[Q] Should I buy a Android phone or just a normal phone? - General Questions and Answers

I know this question may be seem insane for lot of people out there. But please be kind enough to answer me with patient. (typical research)
I am a Linux developer. I am used to develop on desktop environment and find my self confident with portability of laptop. For all of these years I used a simple mobile phone just to make calls and texts. I don't ever do browse web or take photos from my mobile. I have digital cameras and camcorders for that. Most technical thing I used with my phone is using it as a presentation remote controller over blue-tooth. That's all.
Recently my phone broke down due to my careless nature. So it's time for me to buy a mobile. I thought of going for a android (smart phone). Could you guys point me out why should I get a smart phone? Would it be waste of money? I don't need to read books, surf web, take photos or play games on mobile. I see gps as a useful thing but not using that much either. I see a camera on smart-phone is a waste. I like to use it as a QR reader too. Also if I buy it I would make apps for it as I know how to develop android apps. But I don't need to buy it for app making.
So please stop laughing at me and tell me why should I shift. I'm bit old fashion guy. Thank you
P.S. :- Thank you guys so much for the support. I made my decision. You guys helped me to make it. I'm buing android in next week. Again thanks alot.

theLolipro said:
I know this question may be seem insane for lot of people out there. But please be kind enough to answer me with patient. (typical research)
I am a Linux developer. I am used to develop on desktop environment and find my self confident with portability of laptop. For all of these years I used a simple mobile phone just to make calls and texts. I don't ever do browse web or take photos from my mobile. I have digital cameras and camcorders for that. Most technical thing I used with my phone is using it as a presentation remote controller over blue-tooth. That's all.
Recently my phone broke down due to my careless nature. So it's time for me to buy a mobile. I thought of going for a android (smart phone). Could you guys point me out why should I get a smart phone? Would it be waste of money? I don't need to read books, surf web, take photos or play games on mobile. I see gps as a useful thing but not using that much either. I see a camera on smart-phone is a waste.
So please stop laughing at me and tell me why should I shift. I'm bit old fashion guy. Thank you
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
These days, many people have a Smartphone as well as a normal calling+texting phone. Its simply because Smartphones don't have much battery backup and the normal phones can last for 3-4 days. And for calling and texting they uses this normal phone and for internet related things, Smartphones! But its just for heavy phone user.
In your case, if you don't use internet related apps or web browsing you can pretty much opt for a normal phone as it comes cheap and can save battery. Android or any other Smartphone is only useful for those who uses Social Networking or Instant Messaging, etc. And if you feel like you want to shift to Android after purchasing a normal phone, its do-able because normal phones like Nokia 109, Nokia 114 etc. costs much less.

definitely smartphones
As of these days smartphone pricing is going down day by day, and its better to hav one if you develop apps. One point we dont know when an emergency mail has to be sent or receive only by your smartphone 3g .

You don't need one its that simple
So many Roms so little time

It's up to you.
Personally, I've found plenty of times it's much easier to do something internet-related on my phone rather than get out or bring my big, heavy laptop. I used to do that. Get lost, need directions, et cetera ? That meant pulling over to somewhere with free WIFI. Having a smartphone means you just need to pull over anywhere - or use voice commands/have a passenger do it/just be unsafe/et cetera.
I used to have a point-and-shoot camera and the only time I've used it since getting my new phone with a decent camera is to take a picture of the phone itself. Why carry around a bunch of stuff when one small object can do it all ?
With my smartphone I hardly ever text any more since I can use data IM services. Not really essential, but it gives you options. I also find typing on the touchscreen to be faster and easier thanks to Swiftkey 3. I had phones with a physical keyboard before and I don't miss it.
If you are getting a carrier upgrade or considering buying through eBay or the like, I think a good question is "why not" ? You can get a good enough smartphone for pretty cheap and get a feel for it.
One thing I love is things like Astrid tasks - I can have it instead of a grocery list, et cetera - I won't lose it because my phone is something I always check to have with me instead of a piece of paper. I can carry it while getting groceries unlike a whole laptop or even computer. It's also incredibly easy to take notes at times when getting a whole laptop out would be ridiculous. You can make notes of things to remember and add calendar events that sync to your desktop/laptop. I have my phone syncing to three other devices so that just like not having to carry an extra camera, I don't have to manually transfer everything on physical media.
Sure, I don't NEED to play mobile games, but... why not ? Even my mom likes Android gaming. My phone plan is LESS than my talk + text plan was with Sprint, it's not like I'm paying extra for this. I keep a book or two on my phone because why not, it comes in handy when needed and it doesn't cost me anything. I watched a bit of a show on Netflix while waiting for a friend - so much faster and easier than setting up a whole laptop in my car and trying to get a WIFI signal strong enough. I'm so pleased that I'm paying less money and getting so much more - my last phone couldn't even go on-line, let alone stream HD video over 4g.
I like being able to search for answers to "when is Sears open until" or "nearest liquor store" or "I haven't seen a road I recognise for ten miles" - and be able to get directions. Yeah, it's silly, but it's pretty great. I had to drive once to a friend's parents' house - somewhere I'd never been. Instead of getting arduous turn-by-turn directions, I could just get the street address and Google Maps lead me there without needing to keep my friend on the phone while driving. My friends and I routinely use the navigation since even if you know where point B is, you might not immediately know the best way to get there from point A - saves gas and time.
I would disagree that you don't need it for app making. Not technically, no - but how can you really be a good app-maker if you don't understand the user and what the user wants ? You can read about it, sure - but you're not going to have the best tools to be creative and innovate unless you have it in your hands and understand the unique challenges and logistics that come with actually using a smartphone. It's like if doctors only read books and never interacted with sick people under instruction before being "on the job" for real. You learn so much by having hands-on experience that might be easy to overlook or not consider otherwise.
My dad had a flip-phone until recently. He asked the same question, "why" ? Now he wonders why he ever said "no". Yeah, he has a laptop required for work and a lot of other things, but it's just the little things that it adds - the options, getting rid of extra gadgets, making life a little bit easier when you'd have been paying for the phone service anyway - why not ?
Could I get by without it ? Definitely. But why would I give it up when it's actually saving me money ?

