iPhone 4 --> D2G, Insight needed

PsyberEMT

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Ok, so here's my situation. I was recently assigned a project in Canada (I live in Colorado, work for a software company.) Checked with the big A (t&t) to see what their Canadian roaming rates were....after getting up off the floor from my loss of consciousness, I decided to see which carrier had the best roaming rates. VZW was the clear winner with their "+ Canada" plans, so I set off to the vzw store to get a phone, not sure if I'd keep it for the full contract term or not (doing the math, the roaming charges alone would've paid for the vzw phone). Decided on the D2G just in case I went into an area with no native CDMA while in the great frozen north. Have immensely enjoyed the device (more so than I thought I would). I feel like I'm back in the WMo 5/6 days back when you had to tweak it a little bit to make it do exactly what you wanted it to do, but half the fun was the tweaking. After having using the D2G for about 3 weeks now, I'm seriously considering dumping the iPhone 4 and using the D2G as my primary line. I have a few issues that concern me however, and this is where I'd like input.

Navigation: I have a standalone GPS in my personal car, but when travelling, I hate taking it out, lugging it around, etc. I was marginally satisfied with TomTom on the iPhone, tho I never through the GPS accuracy of the iPhone was all that reliable. I've now tried Aura, Google maps w/ navi and co-pilot on the D2G. Aura doesn't appear all that stable, have exp some crashes. Co-pilot is just possessed lol sometimes it works great, sometimes not. Google seems to have a solid navi product, but I dont like the fact that I cant prefetch maps of my choosing. I've heard good things about navigon, but can't find it anywhere, all the barcode links to the store can't find it.

Battery life: Initially I was like WTF when my phone shut off during a call around noon one of the first days I had it. I had yet to customize much, so it was a pretty stock setup. I've since ditched ATK, run SetCPU to underclock via profiles, and power manager app to kill wireless, sync, and change brightness as needed. Not such an issue now, but afraid it can't compete with the iP4. (Even after purchasing the ext battery)

Data speeds: Lets face it, it's all about the network, right? What AT&T lacks in sheer 3G coverage, as long as you aren't in an area with backhaul issues, they make up for in sheer speed. 80% of their 3G footprint is upgraded to HSPA+, and the rest is on the way. All things being equal, metro area, no overworked backhaul, AT&T's wCDMA HSPA+ just creams VZW's EV-DO Rev.A. Other nifty advantage is obviously data while on the phone with AT&T. Hard to make a choice here.

Accessories: Obviously the iPhone has the quantity, but quality is another matter. Anyone can make cases with sequins on them and sell them at the mall. I'm talking about quality accessories. The car dock for starters. I LOVE it. (The moto one). Apple never released such a device for the iPhone, so I had to turn to the aftermarket. Tried 3 or 4 different ones. Settled on what I believe is a Magellan device. Works JUST ok. Has a useless bluetooth speakerphone built in. Causes error messages if you dont dock the iphone just right, very touchy. Car kit from moto just works. You drop it in, it locks the phone in place, car app (well, a replacement for the stock car app) pops up, and away you go. MicroUSB, while frail, does offer a lot more cabling options than the iPhone proprietary adapter.

Music player: Sadly I have to give props to the iphone here. They invented the whole iPod craze. So far doubletwist is about as close as I've come to an itunes experience, but it just isn't as smooth as itunes. It doesn't flow the same, its not as logical. Has a learning curve. You pick up an ipod touch or iphone and just use it to play music...its natural.

So those're my deciding points. Would LOVE to hear from anyone else who has made the jump in EITHER direction, and why. Currently I can either craigslist the iphone, or return the droid as I'm within my 30 days. No need to keep them both. If there are better solutions for my gripes on android (i.e. a music player I've neglected to try, I'm all ears!)

Any and all input appreciated!
 

UrbanBounca

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First and foremost, the D2G is locked by VZW, so you can't access GSM at all. Yes, it's a world phone, but VZW is greedy.

Navigation: I don't do much traveling, so I can't comment.

Battery life: The battery life on every Droid is terrible. I've rooted, and installed SetCPU on a custom ROM. I can go about a day and a half before I need a charge on my extended battery.

Data speeds: I've never had AT&T, because they don't offer service in my area.

Accessories: Droid's are only becoming more popular, and Motorola does a good job keeping software up-to-date. As you said, Motorola offers many OEM accessories for the Droid.

Music player: When all is said and done, a music player is a music player. Sure, the iPhone setup is better, but the Droid gets the job done. There are also many different music app's available for download, including one that will sync Android with iTunes.

As I mentioned, your biggest problem may be lack of GSM, but even so, VZW has a huge footprint.
 

Bilgediver

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A really good option is Poweramp, popular choice amongst users here for music playing.

Latest version of google maps allows you to download maps for offline navigating. Haven't tried it yet though.

Sent from my DROID2 GLOBAL using DroidForums App
 

cjvdh

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I have been an avid iPhone user since 2007 and myself and my fiance have just recently converted to the droid scene I have just come to grips that the battery life sucks! I have not looked into an extended battery however I may do so soon. That's one thing I loved about my iP4 the battery life was amazing. I dumped my iPhone 4 simply because of ATT crappy service in my area I was lucky if I could 2 bars where I lived and I don't live in the boonies either I live in a metro area (Harrisburg,York,Lancaster) Pennsylvania and the iPhone was not cutting it for me that's the whole reason I switched was because there service is terrible in my area.
 

silvasrt4

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Music Player: bTunes is essentially an itunes player for android. might want to check it out. also mixzing is a really good one, or cubed. all can be found in the market place.

Navigation: Google maps is still in beta on the android so if you just give it some more time im sure there will be an update in the near future to satisfy your needs. might also want to try emailing the developers on google maps with your idea of what should be implemented. never hurts to ask.

Battery life: This ties in with the accessories. Personally i play all my music when im driving off of my phone. simply have an auxiliary cable going to my deck, this way i have hands-free calling (calls come through speaker) and i dont have to wear one of those dorky bluetooths, and when i get in my car it has become habit to plug my car charger into the phone with the auxiliary cable. Also i have a usb cable on my desk at home, one in my backpack if im at school, and one by my bed for charging, so if my phone gets low i always have a way to charge it. The battery life might not be too great, but usually there is a usb port within arms reach anywhere you are nowadays!

As for your data speed: just be happy that you have more 3g coverage that AT&T. It may not be as fast, but it makes up for that in coverage area.

Hope my .02 helped you out. All in all, i have turned a few friends from iphones onto androids and none of them have looked back. It really is an overall better operating system that is getting stronger everyday!
 
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PsyberEMT

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Thanks for all the replies! I will deff check out the music player options mentioned.

CJVDGH - I'd deff get the extended battery...it made a very noticeable difference in usage time and is barely noticeable.
 

wesdo2gg

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I just recently came from an iPhone and as far as media players, powerAmp is second to none. I'm an audiophile and use a professional set of inner ear monitors. PowerAmp has a pretty good EQ to allow some pretty great customization to produce great sound. Just a though.
 
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