opinions on smartphones wanted. iPhone? Droid?

I need a new phone. I also need to be able to read email on the go and I want gps, so I started looking at smartphones. The phone needs to be simlock free because I want to be able to use that phone with a German sim-card and an English one when I'm in the UK, therefore I can't finance the phone via a contract but have to buy it outright.

Sigh.

Obviously I love apple since I own a maybook pro. But I also don't have a ton of money and am a bit of a klutz so spending 550Euros on a glass phone leaves me decidedly unenthusiastic. I have similar feelings about the kind of censoring that apple does nowadays.

On the other hand there are some damn useful apps that I could use for work available for an iPhone. And it is pretty...

As droids go I found the Motorola Defy - an outdoorversion which I can get for about 230Euros and which seems to have what I want. And it's slightly sturdy design (waterproof!) appeals to my klutziness.

But really, I have no clue. Has anybody ever used both, droid and apple?? Advice?

Help!

i would definitely go droid.  i have an iphone currently, and have a love/hate relationship.  i drop calls.  calls are failed frequently.  i have signal issues when no one else does.  and then some weeks, it works perfectly.

the convenience factor is awesome though.  so's the camera.

My iPhone used to drop calls all the time, but it's better since I updated the OS.

That said, my phone's performance is irrelevant to the question at hand, because I have an iPhone 3G.

another vote for Droid X.  I wanted a super big screen and love it.

Original Post by lysistrata:

another vote for Droid X.  I wanted a super big screen and love it.

 i have a droid X and i absolutely love it. It's big but still manages to be sleek even with a case on it (i have the rubber jacket type case thing.)

I really love everything about the phone. Makes browsing the net a breeze, lots of apps, amazing display, great camera, etc etc etc.

I have an iPad and the multitasking capabilities of the droid blow it out of the water.

Since you have a Macbook, I would go iphone.. here is why

I have a Macbook.. I first went droid. NOTHING was compatible.  Yes I could get email, but my itunes were not compatible.  SO I had to have an ipod separate from my phone.  It was annoying.  ALSO, it was a pain in the arse to get the calendar compatible. 

Now that I have an iphone, my itunes are in the same place, and my calendar is synced up so well that if I add something to my phone calendar, it is automatically on my work calendar, and vice versa.  It really makes my life a whole lot easier.  Also, I have AT&T and I have not had ANY of the problems that I had with Tmobile.  When people tell me that AT&T has bad service, I honestly don't know what they are talking about.  If I have a problem with a billing issue, the reps are VERY nice and ALWAYS take care of it within minutes. 

Edited to add:  I have never dropped a call with my iphone.  EVER.  With my droid, I would sometimes make the same call 10 times before it would actually allow the call to go through.  FRUSTRATING!

Original Post by dove2424:

Since you have a Macbook, I would go iphone.. here is why

I have a Macbook.. I first went droid. NOTHING was compatible.  Yes I could get email, but my itunes were not compatible.  SO I had to have an ipod separate from my phone.  It was annoying.  ALSO, it was a pain in the arse to get the calendar compatible. 

Now that I have an iphone, my itunes are in the same place, and my calendar is synced up so well that if I add something to my phone calendar, it is automatically on my work calendar, and vice versa.  It really makes my life a whole lot easier.  Also, I have AT&T and I have not had ANY of the problems that I had with Tmobile.  When people tell me that AT&T has bad service, I honestly don't know what they are talking about.  If I have a problem with a billing issue, the reps are VERY nice and ALWAYS take care of it within minutes. 

Edited to add:  I have never dropped a call with my iphone.  EVER.  With my droid, I would sometimes make the same call 10 times before it would actually allow the call to go through.  FRUSTRATING!

Crap, I just decided that the iPhone isn't for me. at least not the G4, I dont like the feel of that phone at all!

Do I need to sign up for Mobile Me to get phone and mac in sync?

I'm not too bothered about iTunes because I don't have an mp3 library. Can't I use a droid as an mp3 player at all??

Looked at the Motoral Defy - and it's not bad. The screen shouldn't be any smaller (so no HTC Wildfire S) but I like the sturdy feel. No rubber casing necessary.

Loved the feel of Samsung 9000Galaxi - but that's as much as an iPhone :-/

What's this thing with the dropped calls?? I never heard of that - other than 'antennagate' with iPhone 4, which apparently has been fixed.

iPhone works as an iPod. Droid works as an mp3 player.

ETA: dropped calls are usually caused by the service provider not the phone itself but in the case of iPhone, it used to be restricted in the US to AT&T which doesn't have the best coverage.

Original Post by kotov_syndrome:

*refuses to get a damned smartphone* REFUSE!

*sits in her rocker, shaking fist*

 Teehee me too!!! :P

My phone is smart enough, it makes phone calls! It does take pictures, but they seem to be stuck in there =/  Oh well, I'm about 10 years behind in technology...I still don't have one of those music thingys that can hold umpteen-thousand songs. I prefer books that don't cost $200+ to replace if you drop them in your bubble bath too!

Original Post by gb4enoexcptn:

Original Post by kotov_syndrome:

*refuses to get a damned smartphone* REFUSE!

*sits in her rocker, shaking fist*

 Teehee me too!!! :P

My phone is smart enough, it makes phone calls! It does take pictures, but they seem to be stuck in there =/  Oh well, I'm about 10 years behind in technology...I still don't have one of those music thingys that can hold umpteen-thousand songs. I prefer books that don't cost $200+ to replace if you drop them in your bubble bath too!

