Nothing beats Verizon. Verizon service 3 years ago with the free phone provided is better than the brand new iPhone4 with at&t. Verizon is the best.. period. You get signal in basements, attics, weird areas, every city in the country.

Having said that.. AT&T is quite good now.. leaps and bounds from where they were years ago. I am about 50 miles south of downtown Chicago. I work in Chicago and allover the surrounding suburbs. Signal sucks around the lake front, downtown and especially northern suburbs when your working the houses a long the beach. Perfect everywhere else. I get good reception in LA (culver city to beverly hills), Pheonix, New Orleans over the last 2 years.

If Verizon got the iPhone i would pay out my contract and jump ship today even if it cost more per month. As it stands right now i don't ever lose a call and i haven't had bad reception with the iPhone4 at all but i know that there are those basements and attics where i will probably not have a signal. Cant wait for the best phone to reach the best network.

Roddy's just an Apple hater. :p

Yeah, that is it...

I still have this crazy requirement with my cell phone.

I'm still pissed that Apple didn't build my iPhone to take a direct meteor strike, unfiltered gamma rays from a solar flare or surive bombardment from hyperspeed microparticles in outerspace.

I mean, who isn't going to have their iphone block a bullet from entering their chest cavity before their 2 year contract is up... I mean geez.

Apple could have easily prevented all of these obvious problems with iPhone durability. They could easily have recycled 40mm armor from WW2 German JagdPanther tanks for the frame and wrapped it in discarded kevlar from bullet proof vests. Even most gas stations have 2" armored glass around the clerks.

At the very least they could have used high speed deployment airbags to stop damage from impact. If Nasa can do it with the Mars rovers, why can't apple do it for a simple phone?
What is up with that?

And why the HELL isn't there a projector and printer built into this thing? Apple truly missed the mark on this one. F Them.

Now we are finally getting somewhere!! lol

But you are too embarrassed to tell us what it is? Probably best you keep it to yourself based on what you know who told me about you. :-)

Don't tell anyone else, but I like to make phone calls with my cell phone. Strange concept I know...

I'm waiting on the sales guy to call me for a conference call, so here goes boredom...


That's one hell of a subjective statement there, Mac. Here's my subjective statement: No it's not. One has to take into account all of the hardware pros and cons before evaluating the software.

I own an Evo4G. My buddy owns a iPhone 4, another owns an iPhone 3GS, another owns a Droid, another owns a Droid X, another owns a Samsung something or other. All have comparable specs on paper. The winner in my technical opinion: Droid X

One of my methods in ranking the different handsets is the SunSpider Javascript Benchmark test. [Link: www2.webkit.org] This test evaluates one of the most important features of the phone, the browser, by running through and timing all of the different javascript classes several times. The code is loaded into the phone before the test starts, so the results are not skewed by radio or network performance. The results are as follows:

iPhone 4: 10,000
DroidX: 11,000
Evo: 12,000
iPad: 12,000
Samsung: 14,000
iPhone 3GS: 15,000
iPhone 3: 36,000
Droid: 34,000

To this consumer, the larger screen of the Evo is a plus. So is the kickstand. So is the HDMI output. So is the (seldom used at this point, yet totally awesome when it works) 4G radio. So is the ability for me to tether the phone without paying a monthly fee nor hacking the phone.

However, the Droid X has a much better fit and finish. It feels like a quality device in your hand. The Evo has simple flaws like positioning the microphone to the left of the power connector so that when you hold the phone in your hand plugged into the charger, your ring finger naturally covers the microphone; the Droid X solves the problem by putting the microphone on the front of the unit under the screen. Another simple flaw is the capacitive touch buttons which get inadvertently activated when holding the phone in landscape orientation; the Droid X uses hard buttons which require a bit more force to press.


But, the point here is why didn't they understand that human skin has resistance, and thus will cause a short between the two antennas when touched? They separated the antennas, so they understand that mixing the two signals is less than desirable. Such a foolish design decision.

You're tired of the glossy finish, but you didn't buy a Droid X with the matte finish. Again, a case is a bandaid, not a solution.

