What smartphone do you use?

[Robert Maxwell]

Well, I don't use Apple products out of the principle that they foster (and enforce) a "walled garden" approach. You can't use your Apple products any way you want, you can only use them in whatever ways Apple has approved. Oh, and they charge a premium for the privilege.

 

[Tom Hendricks]

I agree with you, but I think for Apple they hit on what the majority of people want. Most consumers want to pick up something and it just works. Don't have to think about it, don't have to fiddle with it. For people who want to tinker, Apple is not the product for you. So I get where you are coming from.

Well, I don't use Apple products out of the principle that they foster (and enforce) a "walled garden" approach. You can't use your Apple products any way you want, you can only use them in whatever ways Apple has approved. Oh, and they charge a premium for the privilege.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Apple's definitely hit on what *I* want. I have heard the 'walled garden' argument - it may be a problem for some people, but not for me. I use Apple gear whenever possible, because it's exactly what I need. I am not a tinkerer.

 

[YellowSubmarine]

Well, I don't use Apple products out of the principle that they foster (and enforce) a "walled garden" approach. You can't use your Apple products any way you want, you can only use them in whatever ways Apple has approved. Oh, and they charge a premium for the privilege.

I think it is very harmful and slightly worrying how they're teaching so many of their users that this is how a pocket computer should work, that it is acceptable to give their vendor* complete control over their own device and the market by letting them purposefully disturb the functionality. They are cultivating a mentality that, among other things, is I believe opposite to what made the personal computer what it is right now. In a way, the computer world took a small step back.

* Even if he was elevated to godhood.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Well, I don't use Apple products out of the principle that they foster (and enforce) a "walled garden" approach. You can't use your Apple products any way you want, you can only use them in whatever ways Apple has approved. Oh, and they charge a premium for the privilege.

I think it is very harmful and slightly worrying how they're teaching so many of their users that this is how a pocket computer should work, that it is acceptable to give their vendor* complete control over their own device and the market by letting them purposefully disturb the functionality. They are cultivating a mentality that, among other things, is I believe opposite to what made the personal computer what it is right now. In a way, the computer world took a small step back.

* Even if he was elevated to godhood.

As long as Apple doesn't achieve a monopoly, I'm not too bothered about it; I just don't buy their products.

 

[Ptrope]

None of the above - I have a Palm Pre 2 (from Palm themselves, just before they were bought by HP) which is a great smartphone; the WebOS is better than anything else I've used. I also bought a 32 Gb HP TouchPad (10.1") tablet, which also uses the WebOS, when they went on 'fire sale' for $150! :O I just recently bought an Acer Iconia Tab A100 7" tablet running Android 4.0, and even the latest version of that OS is at least 3 years behind WebOS in terms of interface, layout and useability - I only bought it because there are so few mainstream apps that are available for WebOS .

I'll hate the day I have to trade down from my Pre 2 to an Android phone - it'll be like going back to one of the old (dumb) cell phones.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Recently went from a Nokia C6 to an N9. I really like the MeeGo OS and seems like Nokia made a big mistake throwing the open source baby out with the bathwater when they went with Windows Phone for their Smart phones. The phone is great it's just a shame there aren't more localised apps since it was never released here in the UK.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

None of the above - I have a Palm Pre 2 (from Palm themselves, just before they were bought by HP) which is a great smartphone; the WebOS is better than anything else I've used. I also bought a 32 Gb HP TouchPad (10.1") tablet, which also uses the WebOS, when they went on 'fire sale' for $150! :O I just recently bought an Acer Iconia Tab A100 7" tablet running Android 4.0, and even the latest version of that OS is at least 3 years behind WebOS in terms of interface, layout and useability - I only bought it because there are so few mainstream apps that are available for WebOS .

I'll hate the day I have to trade down from my Pre 2 to an Android phone - it'll be like going back to one of the old (dumb) cell phones.

I have a Touchpad running WebOS and CyanogenMod 9 ICS and I agree with you, WebOS is a much better OS, just as MeeGo is, it's such a shame that it seems before long iOS and Android will own the entire market. I just hope Tizen will give them a run for their money since Samsung and HTC are apparently on board to make devices running it.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Well, I don't use Apple products out of the principle that they foster (and enforce) a "walled garden" approach. You can't use your Apple products any way you want, you can only use them in whatever ways Apple has approved. Oh, and they charge a premium for the privilege.

I think it is very harmful and slightly worrying how they're teaching so many of their users that this is how a pocket computer should work, that it is acceptable to give their vendor* complete control over their own device and the market by letting them purposefully disturb the functionality. They are cultivating a mentality that, among other things, is I believe opposite to what made the personal computer what it is right now. In a way, the computer world took a small step back.

* Even if he was elevated to godhood.

As long as Apple doesn't achieve a monopoly, I'm not too bothered about it; I just don't buy their products.

