iPhone or Thunderbolt
richie72846
Contributor - Level 1

I'm eligible for my "new every 2" the 16th. of this month.  Was set on getting an iPhone until I read that a new phone from HTC is coming out supposedly this month. I know the Thunderbolt is a 4G phone, however Verizon doesn't have 4G in my area and I don't know when they will.  I'm wondering if I would be wasting my money by owning a 4G phone in an area that doesn't support it. Those of you that are much more experienced with these phones might be able to give me some advice. What would you do, get the iPhone or wait for the Thunderbolt to come out ???

 

richie

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Re: iPhone or Thunderbolt
ZipTurtle
Contributor - Level 1

If you don't have 4G in your area, it doesn't make much sense getting a 4G phone.

 

If you are looking at a Droid, I'd look at the Droid Incredible instead.

 

I'm not a fan of iPhone as I don't care for iTunes etc... have some family members who thing the iPhone is the greatest though.

 

 

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Re: iPhone or Thunderbolt
enyalius
Contributor - Level 1

I agree with every point that Zip made, and have a few more things to add.

 

First off, consider that this will be the last time you get to use your new every two discount.  Verizon has pulled the plug on this program, so once you use it this time you can never use it again.  If your current phone still works fine for what you need it to do, it might be worth holding off until either 4G is available in your area (and Verizon actually has 4G phones out) or you find a phone that you just can't live without.

 

Also, keep in mind that the annual discount option is dead, as well.  That means that whatever phone you do decide to get, you will be stuck with for the next 20 or so months as the option to pay the $20 extra to upgrade every 13 months at 2 year pricing will no longer be possible (i.e. you will end up paying full retail ($400+) for any phone that you want to get before before you are able to get discounted pricing at the end of your contract).

 

Bottom line, make sure that whatever phone you do get is worth it to you and that you will be happy with it for the next two years.

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Re: iPhone or Thunderbolt
richie72846
Contributor - Level 1

Thanks Guys,

You make some very good points. I did not know that new every 2 was about to end for everyone.  Also, I went to the Verizon store today and held the Thunderbolt, I was amazed at how heavy it is. I also looked at the Incredible. Now I'm torn between the Fascinate and the Incredible.

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Re: iPhone or Thunderbolt
enyalius
Contributor - Level 1

Yeah, I was a yearly upgrader, so I was pretty sad to see that annual deal go away, myself.  Oh, well.

 

Anyway, if it's between the Samsung Fascinate and the HTC Incredible, I would suggest the Incredible, personally.  

 

While the Samsung Galaxy S phones have some beautiful screens, the Fascinate just isn't up to snuff, in my opinion.  It shipped with only 2GB of internal storage, which is a disappointment to me.  Also, Verizon decided to tweak the Fascinate to make it 'better', replacing the default search (usually Google) with Bing, locking down navigation to their pay service instead of the free Google Navigation, and other things.  According to friends who have owned the device, this made for a very buggy experience for them.  Verizon may have fixed these issues (and others) in the intervening months, however, so it may be worth another look.  If you are interested in seeing some reviews of the Fascinate, here is a link to ZDNet's review (which links to others, as well).

 

As for the HTC Incredible, the only negative thing I have heard about it so far is the battery life.  My buddy ended up getting an extended life battery for his (which made it resemble a layer cake), but he has been extremely happy with it ever since.

 

Personally, I absolutely love my Droid X.  The MotoBlur sucks sometimes, but it's a fast, powerful phone and I've had a great time with it so far.  Do keep in mind, though, that both the phones you are considering are already fairly old (last year's hardware), and may not do the job for you over the next two years.  It's up to you and your individual use-case, but it might be worth waiting until the Thunderbolt, Bionic and other phones come out over the next few months so you can get in on the best and ride that out for the next 21 or so months.  

 

Good luck!

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Re: iPhone or Thunderbolt
JohnB_VZW
Verizon Employee

You can purchase the 4G phone even if you are not in a 4G area. The phone is 3G compatible and this way you will be ready when 4G does become available in your area. Also, if you travel to an area that is 4G you can take advantage of the 4G speeds.

 

Click here to get more information on 4G and when it will become available in your area.

