Opinions on Smartphones

I recently moved from the Samsung Alias 2 to a Droid X, my first smartphone. LOOOOOOOOOOVE it. The thing is a beast.

Pros
- Touch screen is very responsive
- The device is crazy-fast and "snappy" (don't have to wait for things to load)
- Calls are strong and sound quality is awesome
- The 4.3" screen is great even with the brightness turned down and the battery in "Battery Saver" mode
- Swype is the way texting should have always been
- 8 gigs internal and a pre-installed 16 gig card

Cons
- Battery life is "OK". If you're a heavy user like me, you'll be charging it every night. What drains the battery most is the screen and the satellite signals for location-based apps.
- It is a big device. Really pushes "Fits in your pocket" to the edge. Doesn't feel bad in your pocket, but you will notice it for a while
- the home cradle and car mount that Verizon is aggressively selling don't fit if you have a case on the phone (which you should)

I'd like to echo one thing mentioned by a previous poster. With a smartphone you need to be prepared to feel like you're never unplugged. Calls, email, Facebook, Twitter, etc... it is all there, all the time. It does take some getting used to, and a willingness to turn the bloody thing off sometimes to get away. This is the trade off for having your device work as a phone, web browser, document viewer/editor, mp3 player, text/email client, Kindle/Nook, location-based business finder, social network manager, movie player, etc.

I have the Droid and I love it. I got that one because it had the keypad, I am a bad typist so my typos are horrendous on those on screen keypads.



To those that hate smart phones... of course that is your opinion but not everyone has access to their computer 24/7. I have a very long commute to work 2 hours each way. I download tv shows i don't have time to watch them on the train/bus and enjoy my commute and they look great on that screen. Once I am at work I a have no access to my personal mail or an IM programs I also am not able to make any unauthorized downloads. So my smart phone once again keeps me connected with friends and family while i am at work. When I went to Chicago and realized at the car rental agency that my CC I use for rentals had expired 2 days previous my blackberry with google maps and transit connection was a life saver. It told me what time the buses came and where to walk to get them. It wound up being so easy that if I went back I probably wouldn't bother with a rental anyway. The data plan I look at as a way to not send some people to the poor house if they didn't require it and it was an pay as you use I could see people racking up thousands and not realizing it. So while agree many don't need a smart phone there are some of us that it has become a way to not be isolated when away from the computer for most of the day, still a luxurary but a useful one.

Well I upgraded from a Motorola Razor to a Motorola Droid when they came out from Verizon and frankly I would be happy to throw the droid away and go back to my Razor.

Comparatively the Iphone is better but having had a smart phone now I wouldn't bother with one of those either if they became available from Verizon.

I don't like the fact that it pretty much has to be always on. It isn't that useful frankly the one thing I would use it for daily doesn't work right on the droid. I like the clear channel I heart radio app but it has some kind of buffering problem and basically starts stuttering badly when I try to use it. I know the app works because my Ipod Touch has the same app and it works perfectly for the apple device and sucks as the android app.

I find I barely use the browsing function so that isn't that handy, I might like it if they had kept the hotspot feature in the 2.2.2 update but they removed that so perhaps the other item I might get use from is gone.

I have used the gps/navigation function about 5 times for amusement going from home to work and back. I suppose if I traveled a lot this would be handier but since I don't it isn't that handy, the same goes for most of the features linked to this. If I traveled then the gps geolocation features would be handy but since I visit the same 3 towns generally it isn't that useful.

I don't text and I have found the slide out keyboard isn't that useful when I do use it. It is too small and the on screen keyboard is better because the spacing of the keys is better.

Frankly what I've found is that I don't really need the features of a smartphone and would be very happy to go back to my old cell phone that I had for 3+ years. The thing exists for my convenience and not that of anyone else and a smartphone seems to be designed to keep you always linked into everyone and all the 'social site' things that I deliberately hide myself from.

This is not to say that if you want the features and could use them you might not find a smart phone useful the thing isn't horrible or anything just a disappointment. I'm not certain what I expected but I had thought it would be more useful than it turned out to be for me.

As far as a phone goes it has some features I'm not liking there. once you dial to save power it shuts off the screen and you have to shake or otherwise get the thing to wake up so you can interact with the dial pad. This is particularly annoying if you have to interact with one of those automated systems that wants you to punch in 20,000 numbers.

Basically if I had it to do over again I wouldn't bother buying a smartphone and would have kept my old phone that worked perfectly for me.

Mind you I do have an Ipad and it is what I do use for most of the functions that others would use a smartphone for. Frankly I would prefer a regular phone and my computer pad on the road to one device that tries to do everything.

I can't comment on the droids but I have an iphone and I like it a lot. I don't generally watch movies, but it has finally gotten some ebook readers and I find that useful. I also use it all the time for gps and mapping and finding stores or restaurants. Also very nice for looking up movie times if I'm out with friends and we decide we might want to go to a movie. Some of the games are pretty fun. It also works as an Ipod, so I don't have to carry that separately either. All in all, none of those things independently is enough to buy one and pay for service, but the convenience of having all that in an item I'm going to have to carry around anyways makes it definitely worth it and something I quite like.

I resisted smart phones for a long time, too.

Then I saw that some of them have built in GPS and navigation. My sense of direction is terrible, I'm the kind of person who wishes to have a minimap in real life. Now... I do! It's a silly reason, yeah, but I needed a new phone and I could get one with Google Maps. So I did.

