iphone or droid x

[editor]

I just came across this on Hack-a-Day. it's a wish list for Android 3.0. I was surprised by some of their gripes, like

2. Stable Multitasking

Speaking of crashes, multitasking on Android is a mess. A little optimization here wouldn’t hurt. Better yet, while this may run counter-productive to us power-users, why not release a lite version of Android 3.0 that doesn’t support multitasking? Not every user needs it and lower-end phones would appreciate it

6. Folders

Google, you copied iOS’s homescreen UI, why not do it again? Many of users have outgrown their limited pages and would like a way to add some organization to their mobile lives.

7. SD-Card support for app-storage

If users are going to download a ton of apps from the Android Market, they need somewhere to put them. Users with rooted phones can already do this, but expandable storage should be standard in app-filled world with insatiable memory lust.

[KinkaidAlum]

Am I the only person that doesn't want either?

I was one of the last people I know to get a cellphone and man do I miss my life before having one. I had a home phone. I had an office phone. If I wasn't at home or in the office, I most likely didn't want to be speaking with anyone!!!

And as for the smart phone and apps, blah. Do we really need this crap? Do I really need my phone to tell me there's a DQ in the vicinity? Am I really so stupid that I need my phone to give me driving directions? Do I really want all the gay fellas to know exactly where I am via Grinder?

I truly believe it's all mindless/wasteless junk but we are being told we aren't complete without it. Well, I ain't buying the hype.

[bachanon]

there's a thought: iphone, droid x or nothing. lose the portability all together! i can get my brain around that. have comcast give me a land line (i no longer have one) and just quit cell/smart phones all together. i seriously like the thought.

[editor]

Am I the only person that doesn't want either?

Nope. And for people like that, there's the Jitterbug.

I was one of the last people I know to get a cellphone and man do I miss my life before having one. I had a home phone. I had an office phone. If I wasn't at home or in the office, I most likely didn't want to be speaking with anyone!!!

I wouldn't have a cell phone, except that my wife insists she be able to get in touch with me "in case of emergency." My thought is that if it's an emergency, she should call 911, not me. But then, during TS Allison the cell phones did come in very useful -- her car flooded out a few blocks from our home and she was able to call me and I came to get her.

And as for the smart phone and apps, blah. Do we really need this crap?

You don't necessarily NEED a lot of things in life, but they help to improve you quality of life.

Do I really need my phone to tell me there's a DQ in the vicinity?

If you have a craving for DQ, then yes. Especially since in some cities phone books are no longer being distributed.

Am I really so stupid that I need my phone to give me driving directions?

If you're going some place you've never been, then yes. If you never leave your neighborhood, then you're probably OK.

Do I really want all the gay fellas to know exactly where I am via Grinder?

If you have a craving for gay fellas, then yes.

I truly believe it's all mindless/wasteless junk but we are being told we aren't complete without it. Well, I ain't buying the hype.

I'll be sure to stay off your lawn.

[editor]

there's a thought: iphone, droid x or nothing. lose the portability all together! i can get my brain around that. have comcast give me a land line (i no longer have one) and just quit cell/smart phones all together. i seriously like the thought.

Once there are a few 4G phones available running on the Clear network, Comcast will start offering cell phone service. Comcast partially owns Clear to pursue this strategy so that AT&T can no longer kill it with the "mobile" portion of bundling.

[RedScare]

There are plenty of sub-$100/month smartphone plans. I pay something like $70/month for my iPhone. I looked into moving it to T-Mobile a few months ago, and the price would have been around $50/month.

With Verizon, most of the decent phones require a $30 data plan. I only use a fraction of the data allowed on the $10 plan. So, my next phone needs to accept the $10 plan or I'm not buying it. Frankly, I only need text and email (email requires a data plan). I use the rest of it only on a rare occasion, such as reading the news at lunch if I'm alone. That hardly seems worth $30. Like Kink and Bach, with internet access at home and work, I could do without the mobile. Instead, I could actually interact with people instead of a 3 inch screen.

