Tablet and phone

[Mattmatt]

I am thinking about purchasing an Iphone 5 right now, and I have nothing wrong with apple, I have owned macbooks and many ipods. Right now, I have an Ipod touch, and I have an ASUS computer. I love ASUS, as I just bought an ASUS monitor as well. I am almost 100% sure that I will be purchasing a transformer tablet, and not really interested in an Ipad. Would getting a droid phone be a better decision because of apps, etc? What would you do in my situation. NOTE: My phone plan is ending, which is why I would be getting the Iphone 5/other phone.

 

[KSoD]

Well since you already have had many Apple devices the switch is really up to you. But you should know that anything you purchase or download with the Transformer could possibly be used with your phone as well. So you could stream line yourself that way having similar devices that run the same OS, making life a little easier for yourself. Being able to sync Android devices together isnt as difficult as trying to sync your stuff from your Tablet to your PC and then to your phone.

There are a few tools on the Android Play Store that could possibly allow for a direct sync from your tablet to your new iPhone. I heard of DoubleTwist which is supposed to be really good. That could allow you to sync things up to your iTunes account and then to your Phone.

From my personal experience I have found it easier to use all Android devices. Only cause I find an App I like and use often and can easily get it on both devices for ease of use. But that is my experience. I know several others that have iPhones and Android Tablets and they are able to do what they want between the devices. I prefer the simplicity of using all 1 type when it comes to such devices, you might find that you have apps already purchased with your iPods that you want to keep using so an iPhone would be best for you.

It just comes down to what your really looking to do. I ended up getting rid of my Android Tablet cause I got myself the Samsung Galaxy Note, which is pretty much a phone and tablet mixed. At 5.3" it is more than large enough for a phone and it is just a smaller tablet that I am able to do everything with. So it has simplified my life. My wife still has her Galaxy Tab as well as the Galaxy note as well. She likes the larger tablet for web browsing while still having the large phone for what she needs to do daily with work.

So you could look to go that route as well. Getting something like the Note or wait and get the Note 2 when it gets released, which will be 5.5", might be a better option. You wont have the need for both devices and still have a device that you can do so much with. But if having such a large phone isnt for you or you are dead set on having both types of devices then really the options are plentiful on what you want. It just comes down to your use of each device.

 

[Mattmatt]

A phone that is 5.3 inches is too big for me. I have my phone in my pocket all of the time, and sometimes my phone which is very small, not sure on the exact size doesn't fit in the pocket. I am not exactly set on having both devices, its just that the phone is coming before the tablet, mainly because I am still in high school, and I need to pay for everything by myself. If I were to get a phone and a tablet, I am pretty much on lock for the transformer, unless someone suggests a great tablet otherwise. The phone is the hard part for me, and it was hard for me to switch from mac to pc, mainly because switching from pc to mac is so easy, and then switching back its so different. I know that smartphones aren't as big of a switch because in a year and a half, you can go back to apple/droid. Still not getting any decisions out of this, I would like to hear some suggestions of smartphones from droid, mainly because there are so many. If anyone wants to suggest tablets other than the transformer, that would be appreciated too!

 

[KSoD]

Well as far as Android devices go, it will depend on the carrier you are going with. Cant really sit here and list every phone for every carrier. The list would be so long that your head would spin. So if you could at least go that far.

Maybe even give a size limitation you are looking for. Since you say that the Note is too big, which is funny as everyone says that till they actually hold it and use it, what is the maximum size you would want? What about the Samsung Galaxy III lineup? Is 4.8" too big as well? Are you looking for only 4" or so?

I can tell you from personal experience owning and using the Note daily, that there is no issue carrying it in your pocket. My wife who is only 5' tall and 100lbs has some issues with that, but only cause women's pants dont have pockets like men's pants do. I am 6' tall and wear a size 32" waist pant. There is no issue holding my phone in there as well as plenty of room for my hands as well. So dont count it out just cause it sounds big. Go to an AT&T store and check out the phones they have as well as the Verizon Store and so on. We will need at least some idea as to what your looking for cause we can sit here naming devices all day and it wont get answers.

As for a tablet, aside from the Transformer there is the Toshiba Thrive that is nice. If you want something smaller, you can always go with a Nexus 7 as well. I have used the Thrive and it is a great tablet. The added benefit of the Transformer is that you get the dock and keyboard, I think. But really we need to know what your limitations are here as well. Do you only want 10" tablets or would a 7" work as well?

 

[Mattmatt]

I will narrow it down for you right now
Carrier is Verizon, not going to change the carrier no matter what
Size... Under 4.8 inches maybe under 5.
Tablet, size doesn't matter too much, I really like the docking of the transformer, which is why I am really stuck on it right now.

 

[hikaricloud]

One thing to consider is what your current phone is. Do you currently have a droid or an iPhone? That's always a big thing for me since switching apps over can be a pain if you have any paid ones...one of the reasons I haven't switched from an iPhone to anything else.

