Let's talk apps...

[SadieKate]

The Android operating system is from Google and has its own appstore called Android Market. Developers may or may not write apps for both the Apple OS and the Android OS. For instance, Weather Bug is available for both.

There are a lot of brand loyalty preferences so to each his own, but one thing I like about Android is that it is not leashed to one hardware device so you can get it on many different brands. We're watch the tablet computer industry closely to see what comes out for Honeycomb which is the tablet computer OS from Android. I just happen to think that open source is nice because hardware manufacturers can come up with best of breed rather than being tied to one man's (Steve Jobs) ideas.

[Geonz]

I am looking for a tablet myself -- I re-upped for two years with a really simple phone in May, when I found the only online stuff I was doing on my Blackberry was GPS, so I bought a GPS. I'd rather have something that's not tied to my phone, tho' it may end up working out that way... and I, too, would rather not be chained to STeve Jobs. That whole Apple design of "knowing what I want" never quite worked for me; too often I want something a *little* different... That Galaxy Tab might be where the "skipping the vending machine to put this in the jar" money goes...

[indysteel]

Eek. I just read over my last response. "Nearly as phone"? I gotta start proofreading a bit better. Make that nearly as fun.

Possegal, I'm like you. I just can't get my head around some of this. Thankfully, DH keeps me from living in the Stone Age, but it's a struggle for me to keep up. I didn't even have a cell phone until late 2006.

[SadieKate]

Thankfully, DH keeps me from living in the Stone Age, but it's a struggle for me to keep up. I didn't even have a cell phone until late 2006.

I just about fell over when a couple weeks ago my completely non-techy hubby said he almost bought an iPad and then decided to wait to see what the next generation of tablets would bring. He knew enough to know that the 1st gen iPad was only a launching point for an early market share grab.

[OakLeaf]

SK, I'm the same as you, except I've had my Incredible since July. I finally gave up waiting for a Verizon iPhone, and I haven't been a bit disappointed. I didn't have much invested in iPod apps, so no huge loss there, and I was having huge issues syncing my calendar with the iPod.

FWIW, my next door neighbor just got a Droid X and it seems pretty counterintuitive. She thought she could have me show her how to use it rather than RTFM , but the Motorola hardware makes it look a LOT different from my HTC phone. I'm not Ms. Tech, but I couldn't make heads or tails out of it just poking at buttons. DH (who pretty much is Mr. Tech) says that that's just a fail, at this point - you shouldn't have to read the manual.

For some reason DH got me an iPad for my birthday this fall. I'd never have bought one for myself. It is nice for travel, though. Typing on the screen is slow, but it's a whole lot easier than squinting at a phone screen and trying to thumb a phone keyboard, and a whole lot lighter and faster booting than a laptop.

[jessmarimba]

Apps I use:
Starbucks (finds them in whatever town I'm in)
Comcast (tv guide - even though I don't have cable)
RunKeeper
iTrailMap (download trail maps from ski resorts)
Metronome
Minesweeper, Sudoku, and Solitaire
Free Wi-Fi Locator
NPR News
Pandora
Fandango
Falling Balls (game - these balls fall out of the sky, you have to tilt the phone to make the guy on the ground run out of the way or else he gets squished)

And I'm perfectly happy with games/time suck, since I get bored when I fly and I fly a lot. Someday I'll actually invest in an iPad.

[Irulan]

Sudoku,

which soduku do you like?

[Mr. Bloom]

Ok, I saw a You Tube video on a new app called Word Lens...but I can find it in the app store...anyone know anything about this?

It's way too cool...point the iPhone at a dignity in Spanish and it converts it on the screen to English!

A review...

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulli...nt_translationhttp://www.economist.com/blogs/gulli...nt_translation

[Possegal]

You are all helping me understand - and glad I'm not alone. I love that I feel I need to state that I am smart, it isn't that this is all above me. Like I need you all to believe that. I feel like that dinosaur who says - no new technologies, I'm done learning new things. Seriously, when did I become my father?

When my older brother showed off his 'smart phone', I realized that the PhD in the family shouldn't have the 'dumb phone', so maybe I should pay more attention. Plus, I do really love gadgets, so it makes me laugh that I keep refusing to pay attention to the smart phones and apps and such. And of course every year will be THE YEAR I finally get myself back into shape. So I love hearing about the apps that folks use for exercising and tracking food. In fact just emailed some to my brother, as the whole getting in shape things seems to be a family-wide goal this year.

