What kind of smartphone do you have?

The Optimus V from Virgin Mobile. It sucks in the sense that even when I’m texting, it is really hard to get the actual letters in. It’s screen is not as sensitive and responsive at a high quality like say the iPhone or Samsung smart phones. It’s a trade off I guess for 25$ a month for unlimited Text & Data, 300 talking minutes, which I’ve never surpassed.

TMobile G1. It does what I need. I’ll upgrade when I feel it’s appropriate.

I got my first iPhone a couple of months back and I absolutely love it. It does just about everything and makes phone calls too! I love the silly little games and the apps are great. There is one for everything you could possibly think of and then more after that. One of my favorites is the grocery list. I never remembered to take it to the store with me, but since I have it on my iphone, it is always with me. The other one I love is runkeeper. It tells me how far, fast and where I have run or walked. I am going down south in 2 weeks and it will be great because I can run anywhere I want and not get lost trying to find my way back! The newest model with Siri is amazing, my boss has one and it even speaks Australian!

I have the iPhone 4. I always have my music/podcasts with me and it’s got a pretty decent camera too, so I never have to cary around a bunch of extra gadgets in my pocket. I’m on ATT, and service is fine for me here in VA. The 4S looks pretty slick, but I’m still under contract, so I’ll wait until the next one comes out. It’s worth the price to me, as I would probably have physical withdrawal symptoms if I ever had to switch back to a “dumb phone.”

I’ve had an iPhone for almost 3 yrs. now and I love it.

There is really only one thing which I find annoying. It doesn’t handle Flash. So if someone posts a link to a clip ( music, etc) and not enough detail for me to try to fnd it elsewhere on YouTube, I have no idea what they’re referencing.

But other than that I love everything else about it.

It also saves the added several hundred bucks expense of a stand-alone GPS unit. No more getting lost, ever

I’m kind of embarrassed to admit it now because I support the ethos of the Android phones a lot more, but I have one of the old Iphones (3gs). It was my first cell phone and I had to save up for ages etc…..but damn I am never going back. Total life revolution (granted it was my first phone, not just smartphone). I can’t imagine how any disorganized person can survive without one—the productivity apps as well as the lifestyle ones are just great, if you are into GTD or anything. ;) And even with this old version the camera is pretty good—I have taken over 2,000 photos on it, and the dark/light balance thing is the most annoying part. But once you get over that…and it’s probably fixed in the newer models….I’m telling you I’d never go back.

The Blackberry’s Blackberry Messenger system has caught my eye once or twice on friends’ phones though. Super useful if you are uber-connected.

Hopefully the Android and other open-source phones will catch up to the Iphone soon.

I have AT&T and use blackberry torch. I like the touchpad with the option of the slide out keypad. It manages multiple email and message accounts. Its pretty good for accessing Fluther. It’s great for just about everything except talking, really. But then, who uses a smartphone for voice?

I have a dumb phone..it only makes & receives phone calls

I have a Samsung Galaxy S and I really like it. It is easy to use, I can synch my Gmail with it (not my work email because we use a different email client at least for now), I can access lots of apps, record, take photos. It does anything I could ever want from a Smartphone.

I don’t use it to the level I could but that is a choice thing about wanting to manage my time. I am already overworked and when I am away from my office/laptop, I sort of want to be away from email etc. So, I very much under use my phone. I like the way it looks and functions though.

@Bellatrix , my partner has one of those and he finds it super finicky and often leaves it at home in a drawer because of that. Too many options compared to mine I guess. Maybe that’s just him though, because we looked for what was “best” before he got it and this was one of the top contenders. Would you say it took you long to learn all its menus? Or do you not know them super well yet?

DROID X.

Used to have an iPhone, don’t plan on ever going back.

I have a Droid (Incredible, which is now moving on to the next model, Droid Incredible 2). It’s with Verizon, is an HTC model (which I much prefer over Motorola’s design; Motorola tends to do things like have teeny tiny OK/Enter buttons and the like that make it hard for me to physically navigate – but, they have lots of fans, so maybe this is just me).

