iphone or ipod touch + phone

[karohan]

I am debating between getting an ipod touch or iphone. To me, the features between the new ipod touch and the iphone are similar enough where any disparities would not really factor in. However, I have a Verizon contract and want to stick with Verizon.
I have heard rumors that strongly suggest the iPhone may come to Verizon this January, so I was wondering if I should either stick it out and wait for the iPhone (which is all completely speculation still, right?) or should I get the new iPod Touch and keep my current phone? I need my phone for the phone features and texting, but I live on a college campus where wifi is nearly ubiquitous. Therefore, the data isn't a super necessity but carrying around an iPod Touch along with my cell phone may be an inconvenience (anyone have an testimonials regarding this?).
Finally, I was considering going Android instead to have a unified device (phone + media player), but I sort of wanted to stick to an Apple device because I just bought a Macbook Pro and may possibly want to do some App work.

Any opinions?

 

[ItsJustafnPhone]

worlds apart

i like having one device, and knowing I can leave home without anything else besides my keys and my phone, and knowing I have

1) full access to e-mail, data, calendars, etc
2) GPS for directions, stores around me
3) A phone obviously

You pay for the premium but its awesome to not worry about having to check e-mail/directions/etc before heading out

 

[adztaylor]

Before my iPhone 4 I had a iPod Touch and a Nexus One, and although the Nexus One was a damn good phone I hated the media capabilities on it. Plus I hated carrying two devices around with me all the time.

Loving having the one device that does it all.

 

[r0k]

I had an iPod touch and a bb 8830. I didn't mind two devices at first but now that I have one device I love it. I was worried about battery life cuz I would often run down my 'touch during the day. It hasn't been quite a whole week yet but so far no problem.

Back when the cheapest iPhone plan was $99, it made a lot of sense to drag around 2 devices. Now, by keeping my data use to a minimum unless I'm near wifi, I get away with the $15 200meg plan and my total bill is less than I was paying Verizon for their bb plan. Att coverage is slightly less than vzw around here but not too bad. So if you can afford iPhone 4, go for it. One device is better and the new capped data plans make it more affordable.

 

[karohan]

Well, I have no option but to stick with Verizon because in certain essential areas, I would not get service with AT & T. Therefore, do you guys recommend to wait it out for a Verizon iPhone or go Android (I am prepared for biased answers, considering this is a Mac forum)?

 

[rwilliams]

Get the iPod Touch. There's no need in waiting around for a Verizon announcement that may not come in January. And if you have WiFi all over campus, combined with terrible AT&T reception, it's an easy choice.

I carried a Sprint phone and the iPod touch around for almost a year, and decided to take the plunge and buy the iPhone, and it was a great decision. But the decision wasn't so much about carrying two devices (which were both rather thin) as it was the Sprint phone's OS being so inferior to iOS. I got tired of going back to an inferior device for calls, texting, and browsing on that horrible browser when I wasn't in a WiFi area. So I would say get the iPod now, take good care of it, and if there is a Verizon announcement in January, you can always sell the iPod and put the funds towards a new iPhone.

 

[zhenya]

Well, I have no option but to stick with Verizon because in certain essential areas, I would not get service with AT & T. Therefore, do you guys recommend to wait it out for a Verizon iPhone or go Android (I am prepared for biased answers, considering this is a Mac forum)?

Are you absolutely certain of this? I travel all the time for work, primarily in rural areas, and everyone was sure I would be SOL if i switched to AT&T. The reality is that I have no problems at all, and in fact often have service in areas where Verizon doesn't. In fact, just this past weekend, I placed a 911 call in a remote area when a friend collapsed while mountain biking. The paramedics couldn't believe I was able to make the call.

My experience, after being with Verizon for 7 years is that their network is mostly composed of advertising hype.

 

[dave420]

Well, I have no option but to stick with Verizon because in certain essential areas, I would not get service with AT & T. Therefore, do you guys recommend to wait it out for a Verizon iPhone or go Android (I am prepared for biased answers, considering this is a Mac forum)?

If it came down to waiting for a Verizon iPhone or an Android I'd probably go with an Android phone. Who knows how long it will be before the Verizon iPhone comes out. Could be next year according to some people. If you got an Android now then it would probably be safe to say the iPhone will be available for Verizon in two years when your contract is up. Of course by then you will have lots of new options.

 

[iggypod]

worlds apart

i like having one device, and knowing I can leave home without anything else besides my keys and my phone, and knowing I have

1) full access to e-mail, data, calendars, etc
2) GPS for directions, stores around me
3) A phone obviously

You pay for the premium but its awesome to not worry about having to check e-mail/directions/etc before heading out

Very well said.

I used to do the iPod touch + phone route and for the reasons stated above it was an easy (and worthwhile) switch. Having Internet access via 3G/edge for me was a must.

 

[Alaerian]

If I were you, I'd wait it out until the end of your contract unless you're comfortable paying an Early Termination Fee. I doubt that the iPhone will be moving to Verizon in January, but it could definitely happen - I'm unfortunately not psychic!

