iPhone or Android

[Dracona]

Hello everyone.
I currently have a razr v3 through AT&T. the phone is about to die, through age and abuse from the user. Monday my wife an I are going to the AT&T store to upgrade our phones. my wife just wants a regular phone, no smart phone, she just wants to be able make calls on it. Myself, being a tech geek, I am wanting a smartphone.
I have been enjoying using my sons Ipod, but I do hate the fact that i have to use windows to access the Itunes store, I know that i can use Rythmbox with the ipod, but it wont do everything Itunes will.

anyway back to my question, what would you all recomend, an Iphone, or the Motorola Backflip?

Be safe all
Dracona

[Dr. C]

Hello everyone.
...
I have been enjoying using my sons Ipod, but I do hate the fact that i have to use windows to access the Itunes store, I know that i can use Rythmbox with the ipod, but it wont do everything Itunes will.

...
Dracona

This is one of the many reasons to avoid any Apple devices. While some older iPods have been made to work with GNU / Linux, Apple keeps changing the firmware to ensue they will not work. I would say Android.

[Giant Speck]

From what I've heard, the Backflip is a horrible implementation of Android. If you want an Android phone that's worth using, you'd probably be better off switching from AT&T to Verizon or Sprint. The only smartphone worth using on AT&T is the iPhone.

[whiskeylover]

Android

[YuiDaoren]

Android. (That part's easy.)

A freind recently got 4 Android phones at Best Buy, with all manner of extras, for under $700. I belive thier service is Verizon. Sounds a worthy deal, considering how much her and her family are enjoying their new smart phones.

[pwnst*r]

From what I've heard, the Backflip is a horrible implementation of Android. If you want an Android phone that's worth using, you'd probably be better off switching from AT&T to Verizon or Sprint. The only smartphone worth using on AT&T is the iPhone.

^that.

I have an iPhone 3G and an HTC Evo. Android, although not as polished as the iPhone OS, is much more customizable and fun to use. It also goes without saying that the Evo has more features than any iteration of iPhone.

http://i49.tinypic.com/33nvj0x.png

http://i49.tinypic.com/2hye1wx.png

[Dr. C]

From what I've heard, the Backflip is a horrible implementation of Android. If you want an Android phone that's worth using, you'd probably be better off switching from AT&T to Verizon or Sprint. The only smartphone worth using on AT&T is the iPhone.

Just do not purchase the phone from AT&T. Buy an unlocked phone and put in an AT&T Sim card for example: http://www.google.com/phone. One can avoid long term locked in contracts this way and it can be cheaper in the long run.

[KiraLexi]

I have a Backflip. It's definitely not one of the greatest phones around, but AT&T's Android lineup just isn't that good. The problems are numerous and frequently very annoying; for one thing, it runs the antiquated Android 1.5. On top of that sits the buggy Motoblur interface, which can't be totally disabled. There are several annoying software bugs; before the update a few weeks ago, the text messaging app was unusably slow for many users. After the update it was much faster, but started automatically deleting text messages more than a day or two old.

The hardware is definitely not perfect either - there has been a common problem of the battery coming unseated while the keyboard is in use, resulting in a phone reboot. This can generally be solved by inserting a business card into the battery compartment.

I don't like Apple, but unless you absolutely need a physical keyboard. I'd pick the iPhone in this situation.

[Dr. C]

AT&T has been known to deliberately cripple Andriod phones which is the source of a lot of problems, but one can avoid all of this by purchasing an unlocked phone.

[Giant Speck]

AT&T has been known to deliberately cripple Andriod phones which is the source of a lot of problems, but one can avoid all of this by purchasing an unlocked phone.
AT&T has been known to cripple a lot more than just their Android phone. Their Windows Mobile phones were notoriously crippled, too. Not that Windows Mobile is all that great anyway, at least not on non-HTC Windows Mobile phones.

[mickie.kext]

Even crippled Android pwns iPhone any day.

[pwnst*r]

Even crippled Android pwns iPhone any day.

Wrong.

[Giant Speck]

Wrong.
But, pwnst*r, Linux beats everything twice just 'cuz! YOU MUST NOT LOVE FREEDOM, FREEDOM-HATER!

[pwnst*r]

>shackled by the fr00t!

[Dr. C]

But, pwnst*r, Linux beats everything twice just 'cuz! YOU MUST NOT LOVE FREEDOM, FREEDOM-HATER!

Actually this raises a very interesting debate. One can create a locked down closed system that would make Microsoft Windows and even the iPhone very free in comparison using a GNU / Linux system that consists entirely of Free Software. For example using gNewSense 1.1.
One needs three things:
1) No GPL v3, AGPL v3, or LGPL v3 code. (gNewSense 1.1 precedes GPL v3)
2) Do not provide the end user with the root password, Provide the end user with only a very limited user account
3) Prevent the end user from replacing the OS, while retaining the ability of the Overseer (who keeps the root password) and any necessary bios passwords (the bios can also be Free) to make changes at will over the Internet. For example to delete files like Amazon did with the Kindle, add additional DRM etc.

