which phone OS??

[dryfly]

This has probably been covered many times on this forum but since technology changes I'll ask again. I'm shopping for a smart phone, currently doing business with Verizon.

I'm very tech savvy but since I retired I find myself using my cell phone less and less, so the old flip phone has met my needs. I can see where I could infrequently use texting capabilities.

So the question is: Apple IPhone or an Android based phone??

I would NOT be using it for watching movies or music. I have several nice cameras and prefer to use them in photo uses. Just need a phone for calls, seldom texting, and maybe internet access on rare occasions.

Which phone?

[RFCN2]

dryfly - We have Verizon. I have a Motorola Android smartphone, my wife has an almost new iPhone 6+. In my opinion both Android and Apple make very good systems. So does Microsoft.

I use Android because I have 3 gmail accounts for email and gmail works with Android better than iPhone. My wife has an iPhone because she plays games on her iPad and the phone has the same system.

I also like Motorola because their phones are very ruggedly built. I have had several and the last two have had kevlar on the outside. This is the same stuff as bulletproof vests.

Don't pooh pooh having a smartphone. They do all kinds of stuff. I use mine as a hotspot for wifi. I used it as a GPS. I use it as a calendar with reminders built in. I use it as an alarm clock. I have taken thousands of pictures and videos with mine. Just my humble opinion, but I think the smartphone is the most useful piece of tech gear you can own.

[APT]

rk911 wrote:
correct but we pay for that. if you jailbreak the iPhone you can find software that will let you tether to a laptop for free access to the web. not sure what effect jailbreaking has on the iPhone warranty though.

If you have a smartphone phone activated on Verizon's network, you pay for it too. You may mean that you could jailbreak the phone and use wifi hotspot with an unlimited data plan, but you still pay for that unlimited plan. Otherwise, every iphone on Verizon's More Everything or Edge plan includes wifi hotspot. The data you use is managed per the tier you pay for.

[mileshuff]

1775 wrote:
My three year old Samsung phone came with Gingerbread and never got updated past Gingerbread. I own the phone - paid for in full from the start. My Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet that is a year old has never been updated past the original Android Jellybean version and Samsung says there is no intent to update it.

The Galaxy Note 10.1 was released in July 2012 when it had Gingerbread. It was later updated to Jellybean 4.1. In 2014 a newer version of the 10.1 was released with Kitkat 4.4. If you have the older revision then Jellybean is probably the last update due to hardware restraints.

I've only had Samsung Android devices myself. All of which have been among the first to get updates and all received updates for at least 2 to 3 years. I had iPhones and iPods thru version 4. Had too many problems with them, most notably with corporate email exchange/sync compatibility and not a fan of iTunes nor Apples closed system so I switched to Android and been happy ever since.

I think for the most part iOS or Android work well for what they're intended and it comes down to personal preference and needs.

[LarryJM]

BB_TX wrote:

dryfly wrote:
.........
I must really be getting old!! I recognize the benefits of the newer phones but actually see very little advantage to my needs ......................

That is what I said a couple years ago when I still had a flip phone. But wife got a new iphone5 , so I took her old iphone4 even though I didn't NEED it. Now I use it a lot.
I don't usually make phone calls unless I need to. Would rather send a quick text. Short and sweet.
But it is synced to my truck for hands free operation in case someone calls while I am driving, or I need to make a call while driving.
Use it for e-mail more often that I do on the computer.
I use it for maps, directions, and a basic GPS.
When my son updates his calendar with my grandson's baseball games, my granddaugher's volleyball games, and my other granddaughter's dance competitions, it automatically updates my calendar so I know where I will be when, along with addresses and directions.
Sitting at a baseball game and clouds building, I look at local radar to see if rain is approaching. Or any other time I may have reason to see if storms are approaching.
Camera comes in handy when I am not carrying a regular camera but find I want to take a picture of something. And maybe even e-mail it or text message it to someone.
And it goes on and on.
And now I have a new iphone6. :B

My experience as a previous dedicated "FLIPPER" is similar and have now had my first iphone for just over 1 year. I don't text, do social media, send pics, stream or watch videos and sure don't play silly games on it. I have found it to be very useful in several areas such as scheduling and keeping a history of medical appointments and invested in one of the high end super capable aftermarket calenders "Pocket Informant". I also keep basic medical records like immunizations, tests, medicines, etc. in an app along with an app for tracking my blood sugar and exerices. I have found several other good uses for it like the compass and sat app to see generally where to set up or sat dish when at a CG, the Universal Studios and Disney World apps for things like the Maps, wait times, restaurants, etc., the weather app and a couple of others. I also have all our pics on my phone from our camera that includes some 6,000+ pics and slides from all our scanned albums, etc. from the last 40 years. Do I really need all this ... NO, but it is nice to have now that it's available to me for only the cost of admission and my iphone is on a separate 1GB account for $60/mo. In fact I still have my old flip phone active which is on with my wife's flip phone on a separate Verizon family share plan account and is only costing me an extra $10/mo.

Larry

[1775]

mileshuff wrote:

1775 wrote:
the Android phone today that you buy with Y Android version, will not get an update to Android Z comes out in six months or a year.

