Let's talk phones

[jlowrance]

QUESTION for the phone people!!! So let's say my wife and I get used smartphones and call to changes our plan to incorporate the smartphones. This upgrade would require us to change our data package to the $30 a month plans. When our aforementioned plans are eligible for upgrade (August for my wife, April 2012 for me) will we be "grandfathered" in on the $30 per month unlimited data package??

And while we are on this subject, please note my concern is going over the 3GB that will be allowed once the data plans change. How likely is it that my wife or I will go over the 3GB if im currently averaging 10-15 MB and she is averaging 30-50 MB?

if you add the used smartphones after the changes take place I would call and make sure you qualify for the $30 unlimited data. I would think you would only be offered a tiered package.
Any time you upgrade at a subsidized price you lose any features that were grandfathered into a previous plan.
As far as data usage, my daughter and I use just over 3gb a month combined with moderate usage (web browsing, fb updates , email, and hourly syncs). The data you use now will definitely be higher with a smartphone. Its probably a good idea to use an online date calculator to give you an idea of what to expect.

 

[AZ Hunter]

Thanks for the help. Also, Jlowrance, I was planning to upgrade to a used smartphone prior to the july 7 date. Then just hoping when i do my new every two upgrade in april 2012, I will be grandfathered in because I upgraded to the unlimited $30 data plan prior to July 7.

 

[AZ Hunter]

Ok guys. Im locked the F in to the $30 unlimited plan. Bought a Motorola Droid (original) off a buddy for $50. Not bad considering it works perfect and I couldn't find that good of a price anywhere on the original droid!

So, with that being said. What's some must have apps to have?? Let's start with free ones please!

 

[Roadie]

Ok guys. Im locked the F in to the $30 unlimited plan. Bought a Motorola Droid (original) off a buddy for $50. Not bad considering it works perfect and I couldn't find that good of a price anywhere on the original droid!

So, with that being said. What's some must have apps to have?? Let's start with free ones please!

Woohoo Welcome to the Droid family !

Well first you have to root it!

..but if you arent ready for that, I recommend..

Pandora Radio
ScoreMobile if you are a sports fan
Dolphin or xScope Browser
Astro File manager

If you text alot, I like goSMS as a replacement for the stock text app
If you use POP mail, I like K9 as an email app replacement

If you want to mess with the Homescreen appearance then you need a homescreen replacement app like Launcher, GoLauncher or ADW

Oh, Angry Birds is an addictive game

Most of the other apps I use require root, so the above are the ones I could think of off the top of my head..

 

[AZ Hunter]

And my understanding of rooting is I can turn the 3g into a wifi hotspot right?? How hard is it to do? Will it cost me money?

 

[Roadie]

And my understanding of rooting is I can turn the 3g into a wifi hotspot right?? How hard is it to do? Will it cost me money?

Yes, that is one of the things you can do with root.

It's free, but it can be a little involved, and there is a slight risk of bricking your phone.

Here are a couple pages on the benefits of rooting..

Rooting - is it for me? Some Q&A | Android Central

Five Great Reasons to Root Your Android Phone

Here is one method I found..
Root Droid 1 - regardless of OS version - Droid Forum - Verizon Droid & the Motorola Droid Forum

Rooting turned my Eris form a clunky out-dated phone, into something more useable.

BUT, if you are happy with the Droid the way it is, then I would stick with stock.. you can always root later..

 

[AZ Hunter]

Thanks for the reading material. I will take a look at them. I surely don't want to break my used phone right out the gate....then im up **** creek without a paddle.

 

[cburnworth]

anyone using seek droid?

 

[AZ Hunter]

^^ What is it?

 

[fennsta_78]

after owning 2 iphones, It's the only way to go based on user interface and simplicity. Smart phones aren't so smart when you don't have 3G service though.

 

[Prestige WorldWide]

Ok guys. Im locked the F in to the $30 unlimited plan. Bought a Motorola Droid (original) off a buddy for $50. Not bad considering it works perfect and I couldn't find that good of a price anywhere on the original droid!
Jo
So, with that being said. What's some must have apps to have?? Let's start with free ones please!

Photofunia let's you cut and paste faces between pictures.
Lookout let's you scan all your apps before downloading to prevent viruses
fruit ninja: interactive game where you slice fruit but don't cut the bombs
Google goggles: take a pic of an item and it will find it on the web with prices and locations
Vlingo: voice to text
stitched: pod casts
Lyrics app: gives u song lyrics
Rewardskeyring: scan all the bar codes on ur key ring like kroger card so u can make ur keys smaller
sms backup+ : keeps what'd copy of all messages with time stamp and text. Gmail or googleaccount required for storage of messages.
Google books: free books online
Adownloader: suppose to be legal album download for music (haven't tried it yet)
mp3 musicadvanced: music app
Handcentsms: choose messaging screen style
Mapquest mobile
scanner radio
Gunbrothers: shooting game
Life.contacts: puts contacts on ur homescreen and their picture size changes by who u talk to the most ( quick call buttons)
Amazonmp3: don't have to purchase music
Amazonappstore
Syncmypix: will sync ur facebook pics with ur phone contacts by name

I manage a cellular location and that's a list of what most of us use.

