Talk to me about Android?

[Tailgunner]

I was waiting for the new IPhone 5S but I'm not too enthused with Apple's new Cartoon IOS 7. So I'm looking into switching to an Android and wanted to see what people are using these days. Now I know I don't want a Galaxy Note II, my wife has one and it's too big. I was going to use it for the time being but the wife grabbed it as soon as she saw the IOS 7 update lol Anyhow, something a tab bit smaller would be cool.

So what do you use and why?

 

[JacaRanda]

Well dang, can I still respond if I use the Note II?

If I did not want the bigger screen, I most definitely would get the Galaxy S4. I've only read how happy people on facebook are with it.

My guess is it's at least as great as the Note II.

 

[texkam]

S4 FTW

 

[Josh66]

They dream of electric sheep.


I've never had an iAnything, run Linux on all of my computers - so obviously my phones are android. Nothing fancy though - $500+ for a phone is too much for me. Right now I use a Samsung Galaxy Victory. That's about the most I'm willing to spend on a phone until they start making them drop-proof.

 

[Tailgunner]

They dream of electric sheep.


I've never had an iAnything, run Linux on all of my computers - so obviously my phones are android. Nothing fancy though - $500+ for a phone is too much for me. Right now I use a Samsung Galaxy Victory. That's about the most I'm willing to spend on a phone until they start making them drop-proof.

Ya, $500+ is a bit much on a phone if you buy it outright but you can usually get them around $200 or so with a 2yr contract. That was my plan on the 5S before they started marketing to 5th graders. Anyhow, I'm going to try and check out the Galaxy 4S this weekend.

I'm going to check out the Android tablets as well.

 

[pharmakon]

I use a galaxy nexus. No contract, $250 phones direct from google play and $45/line out the door for unlimited everything with AT&T service via straight talk MVNO. Going on two years now and have no complaints. It's not the fastest phone out there but it works pretty good for everything I have needed it for so far.

 

[IByte]

I rooted my S4 with unlimited data plan ....deuces I phone. But seriously apple is way too restricted for my taste let alone their new Io7 looks like candy crush.

 

[Josh66]

... but you can usually get them around $200 or so with a 2yr contract.

But then there's the whole contract thing with the crazy rates.

I had a corporate discount for AT&T - I paid about $200 a month for two phones (this was 2010, I guess. I can't remember exactly when I switched to Virgin, but it was sometime around then.) - 700 minutes (shared between both phones), unlimited text/data. That's what I paid after my corporate discount.

I ditched AT&T and went with Virgin. I pay $90 a month now for two phones - 1200 minutes (per phone), unlimited text/data. No discounts.

Granted, I pay the full cost of the phone, but at least I'm not getting raped every month.

 

[IByte]

But then there's the whole contract thing with the crazy rates.

I had a corporate discount for AT&T - I paid about $200 a month for two phones (this was 2010, I guess. I can't remember exactly when I switched to Virgin, but it was sometime around then.) - 700 minutes (shared between both phones), unlimited text/data. That's what I paid after my corporate discount.

I ditched AT&T and went with Virgin. I pay $90 a month now for two phones - 1200 minutes (per phone), unlimited text/data. No discounts.

Granted, I pay the full cost of the phone, but at least I'm not getting raped every month.

But you also give up decent coverage area.

 

[Tee]

I'm replying on my new 5s. It's an awesome phone. You'll regret going to Android. If you think the "cartoonish" look of the 5s is bad, wait till you deal with the blocky, always freezing, look of Droids.

~former droid user sends.

 

[Josh66]

But then there's the whole contract thing with the crazy rates.

I had a corporate discount for AT&T - I paid about $200 a month for two phones (this was 2010, I guess. I can't remember exactly when I switched to Virgin, but it was sometime around then.) - 700 minutes (shared between both phones), unlimited text/data. That's what I paid after my corporate discount.

I ditched AT&T and went with Virgin. I pay $90 a month now for two phones - 1200 minutes (per phone), unlimited text/data. No discounts.

Granted, I pay the full cost of the phone, but at least I'm not getting raped every month.

But you also give up decent coverage area.

Depends where you live, I guess. Virgin uses Sprint towers. Around here they have good coverage - at least as good as AT&T. At work, I have less coverage, everywhere else I have more (AT&T towers vs Sprint towers).

They have AT&T repeaters at work (since that is what the company uses), and it wouldn't surprise me if they were actively blocking cell reception. In most buildings at work, I get little to no signal. As soon as I walk out of the gate I get 4 bars, 4G.

 

[IByte]

I'm replying on my new 5s. It's an awesome phone. You'll regret going to Android. If you think the "cartoonish" look of the 5s is bad, wait till you deal with the blocky, always freezing, look of Droids.

~former droid user sends.

Nah Droid may have some quirky names and flavors, but it will never look like it came from a vending machine. If it does you can simply root it and place your own theme.

Not too mention IO7 has really bad flaws. Lock screen hack, and coming soon finger scanner crack.

 

[Tailgunner]

But then there's the whole contract thing with the crazy rates.

I had a corporate discount for AT&T - I paid about $200 a month for two phones (this was 2010, I guess. I can't remember exactly when I switched to Virgin, but it was sometime around then.) - 700 minutes (shared between both phones), unlimited text/data. That's what I paid after my corporate discount.

I ditched AT&T and went with Virgin. I pay $90 a month now for two phones - 1200 minutes (per phone), unlimited text/data. No discounts.

Granted, I pay the full cost of the phone, but at least I'm not getting raped every month.

But you also give up decent coverage area.

Depends where you live, I guess. Virgin uses Sprint towers. Around here they have good coverage - at least as good as AT&T. At work, I have less coverage, everywhere else I have more (AT&T towers vs Sprint towers).

They have AT&T repeaters at work (since that is what the company uses), and it wouldn't surprise me if they were actively blocking cell reception. In most buildings at work, I get little to no signal. As soon as I walk out of the gate I get 4 bars, 4G.

Sprint wasn't cutting it for me coverage wise and why I switched to AT&T. My wife stayed with Sprint a year longer and always had hell with dropped calls, even after moving to a larger metro area.

 

[minicoop1985]

Actually, you don't need to root to get your own theme. GO Launcher/Locker will do it. Here:

I chose Android over BB and iOS for a few reasons. One: open source allows for more creative applications and no stranglehold on what is and isn't allowed, there's a wide variety of devices that are compatible with each other, and I'm a fan of the power some of these phones possess. I have a Galaxy S3 (my 3rd smartphone) and my wife has the S4, and both come highly recommended.

 

[IByte]

But xde developers opens a whole new world lol. Don't get me wrong Apple products are sturdy and have great resale value.

Just S4 has what I'm looking for, just like when I get the nex7 tablet