Smartphone, I'm suddenly ready

God only knows why, but suddenly I want one. No, I don't need one. But recently the kid in me has decided I should have one. And my wife, she's wanted one for years.

So I'm having fun beating my brains out trying to understand all the diffences between plans and carriers and phones.

Iphone vs android, particularly the Samsung Galaxy S II. Being able to say I have an iphone sounds so cool. The things I can do with a droid sound so cool. I don't know.

Apps apps and more apps! Especially free ones! I bet I can waste half my life exploring this. I think I really like Apple on this, in that I just want apps that work without fanfare or bugs.

AT&T and Verizon both limit usage. Sprint has unlimited data. I've no idea how much I would actually use. All the plans are baffling to understand what it will actually cost. Especially since I have no idea how much data usage we'd end up needing.

Wife's birthday is this month, I'd like to get her one as a present. Maybe I'll get her a new toaster oven instead.

My problem with Droid is that they never feel like right but I think 99% of it is personal opinion on which one people like more.

My Droid X was a huge improvement over my iPhone and the data plan was a small amount cheaper too.

I justify the cost because I need some of the features for work, otherwise I'd have to say it is a pretty expensive monthly bill for a toy that is easily bested feature for feature by even the cheapest laptop.

EDIT: Now that I really thought about it... the built-in HD video camera is nice... and the 8MP still shots. OK, I do actually use it as a camber gauge too when aligning my race car... and the bar code scanner makes food shopping with coupons easier. Damn. I retract my earlier statement. I've watched Netflix movies from an airport terminal and read ebooks on the plane.

I use my smartphone all the damn time and only a little bit for actually talking. Like less than an hour a month in conversation. I text the family all the time (which of course does not require much smarts). But the REAL thing I depend on it for is easy access to contacts, To Do list, shopping list, notes, pictures, internet reference, GPS/directions, etc. etc. etc. etc. Half my posts here on GRM are made from my phone.

I have an iPhone which replaced my Palm Treo when Palm decided to stop supporting Macintosh computers. I know, there are people who think the iPhone is The Devil Incarnate, but there was nothing else around that even began to remotely approach the integration with my home Macintosh network.

If you don't use Macs, download iTunes for Windows and try it for a while before deciding if you can stand it or not. Getting an iPhone will tie you to iTunes for the life of the phone. Some people would rather have a root canal while getting their nuts shaved with a rusty hatchet than use iTunes. Personally, while it's not my favorite software, I don't find it much different from most of the Windows stuff I've used. But YMMV.

I have an iPhone 4 and an Android tablet. I only prefer the fact that Android is not impeded by iTunes, otherwise I prefer iOS.

We got the original DROID by Motorola on a buy-1, get-1 free deal at Verizon and have been pleased. My friends with iPhones all hate them and AT&T. I have apps for wasting time and really useful ones (free turn by turn Nav, free GPS time/distance/speed, etc, etc).

I think they are doing the DROID X now in that deal. Just make sure it's the Motorola and not the HTC Droids (which are garbage).

This is relevant to my interests. We're shopping for phones right now.

She wants the Samsung Infuse (Looks very similar to the GS2, just with a 4.5" screen instead), and i'm looking at an Iphone4, because i just want something that works, and couldn't care less about all the cool insanely powerful geeky stuff my phone does. Also heard many good things about the HTC units, having a hard time deciding.

Lot to take in coming from my current phone which just makes calls and texts.

I've got both an iPhone 3GS and a Motorola Droid, plus my wife has a Verizon iPhone 4.

I prefer the iPhones over the Droid, the UIs generally seem to be a little more consistent and nicer to use (important for my wife, who's about as non-technical as they get). We've got all the apps we need (not many) for both.

I don't mind iTunes as much as some people, but then again I'm using it on the Mac OS side of a dual boot Mac OS/Windows box and it is nicer to use on Mac OS.

GAAH! Don't get me started. I want an smartphone so bad I can almost taste it.

My logic for picking the iPhone is obsoletion. Droids come and go every few months. So buying accessories for every phone gets annoying. Other than cases, the iPhone hardware is backward and forward compatible. Also the OS is pretty simple to use and intuitive. Finding new accesories is easy. CL, Ebay, Amazon, etc carry large amounts of parts for it. Lots and lots of free apps to keep you informed, entertained, and heading in the right direction. iTunes is funky to use, especially for a lifetime PC user. But my iPhone has made me want to replace my PC with a Mac system now.

The data plans can usually be changed anytime, so start with a smaller one and just upgrade/downgrade as you see fit for useage. I was limited on ATT, so I did most of my downloading at home or work on the WiFi networks. Now that I'm with Verizon on unlimited data the sky is the limit.

I ordered an iPhone 4 last night. My wife has had one for a while and it is handy to have the internet in your pocket at times. Have to get rid of my killer deal on my home phone that I've had through T-Mobile for years...$10.00 a month unlimited calling in the US, but we are getting ready to move and are ok with no home phone.

I'm an Android guy, but can certainly see why someone would go the iPhone route. I think if nothing else there's a bit less wading around in looking for apps you want with the more restrictive Apple app store. There's an obvious flipside to that restrictiveness...

I liked my HTC (badged T-Mobile) G1, but my HTC Hero makes me want to scream and break things on a regular basis.

