268 replies to this topic

[Foulkey Reese]

Am I reading that right?

Im not listed to upgrade until June. Does this mean I can upgrade now but then I'm locked in with whatever I get for 2 years?

Edit: Or does that mean I can't upgrade at all until I've had the phone for 2 years. That wasn't what I agreed to when I signed up. Doesn't them changing the terms of the contract mean that I can get out of it without paying the termination fee?

Edited by Foulkey Reese, 12 January 2011 - 02:33 PM.

[Seabass177]

From everything I'm reading, it makes the most sense to wait for the iPhone 5 in June or July. I want the newest, shiniest thing, not something that won't be new and shiny in four months. And I really want LTE because it looks like I'll get lightning bolts with that.

Is this the prudent decision, nerds?

[Caspir]

I am a Sprint subscriber who uses a Blackberry on the everything for $99 plan (including Blackberry service). I used to be a Verizon user but switched because my wife's company used Sprint and we wanted to have the same provider. I had a much better experience on Verizon and my Sprint contract is up now. I am considering moving to Verizon and jumping on the iPhone bandwagon. I have a couple of questions for the less technologically inept.

1) Unlimited data vs. tiered pricing for data. What data are we talking about here? Downloads? Surfing the internet? E-mails? WiFi? All of the above? What connotes a heavy data user?

Data is strictly the 3G, but includes everything from the internet, emailing, downloading and even a lot of apps use data (Pandora streams music using the data connection, some GPS services use data connections, etc) Basically, anything a smartphone does that a regular phone doesn't uses data. WiFi doesn't use data, it's the alternative. Basically, WiFi is great, but 3/4G data plans give you access to all that stuff when there's no wireless connection to be found. I use my phone as a wireless router, I stream music, download music/videos, download ROMs, use Pandora, email all day, use the net constantly. Basically anything you can use it for I do use it for, and I still don't go over the limit. It's very hard to go over the 5 GB "unlimited" data if you're just a normal user. Very hard. Last month I came close to the 5 gigs, but I was downloading ROMs, tethering all day long, and it was just a very busy month for my little phone. Normally I hover at 3.5-4 GB, and I consider myself a pretty heavy user. If you're just surfing the net, emailing and using data reliant apps, even on an every day basis, you won't come close to 5 GB.

I have no experience with the tiers since Verizon never had them, but you could likely use a lower tier and be just fine. When I first got the phone and used it for web/email, I barely even got close to 2 GB of data p/month.

Am I reading that right?

Im not listed to upgrade until June. Does this mean I can upgrade now but then I'm locked in with whatever I get for 2 years?

Edit: Or does that mean I can't upgrade at all until I've had the phone for 2 years. That wasn't what I agreed to when I signed up. Doesn't them changing the terms of the contract mean that I can get out of it without paying the termination fee?

You're grandfathered in, but the second you use that NE2 upgrade, you sign a new contract under the new terms, and are stuck with the phone until you buy a new one without the discount. It sucks. I won't be signing a new contract with Verizon. I'll go month to month until I find a better service.

Edited by Caspir, 12 January 2011 - 02:46 PM.

[CrouchingTonyHiddenPena]

Tiered data is a double-edged sword. For the high-volume data consumer, the plans suck. For those who use/will use the phone for light data, a la casual browsing/email/etc., the tiered plans are a Godsend.

My wife loves her iPhone 4, but she doesn't use data that often whatsoever, so when AT&T announced the tiered data plans, we instantly saved 50% of her monthly data costs by her going to a 200MB/mo plan for $15 as opposed to be forced to pay $30 for the unlimited data plan.

If you'll be using the phone for light data consumption, you want tiered data. The only problem now is that VZW is attempting to squash AT&T's tiered plans with the continuance of the unlimited plan. I just hope they offer the choice of both, instead of forcing one or the other upon us. That would be great. Either that or a cost-conscious family share data plan, which could be even better.

Edited by CrouchingTonyHiddenPena, 12 January 2011 - 03:24 PM.

[CrouchingTonyHiddenPena]

From everything I'm reading, it makes the most sense to wait for the iPhone 5 in June or July. I want the newest, shiniest thing, not something that won't be new and shiny in four months. And I really want LTE because it looks like I'll get lightning bolts with that.

Is this the prudent decision, nerds?

I would agree with waiting for the LTE version. I am scared that a February launch might spell a delay in a VZW LTE iphone, being so close to June in terms of a product refresh. I hope they don't pull that, or give AT&T a 90 day exclusive on this years LTE iPhone. I am waiting for the LTE version myself, and then I am getting the fuck away from AT&T so fast your head would spin. LTE will provide the dual voice/data capabilities that GSM currently does (since it's an upgraded GSM protocol itself), and I love that feature personally. So much so that I will not switch without it.

