Ditching my iPhone and going T-Mobile + Android

[Soul Assassin]

IMO that all depends where the test is run.

It was a wifi test (I said that above too, maybe it wasn't clear) so 3G isn't the culprit. The iPhone loaded the Engadget page right quick. The droids had to be at least 4x as slow.

It's one of the videos here:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/nexus-one-review/

The scrolling on the iPhone is also a lot smoother.

[ua549]

IMO that all depends where the test is run. In my area, AT&T 3G isn't available, so the IPhone is crippled.

Besides, this particular phone isn't what's important here. It's busting up the major carriers grip on phone/carrier lock. It's time they were forced to improve the networks instead of keeping this country in the third world of cellular communications.

The Google phone won't do a thing about carrier exclusivity. In the USA it only works on T-Mobile.

[kent1146]

It was a wifi test (I said that above too, maybe it wasn't clear) so 3G isn't the culprit. The iPhone loaded the Engadget page right quick. The droids had to be at least 4x as slow.

It's one of the videos here:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/04/nexus-one-review/

The scrolling on the iPhone is also a lot smoother.

The thing is, when I shop for a smartphone, I really don't care which one has a browser that loads a web page the fastest on WiFi, or which one scrolls through web pages the smoothest. When I shop for a smartphone, I require the following criteria:

1. The device is competent as a phone
2. The device can competently sync to Exchange - all devices are roughly equivalent here.
3. The device can be used as a mobile telecommunications device
4. The device can be used as a mobile media player - iPhone absolutely dominates here.

Using that criteria, the iPhone actually comes in last place. It is tied to the AT&T network, which gives me a poor cell phone and 3G data experience when I am travelling anywhere between Boston and Washington DC (I live in Philly). I am on the phone 4+ hours a day for work, and will consistently get between 6-10 dropped calls during that time. That is absolutely unacceptable.

I can't tether the iPhone to my laptop unless I jailbreak it (and must re-jailbreak every time there is an iPhone update). And the tethering is still tied to AT&T's network, which doesn't really help. The iPhone hardware itself makes it a great media device. It can replicate the iPod experience (the Android-based devices cannot). Yes, it may be fast browsing web pages on WiFi. It's a great multimedia device - but as long as it's tied to AT&T's network, it sucks as a smartphone.

[md1198p]

I am waiting to see if the HTC HD2 is going to come to Sprint in the next 6 months or so. That is the phone I want. 1 gig snapdragon proc, 4.3 inch screen that is supposed to be beautiful. I really want to replace my Mogul but am willing to wait for that one.
I really like sprint, but I may consider changing carriers. The newest lineup of phones is lacking compared to some other carriers.

[ua549]

You can simply buy an unlocked iPhone. Then you can tether it, etc. That won't get you onto the T-Mobile UMTS network in the USA, but you can get on all GSM networks and non-USA UMTS networks.

I don't know about the iPhone, but on my old Moto I can select and roam on any network for voice calls. That functionality is built into the handset, not an add-on.

There is so much that one can do with an unlocked handset that IMO it is worth forgoing the subsidy and contract. A locked handset is like buying a PC with an OS where you can't make any changes to it.

If a quad band UMTS Android handset is ever released, I'll be in line to purchase and unsubsidized one.

[kent1146]

You can simply buy an unlocked iPhone. Then you can tether it, etc. That won't get you onto the T-Mobile UMTS network in the USA, but you can get on all GSM networks and non-USA UMTS networks.

You cannot "buy" an official unlocked iPhone, unless you buy an iPhone from a 3rd party that has done an aftermarket unlock on it. And the problem with aftermarket unlocked iPhones is the same as the problem as if you had unlocked or jailbroken it yourself - you cannot get support from Apple, and you must re-unlock and re-jailbreak the phone every time you update the iPhone OS.

To date, the only unlocked phone sold in the United States directly to the consumer is the Nexus One (there have been other phones in the past that are sold as "developer" models - but not to the consumer market).

Historically, the problem with getting unlocked phones in the United States is that the 4 major carriers have so much weight and pull on the entire wireless phone market. Today, the 4 major carriers differentiate themselves by the phone models they carry (many of which are exclusive to that particular carrier), as well as the wireless service they provide. If phones were to be unlocked, then the only way the carriers could differentiate themselves is their wireless service - it essentially turns those carriers into commodity dumb pipe carriers. Dumb pipe carrier model is great for the consumer, but terrible for the 4 cell phone providers. And it for that reason that the 4 carriers will do whatever they can to make sure that never happens. Unless the US government passes a law that somehow changes this situation, we are stuck with the phone-carrier-lock system we have.

[Soul Assassin]

Is there such a thing as an unlocked iPhone anywhere in the world? If you have to jailbreak the iphone every time it's updated, aren't the iphone updates the same worldwide? Which would mean they are locked around the world.