This is the tivoization issue taken to its logical extreme.

The "Four Freedoms" become pointless if one cannot install the changed Free Software in the first place.

This is the trick behind many locked down devices that use Free Software. The FSF created GPL v3 for a reason.

[NCLI]

From what I've heard, the Backflip is a horrible implementation of Android. If you want an Android phone that's worth using, you'd probably be better off switching from AT&T to Verizon or Sprint. The only smartphone worth using on AT&T is the iPhone.
^Again, this.

Switch to Sprint and get the EVO, I've heard AT&T are terrible anyway.

Even crippled Android pwns iPhone any day.
Terribly wrong.

What would you rather have, the latest gaming PC running Windows 7, or a cheap netbook with a malfunctioning touchpad running Linux? That's a fairly accurate comparison between the Backflip and the iPhone.

[JK3mp]

I have yet to meet an iPhone user who doesn't "Absolutely LOVE!" there iPhone. My aunt even got into texting b/c of it & she now txts every minute of the day lol. I'm def looking to get the new one ASAP.

[Dr. C]

^Again, this.

Switch to Sprint and get the EVO, I've heard AT&T are terrible anyway.

Terribly wrong.

What would you rather have, the latest gaming PC running Windows 7, or a cheap netbook with a malfunctioning touchpad running Linux? That's a fairly accurate comparison between the Backflip and the iPhone.

It is not a good comparison at all because Microsoft Windows is by far a much more free system than the iPhone. Since when if ever for example has Microsoft censored the software that one can install on a Windows System?

[Dracona]

From what I've heard, the Backflip is a horrible implementation of Android. If you want an Android phone that's worth using, you'd probably be better off switching from AT&T to Verizon or Sprint. The only smartphone worth using on AT&T is the iPhone.

I wouldn't mind changing carriers, but my wife works at a hospital, and we get %22 off of our cell phone bill each month. not to mention, everybody that we call also uses at&t.

[NCLI]

It is not a good comparison at all because Microsoft Windows is by far a much more free system than the iPhone. Since when if ever for example has Microsoft censored the software that one can install on a Windows System?
The iPhone can easily be jailbroken.

But that really wasn't the point of my comparison, the point was to compare something using an operating system most here don't like to something using an operating system most here do like, on significantly inferior hardware.

I wouldn't mind changing carriers, but my wife works at a hospital, and we get %22 off of our cell phone bill each month. not to mention, everybody that we call also uses at&t.
That "everybody that we call also uses at&t" is not a very good reason to stick with them. Everybody I chat with(Almost) uses Windows, doesn't mean I'm going to :-p

Anyway, you'll have to decide. If you want the best smartphone, you're gonna have to switch carrier.

[LMP900]

We ATT users really don't have many options when it comes to Android. Today, the only one I would consider is an unlocked Nexus One. I would really discourage you from buying the Backflip or Aria.

The iPhone is a great phone, but without access to iTunes, it might be a risk to get it without knowing if Apple is going to actively restrict other means of transferring your files, which they have done so in the past. Since I have iTunes, my ideal setup would be an iPhone 4 as my main phone and an unlocked Dell Streak as my tablet. I'll wait for both phones to come out before making any decisions. Good luck and I hope you find the right phone for you.


That "everybody that we call also uses at&t" is not a very good reason to stick with them. Everybody I chat with(Almost) uses Windows, doesn't mean I'm going to :-p

But there are benefits to calling people on the same network. ;)

[Giant Speck]

That "everybody that we call also uses at&t" is not a very good reason to stick with them.
It is when calls to and from those people are free.

[Dracona]

"That "everybody that we call also uses at&t" is not a very good reason to stick with them. Everybody I chat with(Almost) uses Windows, doesn't mean I'm going to :-p"

If every time you talked with a person using windows cost you money, it might make a difference.

so yes, reason i used for staying with AT&T , " everybody that we call also uses at&t " is a good, and valid reason.

I am not trying to get into an argument here, I am just trying to gather information about wic h phone might or might not be better.

Thank you for your input NCLI

[Danimoth]

Easy choice: android. Now to figure out which android :P....

[Dracona]

Thanks everyone for your input on this.
since I am staying with AT&T, I think I will go with the Iphone.
The idea of getting an unlocked android phone is appealing, I cannot afford to purchase one outright.
So given my options, I think the Iphone is my best option. I guess it wont hurt me to keep dual booting my system.
Thanks again to everyone for your input.
Be safe all
Dracona

[maddbaron]

if u can run away from at&t... go to sprint or tmobile or vzw and get an android. it just works no need to install software to transfer files or anything of that sort...
and if you root you can run things like you do in ubuntu with cli...
android is the future and its just better than an iphone.