[86spike]

I'm reading people speculating that an LTE iphone is not close since chip size, costs and battery consumption would require changes to the iphone that Apple won't make (ie: make the case bigger to fit the LTE chip, charge the consumer more to cover higher production costs, and deliver a crappier battery life experience).

Seems to this layman that an LTE iphone won't happen until those chips are smaller and cheaper and the battery issues are improved.

And that's without even considering network coverage rollouts which won't happen overnight.

[Jimy Hendrix]

I'm reading people speculating that an LTE iphone is not close since chip size, costs and battery consumption would require changes to the iphone that Apple won't make (ie: make the case bigger to fit the LTE chip, charge the consumer more to cover higher production costs, and deliver a crappier battery life experience).

Seems to this layman that an LTE iphone won't happen until those chips are smaller and cheaper and the battery issues are improved.

And that's without even considering network coverage rollouts which won't happen overnight.

I pretty much agree with this. Apple's been pretty conservative with networking technologies (see Edge in 2007 for example), and LTE's not scheduled to be super widely rolled out in 2011. Rather than putting it in there when only some consumers can even use it, it seems more likely the Apple will double down on the stuff they're passionate about (thinness, design, they've been obsessed with battery life across all their product lines recently so probably that as well), while giving the processor and RAM bumps and possibly adding one or two killer features also. I feel like it's gonna be more like 3G --> 3GS than 3GS --> 4, although they could certainly prove me wrong.

I tend to be conservative in what I think Apple's gonna throw in their products though. I'm not even fully convinced that iPad 2 is gonna have dual cameras, which people seem to be taking as a given. I just can't figure out how you would use a back facing camera on a 10" tablet often without looking or feeling like a tool, which admittedly might just be a personal problem.

[Batman Likes The Sox]

I can't imagine that June's update will be the "iPhone 5" after this announcement. I agree that there will probably be an update in June for all those people whose contracts expire, but isn't it more likely that the update will be more akin to the iPhone 3 to 3GS transition than the iPhone 3GS to 4 transition? In other words, some minor update (antenna, etc.) to make AT&T users happy but not significant enough to make early Verizon adopters upset?

Edited by Batman Likes The Sox, 12 January 2011 - 06:04 PM.

[RSN Diaspora]

For those worried about early termination fees, if you're deadset on getting the iPhone before your current contract is up, know that cell phone contracts typically aren't ironclad, and there are usually ways out of them, primarily through fluctuations in the universal service fee that could be held to materially alter the contract, thereby releasing you from it if you so choose. It's a pain in the ass to go through, but it could save you some coin.

[EddieYost]

For those worried about early termination fees, if you're deadset on getting the iPhone before your current contract is up, know that cell phone contracts typically aren't ironclad, and there are usually ways out of them, primarily through fluctuations in the universal service fee that could be held to materially alter the contract, thereby releasing you from it if you so choose. It's a pain in the ass to go through, but it could save you some coin.

Oh right! There is a script on the Internet somewhere for getting out of a VZW contract that way. I tried it, and it didn't help much. They did haggle with me a little though so I got it down to something reasonable.

[BroodsSexton]

I would switch immediately if I could get comfortable with touch screen typing. I use my blackberry for heavy emailing. Any thoughts on giving up the keyboard?

[CrouchingTonyHiddenPena]

There are also trading sites for cellular plans, to swap contracts with others on other networks.

http://www.cellswapper.com/

http://www.cellplandepot.com/index.php

EDIT: The consumerist has the fee change script somewhere on their site FTR.

Edited by CrouchingTonyHiddenPena, 12 January 2011 - 08:56 PM.

[Foulkey Reese]

Oh right! There is a script on the Internet somewhere for getting out of a VZW contract that way. I tried it, and it didn't help much. They did haggle with me a little though so I got it down to something reasonable.

Got any more details on what happened?

[EddieYost]

I had a line that I wasn't using anymore. I called them and tried to get them to gracefully let me shut that line down. They said no, no, no, no. When I finally did call them to cancel the lines, they asked why, and I said that I didn't want to pay for that line anymore and they weren't willing to work with me on it, so I was taking all of my lines elsewhere. I finally got someone who really listened and realized that maybe they should have worked with me on the phone line. So they ended up waiving the ETF for that line.

They also tried to monkey with the dates so that I would have to pay more. I was in the home stretch and my ETF was going to be prorated so the dates mattered.

Between the haggling, and spreading the payments out, and saving $ moving to pageplus, it worked out really well for me.

[behindthepen]

I can't imagine that June's update will be the "iPhone 5" after this announcement. I agree that there will probably be an update in June for all those people whose contracts expire, but isn't it more likely that the update will be more akin to the iPhone 3 to 3GS transition than the iPhone 3GS to 4 transition? In other words, some minor update (antenna, etc.) to make AT&T users happy but not significant enough to make early Verizon adopters upset?

