OT: Choosing smartphone???

[metalmagpie]

It's very handy to have a smartphone when checking into a flight. Put your boarding pass on your phone. Depositing checks from home is great too. The cameras on late Samsung Galaxy phones are great, never use my Nikon any more.

metalmagpie

[danlb]

Ikdor said "-iphone allows individual access control of apps, so you can switch of tracking and data leeching to some degree. Not sure if they have implemented it in android by now."

Yes, it's been implemented in Android. You can turn off access to your contacts, for instance, on individual apps.


The newest phones are moving to USB-C which allows you to insert the plug either way. As a side note, there are some microusb cables that can be inserted either way too! Reversable USB on BOTH ends!

[Yondering]

With Iphone (or Apple in general) you have to do everything pretty much the way some snob on Apple imagined it should work. iCloud, iTunes and i-whatsoever.
Stay in their "sandbox" and never even imagine thinking "there has to be another, better way" and it works perfectly..
Connect to computer with USB cable and just transfer files? Not going to f*nking happen :P
"It just works - Apple" (maybe that slogan means that it just barely works. Or only works in a way that is really retarded)

And btw I'm Iphone user

One big thing that helps with all that stuff - jailbreak. Of course if you're constantly updating to the latest software that doesn't work well, but jailbreaking an iPhone can open up a lot of functionality, including firewall controls for individual apps.

[Puckdropper]

It's very handy to have a smartphone when checking into a flight. Put your boarding pass on your phone. Depositing checks from home is great too. The cameras on late Samsung Galaxy phones are great, never use my Nikon any more.

metalmagpie

I don't know what a boarding pass is ;-), but the phone is great for flying. I use it to get pressure information for the altimeter and the flashlight was useful for my first night flight a few weeks ago. I need to use the camera sometime soon and grab some pics of the plane.

[CCWKen]

Just got home from the AT&T store with my new Galaxy S8+. What a change from the old flip phone. It's on the charger so I haven't had a chance to "personalize" it yet. After getting a Galaxy Tab E several months ago and learning to speak Android, I think I'm ready for the 21st Century and a smart phone.

[Dan Dubeau]

Just got home from the AT&T store with my new Galaxy S8+. What a change from the old flip phone. It's on the charger so I haven't had a chance to "personalize" it yet. After getting a Galaxy Tab E several months ago and learning to speak Android, I think I'm ready for the 21st Century and a smart phone.

Welcome.

I held out for a long time. Not getting my first "smartphone" until 2010, when I was forced to switch carriers due to having no signal at our new house. Bell was, and still is, the only provider that has a signal in our house. Others can get a signal while outside, or walking out on the front lawn, but to actually sit at on the couch and make a call, it's bell or nobody. I've actually got my cellular internet through them as well. Anyway, long story short, I couldn't got back to a "dumb" flip phone again. If somebody were to make a "smart" flip phone with a full touch screen and slide out keyboard (luxury but not necessary) I'd go back to a "flip phone".

[danlb]

Congrats Ken. Let us know how it works out for you. My wife went for the Note8. The camera is Most Impressive (tm). It starts up in a split second, focuses as fast as you click the shutter and takes great pictures.

Here's an example; In years past, I'd use a $500 Cannon to take pictures of the pumpkins my wife carves for Halloween. This year I used her phone. The first one required multiple shots and a tripod to get the right settings, focus and no blur from shaking. The second was taken in one shot, hand held.





Dan

[J Tiers]

Welcome.

I held out for a long time. Not getting my first "smartphone" until 2010, when I was forced to switch carriers due to having no signal at our new house. Bell was, and still is, the only provider that has a signal in our house. Others can get a signal while outside, or walking out on the front lawn, but to actually sit at on the couch and make a call, it's bell or nobody. I've actually got my cellular internet through them as well. Anyway, long story short, I couldn't got back to a "dumb" flip phone again. If somebody were to make a "smart" flip phone with a full touch screen and slide out keyboard (luxury but not necessary) I'd go back to a "flip phone".

The confounded smartphones ought to fold in the middle (it is perfectly feasible) so they are not so big, AND are better protected. They are so thin that even folded they are OK, kinda. Of course if you put an "Otterbox" on them, as any sensible person would, they get a good deal bulkier. Add the clip/front shield, and you may as well carry a purse.