Thank you guys! I think I found my answer.
coolsandie said:
These days, many people have a Smartphone as well as a normal calling+texting phone. Its simply because Smartphones don't have much battery backup and the normal phones can last for 3-4 days. And for calling and texting they uses this normal phone and for internet related things, Smartphones! But its just for heavy phone user.
In your case, if you don't use internet related apps or web browsing you can pretty much opt for a normal phone as it comes cheap and can save battery. Android or any other Smartphone is only useful for those who uses Social Networking or Instant Messaging, etc. And if you feel like you want to shift to Android after purchasing a normal phone, its do-able because normal phones like Nokia 109, Nokia 114 etc. costs much less.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
amd5511 said:
As of these days smartphone pricing is going down day by day, and its better to hav one if you develop apps. One point we dont know when an emergency mail has to be sent or receive only by your smartphone 3g .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks I thought of the same points. But rather switching later thought to make my switch now.
S3freak said:
You don't need one its that simple
So many Roms so little time
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:highfive:
Pennycake said:
It's up to you.
Personally, I've found plenty of times it's much easier to do something internet-related on my phone rather than get out or bring my big, heavy laptop. I used to do that. Get lost, need directions, et cetera ? That meant pulling over to somewhere with free WIFI. Having a smartphone means you just need to pull over anywhere - or use voice commands/have a passenger do it/just be unsafe/et cetera.
I used to have a point-and-shoot camera and the only time I've used it since getting my new phone with a decent camera is to take a picture of the phone itself. Why carry around a bunch of stuff when one small object can do it all ?
With my smartphone I hardly ever text any more since I can use data IM services. Not really essential, but it gives you options. I also find typing on the touchscreen to be faster and easier thanks to Swiftkey 3. I had phones with a physical keyboard before and I don't miss it.
If you are getting a carrier upgrade or considering buying through eBay or the like, I think a good question is "why not" ? You can get a good enough smartphone for pretty cheap and get a feel for it.
One thing I love is things like Astrid tasks - I can have it instead of a grocery list, et cetera - I won't lose it because my phone is something I always check to have with me instead of a piece of paper. I can carry it while getting groceries unlike a whole laptop or even computer. It's also incredibly easy to take notes at times when getting a whole laptop out would be ridiculous. You can make notes of things to remember and add calendar events that sync to your desktop/laptop. I have my phone syncing to three other devices so that just like not having to carry an extra camera, I don't have to manually transfer everything on physical media.
Sure, I don't NEED to play mobile games, but... why not ? Even my mom likes Android gaming. My phone plan is LESS than my talk + text plan was with Sprint, it's not like I'm paying extra for this. I keep a book or two on my phone because why not, it comes in handy when needed and it doesn't cost me anything. I watched a bit of a show on Netflix while waiting for a friend - so much faster and easier than setting up a whole laptop in my car and trying to get a WIFI signal strong enough. I'm so pleased that I'm paying less money and getting so much more - my last phone couldn't even go on-line, let alone stream HD video over 4g.
I like being able to search for answers to "when is Sears open until" or "nearest liquor store" or "I haven't seen a road I recognise for ten miles" - and be able to get directions. Yeah, it's silly, but it's pretty great. I had to drive once to a friend's parents' house - somewhere I'd never been. Instead of getting arduous turn-by-turn directions, I could just get the street address and Google Maps lead me there without needing to keep my friend on the phone while driving. My friends and I routinely use the navigation since even if you know where point B is, you might not immediately know the best way to get there from point A - saves gas and time.
I would disagree that you don't need it for app making. Not technically, no - but how can you really be a good app-maker if you don't understand the user and what the user wants ? You can read about it, sure - but you're not going to have the best tools to be creative and innovate unless you have it in your hands and understand the unique challenges and logistics that come with actually using a smartphone. It's like if doctors only read books and never interacted with sick people under instruction before being "on the job" for real. You learn so much by having hands-on experience that might be easy to overlook or not consider otherwise.
My dad had a flip-phone until recently. He asked the same question, "why" ? Now he wonders why he ever said "no". Yeah, he has a laptop required for work and a lot of other things, but it's just the little things that it adds - the options, getting rid of extra gadgets, making life a little bit easier when you'd have been paying for the phone service anyway - why not ?
Could I get by without it ? Definitely. But why would I give it up when it's actually saving me money ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
:good: Thank you so much for the time you took for giving me a reply. I don't want to earn from making apps. I'm a free and open source developer and my profession is linux (for now ). Using map is one of my conserns. I don't like playing games on mobile as due to tiny screen. Even playing angry birds on mobile is less effective than using a large monitor. So I'm not conserned about it.
About shopping list. Well I have a similar idea to develop a free app for keep tracking things you do.
Again thank you very much. Your very explaintory answer have opned new use cases for me. God sake you are a good technical writer. May I ask you, are you a QA or Analysist? Because you know how to reply and give use cases.
Thank you guys. I guess I found the answer. But one more small problem. is buying android 2.3 device Alcatel OT-903 will be enough? It's a low price phone and if it didn't worth it I wouldn't be too much worrying.

theLolipro said:
Thanks I thought of the same points. But rather switching later thought to make my switch now.
:highfive:
:good: Thank you so much for the time you took for giving me a reply. I don't want to earn from making apps. I'm a free and open source developer and my profession is linux (for now ). Using map is one of my conserns. I don't like playing games on mobile as due to tiny screen. Even playing angry birds on mobile is less effective than using a large monitor. So I'm not conserned about it.
About shopping list. Well I have a similar idea to develop a free app for keep tracking things you do.
Again thank you very much. Your very explaintory answer have opned new use cases for me. God sake you are a good technical writer. May I ask you, are you a QA or Analysist? Because you know how to reply and give use cases.
Thank you guys. I guess I found the answer. But one more small problem. is buying android 2.3 device Alcatel OT-903 will be enough? It's a low price phone and if it didn't worth it I wouldn't be too much worrying.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Honestly I wouldn't buy any phone with 2.3 and down them were the worst of android days when they were working out the kinks ICS and up is awesome but if you plan on putting a custom ROM on it it won't matter as you can get the latest version just make sure the phone has good devoloment. Even the crappiest of phones can be turned into a awesome device
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

I agree with Pennycake. One other thing that I would like to add is that with the convenience of having a smartphone you will find yourself using the features a lot more then you anticipate now.

I do not understand what do you mean "normal phone"?; since Android is already a standard of a phone.

OP - You know what answer you would get if you come and ask it an android forum!
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LIFE! MAKE IT WORTH LIVING!

Lifehacker7 said:
OP - You know what answer you would get if you come and ask it an android forum!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
LIFE! MAKE IT WORTH LIVING!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe some Apple spy are on this forum and trying to tune the Android users back to IOS
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium

Thanks for replies again.
bbrad said:
Honestly I wouldn't buy any phone with 2.3 and down them were the worst of android days when they were working out the kinks ICS and up is awesome but if you plan on putting a custom ROM on it it won't matter as you can get the latest version just make sure the phone has good devoloment. Even the crappiest of phones can be turned into a awesome device
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well since I'm a linux developer I'm willing to try out the hacking and cracking in hardcore way. But the problem is how to determine whether the device can be installed with 4.0 ? I found that on this forums there is custom rom for alcatel phone but is it available for OT 903-d ?
pbmurdoc said:
I agree with Pennycake. One other thing that I would like to add is that with the convenience of having a smartphone you will find yourself using the features a lot more then you anticipate now.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes that something I'm not willing to do. I want to keep my life simple. You know enjoy the life away from tech. I'm now seriously addicted to computer and developments and I wanna get away from that.
Dan Law 001 said:
I do not understand what do you mean "normal phone"?; since Android is already a standard of a phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Good one
Lifehacker7 said:
OP - You know what answer you would get if you come and ask it an android forum!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
LIFE! MAKE IT WORTH LIVING!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes but I want to get a satisfactory answers and persepective from experiance user. What they are using it for etc.
Dan Law 001 said:
Maybe some Apple spy are on this forum and trying to tune the Android users back to IOS
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Never. I'm more linux fan. Never going to be jailed and sacrifise my freedom. I might try Ubuntu phone but definitely not some crappy os.

well ive tried blackberry, iphone 4/4s, nokia and androids. GB, ICS... i like androids the best. it let u roam free to ur imaginations. lots of possibility.

Dan Law 001 said:
Maybe some Apple spy are on this forum and trying to tune the Android users back to IOS
Sent from my GT-N7100 using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL that was for me?
I said that positively. I own an android too.
I ain't an isheep.!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
LIFE! MAKE IT WORTH LIVING!

Of course you should go with android phone. Now a days android phone are available in very affordable price with all latest features.

