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advice for first time smart phone buyer

Discussion in 'Lounge' started by eric, Apr 26, 2010.

  1. eric

    eric New Member

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    im really thinking of getting one of these fancy touch screen smartphones that do everything, but i have never had one before. i have no idea which ones are the best, which service provider is the best or anything like that. is there anyone here with any real helpful experience or insight?

    i currently have tmobile, so im thinking of getting this HTC HD2. it has a huge screen and supposedly runs very fast and smooth.

    http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/phones/Cell-Phone-Detail.aspx?cell-phone=HTC-HD2

    like i said before, ive never had a smart phone. i know absolutely nothing about them except that they are all so different and many use completely different operating systems and browsers, and have many different functions and features.

    so is there anyone out there that can tell me honestly and unbiasedly if i should get this phone or something different? im willing to listen to any advice or insight...except "blah blah sucks" i need to know why it sucks. i might not have the same opinions or preferences as you.

    i know i dont want any phones that slide or flip open. i want a big touch screen. i want smooth operation. easy to use features for a rookie like myself....but i dont want to outgrow the phone within a month of learning how to use it. i want to be able to browse or post on here if i have a few minutes sitting somewhere, or go to youtube and watch videos or something.

    thanks for any input.
     
    TJamesW_Phinfan likes this.
  2. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    The only way to know which phone you'll like best is to demo them for yourself. The obvious candidate is the iPhone, which you can test at any Apple Store or AT&T store; Google's Nexus One; Motorola's Droid; and pretty much anything from HTC, the Nexus One included.

    As for what to look for, it depends on what you want to use your phone for. Each phone and OS has its own ups and downs. For example, the iPhone makes data syncing really easy by using iTunes as the intermediary between your iPhone and your calendar app, your contacts app, etc. Android phones like the Droid and Nexus One integrate tightly with Google's services, so if you're an avid Google Mail/Contact/Calendar user, an Android phone might be the best route.

    It really depends on what you want to use the phone for. Also depends on if you want to wait a little while. The next iPhone is coming in June, and there are always more Android phones on the way.
     
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  3. Cass

    Cass Active Member

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    I'm on my HD2 writing this. Yeah its pretty good but the thing that annoys me most about it is the lack of flash support - meaning I can't watch video on most websites, which given the awesome screen is a crying shame. Having said that, I think the iPhone has the same issue. My advice is wait for the Windows 7 phones, or if you can't wait that long wait for the iPhone 4g or whatever they end up calling it...
     
    eric likes this.
  4. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    No phone has Flash. The iPhone has a Youtube app to get around that.
     
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  5. mor911

    mor911 pooping

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    Eye Phowne

    That sall
     
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  6. Cass

    Cass Active Member

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    Yeah, the HD2 has likewise.

    The Windows 7 phones will have Flash support - not sure about the iPhone 4g.

    As for Skyfire, I'll check it out, thanks for the heads up. :)
     
    eric likes this.
  7. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    I'm presuming it runs Flash Lite, in which case, it doesn't run Flash. Lite is Flash in name only. And more to the point, if you base a phone purchasing decision on whether or not it has Flash, then maybe you're in the market for a netbook and not a phone.

    Windows 7 phones will also be terrible, so you have to consider that in your argument.

    The iPhone will probably never have Flash. No need.
     
  8. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    ????? More info please, my politically opposed brother from another mother. Or do you mean it has YouTube or is there workaround for viewing flash based content?
     
  9. HardKoreXXX

    HardKoreXXX Insensitive to the Touch

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    If you're gonna go with an HTC phone, I'd recommend the Hero from Sprint. I'm not sure if the HD2 is Android, but the Hero is. Great phone. I've had it for a while now and love it.

    Yes, the Flash thing sucks. Unfortunately, I don't think Android has an app for Flash (could be wrong though). There are Youtube apps, but I haven't found one I like yet.

    Android Market is great, but it does have a LONG way to go before it compares to the Iphone Store.

    EDIT: Also, both Iphone and Android phones have access to Tapatalk, which is hands down the best app for browsing and posting on forums.
     
