Migration from iPhone 3Gs to Android

[Catrin]

It is renewal time for my phone, and since it is no longer under warranty I need to do something. As much as I like the iPhone, I am not about to pay $199 for a new phone....and I have several Android choices at AT&T. These are Motorola and Sony phones with one HTC offering I think. These are all free or cost a whopping $1.99.

Has anyone else switched? Do you like your Android? I do have a rather large investment in iTunes but I do have an iPod so that takes care of that. From what I can tell, the Droid does pretty much the same things as my iPhone...

[tulip]

Why do you need a new phone? Is your iphone not working? If it's working, just keep using it. I don't understand why you would switch unless you broke the phone (like I did--I dropped my ipone the week my contract was up, so I did have to buy a new one but could switch carriers, thankfully).

[OakLeaf]

A lot of the user interface is hardware dependent. The look and feel of my HTC Incredible is nothing like my neighbor's Motorola Droid X (I think). I really like my phone ... she's not thrilled about hers.

If you're staying with AT&T, why not stay with an iPhone? DH just upgraded from an ancient iPhone 3G that didn't really work any more, to a new 3GS, for $50. Not only he didn't want to spend the money for an iPhone 4 that doesn't even do 4G, he'd heard too many people talk about reception/network issues, and experienced enough of them himself.

I think you can get refurb 3GS phones for even less than that.

[Catrin]

I have a 16 gig 3GS, and the warranty is only good for 90 days for a refurbished one - also it is much smaller in size than my current phone. I am hard on phones so I need a full warranty. My iPhone has been replaced twice under the now expired warranty :o

I think I can get an HTC Incredible for free - and would wind up paying the same fees that I am now with AT&T, and if a problem developed could just switch the SIM card over to my 3GS if there is a problem. My phone has also developed a few odd behaviors since the last OS upgrade that I am less than happy with.

I don't know what I will decide to do, but it is food for thought.

[tulip]

But why not just keep using the phone and when it breaks, then get a new phone (for $1.99 or whatever) when the old one breaks? Maybe I'm missing something, but it doesn't seem like it's worth getting a new one if the old one still works. The warranty seems irrelevant. Also get an Otterbox for your iphone if you keep it to protect it.

I have an iphone 4/Verizon and it's great. No issues with reception, and I can actually talk on the phone in all sorts of places that ATT does not have coverage, like in rural eastern Virginia where I spend alot of time riding my bike.

I don't mean to be argumentative, Catrin, I just am not understanding why you would need a new phone now if your old one works. You can always get a new one, with warranty, when the old one breaks. Right?

[zoom-zoom]

I have an HTC Incredible with Verizon...I like the phone. The one thing I do NOT like is the amount of bloatware on the thing. Frequently my battery life is poor because there are so many things running...things I have never once used (like Skype--I don't even have a Skype acct.). I can run Task Killer and 5 minutes later the programs I killed are back up and running. These are programs that can't be removed, either. Annoys the heck out of me. My guess this is a Verizon thing, though, and I will end up with the same issues with any other phone, Android or otherwise.

[Catrin]

I will talk with AT&T, I have the idea that my rates go up if I don't sign another contract? Perhaps I am wrong about it. It would be great if I didn't have to actually change anything for now, and just switch to another smartphone that happens to be on sale whenever this one goes south...

Tulip, you weren't being argumentative, as a tech geek it is sometimes too easy for me to justify such things when it really isn't necessary. Trying to do better with that :o If I could afford it I would love to move to Verizon and get the iPhone 4, but from what I can determine I would pay more on a monthly basis for Verizon, and that would be on top of the cost of the phone.

[OakLeaf]

For his $50, DH got a brand new 3GS with full warranty. (He'd been on month-to-month with AT&T for probably a year before his old phone got too wonky for him.)

And, AT&T grandfathered his new contract so that he still gets unlimited data.

The HTC Incredible is a Verizon phone. It looks like the only HTC Android phone that AT&T offers is the Inspire - it's $99, but it's got 4G (oooh, aaah).

[ny biker]

I have an HTC Incredible with Verizon...I like the phone. The one thing I do NOT like is the amount of bloatware on the thing. Frequently my battery life is poor because there are so many things running...things I have never once used (like Skype--I don't even have a Skype acct.). I can run Task Killer and 5 minutes later the programs I killed are back up and running. These are programs that can't be removed, either. Annoys the heck out of me. My guess this is a Verizon thing, though, and I will end up with the same issues with any other phone, Android or otherwise.

For the Incredible, instead of using an app killer, do:

settings > applications > manage applications > running

Then select the ones you want to stop and and choose Force stop.

It's more time consuming, but most of them will stay stopped after that. A few refuse to die, like the stocks app, but they don't seem to use much battery.

Some apps start up when you make a call (like amazon mp3, as if that was relevant to talking on the phone). But in general most of the apps I stop this way stay off.

As for Android phones in general, your best best is to search for reviews of the individual model you're interesting in to find out the pros and cons.

I was off-contract with Verizon for years before getting the Incredible and my rates did not change.

[tulip]

I will talk with AT&T, I have the idea that my rates go up if I don't sign another contract? Perhaps I am wrong about it. It would be great if I didn't have to actually change anything for now, and just switch to another smartphone that happens to be on sale whenever this one goes south...

Tulip, you weren't being argumentative, as a tech geek it is sometimes too easy for me to justify such things when it really isn't necessary. Trying to do better with that :o If I could afford it I would love to move to Verizon and get the iPhone 4, but from what I can determine I would pay more on a monthly basis for Verizon, and that would be on top of the cost of the phone.

You can just keep paying for your normal service once your contract is up. No need to sign another contract unless you get a new phone.

I did extensive (as is my nature) comparisons of Verizon and ATT service for my iphone. I really wanted to switch to Verizon because of coverage, but if I had not dropped and shattered my phone, I would have kept ATT for a while and figured out something later. Since i had to buy a new phone anyways, I went with Verizon, and stuck with the iphone since that's what my business uses (this is a business phone). My plan ends up $5 more per month than with ATT, for twice as many minutes (I've never used up my minutes, even with my ATT 450 plan) and unlimited data (make sure you check that, many companies are now making us pay for data). ATT had unlimited text and Verizon does not, so I have to watch that. With Verizon's 5 Family and Friends plan, it works out well for me because my collegues are on ATT still (because of simultaneous talk-surf that they do and that I don't do). F&F allows those calls to not count against my minutes.

If I just needed a plain old phone, I would just get a plain old phone. But I need all the bells and whistles for my work (travel) and I like the apps, too.

[zoom-zoom]

For the Incredible, instead of using an app killer, do:

settings > applications > manage applications > running

Then select the ones you want to stop and and choose Force stop.

It's more time consuming, but most of them will stay stopped after that. A few refuse to die, like the stocks app, but they don't seem to use much battery.

Some apps start up when you make a call (like amazon mp3, as if that was relevant to talking on the phone). But in general most of the apps I stop this way stay off.

Ahh...great advice, I will try this!

Yeah, the Amazon mp3 thing is definitely stupid. I have never even visited Amazon.com from my phone.