Looking at ANDROID for my next phone!

[Johnny Vinyl]

I currently have an iPhone 3G and I'm in the last year of a 3-year contract, so I thought I'd start looking around at some options. Since most of my calls are work-related I thought about a Blackberry, and I'm still liking that option. The push email, plus their BBM messenging is a very enticing option for me.

However, ANDRIOD seems to have a pretty hot hand right now, and I thought about considering that platform for my next phone as well. The problem is, I know nothing about them and what they excel at?

I should tell you up front that I'm not much of an APP user. I have some basic ones, no games, and none of those oddball apps like a flashlight or a bubble level, etc. It just doesn't appeal to me, so the fact that iPhone has the most apps is not enough of a feature to make me want to stay with it. I also don't want an iPhone as it doesn't support Flash.

I'd love to hear from some Andriod users about the user friendliness, quickness, battery life, multi-tasking, texting features, blah, blah, blah.

Thanks!

[katharsis]

How did you end up with a 3-year contract ?

I also was thinking about switching after my 2-year run out (from a 3G) to an Android based phone, but then when the iPhone 4 came out, AT&T actually let me switch early without penalty (of course attached to another 2 years plan)

Not sure what BBM Messaging is, but isn't the SMS option on the iPhone enough? There are options of full on messenger apps that you can use if you are looking for certain ones... ie MSN, Yahoo, Skype, CloudTalk etc that let you connect to people sitting on their computers or other mobile devices using the services named.

As for Flash there are browser's that you can use that support Flash.
SkyFire is really good

Also the iPhone 4 is significantly faster than the 3G in just about every aspect... multitasking, battery life (really depends on whether you have wi-fi service turned on or off) overall quickness of the phone and way it loads applications.
Once iOS 5 hits or the new 4S or 5 comes out I am sure you will be able to do even more....

I am not Apple fanboy by any means, but when comparing to other Android based phones I always came back to the iPhone.
We have an office phone (HTC Evol) which comes pretty close... but not quite there yet.

Just my 2 c

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by katharsis

How did you end up with a 3-year contract ?

I also was thinking about switching after my 2-year run out (from a 3G) to an Android based phone, but then when the iPhone 4 came out, AT&T actually let me switch early without penalty (of course attached to another 2 years plan)

Not sure what BBM Messaging is, but isn't the SMS option on the iPhone enough? There are options of full on messenger apps that you can use if you are looking for certain ones... ie MSN, Yahoo, Skype, CloudTalk etc that let you connect to people sitting on their computers or other mobile devices using the services named.

As for Flash there are browser's that you can use that support Flash.
SkyFire is really good

Also the iPhone 4 is significantly faster than the 3G in just about every aspect... multitasking, battery life (really depends on whether you have wi-fi service turned on or off) overall quickness of the phone and way it loads applications.
Once iOS 5 hits or the new 4S or 5 comes out I am sure you will be able to do even more....

I am not Apple fanboy by any means, but when comparing to other Android based phones I always came back to the iPhone.
We have an office phone (HTC Evol) which comes pretty close... but not quite there yet.

Just my 2 c

Unfortunately for us Canadians, three-year terms are the norm, and we are also charged more than any other civilized nation for cellphone usage. The market is basically controlled by Bell, Rogers and Telus, although now we do have a few more players. It'll take a few years however for competition to have a real effect on pricing, so we're still screwed for now.

BBM is a protocol between other Blackberry users, but how that all works I'm not really sure. The vast majority of my contacts use Blackberries, which is why I'm still very much drawn to it. However, like I said, Andriod seems to have a pretty hot hand, so I want to find out more about them, and perhaps they have a feature or two that is of interest for me, and thereby a consideration.

While I appreciate people's love and affection for the iPhone, and no doubt they have some major advantages in their own right, I don't want one.

[ManUtd]

I used to be an iPhone user from 2007 until a couple of months ago. Since April I've been using the Motorola Atrix and I'm very happy about the switch. It has dual-core, a decent display, soon to be upgraded to Gingerbread, etc. makes it on par with the latest phones today. Sure the user interface of the iPhone is easier to learn but after playing with the Android UI for an hour or so I got the hang of it. I particularly like the customization features even without rooting (Android equivalent of jailbreaking). Another advantage of an Android phone is that I'm not forced to use a software like iTunes (damn I hate that thing). One caveat, if you play with an Android phone for a just few minutes at a shop you will not likely see the full potential of the OS. So do some prerequisite research first (I guess this thread is a start).

On a related note, next month the Samsung Galaxy S2 will be released and I might replace my Atrix with that phone simply because it is infinitely sexier (better form factor and display) while still having the same guts inside (dual core, Gingerbread, etc.).

These are my $0.02 and YMMV.

[Konfusion1230]

I've had an HTC Incredible for over a year now. I don't have much experience with iPhones so I can't really compare the two but this is what I would say....

I think it is pretty user friendly. Android has all the basics apps you would want. Android lets you root your phone and access system files to change all kinds of things. For example,as long as your phone has the specs to run the newest version of Android, you can get it. I don't care enough to mess with that stuff but I know a lot of people do.

