Upgraded A New Smartphone

[SirSnookalot]

My wife wanted a smartphone and I was entitled to an upgrade too, so I purchased 2 of them.  My wife is heaven and I'm in agony, firstly I have to teach her and it's driving me crazy and secondly I liked my previous phone better.  After being talked away from one brand I wound up getting 2 Razr M's.  On paper seemed like the ideal phone for me, but I found battery life wasn't as good as claimed and not much better than what I had.  The phone is a bit slippery, I put a rubber skin on it and it does feel better.  My main annoyances are maps, whether google or bing, they are a bit fuzzier than my other phone.  On the newer OS Verizon has installed some of their phone numbers that cannot be deleted and they appear on my bluetooth in my car, I don't like it.

I just wanted a 4g phone with a bigger display, the phone does operate nicely and it's very easy to use, now I've got a few days to make up mind to keep it or return it.

Luckily I got them on line and they were free, Verizon was charging $99 a piece.

[tomustang]

Keep an eye on the battery life, some are horrible and wouldn't want to live with that problem again

 

 

what was your previous phone? If this is your first smartphone I suggest to go look though all the apps (play store) you can download for free and try them out before you make your decision.

[SirSnookalot]

This is my 4 th smartphone, my last one was a Casio Commando which is very rugged and has the best quality coming out the earpiece on a phone call of any one that I've tried or had.  Had I not wanted a larger screen display 3.6 vs the 4.3 on the droid I'd have stayed with the Casio.  I always preferred to d/l from google play store on my computer rather than on the phone, the previous android market place was fine just easier at the puter.

 

One feature I do like is not having to bookmark any favorites, the jellybean os allows syncing of all your chrome bookmarks.

[rockchalk06]

My wife wanted a smartphone and I was entitled to an upgrade too, so I purchased 2 of them.  My wife is heaven and I'm in agony, firstly I have to teach her and it's driving me crazy and secondly I liked my previous phone better.  After being talked away from one brand I wound up getting 2 Razr M's.  On paper seemed like the ideal phone for me, but I found battery life wasn't as good as claimed and not much better than what I had.  The phone is a bit slippery, I put a rubber skin on it and it does feel better.  My main annoyances are maps, whether google or bing, they are a bit fuzzier than my other phone.  On the newer OS Verizon has installed some of their phone numbers that cannot be deleted and they appear on my bluetooth in my car, I don't like it.

I just wanted a 4g phone with a bigger display, the phone does operate nicely and it's very easy to use, now I've got a few days to make up mind to keep it or return it.

Luckily I got them on line and they were free, Verizon was charging $99 a piece.

Right now Verizon has the IPhone 4's for free. I know it's not 4g but for 100 more than you paid the 5 is there. I'm sure you have researched them, but for my having used all brands, the iPhone was the simplest phone to master

[ClackerBuzz]

i too have a love/hate relationship w/ my smart phone. if fact, i would go so far as to say most of the time it's not so smart

[00 mod]

Check out the Samsung Galaxy Ruby Pro.  It is more durable than most smart phones, and has great battery life!

 

Jeff

 

http://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/cell-phones/SGH-I547ZKAATT

[Teal]

I have fat thumbs. Good for my baitcasters bad for touch phones. So i still have my Motorola Droid 2 from 3 years ago. I like that it slides open to a keypad.

[Hi Salenity]

Return it and pony up the $200 for the iPhone 5

I love mine!!!

[CFFF 1.5]

If you want a good phone with a big screen take the phone you have back and get the Samsung Galaxy S3. You won't be disappointed. 

[SirSnookalot]

iphones do work really well, all my kids and gr children have them but I prefer android.  As I've have smartphones for a number of years I get comfortable with new a OS petty fast, I've got one this down pat already.  Statiscally speaking the razr m stacks up pretty high among all the phones, I've only run the battery down to about 35% after playing with it a lot, under normal use it should be ok, I'm hoping.  Sleep control, display brightness and wifi are some of the draining culprits, hopefully a few tweeks will help.  The syncing of my phone contact list with my auto bluetooth doesn't automaticaly work as it should, a simple disconnect then a reconnect in the phones bluetooth pairing solved that problem.  Looks as though I may keep it, the performance is very good, but If I do exchange the sharpest display I've seen is the LG spectrum 2, but rated as poor battery life.  I've looked at just about everything Verizon had.  I agree about the Galaxy s3, nice phone, but i didn't want one that large and I like FREE.

[ClackerBuzz]

I have fat thumbs. Good for my baitcasters bad for touch phones. So i still have my Motorola Droid 2 from 3 years ago. I like that it slides open to a keypad.

lol. make sure ur next phone has a Swype keyboard. you don't gotta lift ur fingers at all ie no thumbs.  just draw a word out. its amazing and the word prediction is spot on b/c there is really only 1 or 2 options when drawing a word on a keyboard (you can even swerve around a letter). i can imput text/type 4 times faster and with 95% better accuracy. i don't think apple has it yet but alot of droid phone do (i have a LG Optimus)

http://www.swype.com/

[Root beer]

You should have got an iPhone. I'm never going back to Android systems.