Android has much more advantages of apps and stuff and mobility.. you'll never know until you buy..
But then again, Firefox Os and Ubuntu Os are coming up..
If you're a Linux fan, May be wait for an Ubuntu mobile Os i.e.,if you can wait.
cm10 htc a310e k2.6 w /smooth of butter & broke Cam/corder

May be you can borrow android or normal phone in your friend, and try it. it will help you to make the decision.

theLolipro said:
Well since I'm a linux developer I'm willing to try out the hacking and cracking in hardcore way. But the problem is how to determine whether the device can be installed with 4.0 ? I found that on this forums there is custom rom for alcatel phone but is it available for OT 903-d ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well let's put it this way I have a 3yr old phone a Samsung fascinate the first galaxy's phone to come to verizen its over 3yrs has a single core hummingbird proccesor. You would think this phone sucks right? Nope you know 4.2.2 only came out like 3 days ago we already have it lol and our phone beats most dual cores its amazing what good devoloment and we have over 10 ROMs just for 4.x any its do easy to work no locked anything now if you want a phone like that go with a nexus or Samsung Device There the only people who makes phones completely open no locked boot loader all it takes is a click to root and hundreds of ROMs so just asking as you get a nexus or Samsung device I think you will be happy.
If I helped hit the thanks :thumbup:
Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

kamendra said:
Of course you should go with android phone. Now a days android phone are available in very affordable price with all latest features.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is so true since Apple is just keep making technology expensive and exclusive and dividing social classes while Android is always trying to make good technology for everyone. Just look at those Chinese companies like ZTE and Huawei, few years before, their phones are just CRAP and now as they all use Android OS, their phone just got a new life.

I would go with android phone. In my opinion it is better than the other operation systems and the phones that are using it are the best at the moment.

Related

Android vs Windows Mobile..which is better/differences, pros and cons?

In your opinion (keep it short please) what is the difference between win mobile and android and pros and cons please?
Thanks
George
Android pros:
Open source
Huge market proliferation (ensuring compatability and development)
Huge app market
Stable faster linux kernel
Winmobile pro:
More compatable with windows
Wifi router (until froyo)
-------------------------------------
Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App
I have 2 Windows phones and 2 Android phones and I can't think of a single thing the Windows phones do better than the Android phones.
Well, when I got my phone at T mobile today (I was tired of att and verizon, long story..) I asked for an android phone and I get home and see it's a windows phone...?
Mind you, I'm not surprised considering they didn't even know what GSM is when I asked if t mobile was gsm.
I LIKE the fact that it acts as a hot spot so what is FROYO?
I also thing I'l like droid better so here's the question, do they make the HD2 for android and is it available for t mobile?
Also, the navigation on the windows hd2 I have seems totally retarded...
Yes, the droid (I had the 8183) was much better.
Does it mean I liked the 8183? Nope and whoever the idiot is that wrote the software that only lets you use a FRACTION of the big a$$ screen to display info, phone numbers, names and such should be shot, SLOWLY!
You guys have NO idea how many countless hours I've spent in frustration, trying to find a way to SEE things on the screen with my $hitty eyesight and all because some moron is too stupid to figure out that MAYBE they should start with making the BASICS work on the phone.
You know, kinda like the iPhone. It was great, EXCEPT at being a friggin' PHONE! Let's see, iPHONE, what part of phone didn't you understand?
Sadly enough, ALL these idiots make more money at what they do than I do
Thanks
George
guiri_too said:
In your opinion (keep it short please) what is the difference between win mobile and android and pros and cons please?
Thanks
George
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
xda-developers > Android Development and Hacking > Android Apps and Games
FAIL.
rpimps said:
I have 2 Windows phones and 2 Android phones and I can't think of a single thing the Windows phones do better than the Android phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well, I loved MyPhone on Windows Mobile. And I just have my Android for 3 days, but I haven't found something as good and for free yet.
Next to that, I can't think of anything I missed yet. Even eBuddy managed to easily fulfill my needs of MSN/WLM. Even with offline messaging.
There are two things i don't like about android:
First, there isn't only one good videoplayer(ffmpeg is a must have!) EDIT: Rockplayer is a nice start, but the fps is ~100% lower than the ones i get with coreplayer
And i havent found something like Audiobooster.
Try both and take the OS which you prefer
Android Cons:
None
Windows Mobile Cons (based on my experience with 6.1 Buisness):
Too hard to install games and apps
Not enough games and apps
Not user friendly
Too slow response
Android pros:
huge application
Google serious to maintain the android development
Android Cons:
No Wifi proxy support
hard to copy paste beetwen app
Winmobile cons:
too late microsoft your windows mobile is dying. your development team is slow
Old win 6.5 kernel..
windows phone 7 is too late to release...your market app is not working...
all developer moving to another platform
No multitasking support for windows 7...thats shame
Search for rockbase player for videos. Funambol or mybackup pro for closest to myphone off the top of my head.
-------------------------------------
Sent via the XDA Tapatalk App
there's a lot of things to look at but the best way to choose is this.
if you are running an app and it has issues or require a bit of memory, window will lock up and then you have to reset the phone.
with android you'll get a force close notification which you just ok it and keep using it with out having to reset.
Android FTW
Android:
Fast
User friendly
great multitasking
many apps and great games
works better on slow phones
user driven market
WM:
horrible performance, only WM phone with good performance is the hd2
bad multitasking, but happily arkswitch makes it easier
almost no 3d games, marketplace is not worth a ****
OK, As a windows Fanboy turned android here is the main thing Windows does better than android: Multimedia!!
Android is still new to the game and in my opinion hasn't really got a good video and music player. There are some ones that can pass but compared to Windows and iphone they are not that great. On the flip side I plan on developing my own music player which counts for the openness of android. WinMo is arguably just as open BUT with them going a different direction with WM7 I had to jump ship. As for Androids advantages......everything else is just as good if not better than windows (except how they manage the SD card)
Well, the few minutes I've spent with the windows platform already makes me hate it. Whoever did the software for the HD2 is totally retarded. I couldn't even get myself out of whatever app happened to come on last night and I was about ready to throw this big piece of $hit out the window.
I now know what Froyo is and if I'm not mistaken, it'll have a wifi proxy which I guess it to be is that it acts like a hot spot which should put a damper on some of the greedy phone companies (IF it is released on their phones) like ATT who charges you another 30 bucks extra for connecting to your laptop.
That to me is bull**** and greed and IS costing them customers.
Verizon is better with that but I hate their support AND I think their coverage in my area is worse. The support is TOTALLY useless and I left them once because of it and I will AGAIN leave them I think and yes, mainly because of it.
I'll try the t mobile service out for a week or so and if the coverage is good, I'll return this locked piece of $hit and get me one of the unlocked phones from NEgri Electronics. If anyone hasn't heard of them yet (which kinda would surprise me) here they are...
