Replacement for iPhone 3G?

[kb01]

I just found out that my employer is buying me a new phone. I currently have an iPhone 3G, which I like but is a real dog with the new OS. The only requirement for the new phone is that it must be for AT&T.

Using the iPhone 4 as the benchmark, what else is out there and how do they compare against the iPhone?

I played around a little bit with an HTC Inspire 4G and it seemed like a very good phone. It seemed similar to an iPhone 4 but did not have a front facing camera, although the screen was bigger (but lower resolution?).

What really impressed me about my iPhone 3G is the quality of the screen glass -- I've used it for 3 years without a case or screen protector and there isn't a single scratch. Is it reasonable to expect the same with other phones on the market today?

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: kb01
but did not have a front facing phone,

Sorry, did not have what?

 

[kb01]

Front facing camera. Sorry, late night with a baby.

 

[webfors]

I have a friend who works for a mobile phone app company and they are pretty hot over the new Windows 7 mobile phones. I haven't played with one much, but the one I did was very slick and presumably jacks into a corporate windows network nicely.

I don't know about pricing, but I suspect they are more affordable than the iPhone.

 

[Trav]

I have the HTC 4G and its a nice unit but no front facing camera as you point out.
Its hard to beat apples build quality,maybe an iphone 4?

I did root the 4G and installed gingerbread for the desire which is the model the phone really is before AT&T bloat it up,
it makes a world of difference.
If you can forgo the front facing camera the 4G can be a great phone.

 

[d00df00d]

AFAIK, the iPhone 4 offers the smoothest, most coherent, most consistent user experience of any phone on the market. If your only gripe with the 3G is the speed and you like it otherwise, you probably will love the 4, plain and simple. It is a truly excellent device.

The only possible -- and I emphasize "possible" -- issue with the 4 is dropped calls. My mother, wife, brother, and several of my friends have iPhone 4s; some have a higher-than-normal number of dropped calls, but others don't. Probably a YMMV thing. Either way, if this is a make-or-break thing for you, you might want to get a 3GS. It's not as nice as the 4 (obviously) but still much faster than a 3G.

I use a Blackberry Torch, mostly because I want my phone to be a phone first and foremost; high call quality is of paramount importance to me, and I want a real keyboard and the most direct possible access to my contacts. Its inherently lighter bandwidth usage is a plus. On the flip side, I am under no illusions: in terms of speed and multimedia abilities, the Torch seems to be a full generation behind the iPhone 4. And, of course, its app market is practically nonexistent by comparison. I love it for my own use, but YMMV.

The Achilles's heel of Android phones seems to be battery life, from what I can tell; all else seems to be quite favorable. I'm afraid I can't offer much beyond that.

I know virtually nothing about Windows Phone 7 phones, except that they probably are worth looking into if you have a PC with which to integrate it.

Good luck!

 

[kb01]

Thanks for the advice!

Regarding the iPhone 4, how well does the the front facing camera work in practice? We currently video Skype about once or twice a week on our laptops. Could we do the same thing with the iPhone?

The phone will be for work, so it needs to work out-of-the-box, with no rooting, jailbreaking, etc.

 

[UNC017]

IMO, any of the Android phones are more or less FUNCTIONALLY equivalent to an iPhone, but hardware quality is all over the map and you need to do your homework. As you have seen, its really hard to beat the iPhone for overall quality, ruggedness, and simple tactile feel. I've now got an iPhone 4, and I think its fantastic. The front-facing camera is really cool, and works well with the Skype app over the cellular network, and works FANTASTICALLY with Facetime over WiFi. The rear-facing camera is very high quality and you can do some neat stuff with the HDR option in low light or deep shadows. Its the first phone camera I've had where I can take pictures with it and then NOT later think "darn, I WISH I'd had a real camera." The LED "flash" is cool too.


FYI, you can speed your iPhone 3G up quite a bit by going to

Setings > General > Spotlight Search and un-checking EVERYTHING.

Turns out its the constant indexing that hogs so much of the processor on the iPhone 3G. Been there, done that.