^This.

I have an Android phone, an HTC Incredible I bought about a year and a half ago. I may go for a RAZR in a couple of months.

 

[Kemaiku]

I'll be using my iPhone 4S for the next few years, if at the point I want to replace it the 5, 5S, 6 or whatever it is seems the best option I'll get that.

 

[ngc7293]

When my 2 year plan is up with my 4s, an Apple has their new 4g phone out, I will take a hard look at it. If it can compete with the Razor Maxx (or what ever replaces it in 2 years), fine. If it can't, I am not tied down to Apple.

 

[RAMA]

Looking at an HTC Amaze or One S now...really powerful phones, a few minor drawbacks...

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

The One S is looking pretty good, yeah. I've been really happy with the Incredible.

 

[Kemaiku]

When my 2 year plan is up with my 4s, an Apple has their new 4g phone out, I will take a hard look at it. If it can compete with the Razor Maxx (or what ever replaces it in 2 years), fine. If it can't, I am not tied down to Apple.

Well if the latest Apple news is right, iOS 6 in September and iPhone 5 in October, so looks like there are no more 4 series models coming out.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I bought a Galaxy S Plus on saturday. Rather huge learning curve for me, never having owned any kind of smartphone before, but I'm really getting used to it already. The degree of functionality is just mind-boggling.

 

[Venardhi]

None of the above - I have a Palm Pre 2 (from Palm themselves, just before they were bought by HP) which is a great smartphone; the WebOS is better than anything else I've used. I also bought a 32 Gb HP TouchPad (10.1") tablet, which also uses the WebOS, when they went on 'fire sale' for $150! :O I just recently bought an Acer Iconia Tab A100 7" tablet running Android 4.0, and even the latest version of that OS is at least 3 years behind WebOS in terms of interface, layout and useability - I only bought it because there are so few mainstream apps that are available for WebOS .

I'll hate the day I have to trade down from my Pre 2 to an Android phone - it'll be like going back to one of the old (dumb) cell phones.

I have a Touchpad running WebOS and CyanogenMod 9 ICS and I agree with you, WebOS is a much better OS, just as MeeGo is, it's such a shame that it seems before long iOS and Android will own the entire market. I just hope Tizen will give them a run for their money since Samsung and HTC are apparently on board to make devices running it.

Most of the guys who designed the WebOS UI are at Google designing Android UI now. You can see some of their influence in ICS and I can only imagine it will become more and more apparent in future versions.

I have a (Verizon) Galaxy Nexus.

For people who have had or are having a bad experience with Android, mind that Android isn't like windows where you get the same software just with different hardware deciding how fast it runs. Android is heavily edited by the phone manufacturers and carriers, and your bad experience is more than likely due to their changes than the core OS. Of course, if you're using anything below Gingerbread, I can't really blame you for having complaints.

When shopping for an Android phone you need to pay attention to this extra layer of complications, which is why I generally just tell friends and family to get an iPhone when they ask. even though I have no interest in owning one myself.

 

[Timby]

I may go for a RAZR in a couple of months.

Get the RAZR Maxx. I love my Droid RAZR (outside of Motorola being a bag of dicks and still refusing to push out Ice Cream Sandwich until they finish bloating it with MOTOBLUR bullshit; I should not be stuck on Android 2.3.6 on a phone that came out in December), but the battery life is pretty awful. I have to charge the thing every day, just because the 4G data usage sucks battery life like no other. The RAZR Maxx has about double the battery of the standard RAZR.

 

[Venardhi]

I thought they pushed out the update a couple weeks ago? The motofied ICS actually doesn't look half bad, probably the least messed with of all the major manufacturers.

Personally, I would tell anyone buying an android phone right now to get the HTC One X or, assuming you don't need the -fantastic- camera or extra processing power for games and the like, a Galaxy Nexus.

The RAZR is a decent phone, but the screen, camera and power are all very much disappointing even by last year's standards and I find it uncomfortable to hold.

 

[NCC1701]

None. I have had my Sanyo 7400 for six and a half years now, and it still does exactly what I want from a phone: receives and sends both texts and calls. I'll be upgrading it to another flip phone, a Samsung in this case, this month, due to the carrier having switched networks from CDMA to GSM, and the CDMA will be turned off at the end of next month. If it wasn't for that, I probably would've kept my Sanyo for another few years or so. I have neither the need or the disposable income to buy a smart phone.

 

[Libertarian]

I have an LG Optimus Black P970 [White Version], running CM9 ICS. This is my first smartphone and it literally only took me 5 minutes over at xda to learn how to root and flash a rom on my phone. I tell my friends to do the same and they all look at me like I'm an alien. I don't know why people put up with the bloatware manufacturers and carriers put on their phones. So I usually just recommend people buy straight from Google or get an iPhone.