Thunderbolt or iPhone 4?

[The Droid Man]

Background info:
-I am eligible for an upgrade on Verizon (I'm on a family plan)
-I currently have a Motorola Droid (original)
-I have a Macbook Pro and use iTunes regularly
-I am a college student
-I don't live in a 4g city and the city I travel to doesn't have 4g either.
-I don't want to wait more than a month for a phone because I don't have much patience.


Ok so here's the deal.

What I WANT is an iPhone.
What I DON'T WANT is an outdated phone.

This puts me in sort of a dilemma and I've read numerous articles on both phones, spent countless hours browsing forums, and I'm just torn as to what to do.

The HTC Thunderbolt, spec-wise is in every way greater than the iPhone and is releasing around the same time as the Verizon iPhone and I love android. However, I would love to have seamless integration between my computer and my phone.

I don't know what to do.

On one hand, I don't mind android, and I would love to get the HTC but what's holding me back is that it lacks integration with my macbook.

On the other hand, the iPhone 4 has this integration I want (along with the ipod music player which is awesome compared to the stock android player), but it is a fact that it is a 7 month old phone with "outdated" hardware.


So the problem then becomes, I want an iPhone 5, NOW. Obviously this is impossible, so I come to you guys to give me some insight on what would be a good decision to make.

One thing I have considered is that I can buy the iPhone 4, use it until the iPhone 5 comes out, sell my iPhone 4, and upgrade to the 5. However, I've never really sold any of my phones before and I'm not familiar with what they go for, or anything like that. Around how much more do you think I would have to pay to upgrade to the iPhone 5, if I sold the iPhone 4 around that time?

Similarly, I can buy the HTC Thunderbolt, use it until the iPhone 5 comes out, and then sell it to upgrade.

Another thing I have considered is that I can just buy the HTC right now on a 1yr contract, and worry about a new phone in another year. I'm already used to Android and I like it, so having a Thunderbolt would be great except for the fact that I can't just plug it into my cpu and have everything sync perfectly.
----on this note, if you guys know of any apps that would provide greater integration with my mac, then enlighten me because then I can test drive them on my droid.

 

[struong57]

I know EXACTLY where you're coming from as I too am in the same predicament. I've had the original moto Droid since launch and am eligible for an upgrade. I've waited forever for the iPhone to come to Verizon and now that it's become a reality I'm on the fence.

I have no problems synching my Droid to my Macbook Pro, but I would love to play certain Facebook games that are only available on the iPhone and not Android. In addition, I'm not such a big fan of the open development market place for android as I've had to factory reset my Droid a few times. I'm not into hacking my phone and just want a phone that works smoothly and runs fast and has no problems.

I heard the iPhone does all that. I'm big on photo taking, video recording and editing, and music, and those are all areas where the iPhone excel in.

However, I want the latest and greatest. I don't care about 4G as it's not available in my area and I don't want to pay more (more than $30/month) for it.

I love widgets and the ability to fully customize my phone.

HELP!

Sent from my Droid using DroidForums App

 

[jpa1384]

explain how u get an upgrade?

i went and they said i wasnt eligible cuz my line wasnt the main line..is urs the main?

i just got the disc. price for the contract renewel, that what you mean?

 

[danDroid]

Tough decision for sure... I'd wait till the Thunderbolt comes out and get some hands on time with it first. If you decide on the iPhone, be sure to check out our sister site @ iPhone Forum and the dedicated Verizon iPhone section on there.

 

[The Droid Man]

I also forgot to mention that I want my phone to be PHONE SIZED. Meaning that I don't want a big bulky brick. That would not be cool. How big is the HTC Thunderbolt compared to the iPhone or the OG Droid?


@jpa1384, I can sign a 2yr contract and get the discounted price because I am no longer on contract. I'm on a month by month basis right now.

 

[Fedz84]

I just noticed that the iphone 4 gets free visual voice mail while android smartphones have to pay $2.99 for that service.

 

[gotta have that funk]

no you don't...

 

[tktouch12]

i'm actually in a pretty similar situation too. i really want to get an iphone 4 or like a bionic or thunderbolt (probably thunderbolt since i love sense). but, the iphone 4 is old. the thing is, you cant straight up compare android specs to ios specs. they run different operating systems and ios is perfectly optimized for the iphone 4. apple will continue to update the iphone 4 for a pretty long time, so even when the iphone 5 comes out, the 4 wont become as "obsolete" as android phones do because apple ios updates actually make the phone work better.
that is the main reason i think i've chosen the iphone 4. ios works super well. the iphone 4 is an attractive phone. the screen is amazing. it syncs with my computer. it is a good size, but still has a fantastic keyboard (best on any touchscreen i think). it will continue to be updated to become BETTER even after the iphone 5 comes out.

those are just my thoughts

i have one question though: does the iphone have free gps on verizon? i use my gps all the time on my incredible and would hate to lose that function..

 

[ryan18]

go for the TB with the year contract.
thats what im doing.
but not to get the iphone5
hate apple

 

[The Droid Man]

i'm actually in a pretty similar situation too. i really want to get an iphone 4 or like a bionic or thunderbolt (probably thunderbolt since i love sense). but, the iphone 4 is old. the thing is, you cant straight up compare android specs to ios specs. they run different operating systems and ios is perfectly optimized for the iphone 4. apple will continue to update the iphone 4 for a pretty long time, so even when the iphone 5 comes out, the 4 wont become as "obsolete" as android phones do because apple ios updates actually make the phone work better.
that is the main reason i think i've chosen the iphone 4. ios works super well. the iphone 4 is an attractive phone. the screen is amazing. it syncs with my computer. it is a good size, but still has a fantastic keyboard (best on any touchscreen i think). it will continue to be updated to become BETTER even after the iphone 5 comes out.

those are just my thoughts

i have one question though: does the iphone have free gps on verizon? i use my gps all the time on my incredible and would hate to lose that function..

