Posted on 06/19/2010 9:37:50 PM PDT by Feline_AIDS
Hey Freepers,
I've decided to enter the world of smart phones. There are two options at this point: iPhone 4 or the HTC Incredible.
I'd like your opinion if you've got some experience with either of these phones. I played with the Incredible today and was very impressed. I've known iPhone users who swear by their devices.
Right now I'm leaning toward the HTC Incredible. #1- Verizon does have good coverage. I'm looking for a phone, after all. #2- Incredible seems to move very fast. #3- Incredible has voice to text. #4-Can't think of anything that the new iPhone will do that the HTC won't, except a front facing camera, but I really don't care about that. I use a phone camera to snap pictures of funny/weird/cool things, and #5 the HTC has an 8 megapixel camera.
Thanks!
FA
I've heard AT&T sucks. If you get the iPhone, you're limited to AT&T.
I've heard good things about the HTC phones.
I'm a Verizon customer right now, but I'm contemplating switching to Sprint in the next few months since I can roam for free on the Verizon and Alltel networks through Sprint. Oh, and Sprint is noticeably cheaper than Verizon.
Swordmaker can ping some iPhone owners and they can tell you about their experiences ... :-)
Incredible.
Think Different.
The Phone it self is extraordinary
IIRC to change the battery in an iphone you have to have Apple do it for around $100.00.
You can’t do it yourself.
I don’t know about the others.
Just something to consider.
A removable battery and expandability will beat a lot of other features for me.
When I consider any phone (smart or dumb), the first thing I look at is the coverage and costs of the network.
Right now, I’m on what is left of the Alltel network. Even tho most of the Alltel network was bought out by Verizon, in this area of Wyoming, the DOJ ruled that Verizon cannot buy out Alltel here. AT&T isn’t up to speed here with data services yet, so an iPhone would be pretty much a dumb phone until such time as they finish their network upgrade in this area.
If you’re going to use the data service(s), you’ll want to compare the speeds and costs of data carefully. Smartphones can rack up quite the bit of data transfer without you really thinking about it. Then there’s the issue of using a smartphone as a tether for a laptop while you’re on the road - you’ll want to look into the costs and availability of that as well.
If Verizon doesn’t offer it, don’t bother.
AT&T, Sprint and TMobile suck!
I've had my iPhone going on two years, and have dropped it a couple of times, other stuff, nothing horrible, but have found it to be more sturdy than my old Motorola Razr. You'll pay more for the iPhone, probably, as the new versions start at $200. Droids and some others are two for $150.
My only complaint about my iPhone is that AT&T doesn't allow tethering to computers. Other than that, it's terrific.
Disclaimer! I'm one of those Macbot Phanbois, and also have a macbook pro and use Mobile Me. The biggest advantage of the iPhone is that when used with the Apple ecosystem, you can do stuff like "find my iPhone" where you can geolocate your phone from your computer if you leave it someplace. You can also remote wipe it to keep people from accessing personal information if it's stolen. It also synchs my mail accounts, calendars and address book so I can access it from my computer, the phone, or the web.
It also functions as an iPod and an iPod touch for gaming. I use it to listen to books over my truck radio when driving, and can use the remote function to operate iTunes on the computer. I don't know much about the other phone of which you spoke, but with the exception of the things I've mentioned, I've been happy with the iPhone for quite a while.
The only negative I've heard about Android is that there's starting to be a virus and malware problem. Again, all I know is what I've read, as I don't own any Android devices.
I didn’t get the iPhone because the rest of my family didn’t want to switch carriers. I ended up getting the Motorola Cliq (droid). It’s OK...I like the slide out keyboard but I think it pales in comparison to all the other things iPhone can do.
if I were you I’d go into a few stores and demo the phones. I like an extremely responsive UI and thats what the iphone has.
I haven’t had any problems with the battery on my iPhone. It’s going on two years old. As far as expandability, mine is 16 GB, and I seldom have more than 8 gig of stuff on it. The only thing that makes it seem a little cramped sometimes is if I load four or five movies for a trip.
Don't feel left out; there's plenty of malware for iPhones, too! You can spread the FUD around to Apple as well...
Had one for two years and haven’t had any problems. What have you heard?
iPhone 4 (A4)
HTC Incredible (Snapdragon)
Evo (Snapdragon)
ARMH designs and get royalties on both the A4 & Snapdragon processors. Keep your dumbphone for another year and put the cash in ARMH. Then sell ARMH and essentially get a smartphone for free.