I mean, seriously, in order NOT to pay the full price at t mobile, I have to sign up for two years AND the phone is locked which means I can't use proggies like this one which I NEED! http://www.androlib.com/android.application.org-pbxes-fontsize-BiEA.aspx
For a buck fitty (not fifty, fitty, like fitty cents) I can get this proggy which could fix my problem but I can't do it on a locked phone. Well, they can ki$$ my ass then with all the restrictions. I'll get this one for example http://negrielectronics.com/touch-smartphone-unlocked-tmobile-2747.html , get me a monthly account instead and I can put anything I want on it. Now how the hell can I go wrong with that, AND, they're easier to sell should you want to get rid of them.
Put some of this stuff on it and some silicone case on it and you can sell it years later looking brand new which is what I did with my iPhone.
I'm going to wait for a week or so and decide if I like tmobile and if I do, I'll tell verizon where they can stick their phone.
Would you believe I had to make THREE attempts to get them to port my att number over and meanwhile, I'm paying ATT for the account. I even called and talked to VERIZON people to make sure it got done right and in BOTH cases, they screwed it up. I finally got it done the right IN The store, a WEEK after!
After all this crap AND a busted phone that was only two weeks old, I tried to get a free charging cable from one of the store manager, NOT a charger or the ac adapter thingie, just the stinkin' cable and he wouldn't even give me that. Now that is tacky and petty. Oh, the reason I wanted another cable was so I could keep one in the car cause that piece of $hit pre wouldn't hold a charge over 5-6 hours and let's not talk about TALKING time. This was a LITTLE talking and lots of stand by.
What a damn joke.
I like the pre platform and concept in general and I have several PDA's that are PALM but the PRE phone, they kinda dropped the ball on a little.
No on screen keyboard (now how hard is that to figure out), the actual keyboard should have been horizontal for size and the damn thing is a gas guzzler, AND, I don't see an option to keep the damn notifications from coming up and crowding your screen when you turn it on. Also, it's slow as $hit from when you click that you want the keypad till it finally opens up.
NO Predictive dialing and you can't get the beautiful HUGE clock to stay on top that I know of. Again, how hard is that to figure out? Does this take so long to program into the software? I mean, they almost went belly up. You'd think they had the TIME and STAFF to do things right. Sheesh!
Anyway, enough bitc*in'
George
guiri_too said:
Again, how hard is that to figure out? Does this take so long to program into the software? I mean, they almost went belly up. You'd think they had the TIME and STAFF to do things right. Sheesh!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's not how business works. Any phone advertised on TV (like the Pre) is designed for general consumers (people who don't care about the things you're talking about). It would be a terrible business decision to spend more time and money incorporating things that 99% of their target market don't care about or don't even know they're missing. If you're posting on XDA you're probably a lot more tech savvy than the average consumer, thus phones marketed towards the average consumer won't have 100% of the features you request. I always like to buy phones that are rarer and not advertised, mainly because I like having stuff that other people don't have, but also because they usually end up being a cut above the rest of the phones on the market.
Thread moved to General.
If I were you guiri_too, and can afford it, I'd order the Nexus One unlocked and as soon as it arrives, root the thing, put Froyo on it (if I could find it) and take that winblows phone back to T-Mobile. I can't believe they gave you that after asking for an Android phone. That has to be one of the dumbest salesmen ever! Or if you want to stay with T-Mobile and happen to like Sense (Espresso Sense), pick up the the MyTouch Slide. It has a keyboard, MS Exchange support and is pretty snappy to boot (speaking of boot, it only takes about a minute from hitting the power button to making a call). If you need a more business-like phone, I would suggest the Sprint Evo 4G. It's the same size as the HD2, 4.3", but it's Android. The UI looks like the HD2 as well (Sense), but it's a lot quicker and more stable. A friend of mine picked this up after having the Sprint Hero, which he got after the TouchPro (winmo) and couldn't be happier.
As far as the original question, I can only give you an anecdote; when I got my G1, my wife had a Wing which she hated. After a few months of watching me play with my phone all the time, and her Wing being replaced twice, she bought hers and was instantly hooked. We have been android fans ever since. So the advantages of Android for me are awesome stability, openness and apps, of which you don't have to use the market for (unless you get an ATT android).
Let me try to address the replies in one window.
First as for being tech savvy, yeah, I guess I am and I've been around long enough to be picky, HOWEVER, my BASIC needs are a phone I can HEAR and SEE. How come Nextel have speakers that you can hear clear across the next state and this thing I got, the HD2 I can barely hear with the fans in the car running despite them telling me it was really loud...?
Sure, I want a lot of stuff but if you read through all my info, you'll see that some of the things i don't really care about like social networking, streaming video, mp3 player and much more. LARGE FONT! How the hell hard is that to figure out? I mean, for those here who program and considering it's even in very simple programs. IS IT THAT hard to have an option of making the font bigger?
To Heybob. Bob, the problem is that I can't try and see these phones live so to speak. ALL the phones at tmobile are dummies or at least the ones I'm interested in.
Second, to be quite honest and when I think about it, I am not sure if she did mention this one was windows but I DID tell her I prefered android. In any case, NOT knowing what GSM is or if tmobile was GSM is not something I can let slide, ESPECIALLY considering she was the manager...
Now, so far, my tmobile coverage has seemed good. Yes, the phone as in the UI is still totally retarded so the windows OS has got to go. More than likely when I return this, if I still like tmobile then, I'll get a phone from Negri that's unlocked and if I'm not mistaken, he HAS Froyo phones in stock. Hold, gonna call and check..yep, he's got Nexus One with Froyo ready to ship.
Tell'em George with the long wish list sent ya if you buy one. Not that I think I'll get any referrals but hey, it never hurts when it comes time to bug them about finding me the right phone.
Anyway, back to the phones. I do NOT like this windows UI so that one is out. I like that I have found a site with something like 80,000+ apps all in one place and although I'm not stingy, when you're TRYING apps and don't know if you'll like them or not, it helps if they're cheap or free. I got something on hte Pre I didn't like but hell ,I wasn't about to ask for a $1.50 refund.
Many of the windows apps were $15 or around there. I'm not paying it if I can't get a refund if I don't like the software and I AM picky with software too.
By the way, is there someone here that has a rooted android phone that wouldn't mind putting this font proggy on there (hell, I'll be happy to pay for it at only 2 bucks or something) and show me the different font size options? http://www.androlib.com/android.application.org-pbxes-fontsize-BiEA.aspx
I WAS going to do that but as you know, I didn't get a droid phone
I showed this dude on the androlib forum this proggy. He gets it, his wife likes it (he got it for her) and now he's too busy to show me some screen captures. Thanks a lot
George
I've owned 4 different winmo phones and I can say that android leaves those respond FOOLS in the dust.
Android is more compatible with exchange server than windows mobile solution or blackberry.
Work gets done faster and I smile a lot more now.
Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk
Well, I just took a few pictures of the HD2 to show people what I'm facing to illustrate it a little better.
Coming right up...