I love it. LOVE it. It’s fast (SnapDragon processor), and does everything the iPhone does. Except Siri, which holy crapity crap sounds awesome and I need it in my life, but Siri is only about a week old, so it won’t be long before either Android gets Siri or someone creates a similar product for Android. The touchscreen works really well, the buttons work really well, it’s overall a very good interface.
I can:
-sync files with my computer
-play music
-create playlists for that music via apps designed to speed the playlist building process
-email
-text (threaded conversations)
-Twitter (with an app, which means there’s no texts but rather it’s free)
-surf the internet/Fluther
-catch up on blog posts (I do about half of my news consumption in all those daily “waiting” periods, like in line at a store, or 2 minutes before class starts)
-get alerts on “Breaking” news stories
-catch up on podcasts
-scan product barcodes to speed up the search for products
-scan text in a language I don’t know via the camera and have Google translate it for me
-have Google recognize a product by taking a picture of it
-edit pictures (sort of like a Photoshop “Lite” kinda thing)
-make any soundclip or piece of music/audio my ringtone
-read all formats of ebooks (including being able to make markings on PDFs – like being able to highlight a particularly good quote, or draw a circle, etc)
-use a few apps as viable flashlights
-listen to Pandora radio
-listen to other radio stations (both local and not)
-check the weather forecasts
-IM with friends
-Skype
-watch YouTube
-take videos (almost always of my cats being “adorbz”, but I suppose I could use it to capture police brutality or something as well…)
-use a voice recorder good enough that I could capture my professor’s lecture while sitting in the back of the classroom and understand it later
-Facebook/Google+
-identify music currently playing via Shazam and SoundHound
-check out place reviews on Yelp
-play games (poker, solitaire, Angry Birds, Words with Friends, puzzles, etc)
-sync files via Dropbox
-take a picture and then share it within a minute via text, Flickr, Dropbox, Twitter, email, or a few other ways I never use
-take pictures of text so clearly that it’s almost always easier to just take a picture than to take a note with typing (for example, yesterday I decided I really only needed 4 pages of one book from the library for now, so instead of checking out the book or taking it to a Xerox, I took a picture of each page. It takes about 5 to 10 seconds to take the picture, lining it all up and focusing and whatnot. You can check out one of the pictures, which you may notice is clear enough to read quite easily, especially if you zoom in.)
-take notes (like movies I’d like to see, not on a lecture)
-have a calendar that’s integrated with my Google calender
-have all my keychain discount cards digitized
-use Google maps, including showing traffic and other “layers”, with built-in voice navigator for free

The really big points where my Droid is just oh-so-much-better than the iPhone 3/G/4 is the GPS (which comes free and built in with all Androids, but not so much with iPhones, so many iPhone owners still need to purchase a seperate GPS or GPS app), and the camera (the iPhone cannot take pictures of text so clear, and is notoriously harder to get to take a “good” picture). But, the iPhone is easier for those who find technology hard, and the iPhone 4S, just released a weekish ago, does aim to improve the camera significantly (I don’t know how well it delivers on this). Really, the only complaint I really have with my phone is that it could be a bit smaller for my small hands (which is probably not something you need to worry about, and it’s not really uncomfortably big, it just could be more comfortable).

I rock a old Nokia black and white candybar pay-as-you-go phone and a iPod Touch.

@Aethelflaed “holy crapity crap” this explains why you’ve been “crafting a response” for like an hour :) I thought there was something wrong with the site refresh there…

But just to set the record straight, I have the iphone 3GS from two years ago and I know that it, the 4, and the new 4S all have GPS. I use it on my runs and it works perfectly. Also, I take pictures of text regularly to put into my Evernote account, which then scans the text to allow it to be searchable in Evernote—and I’ve never had a problem with that either, unless I was lazy. I’ve got hundreds of beautiful photos with the iphone camera, and this was before the retina display came out in the model after mine. So the Droid Incredible may be incredible, but on the points you mentioned the iphone is just great too—and that’s two models ago! I drool to think of what it can do now. But. It is definitely true that Apple is a big jerk on open source software/control freak issues. So I’ll give you that for sure.

