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Anyone have the new I Phone?

R

rlk

Bronze Member
Our contract is up with Nextel. We are thinking of switching to Verizon for a couple of reasons:

  1. Sprint can not tell me how long Nextel will be around. They say it should be around for a couple more years but can't or won't guarantee it. They will also not tell us what happens to our 2 year contract if Nextel goes away before the contract is up. They want us to switch to Sprint, but Sprint phones will not work at our house.
  2. Nextel does not have a very good selection of phones.
  3. Verizon and Nextel are the only two carriers that will work at our house, so it seems logical that if Nextel is going to go away we might as well go ahead with Verizon.
We visited a Verizon this week and saw the new iPhone 4s. Verizon stores around here sold out of this model last weekend. More should be here by 10/28/2011.

The new iPhone 4s is no more expensive than other phones Verizon offers, but since the 4s is so new, I have not been able to find any write-ups on it other than by Apple and Verizon.

Anyone here have one, and if so, what are the pros and cons?

Thanks, Bob
 
I got the Iphone 4 about three months ago. I don't think the 4s has many changes to it. The big change is supposed to be in the 5.

As for the Iphone 4 I like it a lot and to me right now is the best smart phone I have had. I had the Blackberry Storm 1, Storm II and a couple of Androids.

However with that said I hate Itunes. Your Iphone has to be attached to an Itunes account before it will work and to this day I am having troubling getting any of my music where I want it. Even the music I downloaded from Itunes is not where I want it as far as playlists or anything like that.
 
I agree that there are not nearly enough changes from the 4 to move from the 4 to the 4S. In my town Verizon turned their 4G on today. Sprint will have it here soon and already does in most larger towns. AT&T is supposed to have a faster 4G protocol and I can't see it being too long before it's released. The moment they do, all the people who bought the iPhone 4S will wonder why they bought a non 4G phone when 4G is where all are going. I assume the iPhone 5 is already finished and Apple is busy working the bugs out of it before a release early next year.
 
Iphone 4S is a dual core with several enhancements over 4 such as 7X faster video... talks, imessage is free texting non apple reviews on www.tomshardware.com

I switched from Sprint to Verizon in July much better rural coverage
 
I actually left all the big cell phone companies as none have great service here in Kentucky. I went with Cricket and use an Android phone which seems to work better than my last 5 carries, which was AT&T, Sprint, AllTel, Verizon and T Mobile. The worse was AllTel and TMobile but none are great in Kentucky. Cricket is at way cheaper and I've never wanted to own another product by Apple since my first and only computer.
 
joec said:
I actually left all the big cell phone companies as none have great service here in Kentucky. I went with Cricket and use an Android phone which seems to work better than my last 5 carries, which was AT&T, Sprint, AllTel, Verizon and T Mobile. The worse was AllTel and TMobile but none are great in Kentucky. Cricket is at way cheaper and I've never wanted to own another product by Apple since my first and only computer.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't own an apple computer but the IPhone yes. Apps are relatively bug free vs uncontrolled buggy android and it's various versions. Also with Nextel bankruptcy and patent portfolio (android patents) being sold to Apple/Sony every android buyer pays a royalty to Apple anyway.
 
I wanted an iphone but opted for the Verizon incredible running Android for two major reasons:

1. Most important. The Incredible was free with a two year agreement. The iphone was $199 with a two year contract.

2. The iphone battery is not replaceble. I immediatley upgraded the incredible with a 3500 mAh battery and it runs for at least 3 days between charges.

Do not need itunes. Never been there. I just put mp3's right on the sd card and it plays them with no problem.
 
thcri said:
I got the Iphone 4 about three months ago. I don't think the 4s has many changes to it. The big change is supposed to be in the 5.

As for the Iphone 4 I like it a lot and to me right now is the best smart phone I have had. . .
Click to expand...
Ditto. I've had my iPhone4 for about 6 months. Best smartphone I've ever used/owned. Had a Blackberry and several Palm phones before. My brother has an Android and seems to envy my iPhone4.

After getting the iPhone4 and liking it, AT&T ran a $49 special for the older iPhone3. I bought 2 of those, one each for my wife and daughter. Daughter loves it. Wife uses hers as a phone and nothing more but doesn't complain about it, so for her that is high praise.