I realize the quality of life argument, but at what price? Back in the days before computers, a divorce decree was often only 4 pages long, since it had to be typed by hand. Now, they are routinely over 50 pages long, filled with useless and nitpicky orders, read only by still upset ex-spouses looking for an excuse to go back to court. Is that really progress? To make it smartphone related, I have no apps on mine, but mostly because the slight, if any, improvement in quality of life is not worth the hassle of finding, downloading, installing and learning to use an app to tell me where the DQ is. To those who actually get enjoyment out the search and install, this is not an impediment. I'd wager the editor is one of these guys. I'm not, but understand it. Just as I enjoyed building my deck as much or more than I do sitting on it.

The most annoying thing about these phones is that to get the most out of them, you must spend the most time studying them. Every time I see the Apple commercial with the hot chick walking sexily down the street with her iphone smartly helping her along, I laugh at the thought of a real world chick with her face buried in the screen, waiting for the page to load. Real life is never like the commercials. Smartphones do not make you hip and carefree. They make you stare downward, forcing the rest of use to look at your bald spot and step out of your way. This is the hype that I'm not falling for.

[jgriff]

To make it smartphone related, I have no apps on mine, but mostly because the slight, if any, improvement in quality of life is not worth the hassle of finding, downloading, installing and learning to use an app to tell me where the DQ is.

Exactly.

We already have an app you can use to find the nearest DQ. It's called Google. Did we come all this way to where we've finally gotten a little bit away from the Microsoft monopoly on operating systems only to become trapped by another monopoly? The web browser was becoming the OS and now Apple has gone backwards to an app oriented OS. Now MS is going to follow them with an app store on the new Windows Phone. Are we going back to 1990?

[Fringe]

Exactly.

We already have an app you can use to find the nearest DQ. It's called Google.  Did we come all this way to where we've finally gotten a little bit away from the Microsoft monopoly on operating systems only to become trapped by another monopoly? The web browser was becoming the OS and now Apple has gone backwards to an app oriented OS. Now MS is going to follow them with an app store on the new Windows Phone. Are we going back to 1990?

I think you guys are missing the point. If you never travel, if you hardly ever venture outside of your own neighborhood, if your never far away from your computer than yes a smart phone makes no sense. I rarely use most of the features of my Droid but I have them when I need to. Of course I'm not paying for it either. When I go to Canada in September I'm sure it will be invaluable.  

[AtticaFlinch]

I love my smartphone. I think it's awesome. I enjoy being able to find the local DQ at the touch of a button. Sometimes you really want a Blizzard, and you don't want to drive around for an hour looking for it.

That said, with the ubiquity of the smartphone and GPS, I find I'm more destination oriented than I was even two years ago. In the past, if I was hungry for a Blizzard but didn't know where the DQ was, I'd walk around, meandering for awhile, often with no clear goal in mind, and I'd usually serendipitously stumble upon something even better than DQ. I'd learn more about my neighborhood and interact with other pedestrians, petting dogs and kissing babies. I'd make friends this way. Now, not so much. These days, I either pull up a destination online before I leave home, or type it into Google Maps on my phone, go to the location and get what I went for, and then I head back home. I don't meander anymore. I don't kill time. Frankly, I yearn for a simpler existence, but I'm tethered to this phone due to my job. If I didn't have the job I have, I might not have a cell phone at all. I've had them here and there since I was 19, so for about 13 years, and in that time, I've witnessed a massive evolution in form, function and need. My first cell phone was an old analog Motorola, about the size and heft of a brick, and the plan gave me 30 total minutes of talk time per month. Within two years, my phone became a considerably smaller flip phone with a more advanced digital display, and two years after that, displays went to color. I can still remember the first time I saw a cell phone with a color display. I remember thinking, "This is the future." Little did I know it was only the tip of the iceberg.

Now I've got a cell phone with all sorts of cool little apps and features, some of which I really love. My phone takes better photos than the digital camera I bought just seven years ago. It can open spreadsheets, PDFs and powerpoint presentations. Hell, I can find a DQ pretty much anywhere, unless I'm not in a coverage area... which still does happen, as I discovered this weekend in East Texas. Even still, even though all the gadgetry is neat, I can't help but remember the very recent past favorably. There's something to be said for being out of touch. Sometimes it's nice to get away and not be reachable. Even now, as I'm typing this, my phone buzzed to alert me about incoming emails five times in five minutes. I think the smart phone won't ever go away, and it'll continue to get smarter, and what we require it to do will only get more complicated, but that doesn't diminish anyone's nostalgia for a simpler time. And, as history has proven over and over again, there will always be a push back, sometimes violently, to reduce our dependence on technology.

