Droid or iPhone?

This is it. I'm gonna take the plunge into the 21st century.

I'm overdue for a phone/service upgrade. My old EnV Touch has been awesome, but the time has come to get a smartphone. Verizon is lusting after my data package dollars, and the changes in the internet policy at work make this the right time.

I'm leaning toward the Droid Bionic that they are offering for free with the upgrade, but is Android the way to go? A 16gb iPhone would likely cost me USD$200 that I don't feel like spending.

I'm going to drop into the Verizon store one night this week to fondle phones and do the deed. I'm picking the brains of my smartphone using friends out here in meatspace. I'd love to hear what the tfp community has to say on the subject.

 

i had a droid x and had no problems with it. I just (friday) got a razar and i love it. I have the unlimited data package with verizon i was grandfathered into the package. I dont have a pc and i use my smartphone for everything.

 

I have a Verizon Droid Razr MAXX and love it. I had an LG Vortex prior, and it was a free phone when I purchased it. The thing to remember about phones is that the free ones are often older technology. Think about what the phones will be capable of and what you need it for. You will have to stick with that phone for 2 years before Verizon will cut you a break on a discount for a new one.

I had the Vortex for a year before it just wasn't cutting it, since I needed to be able to access work emails from my phone. I paid for the Droid Razr Maxx 100%, and offset the cost a bit by opening a second line. I still ended up back about $289, but it has been a cost well worth it. I just switched the second line to pair it with one of my older phones that did not need a data package to keep my phone bill manageable.

 

I'm an Android fan all the way...

The iPhone (just like everything Apple) charges more for less. I have a friend who just bought the iPhone for $200. I bought my HTC Sensation for the same price about three months earlier. His phone is 3G, mine is 4G. His screen is an inch smaller than mine. My CPU is better than his. 90% of the apps I get for free, he has to pay for. I can change my own battery! So on and so forth.

Personal preference does come into play when you're talking about certain things. Like I prefer HTC's UI to any other phone's. The keyboard is easier to use and the look is smoother to me. Those are personal preference things, but, because you spend more money for less product when you choose Apple over Android, I feel that Android is the superior product.

 

I almost got an iPhone 4s. Instead I got an EVO 4g LTE. It was the same price as the iPhone, but it has better specs. Plus, I think android is a more flexible platform. That being said, I would have likely been perfectly happy with the iPhone.

 

I upgraded about 1 1/2 years ago from a first gen Razr to an HTC Glacier (MyTouch4G) and I love it. One feature I use all the time that none of my iPhone friends/family has is the WiFi hotspot. Apparently, that is an extra charge with the iPhone plans (or so they tell me...never really looked into it).
I love the WiFi. Use it all the time for the work netbook so I don't have to rely on public hotspots in coffee shops or libraries. Tested it at home and it ran my internet connection and XBox with no problems too.

 

Android seems to be the concensus, and I was leaning that way already.
Most everyone I know who had an HTC phone has bitched about how unreliable they were. I can't name specific models, but complaints included battery life, dead pixels and inaccurate touch screens. One friend loves the phone and the features, but keeps a new-in-the-box spare phone and three extra fully charged batteries on hand at all times.

Thanks for the input. I'd appreciate hearing even more before I pull the trigger on this deal.

 

Battery life was in issue on some earlier Android devices. I assume that is no longer the case, correct?

 

My wife and I have matching Samsung Nexus S Android phones. This is the "free" phone you could get on the plan I wanted (really low spend).
Nexus S – Android Device Gallery

Cons:
Battery life can suck a bit, but I think this really depends on what you use it for. I have mine connected to both gmail and work email and I think one or both of these apps (and the fairly regular polling to the server) chews through the battery. I basically have to charge my phone every day. My wife, on the other hand can go a couple of days between charging.
Screen - this has one of the older screens techs - it is mostly fine but isn't really bright enough when outside in full sun. Again a fairly minor issue, but worth noting before you buy.
Apps - there are a lot of apps available, but there are also a lot of apps that are iphone only. Is this a show stopper? no. There are still plenty of apps available and there are a lot of free ones.
Camera - the camera is pretty good, but you can't zoom (which you can with an iphone). I rarely carry my point and shoot camera anymore - this is more than good enough for the happy snaps (like my avatar over there <--).
Plastic case - this phone looked pretty good out of the box, but it is only a plastic casing - so it is maybe not as robust as others. This could be overcome if I could be stuffed to get a cover, but the phone was free so I couldn't be bothered
Accessories - there are a million and 1 accessories (docking stations etc.) for an iphone and not exactly a huge amount for this. Biggest reason? Android phones come in a million shapes and sizes and this limits the ability to make generic accessories.