Honestly I see no reason to spend the extra money for the iPhone4 after using the iPhone3. The '4' is a little sleeker, has a front camera and a rear camera so you can teleconference, the processor is apparently beefed up a bit too. But unless you are a 'power user' then I think the iPhone3 is probably just as good a phone as the iPhone4.

Now they came out with the NEW iPhone4s which has an even faster processor and beefed up internals for more speed but I haven't seen any real need for more speed.

JMO.
 
TiredRetired said:
I wanted an iphone but opted for the Verizon incredible running Android for two major reasons:

1. Most important. The Incredible was free with a two year agreement. The iphone was $199 with a two year contract.
Click to expand...

Free is good!

Most of the phones in our local Verizon store were in the $149 to $199 range, so the iPhone, while being more expensive than many other phones, was not unreasonable.

2. The iphone battery is not replaceble. I immediatley upgraded the incredible with a 3500 mAh battery and it runs for at least 3 days between charges.
Click to expand...
This is definitely a negative as most anything I have priced from Apple is very expensive. Their brand of car charger costs $29 in the Verizon store but I found some online for $10. Same thing with phone cases. I suspect a lot of Apple's profit comes from the accessories.

I have not seen it, but my wife said she saw a web page the other day where an aftermarket company was offering the tools to remove and replace the iPhone battery. I need to find that page so I can price the tools and battery.

Do not need itunes. Never been there. I just put mp3's right on the sd card and it plays them with no problem.
Click to expand...
I agree as I don't need itunes either.

Bob
 
rlk said:
Free is good!

Most of the phones in our local Verizon store were in the $149 to $199 range, so the iPhone, while being more expensive than many other phones, was not unreasonable.

This is definitely a negative as most anything I have priced from Apple is very expensive. Their brand of car charger costs $29 in the Verizon store but I found some online for $10. Same thing with phone cases. I suspect a lot of Apple's profit comes from the accessories.

I have not seen it, but my wife said she saw a web page the other day where an aftermarket company was offering the tools to remove and replace the iPhone battery. I need to find that page so I can price the tools and battery.

I agree as I don't need itunes either.

Bob
Click to expand...

Well, I can't believe you'd be sorry if you opted for the iPhone. Awesome product. I will tell you this, these phones are so complicated that I have had my Incredible for almost a year now and still learning things about it. Lot's of fun. If you figure out how to replace that battery in the iphone, that would be a big plus. Good luck with your decision.
 
TiredRetired said:
Well, I can't believe you'd be sorry if you opted for the iPhone. Awesome product. I will tell you this, these phones are so complicated that I have had my Incredible for almost a year now and still learning things about it. Lot's of fun. If you figure out how to replace that battery in the iphone, that would be a big plus. Good luck with your decision.
Click to expand...

Actually, it's relatively easy to change the battery in all but the very first generation iPhones. It cost me about $3 for the 'tools' to do so (you don't really need them, they just make it easier) and you can get batteries just as inexpensively as any other phone over the internet. It took me about 5 minutes to change the battery in my wife's iPhone 3.
 
I got my latest iPhone last August, before the announcement for iPhone 5. I've had 3 generations of iPhones so far and while I'm still frustrated with iTunes and how tightly coupled the two are I've found ways to make it more palatable, so that I never loose my music again.

Now I've heard nothing but good things about the new OS for gen 3 up to the latest iPhone. So even though I don't have the latest greatest I can still get all the advantages of the new iPhone OS.

I like the size of the iPhone better than the droid. It is a tad smaller, and that is a good thing for me. It's not perfect but I feel it is one of the better smart phones out there and ... I do think I'm hooked. I had plans to switch to a droid when my contract was up last August, but when decision time came, I stuck with the iPhone.
 
Okay, after dropping Verizon for being terrible about a year ago and picking up Sprint for my main phone, I dumped them today. I'm sick of being over-billed and dropping calls if I'm not on an Interstate or large town. I love some of the Droid phones, but it doesn't matter if the service sucks.

Clearly areas differ. According to consumer reports, AT&T seem to get the lowest ratings. Clearly, CR only surveys via the masses; larger cities. It's great that Verizon caters to towns with over a million people in them as does Sprint. However, I'm not moving, so they are worthless to me. So.....I just ordered a 64GB iPhone 4S from the Apple store and am supposed to have it within 10 days. Now I've gone full circle and will soon only have 1 cell phone provider for the first time in nearly 3 years. Can't say I didn't give the others a fair try.
 