I don't find that at all. If you buy a new model Android phone you can generally expect the next 2 versions of Android will be made available. The S4 for instance came out with Jellybean. It was updated with KitKat and will be updated with Lollipop in the next month (builds have already been released to vendors). My prior S3 was updated several times over its life.

Older iPhones often are not compatible with the latest iOS. Same reason as older Androids. Newer OS's require newer hardware.

My three year old Samsung phone came with Gingerbread and never got updated past Gingerbread. I own the phone - paid for in full from the start. My Galaxy Note 10.1 tablet that is a year old has never been updated past the original Android Jellybean version and Samsung says there is no intent to update it. Maybe it is a Samsung thing - but three Samsungs and all the same story. As to not being able to be updated - if it can be rooted and updated with a custom rom to run any of the versions of Android, it should be updated by the phone's manufacturer.

[1775]

If you "jailbreak" or root the phone you will invalidate any warranty that you have left on the phone. If it is no longer under warranty, do a search on the apps that you have to make sure that all will still work after "jailbreaking" or rooting the phone. Some apps, particularly those that are connected to streaming video apps and some financial apps may stop working. If this is so for any of your apps, a search of the internet will turn up plenty on it.

[rk911]

Gjac wrote:

rk911 wrote:

APT wrote:

rk911 wrote:
...tether the android to your laptop for a "free" hotspot. you'd have to jailbreak the iPhone to do that.

Nope, I have Wifi hotpot on my iPhone with Verizon. It's part of the service that VZN allows on certain data plans.

correct but we pay for that. if you jailbreak the iPhone you can find software that will let you tether to a laptop for free access to the web. not sure what effect jailbreaking has on the iPhone warranty though.

. I'm not sure I understand your post. I pay $40/mo for an iPhone 5c unlimited talk and text and x GB for Internet with Verizon and I can use it for a hotspot wirelessly or tether it. Are you saying I would pay $30/ mo without this capability? I was told this was the min plan that Verizon offered for a smart phone. My old flip phone was $30/ mo.

I'm saying you'd pay nothing to nobody. just google 'jailbreak iphone tether' and read what comes up. I've not done this, jailbreak my iphone, but plenty have. as I said, not sure what effect if any jailbreaking the phone would have regarding warranty issues.

[Gjac]

rk911 wrote:

APT wrote:

rk911 wrote:
...tether the android to your laptop for a "free" hotspot. you'd have to jailbreak the iPhone to do that.

Nope, I have Wifi hotpot on my iPhone with Verizon. It's part of the service that VZN allows on certain data plans.

correct but we pay for that. if you jailbreak the iPhone you can find software that will let you tether to a laptop for free access to the web. not sure what effect jailbreaking has on the iPhone warranty though.

. I'm not sure I understand your post. I pay $40/mo for an iPhone 5c unlimited talk and text and x GB for Internet with Verizon and I can use it for a hotspot wirelessly or tether it. Are you saying I would pay $30/ mo without this capability? I was told this was the min plan that Verizon offered for a smart phone. My old flip phone was $30/ mo.

[rk911]

APT wrote:

rk911 wrote:
...tether the android to your laptop for a "free" hotspot. you'd have to jailbreak the iPhone to do that.

Nope, I have Wifi hotpot on my iPhone with Verizon. It's part of the service that VZN allows on certain data plans.

correct but we pay for that. if you jailbreak the iPhone you can find software that will let you tether to a laptop for free access to the web. not sure what effect jailbreaking has on the iPhone warranty though.

[ncrowley]

I was given an iPhone for work. After I used it for a year, I looked at purchasing my own smart phone and got the Android. I liked the larger screen (iPhone has one now) and I found it easier to use. Having said that, it is a personal choice. You can go to the store and play with both of them or ask your friends to show you how their phone works.

I cannot imagine traveling without a smart phone. I use it a lot for finding places and looking up information. I have a smart phone and my DH has the flip phone. If at least one of us has a smart phone, we are in good shape.

[Gjac]

I would get whatever phone your kids have, this way if you have a question on how to use it they can help you.

[Chris_Bryant]

If you're not going to use it for anything but talking- any OS is fine. I have a Nokia Lumia 520 with Windows Phone OS. Good phone, rotten OS, but it doesn't matter, as I just use it for talking and the occasional text, plus having a camera is handy sometimes. I just use it on the AT&T GoPhone plan- a bit under $10/month with rollover minutes. Data is set for WiFi only. I paid $40 for the phone new (it has slightly better hardware specs than my iPod touch, which was *far* more than $40 :)).

[mileshuff]

1775 wrote:
the Android phone today that you buy with Y Android version, will not get an update to Android Z comes out in six months or a year.

I don't find that at all. If you buy a new model Android phone you can generally expect the next 2 versions of Android will be made available. The S4 for instance came out with Jellybean. It was updated with KitKat and will be updated with Lollipop in the next month (builds have already been released to vendors). My prior S3 was updated several times over its life.

Older iPhones often are not compatible with the latest iOS. Same reason as older Androids. Newer OS's require newer hardware.

[paulcardoza]

If you want a smartphone that simply works today, tomorrow and 2 years from now, get an iPhone. If you are a tinkerer, who wants to customize and fiddle with your gadgets, buy a droid.

One thing I can promise you..... After a year, you'll wonder how you ever lived without either of them.