You should check the coverage because my company has us on Sprint for a corporate blackberry and there are days at a time when I have NO coverage at all! My Verizon Droid which I use for personal calls does not have the same problem. I have been so frustrated with the Sprint coverage because it is for business and people leave messages that sometimes I can’t even know are there for 2 days or more!
Are you sure that's not just your Blackberry?
Personally, one of the biggest benefits of Android over the iPhone is the fact the phone appears as a USB drive, when you plug it in. With my phone (an HTC Touch Pro 2 with Windows Mobile) I can use it as a normal USB drive (and, with the 16 GB removable microSD cards, I have a big drive), and I can drag and drop files - movies, music, documents - from any computer I plug it into.
It's actually VERY handy - no need to install iTunes to access the files on the computer. For example, at this last CES I forgot a file I needed to print out. I had left it on the server at the office in Shanghai. So standing there in Kinkos I logged in to that computer via remote terminal server and downloaded the file. Then I handed the phone and USB cable to the KinkoDude, he plugged my phone in as a normal USB device, and ran off a hundred copies.
USB connectivity and removable micro SD cards are VERY nice to have (and since you can get 16 GB micro SD cards for $25, that's a huge price savings over the $100 that Apple wants to charge).
this is a bit deceptive above.
ALL microSD chip slots are up to 32gig.
Yeah, I’ve actually had it replaced by Sprint. I told them I’m shipping it back and they can save the cost is how much I hate it!
Thanks for replying and checking. First they tried to tell me it could never be just my bb, but I insisted and then sent a new one.
Where you live it may be totally different, just thought I’d share my experience with you. I’m in Albuquerque and travel frequently all over NM, AZ, Western TX and CO.
A big one. iPhone does voice dialing via bluetooth headset. Droid does not.
I would not want to fumble with my phone to call someone while I’m driving.
Oh, and if you have a Sprint everything plan, which you must to have the Evo, data and call roaming is free. What that means is that even if you are not in Sprint's network coverage, you can roam on Verizon's network at no charge. So, even if Verizon is correct that it has the best coverage, you get it with Sprint.
Palm Pre on Verizon, with free included Mobile Hotspot, is pretty good too, especially if you need occasional internet access away from home or office.
“My only complaint about my iPhone is that AT&T doesn’t allow tethering to computers. “
Actually it does, now.
I was considering an iphone 4 and stepped through the ATT data options (starting from the apple website) and one of them was tethering, it was around $30.
Of course, if you use your computer a lot away from networks or wi-fi, you can always get a data only line for $60/mo.
My HTC pro connects to my car via bluetooth. I have voice dial that really works. I drive enough that I found dark spots on both Verizon and ATT networks.
I would go with the best network in your area.
Not sure but I thought I read that the evo also gave 8 device hotspot also.
“Smart telephone”? Hardy, har, har! Just how smart? Will it hug you, kiss you goodnight? Do your homework?
Smart marketers, dumb consumers.
We bought my wife an ipod touch for her birthday last November. She really likes it as an alternative to her Palm. I like the interface and it has been very reliable.
Lots of people believe that the basic machine without phone is great. My son, grandson, and sister all bought Ipad’s. They love them because of that same great interface.
I, on the other hand, was given a Nexus One Droid. I added a data plan to my current t-mobile family plan for $30/mo. It works great.
(1)Not quite the phone quality I had from my Motorola, but acceptable.
(2)Needs better interface for alarms on calendar events. If you touch the face when you pull it out you can sometimes dismiss the alarm without being able to see what it was for.
(3)I have no idea about the iphone, but the Droids I have seen have a definite problem with screen glare. I have to take off my sunglasses and get in the shade.
(4)My initial attempts to tether this weekend worked fine. The software connected in a fashion which did not incur extra t-mobile charges.
(5)The gps on the Droid works really nicely and works with voice control.
(6)While iphone has more apps (so far) I have seen nothing compelling which is not available in some form on droid.
(7)Apple purportedly does a better job of screening apps in their store. The droid marketplace depends on the user community to provide ratings. I have seen some pretty inane sites on this.
(8)***BIGGY*** Itunes does NOT work well with multi-user Vista!! When my wife plugs her ipod in just to charge we both wind up with mucho useless windows popping up to inform us that the other is in charge of the device. Several times I have had to toggle back and forth between both user logins to clear these windows which continue to pop up AFTER the ipod is unplugged. The Apple forum I visited indicated that Apple had no interest in making their software work well on Windows. I can understand their contempt for the Windows environment, but they have a user community to support and many of us happen to be on Windows.
(9)Currently the Droid goes through the battery quickly. I have to recharge every night. On the other hand, as noted earlier in the thread, I can replace the battery myself and/or get a spare. I cannot do this with an Ipod.