[Q] Capitvate or Focus? What should I do?!

Hey l've got a dilemma
So I got a captivate in July and I LOVE it. But recently it had some service issues and ATT sent me a Focus.
Got the Captivate replaced so now I have two high end phones that are pretty much exactly the same but run different OSs.
I know the answer should be whatever OS you like best, but the problem is that I like things from both.
WP7 is really fun to use and all but it reminds me of my pre-jailbroken iPhone. And Android is awesome (froyo) and all but it doesn't have a very good music service...
Lets get some input!
You do know that you can still use itunes on your computer and sync it to your captivate right?
the focus will prolly get froyo ported before us galaxy S users officially get it.
Sent from my SCH-I500 using XDA App
V DidDy 210 said:
Hey l've got a dilemma
So I got a captivate in July and I LOVE it. But recently it had some service issues and ATT sent me a Focus.
Got the Captivate replaced so now I have two high end phones that are pretty much exactly the same but run different OSs.
I know the answer should be whatever OS you like best, but the problem is that I like things from both.
WP7 is really fun to use and all but it reminds me of my pre-jailbroken iPhone. And Android is awesome (froyo) and all but it doesn't have a very good music service...
Lets get some input!
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Click to collapse
Considering I just went through this myself..
I had an iPhone 3G - recently came off of contract, decided to try the Captivate, WP7 came out - and I was dealing with the well-known problems/issues with that phone (GPS / Random shutdowns).
Since I'm still in my 30-day window - I decided to take the Captivate back and try the WP7. As you've noted - this is really a personal preference with regards to the phone/OS overall.
Personally - I believe WP7 is *close* to the same overall functionality as Android - though, currently, Android has a much more extensive library of applications, etc. (along with the awesome dev support here).
For me, however, it came down to what works "out of the box" as advertised by the phone/manufacturer.
On the Captivate - the GPS worked around 70-80% of the time. The Google Navigation application worked wonderfully - *when* it worked. However, the main problem is - the GPS *doesn't* work consistently. Add to that - when the Captivate started to randomly shutdown and forced several missed calls (I didn't shut the phone down - it just randomly shut down.. WTF?), it became a deal breaker for me.
I've just came back from a business trip with the Focus and, overall, the phone does exactly what it advertises to do: First and foremost - phone calls/functionality are excellent. Second, GPS works out of the box - with (from what I can tell) 98-100% accuracy (immediate startup no waiting - directions are spot on - phone tracks with you easily without any discrepancies). Third, no random shutdowns/dropped calls (yet) - and I've had both phones about an equivalent amount of time now (about 8-10 days each).
Regarding Music: Zune Integration and Music playing via the Focus, though slightly different from the iPhone, IMHO, exceed iTunes/Coverflow of the iPhone. it's a great music player - that automatically downloads relevant information/material regarding the artists/albums you have loaded in your collection/library. I've never really liked iTunes - and Zune's software seems much easier / more integrated to use.
Finally, the Focus, the more that you use it, actually appears to tailor itself to you, the owner, via the pictures / information you enter and setup on the phone. The "people" hub shows random snapshots of all of your contacts. The Pictures hub is extremely well done, immersing your content into the overall look and feel of the OS the more you use it.
Granted - you can extend tweak the Captivate/Android interface much more to your liking, etc. - however - I found the overall experience of the WP7 to be more "personal" the more I used it. I'll also add that I'm much more comfortable with the WP7 interface after using it a week than with the Captivate (both using TouchWiz as well as LauncherPro). It's hard to quantify, but I find WP7 to be easier to quickly pick up, do what I need to do, find the information I need to get, and then quickly put the phone away. I feel like I'm NOT fighting the WP7 interface as much as I did with the Captivate.
This became even more clear during the business trip with my colleague (who has an HTC android phone) where we were comparing notes/basic functionality/tasks between the 2 devices constantly during the entire trip. A prime example: he had to use 2 different applications (google maps, where) to find information out about a restaurant we were attempting to find in the area - whereas everything I needed to find out about the restaurant (directions, website, phone number, reviews) was quickly pulled up in a single bing map search. Overall, any time we "raced" to find the information we needed - the majority of the time I won these little races - primarily - I feel - due to the inherent/"simplistic" nature of the redesigned interface in WP7.
Overall - it really boils down to how you use the phone and what you expect of it. For me it boiled down to if I was comfortable "hacking" the phone (Captivate) in order to get the true (expected) functionality out of it (and subsequently violating TOS in the process), as well as waiting on a potential fix to the GPS/Shutdown issues to show up with Froyo 2.2 (assuming I wait for the official release instead of using one of the 2.2 ROMs here) - or - was I more comfortable with going with WP7 - with everything working as advertised out of the box, along with, again, a proposed future update of additional functionality to be added early next year (i.e. Copy/Paste (not a big deal for me), Turn-By-Turn Navigation (would be extremely nice if this is, in fact, included in the next WP7 update), etc.)
As it stands - I have another 10-12 days left to make my decision (or just return back to my iPhone and wait for awhile). I'm hoping the Froyo 2.2 update will be pushed to Captivate over the next few days (I keep hearing 11/15) in order to get further information. As it stands now - I'm heavily leaning towards keeping the Focus/WP7 unless Froyo 2.2 shows up and reports come in that it corrects the 2 deal breakers (for me that is). If that does happen - I'll have a harder decision to make - otherwise - unless something goes horribly wrong with the Focus - I'll probably be keeping it for the long term.
newter55 said:
You do know that you can still use itunes on your computer and sync it to your captivate right?
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Click to collapse
That's not the issue. If you use zune on WP7 you'll know exactly what i'm talking about how its better. I've had a napster to go subscription for ages and it was nice to have that sync with my captivate, but the amount of relevant and fun information afforded to me through the zune + marketplace is truly awesome.
that being said, I'm really big on a filesystem that I can see and manipulate, something the focus doesn't have. Being able to use flash is another HUGE bonus (I updated to froyo about a month ago)
It's annoying because I want to pick and choose different aspects of both. I mean the "metro" UI looks fantastic! but the lack of a settings button drives me absolutely crazy. Office integration is REALLY well done. but widgets and a "desktop" is really nice. Netflix is a nice touch for WP7, but SNES and NES emulators are awesome on Android.
I literally could rifle off this list for hours and the more I use both (i've been switching every other day) the more things I find. I see myself saying "oh man! I can't live without that feature!" all the time only to not have it on the other and then realize that the other has a feature I really like.
it's really tough decision because apart from the flash the two phones are exactly alike.
so there aren't merits to which phone hardware is better either! Though the focus' design is slightly higher end to me though i REALLY like the captivates metal backplate....See what I mean!?!?!
I was simply pointing out that the music issue is....not an issue. For me modding was number one and att has best service in my area so the captivate was a no brainer but I understand that not everyone has the same desires and expectations.
Also, gmaps now, finally integrates places into maps. I have bing for android but have not used the maps in that yet. As for gps, well I agree, though I have been llucky as mine actually works....but I know it is a sore subject for many who have been played by issues with it
So how did you manage to get AT&T to send you a Focus in exchange for a Captivate? I might take a similar deal if it were put on the table
newter55 said:
For me modding was number one and att has best service in my area so the captivate was a no brainer but I understand that not everyone has the same desires and expectations.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed - I've gone down the route of modding/hacking phones in the past - and, while it's "neat" and "cool" that you can actually affect the look and feel of the Captivate - I guess I've gotten past that a bit now.. in that I'm really just looking for a good, solid, well-working phone out-of-the box - without out any additional effort. That being said - both Android and WP7 have excellent interfaces (although the Captivate is trying to copy the iPhone more than taking the UI in a unique/different route ala HTC Sense - IMHO) - it boils down to a preference on the user. Considering the fact that I'm actually trying to move AWAY from the iPhone UI look/feel - that also explains why I'm, personally, more apt to prefer the WP7 interface...
newter55 said:
Also, gmaps now, finally integrates places into maps. I have bing for android but have not used the maps in that yet. As for gps, well I agree, though I have been llucky as mine actually works....but I know it is a sore subject for many who have been played by issues with it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes - and we compared GMaps results side-by-side with Bing Maps results. It's hard to explain, but (even my colleague with his Android agreed) - the WP7 device (with Bing) has a much more integrated, fine-tuned results output - making it much easier to get to the data you're ultimately looking for.
On the GPS side - yes - I missed the T-b-T routing (and I seriously hope it comes to WP7 in the near future as "promised") that Google Navigation offers. However, I had hoped (and thought for awhile) that my Captivate wouldn't have the same known hardware issues documented on this forum. Unfortunately, that isn't the case. I travel quite a bit during the year, and, even though the iPhone didn't have T-b-T navigation - it always got me where I needed. Captivate didn't meet this need at all (it was REALLY bad at times) - and the WP7 device offers a very similar experience comparable to the iPhone as it stands today.
Looks like there's conflicting reports regarding the 2.2 update (i.e. Europe or U.S.) abound - we'll see if it's pushed today and, if so, if the update *truly* corrects the known issues. I have my doubts though considering various reports from the prior leaked 2.2 builds indicated no improvement.
ScottyNuttz said:
So how did you manage to get AT&T to send you a Focus in exchange for a Captivate? I might take a similar deal if it were put on the table
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Click to collapse
I was wondering the exact same thing haha ... my 30 day window expired about 3 months ago ... I was holding out for WP7 but got so damn sick of my iPhone that I leapt into android's loving arms. I love it but boy that new WP7 of a "girl next door" sure is lookin sexy.
ScottyNuttz said:
So how did you manage to get AT&T to send you a Focus in exchange for a Captivate? I might take a similar deal if it were put on the table
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
tanneji said:
I was wondering the exact same thing haha ... my 30 day window expired about 3 months ago ... I was holding out for WP7 but got so damn sick of my iPhone that I leapt into android's loving arms. I love it but boy that new WP7 of a "girl next door" sure is lookin sexy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't get it in exchange...they sent me a focus and I still have the captivate.
Here's my story...My father has been an ATT customer for some 15-16 years now (since cellularone/bell mobility days) I had an iPhone 3G since 08 (was strictly winmo before that) and was waiting for the streak to come out for att so i could upgrade. got the captivate instead.
BEFORE ALL THAT, my iPhone around June of this year started to just not get service at my house or the surrounding area (I live at college now so it isn't an issue but when I go home it is) But my parents and sister get perfect 5 bar 3G.
I called and complained to ATT and they relented and sent me a backflip as a courtesy (no contract. free). the backflip is a terrible phone, but it somewhat worked in my house and needless to say I was counting the days till the captivate came out.
July 18th I get the captivate and plan on keeping it for a long time. In November, I begin to have that same dropped service issue (now i've switched phones AND sim cards, put my sim in my fams phones no service. put their sims in my phones, full service etc.) There is literally something messed up in my line. So I called ATT to tell them the deal and they sent me the focus if I extended my contract, considering how i did only a few months ago I had no issue doing it for 3 more months.
Moral of the story, If you are a loyal customer and have a big bill (all four of our lines have the 30$ unlimited data) cellular providers will bend over backwards for you.
I'm not proud of this btw. but its frustrating when the one thing a phone is supposed to do, just doesn't work.
Now the focus DOES get service at my home, and the new sim is working pretty good in the captivate (not full service, but manageable) so the debate continues

