What smartphone do you use?

[Tom Hendricks]

I just want people to have the right phone for them. If I was about to purchase a smartphone, I would spend a few hours and test out the different options. I think people go by what they think they would like instead of what they like. Most Malls have all the phones to play with, I know that's what I would be doing.

 

[MANT!]

A Sanyo Zio, black with silver accents,

 

[Kemaiku]

I just want people to have the right phone for them. If I was about to purchase a smartphone, I would spend a few hours and test out the different options. I think people go by what they think they would like instead of what they like. Most Malls have all the phones to play with, I know that's what I would be doing.

I normally head around the net reading reviews from ordinary people who have bought them, watch as many youtube "unboxing and testing" videos as I can and maybe head to one of the stores in town to see if I can live test them.

And yet I still have a 3DS so it doesn't always work out, lol.

 

[RAMA]

So I finally got around to shopping for the new phone. My wife was on a separate family plan with T-Mobile shared with my stepdaughter, I had Sprint. T-Mobile has working 4G in my area, which Sprint didn't. It also has the second fastest service of all the carriers with theoretical 42Mbps speed. Since I saved $40 per month by switching I did so.

I narrowed it down to the HTC Amaze and HTC One S from my new carrier T-Mobile. The pros for the One S were: a dedicated camera chip, Beats Audio, and already installed Android 4.0 (ICS). The cons: Built in battery and memory card (same silly config Iphone uses). The Amaze won out....it has the same screen, same 1.5ghz dual processor, same 8MP camera(minus chip), upgradable SDcard, with 16GB memory built in(after I transferred my card I had 32GB of memory, plus 25GB for Dropbox, 5GB for Google Drive) and ALSO was instantly upgradable from Android 2.3 to 4.0! I already use ProAmp, the best music player for portable devices, with it's own excellent equalizer and settings, so I didn't miss Beats Audio at all. I love how the battery compartment opens, and the whole phone slides out, it feels less delicate than the snapped closures of most phones. I clocked my 4G download service at 7Mbps, and wifi at 16Mbps.



I've since discovered that PCMag named the Amaze T-mobile's best touchscreen smartphone.

 

[Flavius]

I have been using iPhones since they came out in 2007, and I currently have an iPhone 4. My contract expired last December, and I was very close the other day to just get some prepaid phone or something. Right now, I'm inclined to wait until the fall before I make a final decision - the ability to use my phone to pay at the register would make a difference.

Web browsing and apps? The iPad (and some random other tablet) is much better at that.
Also: the costs really - My family has 5 smartphones on two plans, right now - two androids and 3 iPhones - so that they can play games on the bus?

 

[RAMA]

So I finally got around to shopping for the new phone. My wife was on a separate family plan with T-Mobile shared with my stepdaughter, I had Sprint. T-Mobile has working 4G in my area, which Sprint didn't. It also has the second fastest service of all the carriers with theoretical 42Mbps speed. Since I saved $40 per month by switching I did so.

I narrowed it down to the HTC Amaze and HTC One S from my new carrier T-Mobile. The pros for the One S were: a dedicated camera chip, Beats Audio, and already installed Android 4.0 (ICS). The cons: Built in battery and memory card (same silly config Iphone uses). The Amaze won out....it has the same screen, same 1.5ghz dual processor, same 8MP camera(minus chip), upgradable SDcard, with 16GB memory built in(after I transferred my card I had 32GB of memory, plus 25GB for Dropbox, 5GB for Google Drive) and ALSO was instantly upgradable from Android 2.3 to 4.0! I already use ProAmp, the best music player for portable devices, with it's own excellent equalizer and settings, so I didn't miss Beats Audio at all. I love how the battery compartment opens, and the whole phone slides out, it feels less delicate than the snapped closures of most phones. I clocked my 4G download service at 7Mbps, and wifi at 16Mbps.



I've since discovered that PCMag named the Amaze T-mobile's best touchscreen smartphone.

Oops, that's PowerAmp

 

[StolenThunder]

Sorted out an upgrade to a Nokia Lumia 800 this week (from a BlackBerry Bold 9700). I like what I've seen of the Windows Phone interface, so quite looking forward to picking it up tomorrow.

