team

do what the thread title says.

I've been with iPhone for the last 4 years but my current optus plan is coming to an end.

I've been getting recurring issues with Optus, and so have a lot of friends, so I'm thinking of going Telstra & attempting to bundle
it with my home phone/Internet.

what phone should I get?

all I hear is iPhones are now shit in comparison to others. it seems like the big phones atm are a Nokia one, a samsung one, a htc one & iPhone 5. what is the ultimate choice, and why?

Samsung Galaxy series had features that the iPhone only recently gotten.

What do you want out of a phone?

If you want to use it as a mobile computer I'd highly recommend the Galaxy Note II. The combination of Telstra LTE, the stylus and 720x1080HD display mean you don't need to rely on using mobile sites. I've got large hands and it's an ideal size for me.

If you're just after social networking then I'd suggest the Galaxy SIII LTE, Motorola Razr Maxx (I think that's the top line in Australia) or the latest HTC Android.

Coming from an iPhone an ecosystem may not be a concern for you. But Windows and Android have some heavy integration across services that can be useful.

Tech specs wise, high end devices are very similar. I'd suggest head into a store, decide what OS you want then decide what handset feels good.

Android is the way to go i feel. After the latest Jelly Bean update though on the S3 im not so sure. I hope they will fix a few bugs in the next update, but in general, HTC and Samsung you cant go wrong.

Nexus 4 if it ever comes back in stock, otherwise S3 (that's if you're going Android)

Yeah, except the Nexus 4 isn't LTE capable. Though that may not be of concern. Handled one the other day, nice phone.

Forgot to add that the battery life of my Note II is incredible. I used my Galaxy SII moderately, got about 10 hours a day out of it. I'm using my Note II quite heavily the last couple of days, pretty much streaming music via 4G the entire time as well, and after getting probably 15 hours out of it I've got about 35% left before I recharge over night.

If you're in it for the features and functionality of the iphone, get yourself a Samsung Galaxy. It's like a one-up on the iphone.

Unless you're a hardcore user of the net on your phone I wouldn't go larger than a 4.3" display. I had a Note for a few months but it was just too darn big. It looks ridiculous holding it to your ear and feels enormous in the pocket (not just the phone), you will love the huge screen at first but once the novelty wears off you will resent having to carry a brick around all day. Web browsing is improved but still cumbersome, lots of pinch to zoom to read fine text, etc, and definitely too small as a tablet replacement. I've since downgraded to 4" Android and it's the right balance of screen real estate and ergonomics.

The new Nokia range is simply too heavy - the 920 is 185g compared to 110g for the iphone, you definitely wont approve of feeling like its pulling your pants down all day.

SG3 is a nice phone but has a cheap looking build quality and again the 4.8" screen size is too big for many. Quad core is cool but iPhone 5 A6 dual core processor performs as well as any the market.

IMo you can't go wrong with an iphone. It's light, thin, fast, superb build quality, easy to use, receives software updates for years after purchase and has awesome resale value. The major drawback is itunes which is ridiculously expensive.

As far as I can see the major advantage of Android is the ubiquity of handset and brand chocie, that you can root your phone to do things like overclock the processor, and download movies and other digital content at a much much much much cheaper price than Apple (often 100% cheaper...) but if you have a computer you can do that anyway.

If you want raw power and a big screen go the SG3 otherwise if you want something practical yet still delivers top performance go the iphone 5.

Can only speak highly of my Samsung Galaxy. It pwnz iPhone

Get a SAMSUNG GALAXY and stay away from all Crapple products.

Failing that, fall back upon this:



At least it's guaranteed never to break.

Keen to get my Galaxy S Relay.

-PB

I have a galaxy, I like it more than my old iPhone.

iPhone - but that's because the complete Apple ecosystem is a mile ahead of Google and Microsoft. Google don't do a proper full blown desktop operating system yet (Chrome doesnt cut it) and Microsoft are newcomers to tablets (Windows 8 needs more time). Apple have the phone, desktop and tablet bases covered. Additionally, Apple TV shits on the hit and miss of DLNA.

:lol:

No.

You're back. :lol:

The first Google (Chrome) laptop was only released by Samsung last year. It's not yet a serious player in the desktop market

As an IT Administrator I would love to hear more about this complete ecosystem you refer too.

-PB

It's the vibe of the whole thing, really.

Putting the major issue of stability aside (Windows :lol: Android :lol: ), do you think that Chrome is a more comprehensive operating system than OSX? Do you think Windows 8 for tablets has stood the test of time yet, like iOS?

