Which Smartphone?

Jul 12, 2006
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I'm a Verizon customer and don't plan on switching. That being said, I'm looking for a new smartphone to replace my LG Cosmos phone. Can anyone recommend a smartphone, based solely on your own experiences? Thanks.
 

Boyd

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What kind of capabilities are your looking for? I have been really happy with my iPhones (first a 3g, now an iPhone 4). I have AT&T but Verizon now also carries the iPhone. I have the unlimited data plan however, which they don't offer anymore (Verizon offered it for a limited time, but I think that's over now). I was a little apprehensive about switching from Verizon to AT&T when I got the iPhone, but really it hasn't been an issue. Their coverage is a little different from Verizon - some areas are better for AT&T, others are better for Verizon. But in the end, I don't see a lot of difference.

With any smartphone, you need to consider how much data you will use and choose the correct plan because if you go over the limit it can get very expensive. It may not be obvious how much data you're using either, since some applications on the phone may be using data when you don't even realize it.

Just to give you an idea, my monthly bill is about $80 and $30 of that is the unlimited data plan. I could lower that to $75 or $70 if I chose one of the limited data plans. You will need to check Verizon pricing, but I think it's similar.
 

gipsie

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I am a huge fan of the iPhone, so I would recommend that. There are a ton of apps for it that can do just about anything you want....
 

Ben Ruset

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Jul 12, 2006
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Thanks folks. I have been looking at the iPhone and if I decided on that, I'm not sure I'd do it with Verizon. From what I understand, as already said, Verizon is pretty restrictive vs. ATT with the iPhone. The biggest, of which, is the lack of multi-tasking with Verizon.
 

Teegate

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As a Mac owner all my computer life, it is hard to buy a better computer product than a Mac. I don't own an iPhone only because I am not really a phone person, and the cost of the plans are more than I want to spend. But if you are planning on buying a phone my suggestion would be the iPhone. I have the iPod Touch which is basically the same but without the phone, and there is one program on it I now use that is indispensable for me in stone searching. And Facetime makes it all worth while if you are into that.

Guy
 

Boyd

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Yes, it's just the way Verizon built their network. The phone can multi-task, but you cannot send voice and data at the same time. Realistically - does that matter to you? How often will you want to talk on the phone at the same time you're sending an e-mail?

But I switched from Verizon to AT&T 3 or 4 years ago when I got my iPhone, and it was painless. By the time I walked from the store to my car in the parking lot, I received an automated text message saying that my phone number had been sucessfully ported and was ready to use. But if Verizon had the iPhone back then, I would have just stayed with them.
 
Jul 12, 2006
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The one thing that will probably keep me with Verizon, even with the iPhone, is the fact that I still have time on my Verizon contract. If I were to go with iPhone on ATT now and move my current phone number, I'd have to pay an early termination fee with Verizon. I'm thinking I may "add another line" on my current Verizon account and then just switch numbers between the new number that would come with the iPhone and my current phone. That would kinkda suck too, since I'd have a number that I'm paying $9.99 per month for and not be using it. Who knows. Maybe I should just wait until my current contract is up.
 

Ben Ruset

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Yeah, just wait until your contract is up. The ETF's are too high.

Yes, it's just the way Verizon built their network. The phone can multi-task, but you cannot send voice and data at the same time. Realistically - does that matter to you? How often will you want to talk on the phone at the same time you're sending an e-mail?
You'd be surprised how useful of a feature it is. Plus it's more than just sending an email or browsing the web, it's sending texts as well. Great when you're trying to coordinate getting people together.
 

Boyd

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Guess it depends on how you use the phone. I do notice that my phone beeps sometimes to indicate a new e-mail has arrived while I'm talking. But really, I don't think it would matter a lot for me. I use my phone much more for data than voice or texts.

I am going to stick with AT&T since I have the unlimited data plan and that is no longer available from either company. Some apps, like navigation, Skype, etc. really use a lot of data. With a limited data plan, you'll really need to watch that closely and I don't think you can even get accurate reporting until the bill comes.

A friend was vacationing in Canada and signed up for a short term data plan there. She kept checking data usage on her phone, but when the bill came it was $100 more than she expected and she had to fight with AT&T about it (this was for only about 3 weeks use). AT&T's position was that they were just passing along charges from a third party (the Canadian provider), but in the end they agreed to only charge her the difference between the plan she bought and the larger plan that would have covered her actual use.
 

Ben Ruset

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Yeah, a while ago I switched to Sprint to try out the HTC Evo 4. While it was an amazing piece of hardware, good Lord Android was horrible (except the Google navigation app which was awesome) and service with Sprint was atrocious. Not wven a week later I switched back to AT&T (who gave me my old unlimited data plan back, too.)
 

bobpbx

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As a Mac owner all my computer life, it is hard to buy a better computer product than a Mac. I don't own an iPhone only because I am not really a phone person, and the cost of the plans are more than I want to spend. But if you are planning on buying a phone my suggestion would be the iPhone. I have the iPod Touch which is basically the same but without the phone, and there is one program on it I now use that is indispensable for me in stone searching. And Facetime makes it all worth while if you are into that.

Guy

http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/gaming.gadgets/05/19/apple.religion/index.html?hpt=C1
 

Boyd

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The neuroscientists ran a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test on an Apple fanatic and discovered that images of the technology company's gadgets lit up the same parts of the brain as images of a deity do for religious people, the report says.
.

I heard that they tried the same test on Bob and got no result. But when they showed him images of the Pines, his brain lit up the whole room. :D
 
Jul 12, 2006
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Gloucester City, NJ
Well, I think I ruled out the iPhone due to it's lack of Adobe Flash support. I've been looking closely at the new Droid X2 (or even the older Droid X for that matter), as they seem to be pretty full-featured phones. The new X2 (as well as the X) doesn't have support for LTE/4G, but that's not an issue for me. I went to the local Verizon store yesterday to touch/feel the X2. The only thing holding me back right now is it's size. It's a bit larger than what I like, but I may try it anyway.
 

Boyd

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I guess it depends on what you plan to do with the phone. I have never said "damn, I wish my iPhone supported flash". I can hardly think of any sites that I want to use that require flash. Youtube works fine on the iPhone without flash.
 
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