DriodX -v- iPhone

Geico266

Geico266

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Any thoughts about which phone is better? I like the iPhone, but hate the AT&T coverage. I have Verizon, but don't want to wait until they can carry the iPhone. I can buy a DriodX for $200 and have it in two weeks.

Any thoughts on which one is better?
 
Driodx has the best coverage right now, but iPhone may be available in February according to the Wall Street Journal.

What to do, what to do.

I'm gonna get the DriodX and upgrade later if I don't like and the iPhone is available.
 
I just ordered an iPhone 4. The Android platform is good too.

I'm currently developing an iPhone application and intend on developing Android ones as well. I don't know how hard it is to get your hands on a DroidX but the iPhone 4 is very hard to find. 3 week wait ordering from Apple.

ScottM said:
The one that suits your needs and is on the system which will cover your travels the best.
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Precisely. You'll find a lot of extreme advocates of either platform. Truth is they're both nice and they both have some ups and downs.
 
Geico266 said:
Driodx has the best coverage right now, .
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Droid X has ZERO coverage actually. Coverage as in system coverage is seperate from the handset and is a function of the infrastructure.

If you are falling for the Verizon 'more 3G' coverage marketing let me explain to you that they are playing a word game with people.

3G is an official ITU designation. The M.1457 standard defines what is 3G and CDMA1x, 1xEV-DO and DOrevA are all 3G systems per the ITU. GSM and EDGE are considered 2G. AT&T has coverage at least equal to Verizon but in a lot of their less populated areas all they have is the GSM/EDGE coverage. So officially Verizon has more 3G coverage. But here is the kicker. A lot of the 3G coverage of Verizon is also just CDMA1x which is about equal to the GSM/EDGE coverage in terms of data speed capabilities. Verizon keeps its data heavy infrastructre (DO) where there are lots of people just like where AT&T keeps their 3G coverage.
 
ScottM said:
Droid X has ZERO coverage actually. Coverage as in system coverage is seperate from the handset and is a function of the infrastructure.

If you are falling for the Verizon 'more 3G' coverage marketing let me explain to you that they are playing a word game with people.

3G is an official ITU designation. The M.1457 standard defines what is 3G and CDMA1x, 1xEV-DO and DOrevA are all 3G systems per the ITU. GSM and EDGE are considered 2G. AT&T has coverage at least equal to Verizon but in a lot of their less populated areas all they have is the GSM/EDGE coverage. So officially Verizon has more 3G coverage. But here is the kicker. A lot of the 3G coverage of Verizon is also just CDMA1x which is about equal to the GSM/EDGE coverage in terms of data speed capabilities. Verizon keeps its data heavy infrastructre (DO) where there are lots of people just like where AT&T keeps their 3G coverage.
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I was a Verizon customer for many years and I didn't think their infrastructre was that amazing. I dropped calls like no other when driving on an interstate. That happened with several different phones I had.

When I finally switched to AT&T most of those problems on I-80/I-35 went away.

I've tried to explain to people that one network will be good in one area, one network will be better in another area, and that is how you make your decision. Seems like a lot of folks just fall for all that marketing hype.
 
jesse said:
I've tried to explain to people that one network will be good in one area, one network will be better in another area, and that is how you make your decision. Seems like a lot of folks just fall for all that marketing hype.
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YEP!!
 
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jesse said:
I was a Verizon customer for many years and I didn't think their infrastructre was that amazing. I dropped calls like no other when driving on an interstate. That happened with several different phones I had.

When I finally switched to AT&T most of those problems on I-80/I-35 went away.

I've tried to explain to people that one network will be good in one area, one network will be better in another area, and that is how you make your decision. Seems like a lot of folks just fall for all that marketing hype.
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I haven't been on I-35 but I found Verizon worked better on I-80 (the ends and the eastern 1/2 (East of NE exit 395) once upon a time. That may well have changed over the past few years as the phone industry is changing quickly.
 
