Smart phone decisions..

[brain55]

I just got a Samsung Galaxy S3 today. I had an HTC EVO 4G before this. I loved the interface and pretty much everything else about it, except the terrible battery life. We will soon see how I like this one.

[jejeosborne]

i got a chance to play with all 3 phones today, but for just a few minutes :-(

I am a Mac/Apple person in heart - BUT the screen was quite small on the 5 and I was shocked that the 4s screen is NOT that much smaller than the 5. I know the 5 has a 4" screen BUT they got it by making the screen narrower than the 4s.. In real life - if you are viewing the screen in landscape mode the 4s screen is actually taller

I loved the screens on the Razr Maxx and S3 - But when i turned the s3 to landscape i kept hitting the side buttons though

thanks for all the input

Brian

Might want to rechecked. Both the iPhone 4s and the iPhone 5 have the same screen width, 640 pixels with 326 pixels per inch. The iPhone 5 is just taller, 16:9 aspect ratio. I am not a some die hard apple guy but have been very happy with the service and durability of their phones. I like the size of 5 actually because it is still very pocketable and my short thumbs can use it with one hand. I also believe their customer service is awesome. They have next day aired two new phones to me with no questions asked when we had issues. Realize I have 10 iPhones on my account and have owned them since they came out and I have teenagers who drop them in the toilet or try to jailbreak them and screw up the firmware.

[TeamNH]

Oh really. I go with iPhone's because they plain frickin' work just like their computers and no other reason. I have no friends to keep up with, the JD effect give me a break. Every single cellphone I've had before including an iPhone had to have a different type charger connection so there goes your, "I hate having to buy accessories that work only on one device." reasoning. That's why WalMart has the charger pigtail hanging out the box nowadays so people will buy the right one. All headphone jacks are universal these days whether it's an iPhone or and Android. I've had a cellphone since they came in a bag back in the early 90's so I'm not a noob when it comes to cellphones.

OT: There's no "brand effects" around my wife's operation she buys whatever works, whether it's Kubota, CaseIH, John deere, New Holland, Krone, Precision Welding, Amco, etc.

Actually Grateful11, 90% of phones sold today and for the past 2 years all use a micro USB charging connection. Pretty much as it stands now, Apple is the only one that is different. I have over 20 different phones in my store, all of them use the micro USB connection, Apples Iphone 5 included, but they(Apple) found away to make only their charger work, other micro USB wont work. There maybe a few exceptions that are probably phones sold by other carrier's.

And I never said Iphones dont work, I said they are not for everyone. They are a great product as I mentioned before. About the whole John Deere effect, I am just giving you my experience of what I see happening every day. You purchase the Iphone because that is what is best for you. When people walk in my store and said "I want an Iphone." I ask why? I want to make sure that is the best for their needs. Sometimes it is, like in your case, other times its not. Its my job to show them all of their options and let them choose which to go with.

Apple has done a great job with marketing, people say "is that an Iphone?" because of marketing, there are other types of smartphones but because of marketing they walk in and say "I want an Iphone" and what they really mean is "I want a smartphone". So yes, there are brand effects, and I am happy that you and your wife saw past them and got what is best for you.

[TeamNH]

In all fairness TeamNH, you own a Verizon store, so likely have access to the latest and greatest in phones (using the latest model would be part of the job). But I don't understand pushing out updates to a phone that f's the functionality, period, full stop (no apps were installed prior to the update that started the issue).

Once bitten, twice shy.

I agree that better testing should have been done and if they felt they didnt need to for older phones, dont push it out to the older phones.

Like I mentioned go with what is best for you. If you feel that is Apple that is great. All I am suggesting is to look at everything before you buy. If you have already and want apple that is great, or like you mentioned you got burned with a HTC and dont want another Droid, then go with apple, that is fine too!

When I purchased my current phone, HTC Rezound, I did so after the Rezound was end of life. I choose it over the s3 and the iphone5. Do I have access to the latest and greatest, yes, no different than you do. But that's not what I felt was best for me.