 

Thanks

 

John B

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Re: iPhone or Thunderbolt
enyalius
Contributor - Level 1

John,

 

I guess my response to this would be: if 4G is not yet available in my area, will I still be paying for it?  It's well and good to have the ability to use the network if I happen to travel an area that sports it or if it happens to come to my area soon, but if I cannot use it on a daily basis (or fairly regularly, at least), will I be stuck paying for it until I can?

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Re: iPhone or Thunderbolt
richie72846
Contributor - Level 1

enyalius,

You said   >>As for the HTC Incredible, the only negative thing I have heard about it so far is the battery life.<< 

While I was at the Verizon store today the sales rep. said that it's a problem with all "droid" phones not just the Incredible.

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Re: iPhone or Thunderbolt
PJNC284
Master - Level 2

 


enyalius wrote:

 

While the Samsung Galaxy S phones have some beautiful screens, the Fascinate just isn't up to snuff, in my opinion.  It shipped with only 2GB of internal storage, which is a disappointment to me.  Also, Verizon decided to tweak the Fascinate to make it 'better', replacing the default search (usually Google) with Bing, locking down navigation to their pay service instead of the free Google Navigation, and other things.  According to friends who have owned the device, this made for a very buggy experience for them.  Verizon may have fixed these issues (and others) in the intervening months, however, so it may be worth another look.  If you are interested in seeing some reviews of the Fascinate, here is a link to ZDNet's review (which links to others, as well).

 


 

 

how is 2GB not enough? And It also comes with a 16GB MicroSD card.  Hardware wise, the Fascinate blows the incredible away.  And you should probably actually own the device before making false statements.  Bing is the default but it really isn't that bad and if you use a 3rd party browser like Dolphin HD (far superior to the stock browser), searches in the address bar default to Google.  Navigation isn't limited to the paid VZ  Nav as you can download and use google maps with navigation perfectly fine. The shortcuts for the car dock link to bing search and vz nav but there are more customizable dock replacement in the market.      

 

The only downside is Samsung's cruddy software support for their US devices but 2.2 can easily be had.  I will say that SenseUI is years ahead of Touchwiz but Touchwiz is a close second in usability and stability.  That said, I probably wouldn't get anything in the current lineup with the devices that are slated to come this year as for most it'll just lead to buyer's remorse and complaining.  

 

 


richie72846 wrote:

enyalius,

You said   >>As for the HTC Incredible, the only negative thing I have heard about it so far is the battery life.<< 

While I was at the Verizon store today the sales rep. said that it's a problem with all "droid" phones not just the Incredible.


 HTC's are notorious for poor battery life due to the small batteries they cram in them.  The others offer decent battery life but it's no flip phone, that's for sure. 

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Re: iPhone or Thunderbolt
enyalius
Contributor - Level 1

PJNC,

 

I didn't make any false statements; these were all true while my friends owned the phone (they all pretty much ditched it a month or so after their puchase).  Two gigs of onboard storage is not enough for those of us who like to install lots of apps while allowing your system to function at peak performance by providing a lot of RAM, as putting apps on an SD card isn't supported in Android 2.1.  While it is true that you can get 2.2 for the Fascinate, it constitutes a void of warranty.  You and I might know how to get it back to stock if we need to, but messing with the OS on a phone isn't for everyone (and shouldn't be a requirement to enjoy a device, in my opinion).  Neither should you have to install third party apps to enjoy some of the features that others enjoy out of the box.  I think, as I re-read this, though, that this is more a commentary on Android fragmentation than anything else.

 

I do concede, by the way, that it is unwise to take advice from a person who has never owned the device.  I was only trying to relay the experiences of my friends, but this is no substitute for first hand experience.

 

Anyway, I guess the Fascinate is a good phone now :smileywink:  Which is great, because I really like Samsung as a hardware manufacturer.

 

As for "all Android devices having battery issues": 

I guess this is true to some extent.  I can't get through a full working day while listening to podcasts and browsing to sites on a single charge on my Motorola Droid X.  Still, while comparing my battery life to that of my friend, mine does seem to have slightly better performance.

 

Either way, you need to decide if you'll be OK living with 2010 hardware until 2013.  With the Incredible, even Fascinating pace (see what I did there?) that these phones are being beefed up and feature loaded, it's hard enough to be happy (for me) with a brand new, top of the line device, let alone a year old device when new phones are on the cusp of being released.

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