I don't have an mp3 player either, or a Kindle, or a flatscreen TV, or a blue ray player, hard disk recorder or even a decent stereo.

But my old phone is more or less bust, the phone I use in the UK has such a bad sound quality that I have a hard time making professional calls and I MUST have email on the go - I've avoided it as long as I could.

Any other people out there who use a Droid with an apple computer?

I just read the new iPhone comes out in Septemebr - which means a 30% drop in price of any 3G i would buy now. I just don't think my current phone will hold out that long.

Original Post by mr_omario:

http://cell-phones.toptenreviews.com/smartpho nes/

 

there ya go

oops, I overlooked the first page of this thread . Thanks for all the answers!

Interesting test (what's a candybar design??) It recommends an ihone for me (or a plm. I think I missed palm in the technical development and the most improtant question: Do you want to use two different SIm cards in two different countries? obviously didn't appear :-)  )  and then it offers a 3G for 300$  :-/ 

If I could get an iPhone for that money I'd have gotten one a year ago. Stupid Apple policies!!!! 

Original Post by purespark:

Original Post by fuzzy_a:

That was supposed to have a winky face to indicate the statement was made (mostly) in jest, but it disappeared when I made an edit. 

No worries, Fuzzy.  :)  I was just being defensive because I feel a little silly about having an iPhone.  When I first got it, I was very careful to tell people "I wouldn't have gotten one of these but my mom gave me a giftcard for Christmas!" 

It did change my life, though.  :D

Yeah, there is something vaguely embarrassing about an iPhone isnt there? It's almost worse than sitting in a cafe with an apple laptop! God, I roll my eyes at people with apple laptops in cafes - and I'm doing it myself occasionally (well, very occasionally)  :-D

I don't know about the "you have a mac must get iPhone" thing. My husband only has macs. His work computers are both macs as are all five, yes, five, of his home computers. His sync fine with his droid. He hates the iPhone. He has no problems syncing his email, calendar, etc with his droid.

I don't know. My good friend with an iPhone is the butt of all of our jokes because she never gets service anywhere and her phone dies a lot and she often doesn't get calls because it just doesn't ring it drops them randomly. That said, I sometimes have problems hearing people on my droid especially if they also have a droid. Not sure why.

Original Post by kelrantymus:

I don't know about the "you have a mac must get iPhone" thing. My husband only has macs. His work computers are both macs as are all five, yes, five, of his home computers. His sync fine with his droid. He hates the iPhone. He has no problems syncing his email, calendar, etc with his droid.

I don't know. My good friend with an iPhone is the butt of all of our jokes because she never gets service anywhere and her phone dies a lot and she often doesn't get calls because it just doesn't ring it drops them randomly. That said, I sometimes have problems hearing people on my droid especially if they also have a droid. Not sure why.

Well, at least I know who to ask if I get a droid.

I think dropping calls etc. has a lot to do with the company providing your calls and not with the phone.

I'm looking at prices and test reviews.

Anybody have experiences with windows phone 7?? There's a cheap LG phone with good reviews...

(Motorola Defy is still a contender, for some reason I can't find a similarily good deal on an iPhone 3 that I have for an iPhone4 - which I definitely don't want)

DEFINETLY get the iphone!!! i got my first iphone 4 years ago when the original came out and never had ANY problems whatsoever with it and just got the new iphone 4 a few weeks ago. LOVE APPLE!!

clearly i've been in the addiction business too long. i keep reading "opinions" as "opioids."

Original Post by pgeorgian:

clearly i've been in the addiction business too long. i keep reading "opinions" as "opioids."

*snickers*

I'll take those, too, if you've got a few lying around!

:-D

I've clearly lived with a chef for a while... I keep reading "opinions" as "onions".

hm...coke lines on a smartphone vs. half an onion on a smartphone. I'd actually prefer the onion but I'm for the first time I do wonder if the 'gorilla glass' has other uses as well...

o.o

iPhone's okay. Low battery life. Apple's market policy is draconian and annoying, and the browser will break with various things because Jobs is politically adverse to anything other than HTML5 (which most sites don't accomodate now, or possibly ever). Outstanding call clarity, but problems with drop/fade that has something to do with the model's antenna packaging. Expensive, for both hardware and software.

My eldest boy has a blackberry. Good battery life, keyboard built for SMS. Less apps comparably, and it seems to be left behind in various software app trends. Sound quality on calls kinda sucks in my opinion. Pretty cheap to get one though.

I have an android phone. The OS is awesome and I love the app availability which is near or at par with apple's. Stay away from Motorola phones, however. Their corporate attitude is "we got your money, sucker". Samsung and HTC make some amazing droid phones and will inevitably drink motorola's milkshake. Come in a variety of increasingly powerful models, so you can find one that suits your requirements (including a model that has a flip-out keyboards or game controller set like a ps2!) Call clarity varies from model to model but I haven't heard a bad one yet. I'm planning on ditching my Motorola soon and picking up this bad boy which makes me giggle like a schoolgirl whenever I think about it lovingly caressing my hand.

Don't have an MS smart phone. Don't know anyone with an MS smart phone. Don't really want to know anyone with an MS smart phone. F*** the MS smart phone.

Edit - In case I wasn't completely clear, avoid motorola. I don't know if they outright hate their customers, but we're certainly treated like red-headed stepchildren who are tolerated just long enough for them to clean out our trust funds.

i hate the way iphones turn perfectly reasonable people into **** with no manners.