Smartphones

[Penny4]

It's time to upgrade my plain jane basic phone. I think I'm ready for a Smartphone (I'm terribly slow to embrace technology.)

Just wondering if anyone has feedback on the new iPhone5. A friend suggested the Samsung Galaxy instead. Anyone have any input?

[thekarens]

I'm a total Android fan, but I recommend the iPhone to non geeky and first time smart phone friends. If you like customization Android is the way to go, but if you like this simple iPhone is the way to go.

[Irulan]

My son LOVES his new galaxy, and why makes sense. According to him, you can drag and drop folders, and use micro cards for storage. That alone would sell me. I have an iPhone4 and have mixed feelings about it. I absolutely hate being forced to use iTunes for file/music management, and I think it's one of the suckiest peices of software ever written. The fact that Apple forces you into Apple products whenever they can ( the iPhone 5 map debacle is an example) really annoys me. If you decide on an iPhone, see if you can get the 4s still, the 5 is having mixed reviews especially on connectivity.

[OakLeaf]

The Galaxy is freakin' HUGE. I guess it has a lot of nice features, but I'm shopping for a phone now, and I never so much as looked at that one. I don't have room for a tablet computer in my running belt or my purse, and I don't need to be carrying around any more weight.

The smallest phones Verizon offers right now are the iPhone, the HTC Incredible 4G (Android), and the Motorola Razr M (Android).

I use my phone for navigation, and even though Google navigation has gone downhill since they started crowdsourcing, I'm not sure I'd want an iPhone with what I've heard of their maps. But it depends on what you use it for. DH has an iPhone 3GS that he likes plenty well - it's his second iPhone, which gives you an idea of how long he keeps them, although the 4 was already out by the time he got the 3GS.

Funny you say iTunes ... Apple is a hardware company, after all, so you can't fault them for using their own software on their own hardware ... but the one thing I really dislike about my phone is NOT being able to use iTunes. I wind up using my iPod in the car separately, and just not listening to music at all when I'm not in my own car, since I don't want to drag two devices with me everywhere, either. I tried a couple of apps to integrate my music library with my Android phone, but they were useless.

Between the two Android phones I mentioned, the biggest difference is the network. The Motorola Razr M does GSM (world phone) but not 1XRTT (most of the USA outside the urban centers that have 4G and some freeways that have 3G). The HTC Incredible 4G does 1X but not GSM.

[emily_in_nc]

I have a Galaxy Tab 2.0 (7"), but it's a tablet along the iPad line, not a phone. The Galaxy Tab 1.0 did have a phone built in, but the phone function was dropped in the 2.0 version and is simply a wi-fi tablet -- what I was looking for for traveling instead of a smartphone. (I still have a dumbphone!)

My understanding is that most of the Galaxy Android phones are no larger than iPhones (or not significantly so). I'm a frugal sort so have never embraced Apple products simply for pricing/value reasons. I could care less what is sexy or popular; I just want something that works.

[Irulan]

(slight derail) Crankin, are you familiar with Winamp? That was the other thing about the Galaxy III that my son loved - you can use Winamp for music files. I've been using it on my PCs for years, and it's so EASY! For anyone that is a music nut, you can play FLAC files on Galaxy, I don't know about other Android phones. The iPhone I have was a gift: if I'd picked ou,t a smartphone I would have not chosen Apple. Winamp works with iPods, but not the phones, and no Apple product will play FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec, very high quality audio). Anyway, Winamp is free, and excellent for managing music and podcasts, etc -just not on iPhones. I've been using it for years.

[zoom-zoom]

I really wanted to like the Android phone I had (HTC Incredible) and I loved it for the first 8 months...and then when the OTA update from FroYo to Gingerbread rolled-out it bricked my phone. Constantly was crashing and telling me that I had insufficient disc space, which was a load of crap, since I had all of 6 apps on it and no music. Now DH uses the phone and is forever having to remove the battery to restart it. It eats the battery. The last straw for me was the random crashing--even in the middle of the night while plugged-in. I couldn't rely on it as an alarm clock when it did that.

I have had my iPhone 4s for nearly a year and it has only crashed once and that was an easy restart. Battery life is amazing and I love that it syncs perfectly with iTunes--I have literally thousands of songs in iTunes--both from CDs and things I've bought in the past 6+ years via iTunes. No more do I have to run with a phone and an iPod. I also use a lot more apps, now. I had far more issues with buggy apps with the droid.

The only thing I really miss about the Incredible was the camera. It allowed for much more customization of settings and had better focus, color, contrast, and exposure. I'm pretty unimpressed with the iPhone camera. I use the ProCamera app, which has better features than the stock app, but the actual images are sorta meh.

[Penny4]

Wait, you can play MUSIC on your PHONE?

kidding, kidding....

The Galaxy was large, but seemed light. Having music on my phone isn't that big of a deal. I don't really use my iPod outside of my house, and i have an older one that I keep in the car. I actually have an HTC for work, and do use it for some personal apps, but I have not gotten rid of my personal phone. I saw a new report on the iPhone5 that there is some new glitch that is causing it to use excessive amounts of data, but there is a software fix out for it. I probably don't need anything fancy since I probably won't use all the functionality

[OakLeaf]

Samsung Galaxy S III Dimensions: 5.4” x 2.8” x .3” Weight 4.7 oz

HTC Incredible Dimensions: Size: 4.82 (H) x 2.40" (L) x 0.46" (D). Weight 4.66 oz

iPhone: 4.87” (H) x 2.31” (W) x .30” (D). Weight 3.95 oz

Motorola Razr M: 4.82(H) x 2.39(W) x 0.33(D)inches Weight: 4.44oz



Over half an inch in length, four tenths in width. That's a lot in a phone. It's thin though, so weight doesn't necessarily correspond to the horizontal dimensions.