[TeamNH]

TeamNH - any ides when/if Verizon will offer the "double your data" incentive again?


Brian

Brian, no, I dont know anything before any of you. They keep all that info locked down.

[EddieWalker]

I had an older Samsung Galaxy phone that has been locking up on me and not responding to commands. In the past couple of months, it's gotten so bad that I was taking out the battery several times a day to reboot it. Everything just got really bad right after my two year contract came up, wich is kind of interesting timing. I thought about Apple, but I've never been a big fan and don't really care for their products. I looked and read the reviews, talked to quite a few people and decided on the Motorolla Razzr Maxx HD. It cost a little over $350 out the door.

I'm impressed with how fast it is, and the battery. I use my phone all day long. Every one that I've had before would almost last most of the day, but usually end up on my car charger by 3 or 4 pm. This phone is still at 80 percent charge by the end of the day!!!!

The camera is great. The one thing that Apple had going for it was it's camera, but from what I can tell, this camera is just as good.

I'm still looking for a case for it. I tend to drop my phone quite a bit, and I want something to cushion the fall. That also might have something to do with the issues I had with the Samsung and why I looked at getting another before deciding on the Razzr. I want a bright color for a case, and the only sources I've found are onlne. The blaze orange one turned out to be pink and I was unable to turn it on with the case on it, so that went in the garbage. Now I'm waiting on a heavy equipment shade of yellow case that I found on ebay.

It's gonna be tough to find a better phone then the Razzr HD

Eddie

[jejeosborne]

Actually Grateful11, 90% of phones sold today and for the past 2 years all use a micro USB charging connection. Pretty much as it stands now, Apple is the only one that is different. I have over 20 different phones in my store, all of them use the micro USB connection, Apples Iphone 5 included, but they(Apple) found away to make only their charger work, other micro USB wont work. There maybe a few exceptions that are probably phones sold by other carrier's.

I agree that the micro USB would have been nice but with all the 3rd party vendors making accessories, I can buy charge cords for $0.99 on amazon. I actually like the new lightning cable because it goes in both directions which is helpful in the dark are while driving. Try that with a micro USB. Also, there are many more accessories such as docking stations, cases, etc. that are tailored to apple.

The only option missing from the iPhone is a memory card slot but with the cloud based services now it is a little less required.

[xtn]

My Galaxy S2 "just works" also. Not bashing iPhones at all; just saying that such an argument is weak sauce.

Now, plenty of people with the same phone as me have issues. Look on any cell phone forum and you will find complaints and problems. That's true for iPhones as well. But MINE "just works." Knock on wood! I'll probably end up with a lemon phone next time because I've made this post!

xtn

[big e]

Slightly different topic... does anyone get a "farm" discount from their carrier? For instance most employees of larger companies here get a 10-15% discount from cel carriers. There is one available for my wifes company but I'd have to changeover my account that I've have for a decade and do new credit check, etc. Is there any Farm Bureau or any other "farm" discount that anyone has discovered?
We are about to re-up to smartphone world. iPhones.

[jejeosborne]

Actually Grateful11, 90% of phones sold today and for the past 2 years all use a micro USB charging connection. Pretty much as it stands now, Apple is the only one that is different. I have over 20 different phones in my store, all of them use the micro USB connection, Apples Iphone 5 included, but they(Apple) found away to make only their charger work, other micro USB wont work. There maybe a few exceptions that are probably phones sold by other carrier's.

I agree that the micro USB would have been nice but with all the 3rd party vendors making accessories, I can buy charge cords for $0.99 on amazon. I actually like the new lightning cable because it goes in both directions which is helpful in the dark or while driving. Try that with a micro USB. Also, there are many more accessories such as docking stations, cases, etc. that are tailored to apple.

The only option missing from the iPhone is a memory card slot but with the cloud based services now it is a little less required.