 

[adamrc]

The iPhone 4 is the best phone I've ever used. The build quality is fantastic. The screen, camera and everything about it is stellar. Video conferencing works great on it as well. I have used it over FaceTime and Skype and the quality is pretty good.

 

[Nick R]

I have the Inspire 4G myself running the stock firmware/ROM and I love it. If I use the Task Killer I can get 2 days out of it if I keep use to a minumum. (without TK I can't even get a full day).

 

[kb01]

That's good to hear regarding battery life. The biggest impetus for me to get a new phone (besides work paying for it) is the battery life on my current phone is ~ 50% of what it was new.

I'll probably swing by AT&T and play with the phones again. I looked at a few Android phones and the Inspire 4G was the only one that didn't feel exceedingly "plasticy" and cheap. It felt significantly nicer than the Atrix, which I thought was the highest end model. I looked at a Samsung (Galaxy?) that felt the same way but it may have been lacking an internal battery.

The only feature on the iPhone 4 that I really like is the front facing camera. We have a new baby, so video Skyping with the grandparents is something we now do on a regular basis. My current iPhone's screen is incredibly scratch resistant, hopefully any new one would be too.

I'm not really a tech person, so it's probably silly to obsess about this stuff.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

with AT&T, +1 for Windows Phone 7. The Samsung has the AMOLED screen, it's great.

However, there are certain software limitations right now that make the WP7 a no-go...
-no connecting to hidden wireless networks
-certain SSL & email limits
-copy & paste. It might be on the device if you get one though.

All that being said, the iPhone 4 is still the king of the hill for ultimate usability, flexibility.

 

[kb01]

Thank you for all of the advice.

I just found out that I also have the option to switch to Verizon (our other offices use them, so we get the discounts either way).

Are their phones pretty much comparable to AT&T or is there a difference in what is available?

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

From what I've heard, you can't talk on the phone and use the internet at the same time on Verizon if that's important to you.

 

[The Critic]

I upgraded from the iPhone 4 to the Motorola Atrix. It was like going from a BMW 328i to a Mustang GT. The Atrix is faster, but the operating system lacks refinement and its clear that the developers were not as detail-oriented as the individuals who worked on iOS.

The iPhone 4 is definitely the better phone if you just want something that works and does the job. Also, if you can wait, there is probably a revised iPhone launching in early fall.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Originally Posted By: kb01
Thank you for all of the advice.

I just found out that I also have the option to switch to Verizon (our other offices use them, so we get the discounts either way).

Are their phones pretty much comparable to AT&T or is there a difference in what is available?


Verizon has better coverage where I work, so those who were Verizon customers bought them day 1.

Data speeds are simply not as fast as AT&T's network, embarrassingly so. Expect up to 1.5Mbps downloads, AT&T can push 2-3X that.
http://osxdaily.com/2011/02/03/verizon-iphone-vs-att-iphone-speed-test/

AT&T will see And as a previous poster stated, you can't do both at the same time. However, if you use Skype to talk on a regular wireless network (less than $3/month subscription) then technically you can talk and use data at the same time. This trick applies to iPod Touch units too.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: ToyotaNSaturn


Data speeds are simply not as fast as AT&T's network, embarrassingly so. Expect up to 1.5Mbps downloads, AT&T can push 2-3X that.
http://osxdaily.com/2011/02/03/verizon-iphone-vs-att-iphone-speed-test/



This is because of the underlying technology difference. EVDO is just not as fast as HSDPA that AT&T is currently using.

But in voice quality CDMA will be better than GSM.

 

[ToyotaNSaturn]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear

This is because of the underlying technology difference. EVDO is just not as fast as HSDPA that AT&T is currently using.

But in voice quality CDMA will be better than GSM.


Yeah, if your AT&T connection doesn't drop on you.

 

[d00df00d]

My AT&T connection is just fine as long as I'm not talking to anyone with an iPhone 4.

 

[wallyuwl]

I don't like iPhones. Too big and heavy. I still use a phone for a phone so I don't have a smart phone, but have used a good number of smart phones. Wife just got a Droid X, a year old or so but our contract wasn't up yet so we got a certified pre owned one for an acceptable price. Overall a better phone, IMO, than the iPhone.