Apple's Steve Jobs is Dead

[SubGod22]

I've never owned a smartphone. Never felt the need up until now. I'm relying on others to educate me and that's why I've done so much reading. And to be honest, the tech guy I talked about told me to stay away from the iPhone. I still looked at it and like the options available with Droid.

I'm not a hardcore tech guy and don't get into all of the specs nor do I understand them all. I have friends that do that stuff for me when it matters. I was looking at the Charge, but then when I was told to check out the Bionic, it all made sense. It compared very favorably to the others and had some impressive reviews. Battery life appears to be superior to pretty much anything comparable on the market and the 4G aspect is definitely a plus. I know it won't stay at the top for long as there are more Droid releases coming out next month I believe, but I don't have to have the greatest phone out there, but I want to get bang for the buck and I didn't see that happening with the iPhone.

The iPhone and Bionic compare fairly well on some of the specs. But all in all, the Bionic won. I also like the bigger screen provided. The size of the phone doesn't bother me at all. It also does everything I need of it. Larger screen, better battery and 4G made it an easy call over everything else I looked at. The 8mp camera is nice, but that's hardly my biggest concern. I was happy about my choice before, but when my iPhone friend was going on and on about the Bionic after he got to play with one, I know I made the right choice for me.

Plus, it sounds like a number of iPhone fans are a little disappointed with Apple and what appears to be their lack of drive in this market. Maybe the 5 will wow everyone, but I see few who are expecting it. I also know a number of people who have switched from iPhone to Droid and wouldn't go back. So I'll admit I was leaning that direction from the start. But I was still somewhat open to the iPhone.

I love my iPod. Except it's not big enough. Really would like to upgrade so I could actually hold all of my music.

[Kung Wu]

I've read a ton of things recently as I was looking for a new phone. The new iPhone is nice, but is hardly the standard as there are phones that have been on the market for months that are still more advanced than that one.

Like what?

If you want links, I'd have to go back and find them.

I don't want links. I'm a iPhone user so I know it streaks and weaknesses (I'm also a recovering blackberry user).

I am interest to know what u are looking in a phone and what u found that was lacking in the iPhone that wouldn't meet your expectations.

The very first one that comes to mind at least several times a week is lack of Flash. It drives me nuts.

[Kung Wu]

A second one would be their unwillingness to allow 3rd party browsers. I really, really wish I had something like FireFox on my iPhone.

[Kung Wu]

A third one would be lack of an iPhone SDK for Windows.

[Kung Wu]

A fourth would be the inability to swap batteries. And a fifth would be the inability to swap out an SD card.

[SB Shock]

I've never owned a smartphone. Never felt the need up until now.

Why do you feel the need now? Most people really don't "use" a smart phone to it fullest. What feature were you looking for that made you want to spend that extra money?

I'm relying on others to educate me and that's why I've done so much reading. And to be honest, the tech guy I talked about told me to stay away from the iPhone.

If you rely on others, then you are dependent on them (and their biases). If I was giving advice I would not be telling them to stay away from something but I would be telling him what the relative strength and weaknesses of each one are and let him make up his mind.

I still looked at it and like the options available with Droid.

And what were they? You keep saying that but you give no details.

Battery life appears to be superior to pretty much anything comparable on the market

What is the battery life of your phone?

and the 4G aspect is definitely a plus.

Except you won't get to use it unless you actually travel to a city that has 4G coverage. That is one reason why apple didn't release 4g phone - not enough infrastructure to warrant it.

I know it won't stay at the top for long as there are more Droid releases coming out next month I believe, but I don't have to have the greatest phone out there, but I want to get bang for the buck and I didn't see that happening with the iPhone.

Again you say this - but you don't give specifics. What were the areas where the droid provided more bang for the buck than Apple?

The iPhone and Bionic compare fairly well on some of the specs. But all in all, the Bionic won.

What specs did it win in?

I also like the bigger screen provided. The size of the phone doesn't bother me at all.

I have heard some who want IPHONE to go to a bigger screen. I laugh, if you want a bigger screen that is why they make the IPAD. I want a phone that is a phone size, but that is just me. If I want a tablet then I will buy a tablet.

Plus, it sounds like a number of iPhone fans are a little disappointed with Apple and what appears to be their lack of drive in this market.