Anyhow... as for the original question... I would choose the iPhone, but not for any of the esoteric reasons already listed. I just like Apple's advertising better.

[jgriff]

I think you guys are missing the point. If you never travel, if you hardly ever venture outside of your own neighborhood, if your never far away from your computer than yes a smart phone makes no sense. I rarely use most of the features of my Droid but I have them when I need to. Of course I'm not paying for it either. When I go to Canada in September I'm sure it will be invaluable.

I think you misunderstood my point. I have Google on my smartphone. I don't need a "Find DQ App". Since I do a lot of unit conversion working with overseas companies I thought about getting one for my phone, the I realized that you don't need an app for that. There are hundreds of unit conversion web pages out there that are free.

[marmer]

Am I the only person that doesn't want either?

I was one of the last people I know to get a cellphone and man do I miss my life before having one. I had a home phone. I had an office phone. If I wasn't at home or in the office, I most likely didn't want to be speaking with anyone!!!

Nice. Wish I'd had that luxury. I've been basically on call at my job for the last twenty-odd years. It's much easier with cell phones than it was with answering machine, pager, and constantly checking voicemail. I still have a home phone, listed in the phone book. I still have an office phone. And a lot of times when I am at work I'm not sitting at my office.

And as for the smart phone and apps, blah. Do we really need this crap? Do I really need my phone to tell me there's a DQ in the vicinity? Am I really so stupid that I need my phone to give me driving directions? Do I really want all the gay fellas to know exactly where I am via Grinder?

Don't think of it as a phone. Think of it as a tiny laptop. That's how everyone I know with a smart phone uses it. Can you get by without it? Sure. But sometimes it's a big help, especially in an unfamiliar city.

I truly believe it's all mindless/wasteless junk but we are being told we aren't complete without it. Well, I ain't buying the hype.

OK. Whatever. I feel very much safer knowing that my wife, teenage daughter, and elderly mother have cell phones. I'm pretty much immune to hype and I tend to keep all my electronics in service well past their intended life cycle. But I see a lot of sober, responsible, professional people getting a lot of daily value out of their smart phones, so that's why I'm interested.

[Fringe]

I think you misunderstood my point. I have Google on my smartphone. I don't need a "Find DQ App".  Since I do a lot of unit conversion working with overseas companies I thought about getting one for my phone, the I realized that you don't need an app for that. There are hundreds of unit conversion web pages out there that are free.

Perhaps I misunderstood you but even though I have not yet used the "Where" app, because I don't really need it here, it will still come in handy when I travel to a city I'm not familiar with.  Perhaps if I carried a laptop with me on all my travels it would be different, but having a smart phone I don't need to.  

[samagon]

I don't doubt it. But I was talking about 4G phones, not 3G phones.

good point, but I think it is relevant to talk about phones available on tmobile as their network speeds (at least in some areas, including Houston) either already are, or will be capable of HSPA+ speeds (21Mbps). They will be releasing a phone Q4 that supports HSPA+, while other phones they have are capable of 7.2Mbps. That's plenty fast for a mobile device.

I've been doing that with my original iPhone since 2007. I expect to continue doing that with my new iPhone when it arrives later this month. What was your point?

While I absolutely agree you should be able to do this with any smartphone, if you have done this, you haven't been doing it with the blessing of Apple, or AT&T. Not that it matters much, but some people will enjoy having that feature available without having to void warranties, or go against what their carrier wants.

There are currently 229,000 apps in the iTunes US app store. There have been more than 270,000 available so far. I can't speak to the number of apps in the Android app store, but 80,000 sounds about right.

You're the first person I've ever heard lauding the quality of the apps in the Android store. Everything I've read to this point has been people lamenting the crapware in there.

right you are about the available app numbers, there are over 250k currently for iOS and 100k for android.

either way, whether talking about the ones available for the iOS, or for Android, it is silly to discuss quantity. There are worthless apps in both stores, in very high volumes.

