Posted by MW/VA on 3/17/11 3:06pm
Msg #376530

Phones

Is anyone using the Droid X? I have a BB Storm & thinking about making the switch. I'm looking for opinions. TIA

Reply by JinCA on 3/17/11 3:19pm
Msg #376533

I just got my first smartphone, and my carrier is Verizon. I asked for the phone with the best phone signal, as my house can be sketchy, and they recommended the Samsung Fascinate. So far it has been great!

Reply by Larry/IL on 3/17/11 4:07pm
Msg #376540

I travel all over the country and over the last 20 years, AT&T seemed to have the best overall coverage. I had them for TV, landline, internet and cell. Recently I moved 3 minutes away to a new home and was told by AT&T that DSL would not be available, only dial up. Totally not acceptable for this business!

I had been using a Sprint wireless aircard for my laptop for 4 years because at the time they were the only carried that didn,t throttle your bandwidth when down/up loading a lot of bytes. I was grandfathered under an unlimited data plan, and decided to check into a smart phone. I chose the EVO 4G and used it for a month before I moved. I pay the extra 10/ month for the 4G and 29/month for the hotspot capability. I can run up to 5 computers off my cell phone and have run up to 3 so far without any problems. The Sprint Evo was 2 and a half times faster downloading or uploading then the AT&T DSL land line. I dropped all my AT&T services and save about 150/month now. I use the EVO for everything, it even has the navigation that many cars have now and very accurate, which is great for appointments after dark. you can even speak into the phone and it turns it into text for the navigation or texting apps.

There is even an app that lets you read and clear your cars computer codes. It will let you monitor everything from horsepower to Gs to water temp. A few of the mechanics say it is as good as their $5,000 Snap on scanners. There is a bluetooth donngle ($50) to plug into the cars computer plug to do this. The phone has a bar code scanner, I use it to scan bar codes on food, it gives all the calories and nutritional values. Found out Walmart milk is from Meyer by doing so. Sprint TV with lot of programs, including cartoons/Mickey Mouse, keeps the 2 year olds busy, even when at the restaurant waiting for the food to come!

The smart phones are able to do so much I don't think we are ready for what will be seen in the next 5-10 years. I have friends that want to throw their iphones out after seeing and using my EVO.

If you consider Sprint just google their coverage map and make sure you would have good 4G or 3G coverage for data. Verizon now has the same phone, the Thunderbolt and it's a slightly better version. Whatever you decide on, just do much research and ask many questions and you should be alright.

Good Luck!

Reply by rengel/CA on 3/17/11 4:34pm
Msg #376543

I went from a BB Curve to a Google MyTouch android system. I fought with it for about 8 months and finally gave up and went back to the BB Bold a couple of weeks ago.

I know the Iphone and android phones are great, wonderful, and awe inspiring to most, but for me, I love my crackberry.

My .02

Reply by Linda Juenger on 3/17/11 5:02pm
Msg #376546

I just switched from a BB torch to an Iphone. I love the Iphone but my bb had features that I miss. I do like the touch screen.

Reply by 101livescan on 3/17/11 7:21pm
Msg #376564

I'm with you. The BBCurve has better applications for business. The Droid and Iphone are more for entertainment, music and such. I love my BBCurve. It's my second one.

Reply by MikeC/NY on 3/17/11 5:43pm
Msg #376547

I have a Droid 2 rather than a Droid X, but I also made the switch from a BB Storm. There's a bit of a learning curve, but overall I do like the Droid better -you can do a lot more with it. The Crackberries are geared more for business; the Droids can handle that and more. Just about every time I see an app that looks neat, it's only available for the iPhone and Droid.

The reason I went with the Droid 2 was because my carrier (Verizon) was offering a great deal on refurbished phones. I'm not sure if the X has the slide-out keyboard that the 2 offers, but that is a feature I really love (because my fingers are too fat for the Storm's virtual keyboard, and it was frustrating me).

Major downside for the Droids is battery life - you're either going to want to keep a car charger close by, buy a second battery and charger, or be religious about recharging on a regular basis.

Reply by Shoshana/AZ on 3/17/11 7:27pm
Msg #376568

It seems like I am recharging my Droid ALL THE TIME! n/m

Reply by MW/VA on 3/18/11 9:09am
Msg #376586

Re: It seems like I am recharging my Droid ALL THE TIME!

I'd heard that the Droid has battery charge issues. It must consume a lot of power.

Reply by MikeC/NY on 3/18/11 11:12am
Msg #376617

Re: It seems like I am recharging my Droid ALL THE TIME!

It depends on what you're doing with it. If you just use it as a phone and to read/send email, you can get through a day or more. Start using a few apps or doing a lot of web surfing, and the battery needs recharging more frequently. You can also use it as a WiFi hotspot, but the manual says it should be plugged in to a charger for that, which tells me that function must just suck the charge right out of the battery.

There is a battery with bigger capacity available, but I don;t know if it's really worth the cost.

Reply by BrendaTx on 3/18/11 11:41am
Msg #376620

4 chargers and a spare battery!

I am a power Droid user.

You need a charger by your desk (I have one where I have my j o b, too), by your bed, and in your car.

If I completely drain mine and will need it for longer use right then, I swap out for a fresh battery that is fully charged. I keep that one on my home/desk.

I know that power users of other smart phones (IPhone, etc.) say this is common to them, as well.

CHARGE! and enjoy the Droid.

Reply by James Dawson on 3/17/11 8:53pm
Msg #376573

I upgraded to the new G4 and still figuring it out but I love it. I got it free when I turned in my G3S. The upgrade cost $199.00 and they gave me a $199.00 credit for my old Iphone.

Beside the better signaling strength (still sucks by my standards) what I like best so far is, I only have to charge it EVERY FOUR DAYS with the extend battery which doubles as a case.

Reply by MW/VA on 3/18/11 9:10am
Msg #376587

Thanks everyone. I was referring only to phones, not

carriers. I'm with Verizon & will probably stay with them.

Reply by BestFlCloser on 3/18/11 9:56am
Msg #376597

Droid X Battery life

Switched from a Blackberry to the Droid X on Verizon. To get the most out of your battery, you need to set up AppKiller to turn off apps you are not using at the moment and that will allow the phone to run all day. You should also leave the phone on charge during the night. With the new batteries an all night charge will not hurt the phone. BTW, I love the Droid.

Reply by Yoli/CA on 3/18/11 10:01am
Msg #376598

Re: Thanks everyone. I was referring only to phones, not

I've got the Droid X and love it! Can do so much with it. Requires frequent charging. However, "Advanced Task Killer" (free application) helps tremendously. This phone does not have the slide out qwerty keyboard. It's a touch screen. But, screen enlarges when phone is sideways.