Chrome; Chromebooks are still relatively new so just like W8 there time in the sun is yet to come however one could say that thanks to the inroads that things like the iPad have made, people will be able to adjust to touch technologies irrespective of their running OS.

Chromebooks are also aimed to fill an incredibly cheap price market aka the Netbook area. They're not aimed to go toe to toe with fully fledged laptops or even tablets (and this is shown by their sub $300 mark).

The reason why they will succeed given slightly more time is because the Google suite is a complete service and continues to grow daily (and is easy to manage with Google Domains) thanks to things like Mail, Maps and Drive (and to a degree G+ which with its integrated voice/video conferencing will continue to strongly compete with Skype and Facetime).

Not to mention the fact that Chromebooks/Netbooks are devices solely used for Internet based apps/programs with storage held in the Cloud and in that matter they can easily compete with any iPad etc. Plus Chrome is pretty much the browser of choice by any general to power browser now days and that along with Google and Android as a whole is brand recognition.

Short answer; yes I feel Chrome OS *is* as extensive as OSX solely because 99% of people who own iMacs and Macbooks are using them basically as a super expensive Facebook machine.

Windows 8; No it hasn't stood the test of time yet simply because it has only been out for a hand full of months, not even a full quarter yet. I believe it will easily do well because of the reason I mentioned previously; iPads have made people able to use things like touch devices and apps. Windows 8 RT is no different to iOS, it has the same features and so forth that iOS can offer just in a different coloured wrapper.

Windows 8 will succeed because it can blur the lines between tablets and laptops ("laplets" which some companies are making now) where they can have full blown OS applications running with their native Windows desktop with their detachable screens/keyboards. Microsoft's Surface tab is slightly overprices, but there are definitely decent offerings from OEM's like HP, Dell and Lenovo which are all exceptional machines.


If anything, Chrome OS and Windows 8 are a welcome change as it should/will push Apple to start innovating again (something they haven't done since the original iPhone was released) as people are starting to realise that they keep chucking up the same old shit with their devices.

-PB

Apologies to pv4 for thread spam.

-PB

Your post refers alot to future not present. In the present, Apple>>>>>>>Google/Microsoft.
Personally speaking, sooooooo glad I ditched my Windows PC for an iMac nearly 2 years ago. Daylight difference in day to day operation.

As for Android, soooooo glad I was able to get a full refund on my two day old Acer tablet running Honeycomb a couple of years ago. What a piece of shit Android was. But but but, Android is more stable than it used to be!! Sorry, I hear that Google still hasn't got it right with Jelly Bean.
Do not regret changing to Apple one bit.
And hence to address the original post, if integration amongst devices is important, then stick with iPhone. Apple is well ahead of Google and Microsoft.
The slogan of 'It. Just. Works.' is so true.

Personally, give me the non spoon fed OS of Android/ Windows 8 any day of the week.

Ok I shall rephrase for the present then.

Wtf is so hard to use about Android/Winmo 7? :idea:

Sorry oz but you sound like the typical French cafe Apple hipster.

Give me technical reasons.

Actually don't, this will turn into the usual Apple V Everyone bla bla bla shit that happens so very often.

pv4, go to a phone shop, get your hands on as many models as you can and make an informed judgement based of non-biased web reviews and prices.

Done.

-PB

Ozboy is just your standard apple fanboy. Craps on and on about how good Apple is, but can't tell you why other than "it just is".

What I see here is a bunch of people that have used both iPhone and Android devices and praising the android devices, whereas ozboy only knows the apple "ecosystem" he lives in.

I'd be inclined to take PB's advice on the matter. Neckbeards know their tech.

It doesn't crash. Pretty good reason.

Just because yours doesn't crash doesn't mean they don't. I've never had any issues with android crashing. My ipod on the other hand...

There's also the durability of the iphone. The number of people I see complaining about cracked screens and all that jazz is insane.

Ever used Winpho7?

Never crashes.

-PB

Got enough insight from Whirlpool forum posts about Android phones to not touch with a barge pole.

cheers guys

i'm leaning towards the galaxy.

i'm really not a big fan of mac, the only reason i went iphone in the first place was i was bored one day, rang optus and said "i was wondering if i could get a new phone", they said "actually, you're eligible for a new phone. do you want a black or white iphone?" and 2 days later an iphone was in my mailbox. didn't get signed up for two more years or had to sign anything, was quite random. then when i upgraded from ihpone 3 to 4 (with my new plan), it was just easier to stick iphone as none of the other phones really appealed to me.

but i've been hearing enough lately that it really seems the iphone is shithouse compared to others. plus i really got angry with the world when they decided to change the charger size, just to make people buy more accessories. hence why i am looking for a move away from iphone.

are the batteries in the iphone and galaxy pretty similar in size/power/longevity?