Lack of drive? Again they are relasing a major update of the operating system (IOS 5) that that make is making a huge change in things. Of course some of things may not mean anything to you since you are not a iphone user.

1. Notifications are being changed big time.

2. Texting becomes iMessage which now will have alot if not more features of Blackberry BBM (which imo was the best text messaging program out there).

3. Twitter is being integrated into IOS 5

4. Updating the camera and it's function so it is quicker and easier to take. And will push photos to your other devices.

5. Safari is having a major upgrade (I already like safari)

6. Calendar is being upgraded so you can push events to other (I miss this on my blackberry).

7. Mail is getting upgraded and will be integrated with all your other devices.

8. Automatic wi-fi sync overnight without computer.

9. iCloud - you music/photos/documents/movies are now integrated across platforms.

then you add the new 4S phone that has a dual core chip, 8mp camera with HD video and Siri (which I'm going to be interested to see if really works as advertised)

This is not a company that is sitting by not pushing the envelope. Does that mean their perfect, not it all. But I still haven't any other phone do everything they do as well, they might do something better in one area (and if that area is important to you, then it might make sense for that phone).

Maybe the 5 will wow everyone, but I see few who are expecting it. I also know a number of people who have switched from iPhone to Droid and wouldn't go back.

And I could point to some people I know that went from a blackberry to a droid and back to a blackberry, before they moved to IPHONE. They despised the droid - does that mean anything - nope. Just the droid really didn't do what they wanted very well.

Depending on what you are really using your smart phone for drives you to different smart phones (albeit blackberry, apple or droid). I know people who love their blackberry because it does exactly what they want for them and it does it well (much better than a droid or apple).

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

Im very impressed with my ipod touch and I look forward to continuing that with my Iphone.

Trying to talk the wife into letting me pre-order the 4s with Verizon.

The icloud is so whats up.

[wufan]

I've read a ton of things recently as I was looking for a new phone. The new iPhone is nice, but is hardly the standard as there are phones that have been on the market for months that are still more advanced than that one.

Like what?

If you want links, I'd have to go back and find them.

I don't want links. I'm a iPhone user so I know it streaks and weaknesses (I'm also a recovering blackberry user).

I am interest to know what u are looking in a phone and what u found that was lacking in the iPhone that wouldn't meet your expectations.

The very first one that comes to mind at least several times a week is lack of Flash. It drives me nuts.

These are all good points, but I'll give some counters:

1) lack of Flash:

I agree. That's a problem. On the other hand, flash is a good place to hide viruses. By not allowing flash, Apple keeps your computer/device running properly. Also, HTML5 will allow you to use flash applications, but not to their full extent.

2) unwillingness to allow 3rd party browsers.

Not a biggie for me. The reason Apple works so well is because it is designed to do so with apple operating system (including safari). By allowing the third party browsers, you lose the ease of use.

3) lack of an iPhone SDK for Windows

Yep! The iPhone and other iProducts are designed for ease of use with apple OS. See above.

4) the inability to swap batteries.

Who cares! The battery life is double that of other products and the charge time is half as long.

5) the inability to swap out an SD card.

Which of the three major formats would you recommend? Choose the most popular one and it only works with half of the devices out there. Bottom line is that you can easily connect your phone to a computer and download anything from itunes stored on the drive. Want to hook it up directly to your camera or use an SD? There's a component connection you can purchase.

The only one I will grant you as an iPhone inferiority is flash. All the others are only useful if you have a specific need or are a real tech-geek. And if you're REALLY a tech-geek, you can jailbreak your phone and do all of that stuff anyway.

Also, I'm not one to criticize for using a google or other operating system. They all have positives and negatives and each has a specific market it drives towards and excells at. If you prefer something other than apple, no problem, but I think people that don't like apple are generally unfamiliar or have a specific, non-mainstream need that apple doesn't satisfy.

Of note, my brother is a web-developer and they get to order any one laptop and desktop computer they want. They all use Mac products, 100% of the 17 people that work there. Why? Because they work better.

[SubGod22]

Why do you feel the need now? Most people really don't "use" a smart phone to it fullest. What feature were you looking for that made you want to spend that extra money?

With work, officiating and school, I feel the need for better email access, a more useful calendar, better internet function and the ability to keep up and communicate through social networking. Extra money isn't a big issue with the discount I'll be getting with both the phone and the plan. Not to mention any accessories I may need and the ease of replacing the phone should something go wrong with it.

