The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
Please vote in the Forum Structure Poll. Polling will close at 2PM EST on January 21, 2025.
Suggest me a Smartphone
Reverend_Chaos
Suit Up!Spokane WARegistered User regular
Suit Up!Spokane WARegistered User regular
I will be getting a decent sized tax return this year and one of the things that I would like to do with it is to get a Smartphone. I am currently on a pre-paid plan that I use as an emergency phone and for some texting. Since I am not under contract I am open to carrier's as well as phones. My better half and I are thinking of getting a family plan with matching phones. Phone usage for both of us is primarily texting during the day with fairly limited phone usage. What I would *LIKE* to use my phone for is to keep both of us organized, so if I get a smartphone I want it mostly for Apps that will help me do such. A shared calander between us would be a godsend and woudl trump most other considerations. Being able to access things like Facebook and my G-mail account would be great as well. I don't mind spending the money, but I want to make a smart purchase for my money, not just buy the latest iPhone. I don't want to spend $500 on something I hate, when I could have spent $200-300 on something else that would have been far better, especially if I want to get 2 of them. I also don't care if it's the newest, greatest phone. I don't mind a refurbished phone if it's a solid model.
So, to list what I am looking for in order of importance... #1 is crucial, #5 is pretty unimportant but would be taken into consideration.
1. Access to good App's (free is great, but not neccessary)
2. Battery Life
3. Reception (I live in Spokane WA)
4. Ability to Download or Stream
5. Phone Features (such as ability to add SD card, or use phone as MP3 player)
So what say you my tech savvy PA peeps?
So, to list what I am looking for in order of importance... #1 is crucial, #5 is pretty unimportant but would be taken into consideration.
1. Access to good App's (free is great, but not neccessary)
2. Battery Life
3. Reception (I live in Spokane WA)
4. Ability to Download or Stream
5. Phone Features (such as ability to add SD card, or use phone as MP3 player)
So what say you my tech savvy PA peeps?
“Think of me like Yoda, but instead of being little and green I wear suits and I'm awesome. I'm your bro—I'm Broda!”
0
Posts
The iphone4/4s are going to be extremely cheap to be gotten. 4s with 16 gb should run you $100 and that should be more than enough for what you'd need! Of course there are similarly priced androids, too.
I'd go to an AT&t/Sprint/Verizon store and try some phones out. Look at the Android phones, mainly the Galaxy S3 or Note 2, and check the iPhone too. I am also a big fan of Windows Phone, but the app selection is minimal - even still, I use a Lumia 920 and love the phone. I previously used an iPhone 3G, iPhone 4, Galaxy S2, Galaxy Note, and iPhone 5. They all have their strengths and weaknesses.
The differences between the two are minimal nowadays. Biggest thing is apps tend to hit iphone first, but I don't think that's necessarily a problem for someone that's just getting into the smart phone market. You might want to check things like your bank to see if they have an app for smart phones and which app is better, to help your decisions.
Best feature of my smart phone is basically monitoring my bank accounts and schedule shit. Plus email.
My first smartphone was/is an HTC Inspire. It meets all of your criteria (has access to the Google Play store, gives me up to 8 hours of life when fully charge (about 4 hours if I'm using wifi), I've never had reception problems, you can expand it's memory and, like just about every smartphone these days, you can use it as an MP3 player. It also has a beastly little processor and runs HD video on YouTube without any fuss.
I would prefer to have something a little less impressive screen-wise in leiu of a better battery life. I wouldn't mind plugging it in every night when I go to bed, but I dont' really want to have to drag a phone charger with me all the time. I would mildy prefer a touch screen over a Qwerty keyboard....only mildy though.
*EDIT* Is there any phones that are just terrible that I should stay away from?
And Thanks for all the suggestions. You guys are the BEST!
This will mostly boil down to what trade-offs you think are dealbreakers. If you want a longer battery life, stay away from bigger / fancier screens. If you want a decent app store, stay away from Blackberry products.
There aren't any Gizmondos of the smartphone world at the moment, to the best of my knowledge.
One perk it has over an iphone is that you don't have to use itunes.
I'll be doing some research to pick the right phone, but you guys have really narrowed it down for me, and for that I Thank You!!
If no, do you and your wife own iPods?
If your answer to the first question is "yes," then you should definitely buy iPhones. If your answer to the second question is "no," then you should definitely buy Android phones. If it's no/yes, then you have a decision to make.
Dealing with iTunes in Windows if you aren't already doing it fucking sucks, and as someone who works with both types of phones for a living, the biggest difference between the two is that you don't have to fuck around with iTunes in order to use an Android phone.
Are you a heavy user of Google products? Then you're almost certainly going to want an Android. There are alternative apps for the iPhone, but an Android phone integrates with Google natively much better. I've got my Google Calendar, Google Drive, and Gmail all running through my phone. Since I downloaded Google Chrome, it's even got my bookmarks from my desktop computer on it.
It sounds like you're not really a heavy user of either sides' products, which makes things a little more difficult, though.
I use G-mail and I have a Google calander, and if I get an Android I would probably be happy to start using more Google services
I don't text all that much, though I might text a bit more if it were easier. My current phone is terrible and I hate texting so I don't do it more than a dozen times on a heavy day. I will go some days without texting at all.