[49]

Let's start off by NOT making this a flame fest about iPhone vs. Android, shall we? :lol:

I currently work for T-Mobile, but I'm at my wits end there and will be looking for a new job. When I leave I'm switching to a different carrier, so now comes up the question of what carrier to switch to and what phone to get.

I love Android. I also love regular timely OS updates, and I hate fragmentation. I hate being constricted with what I can and cannot do on my phone. I use Gmail frequently, which is obviously integrated very nicely on Android but I'm not sure how it performs on the iPhone. I don't really use Google Voice, and I do enjoy apps now and then. Google Maps is the shiz. Obviously the App Store trumps the Android market in more apps and quality, but I found a lot of these apps from what I have seen have been fluff and not really useful.

I love using Swype on Android, so that's not available on the iPhone. I use a Windows computer, not OSX. Here in Colorado Springs AT&T has the fastest 3G hands down from my tests across the city compared to the other big carriers, but then reliability comes into question of course when anybody mentions AT&T. T-Mobile's HSPA+ will not be available here in the Springs anytime soon and neither will Sprint's WiMax, so I'm stuck finding the best 3G. I also want good coverage across the country, I visited Kentucky recently and I only got GPRS on T-Mobile but if it was roaming on AT&T I got EDGE. :lol:

Another thing I hate is how if you pay to tether the iPhone you are still pulling out of your 2GB data plan, you don't have an extra amount dedicated just for tethering. That and the fact that your data isn't unlimited in general (I understand why they had to do that). At least other carriers give you a seperate bucket for tethering data.

I love Cyanogen on my Nexus One. I love Vanilla Android, these skins and UI's don't do much for me. I like Apple's more consistent reliable approach in that respect for timely OS updates and no fragmentation, but I like the notification system and desktop/home panel system on Android better.

I am interested in the newer generation of processors in the newer phones, like the A4 in the iPhone 4, the TI OMAP 3630 in the Droid X/Droid 2, the Samsung Hummingbird in the Galaxy S phones, the new Qualcomm's with better GPU's coming out like in the upcoming G2/Mytouch HD, etc.

Adobe flash is sweet on a mobile phone, but not really required. It's not like I gotta check Farmville on my phone or anything like that... :ugh:

I use doubletwist for my music which is a nice alternative for my phone, on my computer I use iTunes. I like the interface and the automatic album art retrieval which is why I use doubletwist on my phone. That aspect of the iPhone would be nice I suppose.

I don't care if the phone has a 50 MP camera or 1080 HD+ video recording, as long as the pictures are high quality and the videos look nice I could care less, it's not like I'm doing photo editing with them or any fancy video work. Oh yeah, gotta have wi-fi N too.

Notification lights are nice but not required, front facing camera is mostly for bragging rights but righteous if included.

I guess I'm just looking for user perspective here. Just spewing off what I do like and don't like and see what conversation I can spark.

 

[49]

Might I add how much I hate hearing throughout the day "give me a new phone free without extending my contract or I'm switching to AT&T to get the iPhone?" I swear if I had a nickel for every time I heard that... :facepalm:

 

[Scott]

Ok, for one, i'm not reading all that right now..:lol:

Secondly, I used to work for Bell Mobility here in Canada, and got free service with them while I worked for them. My co-workers when they quit, would jump to another carrier just out of spite. I stayed with Bell after I was no longer employed with them, mainly because of the crazy sweet deal I got myself set up on, but even if I didn't, I still would have stayed with Bell.

My reasoning for this is, (at least in Canada) all the carriers are relatively the same in what they offer, so why not stay with the company that you already know everything about? Avoid any surprises that would arise with another carrier for not knowing the ins and outs of their company. Also, can't you do what I did get yourself hooked up all sweet like?

 

[49]

Unfortunately no if I leave I have to get switched back to a regular consumer plan with no types of discounts at all. I definitely like T-Mobile in the fact I think they have the best CS and are the least "evil" of the big 4, but if I'm going to be paying so much every month I want to make sure I have access to the best selection of phones and get the level of service I would expect. I wouldn't be jumping ship out of spite, just looking for something superior (for me). Each carrier here in the US is COMPLETELY different and offers totally different products and services. :lol:

 

[Leon]

Unfortunately no if I leave I have to get switched back to a regular consumer plan with no types of discounts at all. I definitely like T-Mobile in the fact I think they have the best CS and are the least "evil" of the big 4, but if I'm going to be paying so much every month I want to make sure I have access to the best selection of phones and get the level of service I would expect. I wouldn't be jumping ship out of spite, just looking for something superior (for me). Each carrier here in the US is COMPLETELY different and offers totally different products and services. :lol:

This has been my experience as well, which is why I currently have a TMobile plan/phone. It's a small guy, though (Moto V195), but I have 500m with free nights/weekends and unlimited texts for $40/mo, all without a contract.

 

[Joey]

I'll probably be in the extreme minority here, but I've been nothing but happy with Sprint. I always have good coverage, their data network is great, the customer services has been good, and the price is very reasonable. The phone choice isn't as good as AT&T or Verizon, but they still have a very decent selection.

 

[Elysian]

T-Mobile having the Galaxy S means you have access to the best selections of phones :lol: It's the most powerful handset out right now.

 

[7deadlysins]

Might I add how much I hate hearing throughout the day "give me a new phone free without extending my contract or I'm switching to AT&T to get the iPhone?" I swear if I had a nickel for every time I heard that... :facepalm:

Thats funny, when I worked for AT&T I heard the SAME but the companies reversed, and a lot of times it was because they heard TMobile was getting an iPhone. :rofl:

 

[Scott]

Yeah, but isn't every carrier getting a version of the S? AT&T with the Captivate, Sprint has some slider version I think, and i'm sure Verizon has one as well.