If you rely on others, then you are dependent on them (and their biases). If I was giving advice I would not be telling them to stay away from something but I would be telling him what the relative strength and weaknesses of each one are and let him make up his mind.

That was one guy. As I've said, even my iPhone loving friend says I'm better off with the Bionic with what it offers, how easy it is to use and what he figures I need from our discussions. Regardless, the opinions and knowledge of those I know and trust, especially the tech geeks, are ones I'm going to go with. But I've also read a number of articles online that lead me to feel that the Bionic suits me better than any other phone available.

And what were they? You keep saying that but you give no details.

It's little things here and there. I'd have to go back and look at some of the articles to give you details as that's not my thing here. I was taking notes on different phones and this one always came out on top. Ease of use, batter life and how compatible it is with me are small things I recall. Again, I'm not a big tech guy.

What is the battery life of your phone?

Talk time I believe is 650 minutes. Most everything I've read says it will easily make it through the day with talk and a lot of internet and will be fine. But having extra battery makes me feel better when I'm officiating at some small school in the middle of nowhere.

Except you won't get to use it unless you actually travel to a city that has 4G coverage. That is one reason why apple didn't release 4g phone - not enough infrastructure to warrant it.

Wichita is in Verizons 4G network already. I know it's not wide spread at this point, but it continues to grow. I've also looked at a couple places I travel to as I have family and it's there as well. Even where I'm at outside of Wichita, I'm still covered with 4G. So it's definitely a plus.

What specs did it win in?

Again, I'd have to go back and find all that info. It was sometime last week and I basically did a side by side comparison. There were close or similar in a lot of aspects, but the Bionic was still better as a whole. To fully answer much of these questions I'll have to find time to find all the info I went over the past couple of weeks. Not sure I have that in me today.

I have heard some who want IPHONE to go to a bigger screen. I laugh, if you want a bigger screen that is why they make the IPAD. I want a phone that is a phone size, but that is just me. If I want a tablet then I will buy a tablet.

I have no desire to have a tablet. Screen size is a personal preferance. The Bionic isn't all that much bigger in the grand scheme of things. It's fine by me.

Lack of drive? Again they are relasing a major update of the operating system (IOS 5) that that make is making a huge change in things. Of course some of things may not mean anything to you since you are not a iphone user.

1. Notifications are being changed big time.

2. Texting becomes iMessage which now will have alot if not more features of Blackberry BBM (which imo was the best text messaging program out there).

3. Twitter is being integrated into IOS 5

4. Updating the camera and it's function so it is quicker and easier to take. And will push photos to your other devices.

5. Safari is having a major upgrade (I already like safari)

6. Calendar is being upgraded so you can push events to other (I miss this on my blackberry).

7. Mail is getting upgraded and will be integrated with all your other devices.

8. Automatic wi-fi sync overnight without computer.

9. iCloud - you music/photos/documents/movies are now integrated across platforms.

then you add the new 4S phone that has a dual core chip, 8mp camera with HD video and Siri (which I'm going to be interested to see if really works as advertised)

This is not a company that is sitting by not pushing the envelope. Does that mean their perfect, not it all. But I still haven't any other phone do everything they do as well, they might do something better in one area (and if that area is important to you, then it might make sense for that phone).

That came from my tech and iPhone friend. He feels Apple does just enough and is fine letting others lead the way right now.

And I could point to some people I know that went from a blackberry to a droid and back to a blackberry, before they moved to IPHONE. They despised the droid - does that mean anything - nope. Just the droid really didn't do what they wanted very well.

Depending on what you are really using your smart phone for drives you to different smart phones (albeit blackberry, apple or droid). I know people who love their blackberry because it does exactly what they want for them and it does it well (much better than a droid or apple).

I'm sure you could, however, I don't know those people. Or anybody that falls into that group. We all go off of what we know and what those around us have experienced. I have some iPhone friends who love their phone. I don't have any who've hated Droid. If I do, I haven't heard from them. I've had some that became disenchanted with Blackberry.

This has been a hectic day at work and I'm sorry if I haven't answered the questions to your satisfaction. I'm not as into all the inner workings of phones and computers as others. I rely on my friends who love that stuff to assist me when needed. Also, answering these questions over a long period of time while work has to be done may mean a few of these answers don't make sense as I come and go from this post over time. Perhaps I may find time over the weekend to go back and find some of my notes or the sites I used to come to these conclusions.