... Okay, sales guy, 15 minutes down.


Yet, it's not the new Corning Gorilla Glass for some reason.
[Link: gizmodo.com]

I've got a Seiko watch with a synthetic crystal. I've worn it for five years, and there's not a scratch on it. The stainless steel band used to have a highly polished section, but now everything blends together.


Older phones have plastic screens, screens that took abuse. I upgraded to the Evo from a Palm Treo 800.

Let me digress and tell you about that gem. The Treo had all of the important software features that are essential. Sorry, I don't need a fart application, nor a level application. I need: A TELEPHONE, a SMS device, an Email client that supports POP and Exchange (Windows Mobile still does the best job of Exchange integration, better than iPhone, better than Blackberry, better than Android), a calendar with Exchange integration, a full browser that supports Flash, a Crestron client, a scientific calculator, and a map with GPS. Kind of amazing what these devices do. Well, I bought the Treo as a replacement for the original iPhone. Two (three?) years ago.

There was no significant leap in functionality. I was forced to upgrade because my punctuation (function) key died. Unfortunately that phone is long out of production, and the replacement, the Treo Pro is garbage.

That phone took more abuse than any iPhone could ever dream of. I never bought a case for it. I did use a screen protector that was replaced several times, but that is all. It was dropped, squished, slammed, dragged, scratched more times than I can count - but it was durable and reliable. I fear that I'll drop my Evo with its glass screen once and it will be trashed.

Going on 30 minutes here, Sales guy...

Back to the Droid X. You want to talk about the perfect balance between from and function, take a look at the Droid X. I encourage you to visit the Verizon store and hold one in your hand. Have them bring one out from the back so you can truly experience the device. It just feels right. Very similar to how the old Noika 2200 just fit right in your hand, everything laid out very ergonomically solid construction.

Android is really going to push the bar here. As much as I hate that Google will eventually have a screen in the wall of every home that will track your every move and issue a citation when you use foul language, they're doing something big here. With the differences in software taken out of the equation, manufacturers can focus on the hardware. Make these things durable, make them reliable, design them with proper antennas.

Ring, ring! Gotta run...

But its not an iPhone4.

The stampman is a fanboi - the truth has reared its ugly head.


I agree with you Mike on all accounts as I love my Incredible - especially coming from the wastelands that have become Blackberry.

But I am curious about one point in your list above, how are you using android as a crestron client?

I tend to root for the winners.


Tin cans and string would have you smiling after leaving your blackberry. The incredible is one of the few new phones that can compete with what Apple had available 4 years ago.



I have taken into account all of the hardware and software pros. Lets pretend that any android phone matches up equally in every way. These are the two issues that make the iPhone a winner for me.

1.iPod - Portable Movies and Music. Easy iTunes integration and remote app allows full control. Very important for me since i travel often. My iPhone and laptop are my entertainment system on the road. At home we have a 27" iMac that we use to watch tv in the bedroom more than we do the LCD now.

What android scenario allows you to do this? Its usually.. you can use the service to buy, this one to watch and listen and this app to control your laptop but it wont control media player etc. Is there a 1 account 1 app scenario to buy/playback and control media on the device and your PC for android?

2.Available accessories. There is a dock or a cable or an app to turn the iPhone into an in-wall touchpanel, a hand held remote control gps in the car and a media server. I know that these features are available for android but as of right now Apple is leading the pack.


Benchmarks to me are like horsepower in an engine. I live in a City so a scooter is as fast as a Ferrari most of the time. Obviously if your in a situation where one is twice as fast loading the browser then it might be important but as of right now the iPhone4 loads browser windows over 3G as good as any dial up ive ever had and close to slow broadband speeds.

Im not sure what the numbers above mean. Is 10,000 better than 11,000? Then the iPhone4 wins but not by much. Is 11,000 better than 10,000? Then the DroidX wins but not by much.


The larger screen is nice. The HDMI output is something i probably wouldnt have a use for since i sync media files between my computers and iPhone4. I would just use the remote app to playback audio or video. Maybe there is a use for it that im overlooking.

