smart phones and pads ...?

**flashfletch** · 10-09-11, 02:21 PM

I have been 'getting by' with an old Nokia 6120C for a ffeeww.. years now and feel that its time to bite the bullet and go for a smart phone, and possibly a tablet as well.

Trouble is I'm not sure whether to go for the fruity variety, or with an Android. I have been an Apple person for a long time, and feel drawn to the iPad and iPhone from experience with quality and a long-standing history of reliability and performance.

But I'm not rusted on enough to not realise that the new player on the block might be a better way to go ...

What I'm after is some real, unbiased advice on the good and bad of both pathways, and you Austechers will have some good advice for me, I'm sure.

I'm not after people 'singing the praises' of either variety, but some down to earth advice about the good, the bad and the ugly about both. Maybe even some links to other places that have done a similar review in the recent past ...

Thanks in advance.

flashfletch

**hughdman** · 10-09-11, 02:42 PM

If you state, what will be your primary uses, it'll be easier.

**roguefan99** · 10-09-11, 02:51 PM

Do you like the look and the feel of the iphone? Do you wish to have the hardware of the iphone? If so then get the iphone?

Go into a store and try them out, they are all essentially the same thing. I like to muck with software and customise a phone to make it look the way I want..... therefore Android is the choice for me. I also wanted a hardware keyboard, so definately no iphone model there.

Remember if you want just a phone, with good battery life.... then do not buy a smartphone. An oldschool phone may be the better choice for some people. (I use data only on mine, and rarely the phone functions)

**flashfletch** · 10-09-11, 06:24 PM

Good point hughdman - sorry, should have thought of that ...

I currently use my Nokia as a phone and a music store - I work on my own outdoors a lot and use a bluetooth earpiece to keep myself from going gaga. I haven't used it for web stuff as the screen is too small to be useful, but (with a decent plan) would consider that with a more functional unit. I'm not a social networker (only joined Faceook about a week ago!), but would find a use for the phone as a navigator, etc.

As for the tablet, I would see that as a small unit to save me carrying my laptop around with me. A little word processing, but more for easy web access and reading.

Of course, all the above may change as I discover just what I CAN do with more up-to-date technology ...

Thanks for the replies.

flashfletch

**hughdman** · 10-09-11, 07:12 PM

As rogue said these smartphone chew thru the battery, so listening to you mp3s and the other things these phones do will deplete your battery very quickly ie less than a day.

The tablets/ipad won't ever takeover the laptop as these things are only really suitable for doing one thing at a time.

Web access they are great,watching movies awesome, they are ok for reading.

I have always been a right tool for the right job person, ie my phone doesn't have mp3s on it, I have an ipod for listening to music.

I myself was thinking of getting a tablet but decided if i was it'll have to be one which has windows on it. ie with word processing, it's not much point doing it if the receiver can't open the file.

I do use the phone as a navigator though as with my tomtom I'm scared one day I'll leave it in the car and some tool will smash my window to get it.

For reading buy a kindle.

**flashfletch** · 10-09-11, 09:37 PM

My Nokia needs recharging every day too, so that won't be a problem. But need to have phone that will play my music too - don't want to have to carry around phone AND music player all day. And can answer phone with bluetooth and keep working without having to get things out of pockets, etc.

Good point about the OS on the tablet, but wouldn't OpenOffice run on the iPad/or ...? Something else I'll have to look at ...

I do like the idea of being able to tweek the OS to suit my own preferences ...

Damn! Not getting much closer yet.

**hughdman** · 10-09-11, 09:58 PM

Open Office is a No on the Ipad, as is tweaking the OS. The Iphone/Ipad OS is very closed.

I would start with an Android maybe the Huawei 8650 as the members here seem to like this particular phone.

I went with the SGS2 from an iphone and like the size of the screen, also the high res as well, ie I can use Teamviewer without squinting.

The little notebook might be a goer ie they are only about $200.

Food for thought.

I reckon Ipad/Tablets are just good for wank factor, in the real world they are still to small type on, but too big to carry about.

**fromaron** · 11-09-11, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by hughdman

I reckon Ipad/Tablets are just good for wank factor, in the real world they are still to small type on, but too big to carry about.

People are buying bluetooth keyboards to go with pads, turning them into netbooks with crippled os functionalities, LOL.

