Just got my first smartphone (finally!)

[Klutch9]

I held out for as long as I could, but I finally gave in. I got myself a Droid RAZR MAXX HD. Costco had it for only $100, and that included the usual travel case, phone sleeve, and combination car/wall charger that they include. But it also came with a free-by-mail GPS windshield mount (which will work well for the obd2 sender and app I'll be getting soon) and a phone case. I'm 23, and resisted the smartphone urge for a long time, simply because I didn't need one. But lately I've been in a lot of situations where one would've really come in handy. So far, I love this phone!

On another,slightly unrelated note, what obd2 app & sender do you all recommend? It'll be used mainly on my Focus, if that matters.

 

[spasm3]

They do some neat things, but i am still using my flip phone, just don't need, or want these giant phones.

 

[Klutch9]

I used to think they were giant, too, but this phone feels just right and fits in my pocket nicely. The 4.7" screen also gives plenty of visibility as far as I'm concerned. However, the 5.5" Samsung Note 2 my buddy has is just absurdly huge. It's bigger than my Garmin GPS!

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Klutch9
I used to think they were giant, too, but this phone feels just right and fits in my pocket nicely. The 4.7" screen also gives plenty of visibility as far as I'm concerned. However, the 5.5" Samsung Note 2 my buddy has is just absurdly huge. It's bigger than my Garmin GPS!


The note is insane. It feels like you are holding a tablet. I really like my S3.

 

[DevilsRule]

Good luck with it. I am going to hold out until basic phones are no longer sold. I cant bring myself to pay an extra $30 month.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: Klutch9
I used to think they were giant, too, but this phone feels just right and fits in my pocket nicely. The 4.7" screen also gives plenty of visibility as far as I'm concerned. However, the 5.5" Samsung Note 2 my buddy has is just absurdly huge. It's bigger than my Garmin GPS!


The note is insane. It feels like you are holding a tablet. I really like my S3.


My buddy is a big guy, so that makes the phone look a little less huge. But not much.

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: OVERKILL
Originally Posted By: Klutch9
I used to think they were giant, too, but this phone feels just right and fits in my pocket nicely. The 4.7" screen also gives plenty of visibility as far as I'm concerned. However, the 5.5" Samsung Note 2 my buddy has is just absurdly huge. It's bigger than my Garmin GPS!


The note is insane. It feels like you are holding a tablet. I really like my S3.


I even find the S3 big. I like the size of my Rugby Pro..

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: DevilsRule
Good luck with it. I am going to hold out until basic phones are no longer sold. I cant bring myself to pay an extra $30 month.

Me too. Currently I paid about $110 for 4 phones(mine+wife+2kids) with 700 minutes plus unlimited text. With smart phones my monthly rate will be up to $230-240 or more, no thanks.

 

[Stelth]

I have a Galaxy Note. I love it. I do a lot of things with it; the other day I looked up a wiring diagram for a furnace I was working on.

 

[Pete]

Be aware that both AT&T and Verizon Wireless offer many employee discounts. Unfortunately, these are generally for larger companies' employees, and only on the base phone service (not data or text), yet the discount can be 10-25% per month (I save $22 per month). (Independent contractors are out of luck.)

 

[NHGUY]

Samsung Galaxy at Straight Talk is $45 per month,thats less than some are paying for a regular plan.And its just amazing at what one of these phones can do...there's an app for everything! You can walkie talkie with an app,Skype with the app,watch live sporting events,get instant weather.....

 

[[email protected]]

Cool! Enjoy the new phone. Go to youtube and look up videos on tips/tricks for it. Google for recommendations on the best apps. You'll love the phone.

 

[stranger706]

Originally Posted By: Klutch9
On another,slightly unrelated note, what obd2 app & sender do you all recommend? It'll be used mainly on my Focus, if that matters.


I use the Torque app with the BAFX ELM 327 from Amazon. Had the best reviews and its been out for awhile.

Mine works great in both a 2002 Honda Accord and 2012 Ford Escape.

 

[beanoil]

Too bad for your first "smart" phone you got a dumb one. The droid platform is power hungry, not stable, crashes often, and you'll be rebooting and killing apps all the time. I've got a Galaxy I have to use for work (company issue) and an iPhone for personal so I do have experience with the 2 platforms. When my Galaxy died (and it took Sprint 4 days to fix it) I used my iPhone for the company apps. I got a call from IT. Not one of those "WTH are you doing calls?", but a "how are you staying logged in to the company server so long" calls. No one has ever been able to stay logged in mobile for over an hour. You are at 36 now...IMO, but Droid is not a "smart phone" by any stretch.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: beanoil
Too bad for your first "smart" phone you got a dumb one. The droid platform is power hungry, not stable, crashes often, and you'll be rebooting and killing apps all the time.

