Verizon Android OS phones or...

[mtnbkr]

I've been eyeballing these phones.  Between my new every two promotion and employee discount (while it lasts), I could get one for a good price except for one problem, they require a data plan.  That's another $25+ a month for a device that also has wifi.  I wonder if it's worth the expense or if a plain phone and Apple Ipod Touch would give me the functionality I want without the fluff and expense.

I currently use a Treo smartphone.  I don't have a data plan for it, but I use the Palm OS features
frequently (calendar, a few apps, etc).

Opinions?

Chris

[Gewehr98]

If I didn't like my Samsung Reclaim so much, I'd have gone with a Palm Pre. 

The Android does seem to jab it into the iPhone's ribs though, doesn't it?

[Balog]

I had coffee with a guy who works as a salesman for a cell phone software development company. Apparently the Droid (and the whole Google open sourcing the software) is turning the industry on it's ear more than the iphone did. Not totally relevant, but it was interesting to me.

[zahc]

I would totally have a droid if I was to have any fancified cell phone at all. We went to look at them a few days ago.

[taurusowner]

Ive got a T Mobile MyTouch which runs Android, and it is the best phone I've ever used.  The open source nature of the OS allows so many more apps with more features than the iphone.  It can also run programs in the background, which the iphone cannot.  This allows apps to do things like change the ringtone/volume/wallpaper settings based on location, etc.  It can also run widget-like apps on the home screen like a media player, calender, sports scores and more.  I'm pretty sure Android is going to blow the iphone out of the water.  The iphone OS is the phone itself.  It's an Apple product.  The Android OS is a standalone OS that has been licensed to multiple phone manufacturers and service providers.  Apple has once again shot itself in the foot by making everything proprietary.  A phone OS like Android that can be used and shaped to fit whatever the device or service provider wants is gonna hit Apple hard.

[Ben]

I got an iPod Touch for Xmas last year and began using it in conjunction with my cell phone as you're contemplating. It was okay for a while, but I'm away from networks often enough that when I really wanted to connect to use some of the better apps like Google Earth or something, was almost always when I was nowhere near an available wireless network. I think to really get full use out of the Droid, you'll want the data plan.

My work has been trying to get iPhone contracts (we're currently on a Verizon contract for all wireless phones) to issue to employees in certain field and IT jobs. I'd be one of them and along with others am trying to get the powers that be to go Droid if we have to carry a "full function" phone with us. That said, I don't know how thrilled I am to carry either one. I'm really hard on phones and that iPod touch I was using didn't survive me. I currently carry a gZone, which is not the greatest in features, but it's been relatively Ben-proof. I'd give the Droid a shot though.

[BrokenPaw]

I have a Droid, and for what I use it for, it's spectacular; the ability to ssh and then tunnel VNC over it allows me to remote-admin my home servers via 3g.  Usually the ssh alone is enough, and I could use my itouch from a wifi hotspot for that, but the Droid has a real, actual keyboard, which is nice both from a tactile perspective and a screen-real estate standpoint.  I will say that the web experience is nicer in the itouch, becauce the droid doesn't have pinch-gesture zoom, and the touch screen is a little finicky while browsing.

Still, side by side, the Droid beats the iPhone/touch on basis of the keyboard and the tunneling, and the 3G alone makes it beat the touch.

Typos in this post are due to posting from an itouch and the fact that it's lack of arrow keys make things a pita to edit.  One more point for the Droid.

[BryanP]

I have to admit, the Droid is making me wish I didn't have so long left on my Sprint contract.

[S. Williamson]

Whipped up quick and dirty before Harold Tuttle could beat me to it:



 

[Vodka7]

I've been eyeballing these phones.  Between my new every two promotion and employee discount (while it lasts), I could get one for a good price except for one problem, they require a data plan.  That's another $25+ a month for a device that also has wifi.  I wonder if it's worth the expense or if a plain phone and Apple Ipod Touch would give me the functionality I want without the fluff and expense.

I used a Touch and a dumbphone for a while, but my I had the exact same experience Ben did.  The Touch was great for reading around the house (while watching TV or in the bathroom), listening to podcasts on my walk to work, and watching TV or movies at work on my lunch break.  But, every time I REALLY wanted to use the internet (server down at home, needing directions) I didn't have  a Wifi signal.  I settled for a BlackBerry because the Droid hadn't been announced when I got my smart phone, but if I was in the market now I wouldn't think of buying anything else.

