Smartphone Time Again. Opinions? Data?

[ArcticDiver]

Every few years it is time to let the old, rickety phone go away and to get a new one. Lots of recent changes in offerings, most of which I've been to occupied with other things to know about.

Current phones are Blackberry Torchs(9800) operating on the general(BIS) system. Even with all the warts, blemishes and awkwardness of BlackBerry systems they have served us well. But, not so sure we want to continue with Blackberry. At the same time we definitely don't want to go iPhone.

Here is what we do: Email, Internet browsing, Text(Blackberry BBM), Voice , Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, Memos. Each phone is kept coordinated with its' companion home computer. We don't use "The Cloud".

Comment about The Cloud: The various providers promise security and availability. But, since there is no realistic way to enforce the contract their promises are probably mainly marketing. Plus, internet availability is limited in many places we go.

Long setup. But hopefully enough to get some good input.

[Gdog]

Im roughly in the same place. The two I am considering are the HTC One, and the Galaxy s4. Issues are: HTC is made from a single piece of alloy, with battery and memory being unaccessable. Galaxy is not as sturdy built, and borderline getting too large. Sound is best on HTC, like the screen output on Galaxy.
For me I think Im going with the Galaxy S4.

[thefeve]

I have zero experience with any of the android platforms personally, but after having had 3 friends go that route, then switch to the iphone on a random good deal, they seem to really like the change. In no way am I trying to make the "iphone is best claim" as that new S4 looks freakin' cool... For what you say you do with your phone, Iphones are super simple to use and have treated my wife and I really well. After using my mom's S3 this weekend while they were visiting, I was about ready to throw it out the window after about 5 minutes... but i'm sure most of that was just due to me not knowing the OS.

just my 2 psi. Not sure what carrier your with, but i know ATT is having a pretty good sale on the Iphone 4s right now compared to the normally pretty high price tag.

Also - if you happen to go the iphone route, look into a lifeproof case. best investment i've ever made when it comes to phones. I've been the livin' heck out of my phone (well, case...) and when i take it out of the case it still looks brand new. It's been awesome for diving as well as the case is waterproof so messing with the phone after a dive/around all the gear isn't a concern.

good luck!

[Tom Nic]

Im roughly in the same place. The two I am considering are the HTC One, and the Galaxy s4. Issues are: HTC is made from a single piece of alloy, with battery and memory being unaccessable. Galaxy is not as sturdy built, and borderline getting too large. Sound is best on HTC, like the screen output on Galaxy.
For me I think Im going with the Galaxy S4.

I just got the Galaxy S4.

Love it.

I need it to sink my calendar, contacts, and reliable online access. It does it all and more. Disclaimer - I use Google Calendar & Gmail exclusively, and that works great.

Added bonus is that the phone is set up to function internationally upon activation - my old phone was not and could not be made to function overseas. Since I travel a fair bit and hope to travel more this was an unexpected bonus.

I'll let you know how it works... in Bonaire!

[Graveler]

Galaxy s4

[Jeff Pack]

I test every single android phone AT&T releases, and my 2 favorites are the S4, and Note 2(my personal work phone).

Dislike anything HTC, especially any of the HTC One class of devices.

[Gdog]

I dislike the iphone, and for the same reason I am not interested in the HTC One; inability to access the battery or add micro sd storage. I do not want to have to send the phone in to change the battery. If I want more memory, I want to be able to add it. That being said, the iphone does have a massive following. Reminds me of a funny video concerning this same topic...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL7yD-0pqZg

Sorry, guess Im picking on apple again. sigh.

[mz53480]

LOL!

1

[Gdog]

[ArcticDiver]

If I were to go with Samsung, whether S4 or Note, can I synch directly with my laptop? Battery life?

We used to do international travel and hope to again. Blackberry on ATT worked just fine. A plus if the Samsung does too.

[Joshua Smith]

If I were to go with Samsung, whether S4 or Note, can I synch directly with my laptop? Battery life?

We used to do international travel and hope to again. Blackberry on ATT worked just fine. A plus if the Samsung does too.

I wouldn't do that, if I were you. The Samsung comes with a really cheap lanyard. It's a real deal breaker.

[Jeff Pack]

If I were to go with Samsung, whether S4 or Note, can I synch directly with my laptop? Battery life?