[kent1146]

Is there such a thing as an unlocked iPhone anywhere in the world? If you have to jailbreak the iphone every time it's updated, aren't the iphone updates the same worldwide? Which would mean they are locked around the world.

That is correct - there is no "official" unlocked or jailbroken iPhone. All purchased iPhones are carrier locked to a specific carrier in whatever region the iPhone was purchased (e.g. AT&T in the United States). Any "unlocked" iPhone you see is an aftermarket unlock, either by the owner, or some 3rd party.

That means that any iPhone update will require the iPhone to be both jailbroken and unlocked again. People can electively choose NOT to upgrade their iPhone OS - this is a viable option for minor point revisions. But when a major update comes out, people will want to update to get the new features in that update - which will require them to jailbreak and carrier unlcok their phone.

It's a huge fookin pain in the arse.

[ua549]

Wrong! Many countries do not allow cellular handsets to locked.
In addition Apple will provide an unlocking key when you are in one of those countries and make the request. I almost bought an unlocked 3G S the last time I was in Italy.

The iPhone 3G S 32GB model is widely available factory unlocked in the USA for those willing to pay the unsubsidized price. Software can be upgraded without the handset reverting to a locked state because it was never locked in the first place.

I've never purchased a subsidized handset and every handset I have is unlocked.
I frequently swap prepaid sim cards when I travel so that I have a local number.
It is much less expensive to use a local number to call the USA rather than via roaming.
My wife's handset keeps our US number so friends can always reach us when needed.

[ImaNihilist]

That is correct - there is no "official" unlocked or jailbroken iPhone. All purchased iPhones are carrier locked to a specific carrier in whatever region the iPhone was purchased (e.g. AT&T in the United States). Any "unlocked" iPhone you see is an aftermarket unlock, either by the owner, or some 3rd party.

That means that any iPhone update will require the iPhone to be both jailbroken and unlocked again. People can electively choose NOT to upgrade their iPhone OS - this is a viable option for minor point revisions. But when a major update comes out, people will want to update to get the new features in that update - which will require them to jailbreak and carrier unlcok their phone.

It's a huge fookin pain in the arse.

Not all, actually. I believe South Korea has factory unlocked iPhones. A few other countries as well. France I think.

[kent1146]

Hrm. My mistake, then.

[ImaNihilist]

The Nexus One is made of massive amounts of fail IMO. Battery life is significantly worse than the already abysmal iPhone. That's what you get pushing 60% more pixels and a 1GHz CPU.

IMO, this BlackBerry I have no should be the BARE MINIMUM in terms of battery life going foward. It's good for about 1.5 to 2.5 days depending on use. I refuse to buy another "smart phone" until they improve battery life across the board. iPhone / Droid / Nexus One need to DOUBLE battery life before I even consider going back.

[md1198p]

The Nexus One is made of massive amounts of fail IMO. Battery life is significantly worse than the already abysmal iPhone. That's what you get pushing 60% more pixels and a 1GHz CPU.

IMO, this BlackBerry I have no should be the BARE MINIMUM in terms of battery life going foward. It's good for about 1.5 to 2.5 days depending on use. I refuse to buy another "smart phone" until they improve battery life across the board. iPhone / Droid / Nexus One need to DOUBLE battery life before I even consider going back.

That stuff does not both me too much. I charge my phone overnight, and in the car. When at work I use the USB charger and my computer. My battery never goes dead, this on an overclocked Mogul. As long as it works for a few hours of heavy use, its good enough for me.

The review of the HD2 says the battery life is noticably better than an Iphone, I doubt its as good as the Blackberry's simply because of the size of the screen and 1 gig proc.

[ImaNihilist]

That stuff does not both me too much. I charge my phone overnight, and in the car. When at work I use the USB charger and my computer. My battery never goes dead, this on an overclocked Mogul. As long as it works for a few hours of heavy use, its good enough for me.

The review of the HD2 says the battery life is noticably better than an Iphone, I doubt its as good as the Blackberry's simply because of the size of the screen and 1 gig proc.

Everything I've read makes it out to be worse. Even the stated battery life specs are reported as worse.

I got tired of having to charge my phone at home, in the car, at work, at night every day. It's nice to know that if I forget a USB cable that I'll still be able to make a call at the end of the day or the next morning.

Not sure why people put up with that ********. I'm not even sure how I did it for so long... two years...

[ua549]

For people without access to a wall outlet battery time or lack thereof is a significant factor. I have 3 relatives who each own several iPhones because they can't swap batteries. In reality an iPhone works about a quarter of a day (business use) before the battery dies. It is like me carrying a couple of spare batteries for my notebook. That is the only reason I decided against buying an iPhone. If they had a replaceable battery ...