Cell phone or Smart phone?

What a "power user" isn't: My wife. She has a Samsung Infuse 4G. Hardly touches it except for phone calls, Facebook, Internet every now and then, etc. Her data usage each month rarely exceeds 250MB.

I, however, use it for *everything* I mentioned in my previous post, and almost all of them on a daily basis (except for games; I hardly have time with everything else. So no, not a hard core gamer, but I have the ability to play most of my XBox games on it). The phone is a part of my life. It's an extension of me. I use it for everything I do and rarely is it ever not in my pocket. Some might call it "addicted" but I don't. It's my wallet, my organizer, my secretary, my only form of entertainment out on the road, and of course, my phone. My data usage each month? Over 10GB, and that's trying to keep it down due to throttling. Last month, 11GB and I didn't watch a single Netflix movie.

*THAT* is a power user...and power users want freedom. They want open source.

 

And *THAT* is the group I'll be in when I get a smartphone...I use 10-12 GB every month on my USB modem (movies, web surfing, moderator on a couple of gun forums, Skype with family, etc.)

 

The iPhone has been plagued with reception issues. Androids are not necessarily always going to be better than the iPhone; it depends on the particular phone. Remember, Android is an operating system, not a phone itself. So, it's the phone hardware (mostly), not the operating system, that makes the biggest difference.

What I'm about to say is 100% truth, fact, and not an opinion. It is based on real experience, in real-world tests.

My brother teamed with me for a few months very recently. He has an iPhone, I have the Galaxy S2. We both had our phones mounted on the dash of the truck, side by side. Both on fresh boots with no extra apps running in the background. Both on AT&T's network. Consistently, the iPhone had fewer bars than the Galaxy S2. Consistently, I would have a data connection, and he would not. Consistently, I would have 4G speeds and he would get Edge speeds. We'd both run the SpeedTest.net app and get significantly different numbers.

What does this mean? My Galaxy S2 got better reception than the iPhone. Will the (name your phone here) get better reception and data speeds than the iPhone? Considering the iPhone's history, it is likely but not a certainty.

 

No, that's somebody that watches too much youtube and uses their GPS app all day every day. LOL

I listen to 3-6 hours of streaming audio a day, and don't break 2g a month. That doesn't include wi-fi usage.

Apps running in the background, are a big hit on resources and bandwidth. I only allow what I using at the time to run.

My email, by default would check my email every 15 minutes if I allowed it. Increasing data usage. But I have it set to manual.

The average smartphone utilizes 30% + in bandwidth usage, without any input from the user.

A savvy user can reduce monthly data usage, without cutting back on "power use".

BTW, I'm also the guy that walks through the house turning out lights behind everyone.

 

Some have had these issues.

I guess it depends on the phone. I'm getting much better reception with my I-phone, than I ever got with my Motorola.

My cousin, gets a solid lock on 3g at my mothers house....mine just plain sucks. We both have I-phones.

Overall I have to say I'm happier with it, than my previous phone.

 

That's because AT&T has terrible coverage. I have used Verizon for years and have rarely been anywhere that I didn't have service.

Same here. My iPhone has much better reception than my Motorola DroidX did.

 

At&t coverage is far from terrible... I've had them for 8 years and only lost service in some severe BFE places.

 

I think my dispatcher has a list of those places....and sends me there twice a week.

 

Lol I definetly can relate to that.

 

I am on AT&T as well, have been since around 02-03. For my home area it has worked great. Which is why we switched from Verizon, they were lacking where we needed coverage. However nation wide Verizon definitely has better coverage.

As far as which operating system is better, Android has maintained about a 2 to 1 marketshare over Apple. But Android has dozens of phones in every category with multiple options while Apple retains the one device they deliver annually. Would imagine that when Apple finally brings the Iphone 5 to market there will be lines down the street. The same as when Samsung delivers the Galaxy S3 in the same time frame.

As time goes, you probably will not have a choice between a regular or smart phone. The carriers want your money from data packages, so you will have to choose one or the other.