@Yanaba Ok. I had heard those were 2 issues that Apple hadn’t really fixed until the 4S (which will be more expensive, so I didn’t want to assume that would necessarily be the iPhone model looked at), but it’s entirely possible I wasn’t paying close enough attention. And no, nothing was wrong with your browser, I just walked away from the computer to tend to some household emergency for a bit. :)

@Jake

What it really boils down to for you is how tech savvy you are. If you’re significantly more comfortable with computer stuff than the average user, then the greater customizability of the Droud’s Android OS will be appealing to you.

I’m not going to go down each and every point in the long list above because the vast majority of the capabilities listed are due to APPS, plain and simple.

I have no idea whether the Droid comes with GPS apart from a separate trip to the Apps marketplace.

I do know that my iPhone had that right out of the box. The week after purchase, I went on a 1600 mile (round trip) journey for which my iphone alone was sufficient without my having downloaded a single App yet. I had my AAA maps as a backup and didn’t have to use them even once. Impressed the heck out of me.

After years of frustration with no Flash, I was seriously considering switching to Android and did a considerable amount of reading. Had I done it, I would have chosen the HTC Evo which was considered just about equal to iPhone.

But I didn’t. I’ve decided to stick with Iphone. I’m just not that tech savvy so, Flash aside, I just don’t feel that hampered by Apple’s refusal to allow open source mods to their OS.

If you’re the type of person who is much more comfortable with intricate techy customization of your computer and devices, then Android will most likely make you happy.

If not, then iPhone is the way to go. It depends upon your personality and level of computer skill.

I’m fine with not needing a degree in computer engineering or programming simply to use my phone for things other than phone calls.

You may be totally different. Android OS and IOS are simply designed for different types of people. If you know yourself well, then making the best choice for you should be fairly simple.

The only reason I didn’t include Blackberry in my comments is because the general consensus is that they’re primarily used by business people for whom they were originally designed (prior to any other smartphones including iPhone).

@Buttonstc Androids do come with GPS pre-installed, no separate trip to the apps store needed. :)

Recent related thread

@Hawaii_Jake: “I will mostly use the phone for talking, texting, and taking pictures. I’m at home all day with access to a PC, so I won’t need it for a whole lot of Internet surfing.”

Go with iPhone. The advantage Android has over iPhone is that it’s a real, full-featured OS. If you’re not going to use any of that stuff, iPhone is your better choice. The camera is amazing.

Warning: If you go with Android, moving to iOS will be difficult and feel like you’re stepping back in time or playing with a toy version of a smartphone.

I have a Samsung and I picked it because it has a regular keyboard. I still am very very glad to have a regular keyboard. The phone is ok. Some things about it are a little odd, but overall I am happy.

Droid X, and I love it. And unlike my friends with AT&T, I actually get reception :D

Oh, and to add on to what @tom_g said, I have an 8 megapixel camera with a nice, bright flash, and quite a few nice apps that allow me to do many things to photos. Even without apps, the ability to crop images and adjust their color balance and brightness easily using only the stuff that came with the phone is nice. I’m not sure what sort of image editing the iPhone has standard, but Apple isn’t the only game in town for taking good pictures.

@Buttonstc My wife probably isn’t much more tech-savvy than you, yet has few issues with her Droid 3; fewer than she had with iOS. Don’t believe the hype; Apple really isn’t any simpler.

@jerv does Google have a Human Interface Guidelines document for Android?

@jerv – The iPhone’s camera is 1000 times better than the Droid X. Seriously. I am an Android guy who has been living with an iPhone for months, but plan on ditching it finally for the Galaxy Nexus that was just announced. The iPhone 4’s camera really is that much better than the competition. It is better than my Canon point and shoot. It’s really the only thing iPhone has going for it. And from what I can tell, the iPhone 4S has improved things even more.

Apple is the only game in town for taking good photos. This is coming from a guy who hates the iPhone.

I have a T-mobile MyTouch 3G, It does just about everything, but there are a few things I wish I could upgrade for. I want 4G. I want Adobe Flash. I want a better camera with more pixels and a flash, and I want to be able to be a hotspot.

