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Buying First Smartphone

D

daechi

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 10, 2007
31
0
Hey everyone,

I am looking to buy my very first smartphone. I was going to get the 4s and then started reading all the reviews on the S3. And now I hear the iPhone 5 is about to be released. So I'm confused what to buy now.

I work on a macbook pro 15" and have been buying apple computers since the IIe. I've owned almost every new line of computer desktop/laptop they've introduced since the early 80s, but I never purchased a smartphone or a an iPad. I just didn't see the need for it since I hardly use my phone now and spend most of my time on the macbook pro.

Now I'm getting pressure from my friends and girlfriend to get a smartphone, and I'm also starting to feel way out of the loop. They all have the iPhone, but I find the screen size annoying. Still, being a mac os user all my life I always preferred their os over Windows not because I thought it was better but simply because it's what I've always used.

So my question is does my preference of Mac os spill into their phones and are Android os like Windows?

If you were me and not in a particular hurry what would you purchase?
 
daechi said:
If you were me and not in a particular hurry what would you purchase?
Click to expand...

If I was you, i'd wait for the iPhone 5 and decide if I want to get the iPhone 5 or the Galaxy S3.

If I was still you, I'd go for the iPhone 5. Why? The iPhone is a great place to start for your first smartphone.

source: personal experience, first smartphone was an iPhone 3GS
 
RocketRed said:
If I was you, i'd wait for the iPhone 5 and decide if I want to get the iPhone 5 or the Galaxy S3.

If I was still you, I'd go for the iPhone 5. Why? The iPhone is a great place to start for your first smartphone.

source: personal experience, first smartphone was an iPhone 3GS
Click to expand...

This. The latest / newest iPhone will give you the best impression out of the other models. It's not good to judge a line of devices by the 2nd or 3rd best model.
 
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=galaxy_nexus_hspa&feature=corpus_selector

Galaxy Nexus for only $349, is the best phone on the market right now, with Jellybean it is super smooth and fast, with great battery life. And buying it directly through Google means no contract no commitment, will give you much cheaper monthly plan that way.

If you can wait, then I say wait till November for both the new iPhone and next generation Nexus to come out, read all the reviews, and decide then.

But of you need a new phone right now today the Galaxy Nexus no question.
 
RocketRed said:
"Best" is subjective.
Click to expand...

Of course, I agree. I had the first few iPhone's they were cool back in the day, but in my opinion, they are very outdated and stale. I prefer the Nexus above all us right now, with Jellybean and Google Now, it is very nice device. But I am sure the iPhone5 will be too, if they finally upgrade the screen size. To me the Nexus trumps the 4s easily.

But if you are not in a big hurry, I say just wait for the new iPhone, only 2 - 3 months away.
 
Darthdingo said:
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=galaxy_nexus_hspa&feature=corpus_selector

Galaxy Nexus for only $349, is the best phone on the market right now, with Jellybean it is super smooth and fast, with great battery life. And buying it directly through Google means no contract no commitment, will give you much cheaper monthly plan that way.

If you can wait, then I say wait till November for both the new iPhone and next generation Nexus to come out, read all the reviews, and decide then.

But of you need a new phone right now today the Galaxy Nexus no question.
Click to expand...

Not everyone can use an unlocked device...
 
Darthdingo said:
Of course, I agree. I had the first few iPhone's they were cool back in the day, but in my opinion, they are very outdated and stale. I prefer the Nexus above all us right now, with Jellybean and Google Now, it is very nice device. But I am sure the iPhone5 will be too, if they finally upgrade the screen size. To me the Nexus trumps the 4s easily.

But if you are not in a big hurry, I say just wait for the new iPhone, only 2 - 3 months away.
Click to expand...

Had topic creator asked which android phone versus the 4s/5, I would recommend the Galaxy Nexus over the SIII as well. The Galaxy Nexus (in my opinion) looks nicer than the SIII and it has direct support from Google.

I am currently using an Android phone.. but if someone asked me a smartphone recommendation, I would always say iPhone due to consistency.
 
I have both the iPhone 4S and the Samsung Galaxy S3, out of those two I would pick the S3, if I had the time, I would wait until the new iPhone is released to see how it stacks up against the S3.
 
Darthdingo said:
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=galaxy_nexus_hspa&feature=corpus_selector

Galaxy Nexus for only $349, is the best phone on the market right now, with Jellybean it is super smooth and fast, with great battery life. And buying it directly through Google means no contract no commitment, will give you much cheaper monthly plan that way.

If you can wait, then I say wait till November for both the new iPhone and next generation Nexus to come out, read all the reviews, and decide then.

But of you need a new phone right now today the Galaxy Nexus no question.
Click to expand...

I would second this. The Galaxy Nexus isn't the spec beast like the One x or the SG3 is, but it's running the pure Google experience which is quite a bit optimized with Jelly Bean. Getting this also wouldn't let you get locked into a contract. That way, if you get it and don't like it, you can keep it until the iPhone 5 comes out and you can make a final decision of what you want to do.
 
Pretty sure you don't get free apps on a rooted android device. Whereas you do get more apps and free apps on a jail broken iPhone.
 
Dmaynard83 said:
Pretty sure you don't get free apps on a rooted android device. Whereas you do get more apps and free apps on a jail broken iPhone.
Click to expand...

it's possible to get "free" apps on any android device. All you need is the .apk file and an microSD card.
 
The upcoming next generation Windows 8 phones sound very cool too. I prefer Android ( Nexus line only ) today, but that's not to say, a kick ass Nokia Windows 8 phone won't tempt me. 720p screen...Quad Core...revised UI...Larger app store...I think the Windows 8 phone could surprise a lot of geeks over the next year, I will remain open minded to them for sure.

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_...ve/2012/06/20/announcing-windows-phone-8.aspx

The new UI looks like Flipboard for the home screen, could be pretty cool.
 
Darthdingo said:
The upcoming next generation Windows 8 phones sound very cool too. I prefer Android ( Nexus line only ) today, but that's not to say, a kick ass Nokia Windows 8 phone won't tempt me. 720p screen...Quad Core...revised UI...Larger app store...I think the Windows 8 phone could surprise a lot of geeks over the next year, I will remain open minded to them for sure.

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows_...ve/2012/06/20/announcing-windows-phone-8.aspx

The new UI looks like Flipboard for the home screen, could be pretty cool.
Click to expand...

I plan on getting a windows 8 device whenever they hit Verizon, preferably a Nokia.
 
I agree with others who have said to wait until the next iPhone is announced. If I were in the market to get a different smart phone, I would be looking at the following: (in no particular order)

1. HTC One X
2. iPhone 5 (or whatever they call the next model)
3. Samsung Galaxy SIII
4. Galaxy Nexus
 
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