Tablet and smart phone discussion thread

[ToddG]

After years of blind Apple fanboism, I am finally giving up on my iPhone. I need to do some research to figure out whether a Droid or Blackberry makes more sense for me, but the iPhone has got to go.

• Typing on it, even after buying apps to help improve typing skill, is horrendous. Maybe I just have big thumbs, but unless I go very slow I cannot consistently hit the spacebar or other keys that are along the outside/border of the keypad.
• Bluetooth is completely screwed up, and getting worse. On three different cars, if the phone is in my pocket the bluetooth connectivity blinks in and out. So if I want the benefit of the phone while driving, I have to take the time to place it in just the right position relative to the dashboard and keep it there.
• Now the wi-fi is on the blink, too. I get a fast signal on my MacBook Pro, my wife's MacBook Pro, and my iPad. But the phone just spins its little icon and won't actually download anything.
• After repeated attempts to get customer service from Apple, I still have a constant problem where emails I delete from my iPhone don't get deleted from my iPad... which means that when I pick up my iPad once every couple of weeks it has thousands of emails on it. And there is still no DELETE ALL option!
• AT&T call drops. Nuff said.

I should probably bring it back to Apple and have them see if they can fix the connectivity issues, but everything I read online is that it's just part of a laundry list of known problems with the iPhone 4 and not getting fixed because the iPhone 5 will be out Soon™.

[JHC]

Android is a very potent OS and the Droid phones are pretty capable. What we are seeing in the US business market is that the iPad is just going monster in our space and our compatible business apps for it are a big hit. That said, I use a Verizon Droid smart phone its very capable. I can handily out download my elder sons iPhone for Kyle Lamb vids from his youtube channel.

I'm not so impressed by what BB has. I think they are in a lot of trouble.

[YVK]

I second the Droid with pull out keyboard. I have an original Motorola Droid and, while not perfect, I've not found any reasons to switch.

[LittleLebowski]

If the Droid doesn't behave the way you want, you can easily modify it. I like my Thunderbolt. Verizon's network is well worth any upgrade.

[JV_]

I've been forced to use a Blackberry for the past 5 years, I hate it. I would trade it for an Android system if that option was available.

The keyboard is easy to type on, but that's all it has going for it.

[LittleLebowski]

I didn't like the keyboard that came with my Droid so I bought a better one for $2. I like the removable 32 gig SD card and 40 gigs total storage. I like how I can use custom operating system images that are designed for speed or battery life. I really like being able to slap in a fresh battery instead of having to find a charger.

[TCinVA]

Somewhere Steve Jobs felt a disturbance in the force....

I have a 1st gen Motorolla Droid I've had for about 1.5 years now. The only complaints I have:

1. when I get updates to Ringdroid it tends to neuter my custom ringtones and I have to reset them.

2. The built-in camera on the 1st gen Motorolla Droid sucks. Other Android based phones do much better in that regard.

I split 50/50 between the physical keyboard and the on-screen. There are many custom on-screen keyboards available for reasonable prices if you don't like the one that comes as default on the particular phone you buy.

I'd advise trying to use some display models for your normal kind of stuff to see how that particular phone works for you.

The iPhone is the 1911 of smart phones. I knew sooner or later you'd catch up with the rest of the civilized world.

[LittleLebowski]

Digging the 4G speeds. When I'm on trips, I can tether my iPad or laptop to my Stood and surf at least as fast as at home.

[JV_]

LL - Those are impressive numbers - especially after considering the latency implications.

[LittleLebowski]

That's average, JV. I got 41 megs down while driving the other day.