[Teal]

Yeah my phone has it available, i turned it off. Lol i noticed the droid 4 has sliding key pad...ill probably wait for the droid 5. But id rahter spend mymoney on fishing or boat stuff than my phone...sometimes i wish i could get rid of it

[Fishing Rhino]

My wife wanted a smartphone and I was entitled to an upgrade too, so I purchased 2 of them.  My wife is heaven and I'm in agony, firstly I have to teach her and it's driving me crazy and secondly I liked my previous phone better.  After being talked away from one brand I wound up getting 2 Razr M's.  On paper seemed like the ideal phone for me, but I found battery life wasn't as good as claimed and not much better than what I had.  The phone is a bit slippery, I put a rubber skin on it and it does feel better.  My main annoyances are maps, whether google or bing, they are a bit fuzzier than my other phone.  On the newer OS Verizon has installed some of their phone numbers that cannot be deleted and they appear on my bluetooth in my car, I don't like it.

I just wanted a 4g phone with a bigger display, the phone does operate nicely and it's very easy to use, now I've got a few days to make up mind to keep it or return it.

Luckily I got them on line and they were free, Verizon was charging $99 a piece.

 

If you were a youngster, that sentence would make the best of Art Linkletter's "Kids say the funniest things".

[SirSnookalot]

^^^^ best chuckle I've in along time, HAHA

[Glenn]

"Free" isn't really "free".  The cost of the phone is wrapped into your monthly bill - and you keep paying that fee even after you pay it off.  Which is why you're locked into a 2 year agreement.  The first year, you're paying off the "free" phone, the 2nd year the phone company makes a ton of money off you by overcharging you.  This is also why you can't upgrade until you're near the end of your contract.  And this is also why you pay penalties if you end your contract early.

 

Why pay more than you have to?  Why get locked into a contract and then be restricted by when you can get a new phone?

 

You can buy the phones outright at T-Mobile, and get a lower monthly bill, because they're separated from each other. They have interest free installment plans to pay off the phone if that's the direction you want to go, but once it's paid off, you're done.  You're not paying extra for the luxury of thinking you have a "free" phone.

 

To top it off, there are no annual contracts, and no waiting until you're "eligible" for another "free" phone.  You can get a new phone whenever you want, and you can leave whenever you want with no penalties.

 

 

* Disclaimer: I do work for T-Mobile, so I'm just a tad biased. 

[Root beer]

"Free" isn't really "free".  The cost of the phone is wrapped into your monthly bill - and you keep paying that fee even after you pay it off.  Which is why you're locked into a 2 year agreement.  The first year, you're paying off the "free" phone, the 2nd year the phone company makes a ton of money off you by overcharging you.  This is also why you can't upgrade until you're near the end of your contract.  And this is also why you pay penalties if you end your contract early.

 

Why pay more than you have to?  Why get locked into a contract and then be restricted by when you can get a new phone?

 

You can buy the phones outright at T-Mobile, and get a lower monthly bill, because they're separated from each other. They have interest free installment plans to pay off the phone if that's the direction you want to go, but once it's paid off, you're done.  You're not paying extra for the luxury of thinking you have a "free" phone.

 

To top it off, there are no annual contracts, and no waiting until you're "eligible" for another "free" phone.  You can get a new phone whenever you want, and you can leave whenever you want with no penalties.

 

 

* Disclaimer: I do work for T-Mobile, so I'm just a tad biased. 

 

I'm not so sure this is 100% correct in regard to overcharging portion. Those surcharges and fees from the government really do exist. The government agency has them listed on their websites, well sort of.. For instance: http://www.state.tn.us/revenue/tntaxes/tvtelecom.shtml I find it odd how I have been able get some of calculations showed up on my bill using the tax rate on the State of Tennessee's website. Check this out as well:http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Industries/Telecom-Telecommunications-Technology/618da7d2770fb110VgnVCM100000ba42f00aRCRD.htm I started reading into it when I was responsible for my own phone bill. I couldn't make it 100% equal because some of the "usage" fees are pretty much not available for public eyes.

 

Some how, prepaid avoids the excise tax in some states, but the tax dollar is generated through the constant sales tax. There is a lot of weird fees and taxes out there that varies by states.

[ClackerBuzz]

i have Metropcs and get the same reception as my old ATT phone, but its only a fraction of the price.  i bought my smartphone at Best Buy for $115 (they will activate any phone so you could buy one used/ebay etc).

 

its $50 per month TOTAL.  that includes all taxes, fees, texts, pix, internet usage etc.  $50 flat. i think for $60 you can upgrade to a higher G speed.  No annual contract.  Month to month.  best deal in town if they are in ur area. Verizon has better reception but for $800 savings each year I'll take a dropped call or two.