As to the quality of the apps available for Android, I believe those are recent happenings, most of the apps I will stand behind have been released within the last few months, or as recently as weeks ago. IMDB for example released at the end of June. Not sure when ESPN score center released, but it had to be in June as well. I find the Android version of ESPN Score Center to be much improved over the Apple version simply because it has a widget I can see on screen without having to open the app. It shows me current and upcoming games for teams I have as favorites on this widget.

I am absolutely sure there are worthless apps out there, but that exists for both Android and iOS, but a good way to find quality apps is to do some research before just downloading or buying an app, and with a good bar code scanner Android makes surfing apps on your computer, then downloading them to your phone simple. this is impossible on the iPhone.

There are no malicious apps. You keep making stuff up. Name one malicious app in the iTunes app store. You can't.

sorry, I believe that while the apps themselves may not be malicious, the writers of the apps have malicious intent. And that makes the apps themselves malicious.

Anyway, I don't agree with a lot of the things Apple does. If there is a pay app on the store and they decide to remove it, when I update my phone, the app I paid for would be removed, however, I would not be refunded.

But, moreover this is least of importance as I doubt it affects many users.

Apple has never remotely killed a public app. Even apps that were later removed from its store for violating certain rules.

yes they have. I've personally had 5 apps just disappear from my iPhone after various syncing operations with iTunes. I searched for the apps after they were removed and didn't find any of them in the store, including 2 that I had paid for. Just because it doesn't make front page news doesn't mean they haven't done it, or that they won't do it again in the future. Now, whether this was app compatibility with newer versions, the vendor of the app pulling it, or whatever, it still happened.

You seem to have a lot of fears about smartphones. But those fears come from your use of Android. You shouldn't ascribe them to Apple. It's a whole different ecosystem.

The difference is, that Android and Google do not make any claims that they are a safe area that will protect everyone who uses it. Apple does, I and others used/use this system with blind faith that Apple is protecting their users, since it is a feature that the highly market.

It's a choice, I choose to use a desktop computer with a Windows OS and I take the necessary precautions to protect my identity and data because I know I have to. I could just as easily buy into the safety that is reported by Apple Marketing in their commercials and trust that my OS is safe, if I were using a Mac. The same is true with a mobile OS. Apple says that they are safe, Google makes no claims to that.

Whether that is a good practice or not is up for debate.

I just came across this on Hack-a-Day. it's a wish list for Android 3.0. I was surprised by some of their gripes, like

unfortunately, most of the things listed that would be good additions are already part of the OS, and have been. His gripe is that they didn't implement them the way the author would have liked.

heh, and as far as his comment about android copying the ios homescreen, I had an icon graphic interface on my phone back when nokia was top dog in the cell phone biz. that is just one of the things that makes the iphone so dull, is that the UI is so uninspired and boring. so the icons are pretty and I can move them around, it's still an interface that I used 10 years ago, and is not at all what I would consider advanced, or worth stating that one OS copied from another.

I love my smartphone. I think it's awesome. I enjoy being able to find the local DQ at the touch of a button. Sometimes you really want a Blizzard, and you don't want to drive around for an hour looking for it.

ha, I can't imagine any other need to know where DQ is.

Need versus want, I can't remember my life without a cell phone, I mean I did go through the first 20 years of my life without one, but once I had one I liked (and still do like) knowing no one wants to talk to me, instead of just going home and seeing the answering machine is empty. It is also nice to be connected to my family, if something bad happens, they know how to get in touch with me anywhere, and I can get in touch with them as well.

Now a days it's also nice if I'm hanging out with friends and want to find something, an actors name, a team some random player played for in 1992, when someone was drafted and to what team. etc. it's nice to have that all at my fingertips at any time I want it.

Anyway, I find that I need that connectivity to my friends and family especially in case of emergency, and I absolutely want to be connected to the media to research and read anything anywhere at any time. It's nice to take a break and go read some blog that I can't access from the office desktop.

[editor]

Exactly.

We already have an app you can use to find the nearest DQ. It's called Google.

I think you've actually made the opposite point. When I want to find a DQ, I use the Google Maps app on my smartphone.

Did we come all this way to where we've finally gotten a little bit away from the Microsoft monopoly on operating systems only to become trapped by another monopoly? The web browser was becoming the OS and now Apple has gone backwards to an app oriented OS. Now MS is going to follow them with an app store on the new Windows Phone. Are we going back to 1990?

It's a little more complicated than that.