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  10. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    A while ago, Youtube began storing two versions of whatever videos were uploaded. One version would be Flash, the other would be a video file encoded with the H.264 codec. The iPhone Youtube app will play any Youtube video that has an H.264 version available. So it doesn't play Flash, it plays an alternate version of the same video you want to watch.

    Not everything on Youtube is available in this alternate format, but a good number of videos are, so much so that you can bypass Flash in your browser and load those H.264 versions instead of the Flash versions through Youtube's beta test.

    tl;dr It's not Flash but you can watch it anyway.
     
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  11. mor911

    mor911 pooping

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    +10

    Best $3 app you can buy
     
  12. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    Ahhhh i see.

    I got my hopes up for a sec. I'm a graphic designer, so I often HAVE to make Flash based content for web sites.
     
  13. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    If you want to inspect Flash content on the go, you're really looking for a notebook or netbook. There really is no Flash solution on a mobile phone, at least not until 10.1 comes out later this year. Even then, I doubt it would be anything but a battery killer.
     
  14. Fin D

    Fin D Sigh

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    I'll be damned if I'm giving up my iPhone for Flash. I was just kind of hoping that's all.

    Why do you suppose it would kill a battery faster than any of the apps would though?
     
  15. mor911

    mor911 pooping

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    Not having read everything in this thread, I can already agree with Desides. Flash is useless imo. I (personally) avoid flash sites like the plague. it's a bunch of overly graphics bunch of slow moving crap that has no place on my PC much less my mobile device.
     
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  16. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    Flash is notorious for chewing up CPU, especially on Macs and notebooks. High CPU use means lower battery life.

    Flash 10.1 on smartphones won't be any different. It'll still eat up CPU, just not quite as much as it did prior to 10.1.
     
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  17. eric

    eric New Member

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    thanks for the input guys. anyone have any more?
     
  18. MikeHoncho

    MikeHoncho -=| Censored |=-

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    Does the wake-up alarm make my phone a smart phone?
     
  19. daphins

    daphins A-Style

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    I LOVE my iphone. One buddy has a Black Berry Curve, another has a droid. We've come to the conclusion that Black Berry is great for business but nowhere NEAR as sexy as the iphone. Droid is a bit of a mixed bag..the possibilities are huge with their openness, but that's also a drawback. Once again the OS isn't nearly as sexy as the iphone. The touch screen isn't nearly as intuitive.

    I love my iphone and couldn't see anything else....

    until Apple declared war on Adobe. A few weeks ago (on the Eve of the Adobe CS5 media launch) Apple announced that in essence they will not be accepting any apps that weren't made by one of the two native pramming methods. This was a HUGE blow to a major selling point for CS5 was a converter allowing flash apps to be exported to play on an iphone or ipod.

    As a designer that REALLY pissed me off. It was a huge blow to many small software companies who had been working on apps to do just that. Now they're closed out of a market that they were planning on.

    Apple has a long history of closing out Apple and pushing HTML5 as a flash replacement, but this was a big move. It's really perplexing when you consider that Apple survived the 90's almost solely because of designers using Adobe products on their machines.
     
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  20. TJamesW_Phinfan

    TJamesW_Phinfan New Member

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    Are there any concrete details on the new iphone such as oled display, 4g, etc?

    Will it be a big enough upgrade to wait till June for.

    I'm in the same boat as eric. Leaning towards AT&T due to work based discount and family being on AT&T. Having a hard time deciding between droid and iphone though.
     
  21. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    In that case, very slick, but ultimately useless.

    Gizmodo's teardown of the iPhone prototype they illegally obtained shows a front-facing camera with evidence of video chat capabilities, a larger battery, a flash function on the camera, and probably some minor things that I'm forgetting.

    I wouldn't count on an OLED display, nor is it really all that important for the display to be OLED. I also wouldn't count on 4G/LTE, because there are no LTE networks to use the phone with. Maybe on the 2011 model.
     
