Originally Posted By amazedncal2 Our son has an iphone and he LOVES it. While we were on vacation with him we saw all the neat things he can do with the phone and it piqued our interest. DH likes to connect to the internet to check email, check scores and stocks as well as text. I use my cellphone for a phone We are on a 3 phone plan (DD in college being the 3rd phone) with Verizon and have been VERY happy with the coverage. We hesitate dumping our plan for one phone. Being novices, is there a phone that I could buy for DH, keeping our verizon coverage, that would be anywhere close to an iphone? I've just started thinking about this and any thoughts will be greatly appreciated
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 << realize that I should have posted, "similar phones to iphones?" as my topic title. Sorry
Originally Posted By peeaanuut the iPhone is a form of a smartphone. Advantages of other smartphones is additional software. Somthing like a Treo has a large amount of software available to it. Being palm based there is just so much out there. The basic functions are still the same though. Calls, internet, messaging, e-mail, chat, scheduling, phone book, etc. The differences are in how they do it. I personally do not like Windows mobile based devices. I have found their software to be quite bulky and unreliable. Not to say the phone is bad, but the software isnt that great. There is also the blackberry. Oh there is so many things said about the blackberry that it doesnt need to be said again. Than there is the iPhone. The iPhone does things differently but not anything extra from other phones. If you are not set in using some sort of mobile OS than the iPhone would be a great place to start. For me I was very used to the palm OS so going with a treo made sense to me. Also I made my decision about which phone to go with around the time the iPhone was launching however it was quite pricey at launch. Ok so lets simplify that. In function they all do about the same thing. It is simply just the method of how they do it.
Originally Posted By berol A guy that worked for Cingular/AT&T said the other day that iphones can be sold by any cell company in mid-2009 and those 5-year and 10-year exclusive claims were hogwash. If he's right, it might be worth the wait.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad The provider doesn't matter. My iPhone has changed my life. I am serious. The ease of the interface is the key. I can enter my 6 kids choice for Burger King, run out the door and pull it back up in the drive through order window. Any phone can do this? NO wait I can get the info into those other phones as fast and as easy. Appointments. Text Messaging. Maps...its like FREE 411 directory with driving directions if you like. Alarms iPOD!!!!!!!M hay hay hay...VIDEO IPOD INCLUDED!!! I watch moives, listen to music, I even download songs directly to my PHONE! SECURITY!!! You can't even access my phone AT ALL if you don't know my PIN. And get this, if you power it off, I even have my SIM pin protected and I have to enter that for the phone to even work when I turn it on. Steal my iPhone? It will be useless to you. Voice mail downloads directly to the phone. I touch one icon and a list of messgaes comes up, no dialing the voice mail box. Weather anywhere. Time anywhere. Camera isn't great, but I wouldn't say it sucks. I carry photos AND VIDEOS of my kids with me. When is the last time you pulled your cell phone and showed someone a VIDEO of your kids playing and laughing and posing for the camer WITH SOUND? HELLO? The memo pad, the stock tracker, the weather widget....it goes on and on. You tube is great and a fun thing if you are somewhere boring. I get all my EMAIL, at a touch, not any loging in or quirky Outlook crap...its just there, on the phone, when I touch the icon...NEAT FACTOR 1,000! People are amazed...they are like, "When I send you an email you reply within like 5 mintues even if it's like the middle of the day. How do you do that?" Because I get the email and a little ding right there on my EASY TO READ, super bright, iPhone display!!! Hey!!! It really really really IS all that it's cracked up to be. I have NO regrets WHATSOEVER...NONE NOT ONE. It does SOOOOO much more than I am telling you about. I send grandparents photos and stuff via email right as we do them. Last trip to WDW the grandparents said they felt like they were right there with us. It was FANTASTIC and again the thing that is AWESOME....and you only know this if you HAVE an iPhone.,....the interface, the way you put information into the phone, the way you get it to do what you want it to do, it sooooooooo EASY EASY EASY, that there is the KEY. IT IS SO DAMN EASY to use.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Just to clarify.... that sentence was supposed to say... "NO WAY ... not no wait... Anyway what I mean to say is there is no way that any other phone is as easy and as fast to use as the iPhone, no way! People think about it. There are no keys. Let that sink in. How hard can it be? There is ONE BUTTON. It's E A S Y!!!
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Sounds like my Nokia 9300i communicator which is about 1/2 the price with a full on keyboard and compatability across all networks.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut it sounds like my Treo. I have full video and audio playback and everything else you featured. I also have 8gb of storage which is removable. Not downplaying your iPhone experience, but to say there is no other phone out there that can do that is just rediculous. Just about all of the other smart phones do the same thing. Just in a different manner. It really depends on how you go about getting it done.
