i-Phone or Android?

[HenrikOlsen]

That was me. And I still say it is absurd that the calls aren't offloaded from the towers.

For the providers it isn't stupid since they can't bill for the wi-fi.
The providers subsidize sales so it wouldn't be smart for the phone producers to have that as standard.
It's stupid for the users, which is why there are apps for just that that the users can install.

The world is still making sense.

[Trebuchet]

Here's another way to look at it, however:
I'm on a contract for a certain amount of minutes per month, in my case, more than I will likely ever use. If I go over it, they charge me extra.

If the cell provider was to send calls via the Wi-Fi, it would make no difference on my monthly contract, but would save them bandwidth on their tower. If I go over, they could still charge for the extra minutes, since I'd have no way of knowing whether it went by the normal tower or my Wi-Fi.

[primummobile]

I have an Android (Droid Razr Maxx) and my wife has an iPhone. Technologically, there isn't much one can do that the other can't. I think it just boild down to personal preference. Which one do you like more?

[LotusExcelle]

Here's another way to look at it, however:
I'm on a contract for a certain amount of minutes per month, in my case, more than I will likely ever use. If I go over it, they charge me extra.

If the cell provider was to send calls via the Wi-Fi, it would make no difference on my monthly contract, but would save them bandwidth on their tower. If I go over, they could still charge for the extra minutes, since I'd have no way of knowing whether it went by the normal tower or my Wi-Fi.

I don't mean to thread hijack with my take on the whole wi-fi offload issue - so if you want me to take this issue back to my own thread on it let me know.

But your point is a good one. And Henrik - your reasoning is desperately flawed. VOiP is currently being successfully used AND BILLED by third party companies such as Google. There is no reason cell providers could not do the same as in the quoted example.

[Trebuchet]

OK, back more on the original topic: How do I find and download apps? There's a bundle of them on the phone already but it's mostly the same sort of demo junk that comes on a new PC. And there's one for a Verizon app store which doesn't look all that good so far. (Several that I've looked at say "doesn't work on Razr Maxx". That's a bit alarming.)

Any suggestions?

[orionjim]

One of the Apps on the list of apps is "Play Store" (Google Play Store). Selecting that will take you to the Google Play Store, then select Apps and it will give you the popular apps. You can select the search bar at the top and look for specific apps.

[Ara Pacis]

The most important App you can get is Angry Birds. It's a temporal expediter that comes in handy. If you hike, or just like to walk, mytracks is useful too.

[Trebuchet]

Angry Birds is, of course, number one on the list. I'm also going to be looking for a night sky mapper, like my niece has for her i-Phone. Sky-Above, or some such.

[orionjim]

Look for "Sky Map".

[Trebuchet]

Well, dang! That was WAY too subtle to me, especially after I had a glass or two of wine!

I looked under apps for "play store". No joy. And under Google this & that. No joy.

Turns out that on the "home" screen, there's something labled "Market". I figured that was some sort of stock market application. Nope, that's where you find the Google Play Store!

Downloaded "Google Sky Map" so far. Now for The Big Time Waster...I mean, now for Angry Birds! Sudoku sounds good as well!

[Ara Pacis]

Gas Buddy is good too, to help you find good fuel prices.

[Trebuchet]

I saw Saturn, I saw Mars! I saw lots of pretty stars! Google Sky Map is pretty cool, I've never been able to learn my way round the constellations.

The free version of Angry Birds I downloaded, on the other hand, comes with lots of stupid free commercials.

Next thing I'm going to look for is a scientific calculator, hopefully free.

[orionjim]

I saw Saturn, I saw Mars! I saw lots of pretty stars! Google Sky Map is pretty cool, I've never been able to learn my way round the constellations.

The free version of Angry Birds I downloaded, on the other hand, comes with lots of stupid free commercials.

Next thing I'm going to look for is a scientific calculator, hopefully free.

I use "RPNCalc" that's a HP type calculator, if you're a TI person look for the "ti58/59c calculator"; both are free. You can also find the HP 12c, HP 15c and HP 16c calculator apps but they cost between $5 and $10. If you use a calculator a lot they might be worth the cost.

[John Mendenhall]

You've never needed iTunes to buy apps on the iphone - you can do that directly on the phone.

And, IIRC, the latest iPhone OS can use iCloud for updates and backups - you don't need a computer at all, to say nothing of needing iTunes.

Tell me more! I hate iTunes!

[Trebuchet]

I downloaded the first calculator on the list, although I considered a couple of HP emulators as well. RealCalc. I'll see how I like it and look for something else if I don't.

