Buying my first smart phone - Should it be an Iphone?

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › Buying my first smart phone - Should it be an Iphone?

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#480032 11-Jun-2011 12:39

My 62yo mother recently got an ip4, she has come to grips with it quickly and absolutely loves it. She is not tech savvy and an android would have been a bad choice for her. I run a $500 android which with a bit of a tickle here and there feels like a similar or even better experience to me

At this point a lot of the iphone apps appear a lot more polished than android in appearance, maybe it is a function over form thing either way it will change in the future I am sure

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alasta

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#480034 11-Jun-2011 12:51

tdgeek: ---Apple don't vet for bug-free---

They do, as much as they can

Maybe, but the quality of many apps in the app store really is atrocious.

---These days, because of the "app race", they have sped things up a bit and some stuff still gets through---

LOL Sped things up? They have long had many apps, and they get added as usual, naturally as the userbase grows the apps available increase.

The problem is that when an app has a catastrophic bug it can take the developer a painfully long time to get a fix out there because of the red tape in Apple's approval process.

Don't get me wrong - In principle I have no problem with Apple providing a safety net to ensure that sub standard third party apps don't compromise the overall user experience of the iOS environment, but after 18 months in the iOS world I have to say that the effectiveness of their quality control seems to be very limited.

So, you get an Android, thats what you prefer, thats fine. Many Android owners feel the same, many Apple owners don't Same for Ford and Holden, etc, etc, etc.

I don't think that the Ford vs. GM analogy is applicable here because they both produce essentially the same product and people choose between them as a matter of brand loyalty, whereas Apple and Microsoft/Google have fundamentally different philosophies around how mobile OSes and apps should be distributed and marketed.

At the end of the day despite its shortcomings I am still a supporter of iOS as I like the ease of use, it fits in well with software that I already use (iTunes) and the cost of the hardware doesn't bother me given that I use the thing every day and only upgrade every couple of years. In any case I'm resigned to the fact that whatever I buy I will always have someone telling me that I'm stupid and gullible for not buying the same thing as they did.

Kiwiteacher

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#480036 11-Jun-2011 12:54

I've just seen the Samsung Galaxy i9000 that looks good, and they compare it favourably to the HTC but it doesn't have a flash :( A shame as would take most of my photos indoors. Has wifi which is good, as a review of the HTC say it doesn't have proper wifi/bluetooth as need to turn it off if you want to text?

Am at Mobi city just scolling through all the smartphones - glad I have nothing else planned for the day!

blakamin

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#480037 11-Jun-2011 12:56

Lg optimus 2X!

Kiwiteacher

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#480044 11-Jun-2011 13:19

Tis a nice phone - actually looked at that awhile ago. What does dual core mean? Excuse my ignorance.

blakamin

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#480047 11-Jun-2011 13:25

Like a dual-core pc, it sort of has 2 cpu s in one chip. Have a look at the review from freitasm, he liked It!

CruciasNZ

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#480091 11-Jun-2011 16:43

The problem with asking such a question is you inevitably get replies from those firmly entrenched in a camp.

The best thing you can do is wander into a store and try them out, when the rep comes over shoo them away. The iPhone usually is the best choice, followed by Android then WP7. Granted the WP7 UI is really sexy but its a new OS at the moment and as such it has severly limited choice in it's app store for now.

As i said, go try them, they are all very nice phones and in the end you have to love using it

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Technofreak

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#480098 11-Jun-2011 17:03

I wouldn't place too much reliance on many of the reviews you see on line. Many are cut and pasted off other reviews, some are pro or con biased depending on the reviewers preference of OS and some reviewers have a poor knowledge of the products they review.

I don't own an iPhone though I have played with them. They are very nice, though I'm not likely to ever own one. They ceratinly seem to be easy to operate, though for me they are a little basic on some functions that I value. I do think that many iPhone owners buy just because of the "look at me with my iPhone" factor, and not because of what it can do.

As others have mentioned choose by what suits you best, unfortunately you only really know what you like and dislike after you have owned and played a while with a device and discovered what functions you find useful.

What features are important to you? Touchscreen? Physical qwerty keyboard? Camera? Music Player?, GPS with navigation guidance? Ability to use as a mass storage device?, full bluetooth functionality? (some phones while they are bluetooth capable, don't support all bluetooth protocols). Make a list of things you think you might like or use.

Don't get blinded by the numbers of apps for any particular device, many apps are just a joke, however there is always that killer app that may only be available on a particular OS then that skews the decision some what.

