Smartphones

I just have a different opinion on apple and iOS.

I have had tons of Android phones and this iphone 5 works way better. never has to "think" about what's its doing, has way better battery life, way better performance, the OS is rock solid stable I never have to reboot or pull that battery like my andriod phones. cell and wifi reception is way better, apps don't lock or freeze, no viruses, ect

different strokes for different folks, but Iphone is the one for me by far

I had an Android a year ago from work and it was horrible compared to my iPhone.

No doubt Android phones aren't without issues.

Another nice thing that hasn't been mentioned is the contrast with user customization. Android is very flexible whereas the iphone has a communistic-like drab 'what you see is what comrade Jobs wanted you to see.'

If there are any Apple fanbois out there who want a like new black Verizon iPhone4 16gb, let me know. My father in law broke his front glass and gave it to me. I replaced it with new front glass. He just went to the Verizon store and got another one for $.99 so he gave me the old one. Works as it should, a few cosmetic blemishes but no issues I can detect. It will be reset to factory settings and has been updated to iOS 6.1.2. I have it on ebay for $200 OBO. The ones with broken screens are still selling for that much.

T-Mobile news. No contracts. Phones will be slightly discounted with a no interest loan. Unlimited data. New LTE rollout to 7 major markets. Claiming faster download speeds vs Vz and ATT. Of course LTE rollout will take time and they can change terms anytime.

Around here, Tmobile borrows AT&T towers, so where the ATT service is crappy, so is Tmobile. Which is just about everywhere.

Still have the VZW iPhone4 for sale if anyone wants it.

The carriers aren't very honest about signal coverage.

There has to be a huge number of used iphone4's for sale these days.

It'll be interesting to see where these contract-free plans go. I'd think it would force phone manufacturers to lower prices as well as carrier's to lower monthly data plans rates.

I'm not really interested in a smartphone ....... I don't text or use the web- I'm interested in battery life, volume, and ruggedness. I'm tough on phones ...... used to go through one every six months or so when I worked construction (dust, dirt, drops) and it's not much better now. Can't see the point of spending lots of moolah on a smartphone only to destroy it. I've had my $21 Nokia for well over a year (a new record I think) and it's served me well (great battery life and good volume) but it beens held together by packing tape for awhile now ...... it's on its last legs. Any suggestions for a relatively inexpensive phone that's rugged? I've heard about MILSPEC phones but haven't looked at 'em yet.

Thanks, Greg! ..... the Motorola Defy looks to be right up my alley- I've got T-Mobile. Now the question is do I stick with T-Mobile. I've had T-Mobile for, iirc, 9 years. Never had any complaints until fairly recently- dropped calls and delayed messages. They blamed it on an outdated SIM card and sent me a new at n/c. Still got to install it and see if that does the trick before I drop $ on a new phone. Not looking forward to undoing the packing tape, lol.

FWIW my I-phone 5 in a Otter Box Defender is still alive after a 3-4 months.

Now Verizon is talking about ditching contracts. It would be a huge step forward to eliminate ridiculous phone price subsidies.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/05/verizon-contracts_n_3020309.html?utm_hp_ref=technology

Here's a good site to sell your old phone...

u Sell







Why did that feel like spam?

I used the GZ tough phones for years. They truly are a rugged phone. The only reason I replaced one of them is because I wanted the newer version. I gave the old ones away because there was nothing wrong with them. Usually gave them to someone that broke their phone .

Diseasel wrote:

Now Verizon is talking about ditching contracts. It would be a huge step forward to eliminate ridiculous phone price subsidies.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/05/verizon-contracts_n_3020309.html?utm_hp_ref=technology

That's a start. However, there's a down-side to not having a contract: The provider can change the terms of your service at will.

Consider the situation I'm in: having (truly) unlimited data, there's nothing to stop Verizon from taking that away from me when my contract expires at the end of this year, even though I've done nothing on my end to trigger it. They simply want to charge more for data. Only their 2-year contract with me prevents them from doing that. (And yes, I need unlimited data... I routinely use 20GB+ a month.)

Exactly. My wife has the same VZW contract. She's had it for at least 4 years but will lose unlimited data if she buys a new phone or requests any changes to the existing contract. It's a bummer. Fortunately she doesn't use much data. Her phone is great for the kids when on vacation - netflix, etc.

I'm hoping these contract-less plans allow carriers get out from under the burden of huge phone manufacturer profits. Smartphones are slowly becoming a commodity so prices should fall.

Competition should keep pressure on carriers to make changes that appeal to consumers. It'll always be tough on those consumers with few local carriers.

