Smart Phones, Tablets, Gadgets, etc....

[Geowhizzer]

My sister has one. Her kids love it.

Yeah, my wife got one for Christmas last year.  That basically means we have one for each of the kids if the son isn't engrossed enough on his iTouch.

[Sgt PSN]

We switched our family plan with AT&T to something they call "Next."  The long and short of it is that it's an unlimited talk/text plan with shared data among everyone on the plan.  When it comes to upgrading your phone, you no longer pay an upgrade fee.  Now you are more or less "renting to own" your phone and make monthly payments on it for.  How much you pay per month depends on the phone and how long of a commitment you make, but the average seemed to be right around $25. 

So I decided to test the waters outside of the iPhone world today and picked up the Samsung Galaxy S5.  Been playing with it for a couple hours and it's foreign as hell but familiar at the same time.  AT&T reduced the length of your trial period from 30 to 14 days, so I'm going to have to really get to know Droid (and Google Play and Samsung Kies) in a relatively short period of time. 

I like it so far, but I'm still working on getting it set up the way I want it so it's really too early to say what I actually think of it. 

Here's a pretty cool promo going on right now though......

If you purchase a Galaxy S5 (not sure what other phones, if any, this applies to), you get a $50 AMEX gift card.  If you want, you can use that $50 for the newest Samsung tablet (Tab 3 I think it's called).  It's roughly the size of an iPad mini.  Then you pay $10 a month to add it to your existing data plan.  Not a bad deal, imo.  I didn't bother grabbing the tablet today because I've got 2 weeks to decide if I want it.  So I'll play around with the phone and if I decide to keep it, I'll probably grab the tablet as well. 

If any of you have droid phones and can give me some tips on it, I'd appreciate it. 

[Rome]

switching to a samsung?  you farging iphone traitor.

diaf

[Sgt PSN]

Lol. I do feel a little dirty for switching because I've been very happy with my iPhone, but I want a bigger screen an Apple doesn't offer it yet. I hear the iPhone 6 is going to be comparable to bigger phones like the Galaxy, but I also know that it's going to be more expensive. When we switched plans, it knocked $50 off my bill each month, so even with the $25/mo I'm paying on this phone, I'm still saving money. The 5S would run me $33/mo so I'm guessing that's about the price the 6 will go for too.  Worst case scenario is I switch back to Apple in 18 mo.

[Diomedes]

Worst case scenario is I switch back to Apple in 18 mo and tell you idiots all about it.

[Sgt PSN]

Probably.

[Sgt PSN]

Android users help me out here.....I've noticed that a lot of apps want to have access to things like my phone calls, contact list, calendar, and other things that seem completely unnecessary for an app to have access to.  And these are what should be reputable apps like CBS Sports, for example.  Is this all for data mining or are there legit reasons why things like a sports app would need to access that type of info?

[Seabiscuit36]

Thats why the apps are free vs istore stuff.  More money to be made in data sales of your user base than charging you 5-10 per app.  The NSA loves google play i'm sure

[Sgt PSN]

So you're saying that Droid apps are more intrusive than their iTunes counterparts?  That might be a deal breaker for me.

[smeags]

big brother is watching no matter what OS you use.

[Sgt PSN]

That much I know. I'm just wondering if Droid apps are more intrusive than iPhone. If the free CBS Sports app has access to my contacts on Droid, does the free iTunes version have it as well?

[LBIggle]

root your device and use droidwall.  also get an lg g2.  awesome camera.. less bloatware.. don't need to use kies.. true plug and play on a pc.  i had a s2 and s3 and always had a problem.

[smeags]

i'm due for an upgrade in a couple months. i'll keep the lg g2 in mind. never had an issue with my s3 but im not locked in on the s5.

[LBIggle]

the g3 i assume should be coming out by then but i haven't heard much about it.  the ease of use and quickness make it a winner for me.  it doesn't have 22 features that are neat but will never be used, but the ones it does have are usable like the quick pull up camera if you need to get a quick shot.   it also doesn't have front buttons (double tap turns it on).

[Seabiscuit36]

Giving this Tmobile trial a go
http://explore.t-mobile.com/test-drive-free-trial?cm_mmc=Purchase-_-Display-_-Revere-_-Revere&csdids=109139128_282624201_58451495_998766

I have no idea what Tmobile's coverage map is in reality.  Looking at their map i have a perfect signal at my house, where as OpenSignal's application says it sucks.  I've been a Verizon user since the days of them Aquiring Cellular One.  But 160 per month for 900 minutes, maybe 100 of which i use, just is a waste.  Add into that I have Unlimited Data, which the second that I make a change, it's gone forever.  It'll be interesting to see what Tmobiles coverage really is.  Priced out a similar family plan  and it'll save me 60 bucks per month.