Tethering is a nice feature but i haven't needed it in 5 years. My laptop has a sim card in it that i have never activated. Wi-Fi is everywhere now so a coffee break at starbucks when i just have to have web access at a construction site. During installation the first thing that goes in now is the network.


I made 2 calls today with the cover off of my phone and tried my best to get the signal to drop. The mic speakers camera fit and finish are great. Touchscreen response is better than anything control system manufacturers have ever put on the market. Audio quality is as good or better than any portable device ive owned and video quality is great.


For all of the reasons i stated above. The case was put on to protect the phone not patch up a supposed defect that i cant reproduce.



I had a seiko watch that was broken when i dropped it while taking it off to play basket ball at the park. Not a scratch on it before that. I dont have any scratches on my 3G and there are no scratches on my girlfriends original iPhone either. I would imagine though.. that like my watch.. if i dropped either model iPhone on the concrete basketball court.. it may shatter.

Would it be nice to have a plastic durable screen that didnt break or scratch? Yes. Do i think Apple should trade the beautiful look they have no to accomplish this? No more than i think wedding rings should be made out of plastic.. even though they will be more durable and not get chipped when they are dropped or stepped on.


If you are looking at the palm treo and seeing a full browser then you and i have very different opinions about what a full browser is.


My old type writer can survive a 10 foot drop better than my laptop but i dont want to stick with old tech just for that rare 10 foot drop occasion. If someone put a gun to my head and said choose the treo or anything from palm over the original iPhone for the next 2 years or your dead i would tell me family i love them and brace myself. I really cant understand how palm doesn't own the smart phone market right now or why they have these weird little devices with tiny unusable buttons.


I looked at the droidx. And Verizon is a big motivator for me to jump ship because IMO they have the best network. But then what do i do about my simplified little media ecosystem? Whats involved with android?

I admit that it has been 2 years since i looked into this. Why? Because apple made it easy 4 years ago and things have only gotten better. So if my crime is knowing that life will be simple with the iPhone vs experimenting with something new then.. good for Apple.. their business model is working.


Google may eventually have a screen in the wall of every home but apple already does.

EJ - Kustom programming. It's nothing glamorous, but it works for me until they come out with an Android port of Command Fusion. Between yourself and Paul (?), surely you can figure something out.



And I took the first iPhone back for precicely the same reason - tin cans would have been better. That thing dropped calls at least once a day. Who's to blame, ATT or Apple? I felt it was skewed toward ATT, but the phone has a part to play as well.


This is exactly what makes America great - freedom of choice. You have a large iTunes library and desire to take it everywhere you go. I have a CD collection and a server full of FLAC files that I like to listen to on my Hi-Fi system at home. iTunes integration is a fantastic reason to get an iPhone, but it is not nearly a big enough plus to call it the greatest phone out there bar none. My Treo supported Sprint TV, and I used it exactly one time. Even with a large screen, it's far too small to watch a television program on. We could get into a whole different debate over the pixel density, the 'retina display', line pairs, and arc minutes, but suffice it to say 'to each their own'.

I bought a portable device, geez you're right, can't even call these things 'phones' anymore, its home is in my pocket, or on the table, or in the cup holder of my car not stuck in a wall dock. To me, there are Why would I want to use it as my primary touchpanel, I've got an iPad and a bunch of STXs for that. Again with the Hi-Fi system; my HTPC gets more use than my DVD player these days.


You are correct, a lower score indicates faster processing. Bear in mind that this is radio and network agnostic - it tests the browser and processor in the phone only.

I've actually yet to use the HDMI port. Don't even own the cable. I could also sync all of my stuff back to my server at home over the Internet, which the iStuff has one hell of a time doing, but what if I wanted to share a PPT or PDF drawing with someone in their conference room? Provided we sold 'em DM, I'll just jack right in and start my presentation.


