She should have tried Windows Phone. Same benefits of iPhone with choice of hardware
Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone
91–100 of 211 posts
Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
Only if they have a plan that doesn't include texting, which is vanishingly rare now.
Both t-mobile and verizon offer this. And I havent checked the others. Ive never paid for text and have incoming SMS's blocked too.
Oh yeah, my guess is that all carriers offer no-texting plans, I just mean it's getting rarer that people choose them.
Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone
#93That was pretty misleading. Not Android was the culprit, but the carrier's crapware. I never understood why people would not actually buy their phones and then decide on a contract or prepaid to go with it? I even bought mine off Ebay in excellent condition and almost full warranty (2 years in Germany) so much cheaper that I still have not reached the difference to the "normal full or subsidized price" with my monthl…
Every Android phone on 3 carriers I have used has random crashes and initially laughable battery life. If the only option you have is "carrier crapware", guess what? It sucks. And i'm never paying $500+ for an unlocked phone (I would buy something that is actually functionally useful like a Sony Ericsson)
Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone
#94TL;DR: not Android is the problem, but the vendor crapware. As a rule, always only buy Nexus phones.
Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone
#95The real issue here is not the hardware and not Android, but what device manufacturers and network providers cram down the throats of their customers. Custom UI enhancements/replacements, useless bundled apps that can't be removed, and the removal of standard, OS-delivered features. None of this should have been new or a surprise to the writer's mom, who was coming to Android from a feature phone. Feature phones have…
The battery life and "scorching hot" temperature sound like hardware issues, but I doubt they're representative of all Android phones - just this model.
In my experience doing anything with constant data flow when you have bad reception can turn battery into heat amazingly quickly. Otherwise it works just fine.
I do wish having an idle skype didn't send packets constantly, though.
Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone
#96I recently got the Charge (from Amazon Wireless, saved a couple hundred bucks), and I've had none of the problems listed in this article. This is my first Android phone, I came from an iPhone, and I've found the experience to be very pleasant so far. Perhaps I just "don't know better", but I'm still happy.
It sounds like this guy's experience was "This phone is different than my phone, and I can't do things the way I was expecting to. It sucks." It's like someone sitting at a computer running a different OS then they use, and saying "this sucks, I can't figure out where X is. In my OS X is right here, but it's not right here now. This OS is crap". It's also like someone switching from Office 2003 to Office 2007 and hating it because the menus are different.
Also, I feel like everyone overreacts to the installed apps you "can't" get rid of, and not just on this phone, but any phone including the iPhone (I'm looking at you Stocks app). I don't like or use them either, but it's not like they're getting the way, preventing you from doing anything, or taking up any noticeable amount of the phone's resources. For me, it's more frustrating to not have the option of removing them, then actually having them on my phone.
Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone
#97That was pretty misleading. Not Android was the culprit, but the carrier's crapware. I never understood why people would not actually buy their phones and then decide on a contract or prepaid to go with it? I even bought mine off Ebay in excellent condition and almost full warranty (2 years in Germany) so much cheaper that I still have not reached the difference to the "normal full or subsidized price" with my monthl…
From what I understand, the mobile phone system in the EU works differently than in the US. In the US, almost all phones are bought at carrier-subsidized prices - i.e. much cheaper than buying the phone standalone. The catch is that you have to sign for a 2-year contract with that carrier to get the subsidized prices. The prices for mobile phone plans in the US are much higher because they include the phone subsidy.…
One more fact for your collection: Verizon even subsidizes its prepaid phones. One option I was given to replace a prepaid out-of-warranty feature phone was paying $200 for a new one--though they sell the exact same model with new service for $40. (Ultimately I took a prior-generation refurbished phone for $50.)
Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
But this what you explained is exactly the problem with Android. With iPhone, carriers, phone manufacturers and such are not allowed to install their crapware/bloatware on the phone. With Android, they can do whatever they want, and the only sane option for an end user is to root the phone.
The only sane option?! Give me a break. Just get a phone "with Google" and use the pure Google experience and it's a breeze. All of this spinning and complaining about what OEMs are doing to an open source OS is like complaining about the DIY boxcar racer you bought and put together turned out like shit. (and you want your money back.)
LOL, that is a terrible analogy. If I bought and built a boxcar and I did it wrong then yes my fault, I'm not building the phone, the manufacturer is, so as a consumer I can expect a certain level of quality.
Most consumers don't know the difference between Google-made Android phones and the others. You're missing the core point which is that the Android platform is fragmented and regular people are being given a phone full of advertising and apps built for up selling.
Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone
#99"does most of her emailing on an iPad" If she already has an iPad, isn't an iPhone the obvious choice? I love my Android phone, but if someone is already used to iOS and likes it, why not get them an iPhone?
Just a couple of illustrative data points:
If you want a Verizon individual plan that’s compatible with an iPhone, you will end up paying at least $70/month, plus taxes and what-not, and at least $30 of that is for the data plan.
The cheapest MetroPCS plan is $40, including taxes and what-not, and includes unlimited data (although MetroPCS doesn’t have 4G—you either put up with the slowness of EDGE or you pay for a 4G phone—and there are a lot of gaps in their coverage area).
So if you are satisfied by what a cheap plan offers you, it doesn’t make sense to shell out a massive amount per month just for the sake of an iPhone.
Re: Why my Mom Bought an Android, Returned It, and Got an iPhone
#100The real issue here is not the hardware and not Android, but what device manufacturers and network providers cram down the throats of their customers. Custom UI enhancements/replacements, useless bundled apps that can't be removed, and the removal of standard, OS-delivered features. None of this should have been new or a surprise to the writer's mom, who was coming to Android from a feature phone. Feature phones have…
This is the same problem that has plagued Windows on PC for years before this. Buying a PC from Dell or any other large retailers with Windows pre-installed meant a day worth of removing their crap-ware, support software, and back-up suits. Or you could reformat straight out of the box.
Only this time the problem is more perwasive. With PC an average user did not get botherd by all this trash, the machine was good enough for surfing and email, which is what they used it for. Only advanced users and techies would get frustrated. However, with smartphones it seems to be a real problem even for an everyday user.
What I don't understand though, is all this fat that providers pile on the phones and PC really worth it for them. They spend time and money to develop all these custom themes and apps, than users remove them. Even if users don't remove them and find them good enough to use, where is the profit to the provider? Branding and recognition?