[OakLeaf]

Why you might hold off buying a Verizon iPhone



Here's the irony: I stayed with Cingular a long time (before the AT&T merger) because they offered a LOWER tech phone. Not so long ago, there were plenty of places in Appalachia that had analog service but no digital, so when I needed a new phone, I wanted to make sure it had analog functionality. Cingular was the only provider that offered one. Years later after I'd finally made the switch to Verizon, analog was pretty much defunct, and at that point their network had much better coverage than AT&T's. As much as I coveted an iPhone, I wasn't going back to AT&T to get one.

I resisted getting a smartphone for a long time, because I preferred to be able to take notes on my PDA while I talked on the phone. (I realize I could still do this with a headset, but that's still two devices.) I love my Incredible (my first smartphone) ... but it's got to be a phone first. If it doesn't work reliably as a phone, I don't care what other bells and whistles it has.

One other thing: it's fairly compact for a smartphone, but much heavier than a standalone phone. I don't ride or run without a phone, and bouncing in an elastic belt (or in a jersey pocket on steep climbs) is a definite issue. I could get an armband I guess, but I just don't like to have something around my arm that tight.

[lunacycles]

This American Life app is pretty amazing, if you like TAL--you get their whole audio archive for $3.

Wurdle
Shazam
AllRecipes
Facebook
Google
Flight Control
Carpenter--has a level, ruler, plumb bob--all quite nice for a framebuilder when I can't find mine!
WhiteNoise
Urbanspoon
Pandora, of course

I have never met someone who has gone from Blackberry or Android or whatever to an iPhone, and then gone back, or even wished they hadn't switched. I never liked cell phones or PDA's but my iPhone is really really a great tool. Oh, and there's a phone on it too.

[OakLeaf]

I have never met someone who has gone from Blackberry or Android or whatever to an iPhone, and then gone back, or even wished they hadn't switched.

seriously, you know people who've gone from Android to iPhone? Frequent switchers!

The big deal with the iPhone for so long was the big screen. They really had no competition in that department until the Motorola Droid, which has only been out for a little over a year. I would never have considered a Blackberry, even when my eyes were better than they are now.

I do wish that I had better integration with iTunes, but I get that Apple is primarily a hardware company, and they are not going to license iTunes to run on Android. That's fair.

I'm not an Apple basher by any means. I'm writing this on my MacBook Pro with my iPad next to me on the couch and my iPod in the drawer underneath it. But I have friends with iPhones, and ever since I got my Incredible, I have no more desire for an iPhone. My phone just works. Theirs ... don't.

[lunacycles]

seriously, you know people who've gone from Android to iPhone?

Why, yes, I do, and now I have friends doing the happy dance because they can get rid of their 'droid and get an iPhone with Verizon.
Maybe it's just the kinds of folks I hang out with in our little bubble of a city here.
The big deal for me has not been the screen size, it's been the ease of use (a la macs in general), and the fact that I can dock it and use it like an iPod (but better, as I can stream things).
And, I don't like cell phones...did I mention that? It's definitely not the phone service that won me over, although it's been wholly adequate for my needs.
Santa Fe JUST got 3G from AT&T two months ago, and even before that I loved my iPhone. So perhaps I'm an anomaly

[Mr. Bloom]

I have no more desire for an iPhone. My phone just works. Theirs ... don't.

what problems do they have? I've never had problems with my iPhone and in many ways, it's more revolutionary to me than my iPad (I compare my iPhone to my old RAZR's and go WOW!...but I compare my iPad to my laptop and go "oh, it won't do that?")

[jessmarimba]

I can't speak for her, but I used to drop calls frequently (it's gotten much better in the last year). Now I occasionally have full bars but no signal, if I'm someplace that has too many iphone users (for example, I was trying to get driving directions after leaving a Rockies game last year. We were in an area that usually has fantastic service, but the towers were flooded with people trying to do the same thing, so the map just never loaded).

My iphone has been invaluable for my work though. I realize that there are other phones on the market now that do the same things, but I see no reason to change!