Yeah, I got the iPhone 4s. I didn't feel the need to specify since I've been talking about it for awhile and it was the most recent major phone release. My thoughts:
Verizon vs AT&THonestly, there's no comparison.
Verizon is awesome, AT&T sucks. I was with AT&T since 2004 via Cingular. That didn't matter until November 2009 I got a phone that required a data plan.
AT&T supposedly has the fastest 3G network. That's great and all if you can even fucking get a sustainable 3G connection. Most of the time, I was browsing on the EDGE network which was slower than an old lady in a supermarket. There were other factors contributing to the slow web browsing but AT&T's total ass network deserves the brunt of it.
Verizon offers many of the same perks as AT&T, except roll-over minutes which I've personally deemed pointless since I never used a single roll over minute ever. There are 2 big differences from the switch. The first is, obviously,
the network is far more stable. I've been running around a lot this weekend and I've always had a 3G connection. The second is that since most of the people I know are on Verizon,
I can take advantage of mobile to mobile unlimited texting. I also get unlimited mobile to mobile calls but I don't talk on the phone often. The only person I need to worry about is my sister who is on AT&T and doesn't know the meaning of brevity.
I'm actually paying less on Verizon because I have the $10 text plan that includes unlimited mobile to mobile messaging (as opposed to the $15 plan for, I think, 1500 texts I had on AT&T) and I didn't sign up for insurance (more of that later). Overall, I'm pretty happy with it.
I lose unlimited data but unlimited data means nothing on a network as spotty as AT&T's. I'll never touch 2GB anyway.
iPhone 4sIt's not really fair to compare it to the Blackberry Bold 9700 outright considering the 9700 is approaching 2 years of age. The iPhone 4s is obviously the better phone in terms of specs and technology simply due to being released in 2011. That said, I'm going more for personal user experience.
Blackberry phones have 3 main advantages: physical keyboard, BBM, and BES. None of those matter to me (BES never did). While I still prefer using physical keyboards,
I'm pretty much used to typing on a touchscreen already and my phone was off for most of Saturday after I applied a Best Skins Ever screen protector (which is awesome, by the way, though it loves dust). iOS 5 includes iMessage. The 2 people I previously BBM'd the most are also on Verizon, one got a Samsung Droid Charge in July and the other is getting an Android phone in November so I can't iMessage them but mobile to mobile is just as good. Blackberry Enterprise Server is the only real advantage RIM still has and apparently, they're planning to launch their first QNX smartphone without BES support. If true, they're clearly suffering from an identity crisis and have absolutely no idea (not just slightly no idea) what they're doing anymore so I'm glad to be done with them.
Even by 2009 standards, the web browser on the 9700 was a pain in the ass, a combination of poor hardware and even worse software. It was just outclassed by every other smartphone on the market at the time despite being the top of the line Blackberry upon release. I miss the trackpad which made editing texts and forum posts a cinch so
I kind of wish the Home button on the iPhone 4s doubled as a trackpad. Not a huge deal. I'll live.
Web browsing on the iPhone 4s is MOTHERFUCKING PHENOMENAL. This is the main reason I have a smartphone so I'm glad it's a joy to use. So far, I haven't needed Adobe Flash for anything. I can still play youtube videos and Dorkly uses Quicktime. I probably would have been happy with the iPhone 4 but
that A5 processor makes everything, not just the browser, really zippy. I don't have a lot of apps and so far, all of them have been free (i.e. Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and Words with Friends). I'm probably not going to play a lot of games on it because that's what I have a 3DS for. Infinity Blade 2 looks pretty amazing, but ehh... I can do without. I'll probably get Angry Birds at some point.
Like the Macs, I'm glad
Apple doesn't put any of that undeletable 3rd party bullshit on the iPhone. In fact, there are no pre-loaded 3rd party apps. The iPhone 4s only came with one app I will absolutely never use (Stocks). I shut that off immediately from the Notifications Center. iCloud is interesting but I shut off the one thing I really wanted to use it for: Photo Stream.
Apparently, you can't delete individual photos from Photo Stream. You can shut it off but it will delete every photo saved oniCloud which is odd and I'm sure Apple will update that in the future. I'll enable Photo Stream as soon as they fix that. Siri is interesting. I know it can do a lot more, but I'm probably only ever going to use Siri to "text" while driving which doesn't even happen that often. On the 9700, I only texted at red lights and normally, it could wait until I got to wherever I was headed. The camera is great. I don't have a dedicated point and shoot camera.
The iPhone camera will be more than enough for my needs. The ability to take nice photos and shoot HD video is one of the main reasons I got the 32GB version.After 2 years, the 9700 would just get me through the day with average use. The battery used to last 2 full days when I first got it.
In its first full day of use the iPhone 4s just about got me through 12 and a half hours with average use. I'm a little weary to see how the battery is going to be in 2 years. I signed up for Applecare Plus instead of getting insurance but I don't think it covers battery replacements, only defective batteries. Depending on how bad it gets, I may pay to replace it but then I'd have to order a new Best Skins Ever since the side screens cover the screws. I'm not sure this counts as a con since the iPhone is generally given high marks for its battery life. It was just a little jarring compared to what I was used to on the 9700. Of course, it does so much more and better so I can't really complain.
I suppose 4G would have been nice, but given the beating 4G would have given the battery, I likely would have turned it off. Verizon's 3G is more than good enough for me.
I love the iPhone 4s however, I personally have a few qualms with it.
Sure, the glass back looks nice, but I still can't justify it as necessary. I only dropped the 9700 three times. If the back was glass, I would have been fucked. I would have preferred if the back of the iPhone 4s was the same stainless steel as the edges. Yes, I'm aware that that would have made it heavier. I bought a case and it should withstand all but a deliberate phone spike to concrete.
I didn't like having to save my credit card info to access the App Store. I get that that's how most people pay for apps, but especially after the Playstation Network got hacked earlier this year, I was a little weary. Is there an alternative to this?
While I'm glad the iPhone 4s came with USB Power Adapter, I'm not fond of the dock connector. It's limiting and inconvenient if I'm in a bind and need to charge my phone. I know that Apple makes a killing by licensing it out, but it's still dumb. Apple trolled the entire world when they signed an agreement in Europe to adopt micro-USB as the standard charging method in 2009 and then a couple weeks ago, they released this to honor the agreement:
No, I'm not surprised. I'm just pointing out how that completely defeats the purpose of having a standard. If you need to remember to bring that adapter around, you might as well just carry the dock connector with you.
That's about it. I'll post more thoughts if I discover anything that's worth mentioning. I tried to bold what I felt were the important parts for people who didn't want to read everything. I deliberately avoided Android comparisons because comparisons between the 2 are pointless. I would use both exactly the same way but not the same as I did the Blackberry Bold 9700. I decided to try the iPhone 4s because it was an obvious upgrade from the 9700, just like the Nexus Prime would have been. It suited my needs. I have no doubt that the Nexus offering stock Android could have fit the bill as well, but I chose the iPhone 4s and I'm not disappointed in the least.
Topic: Verizon phones (Read 129082 times)