For the most part, the highest quality apps will evolve in the ecosystem that allows their authors to make money with them. You can have a million apps in an app store, but if there's no reasonable, secure, reliable way for the authors to get paid, then all you're going to have are apps from hobbyists. Both Apple and Google realize this and that's why we have AdMob from Google, and iAds from Apple.

In terms of going backward, yes, you will increasingly see content available exclusively in "app" format, especially with the advent of the iPad, and the inevitable clones to come. This is because making money on the web is hard. Between site scrapers, ad-blockers, and people outright stealing your content, more and more of the web is going behind paywalls, or into app stores.

Is it a step backwards? Yes. Is it necessary for content producers to stay in business? Yes. Who is there to blame? The smug, selfish, self-riteous people who block ads, steal content, and believe that they are somehow "entitled" to it.

So, the next time your favorite web site starts making you pay for content, or puts some content exclusively on an app for a platform you don't have, check to see if you have an ad-blocker installed, and then go blame yourself. You just got what you deserve.

[editor]

I think you guys are missing the point. If you never travel, if you hardly ever venture outside of your own neighborhood, if your never far away from your computer than yes a smart phone makes no sense. I rarely use most of the features of my Droid but I have them when I need to. Of course I'm not paying for it either. When I go to Canada in September I'm sure it will be invaluable.  

Danger Will Robinson! Danger!

Check to see if you need to make adjustments to your data plan before you go. I downloaded a PDF in Toronto and got charged over $400 in data roaming.

[editor]

I think you misunderstood my point. I have Google on my smartphone. I don't need a "Find DQ App". Since I do a lot of unit conversion working with overseas companies I thought about getting one for my phone, the I realized that you don't need an app for that. There are hundreds of unit conversion web pages out there that are free.

One of them is Google. Just type your conversion into the search bar.

[editor]

While I absolutely agree you should be able to do this with any smartphone, if you have done this, you haven't been doing it with the blessing of Apple, or AT&T. Not that it matters much, but some people will enjoy having that feature available without having to void warranties, or go against what their carrier wants.

Actually, it is with Apple's blessing. I downloaded an app perfectly legally from the iTunes app store that enables this. It helps that I have iTunes accounts in many countries, and you can sync purchased items from up to five countries on a device.

Anyway, I don't agree with a lot of the things Apple does. If there is a pay app on the store and they decide to remove it, when I update my phone, the app I paid for would be removed, however, I would not be refunded.

Your experience is different than mine. I have a number of apps that have been removed from the iTunes app store, and they all continue to work perfectly. I did a Google search, and according to what I found in Engadget and elsewhere, Apple has never remote killed an application. Google, on the other hand, has remote killed several apps from people's phones.

What apps did you have removed from your phone by Apple? I'd like to know so I can better understand what's happening and protect myself.

The difference is, that Android and Google do not make any claims that they are a safe area that will protect everyone who uses it. Apple does

Citation needed.

It's a choice, I choose to use a desktop computer with a Windows OS and I take the necessary precautions to protect my identity and data because I know I have to. I could just as easily buy into the safety that is reported by Apple Marketing in their commercials and trust that my OS is safe, if I were using a Mac. The same is true with a mobile OS. Apple says that they are safe, Google makes no claims to that.

You don't need to believe Apple marketing. Just Google it. There are dozens and dozens of studies by security companies around the world that state that OS X is safer than Windows. Or just count the number of viruses and worms there are that affect Windows boxes, and compare it with the number that affect Macintoshes. But I think we're straying from the mobile discussion here.

[Fringe]

Danger Will Robinson!  Danger!

Check to see if you need to make adjustments to your data plan before you go.  I downloaded a PDF in Toronto and got charged over $400 in data roaming.

Nice to know. I will try to just connect through local wifi services while up there. 

[KinkaidAlum]

I am not so sure that we're all safer with cell/smart phones. The roads certainly don't feel safer when I see some douchebag surfing the web on his iPhone while straddling two lanes on US 59 because he is too stupid to MEMORIZE his exit beforehand.

I drove to college in my first year with a road atlas and no cell phone. I'd wake up in the morning, study the map, and then hit the road. Now, I have friends that can't leave the house unless they have detailed GPS instructions of how to get to the dry cleaners.