While this may have been only partially true for my old Droid 2 Global, it's absolutely untrue for my current Razr M. This thing is rock solid and the battery lasts a long time.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: Pete
Be aware that both AT&T and Verizon Wireless offer many employee discounts. Unfortunately, these are generally for larger companies' employees, and only on the base phone service (not data or text), yet the discount can be 10-25% per month (I save $22 per month). (Independent contractors are out of luck.)


The prepaid at T-Mobile for $30/month is a better deal.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: Klutch9
I held out for as long as I could, but I finally gave in. I got myself a Droid RAZR MAXX HD. Costco had it for only $100, and that included the usual travel case, phone sleeve, and combination car/wall charger that they include. But it also came with a free-by-mail GPS windshield mount (which will work well for the obd2 sender and app I'll be getting soon) and a phone case. I'm 23, and resisted the smartphone urge for a long time, simply because I didn't need one. But lately I've been in a lot of situations where one would've really come in handy. So far, I love this phone!

On another,slightly unrelated note, what obd2 app & sender do you all recommend? It'll be used mainly on my Focus, if that matters.


I think most people use the Torque appl. for OBDII. They have cheap OBDII adapters on EBAY for $25, but the better ones are $100. However I might try a cheap adapter first and see if it suit your purpose. But keep in mind you will not have a 15" screen for OBDII like my PC has.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: beanoil
Too bad for your first "smart" phone you got a dumb one. The droid platform is power hungry, not stable, crashes often, and you'll be rebooting and killing apps all the time.

While this may have been only partially true for my old Droid 2 Global, it's absolutely untrue for my current Razr M. This thing is rock solid and the battery lasts a long time.




So far, the battery on mine also lasts a really long time. It has a supposed 32-hour talk time battery life (optimistic, like all battery life ratings). But that is compared to only 12 hours of talk time for the normal RAZR HD. The MAXX that I have is identical in every way, just with a much bigger battery. As for the obd2 app, I've read good things about the Torque app, and I think I'm going to go with that one. I'll do some research on the actual sending unit before I buy one of those. A friend of mine uses the Torque app with a cheap $25 sender from Amazon and has been happy with it.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: beanoil
Too bad for your first "smart" phone you got a dumb one. The droid platform is power hungry, not stable, crashes often, and you'll be rebooting and killing apps all the time. I've got a Galaxy I have to use for work (company issue) and an iPhone for personal so I do have experience with the 2 platforms. When my Galaxy died (and it took Sprint 4 days to fix it) I used my iPhone for the company apps. I got a call from IT. Not one of those "WTH are you doing calls?", but a "how are you staying logged in to the company server so long" calls. No one has ever been able to stay logged in mobile for over an hour. You are at 36 now...IMO, but Droid is not a "smart phone" by any stretch.


Given my experience with Android goes beyond a single anecdote with one model of phone from one manufacturer, I can say with some authority that your "evaluation" of Android is not only far from typical but indicative of a faulty device that should have been replaced under warranty.

Essentially what you've done here would be akin to me:

1. Saying that the iPhone is power hungry because I've had experience with one draining the battery in a couple of hours (had something in the OS go sideways that required a full wipe to resolve BTW, the actual battery was fine)

2. Saying that the iPhone is unstable because I've had one that would randomly reboot by itself and crash apps, hard lock...etc. But wait, that ended up being defective hardware!

And with regards to phones staying logged into our servers, there is no discernible difference between platforms. I know this because I manage the stuff. Depending on what it is being accessed and how (VPN, web-App....etc) it could likely be a platform-specific timeout setting.

All the mobile platforms have their merits and detractors. And all the smartphone manufacturers produce the odd defective device. Android isn't junk because of your bad Galaxy anymore than IOS is junk because I had an iPhone with a core OS problem.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: Pete
Be aware that both AT&T and Verizon Wireless offer many employee discounts. Unfortunately, these are generally for larger companies' employees, and only on the base phone service (not data or text), yet the discount can be 10-25% per month (I save $22 per month). (Independent contractors are out of luck.)


I am an independent contractor for a large corporation. I manage to get their discount as many times as simple email address in the organization is the validation for getting one. They sent you an expiring link to then enter info and then apply the discount. I did this 9 years ago and have save 22% since 2004/Verizon. They never check when you leave either.