Note 2 has awesome battery life, as for syncing, you have USB storage connect, although not sure what you are trying to sync.

[seattlepaul1975]

Being engineer in the tech industry I would go with the iPhone.
I used to work for a major cell company and used android as well. So I have used both types for a long enough time on each to feel that the iPhone has a better user experience. Perhaps it is because I feel as if the iPhone does not make me feel as if I have to "run" my phone where as on android I feel that I have to "make it work" and be the admin of my phone.

Yes I know this is a near religious topic and people are anti-android or anti-apple....but if you want a phone that you can pick up and "just have it work" I would go with an iPhone.

[Norris]

I own an iphone 5 and a samsung gs3. I like like the functionality of android best. I like the back button in menus which iphone does not have. I like not being forced to join itunes. Also yes you can sync the samsung to your laptop and there is even an app where you can run on your phone and navigate via browser from your laptop. I rarely use my laptop anymore. Phones are just getting that good

[Jeff Pack]

I wish they were getting that good, but I still find other than simple web browsing/disply, the mobile experience takes me 4-5x longer than doing it on a pc. Most "mobile" sites blow monkey chunks.

I've found a good tablet to be the better alternative, but subject to the same above observation.

I do 90% of my personal browsing on a tablet, but if I have to actually do something web based, I run to my desktop device.

[ArcticDiver]

If I were to go with Samsung, whether S4 or Note, can I synch directly with my laptop? Battery life?

Note 2 has awesome battery life, as for syncing, you have USB storage connect, although not sure what you are trying to sync.

Presently I synch Calendar, Contacts, Memos/Notes, Tasks and sometimes music and pictures. Especially when traveling that means I've always two copies of critical stuff. Doing it directly between devices enhances privacy vs. uploading to a server and keeping the info there.

[Norris]

Are you currently synching using an Exchange server? Is your calendar, tasks, contacts, etc all kept on Outlook on your PC?

[ArcticDiver]

I've heard that Android machines,like Samsung, now have available security, maybe even encryption so the original lack of security argument is no longer valid. True?

If true that takes away one of Blackberry's big selling point.

Norris:

Synch is direct via USB cable. Outlook on laptop to device.

[ArcticDiver]

No Windows Phone or Blackberry?

Given the make up of this group and all the marketing, especially by Blackberry, I expected a strong recommendation for one or both. Not that I'm complaining mind you. Dropping those makes the decision process simpler.

[spatman]

Blackberry jumped the shark a long time ago.

[CaptnJack]

Blackberry jumped the shark a long time ago.

They are trying to jump back on the shark with the BB10 lol
I still have and use mine, mostly because I am too cheap to upgrade. I figure its got a few more drops in it before it dies.

I think you are expecting too much security. Nothing is truly secure.

[Jeff Pack]

If I were to go with Samsung, whether S4 or Note, can I synch directly with my laptop? Battery life?

Note 2 has awesome battery life, as for syncing, you have USB storage connect, although not sure what you are trying to sync.

Presently I synch Calendar, Contacts, Memos/Notes, Tasks and sometimes music and pictures. Especially when traveling that means I've always two copies of critical stuff. Doing it directly between devices enhances privacy vs. uploading to a server and keeping the info there.

I use google calendar sync along with Outlook on my PC. All my calendar, contacts, and schedules sync to my google account.

As for pics/music, I dunno, ATT has digital locker which should work for that.

[Norris]

I personally use Google for all my contacts so they are kept on a "cloud" type scenario. Lose the phone, still have all my information. Lose phone AND computer, still have all my information. I like that. I use the calendar, tasks, and all.

I used to work for Windows Mobile and wasnt super impressed with anything they were doing. Not that it is a bad phone but squeaking by with about 3% of the market speaks for itself in my book.

Blackberry IS jumping sharks and school buses, but having their own app store and what not is kind of a gutsy move considering what iPhone and Android have out there. In my opinion they will be obsolete somewhat soon, or be forced to jump in bed with Android apps?

Also to add, I have had no problems with my iPhone 5 at all. Solid phone, just doesnt have the options that I have grown to like with my Android.

[Jeff Pack]

You will know hell has truly frozen over, when there's an Apple product in my house...

[ArcticDiver]

Blackberry jumped the shark a long time ago.

"jumped the shark"? What does that mean?