[pwnst*r]

Thanks everyone for your input on this.
since I am staying with AT&T, I think I will go with the Iphone.
The idea of getting an unlocked android phone is appealing, I cannot afford to purchase one outright.
So given my options, I think the Iphone is my best option. I guess it wont hurt me to keep dual booting my system.
Thanks again to everyone for your input.
Be safe all
Dracona

You'll be happy with it, enjoy.

[mamamia88]

I used to think about getting an iphone but then i keep hearing all these stories about apple blocking useful applications because they do something better that the phone already does, or they weren't smart enough to think of themselves. I would go android, I would assume that even if google didn't like an application there wouldn't be much to stop you from installing it.

[aysiu]

I vote for an unlocked Nexus One. All the Nexus owners I know love their phones, and it is also the first Android phone to get the Froyo update (Android 2.2).

Buying it without a contract is a hefty chunk of change to pay in advance, unfortunately...

[HappinessNow]

Hello everyone.
I currently have a razr v3 through AT&T. the phone is about to die, through age and abuse from the user. Monday my wife an I are going to the AT&T store to upgrade our phones. my wife just wants a regular phone, no smart phone, she just wants to be able make calls on it. Myself, being a tech geek, I am wanting a smartphone.
I have been enjoying using my sons Ipod, but I do hate the fact that i have to use windows to access the Itunes store, I know that i can use Rythmbox with the ipod, but it wont do everything Itunes will.

anyway back to my question, what would you all recomend, an Iphone, or the Motorola Backflip?

Be safe all
Dracona

With out hesitation or doubt go with an Android Phone, it is really your only true option for a first rate mobile OS.


I vote for an unlocked Nexus One. All the Nexus owners I know love their phones, and it is also the first Android phone to get the Froyo update (Android 2.2).

Buying it without a contract is a hefty chunk of change to pay in advance, unfortunately...

Buying an unlocked Nexus One is well worth the price. Sticking with ATT is an easy decision.

This option is what I did, I didn't want the hassle of switching carriers, or the adoption of a contract. Since I have always been more then happy with ATT I choose to stay with them. That said I would highly advise against buying a Android phone directly from ATT. Don't let ATT get their hands on your phone buy the Nexus One directly from Google unlocked and free of restraints:

https://www.google.com/phone/choose?hl=en&gl=US&s7e=

Highly recommend the Nexus One Desktop Dock, Car Dock and at least on spare battery. :p

[mainerror]

I have yet to meet an iPhone user who doesn't "Absolutely LOVE!" there iPhone. My aunt even got into texting b/c of it & she now txts every minute of the day lol. I'm def looking to get the new one ASAP.

There you go you've met one now. ;)

There are so many things which are bugging me about the iPhone. I'm also one of the users which have both an iPhone and Android device. Even thou my Android phone is powered by a modified 1.6 version I always prefer it over the iPhone.

One main reason is that I can simply plug it into my notebook and start developing for it try that with an iPhone. You have to run Mac OS to develop for the iPhone. And the developer documentation is also not good to not use other words.

So my advice would be Android all the way. Preferably with a Nexus One like stated above.

[McRat]

If the AT&T service in your area is acceptable, I'd say the iPhone. It's the easiest cell phone I've ever used, and I hate cellphones.

But I've had some really, really, poor service from AT&T for several years now, and for me, they are continuing to decline. I'm not convinced they want to remain in business anymore. They need new management.

[v1ad]

android ftw. a lot more capabilities.

[ukripper]

I'd go for Android.

I use HTC hero with custom ROM (VillainROM 5.4) and never been this happy.

[madnessjack]

HTC Desire user here (like a Nexus One with HTC Sense)

If you're into computers and that, and are a little geeky (no offense- but this is an Ubuntu forum :P) then Android has to be right for you. You'll get little niggles like apps force quitting every now and then, and slow-downs if you let too many programs run at once, but this is acceptable if you understand how these things work.

Apple is as smooth as. It doesn't crash, it doesn't slow down, but you're limited in choice of phone and what you can do with the software, although there are more apps and the quality of the apps are generally better.

(A short review for you there...)

[mainerror]

HTC Desire user here (like a Nexus One with HTC Sense)

Actually the HTC Desire is slightly better RAM-wise.

[ukripper]

Apple is as smooth as. It doesn't crash, it doesn't slow down, but you're limited in choice of phone and what you can do with the software, although there are more apps and the quality of the apps are generally better.

(A short review for you there...)

+1 Apple's OS certainly is more stable at this point. But Android 2.2 has sorted many slowness problems by introducing JIT (IMO, great move by android developers) http://phandroid.com/2010/05/26/going-deeper-with-android-2-2s-jit-compiler/.