Other than that, it serves to replace at least ten different separate kinds of hardware, such as GPS, maps, directions, phone, still camera, video camera, audio recorder, pitch tuner, browser, radio, alarm clock, calendar, syncs to gmail, allows me to access any other kind of email account, and who knows how many other apps that I don’t even know about.

@jerv

Regarding your wife’s experience, you’re overlooking one important factor. For any little (and not so little) puzzling things she may encounter with her Android phone she has a handy backup; namely YOU.

That is not an insignificant consideration. If I had a tech savvy hubby at home, I would have gotten an Android phone by now so I could watch Flash vids. But I don’t. She does. BIG DIFFERENCE.

My basic advice to Jake still stands. Only he can really determine what level of complexity/customization or relative restriction is comfortable for him.

@gorillapaws I know enough about documentation to not consider that a big thing.

@Buttonstc Let me rephrase; she doesn’t need my help to figure it out.

@jerv

She might not but there are plenty of people who do.

The most common complaint voiced about Android phones is the lack of guidance regarding the complexity of operations.

Simple souls like myself still like the fact that there is a toll free number staffed here in the USA for any problem encountered with an iPhone.

And since the costs are the same (around $200) it’s not as if it costs an arm and a leg more the way computers do.

I think Jake is more than bright enough to gauge his own level of tech comfort or whether he’d prefer a handy helper and an OS designed for “the rest of us”

:D

Obviously there are enough people who can handle less guidance since the phone market is fairly evenly divided almost 50/50 between IOS and Android followed by the rest with minor shares.

@Buttonstc – My wife (non techie) prefers Android. Why? Because it is easier to use. She picks up my damn iPhone and asks where the back button is. She gets pissed off because everything takes 10 times more “clicks” on an iPhone. The only way an iPhone could be considered “easier” would be because it is less-functional, so you’re only allowed to do a few things.

@tom

Strangely enough, I just don’t feel that restricted (Flash considerations aside).

There are more than enough Apps for me to do more than I ever thought possible.

But then again, I am a simple soul not hankering for a degree in computer science. I’d much rather play word games and leave the fancy tinkering to those who really enjoy it :)

@Buttonstc: “Strangely enough, I just don’t feel that restricted (Flash considerations aside).”

Then great. Stick with the iPhone. You’re not missing anything. I had the original Moto Droid and ended up with a used iPhone 4. The camera is amazing, and the UI sensitivity is unbeatable (scrolling, etc). However, it just doesn’t do what I want it to do. And everything it does takes a ton more work. It’s a personal preference thing. The statement “Android is more powerful and functional” is just a statement of fact. But some people don’t need anything else. I know a few iPhone users who have never had an Android phone, so they don’t really know what they’re missing. When Apple releases (years later) some new functionality that has existed for years on Android, these iPhone users then say, “Wow, have you seen this?!?”

@Hawaii_Jake said he would be using it for talking, texting, and photos. I suggested he go with the iPhone 4S.

I have recommended the iPhone to many people. But it depends on the person and what they will be doing with it. iPhone is hands down the device to go with for the camera and gaming.

@tom

You’re absolutely right. It’s really a personal preference type of thing. There is no right or wrong.

I can understand completely why some people prefer Android and it’s customizability. If I were that much of a techy, I’d probably feel handcuffed and restrained by IOS also.

To each his own.

What is so difficult about the Android OS?

@wundayatta I have no idea. I figured Android out in about 2 hours. My iPad? I’ve had it a year, and I still can’t figure out how to do some things…

I have a DumbPhone. It can make calls and text, but nothing else.

@Yanaba. Nope. And I was a Nokia user before because they are so easy to use. Once I got used to swiping rather than pressing, it was fine. It isn’t difficult to use at all. Or I don’t find it difficult to work at all.

@jerv “I know enough about documentation to not consider that a big thing.”

Taking the time and corporate resources to publish a 170 page document solely dedicated to specific details that ensure a great user experience is actually a very big thing. This document represents a lot of thought and energy devoted to making a fantastic user experience.