[Drunk Vegan]

If you enjoy retro gaming you might consider installing a few console emulators like SNES9X. Depending on the speed of your phone should be able to emulate any systems up to about PS1 and maybe Dreamcast.

Also quite useful is androidVNC , which allows you to remote-control your desktop computer while you're out using your phone.

[Trebuchet]

Aaand just 10 days after purchase, it's broken. As in dead as a doornail. Won't turn on. Won't ring. Won't do nuthin'. Back to Verizon in the morning.

[orionjim]

Aaand just 10 days after purchase, it's broken. As in dead as a doornail. Won't turn on. Won't ring. Won't do nuthin'. Back to Verizon in the morning.

Try holding "both" the power and the volume down button for 10 sec...to cause a hard reset?

Jim

[Ara Pacis]

Aaand just 10 days after purchase, it's broken. As in dead as a doornail. Won't turn on. Won't ring. Won't do nuthin'. Back to Verizon in the morning.

Silly questions, but: did you plug it in and charge it and was the charger plugged in? Did you remove the battery, reinsert and try to turn it on? Did you try to spin the battery on a flat surface (damaged batteries warp and will spin)?

[Trebuchet]

Try holding "both" the power and the volume down button for 10 sec...to cause a hard reset?

Jim

Wow! That worked. Thanks so much! But what on earth caused it in the first place?

Battery is showing only 20%, despite having been charged this morning and not on all day. Hmmm?

[Trebuchet]

Silly questions, but: did you plug it in and charge it and was the charger plugged in? Did you remove the battery, reinsert and try to turn it on? Did you try to spin the battery on a flat surface (damaged batteries warp and will spin)?

Yes, Yes, and No. The battery is apparently non-removable.

I've been having a little trouble with the power switch, possibly related to the protective cover which doesn't seem to fit quite right. I'm going to leave the cover off for a while. Now charging.

[orionjim]

Wow! That worked. Thanks so much! But what on earth caused it in the first place?

Battery is showing only 20%, despite having been charged this morning and not on all day. Hmmm?

I would still take it back to Verizon and have them check it out. I have a new EVO and it has locked up on me once and like yours the battery is not removable. Pressing and holding the two keys basically does the same as disconnecting the battery causing a complete reset.

The cause could have been an app with a problem or an Android OS problem. The thing that is strange is the battery life indicator showing only 20%. I would tell Verizon about that because if you charged it in the morning then something could be wrong with the phone.

Jim

[Trebuchet]

I would still take it back to Verizon and have them check it out. I have a new EVO and it has locked up on me once and like yours the battery is not removable. Pressing and holding the two keys basically does the same as disconnecting the battery causing a complete reset.

The cause could have been an app with a problem or an Android OS problem. The thing that is strange is the battery life indicator showing only 20%. I would tell Verizon about that because if you charged it in the morning then something could be wrong with the phone.

Jim

I'm suspecting something like a stuck power button due to the ill-fitting case. I'll probably take it in anyhow but likely not today.

[Drunk Vegan]

Wow! That worked. Thanks so much! But what on earth caused it in the first place.

Welcome to the world of smartphones.. I haven't seen one yet that doesn't crash at least occasionally. IMO it's like the earlier days of computing where operating systems were pretty primitive. Or currently if you load a new OS onto older hardware - there's going to be crashes.

Hopefully as the technology matures crashes will become far less frequent. In the meantime all that can be done is to remove whatever bloatware came with it that can be uninstalled, and be aware when multitasking that crashes will be more common.

And if you're still getting frequent crashes then you might consider installing a custom ROM to replace Google's OS which tends to try to use every last bit of memory it has available.

[Trebuchet]

Google just pushed me an update to the OS, changing the look and feel of the home page. I was only just getting used to the old one. The update hasn't hit my wife's phone yet!

[LotusExcelle]

That brings up one of my many complaints about Android: Fractured and fragmented updates.

[Trebuchet]

I got an e-mail this morning -- on my new Android -- from Best Buy. I-Phone 4gs, only $49.95! I understand they can barely give the current i-Phone away as everyone's waiting for the new model.

[DoggerDan]

I've still got a cheapie, but I'm leaning towards and Android. I've looked at and like the razors.

[captain swoop]

Adobe dropped Flash for Android so there goes the main reason people seemed to have for buying one over an iPhone

[Ara Pacis]

Adobe dropped Flash for Android so there goes the main reason people seemed to have for buying one over an iPhone

Apple changed the common dock connector for power peripherals, so there goes the main reason people seemed to have for buying one over an Android.