Instead of going to a Farmer’s Market or grocery store for my fruits and veggies this morning, I dropped in AT&T and Verizon shops. I’ve been debating for quite a few weeks on the pros and cons of AT&T (T) and Verizon (VZ), without much success in establishing an ultimate victor. What a frustrating debate. Two years ago, it was clear(to me) that the iPhone 3G trumped all phones, at least all phones in the market that I admired. Recently, however, these robot phones and the powerhouse Google, decided to add 50 new variables to the mix. Thanks a lot Google (but say that line as Alan would say, “Thanks a lot Bin Laden.” If you don’t get this, we probably cannot be friends.).
These robots and their android software looks Incredible, wait, isn’t that the name of one of HTC’s robots? Odd. The diversity and slight differentiation of the heard of smart phones has become more grueling than picking a topic for a college research paper. Here’s MY stereotyping, and this helped a little:
iPhone 4 – That fun, cool kid in high school that hit up every party
Motorola Droid X – The stud athlete that is having a stellar season so far (Let’s just hope it doesn’t suffer the Madden Curse).
HTC Incredible – The smart kid that everyone likes, but is ½ step behind the party animal and captain of that sports team. “Guys, check out my keyboard!”
Motorola Droid – The extracurricular king. Need help with a project? “I have a keyboard too!”
Motorola Droid 2 – The new kid on the block. Who knows what they’ll be like, but my bet is a standout, with a keyboard. Might appeal to everyone?
Samsung Captivate – The new kid, hanging in the iPhone’s group. Who’s going to be top dog next semester? Seems fun and one of my AT&T reps pushed this pretty hard.
That debate, well, just sucks.
Next step, let’s analyze the services, maybe that’ll help me cut some fat. AT&T claims to cover 97% of the USA; however, my retail representative at Verizon commented to this statistic, saying, “That includes landlines.” I asked if that meant that if someone had AT&T for business, a home landline, and/or a mobile phone, if that counted as double or triple. Her response: a smile and a brief nod. Hmmmm… If that is true, those folks in the marketing department are getting more and more clever (I have not actual stat or fact to support this.). She was Incredibly helpful either way.
At AT&T (I went to two AT&T shops, but I won’t differentiate and confuse you.) my rep suggested, for better call quality, that I disable 3G and use EDGE. “You will still be able to use voicemail, but data may be slower,” she points out. I had to verify, because what was all the craziness about 3G and awesome calling when it came out a couple years ago?? Apparently this is true, verified at my second AT&T stop. I’m lost. Why have two networks, one superior at one task, the second the forerunner at the other? Ideas of [in]efficiency and logic are zipping around my potentially soon-to-implode brain. Am I missing something? Shouldn’t the focus be on the ULTIMATE network? Wasn’t 3G, a.k.a. 3rd Generation, suppose to be the next step in the awesomeness that is cellular phone service? Is this similar to saying let’s recruit a stud power forward to take this team to the next level, and we will pay stupid $$ millions to sign him; however, we’ll keep the old guy around because he’s better at...ESPN Classic?? Shouldn't this investment be to move the strategy forward? This is probably why I don't own the LA Lakers. (Side note: the Miami Heat could easily disprove this thought overthe next couple of seasons.)
Verizon’s service seems solid, right? I don’t know. I don’t have it, but people that do like to chuckle(or is it chortle?) whenI drop a call OR when I pull the [Verizon] “can you hear me now??” I actually was talking to a friend, who works for Verizon, and when I called them back…after my call was dropped, I didn’t receive a “Hello/Hey/What’s up?” No, upon accepting my call, all I heard was “hahahahaha.” Jerk. Oh the little things in life.
Price: for unlimited, about the same. That doesn’t help.
Music: Android software(maybe the Droid phone) converts iTunes music in to mp3 when loaded to phone.
Camera: All great. Captivate cannot record HD video(didn't ask on a couple). iPhone has face-side camera as well.
Contacts: Android syncs with Google contacts. iPhone with Address Book on Mac(Google contacts on Windows?).
Service: 3G (or EDGE...)
Screen: Big and crisp all around. What is the marginal benefit if the screen is better than my eye can actually process? Zero?
Included: Standard chargers, but I already have car charger and extra chargers for iPhone (about $20-30 for car charger?).
It’s coming down to which fruit or vegetable do I like. The Android software is full of social-aiding minerals and vitamins, but an Apple-a-day keeps the doctor away. After all, most of my techie toys are fruits. Maybe I should stick to simplicity and consistency. Then soon enough, my mom will be Facetiming me to ask why I don’t call as much as I “should.” #Awesome.
What do I choose? Apple (fruit) or a Droid (vegetable - whatever, vegetables have minerals. Robots are made of metal; minerals. Use the transitive property of addition.)?