Pros:
Really good syncing between google contacts/calendar/mail out of the box. add your account and password onto the phone and bam! This means you can edit the contact list either on the phone or via a browser and they sync fine.
Came with a really nice pair of in-ear headphones - I have stopped using my other mp3 player and just use this - pretty simple to add music - connect it to your pc and it appears as an external hard drive - copy over music and viola!

I am wondering how I survived without it, but I still can't justify the price tag for an iphone.

 

I've had a Samsung Epic 4G for almost 2 years. I've had it replaced once because the battery connection was getting unreliable, but I like it. The Android platform is great, and the integration with Google products is pretty nice.

That said, I have an iPad and a MacBook Pro, and when I have my upgrade credit available in a few months, I might go to the iPhone dark side. The idea of being able to sync all of my devices automatically and have all the same information available on each.. that would be pretty sweet. I love my iPad, too. I am just crossing my fingers that the iPhone 5 ends up being 4G so I can switch over with the feeling that I'm not giving much up from the Android platform. Most of the apps I use on the iPad have been free so far, so I'm not very concerned with additional cost.

The battery life on my Android does suck quite a bit (I have to put it in flight mode at school if I want it to last longer than 4 hours just being inactive in my backpack), and it would be nice to have the itunes platform for music on my phone instead of having to go into the file system to move songs over to the android like I have to now, and design my own playlists with either the files or on the phone's music player.

 

The only issue I ever have with my HTC (that is not related to the fact I have shitty T-Mobile) is that every once in a while my screen will become uncalibrated (in regards to where I touch it and where it actually registers that I touched it) or will become unresponsive. Either way, it's a fairly simple fix. Turn the screen off and back on for the former and a quick phone restart for the latter.

Other than that, I have no other system related issues...

 

Yeah, my battery lasts about 10 hours or so, but I play with it quite a bit throughout the day.

 

Both my Aunt and Uncle had droids that they couldn't figure out and now switched to iPhones. If you use a Mac at home, it is a no-brainer to use an iPhone.

The only downside to iPhones is that you can't tether them in the USA... Other than that, I think the software is better in iOS, and it doesn't have the experimental feel of the droid.

 

I'm prepaid in life. Before I got sick I had a Palm Pixi Plus from Verizon that I loved. However, when I got sick and was in the hospital for 7 1/2 weeks they were quick to turn me over to collections.

I have since gotten a prepaid Virgin Mobile LG Optimus V (paid $75 for it). For $35 I get 300 talk minutes, unlimited data and text, I doubt anyone here can say their Verizon/AT&T/T Mobile/Sprint/Alltel/etc contracted plan is less expensive. I like the Optimus because for me I like the wifi ability. Granted it is 3G and can be slow BUT it is prepay and there are now 4G prepay droids available.

The cons of prepay:
You miss the date of "reupping" there is no leeway. You are disabled until you pay.
I have had serious issues trying to get my voicemail to work, Vigin's customer service, I have found is worse than AT&T.
I'm on the Sprint network so it is not as prevalent as Verizon's... meaning I have more "dead spots" but fewer than I did with AT&T.
300 minutes did not go far this month, with trying to sell a car, trying to find a place to repair my new car (99 SAAB 9-3) and work I blew out my minutes and have spent around $15 on over minutes (10 cents/minute over).
Battery life sucks
Ring tones are hard to download and for me they didn't (I was refunded the money)

Pros of prepay:
I OWN my phone, I don't have to have a contract. The downfall to this is my phone will only work with the issuing service (in my case Virgin), I can still use it for the wifi feature and get on the net.
My phone came with Facebook/Google/YouTube apps.
I do not have to worry about my credit rating if something should happen again I don't have to worry about Verizon screwing me while I'm in the hospital and recuperating from illness.
I like the ability to pick a plan that suits my needs (granted I did not realize how fast 300 minutes goes by, I may have to up the minutes) It is funny how when I had AT&T with unlimited minutes I hardly ever used over 100. (A major reason I chose the plan I now have.)
My plan is affordable for me $35 monthly with $5 for phone insurance that covers EVERYTHING, is far cheaper than the 60 I prepaid AT&T for with no insurance.
Ring back tone selection is far better and less expensive than any other I have had.
The camera on the phone is sharp and easily transferred to my PC files.

Not sure if this helped any but that is my 2 cents worth.

 

Scratch the Bionic. Even the display model was glitchy... and Verizon has sold out of them with no plans on getting more.
The X2 is cool, so is the Incredible 2, but they are only 3G. If I'm signing up for 2 years, do I want to bother with anything less than 4G LTE?

I've heard good things about HTC Thunderbolt ($99.99), but damn, that thing is bulky. LG Revolution ($49.99) anyone? 16gb Razr ($99.99)? Verizon is pushing the Razr because it is easily upgradable (sales pitch-ese).

What about the different versions of the Android OS? Is it going to matter if I get 2.2, 2.3 or 2.3.5?

But then, iPhones got that sexy voice