Down here in the south, where we speak with a draw, chew tobacco, and listen to country music, 3G cellular networks have a much higher density than WiFi. Plus there exist places today where one has to fork out cash to use the internet. Sure we have it at our Starbucks, and it practically blankets that place over yonder called RTP where Cisco, Nortel, Quallcomm, Erricson, and Lucent designed and perfected the very technology we're talking about. I used to have a 3G card for my laptop, until the day that I realized that paying $70 @ month really blows, and I have a radio that is just as fast sitting in my pocket.


Consumer Reports and countless fellow sheeple of yours have found and confirmed the problem which most find very frustrating in fact. Several other companies have taken jabs at Apple, and Apple concedes that there is a problem RE: free bumper cases.


My point was simply that Motorola has executed an equally elegant design, and remembered elementary physics in the process. I think my girlfriend would shoot me if I gave her a plastic ring. I quite like shiny things. These are fragile devices, I'll give you that. But come on a GLASS CASE? Isn't there an idiom about glass cases shattering? Make it out of the glass everyone thought you were and take a $1 @ unit hit to build a durable product. The latest SEC filings can confirm that they have the money. To me, if they had used the materials available to them that would substantially increase the products durability rather than find a lesser substitute and call it 'scratch resistant' I wouldn't have ground to stand on here.

Skyfire, buddy. I was viewing Flash content and AJAX web pages on my phone three years ago. Believe it or not.


When I bought the Palm, Apple hadn't yet fully understood that people like tactile buttons rather than virtual buttons. It will trend into more and more people accepting virtual buttons. We've come a long way with predictive algorithms, larger buttons, and Swype. I still make more mistakes on my big screen in landscape orientation than I ever made with tactile clicky buttons.

See above. If tight iTunes integration is your gig stick with the iPhone. Just like if tight Exchange integration is your gig, you're better off with Windows Mobile.


That it is, and good for them! My shares in Apple have never been better, and I sincerely thank you for purchasing your new iPhone, and the replacement you'll buy after cracking that screen while crouched over behind a rack ;P. Land of the free!

If i want to share a file with someone in their conference room i would email it to them from my laptop or grab it off my server with logmein.


Sheeple and Fanboi are terms used by those who feel threatened via feelings of inferiority. Its my opinion that there are some iPhones with a defect since i cant get calls to drop with mine. I guess i could just go with what ive read on the internet and agree.


The glass front pretty much makes the glass back a non issue IMO. There is nothing about the iPad, the iMac or the MacBook Pro or the iPhone that screams "Im durable, feel free to throw me". And as i said earlier in this thread.. I haven't owned a single cell phone.. or pager for that matter that didnt get scratched or broken when dropped. Obviously if your workign with something thats all plastic or rubber it will probably do a better job of surviving. But then you trade sexy for millions for durable for the few who drop them.


I would have to see it to believe it. Ive seen the web on blackberrys, my sisters G1 and they were a joke. I googled screenshots for the treo and i didnt see anything that looked even close to safari on the iPhone.


I like tactile buttons but the tiny ones are useless. The last keyboard ive seen that was decent was an old blackberry i had about 4 years ago. The bold isnt bad but no where as easy to use as the touchscreen keyboard on the iPhone. If tactile buttons were a deal breaker i would get a slider with a wide keyboard.


I will definetely buy a new one if this one breaks. My 3G fell in water and died a few months ago and life was hell waiting for the 4. Thank you for investing in a company that has brought me pleasure for years. Im glad that you android guys finally have something almost as good.

Since i have been labled a fanboi i might as well share with you how Apple takes care of their customers. I have been watching videos at youtube trying to figure out how to get my signal to drop and i got 1 bar to drop by holding it with my left hand in a manner that would never happen naturally. But since there is a problem apple decided to ship out free protective cases to everyone. How would you guess they went about this? Do you think their clients had to go to an apple or att store? Maybe go online or get on the phone with someone?

Nope.

They loaded an app to my phone. I clicked thru, chose the one i wanted and its being shipped to me. What company on the face of the earth has ever done something like this?

You guys keep experimenting with this years "iPhone killer" and pretend that there is no value with Apple products. I will keep enjoying top notch products with support thats unheard of.