Smart phone purchasing advice please

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Battery life: It depends. I am a heavy internet user on my phone. So with the web running a lot, it drains fairly fast. I mean, not terribly fast, but I can suck a battery dry in an afternoon. Like I said, I use my phone for a laptop. Now, if I don't do that, if I just use it as a phone, then the battery lasts a good long time. Turn it off or at least send it to sleep, an it will last several days.

Reading on a Droid isn't that bad, even with my poor eyesight. You can adjust text size in most cases.

You can store music and books and documents and such in what's called a cloud. I am not sure how it works exactly, but to explain the functionality of it, picture a cloud floating in the sky over your head that you can store your music and books and stuff in. You buy a CD for your phone, you can opt to store it in your cloud. You can then pick up your Kindle and download your music either from the cloud or directly onto the device. But it stores all your stuff so that if something happens to your devices, you don't lose your stuff. Because it's safely in the cloud.

I can read a book on my Kindle and the cloud will save my place for me so I can pick up my phone and read from the same spot. The kindle will sinc with the phone, thus saving me the trouble of finding my place no matter what device I use.

And I just realize that while mine doesn't have a slide out keyboard, you can get a droid with that if you prefer it. Mine has a touch screen. And I love the way it anticipates words you're typing and lets you grab entire words if you see them appear as you're going along. Makes typing way faster.

I have a Droid X.

[Andara Bledin]

I know the boyfriend's phone when he was using it to push Internet to his computer (his on board ethernet died - a simple process to tether with an Android) would have power for just about 4 hours. Not only was it running the Internet, but it was pushing the Internet to a full computer. Slow, but better than nothing.

I want to get an HTC Evo if I do upgrade, unless something significantly better comes out.

^-.-^

[Jester]

Battery life: It depends. I am a heavy internet user on my phone. So with the web running a lot, it drains fairly fast. I mean, not terribly fast, but I can suck a battery dry in an afternoon. Like I said, I use my phone for a laptop.

While I can see myself occasionally using my phone for extended web use (mostly facebook, email, or sports score checking), I don't see myself making it into a mini laptop. Hell, my thumbs would fall off! Seriously, though, that's just not my style.

Reading on a Droid isn't that bad, even with my poor eyesight. You can adjust text size in most cases.

It's not about text size or eyesight in my cases. I just can't see reading a BOOK in that fashion. Emails, facebook, quick bites of stuff, sure. A book? Nah. Some people don't feel like a Kindle feels like a book to them. To me, I would feel the same way about a book on a phone. Partly because I would constantly be scrolling or turning the page, more than in a Kindle or a real book. Enough to drive me wacko. (Well, more wacko.) Other than occasional news articles, I just don't see me using my phone like this.

And I just realize that while mine doesn't have a slide out keyboard, you can get a droid with that if you prefer it. Mine has a touch screen. And I love the way it anticipates words you're typing and lets you grab entire words if you see them appear as you're going along. Makes typing way faster.

I think my sister has something like that on her phone. Which also results in her sending many texts that have the potential to end up on "Damn You Auto Correct." Just saying. (Not a fan of auto correct, as I usually know what I'm typing.)

[fireheart]

I think my sister has something like that on her phone. Which also results in her sending many texts that have the potential to end up on "Damn You Auto Correct." Just saying. (Not a fan of auto correct, as I usually know what I'm typing.)

Speaking of phone functions, a friend of mine has an iPhone. Specifically, the model with Siri. So my friend's boyfriend opted to ask this gem (quoted from my friend's FB)

So <boyfriend> asked my phone if it would give him oral sex. It's response was "I will do my best"
I am not sure what to make of that.......

In other words, be careful what you ask.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Jester, I think the phone for you maybe the Samsung EPIC:

http://shop.sprint.com/mysprint/shop...dt_phones&ptn=

Unfortunately physical keyboards on Android devices are less common than touch only, but there are a few out there. I got an HTC EVO a couple of years ago but when I was shopping it came down to either the EVO or the earlier Epic model, both of which I really liked. Also I'm pretty sure you can deactivate the auto correct feature.

I prefer android to iphone for a variety of reasons. I like being able to swap out the battery with ease. I like being able to completely customize the phone the way I want to. Smartphones come preloaded with apps and tools, some of which you'll never ever need (as an example in my case, I do not use my phone's Facebook app) but they are difficult to remove. It's easier with Android to get rid of junk like that than with iOS. Also, with an Iphone you HAVE to use Itunes (which I cannot STAND) to transfer music and other files from your phone to your computer. With an android device, your computer reads it as a flash drive and you just drag the files in, no extra software needed.

I found that using the stock battery on my EVO with medium to heavy use I could typically go a full waking day without needing to charge it (though not always).

The Epic comes with a 16GB sd card, my EVO came with an 8 GB. I loaded it with music and I still have half the memory card left. The sound quality is great and it doesn't use up as much of your battery as you might think. It's far and away the use of the display screen that kills the battery. Playing music while the screen is dark drains it much slower.

There are some apps you can only get for Iphones, but generally there are similar apps available for Android. Unless you need say a specific app targeted to a certain profession that is only available on iOS, you shouldn't feel too limited on Android.

Also, I would HIGHLY recommend buying a case for whatever phone you get. Otter Box is a good brand. I had one for my EVO and it saved my hide numerous times (I tend to drop my phone every so often). Interestingly I broke the darned thing when it slipped from my hand WHILE I WAS REMOVING IT FROM THE CASE. Go me!

Oh and don't pay through the nose for it! Cell phone stores charge WAY HIGH prices for chargers and cases and whatnot. Stick to Amazon or another website for better prices.

[Andara Bledin]

Accessories, beyond just the bog standard screen protector, should be acquired through third parties, such as shopping sites and eBay.

My phone lives in my back pocket - I've never had a case for it. The only reason I would get a case would be so that I could clip it to a belt loop instead.

^-.-^

[BlaqueKatt]

For size and keyboard comfort, Samsung Galaxy S II or III are probably the best size phones around, ask the phone dealer for something around that size if you want a decent sized keyboard.

actually the galaxy note is larger than the SIII
note=5.5 inch screen
SIII=5 inch screen

They're durable, but I highly recommend an otterbox case.

[fireheart]

Oooh yes, definitely get a case and definitely get it through a third party.

We have a few of them floating around the local shopping mall, where a case is like $10-$15. My little Wildfire is sporting a nice funky purple soft cover at the moment. (silicon)

[Jester]

Went out for a bike ride this afternoon, and near the end of it went to the local Radio Shack, not just to check out the phones in question, but also to buy a thumb drive for my computer.

Checked out the iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy III S (I think that's what it was). Both have their pros and cons.

The pros of the iPhone are its smaller and cheaper. The cons are the keyboard is also smaller, and I can't customize it, which drives me nuts.

The Samsung is the opposite. More expensive but more customizable, and bigger phone, which means bigger screen/keyboard.

And I definitely want a case for it, probably an Otterbox since their reputation is so stellar, but one major problem I have with an OB is that, when on the phone, it creates a large lip which makes typing a bit tough at times when you're using the bottom keys. I know why the lip is there (for if the phone falls screen screen side down), but it still drives me a bit nuts.

Went to the Sprint store as well, but they were closed. May check them out tomorrow. And sometime soon, I plan on talking to Sprint online. Right now I think it is down to either one of those two phones, or the comparable HTC.

[Bella_Vixen]

I use cellphoneshop . net for all my cell battery/accesory needs.