Cell Phones: Quo vadis?

[CountDeMoney]

I'd say go for the iPhone. Yes it's for hipsters, yes apple sucks, but it's still the least painful smartphone to deal with.

There are a gazillion androids out there (I have one) and they're all a little different.

Personally, I find that iPhone has better apps and that they're more accessible and that it's less hassle. And that's the reason you get a smart phone, for the apps and the convenience.

I'd be tempted by the iPhone but the lack of physical keyboard drives me nuts and reduces the accessibility significantly.  So an iPhone is always going to be a loser in that regard.

Yeah, I've been sorta leaning towards the iPhone, specifically because of the user accessibility with all the apps.  And there are sooo many apps.
But Frunk has a point;  the keyboard on my iTouch drives me up the fucking wall;  is the virtual keyboard on the iPhone bigger than the one on the iTouch?

[Ed Anger]

I use a Wally World Straight Talk phone for calls from family.  Verizon network and no contract.

[CountDeMoney]

I use a Wally World Straight Talk phone for calls from family.  Verizon network and no contract.

You're so full of shit.  Your entire brood is fitting out with iPhones, with iPad back-ups.  And you know it.

[mongers]

Don't go with T-mobile or any of their sub-brands, the customer service is not so hot, it's universally script-led via India and they will take any opportunity to rip you off.

Weirdly I found an old backup phone today, that was useless as they'd recently removed the call balance from it, so I phone them up and I get the usual it says in the terms and conditions bullshit.

So I said my usual, that when you accepted my order, you accepted my terms and conditions, that I am paying for a phone and a given service, which you've unilaterally withdrawn.

And because you've started this thread, I decided to lay it on saying I'd be reviewing your service in reply to a friends thread on a "popular social network website" about what smartphone and service provider to use. Something that would be seen by many thousands of young affluent tech-savy consumers


Incidentally, most of the British versions of cell phone companies, seem to be rather good and helpful, it just seems the T-mobile Germanic originated we're just following orders rigidity is the exception.

I shall give this manager 15minutes to phone back, before I post this devastating critique of T-mobile.   

[derspiess]

Yeah, I've been sorta leaning towards the iPhone, specifically because of the user accessibility with all the apps.  And there are sooo many apps.
But Frunk has a point;  the keyboard on my iTouch drives me up the fucking wall;  is the virtual keyboard on the iPhone bigger than the one on the iTouch?

I think it's about the same.  But you'd get used to it.

I second the iPhone suggestion, though mainly because I don't want to suggest an Android phone and then hear you bitch about some mundane detail.

[frunk]

Incidentally, most of the British versions of cell phone companies, seem to be rather good and helpful, it just seems the T-mobile Germanic originated we're just following orders rigidity is the exception.

I shall give this manager 15minutes to phone back, before I post this devastating critique of T-mobile.   

I had a T-Mobile phone for 3 years and never had a problem.  I just recently switched to Sprint to get on my wife's plan but it definitely wasn't due to problems with the company.  It might be that it's handled differently in the UK.

[CountDeMoney]

I second the iPhone suggestion, though mainly because I don't want to suggest an Android phone and then hear you bitch about some mundane detail.

I dunno, I'm digging that QWERTY slider for the Droid 4.

[Jacob]

I'd be tempted by the iPhone but the lack of physical keyboard drives me nuts and reduces the accessibility significantly.  So an iPhone is always going to be a loser in that regard.

That's what I thought for a long time, before I got my current android and the iPad I have.

I still prefer a keyboard for anything involved even medium intensity writing (like say a forum post that's more than a few words). And, in fact, I don't use either of my smart gadgets for writing intensive things at all, that's not the niche the fit.

Primary uses:

- quick net browsing for facts (what's the address of that place again? who's right about that piece of trivia)
- surfing the net as a consumer of information (not contributor), on the ipad (not so great on the phone IMO)
- navigating
- game apps
- quick notes
- snapping pictures (not for artsy stuff, but for documenting things)
- reading news (in snippets, not in depth)
- last resort reading (on the phone)
- fairly convient portable library (for the ipad)
- listening to music
- watching movies/shows in inconvenient places (I don't do this myself, but lots of people do)
- quick updates to suit your taste - whether you want the stock quotes, the weather updates, political developments, the sports results, the twitter people you follow or whatever.
- checking email (if you need to, personally I avoid it)
- quick response emails (but not involved ones)

None of those things really require a good keyboard. You get used to the touchpad for these low-intensity tasks, at least I did in spite of being very skeptical about it. If you really want to do typing intensity things on your phone/tablet you get one of the many portable keyboards/ keyboard cases to plug in.

[Jacob]

Yeah, I've been sorta leaning towards the iPhone, specifically because of the user accessibility with all the apps.  And there are sooo many apps.
But Frunk has a point;  the keyboard on my iTouch drives me up the fucking wall;  is the virtual keyboard on the iPhone bigger than the one on the iTouch?

Don't think so. I mean, it's better when you hold it landscape mode, but it's never going to be great. Like I said, you do get used to it and you eventually stop doing typing-intensive tasks. That's not really what the phone is for. If you're writing a real email or a report (or a languish post > 3 lines), you use your laptop/ desktop.

Apparently siri (the voice dictation tool) is pretty good, but I'd feel too much like a dork talking to my gadget like that ("Computer! Initiate captain's log! Stardate...)

[CountDeMoney]

What size iPhone do you have, Jacob?  16? 32?

[frunk]

I'd be tempted by the iPhone but the lack of physical keyboard drives me nuts and reduces the accessibility significantly.  So an iPhone is always going to be a loser in that regard.

That's what I thought for a long time, before I got my current android and the iPad I have.

I still prefer a keyboard for anything involved even medium intensity writing (like say a forum post that's more than a few words). And, in fact, I don't use either of my smart gadgets for writing intensive things at all, that's not the niche the fit.

If I'm sending a text or doing a web search the keyboard is far superior to the touch screen.  I've tried getting used to using a touch screen and it's ok, just not as functional.  With something as big as an iPad I think it's not an issue and you don't need a physical keyboard, but phones are too small to be as nearly as good with a touch screen.

[Jacob]

I second the iPhone suggestion, though mainly because I don't want to suggest an Android phone and then hear you bitch about some mundane detail.

I dunno, I'm digging that QWERTY slider for the Droid 4.

Well, if you find something you like, go for it 

One thing, though - developing for Android is way more of a bitch than developing for iPad, so you should expect to continuing to see more and better content for iOS than Android. The one exception, I suppose, is porn and other questionable content which won't make it past the Apple gatekeepers.

[CountDeMoney]

I shall make a decision this week, my friend.   Right now, it's iPhone versus everything else.

[Jacob]

What size iPhone do you have, Jacob?  16? 32?

Heh... I have an android, and it's not bad. I had a harsh iPhone hate when it was time to get a new phone, so I got the google phone - Samsung Nexus. It's not bad, but having developed for android and iPhone I'm firmly in the get an iPhone camp; that's what I'll do next time I upgrade my phone unless there are seismic changes in the market.

I do have an iPad though, and unless you expect to put shitloads of media on it, there's no reason to get anything but the smallest size IMO.

[Jacob]

If I'm sending a text or doing a web search the keyboard is far superior to the touch screen.  I've tried getting used to using a touch screen and it's ok, just not as functional.  With something as big as an iPad I think it's not an issue and you don't need a physical keyboard, but phones are too small to be as nearly as good with a touch screen.

Send shorter text messages

Having come from using a shackleberry for years at my work, I agree that having haptic feedback is better... but you get used to it, you really do. At least I do.