At the end of your contract, have at the iPhone. You may want to check out AT&T's service in your area, though. I know many other people have issues and poor reception; however, the service in my area is spectacular. It's obviously dependent on your specific area.

If AT&T's service isn't going to cut it for you, you'd probably be better off picking up your iPod of choice and sticking with a phone on your current carrier. It makes little sense for your cellular coverage and service to suffer simply to get your phone of choice.

 

[Derek87]

As others have noted, it really depends on how good or bad AT&T coverage is in your area.

for me, i'd lived with an AT&T phone and ipod touch (1st, then 3rd gen) for 3+ years and just recently went to an iphone 4. carrying two devices wasn't too bad, but i certainly am happy now to be carrying only one.

the reason for my shift: the availability of the $15 plan. i too have wifi both at work and home. i've been careful to have push notifications and location services off and only check mail manually. and the end result is that with my limited use of 3G during my commute and weekends, i'm using ~100 mb/month during my first two months of owning and iphone 4.

 

[r0k]

Well, I have no option but to stick with Verizon because in certain essential areas, I would not get service with AT & T. Therefore, do you guys recommend to wait it out for a Verizon iPhone or go Android (I am prepared for biased answers, considering this is a Mac forum)?

We have a number of Android users around here. I thought about it myself quite a bit before going to iP4. The lower data price sealed it for me. I also wanted to keep my apps. I'm pretty sure that if Apple doesn't get out from under a single carrier model in the US, Android will bury iPhone in US market share. I waited years for iPhone to come to Verizon before finally losing patience and making the jump. I offered to pay extra to get a 1 year contract but unlike VZW, Att doesn't offer that option so I'm stuck for a 2 year hitch (when my 30 days runs out in another few weeks).

 

[karohan]

Well, I'm sure AT&T won't work because people with AT&T phones do not find coverage in the places I need. So I'm not using a coverage map or anything like that to determine my coverage.

It looks like most people are suggesting a unified device. I'll have to play around with Android phones a bit and see if any strike my interest.

 

[ucfgrad93]

I would also recommend a unified device over phone + iPod touch. As for Android phones on Verizon I would recommend the Incredible, Droid X, Droid 2.

 

[r0k]

I would also recommend a unified device over phone + iPod touch. As for Android phones on Verizon I would recommend the Incredible, Droid X, Droid 2.

I find the Droid X to be rather large for my pocket. Of the three you mention, the Incredible is the best competitor to iPhone. Of course if you want a keyboard there is always Droid 2 but the thing is heavy. So your choices are a huge Droid X, Incredible that is roughly the size of an iPhone 3G and the Droid 2 which is very thick and heavy.

If you like your iPod Touch apps, check out the Android Market via the web to see how many apps have been ported to Android. Not many of mine are over there yet I'm afraid and this made my decision to go iPhone 4 a lot easier.

Another factor to consider is the cost of Mobile Me. If you want push email, Apple charges for Mobile Me but you also get wireless sync of contacts and calendar but NOT a wireless backup of your phone. Meanwhile there is an app in Android Market to do wireless backup. And as if things weren't complicated enough, google doesn't like talking to mere humans on the phone or even by email. If your gmail account gets locked and you didn't set your recovery options in advance you are all done. No human being will take a look at things for you unless perhaps you happen to own a Nexus One. We have been locked out of our gmail accounts twice in the past year for various reasons. Once it was RIM's fault for something they were doing on their BB email server. Once my wife decided to change her password but not to write down the new one. In both cases, nobody from google lifted a finger. My account finally became unlocked after I found each and every device that was periodically logging in and shut them all down so I could go through their automated password recovery fiasco. This involved typing in Image Capcha responses about 100 times before I was all done. For my wife's account, we finally got lucky and got back in with a password we tried and we set the password to something she could remember.

If you want to use google, make sure you set all your password recovery options including SMS text, alternate emails and the like in advance. Historically, google will not help you if you have problems getting access to your account.

There are other email options to consider for either Android or iOS phones including hotmail and at least another half dozen free or low cost providers. Make sure your provider offers IMAP. IMAP is the only thing you should even think about using for email access when you are fetching email from multiple locations such as a desktop pc, smartphone and web mail.

 

[Kawininja619]

To the OP. Yesterday I purachesed an iPhone 4 from ATT. The iphone was searching for service when I pulled into my driveway. According to the ATT coverage map I am in a good area. So today I returned my iphone and went back to verizon where I have full coverage everywhere I go. I am a big apple fan, and was very bummed to return the iphone. Now I am going to get a droid X without a contract and hope that the iphone comes to verizon soon. I think you should consider the same. Oh yeah and I have an ipod touch to go along with it.

 

[ljx718]

i would go for the iphone. when i had my touch, i would wish i had wifi everywhere to text or surf...

 

[karohan]

i would go for the iphone. when i had my touch, i would wish i had wifi everywhere to text or surf...

The issue of wifi is not as much a problem because I am located on a campus where the wifi is pretty available everywhere.