For the past several years, I’ve been getting my email/texting fix from an early generation blackberry curve. When it died back before Christmas, I knew it was time for an upgrade, but I was also just a few months from being out of contract with AT&T, so I borrowed an unused ‘berry from a friend and waited.
One of my biggest complaints with the Blackberry is the fractured application market. Many of the apps don’t work (or work poorly) and part of the reason for that is the sheer number of devices. I liked my blackberry, but I wanted something a little more versatile.
I was torn between Android-based phones and the iPhone, leaning heavily toward the Androids.
In the end, I chose the new iPhone, for a few different reasons.
For starters, the best Android phones seem to be on inferior networks. Second, with the constant stream of new Android phones, there appears to be an ever-increasing chance that apps will be developed for some of them but not others, leading to poor application coverage or, worse, poorly functioning apps.
I don’t like the “closed” nature of the iPhone, but on the plus side, if Apple is going to take responsibility for vetting the apps, they’re going to be the ones I blame if an app kills my battery life or otherwise doesn’t work.
So far, I’ve been really happy with it. The screen is every bit as good as advertised, the phone is snappy and responsive, and the games are horribly addicting.
I miss my Gmail application and wish there was better Google Voice support, but so far it appears to be a solid device.
Dunno what Gmail app u r missing, but I have been very happy with getting my gmail through the built in mail app. Granted, loses a lot of gmail features, but the gmail app itself isn’t bad. Not a giant fan, but decent.
It's possible I'm missing something, but from what I've been able to tell, I don't get push notifications unless I setup my gmail account as an exchange account, but if I do that, I lose a lot of features (tags, the ability to archive rather than delete, etc.).
Obviously not the end of the world, but I think the Blackberry handled it better.
Sorry, AT&T is the only inferior network. It is the iPhone's biggest flaw… I mean besides the reception problem with the newest version.
No way. T-Mobile and Sprint are both god-awful in terms of coverage. Verizon is the big leader, but they need to get a better selection of phones. The network is the weakest part of the phone, but you couldn't pay me to use Sprint or T-Mobile.
The reception thing is weird, for sure but (a) I am far too paranoid about dropping or scratching it to NOT have a case and (b) latest rumor is that that is going to be fixed with a new firmware update.
All I can say is I've been a T-Mobile customer going on 5 years and never had any real problems. Their phone support is by far the best I've ever dealt with. Once I get an actual technician (as opposed to an account specialist), that person has always known the answer to my question and never once puts me on hold. Good luck with AT&T support. A friend of mine just bought a MicroCell from AT&T last week and couldn't get it working for three days because the manual that came with it was flat out wrong and no AT&T phone support person knew what he was doing or how to fix it.
And I'm sure by now you've seen this iPhone parody.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL7yD-0pqZg
I've covered Apple stuff and why I hate them and Steve Jobs before on my own blog. Some of the posts are old, but still true. Read if you want; no big deal.
http://bamatone.livejournal.com/157748.html http://bamatone.livejournal.com/166240.html http://bamatone.livejournal.com/303839.html
And then there's this, written by a friend of mine in the Opera Community:
http://log.dustinwilson.com/ar.....4/T…
My point is, there's no way in hell I'd support a culture of elitism and flat out lies. AT&T just also happens to blow.
TMo is good where it's good, but it doesn't have anywhere near the coverage levels of AT&T or Verizon.
Apple can market their devices however they like — marketing is marketing, and I try not to pay too much attention to it. There are a lot of problems and potential problems with Android that haven't yet been worked out that have, for better or worse, with the iPhone, and I like that about it.
Customer support everywhere blows unless you get a good rep, and then it's good. The trick is knowing the difference and being willing to hang up and call back. I can get good customer service out of Comcast with that method, and if you can get good support out of them, you can get it out of anyone.
But, even if TMobile had a better network than AT&T, they still don't have any phones I'd be comfortable with.
Also: I get a big kick out of Opera. Every new major version I install it and try it out. It has never lasted more than 30 minutes on my computer before being uninstalled. 10.* has been no different. What's really funny, though, is that Opera fans remind me a lot of Apple fans.
A lot of Opera fans have an inferiority complex. But I don't think that's a good excuse for Apple and Jobs to lie and steal.
I also don't consider myself one of the rabid fans of which you speak. I've been jumping back and forth between Opera and Chrome for the last year. If I could merge the two into one, life would be sweet.
I actually get a big kick out of that last paragraph of yours in itself. You chose to install Opera, didn't care for it, and then chose to uninstall it. That's what the internet (and 'Merica!) is supposed to be about – free choice. It's also what Jobs and Apple are all against. A closed, proprietary system that discourages free thought and creativity.
Seriously, though. I don't wish bad networks and bad customer service on you. I really do hope you enjoy your purchase.
The beauty is that I really haven't needed or wanted to do anything Jobs & Co. don't allow and, if I ever do, it's simple enough to jailbreak the phone.
I don't think the android way is "better" or "worse", I just think it's a different trade-off. You get more options and flexibility, but that comes at the cost of disparate hardware, battery life, and a nascent application market that could go the way of Blackberry as easily as it could go the way of Apple.