[garagemark]

I have, and carry both an iPhone 6 and a Galaxy S7. I have both because my work decided on iPhones and I had previously decided on Samsung phones.

I do a great many things on the iPhone because someone else is paying the bill. Most of my day to day texting or e-mailing runs off the iPhone.

Personal mail or private things I don't need the company to have access to (no, I'm not a covert operative) are done with my Android phone.

The gist is that either, or both phones are pretty intuitive. Both can do amazing things, both take great pictures, both are fast, and juggling between them is almost seamless.

Your choice ultimately comes down to your wallet.

And yes, I do HATE carrying two of the heavy things. I even carry a man purse on occasion. Jeesh.

[Jim Stewart]

I'm ready for a new smartphone. My daughter has a Galaxy S7 - nice big screen. I like it.

When buying tech toys I usually buy last year's model and save 50% or so - the S7 can be had for $325 new and as low as $180 refurbished from lots of ebay vendors.

I'll drop in at a couple of the independent cell phone stores around here and see what they have. Small advantage of these guys is they can switch the phone over for me and I don't have to go to the Verizon store.

-js

[J Tiers]

...

When buying tech toys I usually buy last year's model and save 50% or so - the S7 can be had for $325 new and as low as $180 refurbished from lots of ebay vendors.

....

When my wife got a smartphone, she got an Apple, IIRC it was a 4 or 5, which at the time was the prior model. Verizon sold it to her with the plan etc, cost of the phone a buck... $1..... You cannot beat that sort of deal, it is worth asking.

The Otterbox case was way more expensive than the nominal $1 phone cost, which she got due to inaugurating the account and the fact ot was an old model. When she next upgraded, the NEW "last year's model" was a bit under half price... still not horrible.

She got an Apple because her friends all had them, so she had "local support".

[Mike Amick]

She got an Apple because her friends all had them, so she had "local support".

Then show them your the rebel they think you are.

Grab a Galaxy S7 ... The last year model androids go pretty cheap, and its a great phone

[ulav8r]

Went to a smart phone last fall. Got a Galaxy Luna from Straight Talk. The phone works, the camera is nothing special, but a new phone was only $99 and it fits in a shirt pocket though equipped with a carry sleeve and tempered glass screen protector. Has survived one fall of about 3 feet onto concrete with only a small scratch to the edge of the screen protector. Android 6.0 operating system.

[Dan Dubeau]

I've got a small spigen case on my S7. I like the premise of the otterbox, and agree, that it's a great way to protect your investment. But they just add that extra bit of bulk that I can't get past. It's not much, but it enough for me to risk it with something smaller. I wouldn't consider myself rough, but I've dropped my s7 probably 5-10 times now, off my desk, or out of my pockets and there's been no real damage aside from scratches.

On the radio on the way home they were talking about the new iPhone and how much it costs to replace the front screen ~$250, and back screen~$500. That's bloody ridiculous. Apparently they don't handle small drops very well. My Iphone 5 was great at falling. I did crack the screen though when I came home to take a quick shower before going back out, and left it in my pants pocket right outside the tub. Stepped out of the shower, and instantly knew what that crunching sound was. Heel right through the screen. I put some packing tape on it, and it still works to this day. You can't see ****, but it works lol.

[danlb]

When my wife got a smartphone, she got an Apple,

SNIP

She got an Apple because her friends all had them, so she had "local support".

That's a bit of information that would have changed the advice posted so far. I always recommend that you evaluate what your spouse / family is using first for several reasons: 1) you can play with it in real life situations for a few weeks 2) you can ask the person next to you for help if you can't figure something out 3) you can help the person next to you when they you need to 4) so you can ask your wife to answer your phone when it rings.

That last is not a joke. It's not always obvious what to do when a phone makes a strange sound and flashes pictures and words.

When my wife considered going from flip to smart phone, I had her use my iphone for a week. She hated it. A year later her phone needed replacing so I had her try my new android phone. She liked it enough to make the jump.

So try out the wife's for a while. It may do everything that you want.

Dan