I'll repeat it here because I know this is technical and a lot of people don't understand it.

It's very likely that the "big" updates for iphone 5 will be:
1- switch to dual-core processor (very, very likely). First off, we'll know if this is going to happen in a few weeks, because if they're going dual-core, they will do it on ipad 2, which should be announced in Feb. The shift to dual-core is happening across the smartphone landscape this year, with a handful of phones released in the next few months. This should greatly improve the responsiveness and battery life/battery size of the phones. This is a meaningful improvement, and by the end of this year all high-end smartphones will have dual-core processors. Samsung has already released their dual-core Orion, so there's no reason between Samsung and Apple that one wouldn't be ready to produce by now.

2-going to "world phone". It's a virtual certainty at this point that iphone 5 will be GSM/CDMA/3G.

Finally, based on what I've heard, there's a chance of there being an LTE update in 2H11, for both AT&T and VZW. But it's too far out to handicap.

[teddykgb]

I'll repeat it here because I know this is technical and a lot of people don't understand it.

It's very likely that the "big" updates for iphone 5 will be:
1- switch to dual-core processor (very, very likely). First off, we'll know if this is going to happen in a few weeks, because if they're going dual-core, they will do it on ipad 2, which should be announced in Feb. The shift to dual-core is happening across the smartphone landscape this year, with a handful of phones released in the next few months. This should greatly improve the responsiveness and battery life/battery size of the phones. This is a meaningful improvement, and by the end of this year all high-end smartphones will have dual-core processors. Samsung has already released their dual-core Orion, so there's no reason between Samsung and Apple that one wouldn't be ready to produce by now.

2-going to "world phone". It's a virtual certainty at this point that iphone 5 will be GSM/CDMA/3G.

Finally, based on what I've heard, there's a chance of there being an LTE update in 2H11, for both AT&T and VZW. But it's too far out to handicap.

Why are you so sure about the dual core nature of the chips? Apple went out of their way to design their own chip, tout it, and use it all over the place, and the design has proven to be remarkably powerful and at the same time power sipping. I have no doubt that they'll update the A4, but I tend to stay pretty plugged in on this stuff and I haven't seen even a whisper about a dual core apple produced chip. Not saying it isn't going to happen, and if it does happen I'd be very interested in seeing what Apple has done to the ARM reference, but your confidence surprises me. I know most of the Android stuff is running to dual core, but Apple as others have stated tends to be very conservative, and I wonder if they can really custom design a dual core chip that's small enough to fit in their enclosures, not to mention fit with an LTE radio if they decide to go that route (and I agree with others that they probably won't do that jsut yet)

[behindthepen]

Why are you so sure about the dual core nature of the chips? Apple went out of their way to design their own chip, tout it, and use it all over the place, and the design has proven to be remarkably powerful and at the same time power sipping. I have no doubt that they'll update the A4, but I tend to stay pretty plugged in on this stuff and I haven't seen even a whisper about a dual core apple produced chip. Not saying it isn't going to happen, and if it does happen I'd be very interested in seeing what Apple has done to the ARM reference, but your confidence surprises me. I know most of the Android stuff is running to dual core, but Apple as others have stated tends to be very conservative, and I wonder if they can really custom design a dual core chip that's small enough to fit in their enclosures, not to mention fit with an LTE radio if they decide to go that route (and I agree with others that they probably won't do that jsut yet)

I'm confident in it because if they don't, by the end of 2011 the core of their mobile platform will be much weaker than the average smartphone and tablet in the space, and that is just not what they do. They've been conservative in the WIRELESS side of their designs, but in no way conservative in just about everything else.

There is a reference design by ARM for a dual-core A9 .. that's what Nvidia used to get to market so quickly. And since Apple is going to sell something around 100 million devices on this next chip (between iphone, ipad and ipod touch) I think it's a safe bet they can spend the capital necessary to architect the design themselves, just like Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, Samsung, Sony-Ericsson, Marvell and even a little Chinese company called Nufront did.

Dual-core doesn't really add much size, if at all, but since we are seeing consolidation of the the RF chips space won't be an issue anyway.

[teddykgb]

Yeah, Ok, I only half agree. Apple is not aggressive in far more than wireless technology. Apple is a company that is very picky and choosy about which specs they emphasize, and in general they try to avoid the "Keeping up with the Joneses" mentality unless and until it suits them. If they've got a technological leap, they exploit it for more than it is worth, but they'll also downplay things like clock speed, even when it works in their favor. The Mac has traditionally been underpowered from a specs perspective, in that it hasn't run the latest and greatest chips, aside from the Air which they worked on a special chip for (and is surely a point in favor of them pushing the envelope again). They don't sell their machines on clocks and cores, and they never have, so there's little market pressure to make sure you've got that kind of technical backbone.

