Buying a smartphone - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

DownhillGoat · 03-14-2011, 04:58 PM

As much as I love technology I'm not a cell phone fan and have dreaded upgrading my phone which may or may not pre-date the days that cell phones came with cameras. So what's on the market and what's good is not my forte.

As my current phone has pretty much kicked the bucket, I'm in the market for a new one and I was looking for some suggestions on what's decent.

Not overly interested in blackberry (unless there's some compelling arguments), and definately do not want an iphone.

Some requirements:
- must be able to act as a wifi hotspot (I assume this is the same as tethering?) for an ipod touch and ipad. Preferrably without having to jailbreak anything.
- must be available through bell, possibly telus due to cell phone coverage restraints. Would prefer to stick with Bell, however.

Looking at the different models on the web, I'm leaning towards the HTC desire.

Thoughts/opinions/help!?

Thanks!

Finner · 03-14-2011, 05:00 PM

Samsung Galaxy S can tether through a wifi hotspot and is available through bell.

Great phone too.

MrMastodonFarm · 03-14-2011, 05:03 PM

Samsung Galaxy S

silentsim · 03-14-2011, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

As much as I love technology I'm not a cell phone fan and have dreaded upgrading my phone which may or may not pre-date the days that cell phones came with cameras. So what's on the market and what's good is not my forte.

As my current phone has pretty much kicked the bucket, I'm in the market for a new one and I was looking for some suggestions on what's decent.

Not overly interested in blackberry (unless there's some compelling arguments), and definately do not want an iphone.

Some requirements:
- must be able to act as a wifi hotspot (I assume this is the same as tethering?) for an ipod touch and ipad. Preferrably without having to jailbreak anything.
- must be available through bell, possibly telus due to cell phone coverage restraints. Would prefer to stick with Bell, however.

Looking at the different models on the web, I'm leaning towards the HTC desire.

Thoughts/opinions/help!?

Thanks!

Any reason on the no to an iPhone 4? Noting you currently have an iPod touch and iPad, getting an iPhone would give you the ability to have access to the same apps that you have purchased for the other devices, instead of having to re-buy them on another platform.

Finner · 03-14-2011, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silentsim

Any reason on the no to an iPhone 4? Noting you currently have an iPod touch and iPad, getting an iPhone would give you the ability to have access to the same apps that you have purchased for the other devices, instead of having to re-buy them on another platform.

He stated he wanted wireless tethering. In order to access that feature on iPhone you have to jailbreak.

FanIn80 · 03-14-2011, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finner

He stated he wanted wireless tethering. In order to access that feature on iPhone you have to jailbreak.

No you don't. It's now standard in iOS 4.3.

It doesn't really matter which phone the guy goes with, but let's at least be accurate about things.

MrMastodonFarm · 03-14-2011, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silentsim

Any reason on the no to an iPhone 4? Noting you currently have an iPod touch and iPad, getting an iPhone would give you the ability to have access to the same apps that you have purchased for the other devices, instead of having to re-buy them on another platform.

Maybe it's price ? Who knows.

I am not a contract guy, I won't let any of Bell, Rogers, or Telus lock me into some silly contract. And the thought of paying almost 800 bucks for a phone is insane for me (no contract, 32 gig iphone 4). A similar Samsung Galaxy S is 500 bucks, no contract.

There are the two best phones on the market though, can't go wrong with either. The openness of the Andriod would swing me that way though.

DownhillGoat · 03-14-2011, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by silentsim

Any reason on the no to an iPhone 4?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Finner

He stated he wanted wireless tethering. In order to access that feature on iPhone you have to jailbreak.

^That's a big one right there. I've tried tethering my ipad with some co workers. One has a samsung which we figured out how to do in about 30 seconds. We never did get it to work with the iphone. I like the apple OS, but the devices often frustrate me. I fail to see why they would want to prevent three devices that I purchased from apple from communicating with each other.

Also, after using a few friend's phones, I'm just not a huge fan of the iphone. I wouldn't be able to pin point exactly what it is.

I also like the idea of having a flash enabled device, be able to run a snes emulator, and a few other things that the ipod does not offer.

As I doubt I'll use the current apps i have on my ipad & touch on a cell phone anyways, so purchasing new apps for the a different OS isn't a huge deal.