If you want on or off the Mac Ping List, Freepmail me.
Get the Incredible.
I’m buying an iPhone and don’t need competition in line.
Yeah, like this statement of yours... the only malware for the iPhone is that which runs on JAIL BROKEN iPhones. Those that have been deliberately broken from the protections that Apple has built into them... and then can download apps which include malware from sources other than the Apple App Store where all the apps are certified safe.
With my iPhone I merely connect to my computer and get the file. Much simpler... or if I have the file on my Mobile.me account... even simpler.
Very happy Sprint customer here. I travel around southeastern US without issue. I can always make a call and except for some small spots like the nc/tn state line and area between va/ky state line...I’ve never had a problem making a phone call or sending text message. We have unlimited data & more minutes than we will ever use in a month for less $$$ per month than AT&T, T-mobile and Verizon.
Forget about the iPhone, unless you want Steve Jobs being able to decide what software you can run and what you can do with your phone. Avoid the Apple lock-in. I recommend the Nexus One from Google. You can find it at http://www.google.com/phone. With Android 2.2 its the best smartphone out there.
Did you read my link? This isn't a jailbroken phone, and yes, it's malware. My statement was correct. Unlike yours, which is wrong (the link proves it so).
I'll await your acknowledgment of your error...
I see reading comprehension is a bit slow today...;)
That's EXACTLY what I did.
Except I could then hand my phone to the Kinko's guy, he could plug it in like a USB stick and drag-and-drop the file to their printer. No need for any extra software or steps to access the phone.
Can your iPhone do that?
We have had an AT&T family plan since 1998. In recent months all three of us of experienced lack of signal in places where Verizon users had strong signal. This lack of signal was not in some remote area. We were in populated San Francisco Bay areas.
I changed us all over to Verizon. After a great deal of research which included reading many online reviews and playing with the various Smart Phones at a Verizon stores, we decided on the Palm Pre. It has been a little over two weeks and we are very please with the Palm Pre and also strong signal we get throughout the Bay Area.
In phones, and any other cameras, do not let megapixel counts fool you.
The quality of the sensors matters just as much as, or more than, the number of pixels. Smaller sensors without the latest tech do very poorly in everything but bright daylight conditions, and introduce a lot of noise in the shadows. Larger and/or newer sensors gather more light, and thus do better in low-light and shadows.
It’s a personal choice of course, but I’d prefer the lower megapixel high-quality image from an iPhone to a camera that just gives you higher-resolution noise, like the Incredible.
I love the free Mobile Hotspot feature on my Palm Pre.
The iPhone 4 will have the Hotspot feature but you have to pay an extra $20/mo to use it and that $20 does not buy you any extra bandwidth. In addition you will not be able to use the old $30/month unlimited data plan. You will have to take the $25/mo, 2 gig/mo plan.
You can no longer get the $30/mo unlimited data plan. You will be stuck with a $25/mo, 2 gig limit plan. Verizon still offers the $30/mo unlimited data plan.
It's a value judgment. Apple requires app approval, meaning you will rarely get constantly crashing apps as I have gotten on my Android phone, and the apps must meet Apple's privacy policy. Android is more of a free-for-all, nobody proactively checking the quality of the apps, or what they do in relation to your privacy. But you do get more choice.
AT&T’s service depends on where you are. I travel extensively and live in a suburban area— no problem, great service actually. Good people to work with, too.
So poll people you know who live and work in your region. If AT&T is okay for them too, then that seals the deal: iPhone4. No question.
The trouble with Android is what automobile aficionados call “fit and finish.” Inattention to detail and abysmal battery life pretty much sum it up. See http://tinyurl.com/36b8bmn for example (warning: strong language).
I-Phone
There is no difference between talking on a headset and talking to the person next to you. It's probably more distracting to be talking to someone next to you.
If you can't talk and drive you shouldn't drive. But needing your hands to talk on a cell phone is a different story. I would not do that.
And did you even read your citation? Here's the juicy parts:
A pair of researchers has amassed nearly 8,000 iPhones and Android smartphones...They decided against Apple's iPhone AppStore as a way to distribute their app because apps undergo fairly rigorous vetting there...
The Android's official app marketplace was a bit too restrictive, as well...
The researchers used other online app stores that catered to jailbroken iPhones and other smartphones.
So anything that infected Android also infected the iPhone, meaning the FUD spread earlier - about how Android had viruses and iPhones didn't - has been confirmed as FUD by your own link.
Apparently the Jobs Reality Distortion Field extends through iPhones and infects a few FReepers as well...
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