{"id":11614,"date":"2012-06-07T15:45:13","date_gmt":"2012-06-07T20:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcitement.com\/?p=11614"},"modified":"2013-02-07T13:55:51","modified_gmt":"2013-02-07T19:55:51","slug":"whats-a-webos-user-to-do-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/hardware\/smartphones\/whats-a-webos-user-to-do-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"When Choosing A New Phone, What\u2019s A WebOS User To Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m a diehard webOS user. My TouchPad is my daily workhorse, and I love the thing. Until a few weeks ago, I was still using my Palm Pre+ (hacked to run on Sprint<\/a>). However, a recent contract change added Sprint’s $10 data access fee. As much as I love my Pre, I am not not paying 4G rates to use a 3G device.<\/p>\n

I’m presently out of contract and was planning on upgrading to whatever device that can run Open webOS<\/a>. That’s looking less likely every day. The Verge broke down<\/a> exactly what happened with HP\/Palm and why the future is bleak for my favorite OS. Even with groups like the Phoenix Project planning<\/a> to port Open webOS to modern hardware, I’m slowly losing hope that they’ll have anything to port.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Here's hoping they pick a less played out name at some point.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The question then is, where to go from here? I’ve been looking at three factors, OS, Hardware, and carrier. Today, I’ll share my thoughts on various mobile OSes with you all.\u00a0 As these are somewhat long thoughts, there will be multiple pages.<\/p>\n

So, who’s up first?
\n<\/p>\n

Blackberry<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I’ve been less than gentle with my feelings towards RIM’s once-pervasive handset since the day Techcitement first started. I’m honestly baffled as to how any company with that much of a lead over everyone else managed to completely squander it. There is not a single Blackberry handset out that does not feel dated. Blackberry’s highest end phone, the Torch, is less usable to me than my Pre was.<\/p>\n

\"\"

You see a phone; I see a giant "kick me" sign.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

It’s not that I loath Blackberries. I think there’s a place for them. I recently got my mother a Bold, but mostly so she could teach my dad how to use the one his company issued him. Do I think the Blackberry 10 looks impressive? Sure. I liked the Playbook for what it was, and I think scaling it down to be a phone OS could really work. However, with Blackberry’s recent track record and no firm dates, I think I’ll pass.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Who am I, Apple in 2007 or RIM in 2013?<\/p><\/div>\n


\nWindows Phone<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I have to confess, I liked Windows Phone 7 a whole lot more than I thought I would. Yes, there is a relative lack of apps compared to some other OSes, but with the exception of Pandora, there’s nothing that I miss on a day to day basis (yes, I can live without Angry Birds Seasons, Rio, and Space). WP7 has the best social network integration of all the choices, and its IM\/text app feels the most like webOS’s synergy based solution.<\/p>\n

There are, of course, downsides to the OS. I have to ignore the fact that most Windows Mobile handsets have expansion issues, because you can only use certain cards. Online storage makes this less of an issue. I\u2019m also intrigued by the integration of Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8<\/p>\n

\"\"

The last time I was this excited about a desktop OS was OS X 10.0<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

However, there’s the matter of hardware. Windows Phone is relatively young and there aren’t as many handsets. If I wanted to stay with my current carrier, my only choice would be the HTC Arrive, which lacks LTE just as much as my Pre does. That’s also assuming I can find one, as many outlets no longer sell this device.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Basically, if it's not Android or iOS, you're not getting it on Sprint.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

With that said, the Nokia Lumia, HTC Radar\/Titan II and the Focus 2 are all great phones. Except that’d mean switching to one of two carriers with weak reception in my current region. Then there’s the final issue — with Windows Phone 8 coming down the pipe, I don’t want to commit to any handset that won’t have an official upgrade path.<\/p>\n

Even with reception issues, I’d be willing to switch carriers, but it would have to be an LTE device that would absolutely run WP8 when it comes out. \u00a0In short, what I want doesn’t seem to exist yet. I\u2019m willing to revisit this when such a device exists.
\n<\/p>\n

iOS<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I’ll cut right to the chase and say this is a “no” for me. There\u2019s really only one reason I\u2019m dismissing iOS, and that\u2019s hardware. As of this writing the options for iOS are the 4 and 4S. Both are great devices, and only an idiot would claim that iOS is a bad investment. This is the one OS that you can be sure will have the longest shelf-life. An app you buy is likely to be around a bit and the major developers will launch for this platform before they launch anywhere else. Plus, this is the one solution where no matter what network I chose, the phone experience is exactly the same.<\/p>\n

However, after reviewing tons of devices with four inch screens, the iPhone just feels miniscule. I find it less comfortable to use than larger handsets, especially to type on. Furthermore, without LTE, the iPhone lacks the speed edge I want. Rumor<\/a> has it that we’ll be seeing a 4′ screen version of the iPhone at WWDC on June 11. That would honestly be awesome. I’m also willing to put money down that whatever is announced will have LTE connectivity.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Place yer bets!<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

In the event that both rumors turn out to be true, I am willing to revisit my earlier “no.” However, assuming that the iPhone size situation does not change, that leaves me with one choice.<\/p>\n

No, not Symbian.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Android<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Android has a lot of things going against it. The biggest is the opposite of my earlier point about the iPhone in that there’s an inconsistent user experience. Depending on what carrier you go with, you could end up with a totally different Android experience. I’m not just talking things like skinning. I’m talking about how a “pure Android” device like the Galaxy Nexus has Google Wallet crippled on Verizon or how there are currently three versions of the Android OS on phone handsets. As a power user, I can ignore the devices still running Froyo (Android 2.2), but the fact that those devices are even out there is just nuts.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Be ashamed, Samsung.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

More annoying is how some devices are carrier exclusive. I would absolutely love a device like the Motorola Razr Max, with an insanely long lasting battery. However, it would mean switching to Verizon, which adds to my monthly bills significantly. I wish Motorola would would follow the model of the LG Optimus, the Samsung Galaxy line, or even the HTC One and release phones across companies with slight tweaks. I was going to make a general complaint about companies not doing this, but at this stage, Moto is the only major maker who doesn\u2019t do this with at least one product line.<\/p>\n

\"\"

To be fair, this is likely due to Verizon, not Moto.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the wishful thinking aspect. In the event that Open webOS does get released, the fact that it is based on the Android kernel means it is far more likely to get ported to an Android device than anything else. My choice is further webOS influenced in that Matias Duarte, designer of the UI that I loved from Palm is the guide for the look and feel of Android now. Add that Google has basically snatched up<\/a> HP\u2019s entire Enyo group and absorbed a ton of what made the OS I got addicted to great. Looking forward, an Android device is my best bet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m a diehard webOS user. My TouchPad is my daily workhorse, and I love the thing. Until a few weeks ago, I was still using my Palm Pre+ (hacked to run on Sprint). However, a recent contract change added Sprint’s $10 data access fee. As much as I love my Pre, I am not not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1917],"tags":[34,2851,80,43,266,367,897,107,63,1175,9,96,226,94,69,1905,23,2850,2849],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11614"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11614"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11617,"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11614\/revisions\/11617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techcitement.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}