Ever have one of those days?

[Salvador VOLi]

Sometimes you wake up and think today, like most days, is going to be an unassuming footnote in the story of your life.  You assume that this day 10 years from now won't really be a distinct part of your mental topography as the ethereal fog of memory takes on a more vague and colorless shape as it washes away details at an alarming clip. 

I think today, however, might be a day that is remembered. 

Today is the day I decided to go with an Android phone instead of the iPhone. 

First, a little background:

My company was nice enough to give me a phone about 5 years ago.  I've had 3 Blackberries from my company.  I loved the first one as it was pretty advanced for its time.  Then the iPhone came out.  I saw its huge display and its color screen and longed for one.  My company was a blackberry shop though so when my contract expired they gave me a newer Blackberry.  This one had the same screen size, but at least a color screen, but still the iPhone looked like such a promised land.  I am a bit frugal so I wasn't going to pay to have another smart phone when I was already given one so I pined in silence.  My company gave me an even newer Blackberry 1 1/2 years ago and I'm still using it.  It works poorly to quite poorly at anything that doesn't involve simple email writing and the iPhone has only improved in its speed, power, and features.  I thought I would be stuck forever using a Blackberry until, lo and behold, my company decided to start giving employees stipends to buy their own phones.   

HALLELUIAH! Right? 

Wrong.  For a couple of reasons.  One, I'm not eligible until my contract runs out (9/12) so I will still be blackberrying it up for the foreseeable future, but two, I will be made to make a choice.  The 4s or the newest flavor of Android? 

I was decidedly in the 4s camp.  It's the phone I've always wanted.  I have to pull the trigger on that right?  I will regret not going with an iPhone right?

Today, I was talking about this quandary and work and a co-worker over heard me and brought over the Nexus. 

Um. . .

    

Yeah.  So, that's a lot nicer than the iPhone 4s. 

The 4G alone was boggling my mind.  Inside the office we were getting 12 down, 4 up. 

I really liked almost everything about it.  The screen was beautiful.  The screen size of the iPhone looked so nice, but compared to the Nexus, it looks antiquated and small. 

Anyway, I just thought I would share. 

 

[VinnieVOL]

I'm still pining in silence with a company Blackberry, lol.

[Black Diamond Vol]

Well keep in mind that by the time you upgrade, the iPhone 5 will almost certainly be out, and it will probably also have 4g and a bigger screen, according to the rumors.

That said, Android is great too.  I'm due an upgrade in less that two months, and I'm already starting to shop around.  The upcoming Droid 4 has my interest.  As great as a touchscreen can be, it's still no substitute for a real keyboard, IMO.  And the Droid 4 will be the only high end smarthphone around that has one.  

[Salvador VOLi]

Well keep in mind that by the time you upgrade, the iPhone 5 will almost certainly be out, and it will probably also have 4g and a bigger screen, according to the rumors.

That said, Android is great too.  I'm due an upgrade in less that two months, and I'm already starting to shop around.  The upcoming Droid 4 has my interest.  As great as a touchscreen can be, it's still no substitute for a real keyboard, IMO.  And the Droid 4 will be the only high end smarthphone around that has one.  

I thought the new iPhone would come out in like October?  Also, the real keyboard is fine, but it isn't a deal breaker for me.

[ReVOLver]

I have the Nexus and the phone itself is fantastic but you will turn the 4G off to save battery... I guarantee it. It's nice, but nothing you do on a phone unless you are dealing with huge files makes the battery life tradeoff worth it.

Oh, and that's slow 4G. I get > 20 Mbps down here in the midstate. 

I like iOS, but I will probably always be an Android phone user. I want my table to work when I pick it up. I want to have ultimate control over my phone. I am considering rooting my Nexus just to try it out.

[ReVOLver]

Well keep in mind that by the time you upgrade, the iPhone 5 will almost certainly be out, and it will probably also have 4g and a bigger screen, according to the rumors.

That said, Android is great too.  I'm due an upgrade in less that two months, and I'm already starting to shop around.  The upcoming Droid 4 has my interest.  As great as a touchscreen can be, it's still no substitute for a real keyboard, IMO.  And the Droid 4 will be the only high end smarthphone around that has one.  

The Nexus touchscreen keyboard is the best I've ever seen ... as sensitive as the iPhone with better and more accurate auto corrects.

[Volcreed]

This is the finest example of Blackerry in 2012 ever:

I had to go to the Blackberry booth CES in Vegas and ask who my rep was now? I have at least 6 in the last year, and they resigned the whole state of Tennessee to one rep in Memphis.

[Black Diamond Vol]

The Nexus touchscreen keyboard is the best I've ever seen ... as sensitive as the iPhone with better and more accurate auto corrects.

I thought the same about the keyboard on my X, until the Gingerbread "upgrade" happened.  Now it's damn near unusable half the time.  I would hope that a physical keyboard would be less susceptible to changes in software/firmware, but maybe I'm off base with that.

[Quasi EVol]

This is the finest example of Blackerry in 2012 ever:

I had to go to the Blackberry booth CES in Vegas and ask who my rep was now? I have at least 6 in the last year, and they resigned the whole state of Tennessee to one rep in Memphis.

Dead brand walking?  They should've "resigned" the whole company to one CEO years ago.  RIM needs to reboot their whole product line - last year they were partying like it was 2009.  Add their email outages, and it may already be too late.  It's been like a watching a train wreck in slow (Research in) motion.

[ReVOLver]

I thought the same about the keyboard on my X, until the Gingerbread "upgrade" happened.  Now it's damn near unusable half the time.  I would hope that a physical keyboard would be less susceptible to changes in software/firmware, but maybe I'm off base with that.

I had the X pre-Froyo, Froyo, and Gingerbread... and the keyboard on the X never once approached the quality of the Nexus. I used Swype on the X. There is no native Swype on the Nexus, just third party apps for it. I demo'd one but preferred the regular keyboard and the voice engine that is associated with it.

[Volcreed]

Dead brand walking?  They should've "resigned" the whole company to one CEO years ago.  RIM needs to reboot their whole product line - last year they were partying like it was 2009.  Add their email outages, and it may already be too late.  It's been like a watching a train wreck in slow (Research in) motion.

  THAT IS FUNNY!

[murfvol]

I have a fantastic 4 year-old flip phone. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. 

Work used to make me haul a Blackberry around, but when I switched to international logistics they didn't care because very few things we deal with are time sensitive (hours-wise).

[BanditVol]

Wow, that's timing.  Just yesterday I talked to our IT tech at work, someone whose opinion I respect, and he showed me his Nexus and said I could not go wrong.  So I am leaning in that direction.

He also says he turns off the 4G at work since we have a wireless, and also at his home.  This saves on data download time, but I suppose it would save on battery life also.

[ReVOLver]

Wow, that's timing.  Just yesterday I talked to our IT tech at work, someone whose opinion I respect, and he showed me his Nexus and said I could not go wrong.  So I am leaning in that direction.

He also says he turns off the 4G at work since we have a wireless, and also at his home.  This saves on data download time, but I suppose it would save on battery life also.

4G is probably faster than the wifi unless your company or your IT guy has a connection faster than 20 Mbps.