Which Smart phone.

Warren

Just some food for thought regarding Android support at the moment, picked up on Slashdot.

http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support

Averatu

I'd say fashion statement for sure. Nothing says 'success' and 'cool' like a fancy phone.
Reliability, ease of use. Dont want to spend 3 months learning how to use it, and the it dies on me.

Squonk

X-rated Bob wrote: When you get a blackberry you don't just get a phone, you get a whole package. This includes surfing, facebook, email, phone-to-phone messaging and some other functions via the blackberry network (that was infamously globally down earlier this month). For me the killer app on BB is the messenger (BBM) but that requires the other parties to have a BB too.

Now what happens if you buy an android phone or an i-phone? Do you also get this package deal with the 'net access thrown in at a fixed fee? Is there something analogous to BBM, and does it interface with BBM?

There are other apps like BBM, the most common one is Whatsapp which is available for Android, BB , Apple and Symbian OS.
No other Manufacturer has the BIS feature of internet surfing for a fixed fee.

http://www.whatsapp.com/download/

I have been using this app for a long time to communicate with Android, Apple and Symbian devices

Squonk

Averatu wrote: I'd say fashion statement for sure. Nothing says 'success' and 'cool' like a fancy phone.
Reliability, ease of use. Dont want to spend 3 months learning how to use it, and the it dies on me.

The iPhone is for you then. It looks good, has a solid casing and there are incredible Apps ?

Averatu

See phones disqualified from consideration in original post. What about other, lesser publicised options? Best phone I ever had was Nokia N70, had it for 3years till I could not find a new battery. Did not function so well as a music player, but I could switch from mail to sms to browser on the fly without shutting everything down.

Squonk

Averatu wrote: -Everyone I know who has a Blackberry cant stop complaining about them.
-Saw a friend on the weekend who's had his 3rd iPhone4 fail on him, pity, cool apps etc.

I work at a big corporate and from my experience, there are always dodgy devices in all of these Manufacturers stock.

There are other factors to consider as well

The Service Provider is the main source of support- MTN, Vodacom, CellC have many reports of good vs bad service, someone will always have a contradicting report about a Service Provider. I know of 2 people who got new Blackberrys, one from MTN and one from Cell C - one phone had all the settings and software setup, the other didn't??? Doesn't mean that the BB is a bad phone, but one person might think so!

Squonk

Averatu wrote: See phones disqualified from consideration in original post. What about other, lesser publicised options? Best phone I ever had was Nokia N70, had it for 3years till I could not find a new battery. Did not function so well as a music player, but I could switch from mail to sms to browser on the fly without shutting everything down.

I dont think you can disqualify phones, just because some people you know have had some problems. You must look at the big picture as I have explained in previous posts

shaundtsl

Apprently the new nokias are going to be pretty awesome, maybe check them out.

I am a iphone user and I love it. Its the only time I have upgraded to the same phone (but later model) when my contract is up.

Mannoroth

I've had bad experience with BlackBerry, it freezes constantly, always dropping my calls, web browsing so slow you might just as well drive to internet cafe, battery life hardly exceeds 24hrs.. but mine is the curve which is entry level model. Many people say that the BB's are actually good, but you need to go for one a bit higher in the range.

After all the bad publicity which wasn't handled very well I can't do much more for you Blackberry ? They did however give users free airtime and sms after the downtime saga.

domhatch

i've had two iphones, and i will never have another communications device NOT manufactured by apple. to clarify - my next, and every one thereafter, phone, etc, will be an apple. i have the iphone 4 at the mo'. here are the reasons:

great all-in-one package - (calls, texting, apps, entertainment, etc)
strong like mutha russia used to be - get a decent case and you can drop it on its pip a hundred times.
features - beyond! (btw, i can easily switch between running apps)

ask me anything you want about the benefits of owning an iphone, i can help you. of course, i can't tell you much about the upside of any of the others...

Ray

my contract has been up for upgrade for a while and I also dont know what the heck to get. to be honest I've only used a phone to make calls until now. But I've been tempted to get an iphone. anyone know when the 4 S will be here?

domhatch

the 4s will be here about 3 days after you give up waiting for it and either get the 4, or something else entirely. works every time. and no matter who you ask - unless you know someone with inside knowledge - no-one will give you the landing date. i've tried this on a number of apple product launches. me, i'm happy to sit on my 4, do the os upgrades, and wait for the 5 if it ever comes...

Squonk

The thing is you can listen to all our opinions and make your mind up or you can have a look at this website.

This guy really takes the phone apart and does incredible reviews.

http://www.mobile-review.com/review-en.shtml

Norman86

Eldar has become very anti nokia though.
VERY!

I like nokia's, recently got an E7! i love it, its awesome!

Something no one has asked yet, it, do you need a keyboard? qwerty or only touch screen??
Thats an important consideration!

I for one, HATE typing on a touch screen, even though my E7 supports it!
I prefer keys, and wont ever get a phone without qwerty!
My previous nokia e75 also had a slide out qwerty and i loved it!

domhatch

Norman86 wrote: Something no one has asked yet, it, do you need a keyboard? qwerty or only touch screen??
Thats an important consideration!

I for one, HATE typing on a touch screen, even though my E7 supports it!
I prefer keys, and wont ever get a phone without qwerty!
My previous nokia e75 also had a slide out qwerty and i loved it!

most important. i don't think i could ever go back to keys now that i've got so used to touch screen. it's a very personal thing this whole phone issue. can't believe how reliant i've become on mine. if i realise i've left mine at home, i'll turn around and go fetch it.

maybe spend some time 'playing' with friends' phones before making such a long-term decision?
dh

EttieneB

Dudes.................3310 nokia (it never freakin breaks and u can go to the desert for a month and the battery will still be good)

and a ipad!!! (for all the appppppss)

G-Man

I've had an HTC sensation for about 2 months, and all I have to say is wow. Never had an all touch phone before and was a little anxious about the typing and all of that, but this things on screen keyboard is big enough for my fingers so it's great for me. It doesnt blink no matter how many apps you are running (has a 1.2GHZ processor with 784MB of RAM). OK , on benchmarks it's a little slower than the Galaxy S 2, but the user interface (in my opinion) of the HTC is better.

There are some cons though...

-Battery life is not as good as my ol Nokia e71, I have to charge this every day to day and a half (I use my phone all day long with calls, browsing, email, whatsapp, twitter etc)
-This thing chows data, but luckily I have it synced with my Wifi (which it swaps to automatically when I get home) so updates and big attachments I wait to do when I get home.

I love it though, couldn't go back to anything else. The free apps are mind-boggling.

nicovlogg

I'm an HTC fanboy as well, the Samsung Galaxy is AMAZING but I guess that's too big for you - if it is, then isn't the iPhone too large as well?

AndrewD

iPhone - it will change your life.

Apple's no.1 priority is always user experience and they are damn good at it.

(and it's way smarter than anything else in the market)

Squonk

AndrewD wrote: iPhone - it will change your life.

Apple's no.1 priority is always user experience and they are damn good at it.

(and it's way smarter than anything else in the market)

This is just good Apple Marketing. It's not even the world's biggest smartphone seller anymore!
The top range Samsungs with Android are pretty much up there with Apple, if not a bit smarter ?
Google shootouts between the iphone and similar devices, you will be quite surprised at the results ?