Tired of the htc thunderbolt I want to switch to another phone.

can someone please give me some good reason not to switch to an iphone 4
codyh666 said:
can someone please give me some good reason not to switch to an iphone 4
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Click to collapse
Inappropriate thread.
Because the iPhone is GAY
Luke
I agree with the Loon .
Q & A section really is for operating the phone or solving problems with it.
This is more a little Chit Chat for General so I'm moving it.
lukesdiesel said:
Because the iPhone is GAY
Luke
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
And if this thread get's only non constructive jokes, I will also need to close it.
(No this is not an invite to make non constructive jokes to get this thread closed)
im sorry im new so i didnt know that thank you for moving it and i didnt mean to upset anyone its just that my htc thunderbolt has been giving me problems and i was wondering if anyone had good reasons that would make me not switch to the iphone
codyh666 said:
im sorry im new so i didnt know that thank you for moving it and i didnt mean to upset anyone its just that my htc thunderbolt has been giving me problems and i was wondering if anyone had good reasons that would make me not switch to the iphone
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Who cares. switch if you want...or don't. If you aren't computer inclined to tinker with stuff and want something that sort of works for what the average person wants in a phone, then switch. However, most people won't admit it, but by the time they ask someone else for advice, they already made up their mind. They just want someone to agree with them that they are right. Only reason I would ever want a fruit based device is if I plan on porting something I develop for Android to it for testing. Would I use it outside of development? No way. However I don't care what platform it is when it comes to selling something (except the amazon app store, won't even put something on there).
well, if your an apple kiddie, why'd you drift away in the first place? you need to look deep into your soul and question your loyalty to apple.
that and seeing as how ios and android are completely different, it's like saying "should I get a girlfriend or a boyfriend?"
voxigenboy said:
well, if your an apple kiddie, why'd you drift away in the first place? you need to look deep into your soul and question your loyalty to apple.
that and seeing as how ios and android are completely different, it's like saying "should I get a girlfriend or a boyfriend?"
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well the reason i got the htc thunderbolt was because of the 4g and how android was customizable but ive had the phone for 8 months now and the 4g drains the battery so much and ive never had an iphone my first phone was the motorola cliq so im not an apple kiddie
I just recently switched from carrier.
I was on T-Mobile and now am on Vodafone.
I now have HSDPA+ and that does indeed suck more battery then the HSDPA from T-mobile i had before.
Myself I can live with having my device with the data being turned off.
I'm not that hooked on being informed 24/7 about everything.
So that saves me more juice, so I can listen to more Music over Bluetooth.
I've never used an iPhone on a day to day basis so i really have no idea how that handles battery on a good 4G network.
But iPhone is over the hill and it now has good competition of great new and sexy devices.
Maybe Nokia makes a good come back with good battery time, but there's more out there then just the iPhone as an alternative.
Also there could always be something to tweak, from updating your phone's radio to a better suited version (not necessarily the newest).
Or Checking if there's applications getting stuck in sync or keeping your device from deep sleep to managing your syncing schedules.
Keep it clean guys, be Cool like me
Galaxy Nexus when it comes out, gonna be a hot phone.
well i rooted my phone and i dont like how my phone wont work with so much stuff,and i changed the radio to a battery conserving one and i see no difference and im also tired of sense and im waiting for a port of ics for the htc thunderbolt
Noonski said:
I just recently switched from carrier.
I was on T-Mobile and now am on Vodafone.
I now have HSDPA+ and that does indeed suck more battery then the HSDPA from T-mobile i had before.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, I think any connection upgrade for data on a phone does that from observation. It did when carriers were going from 2g to 3g as well. It'll get better over time as phones improve I am sure. One generally doesnt need 20-30+Mbps anyways to view a web page so toggling works okay for me.
codyh666 said:
can someone please give me some good reason not to switch to an iphone 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
For me, the biggest reason is that Android is an open infrastructure.
Instead of the choice of a single phone (choice of iPhones only because the generations overlap), I can choose from many. Instead of only apps vetted by a manufacturer at there own whims, there are multiple sources available. Not even a need for an app store. Apps I buy can be carried to other/different phones. The competition between manufacturers means more choices - if you want a hard keyboard, you can have that. Want HDMI out? Available. Want removable memory? Yep. Replaceable battery for extended time away from power? Got it. Ruggedized phone? It's out there.
Some people don't want to get involved with technological decisions - 1.5 GHz? Dual core?, etc. The iPhone is great for them - just buy the latest one.
mike.s said:
For me, the biggest reason is that Android is an open infrastructure.
Instead of the choice of a single phone (choice of iPhones only because the generations overlap), I can choose from many. Instead of only apps vetted by a manufacturer at there own whims, there are multiple sources available. Not even a need for an app store. Apps I buy can be carried to other/different phones. The competition between manufacturers means more choices - if you want a hard keyboard, you can have that. Want HDMI out? Available. Want removable memory? Yep. Replaceable battery for extended time away from power? Got it. Ruggedized phone? It's out there.
Some people don't want to get involved with technological decisions - 1.5 GHz? Dual core?, etc. The iPhone is great for them - just buy the latest one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you, you are the first person to actually help me and i like android its just im tired of getting a new phone and having a better one come out a week later
codyh666 said:
well i rooted my phone and i dont like how my phone wont work with so much stuff,and i changed the radio to a battery conserving one and i see no difference and im also tired of sense and im waiting for a port of ics for the htc thunderbolt
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you elaborate on "phone wont work with so much stuff", you have more access to what you can do when the phone is rooted. Are you meaning the vzw apps?
My suggestion, install CM7, if you still want a new phone after using that wait for the galaxy nexus.
Since verizon started carrying the iphone 4 back in feb, I just this past week sold 2 iphones for the first time.
Most people only want the phone because "my <insert person> has it". The fact that 4g is faster, battery is built in to iphone, you can not add more storage, you have to deal with apple primarily (closest store here is 1hr away), no adobe flash, etc.
Everyone (minus 2) I've sold a phone to since that phone launched goes for android, I allow them to make their educated decision based upon the facts, the two I sold were to apple fanboys who had to have Siri.
codyh666 said:
thank you, you are the first person to actually help me and i like android its just im tired of getting a new phone and having a better one come out a week later
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
that's just how technology is. wether you get a car, computer, phone, etc.. new stuff is always around the corner.
with android as you mentioned, since it is open and different manufacturers are constantly releasing new phones it can be a bit overwhelming. whereas apple has their stuff on lockdown and since it's just them releasing things you don't see new stuff as often.
that doesn't mean however that whatever you have currently is crap just because something newer came out. for instance, even the Thunderbolt... its not the latest & greatest but it still holds up fine. and yes, the battery issue is with all 4G-LTE phones.
to sum thimgs up though;
Android = much more support(3rd party, development, etc), more customizable interface
iOS = incredibly simplistic, no 4G support period
I have an ipod touch that I connect in my car & use just for music. I hate itunes with a passion though and wish I could just copy/paste tracks instead of "sync". The only reason I use it instead of another mp3 device is because when it's connected to the stereo it gives better sound output then anything else... and when you spend $2,500 on your sound system, that matters big time. I could never see myself owning an iphone though.
voxigenboy said:
I have an ipod touch that I connect in my car & use just for music. I hate itunes with a passion though and wish I could just copy/paste tracks instead of "sync". The only reason I use it instead of another mp3 device is because when it's connected to the stereo it gives better sound output then anything else... and when you spend $2,500 on your sound system, that matters big time. I could never see myself owning an iphone though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Used to be able to do that until Apple locked out any chance of third party firmware development past the ipod video and 2g nano, so no more rockbox/ipod linux.
ok thats true i guess ill stay with my htc thunderbolt and just go out an buy a extended battery
just a side not,if you set the iphone to use the data aame as you set the thunderbolt guess what, your battery life sux just as bad,i get 6hours of heavy use,daughters iphone(she is a junkie like me)gets 6hours heavy use(oh boy)medium use goes to 10/12 hours so you see its not tgat different plus my screen is bigger
Sent from my ADR6400L using xda premium
and furthermore, I'll have you know that I have the 2750mAh battery for the TB and with "heavy use" I go through that in about 4 - 5 hours.
before you say anything though, on my ipod touch, I can also blow through that battery in 4 - 5 hours aswell.
I guess it just depends on how 'intense' your usage is.

