Tablet and smart phone discussion thread

[Jason F]

I'm one week in to my iPhone 5. Overall, I'd give it a thumbs up.

I upgraded from an iPhone 4, so I was two models back. Significant speed upgrade, I still notice that daily. LOVE that actually.

I get slightly faster downloads on my home wifi which is nice. But the LTE coverage in ATL is good, so I'm now enjoying that in most places and again, another nice speed bost.

Maps, well it hasn't steered me wrong yet, but it has a few friends. I have a backup app loaded just in case, and I can always hit the mobile site version of GoogleMaps if I had to. I will say though, I've used it a few times for driving directions and the turn-by-turn was nice to finally have and handled things really well. My only complaint about it was the voice was set to high as the default, and it was really freaking loud. Toning that down a notch or two made it useable without scaring the piss out of me everytime she said, "Your turn is approaching in 500ft".

I'm a happy iPhone 5 upgrader, and I'd recommend it. Especially if you're already in the iPhone universe, have Apple apps, etc.


The only large drawback right now is the availability of extra charging cables. I probably have half a dozen strategically placed around my home and vehicles, and none of them work now. And the new fangled ones are on backorder, and they're $30 a piece. Annoying, for now. Soon there will be cheaper cables, and the supply will catch up with the demand. It's just annoying to have to think about packing my cable in my laptop bag for the day as I leave if I expect to be on the phone a lot.

[Shellback]

Just upgraded from the iPhone 3GS to the 5 and it's a huge difference in terms of performance. Picked it up at Sam's Club and only paid tax on $200 versus paying sales tax on the full retail price at AT&T.

The panoramic camera ability is pretty cool and Grandma loves FaceTime with the grandkids so that's a definite plus. So far I'm impressed and like the phone.

[JodyH]

If you're not a tech tinkerer and already used to the iPhone way of doing things get a iPhone5 or even a 4S with iOS6.
To really get the most out of an Android device it's best to root it and yank out all the bloatware installed by the manufacturer and cell provider.
A root isn't mandatory but it speeds up your device and extends battery life significantly.
My wife's 4S with iOS6 has been a great phone.

[LOKNLOD]

I upgraded from 4 to 5 as well and am pretty happy with mine.

The only thing I can honestly say I dislike about it is a frequent use of Location Services when I don't think it should be. I haven't looked into it deeply, so it might be an easy fix (other than turning location off all together, which I don't want to do). I know my phone is tracking me but it could at least have the decency to keep it secret

[Seven_Sicks_Two]

Thanks for the replies guys. I just read an article about rooting Android phones and my head just about exploded. I think that it sounds like a lot more tinkering with the operating system than I would be comfortable with. For someone my age, I know a lot less about this stuff than I probably should.

It sounds like some incarnation of the iPhone would probably be the best bet for me. It will play nice with my Macbook and I already know my way around the operating system. Since I tend to hang onto these things for awhile, I'll probably snag the 5. I just hope I can stay on task at the Apple store... that place gets expensive quickly!

[LittleLebowski]

Rooting isn't that hard. There are GUIs for it and video how-tos. I don't think it adds that much until the phone is older and if you're using a Galaxy Nexus, you're already using stock android without bloat.

[ToddG]

I just got a Motorola Droid4. It is full of "bloatware" and has a UI that the rooters hate.

I've got no complaints, though. It's fast and does everything I want. They keyboard -- as someone who struggled with the iPhone touch screen -- is a gift from heaven. There may not be a lot of tinkering I can do with this phone, but there's an incredible amount of WORK I can get done.

[LittleLebowski]

I'll probably be corrected by Byron but I agree with Todd. Rooting made me feel good and like I was in charge but honestly, aside from nice to have UI stuff, I see no difference. I'd love to see some real statistical data on improved battery life, speed, etc from rooted versus stock.

[JodyH]

The Motorola Atrix HD I have has a great UI.
Motorola tends to have less bloat than the others and rooting has less return on investment.
I root for battery life mainly and the Motorola Smartactions allowed me to tweak enough that it's not necessary.
I broke my first Atrix HD and replaced it with a SGS3, but the replacement Atrix HD sits in my desk drawer waiting patiently to be called up for duty should I break or brick my Galaxy.
My Galaxy S3 really took off after rooting and flashing a custom ROM.
Battery life almost doubled (from 18-24 hours to almost 36) and the stripped down ICS runs faster and smoother.
Now that I have a extended life battery I'm getting 72+ hours of moderate use (it's been on 24 hours and is at 86% right now) and that's with WiFi, GPS location services and two push email accounts running.

The iPhone5 looks like a solid phone if you're already invested in Apple apps and comfortable with iOS.
If you're a Mac person the iPhone makes even more sense, my Samsung has been very difficult to mount on my Macs where my wife's 4S synced up with just a few clicks.

Fanbois aside, all the latest generation phones are amazing and it just really comes down to preference.

[JodyH]

I'll probably be corrected by Byron but I agree with Todd. Rooting made me feel good and like I was in charge but honestly, aside from nice to have UI stuff, I see no difference. I'd love to see some real statistical data on improved battery life, speed, etc from rooted versus stock.

Rooting just gives you "administrator access".
The real difference comes from flashing a custom ROM and/or using "power apps" to micro-manage the system.
Finding the right ROM for what you want out of your phone is very important, just flashing any old ROM could actually be detrimental to your intended use.