That said, you're very right about the ARM references being out there, it's quite plausible. I just don't think I'd classify it as a sure thing, they can be very regressive on stuff like this and could certainly seek to eke out more performance out of a single core design than move into dual core at this time. They'd just get up on stage and talk about how foolish all these other companies are for flocking to dual core chips this early and destroying battery life, fragmenting software, etc etc. Then come up on stage next year with a dual core chip, a specially designed grand central implementation in iOS so that it actually works well, and act like they never shit on dual core chips in the past.

I think my biggest concern is that if they were really going to go dual core, they'd have to have been producing these things en masse already, and there really haven't been any of the usual leaks out of Asia on that front. Doesn't make it impossible, of course, just ups my skepticism. I guess this is more an objection so that if others are reading, they don't go overboard in expecting the dual core proc this summer, it's probably closer to 55-60% likely than 80 or 90%, imo.

[CrouchingTonyHiddenPena]

All rumors point to using the dual-core Cortex A9 in the iPad 2, to beef up visual rendering (along with potential 3D rendering), without sacrificing power. With a lot of apps being written for use on both devices, I would bet that if the new iPad 2 has a dual core guts packed in it, then the iPhone 5 most likely will as well. ARM has an A15 developed now with 2.5GHz dual core capabilities that conserves power more efficiently, so soon the A9 will be old news, and Android devices are starting to pump handsets out ahead of 'Honeycomb' already equipped with it.

The only obstacle seems to be the size of the iPhone. They would need to make it bigger for any LTE model with a dual core chip especially, so I'm coming around to agreeing we might not see an LTE version until late in the year at the earliest. This also jives with releasing an iPhone on VZW in February and not releasing such a huge product refresh just a few months later.

I do think we'll see a dual core A9 in the next iPhone, at the expense of LTE. It's still early though.

[behindthepen]

I think my biggest concern is that if they were really going to go dual core, they'd have to have been producing these things en masse already, and there really haven't been any of the usual leaks out of Asia on that front. Doesn't make it impossible, of course, just ups my skepticism. I guess this is more an objection so that if others are reading, they don't go overboard in expecting the dual core proc this summer, it's probably closer to 55-60% likely than 80 or 90%, imo.

fair enough, but I'm assuming that Samsung is the manufacturer of the chip, and they are much less leaky than someone going through TSMC. And since they are just now beginning manufacture of the ipad 2, they are really just now starting to ramp meaningful volumes.

As an aside, keep in mind that the Tegra 2 has 9 cores. Only 2 of them are app processors, the others handle the video and other functions so going from a single core to a dual core doesn't double your footprint. Google image Tegra 2 and you'll see the chip is the same size as a dime.

[behindthepen]

All rumors point to using the dual-core Cortex A9 in the iPad 2, to beef up visual rendering (along with potential 3D rendering), without sacrificing power. With a lot of apps being written for use on both devices, I would bet that if the new iPad 2 has a dual core guts packed in it, then the iPhone 5 most likely will as well. ARM has an A15 developed now with 2.5GHz dual core capabilities that conserves power more efficiently, so soon the A9 will be old news, and Android devices are starting to pump handsets out ahead of 'Honeycomb' already equipped with it.

My understanding is this is current roadmap:
Today: dual-core A9 @ 1Ghz/core
2H11: dual-core A9 @ 2ghz/core
2012: quad-core A9
2013-ish: Dual-core A15.

[CrouchingTonyHiddenPena]

My understanding is this is current roadmap:
Today: dual-core A9 @ 1Ghz/core
2H11: dual-core A9 @ 2ghz/core
2012: quad-core A9
2013-ish: Dual-core A15.

Hopefully they can shrink the A15 to the desired 20nm from 28nm without sacrificing anything functionally.

[behindthepen]

I think my biggest concern is that if they were really going to go dual core, they'd have to have been producing these things en masse already, and there really haven't been any of the usual leaks out of Asia on that front. Doesn't make it impossible, of course, just ups my skepticism. I guess this is more an objection so that if others are reading, they don't go overboard in expecting the dual core proc this summer, it's probably closer to 55-60% likely than 80 or 90%, imo.

I snooped around and am told that the next version of the A4 is going to be based on Samsung's dual core Orion, which is already available today, and it will ship in the ipad 2, but ipad 2 isn't going to be in the market until April.

[zenter]

I snooped around and am told that the next version of the A4 is going to be based on Samsung's dual core Orion, which is already available today, and it will ship in the ipad 2, but ipad 2 isn't going to be in the market until April.

This makes a lot of sense, given Apple keeping up with Samsung's flagship ARM platform in a given year, including the confusingly-dubbed Apple A4 being a version of Samsung's A8-Hummingbird line. Orion is Samsung's A9 platform, and they're putting a lot of weight behind it.

[CrouchingTonyHiddenPena]

My understanding is this is current roadmap:
Today: dual-core A9 @ 1Ghz/core
2H11: dual-core A9 @ 2ghz/core
2012: quad-core A9
2013-ish: Dual-core A15.