I've had the I4 for over a year as an upgrade from the I3 phone. Really like it! Haven't had to cart my laptop around since. There are a few things they won't do that requires the laptop to do, but not an issue!

But they do photos/movies and as good as most cameras do now! You can chat face to face now on wifi. The other companies claim you can do that on 3G, but they fail to mention the details of it using up you bandwidth and your internet charges go through the roof!

I have 1,000+ photos and songs, mostly classical and 70's rock, but great to listen to. Has a scanner appt., and I can scan something and it will tell me where to buy it..

A+ vote for the iPhone!
 
fogtender said:
I've had the I4 for over a year as an upgrade from the I3 phone. Really like it! Haven't had to cart my laptop around since. There are a few things they won't do that requires the laptop to do, but not an issue!

But they do photos/movies and as good as most cameras do now! You can chat face to face now on wifi. The other companies claim you can do that on 3G, but they fail to mention the details of it using up you bandwidth and your internet charges go through the roof!

I have 1,000+ photos and songs, mostly classical and 70's rock, but great to listen to. Has a scanner appt., and I can scan something and it will tell me where to buy it..

A+ vote for the iPhone!
Click to expand...

Funny you mention that. I have 5 kids and am embarrassed at how few videos I have of them. The new 4S has a great camera and works better on the video part than the last camcorder I bought. That's why I went with the 64GB; so I can use it as a camcorder. You know the only camcorder you use, don't you? The one you have with you. :biggrin:
 
Dargo said:
Funny you mention that. I have 5 kids and am embarrassed at how few videos I have of them. The new 4S has a great camera and works better on the video part than the last camcorder I bought. That's why I went with the 64GB; so I can use it as a camcorder. You know the only camcorder you use, don't you? The one you have with you. :biggrin:
Click to expand...

In all fairness I've been enjoying 720p video on my Droid Incredible (DINC) for a year now. Unreal quality, but here's a problem with that. I wanted to do a 30 second recording of one of my pets to send to the vet and it was making the file size way too large to email :glare: Once I figgered out I needed to turn the res down (I'm no Steve Jobs) I was able to git er done. :clap:
 
Dargo said:
You know the only camcorder you use, don't you? The one you have with you. :biggrin:
Click to expand...

Ain't that a fact. That got me thinking how much I use my INC besides a phone.

Camcorder
Camera
Kindle
Music Player
Emails
Sports Scores
Compass
Flashlight
Schedule
Calculator
Check Weather
Check Bank Account
Pandora
Tune-In Radio

:wow:
 
Dargo, I have gone through all the providers and WHERE I LIVE the best is AT&T in terms of service and coverage. I just switched all of our phones over to them. Personally I think ALL of the providers have some serious holes in their coverage, so there is none that will ever make me happy. But, so-far, AT&T with my iPhone has been the best combination of service/phone.

Bob, when you look at your new phone purchase, look for coverage first, everything else is secondary. After all, its a phone. The other stuff makes it a fancy phone. But if the phone is not working then you are out of luck.
 
Melensdad said:
Dargo, I have gone through all the providers and WHERE I LIVE the best is AT&T in terms of service and coverage. I just switched all of our phones over to them. Personally I think ALL of the providers have some serious holes in their coverage, so there is none that will ever make me happy. But, so-far, AT&T with my iPhone has been the best combination of service/phone.

Bob, when you look at your new phone purchase, look for coverage first, everything else is secondary. After all, its a phone. The other stuff makes it a fancy phone. But if the phone is not working then you are out of luck.
Click to expand...

I'm somewhat surprised that you wouldn't get better coverage from Verizon since Chicago is a huge market for them. Shows what I know. I think it's hard to argue that each area varies. I just wish there was a easier and less expensive way to figure out what provider is best for you than carry phones from each for nearly a year. Price wise, I'm coming out far better with AT&T in my situation. I think that varies less than coverage per area. My last 2 phones with Sprint are costing me more than 4 phones with the same coverage from AT&T! Even though I have to sign a 2 year contract on 2 phones (all the rest are out of contract), I'm still money ahead paying the penalty from Sprint, called buying out my contract, and going with new iPhones from AT&T.