Help me make an expensive decision, XDA. (Nexus 4 v. iPhone 5)

Note to Mods: If this is in the wrong section, I truly am sorry, I just don't know where else this can go.
A note to peasants like me: LEAVE ALL YOUR BIAS BEHIND. Please make good argumentative points, don't just baselesly bash everyone who doesn't think like you. Also, don't just say "uhuh that sukz jst bcuz wow l00zer n00b ur mum" to back up your points.
Thanks.
Ok, now that that's out of the way, on to the elephant in the room:
I'm considering buying an unlocked phone to use for Tmo or Att prepaid plans here in the US. I'm seriously considering the iPhone 5, and the Nexus 4, or a considerably similar phone.
I want you(the community) to help me decide by making some points and just helping me out. This is a big decision and I trust you guys at XDA will help me make the correct decision.
Reasons why I'm considering the iPhone 5:
-Apps developed here almost always before Android, and usually run better on iOS than on Android (Temple Run, Instagram, etc.)
-Some apps exclusive to iOS, like Quizlet (This is a HUGE point, being that my main "studdy buddy" is Quizlet since StudyBlue has a garbage Android app.) (Also, in apps like Flipboard, certain channels blocked to
-iMessage: a lot, and I mean A LOT of my buddies own iPhones, I miss out on a lot of iMessage stuff.
-System-wide color Emoji support (this is the stupidest reason, this shouldn't even be a reason, but whatever)
-Better and much broader range of cases available(LifeProof is a huge bonus, as is Otterbox, etc.)
-Screen looks really nice (even though it's somewhat of a downgrade)
-Notification Center for the lock screen is GREAT imho.
-Find my iPhone and other services already baked in, rather than a standalone app
-Solid construction
Reasons why I'm considering the Nexus 4/Comparable devices
-Google Now
-Ability to make programs default programs, unlike iOS
-Customization
-Swappable keyboards
-Google Maps
-Already have a considerable amount of money (~$15) bought in Play Store stuff that I'd have to rebuy on App Store, plus the money in my Play Store account from credit for buying a Nexus 7 (~$20 left)
If I went the iPhone way, I'd make a complete switch, which means get rid of my N7, which I currently use for college, and replace it with an iPad, which I've heard is better for college.
So, XDA, can you help me make an educated and very expensive decision? Thanks. I'll be monitoring this thread
contract or locked for the iphone? personally i'd go with a nexus for the fact that it's unlocked at a great price, albeit not as great as a contracted phone. also depends if you love to flash or leave it out of the box? iphone only wins for ditching the glass on glass concept
nyamoV2 said:
contract or locked for the iphone? personally i'd go with a nexus for the fact that it's unlocked at a great price, albeit not as great as a contracted phone. also depends if you love to flash or leave it out of the box? iphone only wins for ditching the glass on glass concept
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Click to collapse
Both would be unlocked. I like flashing new ROMs, but I'll usually wait until they're relatively stable or at least until basic necessities begin to work.
Depends , on what you like to do... But why do you say that is a downgrade the ip5 display, it has the most accurate colors....
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
z0mg hwo cud u menshun appul produks on xda zomg u shud b kikband :laugh:
For the iphone: it works, good battery life, the newer versions of siri are pretty much tied with google now (whereas the older version was easily beat by google now), and most importantly, it works! (did I mention it works yet? well, it works). Apps tend to run better, and it just feels smoother. I hate to give it to apple, but I have never found an android phone with hardware as nicely done as on an iphone. The con is that it's extremely limited, and I don't like the UI.
nexus 4: just look through the XDA development forums. Then look back at that iphone...need I say more? :good:
added to that, I prefer the UI and the greater amount of customization. Also more great apps are free for android than on Iphone (or at least the ones I tend to use). Overall I feel that an android can do more easier than iphone can, provided you set things up right. I'm mostly looking at the homescreen, but also the settings menu, etc.
So obviously I'm biased towards an android, but I think an iphone has plenty of advantages as well.
Well, I'm sure you'll be told to go to the device recommendation thread - but I might as well post since I have nothing better to do and it's not locked yet.
I've had Apple devices before and have nothing against them. I bought a MacBook a few years back because it was the best choice for me at the time. I've since gotten rid of the "laptop" part of my device collection and use Linux and an Android tablet + phone. I considered the iPhone when I was shopping.
Personally, I do not like where the iPhone is at right now, that's one of the reasons I didn't go with it. I think Apple really needs to "re-think" iOS and do something perhaps like Samsung has with "Simple" and "Basic" modes for the UI - so that they can get to creating something more than a glorified App Drawer. It's an eyesore to me, and though I appreciate that it's familiar to many people, I don't think it's even the easiest configuration to use for new tech users.
I don't really know why an iPad would be better for "college" - I'm going to college right now and have seen people use both Apple and Android tablets. I think the Transformer series from ASUS is the most "college friendly" type of tablet, but I guess it depends on what you're trying to do with it.
If you can't tell, I love learning and playing around with the stuff I have. Android is a better playground for this than iOS which doesn't exactly encourage it. They like to cultivate their system to a high level, but I prefer being able to experiment even if it's possible the outcome will suck.
It really depends on what's important to YOU. I ended up choosing the SIII because I wanted a removable battery and micro SD card and Apple just didn't offer this no matter what. That's what I wanted and what was the "deal maker" for me. I also like that there's so much customisation without having to void the warranty. I can make this the phone I want - the UI is very important for me and while I don't mind OSX (although Ubuntu has done for the general OS look what OSX really ought to do) on a computer, I'm really not a fan of iOS - I feel like Apple's technology and ideas are great, but their software and design aesthetic are lagging - like if Windows 8 hadn't moved on and instead decided to keep the Win98 look so people would be "more comfortable". Because I wanted the removable battery + SD card, that would rule out the N4 for me, too. Personally, I'd still go for the SIII or wait for the IV.
I'm on T-Mobile, I switched from Sprint. I love the service, though I've heard it's not so great on an iPhone. I'd consider the plans and your area and what kind of service there is, too. I have 4G towers all over the city where my school is and get very fast speeds all over campus. But T-Mobile isn't everywhere and I think there are speed issues with the iPhone although if they're getting one, maybe they're changing things ? I don't know, since I'm not in the market for a new phone I haven't looked into this.
i would never suggest to go for a iphone for a simple reason of the difficulty in sharing media over bluetooth. I share a lot of stuff with my friends over bluetooth specially music which is not possible on iphone. i am unsure if the lates iphone 5 has these limitations removed or not. Maybe you could share via whatsapp or other messenger but there are times when there is no network coverage and you want to share stuff and thats when you need bluetooth.
This is well worth watching if you've haven't already, made a similar decision for me quite simple..
...If you like to customize, theme whatever then Get the Nexus, if you want a Phone that does what it says on the tin, and nothing more, get the iPhone.
Nexus 4 for me... Iphone 5 have a lot of problems...
Please ask such questions in the device suggestion thread.
Sent from my GT-I9100 using xda premium