jesse said:
... but the iPhone 4 is very hard to find. 3 week wait ordering from Apple.
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Just thought I'd comment on the wait period. I ordered an iPhone on July 23 and received on August 4 ... about 12 days. Apple had listed 7-14 days. I had a trip coming up and wanted the high-res camera and video (that my 3G didn't have) and paid for the next day express. When they notified me of shipment on 8/3 they actually said
"Because of unprecedented volume, it may take up to 72 hours before the shipping carrier can provide detailed delivery information to you."
It was delivered 24 hours after I received the e-mail and FedEx had tracking info available when I checked after receiving e-mail.
So, short summary is that the wait isn't that long. I'm not a particularly big Apple fan (it took the idiots until now to have keyboard connectivity that my HandSpring had in 2000), but I've found a handful of apps I have a hard time living without.
 
iflyforfun said:
Just thought I'd comment on the wait period. I ordered an iPhone on July 23 and received on August 4 ... about 12 days. Apple had listed 7-14 days. I had a trip coming up and wanted the high-res camera and video (that my 3G didn't have) and paid for the next day express. When they notified me of shipment on 8/3 they actually said
"Because of unprecedented volume, it may take up to 72 hours before the shipping carrier can provide detailed delivery information to you."
It was delivered 24 hours after I received the e-mail and FedEx had tracking info available when I checked after receiving e-mail.
So, short summary is that the wait isn't that long. I'm not a particularly big Apple fan (it took the idiots until now to have keyboard connectivity that my HandSpring had in 2000), but I've found a handful of apps I have a hard time living without.
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I ordered mine on July 27. My ship date is still listed as Aug 19.
 
Geico266 said:
Any thoughts about which phone is better? I like the iPhone, but hate the AT&T coverage. I have Verizon, but don't want to wait until they can carry the iPhone. I can buy a DriodX for $200 and have it in two weeks.

Any thoughts on which one is better?
Click to expand...

AT&T has pathetic coverage on the Texas gulf coast, so Verizon -- a company I've begrudgingly supported for 13 years -- is the only real choice here.

That said, I have the Motorola Droid, and love it. I went to the Verizon store last week with every intention of buying the Droid X for myself (passing my Droid to my wife, her phone to my daughter, etc.) -- but I discovered I didn't like the Droid X as well.

For some stupid reason they have omitted the physical keyboard on the X. To me, that keyboard is the ultimate iPhone killer, and I can't live without it.

So, I'm waiting for the next iteration that incorporates a physical keyboard. YMMV.
 
Jay Honeck said:
For some stupid reason they have omitted the physical keyboard on the X. To me, that keyboard is the ultimate iPhone killer, and I can't live without it.
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I have had Blackberrys for work for years, two IPhones, and now a Nexus One android phone.

Blackberrys spoiled me on physical keyboards, BUT the DroidX has Swype (which I have on my Nexus), which is a gesture based keyboard. Basically you drag your finger over the letters of the word, and Swype translates that to the word.
It is SO MUCH faster and accurate than thumbtyping, it's made me a believer. After 6 years of thumbtyping on a Blackberry, I can type faster on Swype (and more accurately) than my Blackberry.
Because it works on word shape (via the trace) rather than individual key presses, it is much more tolerant of errors and much more accurate than predictive text. It also mines your received mail for common jargon and names that aren't in its dictionary. Plus any time you type in a word manually, it adds it to the dictionary so you never have to override Swype again. In just a few days it had learned almost all the common acronyms and technical terms I use.

I would recommend visiting Swype's website (swype.com) and seeing how it works, then trying the DroidX again. You may change your mind. In typical Verizon style, they have a fantastic app built in, but aren't telling anyone about it.
 
Jay Honeck said:
For some stupid reason they have omitted the physical keyboard on the X. To me, that keyboard is the ultimate iPhone killer, and I can't live without it.

So, I'm waiting for the next iteration that incorporates a physical keyboard. YMMV.
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I have to say when I got my Droid, I did everything on the physical keyboard but after a little practice I'm almost always on the screen.

It takes some practice to figure out which part of my big fat fingers will be used to choose which one of those tiny skinny keys. Plus the auto word guesser does a pretty good job and it's not there with the keyboard.

Long way to suggest that you put up with the screen keyboard a while, you may be a convert like me, or not.

Joe

ps. The wife and I will be staying at your hotel in Port Aransas, in a couple of weeks. We will make a reservation as soon as we nail down the date. How much notice do you need for a Tuesday or Wednesday through Friday?
 
jesse said:
I was a Verizon customer for many years and I didn't think their infrastructre was that amazing. I dropped calls like no other when driving on an interstate. That happened with several different phones I had.