I went from a dumb phone (LG Chocolate) about a year and a half ago to a Blackberry, then recently to a Droid X. I already had a 7" Android tabled that I was using primarily as an ebook reader, which is what prompted the upgrade to the X. I love the Android OS. The Blackberry was great for email, but lacked in a lot of other areas. I think the X is the sweet spot in size... I can still carry it in my pocket but it's large enough to act as my primary ebook reader. I sold the 7" tablet a week after getting the X.

The choice between the Droid X and Droid 2 is a matter of personal preference. The X has a larger screen and the 2 has a smaller screen but has a physical keyboard. Other than that the specs are pretty much the same. I tried both and decided I didn't need the physical keyboard.

The GPS, browser, and other apps are just icing on the cake. It also replaces my mp3 player so one less gadget to carry around. When travelling I'll still take my netbook as well, but it wouldn't really hurt my feelings if I couldn't have access to it(or if I did have it but no internet access I can tether to the X).

A "smart phone" is a home-based landline that saves you a buttload of money that you can spend on smarter things. Cell phones will never be smart phones.

Despite the fact I love my motorola cliq...

every time I hear about the android platform... I begin to wonder when Skynet will go online via the android market

I detest software keyboards, and I LOVE the keyboard on my Motorola Droid. I would recommend going for the Droid 2 if you have a similar feeling with Keyboards.

As for the Smart Phone haters...

My phone acts as my MP3 player. It acts as my camera. It acts as my Netbook. It acts as my Gameboy, it does pretty much anything I want it to do. I have D&D apps on it for when I am DMing. I have multiple PDF's I can quickly access on it. It acts like as my GPS device. If I ever lose it, or it gets stolen, I can remotely activate and lock it, and track it's movements.

Smart Phones are Omni-Tools that are quickly replacing virtually all electronic gadgets.

Calling them a *Phone* is almost silly these days. The part of my Phone I use the least is the actual phone.

I don't understand the fixation with the need of a bigger screen aside from I guess having bad eyesight...but I get just as much detail on my phone as I do my computer as far as YouTube goes. If I'm watching something that's **** quality on my phone, it'll be the same quality on my PC...just on a bigger screen.

I know Verizon bought a bunch of nation-wide bandwidth rights from the FCC not too long ago and I've heard they will turn on their 4G network by the end of the year. 4G should be much faster than 3G and the frequency range Verizon bought should be pretty good at penetrating buildings.

From what I've read, people seem to really like the 4G HTC EVO offered by Sprint except that 4G coverage is kind of limited geographically.

If you can give up your DSL internet and use the 4G connection (6-10Mbps), the $30/mo fee is probably a wash.

My Verizon contract is up in October, but I'm hoping to hold out and see how this materializes. If anything, it might at least drive down the prices on the 3G smart phones.

/just a thought

after using a 'smartphone' for sometime (blackberry) i came to realize that what i wanted from a smart phone and what it delivered for costs incurred were very different. (consideration: i'm in canada, the choices are few and the costs are among the highest in the developed world.)

eventually i settled on a dumb phone, that makes great calls, and an ipod touch for all other needs such as email, internet, etc. over wifi when a bubble presents. this covers very nearly all considerations 'for me' outside of corporate use and required encryptions.

the next purchase will likely be a pair of 4th gen touch for myself and my son, considering the inclusion of facetime/camera(s) and that it, again, works over wifi. there have been a few mobile wifi devices linking cell to wifi, but i'd like to let that niche mature a bit before jumping into it.

/2inf

Personally, I love my smartphone. I went through the "do I really need this" decision way back when I got my first one, the HTC Mogul. I haven't bought a regular phone since, and just upgraded to the HTC EVO. I'm loving it.

Do I really need it? No.

Is it fun to have and useful in it's own right? Hell yes.

It's never going to replace my pc, but it works for when I want to check scores, or look up a restaurant, or what have you.

It's a gadget, plain and simple, and only you can justify whether the expense is warranted.



Oh, and by the way, I posted this from my smartphone. ^_^

Recently, I got my first "smart phone", the HTC Incredible. It's not so much a phone as a mobile device though. It's a great gadget; the only quirky thing is the touch keyboard, but I've already become used to its nuances.

Firstly, I cut my land line leash years ago, back when Palm was first coming out with flip phones and Blackberries were the only real smart phone platform. Most of those devices appealed more the corporate suits, since they sync'd with email servers. I just had a regular old Ericson brick phone.

A lot's changed since then. I went through some flip phones, and now I have an Android phone. As a casual guy, I can use my mobile device to look up directions on the fly and get navigation (no more wimping out on friends because "I don't know how to get there"). I can compare in-store prices with what's online (or to see how much someone is trying to rake me over for). I can take a picture and share it on Facebook (if you're into the social networking thing). I can let friends know where I am if I do something spontaneous. I can look up information on the web if I need to (what's the museum's hours and phone number?)

Does it cost me more than a landline or basic cell phone? Sure. But that's the price I pay for mobility, a data plan, and having Internet access at my fingertips - more than I could do with Plain Old Telephone Service.

But overall, I agree with Quantum_Knight:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Quantum_Knight Do I really need it? No. Is it fun to have and useful in it's own right? Hell yes. It's never going to replace my pc, but it works for when I want to check scores, or look up a restaurant, or what have you. It's a gadget, plain and simple, and only you can justify whether the expense is warranted.

Edit: as far as Motorola Droids go, I'm not sure about the interface. Personally, I've come to enjoy my HTC phone because of HTC Sense, but it might depend on how much social networking you do.