BTW Bob, you'd be proud of me. I'm learning this new "Lion" OS from Mac far easier than I did with their previous versions. My only issue is trying to find a Mac equivalent of PaperPort 12. It doesn't seem to exist. Any ideas? I scan and drop the scanned documents in named 'file cabinets' rather than have tens of thousands of physical pieces of paper in my office. If I can get that issue solved, I'm all moved over and seem to be running fine.
 
I've got the Iphone 4s with Sprint and it replaced a Blackberry. Siri is one feature only on the 4s so far and it is pretty awesome. I've used it to write and send texts and to voice dial without having to go in and record it for each number. It can be pretty funny when asking it questions. I asked it what was the best smart phone on two different occaisions and one time it said "you're kidding me, right?" then the next time it said "you are holding it!!" I am amazed at the video quality and picture quality, but like others said, not really enough features to make the jump from 4 to 4s. This is my first Iphone so I'm loving all the apps. that are available.
 
Thanks for all the replies and advice.

We ended up getting two iPhone 4s. Got our old numbers ported over last Friday.

So far the phone has been great, but I have not figured out even half of all the features. The instruction manual is a 163 page PDF file and I'm on page 38.

Some of the features are self explanatory, but many are not.

Pros so far:

  • Siri is great. I really like being able to talk to the phone to get it to dial numbers; set reminders; get weather reports; get stock quotes; play music; create calendar entries; read text messages out loud; etc.
  • It is nice to be able to charge the phone from my laptop. I did not want to have to lug around another charger while on trips - all you have to carry now is a USB cable. My car has a USB port but I have not explored what that will do.
Cons for far:

  • The battery life could be better, but the battery seems to last about as well as most smart phones. I have learned to ensure apps I'm not using are shut down.

  • Apple accessories are very expensive. Rather than pay Apple prices, I found some accessories at WalMart that work. Also, http://www.cellularoutfitter.com/ has some reasonably priced accessories (not just for Apple phones). For example: a car charger from Apple is $29.99 while the same car charger from Cellular Outfitter is $12. The USB cable at Apple was in the $19 range, while Cellular Outfitter has it for $6. WalMart has covers for $9+ while Apple has them for $19.

  • As mentioned above, the learning curve for this phone is high.

  • iTunes can be challenging.
Bottom line, we are satisfied with the iPhones.

Bob
 
Last edited:
Just received my IPhone 4s yesterday. Still trying to figure out to use it. So far, I am impressed.
 
REDDOGTWO said:
Just received my IPhone 4s yesterday. Still trying to figure out to use it. So far, I am impressed.
Click to expand...

Dog, if you are anything like me, prepare for a long time figuring out how to use it. My wife and I have been working with ours for a couple of weeks, and we still don't know how iTunes, iCloud, etc. all work.

For example: when I try to move photos from the PC to the iPhone, it puts the photos in 2 different albums. Also, when I sync'd my MS Outlook calendar with the phone, many calendar entries were put on the phone twice. Contacts seems to have sync'd o.k.

If you need it, there is an online manual - I don't have the link in front of me, but can look it up for you.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

Bob
 
I have had the online manual up on the screen since I opened the box. The goal is how to use the camera but I have things to do outside. The basic phone is figured out right now and that is the main thing.
 
My 15 year old daughter showed me the ins and outs of the phone as she has an iPod. I'm still learning other things on the phone. She is hounding me for an iPhone now and saying she could show me more if she had one of her own to experiment with!!!! She just upgraded her phone earlier this year so she has to wait a while.
 
Ah, as usual, not a good start. My 4S loses 9% of it's power each hour when simply in standby mode. This is with nothing running; no location services, checking for email only every 30 minutes, no wifi or bluetooth on and Siri even turned off. If I turned all those on, my battery would likely be completely depleted in 3 to 4 hours if I used it.

I talked to Apple about it and they said, even though they admit a "software bug" that drains the battery, my case seems extreme to even them. That along with the fact that it locks up and won't do anything unless you hold the on/off button and 'home' button together for about 30 seconds.

I need to check, but I think you can return the phone within 30 days if it's junk and you don't like it. Unless the replacement is MUCH better than the one I have, the 4S is going back to the trash heap and I'll stick with my iPhone 4 which works great and has great battery life.
 
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