When I finally switched to AT&T most of those problems on I-80/I-35 went away.

I've tried to explain to people that one network will be good in one area, one network will be better in another area, and that is how you make your decision. Seems like a lot of folks just fall for all that marketing hype.
Click to expand...

I kept VZ for a long time before analog shut off because they were really the only ones that had roll-over to the old analog systems (AT&T used to until they shut down the "blue" TDMA network). Plenty of places I went with the plane (and the road up to my rural property) only had analog. These days I still have VZ service because it provides better coverage in the places I frequent most often. I also have a work AT&T blackberry - on a direct comparison basis, VZ drops fewer calls. But thats for areas I travel regularly, and it includes a fair number of rural areas.

Neither one is a "single winner". If you're in a metro area, either should be OK. If you get away from the interstate, in many areas I find that VZ has an edge.

YMMV.
 
My experience is thus:

In Santa Fe, my T-Mobile service blew. So did AT&T. But once I switched to Verizon, I had awesome, stable service.

In Winston-Salem, my T-Mobile service blew. So did AT&T. But now that I'm on Verizon, I have awesome, stable service.

I had an iPhone on AT&T and the phone sucked goats. I had a G1 and a CLIQ on T-Mobile, and they were ok, but lacking a lot of power that I need out of a phone (plus, not being able to upgrade was killing me enough to root them both so I could control their destiny). I have a DROID on Verizon, and have not been happier with my choice.

So - from my experience with phones: If you're using a normal, non smart phone handset, get T-Mobile or AT&T, because your experience will suck either way. If you're going to use a smart phone, get Verizon.

Also should point out - the 3G claim from Scott is not 100% true. There's 3G and there's 1x. 1x is about the same as EDGE, true, but I only drop into 1X in very weird areas....the same type of areas that on T-Mobile and AT&T you drop into GPRS only, which is markedly slower than 1x or EDGE. So on Verizon, you get 3G in most populated areas, and 1x in the less populated areas.

On AT&T and T-Mobile, you get 3G in heavily populated areas, EDGE in less heavily populated areas and GPRS in less populated areas.

So Verizon still wins that one, regardless of nomenclature.
 
jesse said:
I just ordered an iPhone 4. The Android platform is good too.

I'm currently developing an iPhone application and intend on developing Android ones as well. I don't know how hard it is to get your hands on a DroidX but the iPhone 4 is very hard to find. 3 week wait ordering from Apple.


Precisely. You'll find a lot of extreme advocates of either platform. Truth is they're both nice and they both have some ups and downs.
Click to expand...

Must be by market. I walked into an AT&T store this week in Lexington, KY and they had as may iphone 4's as you wanted. Both 16 and 32G. The Apple store had ample supply of 32G.

BTW, going to AT&T today to grab an iphone as my VZ contract expired on 8/3.
 
Areeda said:
I have to say when I got my Droid, I did everything on the physical keyboard but after a little practice I'm almost always on the screen.

It takes some practice to figure out which part of my big fat fingers will be used to choose which one of those tiny skinny keys. Plus the auto word guesser does a pretty good job and it's not there with the keyboard.

Long way to suggest that you put up with the screen keyboard a while, you may be a convert like me, or not.

Joe

ps. The wife and I will be staying at your hotel in Port Aransas, in a couple of weeks. We will make a reservation as soon as we nail down the date. How much notice do you need for a Tuesday or Wednesday through Friday?
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Yeah, I fat-fingered the virtual keyboard (and all other buttons, for that matter) for a while. I eventually got used to the angle you must take for accuracy, but I still prefer the physical keyboard.

Re: The Harbor Inn. Glad to hear you're coming our way! We sell out every Friday/Saturday night. Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday you can usually get a room same-day, but there are no guarantees. Sometimes we sell out for no apparent reason mid-week, so it's best to call as far ahead as possible.

Just a note of caution to you (and everyone else here) -- WE ARE NOT AVIATION THEMED AT THIS MOTEL YET. That is part of our off-season plan, and it will take us at least two off-seasons to finish this place so that each room is a different era of aviation history.