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  22. daphins

    daphins A-Style

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    I'd wait. We're almost there, and the typical process for apple is to discount their older models (16 3GS) down to the $100.00 range, and increase the capacity of the new phones (32 GB new phone?). You're looking at saving $100 or upgrading your hardware.
     
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  23. eric

    eric New Member

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    after looking into it, im pretty much sold on the htc hd2.

    it has:
    a removable battery
    micro SD slot
    LED flash for the camera
    5.0 megapixle camera
    FM radio tuner
    1 ghz processor
    4.3" touch screen

    these arent all of the features, but these are ones that the iphone either doesnt have, or arent as good. everyone pretty much compares any phone to the iphone so this video was a big selling point.

    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmrXrQUZgwE"]YouTube- HTC HD2 vs Iphone 3Gs Comparison[/ame]
     
  24. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    Since the iPhone 4/HD is coming out at the end of next month, I'd be hesitant about comparing the HD2 to the 3GS and coming away thinking the HD2 is the best phone for you over the life of its contract. If you really want it, go for it, but it's probably smarter just to wait and make sure.
     
  25. eric

    eric New Member

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    when will we know everything about the new iphone? i dont know if i can wait till launch to find out.
     
  26. Boik14

    Boik14 Season Ticket Holder Club Member

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    The new Droid Incredible is pretty incredible. I just got one myself...its has all those things above plus:
    Flash Lite 4.0
    8.0 MP camera
    video camera
    Free nav with spoken turn by turn (not sure if HD2 has that)
    HTC Sense UI
    7 total screens to multi-task
    screen is 3.7" but light phone
    Verizon's network (and pricetag :lol:)

    Disclaimer: I do work for VZW but Ive tried the Moto droid and the Iphone and I like this better. :wink2:
     
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  27. eric

    eric New Member

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  28. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    Do yourself a favor and never visit that site again. Everything in that article is either unconfirmed rumor, speculation, or outright BS. They also misrepresent the next iPhone's "feature list." They're confusing features of iPhone OS 4.0 with hardware features of the fourth iPhone.

    As for the next iPhone, it's being unveiled June 7 at WWDC, Apple's annual developer conference. It could also be launched that day, as AT&T is supposedly restricting employee vacations for the month of June. The only reason to do that would be to ensure enough staff on hand to handle a product launch. Like, say, the next iPhone.
     
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  29. eric

    eric New Member

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    it does use windows mobile 6.5 but it is enhance with some HTC sense UI.

    the ONLY complaints i can find about this phone are people not liking the OS because its completely different from their previous phone that ran something different. i think those people are just upset because they cant operate the phone properly so they are turned off because it wasnt the seamless transition they were expecting. ive never had a smart phone so i dont see this as a problem at all. any OS i get, i will have to learn.

    supposedly its more customizable too since its windows. ive read that you have more control with setting up and using the phone the way you want. ive read that there are not a lot of apps. but ive also read thats because they arent all in one store. customers can create and share their own apps, and do.

    it also has removable mass storage so it can transfer anything that way instead of being restricted to apple software as your only option.
     
  30. eric

    eric New Member

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    im still open to other opinions and suggestions. thanks.

    this things looks nice. any input on this one?
    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTELV9ZWl6A"]YouTube- Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 hands-on video[/ame]

    all the videos i see on this one, is people speaking a foriegn language or with an accent. im wondering if i can even get it here.
     
  31. eric

    eric New Member

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    after watching a lot of video reviews on you tube, im leaning towards the HTC Desire now. its the google nexus one, but with a few tweaks/upgrades from HTC. for instance the HTC sense UI.

    it seems like the all around best spread.
     
  32. pennphinfan

    pennphinfan Stelin Canez Arcade Scorz

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    I just bought the Incredible today. The store was out of stock but I should have it by friday. I'm very excited. After all, i've been using this guy the past 3 years:

    [​IMG]
     
  33. Texphinphan

    Texphinphan Season Ticket Holder

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    As a long time BB user and sometime Iphone user, I recently moved to A Palm Pre. I wanted to be able to have my Outlook sync automatically, without having to physically attach to computer, which I could not do with my BB because no enterprise server.

