My Next Phone

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jww
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My Next Phone

Post by jww »

Yes, it's that time of year again, when I can upgrade my mobile phone. Last year, as some might remember, I moved off of a Blackberry to an Android phone (Samsung SII). It has been an excellent phone, if for one exception -- the battery life. But battery life and large screen phones have never been great bedfellows.

I had a Samsung Note in my hands yesterday -- man that thing is huge ... and I do mean huge. I love the screen, but the size and weight is a bit much for me. I am thinking about the SIII for the moment, with LTE. Too bad that the north american version has only the dual core rather than quad-core processors. Of course I could always hold off and see what the Blackberry 10 looks like --- as BBE and Blackberry push email is still the best in the business, in my experience.

Of course there is also the distant option of an iPhone, but I am not sure I'd be that bothered with it. Of course the retina display is fabulous, and there is the fact that my tablet is an iPad mini.

I won't actually be ordering until Dec 29 or after (that's my anniversary date for the phone refresh). I am open to thoughts, however, as we are on the Bell Mobility corporate plan at work, I am restricted a bit on hardware (e.g. the HTC ONE-X isn't available for us, and I am not interested in the Nexus 4).
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Post by Kyle76 »

Wendell, if you like the ecosystem of your tablet, the iPhone is well worth considering. Most of the apps do double duty, so you only have to buy once. The display on the 5 is even brighter than prior models. Battery life is excellent. The new adapter is a bit of a hassle, but worth it to me. Siri and voice to text are very handy for calendar and reminders on the fly and longer texts and emails. I love the location-based reminders. I can have a reminder pop up when I get to work or leave work, or home or somewhere else like the grocery store. Netflix and HBO Go are sweet. I can watch movies or shows anywhere.
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Post by 95% »

RIM announced today a launch date of January 30 for the BlackBerry 10. If I weren't so delighted with my iPhone 5, I'd certainly wait for that event and the user reviews that will immediately follow. Sneak peeks and leaked reports are already giving this phone very high marks. Its web browser, for instance, is said to be the best in the business.

I imagine the success of the BB10 will depend upon its overall fit and finish. If the hardware is less than top quality, or if the software is buggy, the blogosphere won't be kind, and RIM will fail in its comeback bid. I'm rooting for the company because I want it to cut into Android's sales. Like Steve Jobs, I feel some resentment towards Google for stealing the iPhone's look and feel.
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Post by jww »

BB 10 will have to something really very special to win me back from Android. The truth of the matter is that I can pick up the SIII for $40 Cdn right now during the usual Christmas promotions that Bell always offer us through our exclusive agreement so it's understandably swaying my choice. The iPhone 5 is almost $200 and there is no option to expand the memory via micro sd cards.

The current offer will expire on jan 2. Then the price will go back up to $60 for us.
Last edited by jww on Tue Dec 18, 2012 2:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by ThePossum »

Wendell,

I have the SG3 and love it. Had previously been a disciple of the HTC phones but the last one I had, a ReZound gave me tons of problems. So Verizon gave me a deal on the SG3 to replace it.

I then went and bought the Hiperion Extended Battery, Battery cover and a slip on case on eBay.

Have to say, this phone really rocks.
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Post by fallingwickets »

Wendell

I bought the note 2 last week.....its unbelievable and the battery life? The battery life will blow you away its so good. I highly recommend that you give it a try. Also, the radios in the phone are brilliant. To give you an idea of how good, i got 0.05mbps up / 0.03 mbps down on a nexus...the note does 7.00's / 5.00's

verizon in the USA is offering 30 day trial periods during the holidays (usually 15 days)....if your canadian carriers are doing the same you should take them up on the offer.....within a few days the phone will feel comfortable on your person....if not, take it back.

If the nexus4 was on lte it would have been a no brainer purchase.

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Post by jww »

Clive -- how do you carry the Note? It's so honking massive -- I can readily slip my SII into a front pant pocket -- even jeans. The SIII will work equally as well in pocket ---- my fear is how on earth do I carry that massive phone?

I can return my phone up to 15 days after I order it without any worries --- that's part of the corporate deal we have with Bell --- so I suppose you are right, I could always try it out ..... but the size still worries me.
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Post by fallingwickets »

Ive had no issues so far carrying it wherever I go....either hold it in your hand or put it in your pocket,,,,,,,,all the amazing features it has is beyond worth putting up with a little 'carrying' inconvenience, and i haven't even used the pen yet! :lol:

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Post by jww »

Hmmm -- I had one in my hand on Sunday afternoon, and it sure seemed to be too large to put into my pant pocket -- but I admit that I didn't try it at the time as it seemed so enormous.
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Post by rustyblade »

95% wrote:RIM announced today a launch date of January 30 for the BlackBerry 10. If I weren't so delighted with my iPhone 5, I'd certainly wait for that event and the user reviews that will immediately follow. Sneak peeks and leaked reports are already giving this phone very high marks. Its web browser, for instance, is said to be the best in the business.

