iPhone vs. Droid vs. Blackberry

[ArteEtLabore14]

I'm getting a new phone and this will be my first "smartphone." I'm curious what you folks think is best. I will be using it mainly for texting, e-mailing, and surfing the web. Also, which plans are most expensive or are they basically equal? Thanks!

 

[ConcernedParent]

I've had a blackberry and an iphone... the blackberry should not even be in this discussion.

 

[ArteEtLabore14]

Originally Posted by ConcernedParent

I've had a blackberry and an iphone... the blackberry should not even be in this discussion.

Really? I have several friends who own Blackberries and they love them. But they've never had an iPhone, so there's that. What's the biggest area(s) where the Blackberry doesn't compete, in your opinion?

 

[word]

I'm not that familiar with iphone but I have a droid x so I'll share what I like about it. Basically what got me hooked on the X is the large screen and it being on verizon. The screen clarity is a lot better on the x when looking at an iphone side by side. I rarely use my desktop pc for social networking or even net/forum browsing. The x handles all that just fine. Also the handcent app for the x is awesome for texting. Not sure if iphone has anything similar. Basically I can customize how the entire texting interface looks down to fonts, colors, backgrounds, portrait icons, text bubbles. Looks sleek. But I'm a sucker for custom themes, my phone is also rooted with a custom theme on it as well.

Even other android users look at mine and go "what did you do to it?" Main drawback is the X takes meh looking pictures. The viginette camera app helps with that a little. Dunno what it is but X pictures just look grainy compared to BB and iphone pics. However, the video is really nice on it. Everybody I know that has a BB (lots) has looked at my phone and basically been "wow that's fking sweet" and then look back at their BB with contempt. Iphone users are less impressed but the X is very similar to iphone so there's a lot of common ground between the two. There's also a blackberry storm but the only one I've played with squeaked every time you had to click the screen to do anything and it's just really chunky, didn't like it at all. Oh and whichever you get, get a wall charger for home and work, and a car charger. Oh, and if you do not have a qwerty keypad and have to touch screen to type, swype is amazing.

 

[audiophilia]

The latest Droid and the Blackberry Torch are excellent. Still prefer my iPhone 4 by some margin. However, the antenna issue is real. I get dropped calls and, as a rabid fanboy, still cannot believe Apple released it this way. YMMV. As such, I am considering both the formers unless I read soon that iPhone 5 will come out this summer.

 

[Rambo]

Audio - the iPhone 5 will be out this summer. You can bank on that. They've released an upgrade every year.

Arte - Answer these questions to help narrow down the search:

What carrier(s) are you looking to use?
How much do you want to spend?
What do you need the phone to do?

 

[ConcernedParent]

Originally Posted by ArteEtLabore14

Really? I have several friends who own Blackberries and they love them. But they've never had an iPhone, so there's that. What's the biggest area(s) where the Blackberry doesn't compete, in your opinion?

Can't speak for the new torch, but for the bold and the curve it was designed as a business phone and it shows. It was sorely lacking in multimedia and browser experience (small screen, poor detail, clumsy scrolling/interface), BB apps are a joke. The only +'s I can think of were the keypad and perhaps the email theoretically should be better (though I never used either for this purpose).

 

[CSCoHammers7]

Small timer alert: I work at Verizon, and I like to believe that I'm not one of those guys that works there and knows nothing of the products he sells lol. I'm quite enthusiastic about smartphones and the slightly more "advanced" capabilities of them as I'm always looking to push my phones above and beyond what they were meant to do out of the box (Rooting, jailbreaking, whathaveyou). I, just like you, just want to get my money's worth.

Simply put, from a corporate standpoint many businesspersons choose to go the Blackberry route because of enterprise servers and the ability to mass sync calenders, contacts, etc. Additionally, E-mail on Blackberrys is "push" meaning that you receive it near instantaneously from the time it's received on your server to your phone rather than having to set your mailbox to constantly search and retrieve at set increments (Of course, this is more technical than my paraphrasing and there are workarounds for other devices). Other than that, there isn't much to be offered in terms of developer support and third party apps... For the most part the specs on BBs are unflattering, most likely because the target audience isn't the average consumer, though in recent time teens and the like made it trendy (BBM, anyone?). Makes no sense to me, if you're looking to social network and browse the web, Blackberry is not the phone for you. If e-mail is your top priority and you need it in real time, however, that's really the only justification for buying one other than the lesser price tag (maybe). I will admit, though, I miss BBM.