    My experience with the Palm has been that the WebOS is fantastic, best OS I have used on a phone. The hardware sucks. Which is a shame. Now I do not play games or demand lots of apps for my phone, something else which is lacking on the Palm. 95% of what I do is phone or Outlook. And even with the crappy hardware, I am sticking with Palm because of the OS and integration. And praying Sprint gets a new Palm phone soon.
     
  34. mor911

    mor911 pooping

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    i.phone.or.you'll.hate.yourself.

    period.
     
  35. eric

    eric New Member

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    choosing a phone sucks with all these stupid restrictions.

    htc desire is my first choice, but its just now being released in europe with no mentions of any US release.
    the google nexus one i would have to get through google. its 100 dollars cheaper if i cancel my current t-mobile account and sing up for a new t-mobile account, through google. even though ive had t-mobile for like 7 years im not eligible for an upgrade because im not currently under a contract.

    the system sucks. i dont understand all these ******ed restrictions of phones only being in certain places or on certain networks. many phones can be "unlocked" and used on many different networks.
    so why are these companies limitiing their potential sales by not just making any phone available for any network or in any place? i think the phones themselves are the selling points. i dont see how the manufacturer makes more money by limiting their potential sales.
     
  36. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    The main reason is because there are two types of cell phone radios, GSM and CDMA. Verizon and Sprint use CDMA, while AT&T and T-Mobile use GSM. This means that a phone purchased from Verizon cannot be used on AT&T's network. It is physically impossible. The phone can't communicate with the cell phone towers. Further complicating matters is the preferred frequency of a carrier's network. AT&T uses a different GSM frequency than T-Mobile, so unless the phone uses hardware that supports the different frequency (not all do), you're stuck with that one carrier.

    LTE, aka 4G, will fix a lot of this when it rolls out in enough cities.

    As for locking, it's so you'll keep the phone on the original carrier's network. If the phone is locked to that specific carrier, then that increases the likelihood that someone will be paying for the right to use that network.

    As far as they're concerned, they're making plenty of money by restricting your phone to one network and locking you in to a 1- or 2-year contract. Then they keep making money if you sell the phone to someone who doesn't unlock it.
     
  37. eric

    eric New Member

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    what i meant was, i dont see how apple couldnt make even more money if they made an iphone for each network. same with any other phone manufacturers.

    then people could get any phone they wanted, with any operating system and any network. then hundreds of millions of people wouldnt have to compromise what they wanted when they are spending lots of money and agreeing to lengthy contracts.
     
  38. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    AT&T subsidizes the iPhone. Apple gets paid to make iPhones, and then they get a slice of the revenues from the contracts. Just starting out in the phone business, Apple had no reason to make two or three different models of the iPhone when they were making money hand over fist to just make one.

    That said, just as there was a skunkworks version of OS X that worked on x86 CPUs even though Apple was selling Macs with PowerPC CPUs, so too does a CDMA version of the iPhone almost assuredly exists as a skunkworks project. Apple just needs to wait for the end of exclusivity with AT&T (which lapses either at the end of this year or in 2012 depending on what sources you reference) and they can go hammer out a deal with Verizon.

    The irony in all this is that Verizon turned the iPhone down in the first place, prompting Apple to go to AT&T. And Verizon's promotion of Android and reported working with Google on a tablet cab be seen as negotiation leverage with Apple.

    The iPhone will eventually be on other carriers.
     
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  39. eric

    eric New Member

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    but what about HTC? they make alot of phones that are used by several networks. and after looking around (watching videos on youtube) they seem to make the nicest phones.

    the google nexus one and the htc desire are both htc phones. practically the same phone. i want one of these two phones but refuse to jump through the hoops to get them. if i happen to stroll into a tmobile store this weekend and they have an hd2 i might just have to settle and get one of those.

    i hate these games.
     
  40. Desides

    Desides Well-Known Member

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    If you're asking if HTC locks down their phones, the answer is yes. Carriers won't sell their phones otherwise.
     

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