I imagine the success of the BB10 will depend upon its overall fit and finish. If the hardware is less than top quality, or if the software is buggy, the blogosphere won't be kind, and RIM will fail in its comeback bid. I'm rooting for the company because I want it to cut into Android's sales. Like Steve Jobs, I feel some resentment towards Google for stealing the iPhone's look and feel.
The problem with Blackberries going forward is that RIM simply doesn't have the resources needed to compete on the software (never mind the hardware) level compared to Apple, Microsoft, and Google. Look how long it took them to update the Playbook (whose hardware was some reference design out of China, the original Amazon Kindle Fire use the same reference design). Never mind the lack of ecosystem (apps, music, movies, etc.). Even all-mighty Microsoft is having trouble attracting developers to Windows Phone. Phones are becoming less about the hardware (lets face it, phones are now just small touchscreen computers) and all about the software. RIM will be no more in less than 2 years...they are already 2-3 years behind everyone else. All the advantages they use to have are long, long, gone.
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Post by jww »

When I finally walked away from BB last year, it was really for the reason Richard outlines above. I will probably be staying with Android, unless I find a truly compelling case to move to an iPhone 5 to be able to justify the enormous cost differential for me --- I am looking at more double the cost of the new Note II and almost 5X the cost of the SIII. I can pick up a 4S for free, which does present an interesting option, but not sure I'd want the previous gen if I change platforms again.

I am not concerned about being able to live with either of the Samsung phones -- and am suddenly now thinking about the Jelly Bean build on the Note II as I hadn't thought about previously.

<<Edit>>
I just discovered that the SIII comes with an additional 50GB of space on my DropBox account -- that's a big deal considering that 100GB costs $100 US/yr. But then, I could simply upgrade my Google drive to 25GB for $2.50/mo US.

Hmmm -- decisions, decisions.
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Post by Sam »

Wendell, I went from a later model Blackberry Curve to the I phone 4. Did not need Siri and the phone was like $49 for me. I dont regret it and heck, I have like 6 apps. Weather is nice, google maps, flashlight and face time
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Post by BullGoose »

I switched from a Blackberry Bold to an Iphone 4S about 11 months ago. Only 13 months to go before I can switch back to Blackberry. I can hardly wait.
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Post by celar36 »

I have iPhone 4 which I need to say I was happy till a certain point.
The point is as my one is 2y old now (bought it brand new from apple) the battery seems weak. I need to charge every night basically. Furthermore, my wife have same phone and hers is dying after 10-11h...

I am tempted to take SIII as I can have it for free, but truly my wife is nagging to take iPhone 5.

Here problems lies. iPhone 5 seems a small step from my 4Gen.Good structure, very durable. On other hand SIII is very advance but is easy to break glass. As I work in Waste management industry I need durable phone. One of my friends from work already need it to exchange twice his SIII.

In my opinion, you should go for Note 2 or SIII if you know there is small chance of damage :)
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Post by brothers »

In a few weeks or so I'll be upgrading. That's all I know for now. It seems I can rely on the recommendations I'll surely be receiving from the more technologically up to date members of my immediate family. My strategy is to let them do all of the exploring and experimentation, and then go with the course of action they seem to favor the most. One thing I know for sure, it'll be a huge leap forward for me.
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Post by rustyblade »

celar36 wrote:I have iPhone 4 which I need to say I was happy till a certain point.
The point is as my one is 2y old now (bought it brand new from apple) the battery seems weak. I need to charge every night basically. Furthermore, my wife have same phone and hers is dying after 10-11h...
Charging your phone every day is the new norm... Try rebooting your phone once a week or so, I found that helped on my 4S.

I like my iPhone 5 The size is just right, I think the market is maturing now and it will just be incremental upgrades, nothing revolutionary until the "next big thing." I look at some of these huge android screens and shake my head. Apple's thing has always been refinement, look at their Macbooks, and even iMacs.
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Post by fallingwickets »

Charging your phone every day is the new norm
I burst out laughing when i read this, Richard. On the galaxy nexus 5 hours per charge was like a gift from heaven!! on the note 2 im going more than 24 hours between charges. there is a new 3000mah battery out for the s3 that should be more than ample. Having all my phones features more than makes up for needing to be close to an outlet

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Post by Gene »

Got away from a BB last year...it wouldn't reliably stay connected to the MS Exchange server my company uses. It would work fine for a while, then start doubling or tripling the messages coming in. My iPhone 4 worked first try, and has been fine ever since.

I do like Android, and the SII or SIII look nice. I saw a guy who had the extended back on his, with the larger battery. I overheard him saying the battery lasted forever. And I do like the extra storage of a plug-in memory card.

But, for now, the iPhone is perfect for my needs. I just bought another one off eBay for my wife for Christmas. She still has an old BB that she hates.

Oh -- battery life. Fair as far as I am concerned. I charge it every other day or so, but more if I use it a lot, or it spends too much time searching for a wireless network to connect to...that will sure suck the life out of a battery quick!
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Post by Kyle76 »

The key for me to not have to worry too much about battery life is to keep a charger on my desk at work and plug in when I'm going to be in the office for awhile. I rarely leave the office at less than 100% and usually use my home charger only on weekends.
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Post by jww »

Kyle76 wrote:The key for me to not have to worry too much about battery life is to keep a charger on my desk at work and plug in when I'm going to be in the office for awhile. I rarely leave the office at less than 100% and usually use my home charger only on weekends.
Same here -- moving form a BB to Android was only a learning curve in the sense of simply getting in the habit of actually checking my battery life. Because of the micro-USB port, I could use all my chargers from the previous BBs I have owned including my car-charger, so it was just about developing a habit of plugging it in whenever I got into the car, etc.

This is great discussion, gents, and I really appreciate all the input.
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