I need to choose a new phone

In My Humble Opinion
1

I am counting down every day until my cell phone contract is up with Sprint.

Right now we are looking at the Droid and the IPhone.

More than anything else, we need the hand-held computer more than we need the actual telephone. I don’t think I have ever used my allotment of 500 minutes in a given month.

I do use the internet…a lot. My current piece of crap phone has a minimalist browser. I can read emails and type basic responses. I want to be able to read and respond on my favorite various message boards, check in for flights, read news. I do prefer a physical keyboard to a virtual. I also download and play games.

My wife reads news. Her deal breaker is a cyrillic keyboard. The IPhone’s is very easy to activate. The Droid, not so sure.

2

The iPhone is a great piece of hardware on a crap network - at least in some places. In other places, the network is fine. I’d also say that it is a little on the fragile side, but then again, the people I tend to see who damaged it don’t seem to grok that it IS a small little computer in a fragile package and tend to expect to be able to wield it like a solid piece of steel or something - then are shocked when it breaks.

Total package for an iPhone is going to cost you around $100 per month. For someone like me, that would be about $2 per minute of phone use if it didn’t have internet. Even then, I can’t really justify the cost of it.

The other thing is the number of apps (over 100k) and the tech support, which if you’re not a total screaming jackass, is top notch. Just don’t drop your iPhone in a pool or throw it out the window and then expect them to replace it for free.

The keyboard on the iPhone presents a bit of a problem for me. My fingers are as wide as two keys, and I have a bit of a problem fat-fingering it.

3

I just got a Droid from Verizon, and it is awesome. The keyboard is good, and while it is reasonably fast everywhere, it is pretty responsive when I use the wifi at home and work.

4

It depends on your use, the iPhone has a more polished interface, more apps, and actually pretty decent gaming performance, but then again, it’s been out longer than the Droid

The iPhone IS for all intents and purposes, Apple’s first attempt at a “Tablet Computer”, it’s basically a pocket sized Mac running a trimmed down/streamlined version of the Mac OS, I love my iPhone, it’s a heck of a lot better than my old Motorola Razr

I’ve had relatively decent luck with the AT&T network, our house is in a cell-phone dead zone anyway, any and all cell phones, regardless of network or phone model, have a tendency to drop calls here, I just use Skype over my AirPort network when I make cell calls from here

the nice thing about the Droid is that it’s based off an open source network, anyone can code apps for it, and not have to go through Apple’s App Store approval process, it’s also not locked to a network, it also has a theoretically sharper screen

If i had to do it all over again, it’d be a tough decision, I like the open-ness of the Droid and the Android OS, but I LOVE Apple’s implementation of the Multi-Touch interface, and the iPod features as well, it’s gaming prowess (my most current gaming consoles are a PS2 and a GameCube) was a happy surprise as well

best bet is to play with them both in store

If you go with the iPhone, make sure to get an OtterBox for it, the iPhone is great, but feels fragile when it’s “naked”, the OtterBox makes it feel like a true “ruggedized” phone, at the cost of making the phone slightly bulkier

5

I love my Droid. My favorites: the built in navigation, the keyboard (which I use more than touchscreen) and the fact that it’s a bit heavier. It doesn’t feel heavy, per se, but I don’t feel like I’m going to break it whenever I have it in my hand.

Oh, and Google Skymap is the greatest app ever, seeing as how I’m an astronomy dork. Music is fairly easy to put on there, as is making your own ringtones, although I’m not sure about videos, but I haven’t tried.

My only complaint is my bank doesn’t have an app on the Droid like it does the iPhone. If they did I’d be able to deposit checks by just taking a picture, but I’m sure they’ll get around to it.

6

Complaints greet Google Nexus One.

In short, they don’t have any phone support if things go wrong, unlike the iPhone.