One note--it could be more than a $25 increase.  If you're a moderate texter now, you'll be a heavy texter with a smartphone.  I went from ~100 texts a month on my dumbphone to ~400/mo on my BlackBerry, and now that I have OS 5.0 with threaded messaging on my phone (and several friends and coworkers I text regularly who also have smartphones) I'm around 800/mo.  My minute usage has stayed pretty even at around 100 peak minutes per month.

For 450 minutes, unlimited text, data, and email, I pay $83.00/mo before tax (after my 17% corporate discount; the regular plan is 99.99/mo.)  On my dumbphone it was only 40-something for 250 texts and 450 minutes.

[jackdanson]

I nearly did what you are contemplating... getting a touch and a cheap phone, I ended up getting an Iphone (no droid at the time) and I'm quite happy with it.  The smart phones are just nice, you don't have to worry about your wifi connection all the time and you've only got to carry one thing around.  In my opinion the data plan is worth it, I use it near constantly, streaming podcasts or pandora in my car is great.  Plus the GPS features are awesome.  My download speeds are pretty quick on 3g, not quite as fast as when on wifi, but plenty fast for browsing or downloading music.

Try to get on a family plan with some friends/family, it really cuts down the costs, I only pay $55 a month for my iphone, I'm not sure how many texts or minutes I get, I think it's divided between everyone, but there are 5 of us on the plan and we never come close to the limit.  (of course I only use about 200 texts a month and 300 minutes of talk time)

[Perd Hapley]

 Apple has once again shot itself in the foot by making everything proprietary.  A phone OS like Android that can be used and shaped to fit whatever the device or service provider wants is gonna hit Apple hard.

Is that similar to what happened when PC's started competing against Apple Computers in the 80's?

[taurusowner]

Well until Android, a phone device and the phone OS were one and the same.  This is similar to Apple computer machines and the Mac OS being one and the same.  It took Windows to separate the OS from the box and license the software to different hardware manufacturers.  Now Google has done the same with phones, while apple placed their bets on a phone and an OS being one inseparable unit.  A mistake on their part.  With Android, one can purchase a myriad of phones from multiple carriers to fit their personal preference, but still have the same benefits of a popular OS, app market, and streamlined Google account services.  Just as one can buy a Dell or an HP with whatever processor or videocard they want and still enjoy Windows XP or 7, one can now get a Verizon Droid, or a T-Mobile G1 or MyTouch and have the same quality OS.  Apple is going to lose this one.

[Snowdog]

My wife and I are switching from Sprint to Verizon in February when our contract expires. A coworker is doing the same in 2 days. Both he and his wife are planning on using Droids, so they'll be our giunnea pigs.  He's sold on the open source idea and looks forward to making his own apps as he's into that kind of thing.  If it works for them, we'll do the same. 

I'm currently using a simple Katana LX but miss the features of the previous phone (Audiovox PPC-6700), specifically the wifi.


Edit to say: Jackdanson, thanks for mentioning Pandora Radio! I hadn't discovered it before and it looks to be just the thing for me.

[mtnbkr]

Actually, I'm totally sold on the Android idea, just not crazy about being forced to buy another $25+ plan each month.  I currently have a Smartphone (Palmone Centro) and have used them for several years now, but all without data plans (use it as a disconnected device).  With built in wifi, I'll still be able to get online when I want even without 3G.  Grrr.  Maybe I'll wait till the new job starts and see if I find some business use in order to justify the cost.

As for texting, I have a qwerty keyboard on my Centro, but I mainly use texting to send myself reminders.  Most of my friends and family aren't into texting, so it doesn't get used for person to person comms. 

I dunno.  I'm sure I'll find all sorts of uses if I get it, but I really do try to keep my expenses at a minimum.  This feels more like frivolity than a "need".  At least with the Ipod Touch, I won't be locked into a service.  Less than 10 month's 3G service will pay for an Ipod Touch.

Chris

[longeyes]

I have an iPod Touch and I love it, but...

Now and then I get iPhone envy because of network accessibility.  I've decided to go with the Mobile Hotspot / MiFi device offered by Verizon and Sprint (it will be Verizon in my case; better network).  You become your own hotspot and can have up to five users at a time.  Besides my Touch I have a netbook (two-year-old Asus eee pc) and a couple of Mac laptops I also want to be able to use Wherever.  With the MiFi I can use any wi-fi-enabled device.  To me this seems like the best solution, for me anyway, if I'm going to have a contract.