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 Thanks everyone LOL! DVc dad you "sound" just like my son when he talks about his new toy. My son LOVES Apple products so to listen to him there is nothing to compare his iphone to. It was kind of amazing watching him go from taking a picture, sending it in email, checking directions and making a call, boom, boom, boom. Then again, I am pretty old school and it takes me forever to remember what our son shows me, I'd still be trying to figure out how to turn it on. I'll write down, Blackberry, Nokia 9300i and Treo and we'll go check them out. I appreciate having some first hand opinions about a product before the salesperson starts talking. Then we can compare with the iphone I suppose. Just to make DVC dad happy of course
Originally Posted By DVC_dad <<<Not downplaying your iPhone experience, but to say there is no other phone out there that can do that is just rediculous. Just about all of the other smart phones do the same thing. Just in a different manner. It really depends on how you go about getting it done.>>> I am NOT saying other phones can't do it. I know that other phones CAN do it. It's just so easy. I don't have any of the other phones to compare it to. I've only ever had a RAZR and a SLVR. They stink compared to this, but then they stink compared to your phones. You must wonder what the iPhone interface really is like. Afterall, Apple had all of you guy's phones to play with when figuring out how to best them. Maybe they didn't best them, but how would I know? I don't. Do you guys have iPhones......yet? It exceeds my needs and expectations.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad <<<It was kind of amazing watching him go from taking a picture, sending it in email, checking directions and making a call, boom, boom, boom. >>> Think about it. I am not an Apple fan across the board. I have a 7 year old iMac, and a MacBook. That's it with Apple. I have a Dell XPS notebook, and two older Winbooks. I have 6 PC desktops in my home and 9 more at my wife's office. I'm not a Mac Cult member per se...but I'm coming around. Think about it. Why would Apple spend a zillion dollars on R&D and another zillion dollars on marketing to release "just another smart phone." Don't listen to them. I keep screaming...it's the ease of use that is the key, or in the iPhone case, the ease isn't the key, becuase it doesn't have keys. Just compare them. You'll see. Apple had every smart phone on the market to tinker with while thining...how can we make this (not better) but easier, cooler, and more fun! I discover things the iPhone will do almost once per week now. Oh bother! Just go compare.
Originally Posted By peeaanuut You are saying the exact same things that a blackberry or treo or windows mobile user will tell you. Its the ease of use, etc. You never had a smartphone before this so you have no experience with other phones. Which is fine. Most blackberry user will tell you the same thing as it is their first smartphone and wont switch. I tried the others but not for long times and I have used the Palm OS for years now so I say the same thing about Palm. It is certainly biased because it is what I have used and trust. Just as you use the iPhone and trust it over the others. <<Oh bother! Just go compare.>> That is pretty much the best advice we can give at this point.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo Of all the interfaces I have experienced, Apple is about the most user friendly, but not much more than the Palm OS which is my preference and easier to integrate with windows apps. I hate blacknberries, they may be cheap, but they are cheap for a reason. It's OS is difficult and expensive to develop for and therefore maks it the least adaptable for multifunction use. I used to manage a mobile working team for a couple of years, it was great fun to play with all the toys. My issue with Apple is they charge too much for their product set and the experience is not actually that much greater than other platforms anymore.
Originally Posted By xrayvision There are few PDA smartphones that offer cameras with movie playback, wifi access, 3G, full querty keyboard, windows player, GPS navigation, etc. Iphones are great; but, using ATT as the provider is a bummer. Verizon does have a few good smartphones from Blackberry and Palm that comes with lots of options and faster data speeds than Att can provide. I like Windows OS pda phones because they allow for Word/Excel and Powerpoint docs to download at fast speeds with the option for editing tbese docs. You should use Google search for "smartphone reviews" or browse such sites as cnet.com for cell pbone reviews to determine which phone would be best based upon your usage requirements.
Originally Posted By amazedncal2 My mind is really spinning now I never thought about the speed between the different providers, just coverage and whether I can hear someone (again, to me, a cell phone is a phone.) Now our other son (25) is wishing an iphone for his birthday next week. He has also seen son #1's "magic" with the iphone and probably wants to play too I think I might forward this thread to him and let him do some research. Good idea xrayvision! Thanks again all!
Originally Posted By schnebs I thought the iPhone sounded cool, but I used to be a Cingular customer, and there's no way I'm going back with them. Hopefully,once the exclusive deal with AT&T ends, Apple will wise up and sell an unlocked iPhone that can be used with any provider you like. In the meantime, I picked up a new Nano, I'll stick with Verizon, and I'll save my pennies.
Originally Posted By chickendumpling Sooooo, I'm curious. What was the verdict? I had AT&T/Cingular forever but their coverage really sucked once we moved. In my area, Sprint has the best coverage, so it's looking like a Blackberry Pearl for me. (I need a smartphone and I want a camera.) Now as soon as I can bring myself to click on that button and spend that much money on myself for a phone, I'll be allll done.