[tomustang]

That jellybean OS is making look closer to androids now

 

 

If you were a youngster, that sentence would make the best of Art Linkletter's "Kids say the funniest things".

Wasn't that darndess?

[Fishing Rhino]

That jellybean OS is making look closer to androids now

 

 

Wasn't that darndess?

 

Actually Linkletter used both.  Both were going around in my mind, so I googled it, and found that he used it both ways.  Maybe he wrote two books using each word on them.

[tomustang]

Actually Linkletter used both.  Both were going around in my mind, so I googled it, and found that he used it both ways.  Maybe he wrote two books using each word on them.

Regardless, still funny

 

[deaknh03]

I'm not so sure this is 100% correct in regard to overcharging portion. Those surcharges and fees from the government really do exist. The government agency has them listed on their websites, well sort of.. For instance: http://www.state.tn.us/revenue/tntaxes/tvtelecom.shtml I find it odd how I have been able get some of calculations showed up on my bill using the tax rate on the State of Tennessee's website. Check this out as well:http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/Industries/Telecom-Telecommunications-Technology/618da7d2770fb110VgnVCM100000ba42f00aRCRD.htm I started reading into it when I was responsible for my own phone bill. I couldn't make it 100% equal because some of the "usage" fees are pretty much not available for public eyes.

 

Some how, prepaid avoids the excise tax in some states, but the tax dollar is generated through the constant sales tax. There is a lot of weird fees and taxes out there that varies by states.

I dont think Glenn is referring to something on your bill marked "fees", but that the charges on the bill would be more than tmobile, in essence the "free" phone is rolled into your bill. Root Beer, I know your a smart fella, so I probably misunderstood your post.

[fowlskies]

I picked up the Razor M this summer and it has one of the best batteries I have ever had in a cellphone.  In fact when I was researching phones this was one of the high points that almost every tech review had mentioned.  The only phone to beat it out for battery life was the Samsung Galaxy S3 by a slim margin.  It also is one of the fastest phones that matches all of the higher priced alternatives.  The only downfall when compared to the Razor Maxx or Smasung Galaxy S3 was the screen resolution is not quite as nice but is still really nice. 

 

As far as android vs apple OS, I think androids system blows apple out of the water.  My wife has the iphone and I like mine a lot better.  The Razor M is made to fit the look of an iphone but with a large screen for basically the same dimensions because of Razor's "edge to edge screen technology".  The Razor M is also markedly thinner than the iphones.  

 

You also were questioning the ruggedness of the phone, the Razor M screen is made out of gorilla glass that is much tougher than normal glass used in phones.  Coming from a guy who has broken a few screens on my phone I do believe they are telling the truth when it comes to its toughness.  I dropped mine while sitting in a 15' ladder stand this fall and it hit 4-5 rungs on the way down, glass is fine and the metal frame on it had a small chip out the paint.  I was very impressed, although I do need to get a case for it before I find out the hard way that it isn't totally lifeproof.

 

I did a lot of research before I pulled the trigger and this phone was by far the best option for quality at a good price.  I haven't been disappointed in mine.  In fact I don't think there is another phone that I want thats out there over this one.  I really like how it is compact with the larger screen.

[Root beer]

I dont think Glenn is referring to something on your bill marked "fees", but that the charges on the bill would be more than tmobile, in essence the "free" phone is rolled into your bill. Root Beer, I know your a smart fella, so I probably misunderstood your post.

 

It's no different than anything else we buy. No such thing as free lunch. I've always interpret the "free" phones as a cost they can absorb due to continuous revenue. I know Glenn said his statement is bias because he works for T-Mobile. The cost of individual phones from T-Mobile is no different from any other retailers.. (Assume very similar phones.) For some reason when he said "fees" those surcharges popped up in my head, because I thought he was referring to those when he started comparing prepaid phones. I suppose I misinterpret. I have long thought of buying a prepaid phone, but never did because I hate Android operating system. Even with the iPhone I don't use every features at my disposal, but at least it much more crisp than my previous phone. Oh, well.

[deaknh03]

It's no different than anything else we buy. No such thing as free lunch. I've always interpret the "free" phones as a cost they can absorb due to continuous revenue. I know Glenn said his statement is bias because he works for T-Mobile. The cost of individual phones from T-Mobile is no different from any other retailers.. (Assume very similar phones.) For some reason when he said "fees" those surcharges popped up in my head, because I thought he was referring to those when he started comparing prepaid phones. I suppose I misinterpret. I have long thought of buying a prepaid phone, but never did because I hate Android operating system. Even with the iPhone I don't use every features at my disposal, but at least it much more crisp than my previous phone. Oh, well.

Agreed, there is no free lunch, fee or no fee, a company makes their money one way or another.