7 replies to this topic

[Joe/GA]

I'm thinking of making the move from a regular flip phone to a smart phone. I have service with verizon and they will soon have the I-Phone 4 available. They already have the Droid X. In comparisons, they are pretty much equal. The Droid is different in that it can be used as a WIFI hotspot and the I-Phone cannot. I'm not so sure how I will use it because I'm new to this. I want to be able to do email and WEB surfing. I'm thinking that I need to be able to pass data back and forth to my computer,as well. Such as transferring email? I dunno. While heading to a camp site, I would like for DW to be able to use her netbook. I guess that either phone could be used via tethering, but WIFI is cleaner (no cables). If no WIFI at a campground, I'd like to be able to feed the netbook and my laptop via WIFI. I have a repeater system and may be able to tether a phone to it and have it repeat the signal wirelessly. Here is the repeater that I have. Repeater
So, what do y'all smart phone Geeks recommend that I get?

[jim]

Joe/GA, on 29 January 2011 - 07:47 AM, said:

I'm thinking of making the move from a regular flip phone to a smart phone. I have service with verizon and they will soon have the I-Phone 4 available. They already have the Droid X. In comparisons, they are pretty much equal. The Droid is different in that it can be used as a WIFI hotspot and the I-Phone cannot. I'm not so sure how I will use it because I'm new to this. I want to be able to do email and WEB surfing. I'm thinking that I need to be able to pass data back and forth to my computer,as well. Such as transferring email? I dunno. While heading to a camp site, I would like for DW to be able to use her netbook. I guess that either phone could be used via tethering, but WIFI is cleaner (no cables). If no WIFI at a campground, I'd like to be able to feed the netbook and my laptop via WIFI. I have a repeater system and may be able to tether a phone to it and have it repeat the signal wirelessly. Here is the repeater that I have. Repeater
So, what do y'all smart phone Geeks recommend that I get?

Hey Joe,
Sounds to me like the droid will prolly be your best choice if you want a Wifi Hotspot and/or tethering to a laptop.
You won't get either one of those features with the Iphone.
Most droid phones also have a microSD card slot for expanded storage. You won't get that with the Iphone either.
If it were me, I'd wait until Verizon actually releases the Iphone and see what features Verizon chooses to cripple on the Iphone as they are notoriously bad about pulling stunts like that.
I can guarantee you that the Verizon and AT&T Iphones will not be equal in some way shape or form.

[Joe/GA]

jim, on 29 January 2011 - 12:31 PM, said:

Hey Joe,
Sounds to me like the droid will prolly be your best choice if you want a Wifi Hotspot and/or tethering to a laptop.
You won't get either one of those features with the Iphone.
Most droid phones also have a microSD card slot for expanded storage. You won't get that with the Iphone either.
If it were me, I'd wait until Verizon actually releases the Iphone and see what features Verizon chooses to cripple on the Iphone as they are notoriously bad about pulling stunts like that.
I can guarantee you that the Verizon and AT&T Iphones will not be equal in some way shape or form.

Thanks Jim. I am leaning towards the Droid, but I wanted more opinions. Next week I'll be able to see what the Verizon IPhone features will look like.

[jambalaya]

Engadget on iPhone4

[Crawfish]

I have the droid and love it. I would go with it if it were me.


Leon

[compulynx]

The one thing that burns me about the droid (and other smartphones) is that none of the cell carriers will not let you just use the voice, and use the wifi when you want to. They all force you to pay for data service, which I do NOT need. There are so many wifi hotspots, that I can find one if I want data usage.

Hence, I still have a plain old phone, and carry my ipod touch for data.

Up yours cell carriers! LOL

The only other drawback for smartphones is that they do not seem as reliable as a plain old voice one. I see folks cussing Blackberry's all the time when they lock up or crash. When that happens, you have no phone either. I have no experience with the droid.

Glenn

[Mrs CampingNut]

Glenn, ya know that's a really good point!! I'm totally with you that requiring the data plan for a whopping $30 per phone / month is ridiculous. I'm still using an old timey flip phone and I don't even text much either. Sure hope the prices come down or free with the WiFi in the future.


C-

[outbackgeorgia]

I heard that the Verizon iPhone will also be a WiFi Hotspot.
Check it out, as Verizon is competing against ATT.
I may replace my Verizon MiFi and ATT iPhone with a new Verizon iPhone/Hotspot.
I get many dropped calls with my iPhone on ATT with 5 bars showing.
Just waiting for the dust to settle a little.
Dave