@gorillapaws I could go on about how effort spent or page count has no actual relationship to quality for hours/pages, but this isn’t the place for that. Suffice it to say that five years in the Navy and over a decade in manufacturing (both of which involve much auditing) have shown me differently.

I am a Blackberry kind of person myself. I have a Blackberry Curve, from Sprint. Happy with both the phone and carrier. This is the second Blackberry I have had, I like the fact that it is not a touch-screen phone. I have my big fingers to thank for that With that being said, I highly recommend the Blackberry. However, when I am due for an upgrade, I am kind of torn between the Blackberry Bold and an Android phone, that has an actual slide out keyboard. My first choice is the Blackberry Bold, but it will depend on the cost for me. I really do not like the iPhone. Bottom line…go with the Blackberry.

@jerv I agree completely that page count and effort spent mean nothing if it produces crap. The HIG is actually a pretty amazing document, that has a lot of great information, is well-organized and structured. When reading it, you can appreciate how much effort and usability testing has gone into behind-the-scenes work to come up with the guidelines.

@gorillapaws I can appreciate that, and I actually think Apple puts out decent stuff. I just don’t think that they are the ultimate best. As for Android, like many Linux things, it has the advantage of more minds at work, and some really cool stuff that one person makes can be refined by another… basically, they let people design the features that they want. While less polished most of the time, the concept of allowing people outside of the walled garden make stuff they want appeals to me more than allowing a small group to design something and then tell people they want it.
Both have strengths and weaknesses, and I strongly believe that one should try both iOS and Android before spending a penny on either. Neither should be dismissed on hearsay or propaganda. I also believe that Apple products really are not more intuitive than some of the non-Apple stuff, and I base that belief on both personal experience and on observing others of varying levels of tech-savvy.

HTC Smartphone

@jerv are there people making commits to the Android trunk other than Google? I agree about the advantages of open source in many regards (I think design is a major notable exception—e.g Blender) but Andriod is open more in name than in practice. It’s great that they’re releasing the source, but it’s not exactly the collaborative effort you’re portraying it to be.

I do completely agree that people should try several mobile OSes to find one that works well for them.

But how to do that on a practical level where the rubber meets the road ?

If you have friends willing to let you take their phones for a spin, that’s great. But that’s not really using it.

The way all the phone companies have everything tied to contracts through cost subsidies certainly makes it prohibitive.

@Buttonstc The same applies to cars.

I took my Droid X for a “test drive” in the Verizon store, and was already more familiar with iOS 4 than I want to be (it seemed tolerable at the time, but it’s limitations made me develop a festering dislike for it) so it was pretty easy for me to compare quickly. Sure, that wasn’t enough to learn all of it’s quirks, but it was enough for me to figure out if it could do what I wanted it to do that no iOS device can/will.

That said, you are correct that it isn’t really “using” it. Look how many people didn’t find out about the iPhone 4’s antenna issue until after they plunked down a few hundred dollars. Fortunately, my phone came with a five day return policy (full refund plus cost-free cancellation if I found it wasn’t to my liking) so it isn’t always expensive to try it ou tin the really real world.

So @jerv, in terms that I, an ordinary human being, can understand, what can an Android do that an iPhone can’t?

@rooeytoo – For starters, nearly everything is configurable.

Here are some things I had setup with my Moto Droid. Note: I am not clicking/swiping or doing anything to trigger these events:

- At 5pm, when I get home: turn on wifi, connect to my network, put ringer in vibrate-only mode, turn bluetooth off.

- At 10pm, turn ringer vibrate off completely (mute), turn down brightness (for reading in bed)

- At 6am, turn up brightness, turn on ringer to level 7 of 10, turn on bluetooth, turn off wifi.

- When my phone pairs with my car’s bluetooth device, have it launch a menu of apps I have chosen (Pandora, Music, podcast player, etc).

- at 7am, when I arrive at work, turn ringer down to level 3 of 10, turn off bluetooth.