Android devices are def gaining momentum because there's a new Android phone every damn day. It's an open source operating system that's Linux based, and frankly, it offers a lot more freedom and customization. The Android market is exploding, but quantity does NOT equal quality. Of those numbers, a lot of apps are next to useless/gimicks/borderline spam. If you can root your Android device it opens up a whole new world of creative control and administrative access. Browsing is pretty quick in my experience, hands down better than the antiquated BB browser. The GOOD apps are worthwhile as well. If you're an average guy looking to do everyday things and stay connected/entertained during downtime, it's def worth a look. I have to stress though, ROOTING your Android is a must if you want to do it all. It's a refreshing escape from carrier limitations and software you might have issues with. If you're a believer in Google products, sychronization of contacts, photos, calenders, e-mail etc is pretty seemless. Makes life a whole lot easier in that department. (Gmail on Android is push, of course)

Windows Phone 7... We'll get back to that later lol.

iPhone: There are certainly more people on here more qualified than me to talk about iPhone, so I won't front lol, but I will say: I love the interface. So clean, straightforward, intuitive. Developer support is the big selling point here. You better believe if there's an app worth having, it's on the iPhone FIRST or on the iPhone exclusively. Either one of the two. Most likely though, even if the app in question is available on all major platforms, it's prob best supported on iPhone.

I'd be happy to answer any questions truthfully to the best of my ability if anyone has any!

Like I said, I'm a total geek and would know this stuff regardless of my employer because it's of personal interest to me. I'm best versed in Android/BB, but I'm resourceful nonetheless in regards to phones in general. As a community we can all help each other out here! lol

 

[CSCoHammers7]

Originally Posted by Rambo

Audio - the iPhone 5 will be out this summer. You can bank on that. They've released an upgrade every year.

Arte - Answer these questions to help narrow down the search:

What carrier(s) are you looking to use?
How much do you want to spend?
What do you need the phone to do?

+1 to the questions Rambo asked here. Wouldn't make a lot of sense for us to recommend phones you can't activate on your carrier haha.

 

[ArteEtLabore14]

What does it mean to "root" a phone? And what are the different data plans on Verizon?

 

[CSCoHammers7]

Originally Posted by ArteEtLabore14

What does it mean to "root" a phone? And what are the different data plans on Verizon?

"Rooting" a phone is essentially granting yourself administrative access so that you can flash your own custom software, or ROMs, in addition to the ability to edit certain data you normally couldn't reach (Deleting preloaded apps...). For example, if you like the interface on one Android phone but you like the specs better on another, you probably can just buy the phone with the hardware you like best and flash the other phone's software. ROMs also are often tweaked for added control of the OS, such as low brightness hacks or kernels to under/overclock your phone either to preserve battery or spike performance respectively. You can also do full backups of your phone's state among other really neat things.

Data plans on Verizon for smartphones are:

$15 a month for 150 megabytes a month (limited time offer only). This ISN'T prorated. If you go to 151 megabytes, a single megabyte over, they charge you for an entire bundle of 150 again, or another $15. Do that a third time (301 megabytes) and you're now at $45 a month. Etc, etc. NOT WORTH IT. You WILL go over 150 megabytes on an Android phone, trust me.

$30 a month for unlimited data usage. Pretty straightforward.

Those data plans don't include the mobile hotspot feature, but you can just root and do that for free anyway haha...

 

[Rambo]

Originally Posted by ArteEtLabore14

What does it mean to "root" a phone? And what are the different data plans on Verizon?
Rooting is the equivalent of buying a new computer and reinstalling windows on it to get rid of all the software the manufacturer put on there.

 

[dune]

Not exactly. Rooting/jailbreaking removes certain restrictions. For example, to use an under/overclocking application on my HTC Desire (Android 2.2) that I can download through the Android market, I would first have to root it. Jailbreaking your iPhone is far more common than rooting an Android though, as there are way more restrictions in iOS than in Android.

I'd personally recommend Android. Very happy with my Desire (Incredible in the US)

 

[Jumbie]

Originally Posted by Rambo

Rooting is the equivalent of buying a new computer and reinstalling windows on it to get rid of all the software the manufacturer put on there.

Not quite.

There are some apps that can only be installed on a rooted phone much like the case for jailbroken apps for the iPhone (e.g. some apps weren't approved by Apple - or, like in the case with GV Mobile, were pulled after approval - and you have to buy them from Cydia or wherever).

The term root comes from obtaining root access in Linux.

 

[GQgeek]

my boss just got a BB Torch and it's a HUGE upgrade over the bold imo. Apps are still way better on iphone and 'droid, but at least BB is back in the game with a good browser and UI. If I can bug my employer to give me one, I'd almost be be willing to do away with my iphone. I hate carrying 2 devices, but I do so right now because the old BB web browser is unusable, the interface sucks, and there aren't nearly the number of apps for it.