I'd ended up with a decision between the HTC One X, Sony Xperia S, and the Nokia. Ultimately the Nokia is the least featured of the three but I far preferred the design and it was a wee bit cheaper. I don't use my phone for too much exciting so I didn't need to go for the flagship phones particularly.

 

[STR]

There's no poll option for Adroid 4.1/Jelly Bean, but that's what I'm running. It's very slick. One of my favorite features isn't baked into the OS, it's an app called Llama (as in the animal) it can be used on just about every Android handset and will change your ring/vibrate mode, turn on/off bluetooth or wifi or even launch specific apps based on the time, your location or a combination thereof. I don't even use the volume buttons on my phone anymore. It's all handled automatically.

MoreQuicklyPanel is another good one, pull down the notification shade and you have one-touch access to wifi, bluetooth and tethering (free tethering). It's like $2, though some handsets have a similar built-in function.

the ability to use my phone to pay at the register would make a difference.

Having used NFC payments on and off for the last year, it's not that convenient. Many stores, even if they have the NFC pad, don't have them turned on and clerks give you looks if it doesn't work the first time (25% chance) and they have to clear something on their end.

It's nice with vending machines though, but the number of NFC vending machines is a tiny proportion. This is a technology for 2015, not 2012.

 

[Starbreaker]

An old Android. It finally broke. I'm still deciding on what my next move will be.

 

[Flavius]

@STR
Yeah, I'm not surprised. I like that Apple doesn't treat NFC like a me-to feature and just throws it in there.

 

[tighr]

I'm running a souped-up Jellybean ROM on my unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus, and I love it. I'm waiting for the official Jellybean OTA update for my Motorola Xoom, because I don't want to root my tablet. I heard that the Xoom will be the first tablet to get an official Jellybean update.

 

[Magellan]

I'm still rocking th BlackBerry Tour 9630. Probably wont ever upgrade cuz I an text call and read wikipedia on the go. I really dont need more. Seems like the last "killer" feature for a phone was net access. Past that what more could I want?

 

[STR]

I'm still rocking th BlackBerry Tour 9630. Probably wont ever upgrade cuz I an text call and read wikipedia on the go. I really dont need more. Seems like the last "killer" feature for a phone was net access. Past that what more could I want?

Umm...better net access? The browser on the Blackberry was lousy even back in the day.

 

[RAMA]

There's no poll option for Adroid 4.1/Jelly Bean, but that's what I'm running. It's very slick. One of my favorite features isn't baked into the OS, it's an app called Llama (as in the animal) it can be used on just about every Android handset and will change your ring/vibrate mode, turn on/off bluetooth or wifi or even launch specific apps based on the time, your location or a combination thereof. I don't even use the volume buttons on my phone anymore. It's all handled automatically.

MoreQuicklyPanel is another good one, pull down the notification shade and you have one-touch access to wifi, bluetooth and tethering (free tethering). It's like $2, though some handsets have a similar built-in function.

the ability to use my phone to pay at the register would make a difference.

Having used NFC payments on and off for the last year, it's not that convenient. Many stores, even if they have the NFC pad, don't have them turned on and clerks give you looks if it doesn't work the first time (25% chance) and they have to clear something on their end.

It's nice with vending machines though, but the number of NFC vending machines is a tiny proportion. This is a technology for 2015, not 2012.

Supposedly, the upgrade to 4.1 will be available later this month so I am waiting..

 

[RAMA]

I'm still rocking th BlackBerry Tour 9630. Probably wont ever upgrade cuz I an text call and read wikipedia on the go. I really dont need more. Seems like the last "killer" feature for a phone was net access. Past that what more could I want?

I had a Tour, it seems like a dinosaur now.

 

[The Squire of Gothos]

I signed up to a contract with an HTC Desire, not realising the constraints the crappy internal storage places on OS upgrades (still stuck on Android 2.2) and app storage.

I think I'll just buy a cheaper ICS phone from a lesser brand and pick up a sim only deal when my contract is over.