And a large percentage of those issues came from people fucking with the ROMs.

Happens when you jailbreak iPhones as well.

-PB

:lol: Pretty much every complaint about android on the whirlpool forums is from Linux users who have fucked with the OS.

Battery life is dependent entirely on the usage. My battery can last anywhere from 10 to 20 hours with android but I use it frequently.

i use my phone frequently. currently, after a full charge overnight and waking up around 5am-6am, i'll be getting close to 10% battery life come bed time on iphone 4.

The batteries are fairly comparable because they're both made by Samsung :lol:

The usage of the two phones are a lot different though.

Also, I run Custom ROM's and haven't had any issues, unless I use beta builds or the like. Another big positive for Android imo.

Yeah, given that the iphone doesn't have multi-tasking it should have a slightly lower battery use, but I hear a few complaints about the iphone battery life.

Mum has a SGS 2, only a couple of months old. Would touch an app icon and the app wouldn't open. Effing useless.
She ditched it and returned to her several year old iPhone 3G :lol:

See, my friend has an iPhone 3gs which does the same thing. Obviously Android is better then.

although i didn't want to get caught up in teh slinging match, i've had a fair few issues with my iphone:

every now & then it won't slide to open - sometimes even when i'm receiving a call.

i can't hang up on people - when i click end call it says call ended, screen goes to the home screen, but then the green bar up the top of the screen saying you're still in a call comes up, and the timer is still going, and people are still on the end of the line (as if you're in a call and you press the button to see the menu at the same time - but all i've done is pressed end call). i have to wait for other people to hang up. when i finish talking to the mrs i genuinely have to say "no, you hang up" in a non-cute way.

sometimes i'll be surfing the net & sporadically, whether i'm connected to wifi or not, the screen will just black & send me to my home screen, and when i go back into safari my web page is no longer open.

i've taken the phone to several different phone shops, none of these issues have been solved by any phone refreshes/software updates/etc.

must mean android is way better, if i come to conclusions as easily as ozboy

I've seen that happen with multiple iphones. If it was a couple of months old it would have been covered by warranty...

:lol:

Yeah, I want the hassle of taking things back for warranty service after a couple of months, rather than it working in the first place...:lol: :lol: :lol:

Spend $600+ on a phone. Go back to 4 year old phone because validating a warranty is "too much effort" #-o ozboy logic.

Inability to understand the point of the post; Afro comprehension...:lol:

Could say the same thing to you. If something worth $600 isn't a motivating factor for you, you probably need to take a look at yourself.

Not my phone; still a comprehension problem...:lol:

I've used an iPhone, a Blackberry, and now on a HTC with Android. Honestly prefer the iPhone above the others, although I've only had this current HTC for a week or two. Blackberry is horrendous, avoid like the plague.

You know what I mean. If a person spends that kind of money on a phone and doesn't validate the warranty then that's their own fault for being a moron, not the phone company's fault.

What do you expect from old people who are technologically averse?

Not to buy top of the range smartphones :-" :-" :-" :-" :-" :-" :-"

This. And tbh, that only makes it worse. Spending $600 on something you don't understand.

Released over 18 months ago - tickets on Samsung much....

When she purchased it I can guarantee it would have been one of the top smartphones on the market, at least top 5. If that's not top of the range I dont know what is.

When the Galaxy S2 came out it was Samsung's flagship model.

Annnddddd this went exactly where I thought it would go.

Kudos to ozboy, I should of seen right through the failbait but I deciding to try and be reasonable but oh well.



-PB

Quote from Whirlpool user (no jail breaking):

"I'm back to using my iPhone after having so many problems with my Galaxy SIII, really it was a POS – laggy, buggy, large, headphone jack isn't working, the screen is nothing to jump up and down about (it's only bigger, but the quality isn't near anywhere as good as the retina display). The ONLY things the SIII had going for it is it's features – it's feature packed but when the phone is a laggy POS, there's no use having them there."

Just google "whirlpool iphone problems" :lol:

Not related to the OS, but I had a HTC Mozart for the last couple of years (just upgraded last month). The HTC amazed me with its ruggedness. It was dropped into a muddy creek while 4WDing (and I mean INTO the creek, not just on the bank of the creek). Another time it was in my pocket when I was utterly drenched in a downpour. Both times I figured it was stuffed - screen was all flickery and the colours were all over the place before it eventually wouldn't power on any more. In both cases, I left it to dry overnight (without much hope) and it was as good as new the next day. Gobsmacked.

you can do that with most phones . Try putting it in a bag of rice .