As hard as it is to admit that I don’t have a smartphone, it’s even harder to not actually have one. That’s why I’m rectifying my luddite situation as soon as possible. But where to start? I have unlimited options. I’m not tied down to any carrier. I don’t have any particular loyalties to operating systems or hardware companies. I can afford the best one, but which smartphone is the best? I suppose the only true way to go about this is to list my needs and wants and rely on human feedback to help me decide.
My needs/wants:
- Good coverage in New York City.
- A robust app store.
- Hardware that feels sturdy and well-constructed, but not necessarily the fastest processor or most pixels. I’m not all about the specs if the end results are comparable from a user standpoint.
- Software that can either evolve and update with me or is advanced enough to not be completely outdated in two years
- A decent camera (two-way video chat would be a perk).
- I could possibly be swayed by specific perks that only certain phones have (iCloud or hooking my Sprint phone up to a keyboard peripheral and using it as a laptop, for instance).
- I’m not getting a Blackberry.
So with that short list, I throw my decision to the public.
What do you think I should get and why? Let me know in the comments section.
I like my G2x a whole lot…I went with a droid after my research because i felt i didn’t lose much by having a smaller app store, but rather it helped weed out the pointless ones. (I’m not a “look at this app of a cat wearing a birthday hat blowing a noise maker!” type of user) Also, I loved that the camera was 8mp instead of the iphone 5…i didn’t think it would be that big of a difference if I had to get a 5mp camera, but overall it’s what i now think rocks the most about my phone. it’s better than my digital camera and always with me and the auto sync to picasa means i’ll never lose any pics should i drop my phone in the ocean or something because I don’t like hooking it up to my computer and the video is even great! I am over the moon that my phone works so seemlessly with my gmail life style. I have such a crush on my google calendar and contact sync. if i used my mac calendar on my laptop i could see how that might seduce me to an iphone…but, why would I ever use my mac calendar when i have beautiful google at my fingertips from any computer in the world? :o) my phone is great for video. it plays high def vimeo clips in real time, while my work comp takes 10 min to load the same ones. with a dual processor, i can keep one thing going while I check on something else and with a multitasking brain it’s so great to have a phone that keeps up with whatever suddenly comes to mind. the gorilla glass screen is impervious so i’m not going to be someone who can’t tell who’s calling anymore because I stepped on my phone right where the name pops up. :) Lastly, I am a huge fan that I have GPS navigation without a monthly fee (iphone has a monthly fee) and that it’s voice activated so I can just say “navigate to starbucks” while I’m driving and it will take me straight to the nearest earl gray tea with a shot of vanilla and a splash of half and half. I got a great deal on it with a contract from costco online that has a fabulous 90 day return policy that I took advantage of with no hitches because i had orignally gotten the G2 30 days before the G2x came out. I’m not saying my phone is the end all be all, I try not to say i “love” anything without a heart beat, and you are certainly all free to disagree with me, but this product works great for me and i really recommend it or to at least consider looking for the functions I find so helpful on another phone if you think you would also value them. word. :o)
Those are all very very convincing things.
I’m going to check the G2x out asap.
Thanks, Alaina!
I’d never try to tell someone they shouldn’t be happy with a product they’re clearly satisfied with. That’d be ridiculous. I guess a few random thoughts came to mind though, reading alaina’s comments.
1. Still not so sure this “Gorilla Glass” is all it’s cracked up to be? I have a feeling Dow-Corning is marketing the heck out of it so they can boost their sales in new areas (LCD displays for devices) — but glass is always going to be pretty fragile, even with a special coating or treatment. I saw some new big-screen LCD TV’s bragging about having Gorilla Glass, yet I bet you’ll see people breaking them with accidentally flying Wii game controllers too, just like people did to other sets!
2. The hype about various app stores having “tens of thousands!” of apps and such? Yeah, that’s not important. All that matters, really, is that you’ve got one of the phones that uses a relatively popular standard so most/all of the apps you’d actually WANT are available for it. Right now, I think that pretty much means either an Apple or an Android phone. Everything else is short on some of the most wanted or popular apps.
3. I know I’m in a growing minority here, but as inexpensive as stand-alone GPS units have become, I’ve always preferred using one of those to navigation on my phone. It’s nice that it’s free on Android phones, but you can’t really see what it’s showing you on its screen without a windshield mount. And most of those that work any good are costly, partially due to integrating a power adapter and GPS antenna with them. I find it far easier to just power on a stand-alone unit, and immediately get to typing in the destination address. If I have to take a phone call while the GPS is working, it won’t compete with the device for resources either.
Rule number one when buying a phone, the best phone is the one that’s on the right carrier. You’re not tied to any one, so figure out what gets you the best combination of price/service quality for areas you frequent. Verizon has the reputation for the best New York network, but T-Mobile has put in some surprisingly good results in real world testing as well.
Robust app store means Android or iPhone. Right now, everyone else on the playing field is missing too many critical pieces of the puzzle,
Sturdy hardware is a matter of feel, and often comes down to personal preference as much as anything else. Go into a store and play around with the display models. That’ll tell you all you need to know about build quality most of the time.
You’re in pretty good shape for long-term software support as long as you buy a high end handset these days. Most of the major Android manufacturers have committed to 18 months of updates from the phone’s launch, as long as the hardware supports the upgrade (get any phone sold for $199 and up within the last year, and you should be fine). iOS will almost certainly give you 2 full years of OS updates. If you really want to future-proof, go with a Nexus-branded Android device (a new one is expected shortly on Verizon). The original Nexus One is nearly 2 years old, still a favorite among many in the tech world, and is expected to get the upcoming Ice Cream Sandwich update, with the possibility open for even more in the future.
Other than that, I can only reiterate, play around with a real phone for a while. Both OS options have benefits and problems. Any of the various manufacturer UIs on Android phones is loved and hated by different people. Only you can decide which you’ll like the best.
I’d just have to add that as of this afternoon, the iPhone 4s announcement might change the game a bit, too? The voice “personal assistant” feature is absolutely awesome, and I can easily see it changing the way people interact with their smartphone on a regular basis. (EG. Just hold down one button and speak to it for everything from adding new appointments to your calendar to getting a spoken weather forecast or info on the stock market. It makes the concept of actually sitting there staring at and poking around on the screen seem old-fashioned, except for cases where visuals are part of the experience (like viewing photos or playing games).
Of course, like Yoni said above, the carrier is a critical part of the whole equation too. We all know AT&T has a horrible reputation for signal strength in parts of New York City, for example (and my experience is, the same holds true in most heavily populated cities with tall buildings everywhere). Here in St. Louis, MO, I found AT&T to be “usable but aggravating” on the whole. Outdoors, I almost always had a signal of some sort but while driving, dropped a lot of calls. Indoors was a crap-shoot. Go down the wrong basement or into the wrong elevator and “no signal”. Sprint works better for me but drops some calls indoors too. By far, I actually had the best reception around here on U.S. Cellular, but they’re just a regional carrier with a relatively poor selection of phones.