IGX

Man, that looks sweet.

It'd look like an iPad upside your head!!

The orginal Galaxy Nexus straight from Google has been a phenomenal smart phone. Syncs flawlessly with all my desktop Google stuff (unsurprisingly) and I get to run the latest and greatest version of Android without any hassles or rooting, etc. Bought it straight up and switched from Sprint to Straight Talk's unlimited data and cut my phone bill in half with no loss in service or quality. I highly recommend buying the phone outright and avoiding all contracts. The cost may seem high up front (because you gotta buy the phone in one pop), but you'll save a lot of money in the long run. You can do this with any unlocked phone and Apple sells an unlocked version if you want to stick with the iPhone. T-Mobile also offers a no contract, pay as you go deal and I've heard generally positive things about it.

I had an iPhone 4S for a year but will probably never go back. Pure, unadulterated Android straight from Google HQ stomps all over iOS. It's not even remotely close. iOS seems like a weak toy in comparison. Can't compare iOS to other versions of Android (I hear some versions are bloated with unremovable junkware and are almost unusable), but from Jellybean onward, it's the mobile OS to beat, IMO.

JonnyCat wrote:The orginal Galaxy Nexus straight from Google has been a phenomenal smart phone. Syncs flawlessly with all my desktop Google stuff (unsurprisingly) and I get to run the latest and greatest version of Android without any hassles or rooting, etc. Bought it straight up and switched from Sprint to Straight Talk's unlimited data and cut my phone bill in half with no loss in service or quality. I highly recommend buying the phone outright and avoiding all contracts. The cost may seem high up front (because you gotta buy the phone in one pop), but you'll save a lot of money in the long run. You can do this with any unlocked phone and Apple sells an unlocked version if you want to stick with the iPhone. T-Mobile also offers a no contract, pay as you go deal and I've heard generally positive things about it.

I had an iPhone 4S for a year but will probably never go back. Pure, unadulterated Android straight from Google HQ stomps all over iOS. It's not even remotely close. iOS seems like a weak toy in comparison. Can't compare iOS to other versions of Android (I hear some versions are bloated with unremovable junkware and are almost unusable), but from Jellybean onward, it's the mobile OS to beat, IMO.

I was at a conference in August where one of the original Mac Fanboys, back when it was dangerous to out yourself as a Mac lover, declared that Google was right in the mix with the Nexus. It was only a matter of time until people woke up and realized it.

I know a few developers who swear up and down that installed base means nothing. They can develop for Android, and probably do it cheaper, but they're all still strongly devoted to iOS in their efforts.

I am putting a strong effort into pretty much everything mobile related in my own work and can't help but keep an eye on Android. I'm not a developer, but I still see iOS as the place to be for the moment. It'll be interesting to see what happens with tablets since that's what will have the biggest effect on what I do.

This shit gets me pretty fucking worked up. I'm not gonna lie.

Upgrade time for me as well. I get a Galaxy S3 or iPhone 5 at the same price. The galaxy looks completely superior but I already have an iPad, iPod touch and may be getting a MacBook, so I'm leaning towards iPhone. I am not a nerd or techie, am upgrading from a blackberry, and am comfortably behind the times, to the point of old-fart-dom.

Baffled, I am with you. The possibilities in mobile seem to be unlimited (and I was not that interested until a year ago when I got my first smart phone, the iPhone 4S). CES this year looks kuh-razy...UbuntuOS phone? Doubt I'll ever use it, but there's definitely some coolness happening here:

JonnyCat wrote:Baffled, I am with you. The possibilities in mobile seem to be unlimited (and I was not that interested until a year ago when I got my first smart phone, the iPhone 4S). CES this year looks kuh-razy...UbuntuOS phone? Doubt I'll ever use it, but there's definitely some coolness happening here:

Definitely some interesting stuff going on in the mobile space.

CES has not gotten good reviews this year. Interesting stuff posted at 52 Tiger the last couple of days.

Tech Crunch does not approve

That review sounds about right. Vegas + geeks + the worst kind of hyperbolic marketing = Hell. Still, gotta love cool stuff like the Piston, from Xi3:

Steam Box

I didn't see NVidia's weird handheld coming, either.

Project Shield

I just switched from Android (HTC Evo Shift) to the iPhone 5. I have an iPad, so there's some cross-platform stuff I like. Otherwise, there are some annoyances, such as the Google navigation being 50x better on Android than the Google navigation on iPhone. Voice recognition is also superior on Android, since it's processed on the phone and not sent to the cloud.

