Steve Wozniak carries around a spare Verizon phone because his I4 sucks!
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/07...ne-4-carry-a-second-verizon-phone-for-backup/
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- Thread starter White92
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Steve Wozniak carries around a spare Verizon phone because his I4 sucks!
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/07...ne-4-carry-a-second-verizon-phone-for-backup/
Have had my Evo 4g for 2 days, and all I can say is OMG the battery is god awful on these things..... I think it may be a deal breaker for me and a switch to the iPhone 4.
The Samsung Epic which is a Galaxy S Pro phone is coming out on the 20th I believe. Get that. It has the Super AMOLED screen which is great on battery. It also has the front facing camera and a full 5 row keyboard while still being thin. This is making it real difficult for me to stay with my current carrier because I'm very tempted to go to Sprint for this phone.
BTW, it has about 3x the graphics power as the EVO and has a faster processor Hz for Hz.
ADW Launcher - the best launcher IMO. Very customizable.
Google Voice - if you have an account it's a must have. Very fluid integration
Pageone personal assistant - very useful for handling finances and bills etc.
Astro file manager - so you can browse through the phone's contents
Handycard - keeps the bulk out of your wallet by storing all the bar-codes for store club cards
Smartkeyboard pro - multitouch keyboard that has customizable skins
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I have the Captivate/Galaxy S and the battery life is great. The super amoled screen next to an iPhone 4 screen makes the iPhone 4 look like it's dim. It's bright and efficient and I'm heavily invested in the technology behind the screen. These are the best gaming phones around, I got 56 FPS on Neocore!!!
If you don't need that front camera you can go to AT&T and get the Captivate. Verizon will also have their own version the Fascinate. Sprint like Tmobile is looking to go bankrupt. Verizon still has unlimited data so that might be your best bet. The Captivate comes preloaded with Swype keyboard which beats touch typing any day of the week.
Android is the smartphone leader. We got Froyo updates coming soon for most carriers and then Gingerbread (Android 3.0) and 2 Ghz phones at the end of the year!
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It's on the list of 10 big companies veering toward bankruptcy. It's going to need some kind of financial help. But someone is going to scoop up and provide service to their customers.
I currently have T-mobile and I'm off a contract now. I'm afraid to hop on to another carrier because I don't want to commit to them for 2 years with T-mobile on the up-rise (network wise). In the last 2 years in being with T-mobile, their service has vastly improved. Plus, their customer service is great along with the cheapest plans! ($89.99 for Unlimited talk/text/3G)
I would even go to say, at least in my area, they have better coverage than AT&T and faster 3G speeds (Although the 3G speeds may actually be the HSPA network rolling out - I jumped from averaging 700kbps a few weeks ago to ranging in between 1400 - 2800kbps now ... tested this over the last week everyday). Only time a call ever drops when I'm anywhere in my city has been when speaking to either Metro PCS or AT&T customers (namely iPhone users with AT&T - go figure!).
CNET informal testing of data network speed in NYC:
http://cnettv.cnet.com/testing-cell...42-1_53-50090183.html?tag=smallCarouselArea.0
I guess the point of my rambling is that I can't fathom T-mobile falling off in the next couple year because of the momentum they're carrying with the network upgrades. They were the last to implement 3G and quickly becoming the first to fully roll out their next gen (call it 3.5G, 3.95G, or whatever).
This leaves me to my dilemma. AT&T is out of the picture for me because of the experience my sister and friends all have with it. Verizon is great, but Verizon, like AT&T, is pretty pricey (I use 3000 minutes a month). So Sprint against T-mobile is what I'm faced with. From what I've heard, Sprint's service recently is pretty comparable to Verizon's while being pretty cheap.
Basically: Vibrant on T-mobile vs Epic on Sprint. I'm loving the Epic over the Vibrant, but not liking the extra 20 bucks per month (have to pay 10 bucks extra for 4G even though it's not available in my area yet) plus contract.
White92 said:
Please share your experience with the carrier change, thanks :smile:
You can take advantage of free outgoing calls with Android and Google Voice.
Just create a Google voice number - and download the Google voice app. Every time you make an outgoing call - use the option: call using Google voice. The phone will dial an AZ area code number and forward to the number you dial. Therefore, just add the AZ area code number to your favorite list (A-List on AT&T) and all your outgoing calls are free.
Worked for me the last two months.
(There are other ways around this: using callback apps).
Just create a Google voice number - and download the Google voice app. Every time you make an outgoing call - use the option: call using Google voice. The phone will dial an AZ area code number and forward to the number you dial. Therefore, just add the AZ area code number to your favorite list (A-List on AT&T) and all your outgoing calls are free.
Worked for me the last two months.
(There are other ways around this: using callback apps).
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I wish I looked into this before T-mobile got rid of their myFaves plans! I've known about using SIP servers to have free VoIP on computers. For mobile phones, I always assumed that the outgoing calls were just masked numbers using your google number and calling using your service. If I would have known this I would have jumped on the lowest minutes plan and been using my google number this whole time!Now where did I put that time machine I've been working on? :tongue:
can you make phone calls via wifi on google voice?
I believe there use to be a app/developer call Gizmo5 and also SIPDroid that uses Google Voice and WiFi/3G/Edge to make VoIP calls.
My method is NOT VoIP just a way to take advantage of free calls using Google Voice - very simple and easy to do.
Disregard the free incoming calls using Google voice - for some reason, sometimes my Google voice number shows up on the bill and sometimes it shows the true caller's number (therefore, charging me daytime minutes). Trying to figure out how and why now.