- at 4pm, when I leave work, turn ringer up to level 7 of 10, turn on bluetooth

Then there is the OS. Everything is integrated. If I am browsing my photos and want to save one to Dropbox, simple – no need to launch some damn Dropbox app. Simply long-click (like right-click on a pc) and save to dropbox. I could also share it to Facebook or whatever other app I have.

No iTunes required. You simply treat it like it’s a flash drive. Plug it in to any standard micro usb cable and you can browse the phone just like it’s another drive. Add music, documents, or whatever you want.

Widgets. Want to toggle some setting, setup a toggle widget. No going into menus and clicking a hundred times. Want to be able to call your wife with one click? Want to see your latest Facebook news feed items? Want to see your upcoming calendar events? Want to see your todo list items due today? You can have a one-click GPS navigation to home or work.

The LED notification. If you have your Android phone sitting on your desk and you walk away for a minute, when you come back, you don’t have to turn on your phone to see if you missed anything. Have a red flashing light for missed call. Green for new emails. Blue for Facebook notifications.

Then there is the bar at the top of the screen. Sure, iOS just added the notification drawer. However, it’s too late and poorly done. What does it matter that you have this if you have to swipe it down to see if you have any notifications? Android has icons in the top bar that tell you that you have notifications. You can choose to swipe these down when you want based on the icons (gmail, facebook, calls, voicemail, etc).

Back button and menu button. The fact that iPhones do not have a back button means that they have to build in to their apps a place for a back button or menu button. Check out the browser. Bring up a web page in Android vs. iOS and you’ll see that it’s not just the screen size. iOS has a real estate problem. Plus the back button is amazing when you’re multi-tasking. No need to double-click to bring up a list of recent apps, etc. If you are in an app that launches another app, click back when you are done and you’re now in the previous app.

Have multiple email addresses and want to be notified in different ways for each of these accounts (different tones, notification icons, actions, etc.).

The gmail app. I use gmail and the iOS app just doesn’t cut it. I have it configured as exchange so it will push, but it means that delete == archive, which is unacceptable.

Swype. If you’ve never used Swype, you have no idea what you’re missing. Seriously.

Want to disable/enable screen rotation when running specific apps? That can be done.

Micro sd cards.

Removable battery.

The GPS navigation built-in (with traffic) is 1000 times better than anything iOS has.

^ This.

Also note that the iPhone has usually been stuck with an underpowered transceiver, meaning that it gets worse reception than many others. That plus the fact that AT&T has a spotty network to begin with means that I am more likely to be able to actually make/take calls than any iPhone user or AT&T customer. The new 4s may be better there, but the AT&T network hasn’t changed; it still ranks pretty low.

@jerv – This summer we spent a week in Maine. The entire time I had no signal on my iPhone 4, while my wife had a few bars with her Droid X. I had to keep asking to borrow her phone to check my email. (NOTE: Both of us are on Verizon) I did hear that the iPhone 4s is better.

@tom_g That is the norm in New England (except for Boston). In rural NH, most city-slickers went nuts. There were a couple of times where I came across an accident and saw a few of them trying in vain to dial 911 but couldn’t get their fancy Blackberry or iPhone to work… but my $10 TracFone had two bars!

To me, a lot of what you are doing, I do on my laptop. I am not sure about ability to pick up signal, in Australia no one has signal with any phone once you get off the coast.

But thanks for taking the time to answer. We will keep considering as my husband is now in the market for a new phone and has not yet decided which way to go. Since we are all Mac at home though, we always lean in that direction.

@tom_g Those timed events, what were you using to do that?

@Aethelflaed – Tasker It can respond to time, GPS location, app launching, headphone status, network status, etc (or any combination).

@tom_g Awesomesauce!

@rooeytoo My wife initially balked at getting any smartphone and wondered why I wanted one since I already have a laptop. Thing is, I can’t bring my laptop to work (at least not safely), nor do I carry it with me in case I need a map right now, so I wound up getting a combination computer/GPS/library/MP3 player/portable TV/camera/gaming console that is ultra-portable and just happens to make calls.

Given how integrated the Apple ecosystem is, an iPhone might be better in some ways, but Android has something in common with iOS and OS X; unlike Windows, all three of those operating systems are based on Unix. Android plays well with Macs, so don’t let that be a barrier.

