Phone Research

[dqg_neal]

So its time again to upgrade our phones. I'm still mostly a dumb phone users. With my current phone all I do is make Calls, text, and use the EZ Tip calculator. My wife however wants more out of her phone. (Actually I only started using texts because she wanted texting for a phone

Comments

[joannahurley]

I really like my android. There's a bunch of different keyboards you can download, which might help with the on-screen problem. I use my Android Thunderbold WAY more than I ever used my Windows smartphone.

[dqg_neal]

I still like the fact of a physical keyboard over touch keyboard. And I think Tina feels the same way. (It is on her priority list of features.) We might have to go for a model of something with a case that adds on the physical keyboard if necessary.

[joannahurley]

What company are you with, and are you staying with them? You probably need to start with simply seeing what's available. I'm not sure that there are smart phones with physical keyboards that aren't blackberries right now. I know that's one thing I lost when I switched, but I definitely am happier with it. I think they changed the tech.

For your phone, you probably don't need anything more than a regular phone. I definitley use google navigation as my primary nav app, but it needs data to work. I don't have a standalone gps anymore.

LTE is network speed, not apps, btw. Gotta say, this thing is as fast as my home internet. It's pretty cool, and I think it's what makes all the web apps more useful. I read news, etc on it, Facebook, lots of stupid games. :) Cozi is a big app for me, now. Email, of course. The camera is only so-so. I don't take a ton of pictures, though.

[dqg_neal]

I've been sticking with Verizon. The county has them so I get a better rate.

I know LTE is network speed. But what I don't know is whether it really is important if I'm not planning on streaming audio or video. The reason I brought up the apps is that presumably if they are apps any of the graphics are on your phone and the retrieval of data shouldn't take that much bandwidth. (But then I'm thinking from regular network use, I have no idea if phone apps developers do the same thing. I think the most data I used on my current phone in a month was 4 MB.)

[joannahurley]

True, I don't know the answer to that. I think it depends on what you're using. If it's a web-based app, it's going to download at the time. Games tend to pre-load graphics.

Another thought: you might want something with removable media, or at least a lot, so you can put your music on the phone. On mine, it's not really easy to access (the chip is under the battery), but it can be swapped out for something larger if I want to. IIRC, I have a 32Gb micro SD crd in right now. Still have about 8Gb left, it looks like. Most of my music collection is on there. I definitely find that apps grow to fill all available space, too.

[ianargent]

LTE, among other things, means simultaneous voice and data when on LTE network. Some of the LTE devices will also do that on the older 3G network, but it's not going to be an advertised feature. This is key for a device that youare going to use navigation with network maps on.

As for the keyboard, none of the current LTE phones have hard keyboards. That was a firm checkbox for me, until I got my thunderbolt. I don't miss it in the slightest. The touchscreen tech is that much better than it used to be. Capacitive touchscreens are much more sensitive and accurate than the old resistive screens, and Android phones use the best of that new tech. You can't compare with older PDA screens or feature phones screens.

LTE device also means a current-generation device that is guaranteed to get updates further along in the life cycle. Also, current-gen hardware, including better cameras and faster processors.

The network itself is much faster, comparable to current wired-network speeds, where the new network is available