Velystord (Aug 29, 2010)

Well the iPhone is nice but it is hyped up and you end up paying for the name where as android is pretty much universal and has a lot less expensive contract (depending on carrier) where as apple is stuck with at&t. Also the 7 phone I cant find a whole lot on but it seems more like its more restrictive than the droid and iphone. But all the stuff I've seen leans towards android but its purely your decision.
http://gizmodo.com/5398942/the-iphone+to+android-switch-10-things-you-need-to-know

Also android is very good for multi tasking.
all are in USD

rough att bill on iPhone:
$217.41 one time payment
$134.99 monthly payment

rough sprint bill on android equivalent: (didnt have the comparable android in stock at this time)
$299.99 one time payment
$99.99 monthly payment

rough verizon bill with android phone:
$199.99 one time payment
$127.97 monthly payment

rough tmobile bill with android phone:

w/ contract 
$249.99 one time 
$35.00 activation
$99.99 per month

w/o contract
$499.99 one time
$35.00 activation
$79.99 per month


damn that took a long time


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## Aden (Aug 29, 2010)

If okay with AT&T:
iPhone 4

Else:
Droid 2


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## Captain Howdy (Aug 29, 2010)

Realize, that the "millions" of Apps are utter shit. Same as the ones for Android. At most, you might download up to 10-25 apps, and I can bet you that at least 3/4ths of them are cross-platform (phone-wise). So you'd be better looking into what you want.

iPhone is locked down (unless you pay for the unlocked one) out of box completely, your soul is contained in iTunes, and all that noise

Droid is drag-and-drop content for immediate play (so you aren't locked into iTunes, or forced to jailbreak, you can just drop your FLAC/Mp3s/jpg/etc. onto it), and has better 3G coverage overall, plus tethering for the newer units, multi-tasking out of the box, and a multitude of other awesome things :v

iPhones are just...way overblown, and I'm expecting Geek or someone to come in here with his self-made charts and graphs and shit, but yeah. 

I went from a Razr, to a Droid, and now I'm looking at the Droid 2 - I've never been happier.


Although I've looked into the Window 7 phone, but...knowing microsoft...and first adoption...I won't get it, not at least for a year or two.


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## Fenrari (Aug 29, 2010)

I'm thinking of the W7 phone... The new factor alone would make me want it.


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## Aden (Aug 29, 2010)

Lastdirewolf said:


> iPhones are just...way overblown



The reason they're "overblown" is because they were the first real consumer-level phone with a high-end touch screen. This whole big Droid boom and all that? Followed the trend once they saw there was a market for it. Not to say they aren't better than iPhone in ways, but the iPhone earned its reputation.

OP, just find a way to try out the choices you want. People can tell you what stuff is like, what they enjoy and don't about a device, and that's good to an extent. But just go somewhere where you can play with the things you're considering for a while.


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## GatodeCafe (Aug 30, 2010)

Aden said:


> The reason they're "overblown" is because they were the first real consumer-level phone with a high-end touch screen. This whole big Droid boom and all that? Followed the trend once they saw there was a market for it. Not to say they aren't better than iPhone in ways, but the iPhone earned its reputation.
> 
> OP, just find a way to try out the choices you want. People can tell you what stuff is like, what they enjoy and don't about a device, and that's good to an extent. But just go somewhere where you can play with the things you're considering for a while.



I'm gonna stop by best buy later and get my hands on some phones.. Right now I think a refurb 32GB iphone 3Gs looks sharp as hell for the right price, but I really want to get one in my hands proper.. LOL I've had a walmart go-phone up until now so this will end up being quite an upgrade.


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## net-cat (Aug 30, 2010)

I'm going to leave jailbreaking and rooting out of the discussion for now.

The iPhone has come a long way. It has things like multitasking now. But it's still tied to AT&T and iTunes. (You only need iTunes to use the media functions though, if memory serves.) If you can live with that, then there's little reason to not get one. 

The Android platform has a bit more choice. Not tied to iTunes or AT&T. Droid is Verizon, but Droid âŠ† Android. You can get a nice WiMax (4G) enabled Android device from Sprint, for instance. And also, no iTunes.