@tom_g I never thought I would say this, but holy crap you win!!

I need this…O.O Thanks for giving me some proof of the great potential of Android :D I always want open source to be the best choice as well as just the ethical choice, but I really just couldn’t see that Android was far along enough to be that better choice yet…and for some things like interface I think that’s still unfortunately true….. but man, Tasker, the LEDs and some of the other stuff you listed are just suhweeeet!

I will say about the iphone ecosystem that imho itunes has always blown so hard. Haven’t used it in more than a year for that reason.

You go, Fluther.

PS. Text-to-speech alerts??? F me…!!!

Lets not overlook toughness. There was a similar drop test done with various tablets where Apple’s products also fared the worst.

It took many more months than planned, but I’m now in a position to afford a new phone and the monthly fees. I ordered the new Samsung Galaxy S III. I hope it lives up to the reports of its good features.

Well, it appears that I am going to contradict my earlier post. The one phone I absolutely did NOT recommend, I wound up getting. I got the Apple iPhone 4 (8GB).... I LOVE IT!!!...the best smartphone I ever had, battery life is fantastic, the keys on the touchscreen are bigger…yes, bigger than the keys on the Blackberry, when you hold the phone horizontally. The amount of free apps available is phenomenal. I highly recommend the iPhone… :)

@echotech10 I am glad you are happy. I just feel I have to point out that the keys on a Blackberry are tiny by just about any standards, especially those of us with large fingers. And if you think the amount of free apps on the iPhone is phenomenal, the Android has has a big lead there. Last I checked, the Apple and Android markets were fairly close to the same size (500k vs 450k) , but Android had about twice as many free apps; 57% vs 28%.

I think you will wish you had bought one with 32gig! I used up the first 8 in the blink of an eye!
Have fun! I just downloaded the Usain Bolt runner game, it is a freebie and fun to play.

@rooeytoo One of the reasons I went android was expandable storage. I didn’t know how fast I’d fill my 8GB internal storage, and after a bit, I figured I could make do with an additional 16 (for a total of 24), and it only cost me another $20.

@jerv – I love my technology but I wouldn’t know how to do that on an android, iphone or whatever??? I even paid to have more storage added to my laptop. I am a whiz with an angle grinder though!

@rooeytoo Androids use Micro-SD cards, same as a digital camera, only smaller, and it goes in a little slot next to the battery. Even better, there is a nice, large-print instruction sheet with pictures larger than the phone itself, just in case you are not a tech-head.
Believe me, as much as I like technology, I love clear, idiot-proof instructions more… mostly because sometimes I’m an idiot. Just ask my wife; she will agree that I can be quite dense sometimes!

@jerv – I have noticed that on occasion! :-)

@jerv

Where exactly can one find the large print instruction sheet with pics ? Hopefully somewhere online since it certainly didn’t come with any of the micro sd cards I bought.

@Buttonstc It wasn’t with the card since the card maker has no idea where you are putting it. My current phone (a Droid X) had one, as did my wife’s phones (a Droid 2 that was DOA and a Droid 3 which replaced it under warranty), but it may just be Motorola that does that.

Well, I guess I’m out of luck then since I’m not planning to buy any Motorola phones in the future.

Thanks anyhow :)

@jerv still love my iPhone, and will again…HIGHLY recommend it… :)

@echotech10 To each their own. I merely have serious issues with the “walled garden” approach, being told what I like/dislike, and being deprived of even having the ability to get what I want when it isn’t offered by a monopolistic manufacturer. I also don’t have much love for things that are overhyped with many lies (even lies of omission). Give me stuff that is full-featured, customizable, and presented honestly.

It’s a personal preference, but I like my true multi-tasking, having a choice of hardware (including some with keyboards), having >250k free apps instead of ~140k, and having a screen that doesn’t shatter nearly so easily. Then again, it might not help that my experiences with iOS were underwhelming; it crashed multiple times a day, and lacked many features I consider basic, so I was a bit disillusioned before I even looked at Android.