Your focus seems to be with camera and video. If this is the case you cannot go past the N8, it is the best camera phone bar none. I'm surprised with your comments on the reception issue as I have heard they are generally very good in this respect. Perhaps your husbands one isn't working as it should.

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tdgeek

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#480115 11-Jun-2011 18:07

---I wouldn't place too much reliance on many of the reviews you see on line.---

Heh, why not??? Where else will you get a good review? In a magazine?
Wherever you go, you can find a good review, you will soon see by reading/watching it, if it is thorough or biased. I would avoid reading what s written here if you are concerned over bias.

---though for me they are a little basic on some functions that I value.---

Why do you say the iPhone is basic? A couple here say that, I am curious what you mean.

kiwitrc

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#480131 11-Jun-2011 19:02

The HTC Desire is actually an extremely good phone, nice size, runs nicely out the box, and the price now is really good. It is really easy to use with the HTC sense interface. Value for money I reckon its hard to beat.

Technofreak

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#480170 11-Jun-2011 21:17

tdgeek: ---I wouldn't place too much reliance on many of the reviews you see on line.---

Heh, why not??? Where else will you get a good review? In a magazine?
Wherever you go, you can find a good review, you will soon see by reading/watching it, if it is thorough or biased. I would avoid reading what s written here if you are concerned over bias.

---though for me they are a little basic on some functions that I value.---

Why do you say the iPhone is basic? A couple here say that, I am curious what you mean.

The same goes for some magazine reviews as well.

You need to read between the lines and look at several reviews to get the info you need. I've read several reviews where it is quite obvious that the reviewer hasn't bothered to find out how some functions work or that they even exist on that device, and then pan the device for not having a certain feature.

I'm sorry if you thought I said the iPhone was basic, far from it, what I said was some functions of the iPhone are a little basic.

Here are a few examples, The GPS maps will not work outside of cell coverage, The GPS will not work in off line mode, You cannot use it as a mass storage device, You have to use the Apple store to get apps therefore third party apps cannot be used, You have to use iTunes to load music, you cannot load music directly onto the phone.

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blakamin

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#480172 11-Jun-2011 21:26

Seriously, OP, try some things and dont listen to naysayers, fanbois, etc (I'm an android) but you HAVE to find what works for YOU...
If you're lookin at the droids, the 2X is the "ducks guts" as we used to say back when mad max was made...

Charles000

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#480188 11-Jun-2011 22:24

Kiwiteacher:
My husband has an N8 but I think its got crap reception.

Interesting - I have a N8 and in my experience it has excellent reception and call quality, even in areas with the most patchy reception. I've been in a couple of situations where a friend with an iPhone cannot make a call, and borrows my phone to make it.

tdgeek

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#480192 11-Jun-2011 23:09

----Here are a few examples, The GPS maps will not work outside of cell coverage----

Not according to the specs, "Location
■Assisted GPS
■Digital compass
■Wi-Fi
■Cellular
and

iPhone 4 finds your location quickly and accurately using a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular towers.

and from about.com "Of interest to navigation and GPS users, the stainless steel frame doubles as an antenna for the iPhone's various receivers, including GPS

and ""In addition to A-GPS, iPhone 3G uses signals from GPS satellites, Wi-Fi hot spots and cellular towers to get the most accurate location fast. If GPS is available, iPhone displays a blue GPS indicator. But if you?re inside ? without a clear line of sight to a GPS satellite ? iPhone finds you via Wi-Fi. If you?re not in range of a Wi-Fi hot spot, iPhone finds you using cellular towers."

and

"GPS on iPhone is active only when you need it. iPhone powers the GPS unit on and off quickly and automatically, so it won?t adversely affect battery life."

---, The GPS will not work in off line mode

?? There are GPS apps you can get for offline. I use Navfree has Aust and NZ maps, or $5-29 for ads free version

--- You cannot use it as a mass storage device,

True, no need for that

--- You have to use the Apple store to get apps therefore third party apps cannot be used,

Umm 99.9999% of apps are third party, they are not written by Apple. Yes you have to use iTunes unless you jailbreak. I find iTunes great, one stop shop for my iphone4, ipad, ipod classic, appstore, etc.

---You have to use iTunes to load music, you cannot load music directly onto the phone.

True, however I find itunes great, it manages all my music, podcasts, video, photos, pdf magazines, ebooks. No matter where any of this is sourced from. One program does it all, to me thats convenience. While I see your point, you may connect the phone and start up a PC file manager, I connect the phone and startup itunes.

blakamin

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#480197 11-Jun-2011 23:25

tdgeek:

True, however I find itunes great,

You have proven you're a fanboi in this post alone..... leave it at that :D

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