Will update when I figure out!
However, outgoing calls does work with Google Voice and Google Voice app (the number it dials out to is: 602-633-4000 for me, not positive if it is universal to all user)
Will update when I figure out!
However, outgoing calls does work with Google Voice and Google Voice app (the number it dials out to is: 602-633-4000 for me, not positive if it is universal to all user)
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I've setup my incoming calls to display my google voice number for now. It will defeat caller ID unfortunately. But I can verify that it does work for free calls as it shows on my bill that it's an A-List number with AT&T.
Making calls using the Google voice app for me dials a 916 Sacramento number.
Interesting. Like I said, I was with Tmobile for 13 years or so. I was still using my original SIM car that said VoiceStream on it. I was also in their top 1% of customers who have been with them the longest. Or so they would tell me. I loved their service and had it wherever I would need it. I never had a problem with their billing and if I ever called customer service, it was a great experience.
However, they just didn't seem to have cool phones and we just got 3G here about a year ago. Of the few phones I would consider, they wouldn't help me out with a deal any more than what a new customer could get. I called and chatted online with them many times explaining that we wanted some help. I was always told, "No, we never do anything like that." I have been out of contract since March.
So I looked around and almost went with Verizon, but it was just more than I wanted to pay for a family plan each month. I found out that we get a discount through Acura with Sprint. It was cheaper and they had the new EVO 4G waiving in front of me. I made the jump last month and haven't had any issues at all. Well, other than trying to teach my wife how to use the phone, but that's a whole other thread........
However, they just didn't seem to have cool phones and we just got 3G here about a year ago. Of the few phones I would consider, they wouldn't help me out with a deal any more than what a new customer could get. I called and chatted online with them many times explaining that we wanted some help. I was always told, "No, we never do anything like that." I have been out of contract since March.
So I looked around and almost went with Verizon, but it was just more than I wanted to pay for a family plan each month. I found out that we get a discount through Acura with Sprint. It was cheaper and they had the new EVO 4G waiving in front of me. I made the jump last month and haven't had any issues at all. Well, other than trying to teach my wife how to use the phone, but that's a whole other thread........
Yup I just verified that if you go to your Google Voice setting -> Calls Tab -> Caller ID (in) -> select Display my Google Voice number
When someone calls using your Google Voice number, it'll show your own number on the phone's caller ID and also on the bill. The downsize is that it defeats Caller ID but you will not get billed minutes. Also, I've learned that Google Voice outgoing calls number can verify and change from time to time.
You can download a call-back app:
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.xinlu.gvdial [free]
http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.xinlu.gvdial_donate# [donate]
"an app that will use Google Voice to call you back and connect you, making the call free"
I'm using those, too. It's definitely possible to eliminate minutes usage with an A-List/Fav 5 plan but there are drawbacks.
One drawback I recently discovered was with bluetooth dialing from my stereo. The phone is prompting me to select call back and Google voice. Haven't had a lot of time to look into it but I imagine setting it to do it by default would fix it.
1.) After downloading Google Voice Callback, go to the official Google Voice app and go to Settings
2.) In the Making Calls section, select 'Do not use Google Voice to make calls'
3.) Now go to the Google Voice Callback app
4.) Put in the phone number of your phone (not Google Voice number) for the callback number
5.) Under 'Callback is enabled when' I have 'Whenever internet is available' but choose the option that fits you best
I believe that should help you default the correct programs
I just bought this $25 OBDII bluetooth scanner on eBay and downloaded the free version of Torque. For a car junkie, this is just amazing...
Lost Phone is now my phone finder/phone locker app of choice.
I use Appbrain to manage my phone apps.
Lost Phone is now my phone finder/phone locker app of choice.
I use Appbrain to manage my phone apps.
I bought the Seido 3500mAh extended battery and I LOVE it. No worries at all about turning off features or how much battery I have left. I can go two full days of heavy usage before I am down to 30% now. Yes, it makes it thicker, but it fits in my hand perfectly and I carry it in my pocket. The extra width is well worth the amount of battery you get out of this thing.
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Same here. I know it's not for everyone, but for me, I love it.
I use my phone non-stop. Lots of nights I don't even fire up my laptop. I read my blogs, watch youtube, and do emails through my EVO. And now, there is no possible way I can kill the battery in 1 day. I think yesterday I burned just under 30%(70% left) with normal usage. Not bad.....
Oh yeah, anyone who doesn't have Swype.
Coolest app ever.
Instead of typing, you just draw lines over the letters that make up the words you want to type. You don't have to be perfect, just somewhat close and it figures it out. Makes typing a lot faster.
Coolest app ever.
Instead of typing, you just draw lines over the letters that make up the words you want to type. You don't have to be perfect, just somewhat close and it figures it out. Makes typing a lot faster.
It's available and in beta. Beta is closed now.
There is a very similar keyboard called slideIT. I used the trial and it was very nice. The app is like 6 euros.
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I used to like Swype but it's slow compared to Swiftkey which has a brilliant predictive text feature. The thing I didn't like about Swype is how your finger would block out the keys and make it difficult sometimes. You can text using Swiftkey almost as fast as you can type. Once it's well learned, you can cut down your typing about 30-40%.
That's some lovely Apple fanboyism right there.
FWIW, I get about two days on my Motorola Droid 2, normal usage.
I don't carry a spare battery, but I do appreciate a design where if the battery dies I can swap out a new one in about 15 seconds. Also, upgrading the memory can be done just as fast, and doesn't require the purchase of an entirely new model.
Android Apps I like: Alchemy (game), and Wifi Analyzer.
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