[aktiwers]

I vote for an unlocked Nexus One. All the Nexus owners I know love their phones, and it is also the first Android phone to get the Froyo update (Android 2.2).

Buying it without a contract is a hefty chunk of change to pay in advance, unfortunately...

I have one and I am very happy with it :)
When will Froyo be released? I cant wait

[irrdev]

For the OS, I'd definitely take Android over iOS. However, DON'T go with any of the AT&T Android offerings; they are all running either dated versions of Android 1.5 or 1.6. Check out Verizon or Sprint for a good Android line-up; my fav would be the new HTC EVO from Sprint, although the new Droid 2 from Verizon should also be interesting.

[diablo75]

Android. Don't care what kind of phone or carrier you get it on but I use a Nexus One and am VERY pleased with the latest release of the OS (aka, "FroYo"). It's snappy, IMAP email works much better than it did in version 2.1, Flash is supported in the web browser, I can't think of anything I don't like about the phone at the moment. I do wish I had the ability to sort search results in the app market so I could see the highest rated/most popular apps at the top instead of what appears to be a somewhat random ordered result.

[HappinessNow]

Thanks everyone for your input on this.
since I am staying with AT&T, I think I will go with the Iphone.
The idea of getting an unlocked android phone is appealing, I cannot afford to purchase one outright.
So given my options, I think the Iphone is my best option. I guess it wont hurt me to keep dual booting my system.
Thanks again to everyone for your input.
Be safe all
DraconaI think everyone missed this post including myself, perhaps you should mark this thread "Solved".

I do think your making a mistake going with the iPhone, but you will probably be happy overall (it's easy to be happy with the iPhone if you don't know what your missing).

Just checked out ATT, and the HTC Aria, looks pretty sweet with Android 2.1, I would have chosen that over the iPhone any day and it's less expensive.

btw if Linus loves the Nexus One you most likely will too! ;-)
http://torvalds-family.blogspot.com/2010/02/happy-camper.html

[Johnsie]

I currently have the HTC Desire. I've also had the Samsung Omnia which is touchscreen too. In work I've had to configure a few peoples iphones to get them to work with our email setup. My conclusion is that touch screen phones suck in general. They are too fiddly, the battery life is an abomination and it's too easy to accidentally click something or press the wrong letter on the on-screen keyboards.

I could quite happily go back to my Nokia E63 which is much easier to type on and has all the apps you would expect on a more expensive touch screen phone.

To me the HTC Desire or the Iphone are status symbols, but not very practical. For me symbian with hardware keyboard is the best.

[AllRadioisDead]

I sold my iphone to get my HTC Hero, and I've never looked back.

[Lightstar]

Droid here, with of course Android.
Very pleased, it's awesome.
Applications are just as good as iPhone, web integration is much better on android. Games are better on iPhone, though developpers are going more and more toward android.

I'm pretty happy with android.

[Dracona]

I think everyone missed this post including myself, perhaps you should mark this thread "Solved".

I do think your making a mistake going with the iPhone, but you will probably be happy overall (it's easy to be happy with the iPhone if you don't know what your missing).

Just checked out ATT, and the HTC Aria, looks pretty sweet with Android 2.1, I would have chosen that over the iPhone any day and it's less expensive.

btw if Linus loves the Nexus One you most likely will too! ;-)
http://torvalds-family.blogspot.com/2010/02/happy-camper.html

I would like to thank you for directing me to the HTC Aria, it does look nice, and it is a bit cheaper.

I have yet to go to the att&t store today, so thank you again.
Also, i have marked this thread as solved.

thank you to everyone who helped me.

Be safe all.
Dracona

[LMP900]

Be sure to get the Aria from Dell. It's free (phone + activation + shipping) with as long as you extend your contract.

My advice still stands: Don't get the Aria if you want to install applications outside of the Android Market. But, if you decide to get it, then at least you save money. :)

[ukripper]

I sold my iphone to get my HTC Hero, and I've never looked back.


I just swapped ROM on hero from villain to choclateEclair overclocked ROM 691Mhz. It is very stable and with fast response (seems like hero is on steroids), waiting for JIT port on the same ROM it will be boosted to almost 40% extra soon. You might want to try if you are not already running it. villainrom was too slow for me.

[john_spiral]

Neither!

It's high time we made better use of all the rubbish we have already manufactured.

get an old phone on freecycle.

Think before you buy.

[madjr]

i also stand by the HTC aria, great phone. Huge step up from your old phone

glad someone beat me to it, because is new model.

usually if you're on ATT everyone has the same phone, glad they bringing more variety now. It's why so many att users get sucked into the yearly iphone upgrade, to be the first and try to differentiate by not having the same thing as everyone else, including granma

i really like how diverse the android ecosystem is.