Right on cue amigo, and nice call. One very huge detail is that the chipsets are all moving to Qualcomm. We are now very close to cementing this one, but without it absolutely set in stone, it appears the iPhone 5 will in fact sport the new A5 (A9 dual-core architecture). They also claim it will NOT sport LTE, so we're looking at the same upgrade path from 3G to 3GS this summer. Faster processor, some good hardware tweaks, and voila'. This is from one of their self-admitted good sources. Make of it what you will.

Other details (pretty much what's expected):

iPhone 5:

• Being Tested already in Cupertino
• CDMA/GSM/UMTS Chipset
• NO LTE

iPad 2:

• Same A5 (A9 dual-core) processor
• Dual GSM/CDMA chipset
• "Super High-Resolution" display (akin to the iPhone 4 Retina LCD)
• SDCard Slot
• NO standard USB slot
• Front and Rear cameras

Source: engadget

Edited by CrouchingTonyHiddenPena, 14 January 2011 - 08:43 PM.

[epraz]

Wouldn't it be weird for them to produce CDMA-only iphones for 3 months just until the iphone 5 comes out?

[shlincoln]

iPhone 5:
iPad 2:

An iPad 2 with a Retina type display sounds like pure sex.

I should probably just RTFA, but what are the odds the next iPhone supports HSPA+?  That would let at least AT&T say it's a "4G" device.  Or would apple want its first 4G phone to be 4G across all carriers.

Edited by shlincoln, 15 January 2011 - 09:33 AM.

[CrouchingTonyHiddenPena]

Wouldn't it be weird for them to produce CDMA-only iphones for 3 months just until the iphone 5 comes out?

Normally yes, but these aren't normal circumstances. Both VZW and Apple need to release this together quickly with Android having so much steam.

An iPad 2 with a Retina type display sounds like pure sex.

I should probably just RTFA, but what are the odds the next iPhone supports HSPA+?  That would let at least AT&T say it's a "4G" device.  Or would apple want its first 4G phone to be 4G across all carriers.

It won't. LTE is the 4G GSM protocol that both VZW and AT&T are upgrading to, and since it looks as though they'll be the only carriers with the iPhone for the next year or two with VZW rumored to be paying extra money to prevent Sprint and TMobile from getting it, the only 4G iPhone will be LTE.

HSPA+ is more like 3.5G or '3G on steroids'. TMobile advertising it as 4G is a total fabrication. It has half the potential speeds of WiMax let alone 1/6 of LTE speeds.

[shlincoln]

It won't. LTE is the 4G GSM protocol that both VZW and AT&T are upgrading to, and since it looks as though they'll be the only carriers with the iPhone for the next year or two with VZW rumored to be paying extra money to prevent Sprint and TMobile from getting it, the only 4G iPhone will be LTE.

HSPA+ is more like 3.5G or '3G on steroids'. TMobile advertising it as 4G is a total fabrication. It has half the potential speeds of WiMax let alone 1/6 of LTE speeds.

I understand HSPA+ isn't really 4G, but...don't tell AT&T that.

Edited by shlincoln, 15 January 2011 - 07:02 PM.

[OrlandoMerced]

Not sure what thread is best for this, but thought some people may find this comparison of upcoming Verizon phones interesting:

from What new Verizon Phone To Buy?

[travis bickled]

Will I have access to MLBtv live games with the iPhone or any another so called phone?

Edited by travis bickled, 16 January 2011 - 02:19 PM.

[shlincoln]

Will I have access to MLBtv live games with the iPhone or any another so called phone?

There is a MLB app available on the iPhone which is all kinds of awesome.

[CrouchingTonyHiddenPena]

For live game video however, you must either pay on a per game basis or have an mlb.com account. Otherwise, you get a free feed to the live game radio broadcast (all games), and one game per night for free video.

[mt8thsw9th]

from What new Verizon Phone To Buy?

Why wouldn't they list which phone is world capable or not? I know it's been said that the iPhone 5 should be a world phone, but will any Android phones be world phones?

[travis bickled]

There is a MLB app available on the iPhone which is all kinds of awesome.

Does it include live game feeds (with paid subscription tho)?

Edited by travis bickled, 16 January 2011 - 03:07 PM.

[CrouchingTonyHiddenPena]

Does it include live game feeds (with paid subscription tho)?

Read two posts above. Yes it does.

[86spike]

Does it include live game feeds (with paid subscription tho)?

Yeah, it's a $15 app.

You get all radio feeds and play-by-play animations of the action (pitch by pitch etc). It also includes video highlights close to live real time.

If you have an mlbtv account (for the larger fee), you can watch live games on the iPhone. They do have some 'free' video feeds, but it's one a night and randomly chosen.