[Q] The typical question: Android or iOS.

Hey everyone!
First of all, I am new here. I joined with the vision of getting my question answered, but then i fell over some other threads, and found this forum exciting. So i might stick around for awhile.
*Excuse me if i posted this the wrong place*
Brief:
I currently am in the situation where.. Yes, I am sick of my iPhone.
It's a GREAT phone! It's fast, stylish, and durable (atleast so far!).
But i miss the lack of customization.
Untill last december, i've had android phones. However, back then they were slow. The fastest one I've had, was a Galaxy S II. It was fast back then, but when i use my friend's now, it's so laggy and edgy.
I am really considering getting an Android. But there's a few things holding me back..
iPhone
+ I have an iPhone 5. It's fast.
+ My iPhone 5 is stylish.
+ I have 2 MacBook Pro's, an iMac, Apple TV, iPod and an iPad. So i fear the communication between Android and them.
+ The applications. I personally find Appstore filled with higher-of-quality applications.
+ iCloud. It stores my contacts and stuff. But Android's got an alternative for that tho.
+ iMessage. I love being able to chat from my macbook to iPhones, without confuse. And fast iPhone-to-iPhone chat without the recievant have to download specific software.
+ Reputation. Call me childish, but i just find it "cooler" to have an iPhone..
- Screensize. God it's starting to annoy me. I like having a big badass phone.
- Features. I personally think that the iPhone 5 lacks features.
+/- Jailbreak. Jailbreaking the iPhone gives it alot of awesome features! But having the need to jailbreak it, sucks. Also it makes it impossible to update to the newest immediately. Also yet jailbroken, the system is still very limited. Also it takes a lot of time for it to come out. I haven't had my phone jailbroken for 8 months.
Android
++ CUSTOMIZATION!
++ The freedom to do basically what you want with the phone.
+ Screensize; I find the iPhone 5 screen a tat too small. I miss a bigger size phone, eg the Galaxy S II.
- I fear the speed? Will they be as snappy as i am used to on my iPhone?
- Durability. I remember the old Android phones went slow in just a few weeks due to cache's and stuff. How does that seem now?
+ Features. I think that most Android phones have got some very interesting features. Eg: One Blink Feed, Note 3 S-Pen, S3/4 eye-motion detector.
+ No-jailbreak. Altho Android have the ability to get rooted, it's not necessary (unless you want flashed ROM's). I find that great for my needs, since i love customizing and changing my homescreen-layout / phone functionality on a day-to-day basis. Also iPhone jailbreaks takes a lot of time to come out.
I am very unsure of what to do. It's very hard!
I really like my iPhone, but i miss the lack of customization.
My heart tells me to keep my iPhone, but my brain and inner-geek tells me to go fetch an android.
If it was up to me, i'd have both. But i don't have the money to get a new Android and keep my iPhone. Then i will have to sell my iPhone first.
Could you guys possible give me some aspects and viewpoints on this? I am open for critiques, since i am not coloured of "what's better or worse". I just want personal views.
Also, have anyone gone from iPhone 5 to Android? And did you regret it? (Which i am afraid that i MAYBE will).
And if you advice me to get an Android: Which one?
Thanks in advance!
Welcome at the XDA forums my friend!
From what I think, iOS is child's play in comparison to Android.
Howell iPhones are indeed fast, stylish, etc, the OS won't ever give you control of things.
Apple has it's stuff working together well and so, but the price ofcourse, is to it.
Going through your points, you can make yourself a conclusion, this is just my view on things:
Speed
Android can be as fast as you want it to be, only if you are willing to spend the money on it which you would've spend on an iPhone. Also, making tweaks or changes to your system (You're on XDA anyway) helps greatly in this process.
Keep in mind that Apple has only few devices to optimize their system for, while Android is changed to work on a specific device.
Sync
I have to agree here that Apple has the syncs sorted out better. On Android this is a bit messier, but still working very well when you've got everything up and running. The main reason for this, is that Android is existing more and more out of fragments rather than a fullyfixed system.
Apps
Ofcourse the Appstore is filled with way more quality apps; Apple doesn't allow all Apps to there store. It's part of their policy. Where Google only removes apps from their Store, Apple only allows apps to their store.
Also I kinda like that Google makes their apps available to iOS, which I've barely seen the other way.
Messaging
iMessage is great, but since a few months, Hangouts has the same features plus more! And best of it, it's nearly standard packed (older devices will have to update Talk) with the system.
Durability
Android phones are in my opinion better in getting a new life than iOS phones. Ensurely when you're rooted/unlocked. Phones that have been all forgotten about by their manufacturers (also Apple does this) can still be up to date and smooth thanks to the great devs around. It may take some bravery, but that's completely on to yourself.
The other points not covered by these are more subjective I think.
Like I said, take your own conclusions from this and let me hear what it'll be!
Makes sense
Thanks for your reply!
Your aspects makes sense. Especially with the price thing.
Apple's expensive, and one option-only. (okay, 5c too)
Where Android phones in the same price scale, will top at quad core with double the speeds. RAM too.
What phone would you suggest i get then? In Denmark the variety of sold phones is limited.
You can see them here www . telenor . dk / privat / mobil /
(i cannot post URL's yet)
Android all the way. With the customizations and the community you can't go wrong.
iPhone: good camera, fast, decent battery life
Android: everything else
Sent from my Nexus 10 using xda app-developers app
android - viruses and lots of apps
iOS - nice phone

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