For Windows 7 phones, I'd caution against being an early adopter. It's going to (initially) be missing a lot of features that iPhone and Android have (copy/paste, anyone?) and if history has taught us anything, Windows Mobile is a massive moving target. I remember back in the day when I had a Windows Mobile 4.2 device. Windows Mobile 5 came out and within about two months, all Windows Mobile 4.2 app development had ceased. "We're sorry, but due to the massive differences between the 4.2 and 5 APIs, we can no longer support 4.2 development." And Windows Mobile's history is rife with this. If you get a Windows 7 phone, expect it to be kicked to the curb within a few months of the next version coming along. By contrast, one of my coworkers has an original iPhone. With a few exceptions, it still works fine with the apps in the app store.

It's also been my experience that Android Apps tend to be a bit cheaper. Mostly because they don't have a hyper-sensitive centrally controlled repository for apps and it doesn't cost anything to be able to develop for Android.  But, as someone pointed out earlier, most apps are utter crap anyway. Doesn't matter which platform.


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## Aden (Aug 30, 2010)

net-cat said:


> By contrast, one of my coworkers has an original iPhone. With a few exceptions, it still works fine with the apps in the app store.


 
I have an original iPhone and I wish I could say the same. Your statement would have been true up until iOS 4 came out. iPhone first-gen can't upgrade to iOS 4 because the hardware isn't powerful enough, but most new apps require iOS 4.

\I have 74 app upgrades in my App Store inbox that I can't get :c


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## Sam (Aug 31, 2010)

I'll tell you that for my plan on sprint for my smart phone, it costs me 80 a month - that includes unlimited data, unlimited text and 450 mins a month. ( I'm typing on it now for this post while at work ). This even includes the warranty I pay as well. Droid Phones look pretty nice, I don't use one, I use a palm phone that I like a lot.

I don't have great service here for T Mobile, but if you do, I know you can get that new galaxy phone on Amazon for like 1 cent with a new 2 year contract lol.

I dunno amigbrah, go try out some phones.


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## CaptainCool (Aug 31, 2010)

if you have the chance you should get an iphone. you might be tied to a carrier and itunes but they ARE pretty awesome! you mentioned the extremely huge amount of apps for example.
about the windows 7 phone, it probably wont be all that useful for you. my guess is that it will mainly be used by people who need a mobile device that can easily be connected to other hardware that uses windows. ya know, to sync their mail and documents. as far as i know it has always been like that with mobile windows deviced, they never become all that mainstream and tend to be used by rather "professional people".
and since way more people own an iphone right now the support for apps will stay as big as it is right now! so you will probably get more entertainment out of that


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## Hendikins (Sep 1, 2010)

My kingdom for an 850MHz UMTS handset that isn't an iPhone and can keep up with my Treo Pro for reception!

Even my carrier says not to bother spending my money, they can't supply anything


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## Captain Howdy (Sep 1, 2010)

CaptainCool said:


> If you have the chance you should get an iphone. you might be tied to a carrier and itunes but they ARE pretty awesome!
> you mentioned the extremely huge amount of apps for example.
> and since way more people own an iphone right now the support for apps will stay as big as it is right now! so you will probably get more entertainment out of that


 
Not being tied down to iTunes should be a pretty good reason alone :v
The 'huge' amount of apps, like mentioned before, really doesn't count for much. We should make a poll on how many apps iPhone users have at the moment. (it's the same for the Android apps, mind you. There's over 100k, but most of them are shit.)
And no, not by a long shot. iPhone is 3rd ranked in the overall US sales market (which are the only numbers I could find at the moment). RIM (BlackBerry) is in 2nd, and Android is in first.


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## net-cat (Sep 1, 2010)

Aden said:


> I have an original iPhone and I wish I could say the same. Your statement would have been true up until iOS 4 came out. iPhone first-gen can't upgrade to iOS 4 because the hardware isn't powerful enough, but most new apps require iOS 4.
> 
> \I have 74 app upgrades in my App Store inbox that I can't get :c


It may be because he jailbroke it, I don't know. Still, the original iPhone was released June 29, 2007 and the iPhone 4 was released June 24, 2010, nearly three years later. That's a pretty good run for a phone, if you ask me.

(Contrast that with my Windows Mobile example. There was about 15 months between 4.2/2003SE and 5.0.)



Lastdirewolf said:


> And no, not by a long shot. iPhone is 3rd ranked in the overall US sales market (which are the only numbers I could find at the moment). RIM (BlackBerry) is in 2nd, and Android is in first.


Is that in new sales or existing devices?