[editor]

I am not so sure that we're all safer with cell/smart phones. The roads certainly don't feel safer when I see some douchebag surfing the web on his iPhone while straddling two lanes on US 59 because he is too stupid to MEMORIZE his exit beforehand.

I drove to college in my first year with a road atlas and no cell phone. I'd wake up in the morning, study the map, and then hit the road. Now, I have friends that can't leave the house unless they have detailed GPS instructions of how to get to the dry cleaners.

I agree. Though, I don't think it's necessarily something we can blame iPhones for. The only time I ever drove off the road was before I had a cell phone when I was checking the directions I'd written down on a small piece of paper.

On a more important note--------

I got an e-mail today stating that my iPhone 4 has shipped. That's 10 days ahead of schedule. I should get it Friday.

[Fringe]

I am not so sure that we're all safer with cell/smart phones. The roads certainly don't feel safer when I see some douchebag surfing the web on his iPhone while straddling two lanes on US 59 because he is too stupid to MEMORIZE his exit beforehand.

I drove to college in my first year with a road atlas and no cell phone. I'd wake up in the morning, study the map, and then hit the road. Now, I have friends that can't leave the house unless they have detailed GPS instructions of how to get to the dry cleaners.

Sadly you can say that about cell phones in general. The roads have become much more hazardous with the mindless drones talking on their cell phones completely oblivious to what's going on around them. And I see people every day texting while driving. Personally I think the use of cell phones while driving should be banned completely. 

[ricco67]

I agree that most people don't NEED the apps or a smart phone, but I do have to tell you it really came in handy for me a few weeks ago.

My daughter had inherited a large piece of furniture, and of course, I was volunteered to deliver it -to Minnesota. Initially I was just going to purchase a map and plot it out, but after comparing it to what google plotted, i thought it would be safer for me to refer to the phone occasionally instead of a large map. The start of the trip had some snafu's and my start time was delayed and threw my scheduled stops totally out of whack.

On my way up, I was able to plan my stops accordingly and was able to find a hotel at 2am in a VERY remote part of Missouri. With the help of the phone.

After my delivery, I toured WI (Al Capone's Hideout, The Railroad Museum in Green Bay, etc) and took the backroads and found NON-chain restaurants fairly easily. It was on my way back via a REALLY screwed up route in which I was grateful for the phone. At some point, my charger stopped working and realized that I was down to an hour's worth of power when I was able to find a Radio Shack along my route somewhere outside of St. Louis, just before my phone was running out of juice.

Aside from a 1 hr delay with the cops and having to go around Chicago due to construction traffic (I waved at you Ed), it went rather smoothly.

Could I have made the same trip without a smart phone? Yes.

Would I have been able to get around some trouble spots without it? No.

Would I have been able to find some neat spots without it? No.

The cell phone is a tool (and some say, so is the owner), it's how you use it that makes the difference.

If you don't travel much and familiar with your town, you don't really need a smart phone.

If you DO travel, but you don't go off the beaten path, same rules apply.

Same thing with other uses for the thing, download things that appeal to your interests when you have downtime, but don't let it take over your life.

[marmer]

If you have a teenager or an elderly relative, they need a cell phone. If you think they do not, I submit that you haven't tried to find a public phone lately. The one time your kid calls and says "I'm scared, come and get me NOW" you will be glad of every penny you spent.

Let's all just agree that distracted driving is dangerous. It's also not really on topic for this thread. However, in the case of car trouble, a car accident, having been the victim of or witness to a crime, or simply getting badly lost, there is no substitute for having a phone in the car.

[samagon]

Actually, it is with Apple's blessing. I downloaded an app perfectly legally from the iTunes app store that enables this. It helps that I have iTunes accounts in many countries, and you can sync purchased items from up to five countries on a device.

Your experience is different than mine. I have a number of apps that have been removed from the iTunes app store, and they all continue to work perfectly. I did a Google search, and according to what I found in Engadget and elsewhere, Apple has never remote killed an application. Google, on the other hand, has remote killed several apps from people's phones.

What apps did you have removed from your phone by Apple? I'd like to know so I can better understand what's happening and protect myself.