DownhillGoat · 03-14-2011, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FanIn80

No you don't. It's now standard in iOS 4.3

Interesting...

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Maybe it's price ? Who knows.
I am not a contract guy, I won't let any of Bell, Rogers, or Telus lock me into some silly contract.

Price isn't a huge deal breaker. I hate contracts for phones. I'm currently paying for one I can't use (which is why this one has to be bell or telus). However Bell has a heluva deal on right now. They dropped the monthly price, and include a my10 instead of my5.

bomber317 · 03-14-2011, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

There are the two best phones on the market though, can't go wrong with either. The openness of the Andriod would swing me that way though.

What about the HTC Desire HD? Also looking around for a new phone and came across that.

FanIn80 · 03-14-2011, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

Interesting...

http://www.apple.com/ios

Scroll down till you see the section on Personal Hotspot.

Finner · 03-14-2011, 05:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FanIn80

No you don't. It's now standard in iOS 4.3.

It doesn't really matter which phone the guy goes with, but let's at least be accurate about things.

Oh, sorry about that. Last had read up on the iPhone in December/January and i know at that point you were unable to, and that official support for it had been removed, didn't realize apple had added it back in.

Thanks for the update, didn't mean to me inaccurate.

QuadCityImages · 03-14-2011, 05:27 PM

If he already has an iPod Touch anyway, and gets a phone with tethering, what is he really missing out on from the iPhone? Depending on how new of a Touch it is, at least...

The phone part has never been the iPhone's best feature anyway. If he's already got the apps, browser and music playing capabilities, why would he need a 2nd/3rd iOS device?

Tinordi · 03-14-2011, 05:27 PM

I wouldn't consider owning an iPhone just for iTunes alone.

Yorkshire Flame · 03-14-2011, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by QuadCityImages

The phone part has never been the iPhone's best feature anyway. If he's already got the apps, browser and music playing capabilities, why would he need a 2nd/3rd iOS device?

Because then you don't have to carry both. That was a huge reason for me.

Jing · 03-15-2011, 12:32 PM

There are two new phones coming to Telus and Bell (I think those networks were mentioned earlier) that I would consider.

The Samsung Fascinate 4g - Comes with android 2.2, bigger battery then the other galaxy s phones, and can achieve faster download speeds.

HTC Incredible S - much like the HTC desire HD but in a more managable form factor (4" screen vs 4.3" screen). Also battery is bigger then the DHD so you should get pretty decent battery life.

I own a DHD, and dont mind the bigger size and battery life is fine for me.

DownhillGoat · 03-15-2011, 01:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jing

There are two new phones coming to Telus and Bell (I think those networks were mentioned earlier) that I would consider.

2 questions : Will a 4g phone work on a 3g tower? And are there any release dates for the ones you suggested?

I also found out Motorola is releasing the Atrix on Bell. Don't know much about it, but looking at the motorola site it may be more than I'll need in a phone.

Hanni · 03-15-2011, 02:07 PM

I was talking to a Rogers corporate rep not long ago and asked about 4g, he indicated we won't see 4g for a good 2 years from any carrier in Alberta. Take that for what it is worth.

If you are buying the phone from either Telus or Bell it will work on their 3g network, you just won't get 4g speed.

Hemi-Cuda · 03-15-2011, 04:12 PM

if you're on Bell and not too worried about price, then i'd definitely look at the new Motorola Atrix

http://atrix.bell.ca/en/

it's currently the most powerful phone on the market and has some pretty awesome accessories with the laptop and multimedia dock

Jing · 03-15-2011, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hanni

I was talking to a Rogers corporate rep not long ago and asked about 4g, he indicated we won't see 4g for a good 2 years from any carrier in Alberta. Take that for what it is worth.

If you are buying the phone from either Telus or Bell it will work on their 3g network, you just won't get 4g speed.

True 4g, yes, but they have rebranded HSDPA+ to 4g.

Most standard 3g phones run at 7.2 mb/s download speeds, whereas now you have phones like the Desire HD (14.4 mb/s) and Fascinate 4g (21 mb/s). Will you hit these numbers? Probably not, but it will be faster than a standard 3g phone.