I forgot about the whole Flash thing. My iPhone friend did point that out to me earlier this week.

[shock]

Sub, I have a DROID and have had it for about a year. I hate it. I absolutely cannot stand it one bit. After about a month it started getting buggy and no matter how many times I have wiped it, it never fixes it. The only reason I keep it is as a mobile internet device. It allows me to connect to the internet via bluetooth for free. That is the only upside to my phone.

[wufan]

Sub, I have a DROID and have had it for about a year. I hate it. I absolutely cannot stand it one bit. After about a month it started getting buggy and no matter how many times I have wiped it, it never fixes it. The only reason I keep it is as a mobile internet device. It allows me to connect to the internet via bluetooth for free. That is the only upside to my phone.

My sister had the same issue. She went Blackberry, Droid, iPhone. I'm going Blackberry, non-smart phone. Really don't it or the extra payment.

[SB Shock]

I've read a ton of things recently as I was looking for a new phone. The new iPhone is nice, but is hardly the standard as there are phones that have been on the market for months that are still more advanced than that one.

Like what?

If you want links, I'd have to go back and find them.

I don't want links. I'm a iPhone user so I know it streaks and weaknesses (I'm also a recovering blackberry user).

I am interest to know what u are looking in a phone and what u found that was lacking in the iPhone that wouldn't meet your expectations.

The very first one that comes to mind at least several times a week is lack of Flash. It drives me nuts.

These are all good points, but I'll give some counters:

1) lack of Flash:

I agree. That's a problem. On the other hand, flash is a good place to hide viruses. By not allowing flash, Apple keeps your computer/device running properly. Also, HTML5 will allow you to use flash applications, but not to their full extent.

2) unwillingness to allow 3rd party browsers.

Not a biggie for me. The reason Apple works so well is because it is designed to do so with apple operating system (including safari). By allowing the third party browsers, you lose the ease of use.

3) lack of an iPhone SDK for Windows

Yep! The iPhone and other iProducts are designed for ease of use with apple OS. See above.

4) the inability to swap batteries.

Who cares! The battery life is double that of other products and the charge time is half as long.

5) the inability to swap out an SD card.

Which of the three major formats would you recommend? Choose the most popular one and it only works with half of the devices out there. Bottom line is that you can easily connect your phone to a computer and download anything from itunes stored on the drive. Want to hook it up directly to your camera or use an SD? There's a component connection you can purchase.

The only one I will grant you as an iPhone inferiority is flash. All the others are only useful if you have a specific need or are a real tech-geek. And if you're REALLY a tech-geek, you can jailbreak your phone and do all of that stuff anyway.

Also, I'm not one to criticize for using a google or other operating system. They all have positives and negatives and each has a specific market it drives towards and excells at. If you prefer something other than apple, no problem, but I think people that don't like apple are generally unfamiliar or have a specific, non-mainstream need that apple doesn't satisfy.

Of note, my brother is a web-developer and they get to order any one laptop and desktop computer they want. They all use Mac products, 100% of the 17 people that work there. Why? Because they work better.

Very well said. I will add two things.

Flash has never really been a problem for me (might be because those sites who use flash have actually written an app for it so I don't have to visit their website). But if flash is really important for you then I could see that being an issue.

As far as batteries, who really walks around with a spare battery (and if they did what would the odds be that it is charged). But there are solutions. I have a compact Digipower battery that I take with me when I'm concerned that I might come up short on battery and not have the ability to charge. It holds almost 2 iPhone charges. It also can be used as a duel iphone wall charger.

But I find in general my iphone battery life last my whole day. Now if I'm at say a volleyball tournament watching netflix and browsing the web all afternoon and listening to music while running my GPS...

[ShockerFever]

I've had no issues with my iPhone. I like that it all fits uniquely under one package. Apple is, by far, the leader in desktops/laptops. Not really close. They paved the way for the smartphones. So to say they are "behind" in anything technologically is absolutely absurd. You can argue that they are on the same level as a lot of other smartphones, but definitely not playing catch up.

It works both ways. You may know one geek friend who is all about the androids. You may have another all about the iPhones. It's a personal preference.

I've experienced both and I'm plenty happy with the iPhone 4.