Look at carriers' cell coverage maps. Talk to people you know who live/work/play where you do. It sucks to have lousy coverage where you use the phone most.

I've heard many people hate AT&T the way some people hate iTunes, but after almost 2 years with AT&T living on the Northeast Corridor, I've got zero complaints. Again, YMMV.

I honestly haven't had any problems with my AT&T service but then again where I was there was very little coverage for the other carriers so I didn't really have an option.

Trying to assimilate all the information in this thread is about to make my head explode. I'm going home.

When I had AT&T, the coverage was okay (This was before the iPhone system stress test). But it wasn't very good near my house, with artery-bursting results if I needed to actually contact them.

Interactive Voice Response: "Please say one of these three things"
Me: "Thing one"
IVR: "I couldn't understand you. Please try again."
Me: "Thing one"
IVR: "I'm sorry you're having problems. Try again later." click

No fetching an operator.
No "press zero for help".
Just two tries and it blames you and hangs up.

I wish I was back on T-Mobile. Sprint by way of Credo right now, and the coverage around here isn't very good.

My GF has an iPhone 4 with AT&T and loved it before I got my HTC Thunderbolt with Verizon. Now she's wondering what she ever saw in the iPhone because my Droid walks all over it in browsing speed, call quality, GPS navigation and camera quality.

The only thing the iPhone has over my Thunderbolt is battery life due to the 4G LTE being a power sapper.

My favorite app by far is Dropbox. I love being able to transfer files to and from several computers to my phone wherever I am.

Wife has iPhone that she loves, as she's an iFangurl.

I, however, use Droid.

When she can't figure out how to take a picture and post it on the book of faces, I curse the damn thing, as it's so simple on a Droid.

When she can't find an app she downloaded, it's because she has more apps than iPhone pages allow, so she has to figure out how to make "folders" to put multiple apps in, I curse the damn thing because it's so much simpler on a Droid

When she can't find pictures she 'synced' from the computer, I curse the damn thing because iPhone puts pictures in more than one place.

Yes, I'll admit to disliking iCrap, and it's probably why I curse the damn thing. The iPhone users probably know how to do that stuff quickly, but it's not as intuitive as the Droid.

As for providers, we're on Verizon. We've got unlimited data.

We tried AT&T, several years ago, and our house just happened to be in a dead zone on their map. If I walked across the street or down the block, it was fine, but damned inconvenient.

Friends of ours are on AT&T. We travel with them, occasionally. It's fun to tease them, when they don't have signal. We've never been in a situation were they had signal and we didn't.

Can you hear me now?

I had AT&T on a normal phone before we switched to Verizon and the smart ones. AT&T at Packwood National Tour = nada. Zero bars, no calls, nothing. This year on the V? Posting videos to the interwebz real-time.

If I had it to do over again I would have left ATT but still gotten an HTC Android phone through T-Mobile. When I was looking the merger seemed imminent. Now it seems as if it'll be awhile if at all when it happens.

ATT sets it so your Android can only get apps through the market place. So if you find a neat app and even accept the risks inherit to that you can't without some massively complicated work around I've yet to dicipher.

"Yes, please give me the most open ended phone OS and then restrict me from using it as I wish."

That said, I love my phone, I use it for everything everyone mentioned so far. I've beeeln without my own computer for sometime and the phone has been a good stop gap solution unfilled I can get a new laptop.

I like androids and most of my posts on this forum is done on one.

I have a limited plan 2 gigs and the only time I went over was because I was running a slingbox app in high definition. Basically I was watching the high def feed from my home TV for... a while. Usually you don't go over even if you listen to a lot of radio.

On the sprint unlimited plan, when the man sees you using up data like a mofo, they limit the speed and that can be a bit of a pain in the ass, but if you don use much data anyway, you wouldn't have a problem.

We're on Sprint and have Evos. We're happy with the phones and happy with the plan, but the coverage here isn't the best. The tower that serves this area isn't running at full power from what I've been told. Around here, a ton of people still use Sprint because they used Nextel for so long and when their contracts were up, they went with Sprint.

From what I understand, Sprint gets the iPhone in a few months, meaning you'll be able to use an iPhone on any network. If it weren't a good phone, it would be a single carrier device. I'm not a fan, but I'm geekier than the average iPhone user.

I have noticed that the techie people I know tend to go with an Android phone instead of the iPhone. I think that's because Android is an open source OS and you can load whatever you want onto the phone with no problems, and you can load your own apps to the marketplace without them needing to be reviewed and approved by Apple.

My best advice is to find someone that has one of the phones you're looking at and play with it. In-store demo phones will work, but some stores don't have a working device on display. In other words, get a real one in your hands to see if you like it before you drop any money on one. You're kinda stuck with a contract phone.

If you're thinking about going pre-pay, make sure you will have coverage. Some pre-pay plans have coverage as good as contract plans at a lower price. You may not get 4g access, but that's not a deal killer to me.

RealMiniDriver wrote: The iPhone users probably know how to do that stuff quickly, but it's not as intuitive as the Droid.

That is where the opinion thing comes in. I found the Droid must less intuitive then the iPhone.

Go give some phones a "test drive" and see which one you like the best.

PM sent

Apple will be announcing the next iPhone this coming Wednesday, it should be available for sale sometime in late September early October. I would wait and see what that is going to be.