 

[Roadie]

anyone using seek droid?

I just downloaded it yesterday. Seems to have potential..

 

[AZ Hunter]

So I am awakening an old thread from the dead. Yes guys, I am hoping to add to the topic.

So...to bring a few up to speed from our previous conversations in here. My wife held out well past her upgrade date to preorder the Iphone 4S. It will be here Friday. I am currently still using the Motorola Droid. The phone and I have had our ups and downs but we are managing. I found out I can upgrade now, but won't receive the credit I would receive if I waited til April.

Issues I have with my Droid that drive me bonkers!

Most annoying of all...unlocking the phone or hitting home screen from any screen or app and it taking FOREVER to load the home screen. I swear I look I my background wall paper more than the actual apps on the phone.

Second, force close force close force close. That is annoying!

Third, I love angry birds, I am an admitted angry birds addict! What bothers me is the iphone users get the new maps several days to weeks before droid users. Currently waiting on Angry Birds Rio update that my buddy on the iphone got two weeks ago.

Fourth, I have had to do some fancy stuff to get my screen to work again. The phone would be on and working but the screen was blank. Found a method online to fix and it worked. Had this happen twice.

Fifth, there are times where i swear it gets a mind of its own and just starts doing crazy nonsense. Like several buttons will just start pushing and next thing you know im dialing someone in my contact list.

Outside of this, it's been a very useful tool. I have not rooted the phone as I do not have the means to get another at this point. (Which is about to change)

Takes me to my question....

Droid or Iphone 4S

Are there any believers of the Iphone or will this be a one sided convo? I will be upgrading at the end of the week. To what, well.....thats to be determined.

 

[TomN]

I dropped the iPhone 3gs and got the original Droid. I admit that the original Droid was pretty slow and I got the page refreshes too on occasion, but rooting and overclocking it fixed it right up. When it came time for my upgrade I tried out an iPhone 4 but missed the Android OS too much so I traded it for a Thunderbolt. Not at all interested in the iPhone 4s, but the Nexus Prime looks pretty awesome. Hoping it comes to Verizon.

 

[iChokePeople]

Prime is coming to verizon.

iPhone 4s announcement was a disappointment. Major league. My job entails looking at things like this, so they'll send me one to check out and I'll let you know what I think, if you care. Fwiw, I get my phones free on both AT&t and verizon. I have no financial reason to choose one over another, phone or carrier. I preferred the phone to the droid until the droid x, which was a clear winner for me. Right now, at least until Friday, the bionic is the best phone I've ever touched for people who are 'more technical'. For grandma, iPhone is still simpler and more intuitive.

I'll let you know what I think of the 4s once I spend a few hours with it.

 

[TomN]

I really wanted the Bionic but I was weak and went with the Thunderbolt because I was tired of waiting.

 

[Mad Macs]

Apple pre sold a million iPhone 4S's already and that's not including any sales taking place this Friday. Needless to say the 4S will be a success as long as they all don't explode.

I love how Google always brags that they activate 500K Android devices each day, when 99% of them have such lousy hardware they can't even do anything other than text and do contacts. I've used cheap Android phones and they are one small step above garbage.

I've got a Thunderbolt on Verizon and will be getting my iPhone 4S this friday hopefully. I need to know both so I get both.

 

[sepe]

Honestly, if you're thinking about the iPhone...wait until the 5 comes out. I have thought about switching from android to the iPhone when I switch from T-Mobile to Verizon (if the buyout goes through, I won't go to AT&T). There are some really nice android phones coming out, Nexus Prime being one of them. The Nexus Prime is suppose to have a 720p display, 5 megapixel rear camera, 1.3 megapixel front camera, 1gb of ram, 32gb internal memory, 1.2ghz processor. Should be out in November. I'm not really sure about the processor on the 4s because all I can find is that it is A5 Dual Core Processor, up to 2x faster cpu, dual core graphics resulting in up to 7x faster graphics. But faster than what? Might be helpful when trying to sell a product to give actual information rather than "up to 2x faster" so products can be compared side by side.

 

[AZ Hunter]

Doesn't the Bionic already have an 8mp rear camera? Among other things it seems to have a lot of the features the Iphone 4s has. Does anyone know how many GB it has? What I keep seeing is if you want what granny has, something easy to operate and nothing outside the box, go with the Iphone. If you want something that can be tweaked, modified, taken to extreme depths, go with a Droid.

Ummm.....do I want something that goes to the extreme? I don't know. I am very interested in what Mr. Ichokepeople has to say. So please, feel free to spill your guts when you get your hands on one. Hell, just send it my way when your done!

Edit....I did a side by side of the Iphone 4s and Bionic on Verizonwireless.com. Seems to me they are very similar in a lot of ways. Speed, storage capability (Apple 16/32/64 and Bionic 16internal and unlimited external) camera, display. I am truly torn at this point.

 

[sepe]

Droid Bionic specs

Motorola DROID BIONIC specs

Apple iPhone 4s (built in memory should be 16gb and 32gb)

Apple iPhone 4S specs

PhoneAreana has specs and reviews of everything currently out and information that has been leaked about upcoming phones.