[smastroyin]

After 4 months with the X, I think you either root or take the HTC of the two droids. MotoBlur sucks the biggest set of donkey balls that Shrek could ever find.

[CrouchingTonyHiddenPena]

Frat (and others), I'm told 1yr agreements are a go, but that the iPhone 1yr agreement might be significantly higher in the form of the extra money as opposed to 2yrs. So, instead of most phones costing $50-$70 more to go 1yr as opposed to 2yrs, the iPhone might cost an extra $150 or so. Basically double what normal phone's 1yr upcharges are.

They might still go only 2yrs as well, and if they do, if there's a significant device upgrade in the future and they feel like it, they would go the AT&T route and let iPhone customers upgrade early as an exception, just to lock them in again for 2 more years.

It's still kind of up in the air, but they want to offer 1yr agreements to separate themselves from AT&T, and make some subsidized costs back quicker. I would bet on there being a 1yr agreement, but it won't be as appetizing to many.

[Three10toLeft]

I really want to upgrade from my Droid X to the iPhone 4 but I'm going to have show some restraint. I don't want to have to jump through hoops to get the new iPhone 5 when it's released in 5 months.

[Trautwein's Degree]

Sprint just announced they're raising their smart phone rates $10 per month for activations after January 30th. They have a major announcement planned on February 7th. The rate hike is adding fuel to the fire of a Sprint iPhone announcement. Of course if I'm going to spend $80 a month on an iPhone, Verizon is the way to go.

Edited by Trautwein's Degree, 18 January 2011 - 12:38 PM.

[Fratboy]

I really want to upgrade from my Droid X to the iPhone 4 but I'm going to have show some restraint. I don't want to have to jump through hoops to get the new iPhone 5 when it's released in 5 months.

Interesting choice of words

[Three10toLeft]

Interesting choice of words

I had an iPhone on AT&T and have had an Incredible and DX since coming back to Verizon. IMO, nothing in the Android lineup offers as smooth of an experience as the iPhone. I never had any problems with my iPhone, never had to worry about software updates being sent out etc.

I appreciate the beauty that Apple has put in to the iOS. It makes for a far more enjoyable user experience. Everything just plain works. Whatever restrictions that Apple applies to their products doesn't matter to me, they never impaired me when I originally had my iPhone.

I am sick of motoblur and I am sick of the bandaid fix that is LauncherPro.

[zenter]

I had an iPhone on AT&T and have had an Incredible and DX since coming back to Verizon. IMO, nothing in the Android lineup offers as smooth of an experience as the iPhone. I never had any problems with my iPhone, never had to worry about software updates being sent out etc.

I appreciate the beauty that Apple has put in to the iOS. It makes for a far more enjoyable user experience. Everything just plain works. Whatever restrictions that Apple applies to their products doesn't matter to me, they never impaired me when I originally had my iPhone.

I am sick of motoblur and I am sick of the bandaid fix that is LauncherPro.

To each his own, I guess. I'm with frat on this. As a user of both (iPhone for work and Samsung Galaxy S Captivate for personal), I find myself impressed at how much I enjoy using Android. Simple things like Swype, widgets, click-and-hold, notification bar, etc., are a huge boon to my mobile existence. Whenever I use the iPhone, it feels like tyranny of simplicity - like downgrading to the Fisher-Price phone after using the grown-up phone. I haven't used Motoblur, but I've heard mixed reviews. Love LauncherPro, though.

If I were on Verizon and HAD to have an iPhone, I'd play the wait-and-see game. iPhone 4 is 6-month old hardware, and locking into 2 years on that is painful with iPhone 5 around the corner. If iPhone 5 comes to VZW this summer, you win. If not, you're waiting only a few more months until it does, and thus win.

[mt8thsw9th]

This is new - previously when I checked on the Verizon iPhone page if I was eligible, it showed my upgrade as 4/26/11. Now it's showing:

Yes, you are eligible based on your current plan. A non-refundable $20 early upgrade fee may apply.

[czar]

To each his own, I guess. I'm with frat on this. As a user of both (iPhone for work and Samsung Galaxy S Captivate for personal), I find myself impressed at how much I enjoy using Android. Simple things like Swype, widgets, click-and-hold, notification bar, etc., are a huge boon to my mobile existence. Whenever I use the iPhone, it feels like tyranny of simplicity - like downgrading to the Fisher-Price phone after using the grown-up phone. I haven't used Motoblur, but I've heard mixed reviews. Love LauncherPro, though.

I still can't quite wrap my head around why people complain about this. The demographic that goes "well, the iPhone is too stupid simple for a techie like me" are the ones that easily have the technological knowhow to jailbreak it. Jailbreak it and you can have almost each and every one of the "most commonly desired" features. With some tweaking, I'm pretty sure my iPhone can do everything the czarette's Droid can do (minus maybe solid Flash (Frash is "eh" at this point-- good for most flash, not for video though) and in-app Swype, right now there's a separate launcher app that copies text to the clipboard-- great for e-mail replies, not so much for texting/Twitter...) and then some.