What phone to get depends on what carrier you have and what OS you prefer. I recently got Maggie and myself each AT&T Samsung Note IIs. So far they are awesome and in just about every way better than the iPhones IMO. The screen is huge which makes it easier to see stuff on the phone and I have no trouble with its size. The S Pen is pretty neat to use but not an essential tool. I prefer the flexibility of the software were as the iPhone OS is pretty much the same it has been since the original launched in 2007. Apple customer care is known for being rude and Apple charges for absolutely everything and is smug about it. When the iPhone 5 launched there were many shipped with chips around the edges on black models bc the coating chipped off and Apple refused to do warranty because it did not effect the function of the phone. Apple has had to release software update after software update with 6.0 and up because of recurring issues of battery drain and certain functions like Wifi not being accessible. People were trying to activate their new phones and their entire iTunes accounts were wiped out with no way to recover- losing phone numbers, addresses, and anything else they didnt have backed up anywhere else.

Maggie had a HTC Inspire for the last 1.5 years and really liked it with the only issue being a battery replacement under warranty just before the year mark and that was handled without any issue. I convinced her to get the Note II bc I was getting one when AT&T had a 1 day special on Refurbished models for $.99 and her mom was wanting a smartphone so now her mom has it and really likes it. Maggie has her phone set up with no icons on her home screen so it can stay blank and she can see Hannahs picture. I have 2 home screens set up with certain icons and web links. Android lets us set up our phones exactly how we want. Some friends from work switched from iPhones to mostly Android after the disappointing iPhone 5 came out and everyone of them likes the Androids much better. The people that got the iPhone 5s liked them at first and are now tired of them bc the cool new larger screen has already warm off its charm and nothing else about it is really any different from the 4S or 4.

My FIL has a Nokia 900 Windows 7 phone and he really likes it. It has a more basic layout which keeps him from being too confused so thats nice.

The new Blackberry is out and the one with the physical keyboard is soon to arrive and they look pretty impressive. The Galaxy S4 is a really nice looking phone but not a huge leap above the Note 2 but has some neat features and will e nice for some people bc it is a little smaller than the Note 2. If you havent tried an Android phone in a year or two, try one and see the huge leap thats been made.

AT&T has grandfathered Unlimited data that you keep as long as you keep a smartphone of any manu and you get discounted equipment at upgrade. Verizon as has been stated will take the unlimited data away if you make a change and they will place you on one of their data share plans. T Mobile and Sprint have unlimited data as long as you stay on their network, if you go off you get additional charges. T Mobile followed some European carriers and stopped subsidizing phones and you pay a down payment and then $20 a month until the phone is paid off and then your bill is cheaper. If you leave before paying it off you still just owe the rest of the phone price which I believe you can pay out at the same $20 a month. With Verizon, they recently announced you must wait the full 24 months before you can get a phone price discount in an attempt to reduce subsidization. With AT&T you can still get an upgrade about 18-20 months into a contract.

I'm waiting to see what Moto comes out with but I bet it will be pretty cool and Samsung is working on an inhouse OS called Tizen. But dont look for them to ditch Android any time soon.

My picks would be;
Android
Windows
Possibly Blackberry
iPhone

Manu;
samsung
HTC
Nokia
Moto( if hey offered a newer device)
Possibly Blackberry
Apple

I need an education on unlocked phones ..... I know zip. I'm interested in the Motorola Defy for its ruggedness. It's no longer available from T-Mobile but it is available in an unlocked version from Amazon ..... am I just asking for trouble?

The wife and I had Motorola Droid's (1st gen) for over 3 years before we traded up to a Motorola Droid 4 and a Droid Razr. We have been very happy with our droids and that is why we got the same mfr phones again.
When we got our first droids, my bro-in-law had an iphone and he had to pay to use skype on it, as well as pay for navigation, while both of those were free on our droids. I don't know if it's still the same today, 3.5 years later, but even if apple doesn't charge for those features anymore, I still have no interest in buying into the overpriced apple/i(whatever) hype, when android can do everything the iphone can, and more in some cases, for much less.
Just my 2 cents.
Your best bet is to go and look at both and compare features and costs and make your own informed decision.

On edit: I also forgot to mention that verizon has the best coverage in our mountainous area. ATT, Sprint, and TMobile get 1 bar to no bars, while we get a full signal w/verizon. They put up towers regularly around here.

rustbucket wrote:

I need an education on unlocked phones ..... I know zip. I'm interested in the Motorola Defy for its ruggedness. It's no longer available from T-Mobile but it is available in an unlocked version from Amazon ..... am I just asking for trouble?

Well, judging by the fact that it was a phone originally for T-Mobile, there's really no risk in buying one somewhere else, locked or unlocked. You would only need to have it unlocked if you were trying to use it on anything but the original provider. As for whether or not the phone has a clean ESN and can be activated, all you can do is try to get the IMEI# before you buy, and call T-Mobile to check that it's clean and not blacklisted.

Thanks to all for the help and advice. I ended up going cheap ..... very cheap. For now I'm just interested  in the phone and an alarm clock. The Samsung T139 so far has been good- much better than expected for the price and at $19.99 + tax I won't cry if something happens to it.

Today's the big day for specifics on Google's Moto X smartphone design. Sounds like the first design will be a low cost with another higher performance design coming later.