iphone or other?

[JanetMegan]

Alrighty I currently have a Nokia 6010-really, look it up, it's a classic, and I love it. Great sound, VERY durable just a good phone esp for someone in the construction industry.

But...I'm about to have to upgrade to a phone where I can check my email. When I am out of town or away from the office I need the ability to check messages and send them, not all the time, just occasionally. I really don't want a laptop so I am thinking since my contract is up it would be a good time to upgrade the phone. I have never used any kind of smart phone. I don't really need one with a great camera as I have a very nice camera I carry already. I don't need anything for fancy games really. Just email and maybe light websurfing-to check radar or look up a phone number etc. I will probably stick with AT&T since I have all of our business cell phones through them. (Although most of my employees have no interest in upgrading.) Which kind of phone should I get without breaking the bank? Something durable with good sound for the phone, the phone to me is still the most important part of the device as I use it as my only phone.

[DizneyRox]

Personally (and I'm no Apple shill!) I can't imagine life without my iPhone. WalMart has great deals on the current top end iPhone (3GS for $97 with two year contract).

I know a lot of people that have Android based phones, the HTC Incredible, Droid, etc. I'm not sold on them, and I don't like AT&T's Android offering. I would go with Verizon if you wanted to go Android. The iPhone is simple to use, and VERY flexible.

For someone in the construction industry, I would suggest investing in a Otterbox Defender (or better case). I picked mine up at the AT&T store for $50 but I've seen them as low as $25 a few months ago. It's a FANTASTIC case, I've dropped mine (about 3 feet from my waist) to aphalt at which point it bounced under my car before coming to a halt. Picked it up, just a couple nicks on the case but nothing bad at all. It's a hard plastic case wrapped in a silicone jacket. The silicone take most of the hits, but there are a few hard plastic protrusions.

Anyway, Otterbox makes cases for other phone, so if you decide on something else, check out the Otterbox cases for them. But the apps on the iPhone really make it shine. i've been known to make a call or two on mine as well.

[Tinkermom]

I just got an iPhone a couple of weeks ago after using a Samsung Omnia. We switched over to AT&T from Verizon just so that we could have the iPhone. I really loved Verizon but I really wanted the iPhone.

What I like is that the iPhone really does do everything it is supposed to do. I had problems sending photos with my old phone and I hated that I could not open e-mail and just read an entire e-mail - I usually had to download the rest of the message. I always seemed to have some sort of "buggy" issue with my old phone.

I mainly use my phone for e-mail and light web surfing. I LOVE that I can get weather radar easily and it is FAST! In fact pretty much everything on the iPhone is fast.

I also said I was not really interested in any games. Most all of the games that I have on my iPhone my kids have put on but now I have to say that some of them are pretty fun!

Some of the apps that I have found really helpful are my grocery list app and budget app. The grocery app keeps my lists and allows me to just click what I need to shop for that week. I can even scan the barcodes on items to add them to my list - love it! The budget app helps us to see what and where we are spending since I can enter expenses right where we are.

I guess what I am saying is that I do not know what I did before my iPhone! :thumbsup:

[disneymom15]

My husband got his iphone in March. He loves it. My daughter and I can't wait til we can get ours.

[RedSoxFan]

I would love to have an IPhone; but I have Verizon. My plan is up in November; but I can upgrade the end of July. Still undecided if I should upgrade to the Incredible Droid or wait until November and switch to AT&T. DH has the IPhone for work and says I'll regret AT&T because of all the drop calls he experiences.

[MidnTPK]

There was an enlightening story in the Wall Street Journal today about smart phones (headline: Dark Side Arises for Phone Apps) which further leads me to believe the iPhone is better.

The story boils down to this: since the Apple App store is actively managed and monitored by Apple, its more secure, as are the apps sold there. The Android store is a free-for-all, and things are only removed after the fact. The story goes:

Google pulled dozens of unauthorized mobile-banking apps from its Android Market in December. The apps, priced at $1.50, were made by a developer named "09Droid" and claimed to offer access to accounts at many of the world's banks. Google said it pulled the apps because they violated its trademark policy.

The apps were more useless than malicious, but could have been updated to capture customers' banking credentials, said John Hering, chief executive of Lookout, a mobile security provider. "It is becoming easier for the bad guys to use the app stores," Mr. Hering said.

Since Apple has an approval process for selling apps, its pretty unlikely that some scam app will get at your secure data on your phone.

[caryrae]

If your thinking of an iPhone you may want to wait and see if the new model will be coming soon. Maybe we will here something this Monday from the WWDC but the prices for a 3GS are really good.

