Buy? Wait? Droid?

[JimNaura]

What to do?

Here's my situation....long-time Verizon customer, phone upgrade eligible on 2/3 (ironic), and this will be my first smartphone.

• Have an iPod Touch, use it primarily for music, have some apps, love it...kept thinking "when is Verizon getting the iPhone?"
• Current phone is a dinky, but reliable flip-phone that does its job; phone and text. Any smartphone is an upgrade.
• At about 85% confidence on just buying the iPhone on 2/3.
• Avid Facebook user and definitely an "App" lover.
• Been doing some research on Droid phones (Android) and seeing positive reviews and competition vs iPhone.
• Know that iPhone 4 won't let you talk and surf at same time, but i've never experienced that before anyway.

Looking for some feedback, advice, opinions to determine my eventual decision, since I'm a smartphone noob.

Is it worth considering a Droid phone? If so, why? and which model?
Is it worth waiting for iPhone 5? or
Just buy the phone in two weeks.....

Thanks!

JN

 

[jkhonea]

How "tech" oriented are you? In my opinion, the Droid's don't really shine until you "root" them. That is, hack them. And yes, I speak from experience. I have a Droid Incredible. I love it, BUT, I will be ordering the iPhone for my wife.

Next, battery. Droids, depending on models, can eat batteries alive. Also, the Droids are subject to Verizon bloatware. Part of the Apple contract is that the iPhone will have NO bloatware. Another positive.

Are you a native iTunes user? If so, and are inclined to liking iTunes, I would lean towards the iPhone. If you don't like hacking, tech and like working with something "as is", go with the iPhone.

What questions have ya got?

 

[omakone]

What to do?

Here's my situation....long-time Verizon customer, phone upgrade eligible on 2/3 (ironic), and this will be my first smartphone.

• Have an iPod Touch, use it primarily for music, have some apps, love it...kept thinking "when is Verizon getting the iPhone?"
• Current phone is a dinky, but reliable flip-phone that does its job; phone and text. Any smartphone is an upgrade.
• At about 85% confidence on just buying the iPhone on 2/3.
• Avid Facebook user and definitely an "App" lover.
• Been doing some research on Droid phones (Android) and seeing positive reviews and competition vs iPhone.
• Know that iPhone 4 won't let you talk and surf at same time, but i've never experienced that before anyway.

Looking for some feedback, advice, opinions to determine my eventual decision, since I'm a smartphone noob.

Is it worth considering a Droid phone? If so, why? and which model?
Is it worth waiting for iPhone 5? or
Just buy the phone in two weeks.....

Thanks!

JN

Jim as someone is a similar situation let me give you the thought process that I went through before deciding to get the iphone 4.

I have never had an android phone, but I do have numerous friends and co-workers that have them and most of them love them. However, in almost every case they said they got their android phone since the iphone was not available from Verizon. Of the 10 or so friends that have the android phone 6 of them plan on purchasing the iphone on day one. The main reason is that while the droid is capable of a lot more customization, it is also easier to mess up and cause major problems on the phone.

Also something to consider is the easy of use of itunes. (I know a lot of people do not like how restrictive itunes is, but it is very easy to use. In my case I have almost 1000 movies on itunes and most of the television shows that I watch I get on itunes. ( I work at night so I am rarely at home to watch tv) In addition all the apps that you have on your ipod will work on your iphone).

As for the new iphone that will probably be out in a couple of months, if it is a 4g iphone which is highly unlikely most of the country will not have 4g until 2012 or 2013 and even if you have 4g itis almost certain that Verizon will charge extra to have 4G access.

I hope this helps

 

[JimNaura]

jkhonea...thanks for your response!

1. I'm very tech oriented, but definitely below "hack" level.

2. I definitely like iTunes, use my iTouch in the car all the time, and was curious what kind of music software you would use with Droid in lieu of iTunes?

3. Would you wait for iPhone5?

Thanks again!

 

[JimNaura]

Omakone....Great Feedback, thanks!

The way I feel, I've been waiting so long to be able to get an iPhone, just live in the now and not wait for iPhone5.

I agree on iTunes, I like it a lot and it is very easy to use.

Here's a question...most, if all, of my music on my iTouch are DJ sets that are typically 100mb and up, how much memory do Apps take up on iPhone?

I would have to decide between 16gig and 32gig, obviously I'd rather spend less if possible.

I wonder if Verizon will lower the $199 price since I'm "new every 2" eligible on 2/3 or that IS the discounted price?

 

[big.daddy]

jkhonea...thanks for your response!

1. I'm very tech oriented, but definitely below "hack" level.

2. I definitely like iTunes, use my iTouch in the car all the time, and was curious what kind of music software you would use with Droid in lieu of iTunes?

3. Would you wait for iPhone5?

Thanks again!

With the droid, you are not limited to using any music software to put music on, you can simply connect the phone to the pc and drag and drop files onto you phone. There is a program called doubletwist (i think) that allows you to do what itunes does for the iPhone if you so chose to use it. Most hacks on the droid (as far as rooting) are very simple and there are MANY videos and walk through's on how to. You should probably play with someones droid or iPhone and see which is best for you before making a decision. Verizon is changing the worry free guarantee to 14 days rather than 30.

 

[big.daddy]

Omakone....Great Feedback, thanks!

The way I feel, I've been waiting so long to be able to get an iPhone, just live in the now and not wait for iPhone5.

I agree on iTunes, I like it a lot and it is very easy to use.

Here's a question...most, if all, of my music on my iTouch are DJ sets that are typically 100mb and up, how much memory do Apps take up on iPhone?

I would have to decide between 16gig and 32gig, obviously I'd rather spend less if possible.

I wonder if Verizon will lower the $199 price since I'm "new every 2" eligible on 2/3 or that IS the discounted price?

verizon is killing the new every two just in time for the iPhone launch also.
Verizon officially kills off New Every Two upgrade discount program -- Engadget

 

[JimNaura]

Thanks Big Daddy!

As that article states, "folks that are currently enrolled in an NE2-eligible plan will only be able to redeem the discount one more time before being taken out of it."

I was currently enrolled and would be able to redeem the discount one more time.

 

[jkhonea]

Yes, since you are currently enrolled, you're good to go. I'm int he same boat and checked the website. Already shows I am authorized for the upgrade. You can check your on Verizon specifically for the iPhone as well.

I thought about waiting for the iPhone 5, but I just don't think there will be enough changes to make it worthwhile, especially since this is technically my wife's phone. Maybe a processor change to make it a little faster and might tinker with the screen some, but no deal breakers. Especially not knowing for sure if Verizon would get it at the summer cycle or not.

From the sounds of it, I would lean towards the iPhone if I were you. Don't get me wrong, I like my Droid, but it still has glitches that I don't believe are prevalent on the iPhone. I think you would be very happy with it.

 

[TangoSucka]

I have a droid 1 I bought last july, I have currently rooted and running Bugless Beast. I'm bored with it though. the music mod lags, the network can be shotty. Get an iPhone.

 

[big.daddy]

Another thing most may want to consider, I was an Alltel customer acquired by vzw in the buyout. I had an Alltel plan. When you have an alltel plan you get a different PRL (preferred roaming list) number which tells the phone which towers you can connect to. No big deal right??? Wrong! I had multiple missed and dropped calls due to this and when I asked why is my PRL not the same as VZW customers (I'm paying vzw), I was told because I dont have a VZW plan and I would have to switch to get the VZW PRL. So, you may get a vzw iPhone but the coverage may not be as described. I have since left vzw (all but my sons line) but just want to make sure any alltellers thinking of getting a vzw iphone were aware.