Dad Blanged high tech pieces of C&@p

[Dragonslayer]

Well we all went off and jumped off the deep end and took advantage of the black friday sale at metro pcs. So we all three go trapsing down there and buy us each one of those there so called smart alec phones. You could have fooled me it don't seem so smart to me . All weekend we have all three been holed up in different rooms trying to get aquainted with our new smart alec phones.

 

None of us must be very smart alec phone savy cause we can't seem to be able to make any of them do right. Every once in a while one of us will let out a stream of them cursing words followed by threats to hurl them out the window.

 

I'm about tempted to go down the street and find me a twelve year old to hire to show us how to work these dang things.

[GAWildKat]

Bob, y'all want to make a drive down to Bonaire soon? Mike or I could show you how they work. I'd offer to go up there, however me and Atl traffic aren't safe together. Mike has homework this week otherwise I'd say wed we could make trip then.

[Freebird]

Well, the contract is finally up on my Blackberry and I'm going to be moving on to something else soon. The company made me get the Blackberry and I have hated it since the first day. The buttons are just too small for my club fingers. The company decided about 3 months after making us all get them that maybe it wasn't such a great idea after all. Soooo...I have been looking and trying to decide what to try next. My son loves his IPhone but I am just not a huge fan of it. I haven't spend much time playing with his though...maybe it would grow on me. At any rate, it will either be the Iphone or one of the Androids. Maybe the new Motorola Razr.

[GAWildKat]

Anyone wanting to learn about the contract phones, pm StormRaven, he works at Radioshack and can give you an honest assessment. The new Razr is good, but I think that was one of the phones that must be shipped off to replace the battery if that's needed. Not a phone I'd want myself.

[Freebird]

Doesn't the IPhone have an internal battery also? Really doesn't bother me. To be honest, I don't think that I've ever had a phone long enough that I've had to replace the battery. Also, even though they say that you have to send them off, I know that the IPods were the same way but there were all kinds of instructions available for those of us who wanted to do it on our own. I know that I replace batteries in a couple of them.

[GAWildKat]

I believe the Iphone does have an internal battery as well. I'm not an Apple fan girl so I don't pay attention to them. I would think for those who take their phones apart to replace the internal battery it would void any warranty coverage the phone may have.

[Midrsv]

I've had an Iphone since the 3G model came out and I currently use the Iphone 4. I am certainly not an Apple fanatic and sort of planned to move to an Android phone in a few months. In the meantime it was time to replace my wife's Iphone 3G and because she isn't real patient with learning new technology I replaced it with the Iphone 4S. As bad as I hate to admit it the Siri feature is very useful. The voice recognition is very accurate and when I need to find something on line I find that I reach for her phone instead of keying the question into mine. On my phone I would look up the number to Outback to call ahead for seating. That's not real safe while driving. I just pick her phone up, press a button and ask for the nearest Outback number and it pops up. I put Siri to the test one day and asked for the answer to something like what is the square root of 743*36+18*73/2 and it returned the written formula and answer. I was amazed. Also, with iOS-5 devices you can use iMessage which is text messaging over the internet without using you text plan. This is especially useful for those of us on AT&T without unlimited texting. So now I'm kind of hooked to the Iphone due to those features. I'm hoping they will update with a larger display when the Iphone 5 comes out in the future. I still like the Androids too though.

 

Dennis

[GAWildKat]

Hubby: Go android. Yeah it has its bugs, but it's not going to be prone to server outages like blackberry, and he can expand the memory and replace the battery, unlike Apple.

[Dragonslayer]

The buttons are just too small for my club fingers.

That seems to be my problem this thing has a touch screen on it and no matter what I touch it picks something completely different or takes off somewhere else.