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## Digitalpotato (Sep 1, 2010)

My dad and sister currently use smart phones. My sister thinks the smart phone is good enough, so yeah. Plus if you're hanging out in Fort Collins you can get one from T-Mobile anyways. (There're plenty of T-Mobile dealers out here)


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## Aden (Sep 2, 2010)

Lastdirewolf said:


> Not being tied down to iTunes should be a pretty good reason alone :v


 
I fail to see what's so painfully horrible about iTunes. It manages my music well and it syncs competently. I ignore the store.


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## Runefox (Sep 2, 2010)

Aden said:


> I fail to see what's so painfully horrible about iTunes. It manages my music well and it syncs competently. I ignore the store.


 
At least on Windows, it comes with a bunch of shit you don't need (including at least three background services), and is bloated beyond comprehension. Compared to even Windows Media Player, it's a whale.

That said, it's probably better on a Mac, but... Well, there you go.


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## Aden (Sep 2, 2010)

Runefox said:


> At least on Windows, it comes with a bunch of shit you don't need (including at least three background services), and is bloated beyond comprehension. Compared to even Windows Media Player, it's a whale.



Ah, I remember hearing this actually. I can't say one way or another, but sounds right. One of the background services is probably Quicktime in some form as that's iTunes' music and video playing method.



> That said, it's probably better on a Mac


 
Much

All that being said, http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-ways-to-sync-music-to-your-iphone-without-itunes/


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## LLiz (Sep 3, 2010)

GatodeCafe said:


> ...I really have no idea what the fuck I'm doing. TBH I'm leaning in the iphone's direction, just for the volume of apps and the name recognition, but I'm also thinking about the droid phone. My dad insists I should wait for the windows 7 phone but I seriously have no idea. Anybody mind giving me a hand?
> 
> thanks folks!


 
Hey Gatode, I know how you feel... I am also looking for a new phone at the moment, we're so spoiled for choice at the moment so it ain't easy to make a decision. 

iPhones look like terrific user orientated devices, and the iPhone 4's screen is just ... wow ... but the lack of freedom turns me off... yeah yeah I know you can jailbreak but some horrible software update to stop that is just a timebomb waiting to happen... but if you're not a geek like me then an iPhone might be the way to go. 

Bear in mind that plenty people complain to me that after updating their iPhone 3G and 3Gs to iOS 4 that the speed of their phones drops. 

I currently prefer Android but am still really puzzled on what to get, IMO the best of the bunch at the moment are the "HTC Desire" and the "Samsung Galaxy S". 
The Sony Xperia range are apparently overpriced and outdated (typical Sony) and I hear that the Optimus isn't much chop. 
The HTC Legend has a lower resolution than the Desire. 

Apparently there are some really good Android phones on the way from both Sony and HTC. 
Sony is rumoured to be releasing a "Playstation" branded Android phone, and HTC is apparently releasing a big screen phone that competes directly with the Samsung Galaxy S. 

The new Windows Phone 7 doesn't really appeal to me very much, but I am yet to play with a functioning phone. 

I've actually decided to hold off for the moment and see what HTC, Sony and Microsoft do. 



Aden said:


> I fail to see what's so painfully horrible about iTunes. It manages my music well and it syncs competently. I ignore the store.


 
meh, I think iTunes is annoying as hell and horrible on Windows... although I am a guy who is perfectly happy to find music using Windows Explorer, once found I'll drag and drop the files into my VLC playlist... am I 1337 or what?


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## net-cat (Sep 3, 2010)

Aden said:


> I fail to see what's so painfully horrible about iTunes. It manages my music well and it syncs competently. I ignore the store.


Did they ever add the ability to store your library and two different computers? I know you can share them over the network, but that doesn't help me when my network is 3000 miles away. (Same goes with the sync issue. Last I checked, you're only allowed to sync with one computer. You can drag songs into your iPod/iPhone through iTunes on someone else's computer, but that's hardly useful.)



Runefox said:


> At least on Windows, it comes with a bunch of shit you don't need (including at least three background services), and is bloated beyond comprehension. Compared to even Windows Media Player, it's a whale.


Pretty much that. That and their tendency to install Safari through the Apple Update Service, even if you declined Safari initially.



Aden said:


> All that being said, http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-ways-to-sync-music-to-your-iphone-without-itunes/


They're all terrible hacks. I've actually used many of them and they all either rely on having reverse engineered the iPod's database (yay corrupt databases) or jailbreaking.


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