I don't even remember the names of the apps any longer, it was when I updated from 2.x to 3.x, one of them was a handy grocery list app that I think I paid a dollar for when I first got my phone. I had continued to use it cause I had a pretty decent list of ingredients in it for different things, and not because there weren't better options out there. Anyway, the way I protected myself was to not connect it to iTunes again. Not exactly practical, but I didn't really use it as an ipod, movie player, or anything other than a networked device that I could access online content with. That is probably a big reason I am not as amped on the iPhone, because I only used the internet connectivity and didn't care about the other benefits of ipod, watching movies, or other things.

Citation needed.

You don't need to believe Apple marketing. Just Google it. There are dozens and dozens of studies by security companies around the world that state that OS X is safer than Windows. Or just count the number of viruses and worms there are that affect Windows boxes, and compare it with the number that affect Macintoshes. But I think we're straying from the mobile discussion here.

unfortunately, I can't really give a citation since it is more of a perception of the way the device is marketed.

Yeah, not disagreeing with you that there is less circumvention of Apple OS security than there is in Windows. I was just saying that it is a choice a person has to make, do you want more security, or more flexibility.

[Highway6]

Tangent - Has anyone here tried to develop an iPhone app ?

[jgriff]

I think you've actually made the opposite point. When I want to find a DQ, I use the Google Maps app on my smartphone.

No. You're not getting it. I'm not saying I don't need a smartphone I'm saying I don't need apps. Google maps is a web page too.

[editor]

Tangent - Has anyone here tried to develop an iPhone app ?

Yes. I have. it's not an easy thing. I taught myself web coding (HTML, PHP, MySQL, etc...) to build my web sites. I know C from college. iPhone apps are coded in something similar to Objective C++, but with a bunch of other utilities that help out. I understand the concept of code abstraction, but iPhone apps seem to take it to an extreme. A simple "Hello, World" app could have nine lines of code spread out across five different windows. I'm sure it makes sense when you're doing larger apps, but I had a hard time wrapping my brain around it and I gave up.

On a tangent to your tangent, there will be a HAIF:app available soon. I didn't code it, someone else did. It even has push alerts.

[samagon]

Yes. I have. it's not an easy thing. I taught myself web coding (HTML, PHP, MySQL, etc...) to build my web sites. I know C from college. iPhone apps are coded in something similar to Objective C++, but with a bunch of other utilities that help out. I understand the concept of code abstraction, but iPhone apps seem to take it to an extreme. A simple "Hello, World" app could have nine lines of code spread out across five different windows. I'm sure it makes sense when you're doing larger apps, but I had a hard time wrapping my brain around it and I gave up.

On a tangent to your tangent, there will be a HAIF:app available soon. I didn't code it, someone else did. It even has push alerts.

tangent to the tangent of the tangent: I certainly like the new look of the site on my phone, much easier to navigate and more usable!

[cla]

I just came across this on Hack-a-Day.  it's a wish list for Android 3.0.  I was surprised by some of their gripes, like

These aren't android issues, but probably individual phone issues.  For me and my Droid, multitasking is not an issue, folders are available and an SD card is standard.  

As far as android vs iphone.  I chose the provider first, then the phone.  I think there are pros and cons to each (for one, I like the slide out keyboard).  The fact that you can do so much with any of these smartphones is fantastic.  I went to NY recently and was able to download a subway app, bus app and the included google maps was indispensable for getting around without having to ask for directions.  And I really liked the fact that I didn't have to print out our airline boarding passes.  I can't imagine not having a smartphone now.

[editor]

These aren't android issues, but probably individual phone issues.  For me and my Droid, multitasking is not an issue, folders are available and an SD card is standard.  

I think the gripe is that the with Android, you can't run apps from the SD card. It's my understanding (corrections welcome), that while you can store songs and music and data files on the SD card, Android will only let you run apps from the main phone memory.

I've seen a lot of Android people state that one reason you shouldn't get an iPhone is because it doesn't have expandable memory. I don't think this is a very compelling argument when you look at the facts. The iPhone has 32GB of memory. From what I've read, most Android phones come with only an 8GB card, or 16 if you get a higher-end phone. If you want to match the iPhone's memory, you have to shell out an extra $175 for a 32GB MicroSD card. 64GB MicroSD cards to match the memory of an iPod Touch don't even exist. (I've seen some people claim that the iPod Touch serves as a great, cheaper, smartphone if you're a VOIP or MyFi person).