[Dragonslayer]

I've had an Iphone since the 3G model came out and I currently use the Iphone 4. I am certainly not an Apple fanatic and sort of planned to move to an Android phone in a few months. In the meantime it was time to replace my wife's Iphone 3G and because she isn't real patient with learning new technology I replaced it with the Iphone 4S. As bad as I hate to admit it the Siri feature is very useful. The voice recognition is very accurate and when I need to find something on line I find that I reach for her phone instead of keying the question into mine. On my phone I would look up the number to Outback to call ahead for seating. That's not real safe while driving. I just pick her phone up, press a button and ask for the nearest Outback number and it pops up. I put Siri to the test one day and asked for the answer to something like what is the square root of 743*36+18*73/2 and it returned the written formula and answer. I was amazed. Also, with iOS-5 devices you can use iMessage which is text messaging over the internet without using you text plan. This is especially useful for those of us on AT&T without unlimited texting. So now I'm kind of hooked to the Iphone due to those features. I'm hoping they will update with a larger display when the Iphone 5 comes out in the future. I still like the Androids too though.

?

Dennis

What did he say? Is he talking in that Techno Geek Speak language

[Freebird]

Well, I'll have to decide over the next few days. I don't have time to wait on the Iphone 5 so I may end up going with the Android primarily for the larger screen and 4G though I seldom use my phone for Internet. In either case, I will likely use it like I do my Blackberry, tether it to my laptop if I'm in an area with no WIFI. I use PDANet for that and it works pretty darn well. For that reason though, 4G would sure be better.

 

I'm actually getting two new phones. I'm tired of using the same phone for company business and for personal use. I've done that for almost 8 years and though it's not that big a deal, along with the company paying the cellular bill they also audit our calls. That means that they periodically go through all my call records to see who I'm calling and when. After not getting into any trouble over it for nearly 8 years, I'm obviously doing nothing wrong but I just like the fact that they can go through my personal calls.

 

Therefore, I will now have to carry two phones. One being the company phone and the other my personal. Kind of a pain but I think it would be better.

[Trader]

Freebird, can you not come to a voluntary agreement to pay back the company "X" dollars a month....or to have a portion of the phone listed as a personal taxable benifit?

 

Often times they will do that with a company car. The EXPECT you to use it for personal use also...so they automatically charge you a % of the value as a taxable benefit.

[b2dad]

One that I could use...but the cord isn't long enough...and my fingers are getting stuck in the rotary piece. Don't they make a "travel" model???

[Freebird]

Trader,

It's not about the money. They have never said a word about how I use the phone. I am lucky to work for a pretty darn good company. The fact is though, even though they have never complained about any call that I've made, the fact that they do audit the calls bothers me. I just really don't want anybody looking through my call usage. It's not like I have anything to hide but I just feel that it's somewhat an invasion of my privacy.

[Trader]

I understand what you mean....but if you are paying for a portion of the phone they they will have no reason to audit you....unless of course the phone bill suddenly goes thru the roof.

[BOO]

I just upgraded to this baby.......

 

No Problems.

 

 

BOO

[Freebird]

LOL....I actually DID own one of those.

[Freebird]

I understand what you mean....but if you are paying for a portion of the phone they they will have no reason to audit you....unless of course the phone bill suddenly goes thru the roof.

 

The thing is, all company phones are on the corporate plan. All bills go to the company and they pay them. They won't let the bills come directly to us.

[MLCRIDER]

The thing is, all company phones are on the corporate plan. All bills go to the company and they pay them. They won't let the bills come directly to us.

 

 

For the same reasons you stated we have had the same thing going on where I work, great company to work for, I have never ones had a word said to me about who i call, but I feel the same way as you do keep telling myself I guess they pay the bill so thats the way it is.

Not so after several of us asked about it, the company now pays us the amount they paid for our phones which was about 40.00 and we can take over the existing number, the 40.00 would be exactly what it would cost me to get on the wives package and like you I had nothing to hide, it has been 10 years for me but I am going to make the switch as soon as I decide droid or Iphone

[elmicko]

I just upgraded to this baby.......

 

No Problems.

 

 

BOO

 

I rocked one of those babys too. The plan I had gave me 30 minutes of call time each month. I don't think I ever went over either, the dang phone was so heavy you're arm would give out before you ran out of time.