Battery life is pretty terrible on some Android phones. I certainly wish mine lasted longer. I've heard the HTC Thunderbolt is really bad.

My phone is quick, but I've played around with some of the cheaper android phones that friends had, and they are really slow. Not to mention the terrible screens. I would only buy a higher end Android phone.

You can get a lot of mostly free apps to change your texting to the way you want it. The standard Android texting has worked great for me. I don't personally use them, but I know there are messaging apps out there that probably work like BBM.

I would just go to the store and play around with them and see the differences. Android phones are constantly coming out and they are made by multiple brands(Samsung,HTC,Motorola,etc..) so if you decide to go with Android, be sure to do the research as they are all different spec wise.

[jbig31]

I have an HTC EVO and love it! The battery sucks...but I love the phone. The kids both have EVO's as well, but they purchased the bigger/better battery and they say it is a vast improvement.

Just my .02

[ManUtd]

Oh yeah I forgot to mention about battery life. One of the reasons why I chose the Atrix is because of its 1930 mAh Li Ion Polymer battery, apparently the biggest capacity in any smartphone (at least when I bought it). I get comparable battery life to the iPhone.

[BasicGreatGuy]

I have the Samsung Epic 4g. Battery life is pretty good. It is a fast phone with all the bells and whistles, not to mention a great display. Have had it almost a year, without any problems.

[jbig31]

Originally Posted by BasicGreatGuy

I have the Samsung Epic 4g. Battery life is pretty good. It is a fast phone with all the bells and whistles, not to mention a great display. Have had it almost a year, without any problems.

My wife has the same phone and hasn't had any problems either. I really like the bright LED screen! Very slick phone.

[Konfusion1230]

Originally Posted by jbig31

I have an HTC EVO and love it! The battery sucks...but I love the phone. The kids both have EVO's as well, but they purchased the bigger/better battery and they say it is a vast improvement.

Just my .02

This is true. You could always just get a bigger battery. Though I'm pretty sure they all bulge out the back of your phone. Its an option as long as that doesn't bother you.

[jbig31]

Originally Posted by Konfusion1230

This is true. You could always just get a bigger battery. Though I'm pretty sure they all bulge out the back of your phone. Its an option as long as that doesn't bother you.

Yes it sticks out a little bit, but not too bad.

[ManUtd]

John if you can wait a little bit, IMO this is the Android phone to get:



Samsung Galaxy S2

[jbig31]

Originally Posted by ManUtd

John if you can wait a little bit, IMO this is the Android phone to get:



Samsung Galaxy S2

I think I found my next phone. Nice.

[pentatonic]

What do you use your phone for John ? I just got my first smartphone and think it's cool, but my daughter has a BB Bold and if you mostly call, text and email, it's a great phone and more than 1 day of battery life normal usage. You might just be a Blackberry guy . Also if the people you talk and text with are mostly BB also, their BBM is cool.

[MrFattBill]

John the only reason I haven't left Blackberry is because of BBM and more importantly the "group chat" feature. The way I look at it is that between my iPod Touch (with Wifi available in almost everyplace I go) and my Blackberry I have all of my bases covered, lol.

Bill

[Johnny Vinyl]

Thanks for all of the replies so far guys, and Eric that Galaxy S2 is one sexy phone. I love the huge screen and the OMOLED display is beautiful. That, along with the customization features of the Andriod phones are most appealing.

Like Pat said, I may just be a Blackberry guy. I in fact wanted the Blackberry prior to getting the iPhone, but changed my mind as the price was good. I've regretted that decision almost right away. GRRR. As you can imagine, I don't want to have the same thing happen this time, so I'll do more research before I bite. I understand there is also a new BB Storm and Bold coming this fall, so I'll be able to compare them to that new Galaxy S2.

What about all of the connectivity features amongst phones to other devices. Any drawbacks with Andriod, or for that matter BB?

[newginafets]

I hv Samsung Galaxy S.

Its a good fone n the display is really crystal clear. But it freezes a lot.

Btw, its Android not Andriod

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by newginafets

I hv Samsung Galaxy S.

Its a good fone n the display is really crystal clear. But it freezes a lot.

Btw, its Android not Andriod

OOPS! Android it is!

[D-Blitz]

Before getting my Google/Samsung Nexus S a couple months ago, I was a BB user for a little under 3 years. The one and only thing BB's have over Android is BBM and a keyboard. I'm still getting used to a touch screen, but I'd type a novel on my BB Bold before typing an email on a touch screen. Absolutely every other department, the Android triumphs. One of the main reasons I switched to Android is the excellent, native Google product support (mainly Gmail) and the vastly superior browsing experience. Browsing on a BB gave me ulcers. Not quite as user friendly as iPhones but it's quite user friendly and you have more customization options.

[fatediesel]

Originally Posted by ManUtd

John if you can wait a little bit, IMO this is the Android phone to get:



Samsung Galaxy S2

Any idea what carrier is going to have this phone and when it will be available? I'm in charge of my company account and I think I'm going to take a couple lines to Verizon in December to give Verizon a try and decide if I eventually want to bring all the lines to Verizon and that Samsung looks slick. I would definitely consider it if it's a Verizon phone.