Right now we are just the cleanest little motel in Port Aransas that happens to have a courtesy car at the airport (with the keys under the mat) for you to use. :wink2:

I don't want to hear any bitching about the "lack of aviation decor" or some such nonsense, like we heard when we were working on the Alexis Park Inn back in 2003. We haven't even STARTED on the conversion here yet, cuz we're too damned busy to take any rooms off-line! :thumbsup:
 
I've got the Evo, which is a driod on the Sprint network. From comparing it to iphones that my coworkers have, I think the driod is a better phone. In fact, one guy I work with just swiched services just so he can get one.....he had been a loyal AT&T customer for years.
 
Aviators With A Mission said:
I've got the Evo, which is a driod on the Sprint network. From comparing it to iphones that my coworkers have, I think the driod is a better phone. In fact, one guy I work with just swiched services just so he can get one.....he had been a loyal AT&T customer for years.
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Welcome to PoA. But a little nit to pick or rather a clarification, The Evo is made by HTC and is ANDROID based. The Droidtm is a Motorola phone that is also Android based. The Droidtmis a trademark. It is probably a losing battle for Motorola in the long run, but it is nonetheless their trademark and it legally applies only to their phones.

Evotm is a trademark of HTC BTW.
 
Aviators With A Mission said:
I think the driod is a better phone.
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You make an important point, the IPhone is a marginal *telephone* without a bluetooth headset. Call volume is marginal, and hard to hear. It drove me up the wall.

Make sure you actually try making calls with the phones you are considering. That's one of the strengths of all Blackberrys (and some but not all Android phone), is it's a good, strong, loud phone and has an excellent speakerphone.
 
And my Droid is the best mobile phone I've had. I don't think you can go wrong with it.
 
Well, correction to my earlier post. This weekend is TN tax free weekend on items such as laptops, desktops, clothes, etc. Essentially those items needed for school.

Went to the Apple store and the line was stupid long. Talked to the girl at the door and was told to go stand at the end of the line. I told her the phone was not part of the tax free weekend deal and I wanted to play with it to determine if it was right for me. I explained to her that my head was not up my rectal cavity and departed. Went across the road to the VZ store.

Checked out the Droid X and it felt great and did all I want/need in a phone. Ended up buying one for $299 less $150 in discounts/rebates plus 25% off accessories. One great thing is that my old VZ car charger works with the Droid X. My gf is on a month to month with the less bars more places service with her iphone and is about 90% ready to change to the Droid X.
 
kevin47881 said:
Well, correction to my earlier post. This weekend is TN tax free weekend on items such as laptops, desktops, clothes, etc. Essentially those items needed for school.

Went to the Apple store and the line was stupid long. Talked to the girl at the door and was told to go stand at the end of the line. I told her the phone was not part of the tax free weekend deal and I wanted to play with it to determine if it was right for me. I explained to her that my head was not up my rectal cavity and departed. Went across the road to the VZ store.

Checked out the Droid X and it felt great and did all I want/need in a phone. Ended up buying one for $299 less $150 in discounts/rebates plus 25% off accessories. One great thing is that my old VZ car charger works with the Droid X. My gf is on a month to month with the less bars more places service with her iphone and is about 90% ready to change to the Droid X.
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Good choice. Welcome to excellence in mobile device.
 
Along the lines of the original post, which one for someone who has touched a computer maybe 5 times in her life? Not computer savvy, doesn't care about apps. They would want a phone, texting, and access to e-mail (web based).

Droid or iphone?
TIA
 
Either one. Probably a steep learning curve for a complete newbie.
 
The droid X has a MUCH bigger screen.

Verizon is the only way to go when you fly CC. I've had AT&T & Sprint, they both are a joke in the boonies for the telephone coverage.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
Along the lines of the original post, which one for someone who has touched a computer maybe 5 times in her life? Not computer savvy, doesn't care about apps. They would want a phone, texting, and access to e-mail (web based).
Click to expand...
As much as it pains me to say it, the Iphone is probably the better device for the n00b with limited and specific use. It's simple, intuitive, easily backs up to ITunes, etc.
For a power user, an Android phone for sure, for the new and light user, the IPhone is probably better.

The App Store allows you to easily and securely add apps if you want. I know you said no apps, but my 80 year old mother-in-law ended up with about a half-dozen apps she uses.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
Along the lines of the original post, which one for someone who has touched a computer maybe 5 times in her life? Not computer savvy, doesn't care about apps. They would want a phone, texting, and access to e-mail (web based).