**roguefan99** · 12-09-11, 08:09 PM

LOL Fromaron, companies are making keyboards for the tablets out of the box..... ASUS Transformer.

But the best one overall is Yep thats a mouse for a touchscreen.... okay its a normal bluetooth mouse with a higher price.

Instead of getting a tablet and carrying that around get an ultralight computer, they are nearly as thin and they have a keyboard you can type on.

Music doesn't use that much battery on my Milestone 2 with CM7, its the screen that kills it. The Galaxy S II is a nice phone and a recommend from me (tempted but I like my keyboard), plus you get good navigation software with it (Google Maps will send you up the wrong road!)

**fromaron** · 12-09-11, 08:36 PM

+1 roguefan99. That was exactly my point.
I enjoy my Toshiba netbook with built-in 3g modem whenever I am on a road. Win7 gives me anything I need.
When I want something small I use my Android smartphone.

**flashfletch** · 12-09-11, 09:06 PM

Thanks everyone. From the tenor of your replies I am beginning to feel that although the Apple ones might be very popular, the Android units are probably more versatile.

Then the question becomes - which android phone??? It needs to have reasonable web ability, room for ~20 hours of music, and good signal strength as I work out in regional Victoria where even Telstra doesn't always go (no, I'm not after a satellite phone, just a good smartphone). There have been a couple mentioned, although its difficult to find much on the Huawei (from a Google search anyway).

Also, I have started hearing a bit about viruses/malware on phones. Are there any anti-v apps around that are vaguely useful? Or is that side of it still in its infancy?

flashfletch

**Gerbertron** · 12-09-11, 10:04 PM

All the android phones Ive seen can take micro sd cards for added memory so lots of mp3's wont be a problem, but check that the one your looking at does take memory cards.

If your out of reception then turning the 3g off on the phone will imporve battery life, phones with 3g left on can go flat quickly when searching for a network. You can do that in the phone options or you can download a screen widget to make it easier and faster.

There's a few free anti virus software out for android phones. Im not sure of their usefullness

**fromaron** · 12-09-11, 10:14 PM

Originally Posted by flashfletch

Then the question becomes - which android phone??? It needs to have reasonable web ability, room for ~20 hours of music, and good signal strength as I work out in regional Victoria where even Telstra doesn't always go (no, I'm not after a satellite phone, just a good smartphone). Also, I have started hearing a bit about viruses/malware on phones. Are there any anti-v apps around that are vaguely useful? Or is that side of it still in its infancy?

As far as web ability all smartphones nowdays are quite reasonable and that is only due to their software installed.
20+ hours of music is quite easy, just get yourself a smartphone compatible with descent size SD card (32 GB will cover all your needs and even more

).
Signal strength does depend on the phone hardware and radio installed (in case of Android ones) but more than that the telco itself is the biggest problem. You probably find yourself struggling a bit in the rural areas. If you moving from place to place then Telstra might be your best bet, I am afraid. Make sure when selecting phone select the one which is compatible with the Telco 3g or NextG bands otherwise you will be stuck with slow 2g internet.
As far as viruses and malware concerns I never really worried about. Just be carefull what you download/install on your phone. Another thing is the Android is basically linux system and I am yet to see big viral attack on the linux. People which are paranoid about malwares on the phones can install AV program, there are few of them on the market.
Disclaimer

: I am talking from Android phones point of view, never touched iToys.

**roguefan99** · 13-09-11, 11:38 PM

Originally Posted by Gerbertron

There's a few free anti virus software out for android phones. Im not sure of their usefullness

Useless.... Yes effectively useless. If you do want it get Lookout, its probably the best but dont pay for it (there is a subscription for it but you do not need it). Just remember who is telling you about the malware (BTW its the makers of Lookout usually), which is why its overblown.

If you know your bands you will be using (i.e. if you are Optus only) then you can just go for a dual band model, but if not then a quad band model (like Galaxy S II) may be a better choice when it comes to signal strength. I will note that when I've been messing with basebands on my phone I have slightly improved the strength but not that much. I dont think you can beat physics in the end. Huawei phones are fairly good, they are made by the same companies that make those USB sticks you see for 3G. They know what they are doing, but they are also made to a price point (low internal memory)