As far as "what the best phone" is, it's really subjective. As of right this moment, benchmarks are pointing to the iPhone 5 as being about the fastest phone out right now, but it's not free of issues. Android devices are very capable and are more customizable than iPhones, though a lot of things you can't do on an iPhone by default, you can jailbreak and get that functionality. Right now there isn't a jailbreak for the iPhone 5, the main factor as to why I haven't upgraded yet.

I would go with what Mak said above: go to the store and check out some phones. It's going to be a big help in trying to figure out what you're comfortable with. The OS is a personal preference as much as it is anything else. Both have similar features and capabilities, both have apps and an app store, both can have LTE capability (check the droid device first to make sure it supports it). Better to get a hands-on feel before you make a decision.

 

[KSoD]

Since you are staying with Verizon the Android Phone I would suggest would be the Nexus hands down. If you are going to do it, might as well get the pure Android Experience untouched from any manufacturer. Since the Nexus runs the Google version of Android without the addons of TouchWiz, Sense, Blur or anything else. That will be the best choice there. The GIII is available as well, but the Nexus is a bit smaller so that might fit your bill. It is under 4.7 inches. It is stated at 4.65".

If you are looking for something a bit more rugged, the Casio GzOne is a good phone to get. It is built for abuse. I know of a few people that have it and it is good for that style phone. It wont even require a case addon as it is built for duribility.

Rugged– With MIL–STD–810G certification, the Commando meets military standards for water, shock, and dust resistance, making it perfect for any situation that life can throw at it –from the boardroom to the beach.

That statement from the Verizon site pretty much says it all. Cant really state it better than that.

As far as tablets go, the Transformer is probably going to be the best option. With the built in docking capabilites and not having to get a case with Bluetooth is going to really be the best way to go. I mean there is the option of the Surface Devices with Windows 8, but there is no set prices and they will be more than the Transformer anyways. I dont really like any other tablets with any of the "docking" options.

 

[Mattmatt]

The phone i have right now is the Kin 2, so switching apps is not a problem. BUT I do have an Ipod touch with 4 pages of apps on it, so thats a plus for the Iphone. I am not really interested in the Commando, mainly because I want things on the more fancy side, and I want 4G. The nexus could definitely could be a possibility, but I just learned that I am getting this phone in January so there may be new phones that come out in the next few months.

 

[Ethereal_Dragon]

I had an iPhone 3G, and iPhone 4. I LOVED my 3G at the time, however, I absolutely HATED iTunes, and the horrendous syncing that you needed to do if you wanted to put anything on the phone. We got my wife the Samsung Infuse last year just before our daughter was born, and she LOVED it. She upgraded from a Blackberry something or other, Bold I think. Anyways, I was really liking her phone also, and I ended up getting the Samsung Galaxy Note, and this is AMAZING. I have the ATT version, SGH-I717, running Android ICS 4.0.4.

After having the note for more than a few months now, I have to say, I will NEVER be going back to an Apple product again. I can't stand their minimal incremental upgrades to the new models which get released every year. It's very nice to have a 16 gig phone with a 32 gig micro SDHC memory card in it, and 4G LTE also. I will say that iOS is very polished, but I still prefer Android. My note has had apps crash a handful of times in the past few months, but that is NOTHING compared to my iphone 4 constantly crashing to the home screen a few times everyday. There is also the upgrade path. Look at the sheer number of devices that run Android, versus the iPhone. If you go iPhone, you are LOCKED IN, there is nothing you can do if you don't like it, other than get an older one, or wait for a newer one.

 

[hikaricloud]

I had an iPhone 3G, and iPhone 4. I LOVED my 3G at the time, however, I absolutely HATED iTunes, and the horrendous syncing that you needed to do if you wanted to put anything on the phone. We got my wife the Samsung Infuse last year just before our daughter was born, and she LOVED it. She upgraded from a Blackberry something or other, Bold I think. Anyways, I was really liking her phone also, and I ended up getting the Samsung Galaxy Note, and this is AMAZING. I have the ATT version, SGH-I717, running Android ICS 4.0.4.

After having the note for more than a few months now, I have to say, I will NEVER be going back to an Apple product again. I can't stand their minimal incremental upgrades to the new models which get released every year. It's very nice to have a 16 gig phone with a 32 gig micro SDHC memory card in it, and 4G LTE also. I will say that iOS is very polished, but I still prefer Android. My note has had apps crash a handful of times in the past few months, but that is NOTHING compared to my iphone 4 constantly crashing to the home screen a few times everyday. There is also the upgrade path. Look at the sheer number of devices that run Android, versus the iPhone. If you go iPhone, you are LOCKED IN, there is nothing you can do if you don't like it, other than get an older one, or wait for a newer one.

Firstly, you can turn off the way things sync and take care of that manually. I hate iTunes as well, but in manual mode it's not too bad. There's also other programs you can get to manage things.

Secondly, the iPhone 5 isn't an incremental upgrade, all the benchmarks are proving that. They may have been previously, but I had a 3GS for a long time as well until I had to switch to an IP4, and even that was a fairly large jump memory wise and performance wise.

Thirdly, you aren't locked in obviously, since you switched.

That all being said, I have nothing against the Note and Android, just throwing out my two cents.