Hard to compete with Apple on the apps, though.

My Verizon Galaxy S3 with Jelly Bean is the tits. iPhone 5 looks archaic next to it.

The Ginger Beard Man wrote:Upgrade time for me as well. I get a Galaxy S3 or iPhone 5 at the same price. The galaxy looks completely superior but I already have an iPad, iPod touch and may be getting a MacBook, so I'm leaning towards iPhone. I am not a nerd or techie, am upgrading from a blackberry, and am comfortably behind the times, to the point of old-fart-dom.

I upgraded from Blackberry to a Galaxy S3, and I wish I had jumped ship sooner. Everyone else was right (for once). Google everything works better, the hardware is better (if less sturdy), and third-party software is far better (not just because there's more of it). I even got used to the lack of a physical keyboard faster than I thought I would. The combination of SwiftKey, a third-party keyboard, and voice recognition (Google, not S Voice) make up for the lost sense of touch.

Get the S3, try a third-party keyboard or two, and buy a case so the phone can survive being dropped. You will be happy.

Grandpa's Spells wrote:I just switched from Android (HTC Evo Shift) to the iPhone 5. I have an iPad, so there's some cross-platform stuff I like. Otherwise, there are some annoyances, such as the Google navigation being 50x better on Android than the Google navigation on iPhone. Voice recognition is also superior on Android, since it's processed on the phone and not sent to the cloud.

Hard to compete with Apple on the apps, though.

I have the EVO Shift now. With everyone's talking about the S3, I'll take a look. What do you mean Google navigation? Getting through your email and contacts, etc?

msr2112 wrote: What do you mean Google navigation? Getting through your email and contacts, etc?

Have to experience it to really appreciate it. It's an integrated app from Google that comes standard with Android (at least it came standard with my Nexus running Jelly Bean). Google Nav = ByeBye for the TomTom. It's like having a fairly-attractively-voiced chick in the car with you giving you directions (sounds better than Siri). Often gives you directions, like turns or whatever, at the very moment you need the info. Kinda spooky, actually.

More info: Google Nav Page

msr2112 wrote:

Grandpa's Spells wrote:I just switched from Android (HTC Evo Shift) to the iPhone 5. I have an iPad, so there's some cross-platform stuff I like. Otherwise, there are some annoyances, such as the Google navigation being 50x better on Android than the Google navigation on iPhone. Voice recognition is also superior on Android, since it's processed on the phone and not sent to the cloud.

Hard to compete with Apple on the apps, though.

I have the EVO Shift now. With everyone's talking about the S3, I'll take a look. What do you mean Google navigation? Getting through your email and contacts, etc?

Built in navigation app that works with Google Maps.

I kind of want to break my iPhone now.

Fuck I can't decide.
Pinky convinced me to go with the Galaxy 3. Then a friend had me back to the iPhone tonight, and now I'm wavering again. Indecision leaves me stuck with this piece of shit blackberry

I just read the first two reviews of the S3 on the Sprint site and they both mentioned lousy battery life. Not a good sign.

Honestly, almost every smart phone is going to have a shitty battery life.

I will note though, that my iPhone 4S charges fast as hell. I can usually make it the whole day without it running down the whole way.

I check my email, sync my calendar, take and make calls, texts, check the internet when I take a dump... always running.

My Android ran down like crazy, but it was that shitty Motorola Droid. The first one that came out.

I think it was noted above, but with the S3 you can switch out batteries.

The Ginger Beard Man wrote:Fuck I can't decide.
Pinky convinced me to go with the Galaxy 3. Then a friend had me back to the iPhone tonight, and now I'm wavering again. Indecision leaves me stuck with this piece of shit blackberry

Whichever you decide on, you will be engaged and happy because it will do a million times more things a million times better than your paleo BlackBerry. Then you will be frustrated because there will be a real learning curve. Then you will be confused and jealous because you will want all the cool things your friends with the other phones have. It's an inevitable rabbit hole.

To me it's less about the phone and more about my other equipment and desire to avoid tech think. I have a MacBook Air, hence I have an iPhone because they sync beautifully. If I was still on a PC, I'd probably have a Droid. Imagine two slightly different but almost equally hot girls. Who do you choose? The one whose dad let's you use his cool boat for free.