I have had an iPhone 3GS for a year now and just love it. So far the phone service has worked great in my area and with the new 4.0 OS coming this summer it should make the iPhone even better with Multitasking a big part of it.

AT&T has changed there data plan though, it was $30/month for unlimited usage but have done away with that. It will now be $25 for 2GB data usage per month or $15 for 200mb per month which according to AT&T 98% of users never go over 2GB/month.

[ElenitaB]

Janet, I wuv my iPhone (aka "My Precious"). That said, wait just a few weeks until the next version comes out. You'll be able to chose from that phone or from a deeply discounted, earlier model.

[DizneyRox]

AT&T has changed there data plan though, it was $30/month for unlimited usage but have done away with that.
Unlimited really is 5G a month. I'm a huge users and have only transferred about 2 Gigs total since I got it. I've been doing a lot of music/movie streaming, app downloading, etc. It's been almost a year now...

The $15 plan would probably suit most users. I think it was 65% according to AT&Ts release. 200M is a lot for a phone, BUT if you send or receive pictures, etc. It can/will go fast...

[caryrae]

Unlimited really is 5G a month. I'm a huge users and have only transferred about 2 Gigs total since I got it. I've been doing a lot of music/movie streaming, app downloading, etc. It's been almost a year now...

The $15 plan would probably suit most users. I think it was 65% according to AT&Ts release. 200M is a lot for a phone, BUT if you send or receive pictures, etc. It can/will go fast...

I am guessing though this may change for some when the iPhone will allow tethering which I think will cost an extra $20 a month.

I remember reading somewhere that Verizons unlimited data was 5GB but AT&T's unlimited data really was unlimited.

I looked and in the past several months I never went over 200mb in one month so it may me nice to change to the 200mb plan and save $15 a month.

[Genie1953]

The latest model of the IPhone is being released this summer....somewhere I was thinking I saw July mentioned. I have had my IPhone for a year and my daughter, son in law, and sister and her family of four have had IPhones since the day they were first released and have routinely upgraded each time an upgraded model was released. The IPhone is wonderful....in reality it is a hand held computer. I can do EVERYTHING on my IPhone. I absolutely love it!

[DizneyRox]

If I understand the plans, tethering will cost $20 a month on top of the $25 dollar plan. They won't allow tethering with the $15 dollar plan.

The tethering doesn't include additional bandwidth from what I understand. It's just to enable the feature on your phone.

[JanetMegan]

Wow thanks for all the great advice! By the way, what the heck is tethering? Anyways I may wait a couple weeks until the new one comes out and then get the older model, I really can't see needing the latest and greatest at this point-sounds like the older one will be just right!

[caryrae]

"Tethering" is the use of your cell phone -- or other Internet-enabled mobile device -- as a modem for another device, usually a notebook or PDA. The connection is made either with a cable (USB or serial) or wirelessly through bluetooth (or, in the good old days, via infrared or IrDA).

[DisneyPrincess21]

Janet, I wuv my iPhone (aka "My Precious").

Love IT! That nickname perfectly sums up how I feel about my iPhone, may I use it? :D


Personally (and I'm no Apple shill!) I can't imagine life without my iPhone.

For someone in the construction industry, I would suggest investing in a Otterbox Defender (or better case). I picked mine up at the AT&T store for $50 but I've seen them as low as $25 a few months ago. It's a FANTASTIC case, I've dropped mine (about 3 feet from my waist) to aphalt at which point it bounced under my car before coming to a halt. Picked it up, just a couple nicks on the case but nothing bad at all. It's a hard plastic case wrapped in a silicone jacket. The silicone take most of the hits, but there are a few hard plastic protrusions.


I also cannot remember how I functioned before I got my dear iPhone last year. The idea of trying to function without it, is like asking me to function without a limb! :D

Also, I have the Otterbox defender case as well and it is a absolute must for the iPhone. Check on amazon's website (don't forget to use the handy little link on Intercot's page :thumbsup:) that is where I ordered my from and it was cheaper then getting it from Otterbox directly.

[caryrae]

The iPhone 4 was just officially announced today and it looks really nice. $199 16gb and $299 32gb.

[c&d]

I heard today on the news that AT&T was doing away with unlimited data plan for Iphones, so you may want to check that before you sign up.

[Patricia]

I use my iPhone all the time. Notes, camera, phone, text, GPS, weather, internet, email, etc. I'd be lost without it. I'm upgrading to the 4 because I'll use the camera, video and multitask features and I can pass the old one on.