As a huge proponent of open-source software, I'm still a big fan of the Android OS (and don't understand why the internet is littered with Android vs. iOS flamewars). A big reason I stayed with the iPhone this summer was inertia, but I'm just trying to point out that the "my iPhone doesn't have XXX" is almost never a valid argument-- you just might have to go through Cydia or another repo instead of the official app store.

[zenter]

I still can't quite wrap my head around why people complain about this. The demographic that goes "well, the iPhone is too stupid simple for a techie like me" are the ones that easily have the technological knowhow to jailbreak it. Jailbreak it and you can have almost each and every one of the "most commonly desired" features. With some tweaking, I'm pretty sure my iPhone can do everything the czarette's Droid can do (minus maybe solid Flash (Frash is "eh" at this point-- good for most flash, not for video though) and in-app Swype, right now there's a separate launcher app that copies text to the clipboard-- great for e-mail replies, not so much for texting/Twitter...) and then some.

As a huge proponent of open-source software, I'm still a big fan of the Android OS (and don't understand why the internet is littered with Android vs. iOS flamewars). A big reason I stayed with the iPhone this summer was inertia, but I'm just trying to point out that the "my iPhone doesn't have XXX" is almost never a valid argument-- you just might have to go through Cydia or another repo instead of the official app store.

I see your point, but I'm talking about out-of-the-box experience. I think everyone would prefer a device to be usable within expectations out-of-the-box, which is part of why the iPhone revolutionized phones in the first place. However, I didn't need to do anything to my Captivate to have the notification pull-down, Swype, Flash support, tap-and-hold, widgets, and install LauncherPro. iPhone has pushed all phone makers to think about UE, but the iPhone's simplicity and locked-down-ness have frustrated me. (To be fair, the GPS on Galaxy S phones is notoriously terrible, so despite having better maps and turn-by-turn nav, I can't use it.) That out-of-the-box rationale is why I own an iPod Touch - it does SO MUCH more, and more easily, than any other MP3 player.

So going back to the Verizon iPhone, the advice from this tech-head is: don't get it. The new iPhone will be released in June/July, and rumors are that it will be a single integrated CDMA/GSM device. This jives with rumors that Apple wants to create a standard for all iPhone carriers similar to SIM card (which Verizon was particularly resistant to). Meanwhile, innovation in phones has been coming fast and furious since iPhone 4 came out - the Droid Bionic seems to be the device to beat right now in terms of capabilities. iPhone 5 will doubtless be much more competitive with these next-gen devices.

Edited by zenter, 20 January 2011 - 01:07 PM.

[czar]

I see your point, but I'm talking about out-of-the-box experience. I think everyone would prefer a device to be usable within expectations out-of-the-box, which is part of why the iPhone revolutionized phones in the first place. However, I didn't need to do anything to my Captivate to have the notification pull-down, Swype, Flash support, tap-and-hold, widgets, and install LauncherPro. iPhone has pushed all phone makers to think about UE, but the iPhone's simplicity and locked-down-ness have frustrated me. (To be fair, the GPS on Galaxy S phones is notoriously terrible, so despite having better maps and turn-by-turn nav, I can't use it.) That out-of-the-box rationale is why I own an iPod Touch - it does SO MUCH more, and more easily, than any other MP3 player.

So going back to the Verizon iPhone, the advice from this tech-head is: don't get it. The new iPhone will be released in June/July, and rumors are that it will be a single integrated CDMA/GSM device. This jives with rumors that Apple wants to create a standard for all iPhone carriers similar to SIM card (which Verizon was particularly resistant to). Meanwhile, innovation in phones has been coming fast and furious since iPhone 4 came out - the Droid Bionic seems to be the device to beat right now in terms of capabilities. iPhone 5 will doubtless be much more competitive with these next-gen devices.

I totally understand the out-of-the-box thing, but it cuts both ways. If Sarah Sorority wants a smartphone, she's probably not terribly worried about all of Android's super cool features, and will go with the simpler UE (and trendy!). So Apple has crushed (and is still crushing based on what I've read) the "want a smartphone but don't really need a smartphone" market. The key (for me) is that there is a large, talented, unofficial (i.e., not App Store), developer (guys with techie imaginations like myself, but actual coding skills!) community centered around the iPhone. It can scale up from "shiny dumbed down smartphone" to a top-of-the-line piece in this bloated market very easily. It's gotten to the point where you can spend literally 5 minutes jailbreaking it and need absolutely zero technical knowledge (I last used Limera1n which was the easiest yet; we've come a long way from all the trickery needed for yellowsn0w). Plug in your iPhone like you would sync it-- press a couple buttons, and BAM... suddenly you have access to any feature you could ever want. So I can see why someone might argue that "out-of-box" that iOS isn't really superior to Android, but the type of people who care about this (techies) are the type of people who probably put more than 3 minutes into tweaking their phone anyways (so this time is wasted regardless of whether you are jb'ing or not). If that's the case, then using the OOB argument is kind of flawed since, like I said, it really doesn't take any special skills anymore to get things like Flash or hotspot ability or Swype on the iPhone. (I'm aware this is different for those with a work phone, although it's pretty easy to revert a jailbreak if you know the phone is yours for long enough).