[Wolf]

I get to upgrade on Dec. 1st. I have had an Android for 3 years now, different phones, but I will be moving to the Iphone this time. Too many problems for me with the Android. I am constantly having to reset the phone, the GPS works when it wants to, and the phone freezes all the time. This way I can also get rid of my Ipod touch and have just one item to do it all for me as I am a fan of Itunes.

I was hoping to wait for the Iphone 5 to be released, but I have 2 phones, and will upgrade to the 5 when it releases and pass the 4S off to my son.

[Dragonslayer]

Wel

L ti hAs ta,kken me al day but I fina lly figured out how tp get on site and post

Usimg my new phone You

[BIG TOM]

Wel

L ti hAs ta,kken me al day but I fina lly figured out how tp get on site and post

Usimg my new phone You

 

 

 

Glad you worked all the bugs out...

[Guest tx2sturgis]

 

Therefore, I will now have to carry two phones. One being the company phone and the other my personal. Kind of a pain but I think it would be better.

 

 

Maybe a dual-SIM phone would be the answer. Since you dont need the data, and DO need two numbers, maybe one of the dual sim units might work for you, assuming that you will be on a GSM network.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_SIM

 

The iPhone battery....well...where do I start.

 

 

First, it lasts a fairly long time and you can plug a little portable pack ($5 on amazon) into the phone to extend the battery capacity into the evening if thats what you need. Second, since iPhones have a huge aftermarket, there are LOTS of case/battery combinations($25-$100) that let the iPhone work for days on a charge.

 

Third, Apple makes the phone slimmer, lighter, and stronger for a given battery capacity since they dont have to build in 'packaging' that allows the battery to be removed. And since the service life (in years) of the battery is longer than the phone normally is in use, its not a concern, really. I have an old 3g iPhone thats sim-less now and it still works well as an iPod touch.

 

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Mophie-Rechargeable-Battery-Verizon-iPhone/dp/B004GGU8SS/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1322441185&sr=8-15]Amazon.com: Mophie Juice Pack Plus Case and Rechargeable Battery (Black, Verizon and AT&T iPhone 4): Cell Phones & Accessories@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Q2OBKl8YL.@@AMEPARAM@@41Q2OBKl8YL[/ame]

 

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Lenmar-Battery-Powered-Case-Apple-iPhone/dp/B00499DUC8/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1322441246&sr=8-30]Amazon.com: Lenmar Battery-Powered Case for Apple iPhone 4 (Fits AT&T iPhone): Cell Phones & Accessories@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41hKL2vrdtL.@@AMEPARAM@@41hKL2vrdtL[/ame]

 

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Stitchway-UltraPower-Backup-Battery-Charger/dp/B003XIBJKG/ref=sr_1_39?ie=UTF8&qid=1322441288&sr=8-39]Amazon.com: Stitchway UltraPower 1900 mAh (BLACK) Backup Battery Charger for Apple iPhone 4: Electronics@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/415H--FtEKL.@@AMEPARAM@@415H--FtEKL[/ame]

 

Fourth: I have heard LOTS of negatives about the batterylife on android style phones. So some android users might assume all smartphones are battery hogs. They arent. My iPhone 4 has really good battery life, but on ANY smartphone/pocket computer, the more that you can keep it plugged in and charging, the better the battery life will be.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2011 by tx2sturgis

[dingy]

I just got an Iphone 4S with a 2 gig data package.

 

Nice thing about the 4S is it will hook into WIFI hot spots, or home / work wireless networks. Then there is no charge for data usage.

 

Siri voice commands & help are really cool.

 

Though fat fingers & touch screen typing is a challenge.

 

This phone takes pictures better than most digital cameras. Attached photo was taken in garage with flourescent lighting. It was 3264 x 3264 from phone, I reduced it to 2000 x 2000, then VR site reduced to 1024 x 768.

 

Gary

 

http://i1007.photobucket.com/albums/af193/gdingy101/IMG_0099.jpg