[tzvia]

I'm on my second Android phone, a Galaxy S3 and yea it is kinda big. But in a good way. My first Android was the HTC EVO which was getting long in the tooth. Tons of free apps, you can add a micro SD card to increase the space (for videos or pictures), and lots of internal space make it a very flexible device. The camera is quite good which is a shock; I've never seen any camera phone worth using before. It even has a cool panorama mode where it stitches together multiple pix to create a 180deg image. The screen is stunning and large enough to really surf the web, and the navigation works ("Hey Apple..."). I use mine to trade in the stock market while on lunch and breaks so it needs to be a reliable device. I used it to buy 20 shares of Apple last week LOL now there's a twist.

I also have an Android tablet (Toshiba) that I take on vacations when I don't want to lug a laptop. Maybe it does not have the 'cool' factor of an IPad, but heck it has a mini USB, a full size USB, an SD card reader, a mini HDMI out and access to hundreds of free apps and thank the maker it is not white.

Now I've used the IPhone and it's not bad, but I look at these devices without the 'fanboy' attitude and the only thing I can say is much better on it is that the case is metal. I like that. Ok, so I put my Galaxy in a hard shell that has a built in stand and it now sits upright on my desk at work so I can keep an eye on how much money I am loosing in the market.

[Bike Writer]

I'm on my third Blackberry, I guess you can say I'm hooked. What you want to do with a phone is a good factor in determining what kind to get. My phone is used for task oriented items. #1 a phone, #2 email, #3 calendar and tasks. I snap a photo now and again and use it for navigation when I don't know where my destination is but seldom surf the web with it. I do use the web a tiny bit more now because I have a BB with a larger screen and it's a touch screen. The Torch is a bit weighty but I couldn't give up my keyboard for only touch screen typing because I respond to too much email on the fly. I never text or listen to music on my phone.

Friends and business associates who have the droid love them. I don't do apple products or the latest and greatest gadgets, I usually have something that's been out for a while.

Happy shopping!

[jyyanks]

I have the new iPhone 5 and I love it. I have never owned an android phone but had the iPhone 3GS and the iPhone 4 previously. The iPhone 4 was my least favorite because it was bulky and I felt like it my battery was always drained. I love the new iPhone 5, its lightning fast, sleek, light, easy to use and has a great interface. My 2 complaints 1) the Apple maps are awful, I prefer the old google map app and I'm annoyed that I don't have it anymore because I used it all the time 2) Because it's faster, the battery tends to to need recharging more often than my other iPhones. I would recommend it for a beginner, especially if have an itunes account and/or an ipad.

[Crankin]

Irulan, you addressed your post to me (maybe because in the past I've mentioned how I'm slow to embrace technology?), but I was not the OP!

I have an I Phone 4GS, got it about a year ago. I like it, but I don't do anything except check my VM, make a few phone calls, text, get and respond to email, and read TE. I have never downloaded any music, and I have no idea how I Tunes works. DH has all of our old CDs stored on his computer and he downloads stuff on his phone as he listens to music when he commutes (). However, I just don't listen to music anytime, so it's not important to me (my car radio stays on one station, and the guy trying to sell me Sirrius when I got my new car didn't believe me!). My battery lasts just fine, too, although I am not downloading stuff or playing games, ever. I do use the web.
DH got the I Phone 5 and he loves it. He said the map thing is not that big of a deal to him, but he generally uses an app he bought for navigation, which is actually really good. Me, I have a small, portable Garmin that is just fine. I use it when I have to find a new client's house, but other than that, I generally don't drive anywhere new.
As a techno adverse person, I had no trouble learning to use the I Phone, but, there are a lot of things I don't know about it, like pressing things twice, sweeping, etc. But, since I don't need to do anything more that I do, it's fine. The only 2 apps I have are FB and Yelp and I can't see that I'll be getting more. Also, we are a total Apple family, so using the I Phone was not any different than using my computer, in many ways.

[thekarens]

Double Twist is free and it allows you to sync your iTunes library to your Android phone.

There's more than one Galaxy phone. There's the Galaxy S3, which is the phone I have and recommend, then there's the Galaxy Nexus, also a great choice and the M.

Connectivity is more an issue of the carrier than the phone for the most part. I personally won't buy Apple products, but I can't deny they make great stuff.

[OakLeaf]

Double Twist is free and it allows you to sync your iTunes library to your Android phone.

Really sync? Like, update the play count correctly, and allow me to add a rating on my phone, that will both transfer back to my iTunes library? I can't see from their website whether it will do that, but none of the other apps I've tried would. AFAIK Apple buries that stuff pretty deep in their proprietary software, as well they should to protect their product.

I can live without the rating and try to remember to remove songs from a playlist manually, later, if I don't like them. But not having the play count updated is a deal breaker. My mobile playlists are based on when a song was last played, so I don't constantly hear the same songs.


/drift