The iPhone has GPS but nothing that gives turn-by-turn directions unless you buy a 3rd party app. A good app is the Navigon one which unfortunately runs you 50-60 dollars. This same function, you get on android for free. I don't like this fact, but its just something iOS users have to live with I guess haha.

I too use the GPS function on my D1, ALOT.


I also like the things your said about the iPhone because I agree with them and I have a 32gb on Verizon ordered but at the same time, I'm considering returning it, because its killing me that I'm buying a 8 month old phone and signing a 2yr contract for it......I still don't know what I'm going to do, its tearing me apart

 

[UNC]

Buy a Droid X off of eBay and save your upgrade. Then when an iPhone 5 comes out, upgrade to that.


If you want an iPhone desperately, just get the iPhone 4. It is still better than every Android phone, even if it is 8 months old.

 

[Drew_P]

@unc
How can you say that the iphone4 is better than EVERY android out there. I had the iphone for years and switched to android last year. It's a decision I've been very happy with. Being able to do anything I want to customize my phone (without rooting btw) is a huge improvement over only doing what Steve Jobs says I can do. The feature list for android is amazing. Plus the fact that I don't have to pay for every app in the market. They have high quality apps that are free, not like some of the lite garbage on the iphone that are sometimes no more than scaled down demos. I have to strongly but respectfully disagree with you on this one.

Fascinate stuck on 2.1

 

[littlerick]

i'm actually in a pretty similar situation too. i really want to get an iphone 4 or like a bionic or thunderbolt (probably thunderbolt since i love sense). but, the iphone 4 is old. the thing is, you cant straight up compare android specs to ios specs. they run different operating systems and ios is perfectly optimized for the iphone 4. apple will continue to update the iphone 4 for a pretty long time, so even when the iphone 5 comes out, the 4 wont become as "obsolete" as android phones do because apple ios updates actually make the phone work better.
that is the main reason i think i've chosen the iphone 4. ios works super well. the iphone 4 is an attractive phone. the screen is amazing. it syncs with my computer. it is a good size, but still has a fantastic keyboard (best on any touchscreen i think). it will continue to be updated to become BETTER even after the iphone 5 comes out.

those are just my thoughts

i have one question though: does the iphone have free gps on verizon? i use my gps all the time on my incredible and would hate to lose that function..

mapquest if free on iphone with turn by turn directions

 

[P7M8]

There are going to be a lot of pi$$ed off people if my brother-in-law's experience today is prevalent in the VZW stores.

He posted on facebook that he had been #13 in line and now has a VZW iPhone. He's had a D1 since release. I asked why and told him a 4G phone would be out soon and he'd be locked into the iPhone for 2 years. He asked "isn't the iPhone 4, 4G"? I told him it wasn't. He said the VZW rep told him it was. He apparently didn't know about the new return and upgrade policies either.

Can't wait to see the consequences.

 

[guitarchris123]

Background info:
-I am eligible for an upgrade on Verizon (I'm on a family plan)
-I currently have a Motorola Droid (original)
-I have a Macbook Pro and use iTunes regularly
-I am a college student
-I don't live in a 4g city and the city I travel to doesn't have 4g either.
-I don't want to wait more than a month for a phone because I don't have much patience.


Ok so here's the deal.

What I WANT is an iPhone.
What I DON'T WANT is an outdated phone.

This puts me in sort of a dilemma and I've read numerous articles on both phones, spent countless hours browsing forums, and I'm just torn as to what to do.

The HTC Thunderbolt, spec-wise is in every way greater than the iPhone and is releasing around the same time as the Verizon iPhone and I love android. However, I would love to have seamless integration between my computer and my phone.

I don't know what to do.

On one hand, I don't mind android, and I would love to get the HTC but what's holding me back is that it lacks integration with my macbook.

On the other hand, the iPhone 4 has this integration I want (along with the ipod music player which is awesome compared to the stock android player), but it is a fact that it is a 7 month old phone with "outdated" hardware.


So the problem then becomes, I want an iPhone 5, NOW. Obviously this is impossible, so I come to you guys to give me some insight on what would be a good decision to make.

One thing I have considered is that I can buy the iPhone 4, use it until the iPhone 5 comes out, sell my iPhone 4, and upgrade to the 5. However, I've never really sold any of my phones before and I'm not familiar with what they go for, or anything like that. Around how much more do you think I would have to pay to upgrade to the iPhone 5, if I sold the iPhone 4 around that time?

Similarly, I can buy the HTC Thunderbolt, use it until the iPhone 5 comes out, and then sell it to upgrade.

Another thing I have considered is that I can just buy the HTC right now on a 1yr contract, and worry about a new phone in another year. I'm already used to Android and I like it, so having a Thunderbolt would be great except for the fact that I can't just plug it into my cpu and have everything sync perfectly.
----on this note, if you guys know of any apps that would provide greater integration with my mac, then enlighten me because then I can test drive them on my droid.

If you are a Mac computer guy, and REALLY care about all that integration stuff, then I would go ahead and recommend getting the iPhone to you. My friend is a Macbook/iPhone guy, and he controls every gadget, the lights, and the alarm in his house from his phone and computer, which I think is pretty cool. If you need a phone now, get the 4, if you can wait until summer, get the 5.

For me, a PC user, and someone who prefers the openness of Android to the lock-down of iOs, the TB is clearly the better option. It is a more powerful, customizable, capable, and better spec-ed phone in every way, except battery life and screen technology, in which the iPhone has it beat by quite a bit.