Droid or iphone?
TIA
Click to expand...

IMHO, if you have no need for apps, there's no reason to waste money on either smart-phone. Neither of these things are cheap, and any brick will do voice and texting. Email can be had on many other less-capable, far cheaper phones.
 
Jay- the user interface is often less capable on less capable phones as well. The web interface on my Blackberry or home cell phone both suck compared to what I see on iphones (haven't seen a droid yet). As the e-mail will probably be web based, this well drive part of the decision.

Having said that, I'll keep your advice in the back of my mind as I look.
 
Droid 2 it is! I decided not to wait for the Droid X to get stocked and when I walked into my local Verizon store they had just gotten the new Droid 2 (with a sliding keyboard) in. After a quick demonstration I was sold. This this is amazing, and relys heavily on Google and I'm a HUGE fan of Google. It is like having a computer in your hand with no printer. I can surf the net, place calls, send e-mail, text messages, AND it has voice recognition! I can send e-mail without typing! I can send text messages without typing!, I can add addresses, e-mails, take notes without typing!

GPS navigation and location, & phone locator. Go ahead and steal my phone! :thumbsup: I can call a number and disable the phone AND get the GPS coordinates to locate it!

I can find stores, resturants, car service, via Google, then via Google maps it will take me there! :thumbsup:
 
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Geico266 said:
Droid 2 it is! I decided not to wait for the Droid X to get stocked and when I walked into my local Verizon store they had just gotten the new Driod 2 (with a sliding keyboard) in. Aftera quick demonstration I was sold. This this is amazing. It is like having a computer in your hand with no printer. I can surf the net, place calls, send e-mail, text messages, AND it has voice recognition! I can send e-mail without typing! I can send text messages without typing!, I can add addresses, e-mails, take notes without typing! Simply amazing!
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So, whatcha need the keyboard for anyway?
 
I'd be willing to bet I could text faster and more accurately on an iPhone soft-keyboard versus voice recognition. Just for kicks I did some speed test last night and I can type at over 60 wpm on it without errors. That's without practicing.
 
Geico266 said:
Droid 2 it is! I decided not to wait for the Droid X to get stocked and when I walked into my local Verizon store they had just gotten the new Droid 2 (with a sliding keyboard) in. After a quick demonstration I was sold. This this is amazing, and relys heavily on Google and I'm a HUGE fan of Google. It is like having a computer in your hand with no printer. I can surf the net, place calls, send e-mail, text messages, AND it has voice recognition! I can send e-mail without typing! I can send text messages without typing!, I can add addresses, e-mails, take notes without typing!

GPS navigation and location, & phone locator. Go ahead and steal my phone! :thumbsup: I can call a number and disable the phone AND get the GPS coordinates to locate it!

I can find stores, resturants, car service, via Google, then via Google maps it will take me there! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
I hardly ever use the keyboard on the Droid.
 
jesse said:
I'd be willing to bet I could text faster and more accurately on an iPhone soft-keyboard versus voice recognition. Just for kicks I did some speed test last night and I can type at over 60 wpm on it without errors. That's without practicing.
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I have yet to use a VR that works well or is faster than typing.
 
ScottM said:
I hardly ever use the keyboard on the Droid.
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Nor do I (or didn't until the touch screen started acting up). Got a warranty replacement and am back to not using the keyboard. Leslie just placed an order for the DroidX.
 
jesse said:
I
I've tried to explain to people that one network will be good in one area, one network will be better in another area, and that is how you make your decision. Seems like a lot of folks just fall for all that marketing hype.
Click to expand...


Well put. I had clients from Arizona and SoCal who had AT&T when the came here to the Philly area for meetings the coverage was horrible and my verizon was much better. They told me AT&T was the big carrier where they were. Of course this is all pre iPhone so I am sure things have improved regarding coverage in certain areas.
 
I have AT&T and the iPhone 3GS (OS 4.0 Now) and have not had any problems in the phili area to NYC/New Haven CT and down to the shore. I was rather surprised at the fact I could get full 3G coverage at Windwood when we arrived last year and could watch FlightAware for Gary coming in as we stood on the Runway. :D

No complaints here,... except maybe for those dang Federal Service Charges and other fees that add up to 14.00 per month :incazzato:
 
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