 

[49]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-us; Nexus One Build/FRF91) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

Right so since each carrier has a version of the galaxy s, it becomes more of an issue of the carrier service and not the device, which is the other half of the puzzle. except for verizon, the fascinate blocks out google search and doesn't come loaded with google maps. :lol:

 

[jaxadam]

T-Mobile having the Galaxy S means you have access to the best selections of phones :lol: It's the most powerful handset out right now.

I think this is the phone I'm going to get my girlfriend for her birthday next week. She's been with T-Mobile and really likes them, so I say why switch?

 

[Leon]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-us; Nexus One Build/FRF91) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

Right so since each carrier has a version of the galaxy s, it becomes more of an issue of the carrier service and not the device, which is the other half of the puzzle. except for verizon, the fascinate blocks out google search and doesn't come loaded with google maps. :lol:

Fuck Verizon. Stick with TMobile :yesway:

 

[837]

Basically, I'd say that Verizon is the worst carrier, except when compared to everybody else. Their tier two support is great, which is good, because if you ever have to call them, tier one is worthless, or even worse, causes more problems. Verizon sucks, but my experiences have been far better than they were with AT&T and T-Mobile. Another big factor is that I'm out in the "boonies" a lot more than most folks and more often than not, I'll have signal when others don't. If you're strictly urban, then that might not be an advantage.

Ray

 

[Elysian]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-us; Nexus One Build/FRF91) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

Right so since each carrier has a version of the galaxy s, it becomes more of an issue of the carrier service and not the device, which is the other half of the puzzle. except for verizon, the fascinate blocks out google search and doesn't come loaded with google maps. :lol:

If you're happy with T-Mobile, stick with them and get the Galaxy S, it really is an incredible phone. No reason to switch, they're still one of the cheapest providers out there.

 

[Hebo]

T-Mobile having the Galaxy S means you have access to the best selections of phones :lol: It's the most powerful handset out right now.

Sure about that?

 

[49]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-us; Nexus One Build/FRF91) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; U; Android 2.2; en-us; Nexus One Build/FRF91) AppleWebKit/533.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Mobile Safari/533.1)

Right so since each carrier has a version of the galaxy s, it becomes more of an issue of the carrier service and not the device, which is the other half of the puzzle. except for verizon, the fascinate blocks out google search and doesn't come loaded with google maps. :lol:

If you're happy with T-Mobile, stick with them and get the Galaxy S, it really is an incredible phone. No reason to switch, they're still one of the cheapest providers out there.

I like them except for the previously mentioned points - data speed and coverage. Price is a non issue, for the type of plan I'd get every carrier is within 5 or 10 dollars of each other. so many choices... :ugh:

 

[Helter Skelter]

I had the same problems with T-Mobile when I had them. I never had coverage, except at work for some reason. I'm with AT&T now and I have to say I don't have any real complaints about the service, except sometimes I notice 3G or Edge are a little slow in heavily populated areas.

My phone is an Android and I have several friends who have the Iphone. We've all been able to do pretty much everything we wanted to do with our phones without issue. Also, I know a guy who just got the Galaxy S Captivate. I was playing with it last night and it really is awesome.

 

[49]

So I have pretty much narrowed down that if I do switch carriers from T-mobile I will go to Verizon. If I do get a phone I will more than likely root it and want to load Cyanogen onto it. Thing is, only a couple of "higher end" Android phones on Verizon can have this done. The Motorola Droid (original, not the 2) and the HTC Incredible. The Droid has a 550 MHZ OMAP 3430 with PowerVR SGX 530 GPU, while the incredible has a 1GHZ Snapdragon with Adreno 200 GPU. I'm torn between which of the two phones to get to root and load Cyanogen onto, the Incredible would probably be faster overall but the Droid will have better Graphics...between these two phones which would you guys say to go for, Droid or Incredible?

 

[Elysian]

Sure about that?
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovTgnlASGAg

Desire HD is Snapdragon based, which pales in comparison currently to the Hummingbird processor. The Super AMOLED screen is also quite amazing looking. We already have the Desire HD in the US, it's the EVO 4G, and the Galaxy S stomps all over it.

 

[Elysian]

So I have pretty much narrowed down that if I do switch carriers from T-mobile I will go to Verizon. If I do get a phone I will more than likely root it and want to load Cyanogen onto it. Thing is, only a couple of "higher end" Android phones on Verizon can have this done. The Motorola Droid (original, not the 2) and the HTC Incredible. The Droid has a 550 MHZ OMAP 3430 with PowerVR SGX 530 GPU, while the incredible has a 1GHZ Snapdragon with Adreno 200 GPU. I'm torn between which of the two phones to get to root and load Cyanogen onto, the Incredible would probably be faster overall but the Droid will have better Graphics...between these two phones which would you guys say to go for, Droid or Incredible?

The Droid X is already rooted, and custom roms have already been able to be loaded on it, AFAIK. That's the phone to get, the original Droid is very long in the tooth right now, it'd be a downgrade from your Nexus One. The HTC Droid Incredible is only a step to the left from the Nexus One, it's basically the same phone but with Sense...

Of course, working at T-Mobile, I assume you already know about the G2, which is supposed to be the first HSPA+ phone, that would cure your data speeds issue. Verizon's data speeds aren't anything to write home to ma about, I've only seen about 1.3mbps max, and it's usually lower than 1mbps.

Here's the Droid X with a custom rom:

http://www.androidcentral.com/sapphire-custom-rom-running-droid-x

The OG Droid has a lot of support from developers, there are TONS of custom roms, and the TI processor can be overclocked to hell, but I'll tell you what, the 256mb of ram really holds the OG Droid back. The difference between the Droid X/2/Galaxy S is humongous compared to the OG Droid, even overclocked.