On the last point, I wholeheartedly agree. I find it odd that Apple/Verizon pushed so hard for the CDMA-only iPhone 4 when they (Apple) are probably going 5 on AT&T in July. I can't imagine them going with a split release cycle into the future, so either they released the iPhone on Verizon now because they figure "hey, we have enough desperate people that stupidly eat this thing up before July, so let's make 'em" or they are planning on doing a semi-split this fall (iPhone 5 on AT&T in July, Verizon in Sept/Oct-- I find this unlikely) with an eye towards getting them on the same release schedule next year.

I'm certainly hoping some AT&T iPhone users jump ship (it can only make life better for me with less data hogs hitting up the cell towers near campus), but unless Verizon comes out with a sweet, sweet deal for guys already on Verizon looking to make the switch, I know I would be standing pat for at least a month or two to see how everything shakes out. I'm very interested to see the sales numbers once this thing goes live next month. Logically, I'd like to think most tech-oriented people are cognizant of the fact that a new iPhone is coming soon but, then again, I will also attest that Apple products have a sheeple crowd like none other.

Edited by czar, 20 January 2011 - 09:24 PM.

[Three10toLeft]

I totally understand the out-of-the-box thing, but it cuts both ways. If Sarah Sorority wants a smartphone, she's probably not terribly worried about all of Android's super cool features, and will go with the simpler UE (and trendy!). So Apple has crushed (and is still crushing based on what I've read) the "want a smartphone but don't really need a smartphone" market. The key (for me) is that there is a large, talented, unofficial (i.e., not App Store), developer (guys with techie imaginations like myself, but actual coding skills!) community centered around the iPhone. It can scale up from "shiny dumbed down smartphone" to a top-of-the-line piece in this bloated market very easily. It's gotten to the point where you can spend literally 5 minutes jailbreaking it and need absolutely zero technical knowledge (I last used Limera1n which was the easiest yet; we've come a long way from all the trickery needed for yellowsn0w). Plug in your iPhone like you would sync it-- press a couple buttons, and BAM... suddenly you have access to any feature you could ever want. So I can see why someone might argue that "out-of-box" that iOS isn't really superior to Android, but the type of people who care about this (techies) are the type of people who probably put more than 3 minutes into tweaking their phone anyways (so this time is wasted regardless of whether you are jb'ing or not). If that's the case, then using the OOB argument is kind of flawed since, like I said, it really doesn't take any special skills anymore to get things like Flash or hotspot ability or Swype on the iPhone. (I'm aware this is different for those with a work phone, although it's pretty easy to revert a jailbreak if you know the phone is yours for long enough).

On the last point, I wholeheartedly agree. I find it odd that Apple/Verizon pushed so hard for the CDMA-only iPhone 4 when they (Apple) are probably going 5 on AT&T in July. I can't imagine them going with a split release cycle into the future, so either they released the iPhone on Verizon now because they figure "hey, we have enough desperate people that stupidly eat this thing up before July, so let's make 'em" or they are planning on doing a semi-split this fall (iPhone 5 on AT&T in July, Verizon in Sept/Oct-- I find this unlikely) with an eye towards getting them on the same release schedule next year.

I'm certainly hoping some AT&T iPhone users jump ship (it can only make life better for me with less data hogs hitting up the cell towers near campus), but unless Verizon comes out with a sweet, sweet deal for guys already on Verizon looking to make the switch, I know I would be standing pat for at least a month or two to see how everything shakes out. I'm very interested to see the sales numbers once this thing goes live next month. Logically, I'd like to think most tech-oriented people are cognizant of the fact that a new iPhone is coming soon but, then again, I will also attest that Apple products have a sheeple crowd like none other.

I'm pretty much a techie and am still tempted to get the iPhone 4 on Verizon. When it was first announced I was positive I'd get it on launch day. From that point on my enthusiasm has dwindled. I decided to order an extended battery for my DX from seidio and hang tight until I have an upgrade that I can play with come August.

[Chico Walker and the Man]

Am I the only one who received an unsolicited "You have earned a free upgrade!" e-mail today from Verizon Wireless? I wasn't due until May, and I haven't done anything other than use my phones and pay my bill to "earn" this upgrade. I see Verizon making a huge push on this one, which will certainly benefit those who want this phone as soon as it comes out.