meh (mobile edition)

[cyrano]

So on the way home I stopped by the Sprint store to do some poking. And I didn't like anything I saw. There were some I didn't dislike, but I didn't see anything and say "Holy crap! That would be a great new phone!" I tried to think of all my friends who had talked about looking forward with salivation and joy to the brand new blackapple galactic android, to see if I could perhaps cradle one of them in my hands and let that contagious excitement flow through me.

I looked at the Curve, which has no touch screen and so far as I can tell no means for moving the cursor around the screen. I looked at the iPhone which has no keyboard, but to which I might get used if I can overcome the frustration of typing on invisible keys and the effort it took to get out of iMusic and into actual phone functions. I looked at the HTC EVO SOMETHING SOMETHING which appeared functional and would probably do what I needed, despite being a gigantic chunk of technology. And the Kyocera, which I had the impression was a cheap brand, may have been my top chef of phones.

Comments

[missroserose]

Keep in mind, also, that anything you buy is going to be 2.5 to 4 times the posted price, as you won't be getting a new contract with it. I don't know how much most Android phones run, but the iPhones 4s and 5 run about $450 and $650, respectively.

That said, I thought the invisible-keyboard thing would bother me a lot more than it has, in all honesty. iOS's predictive text entry is creepily smart, and gets better the more it adapts to your specific word patterns. Brian's the only person I know personally who's used both Android and iOS for any length of time, and would tell you he's had an objectively superior experience with iOS in nearly every way. But I've heard people claim they've used both and that Android is better by far, so YMMV.

One thing to keep in mind in the iPhone vs. Android hype - iPhones are a very standardized set of hardware, which is partly why the user experience is so consistent. Android, however, can be put on any handset, including some that barely have the processing power to handle it (those Cricket phones you see advertised on billboards? Almost universally stripped-down models that will choke on complicated tasks such as switching programs or taking a screenshot). Be wary of inexpensive Android phones.

Also, keep in mind build quality - design is important, but the most intuitive phone ever won't be much help if it breaks the first time you drop it. :) I've dropped my iPhone several times, including onto concrete; one small crack in the back glass (whew!), one small bite taken out of the corner, but it still works great.

Hope you find something that works for you!

[lynthia.livejournal.com]

I was positive that I didn't want a touch screen keyboard for a long time. I flat out refused until the iPhone 4, and then I insisted on getting the case with a flip out keyboard attached. Turned out I returned the keyboard case within a week, and I've been fine on the touch screen ever since. It absolutely takes some getting used to, but it happens pretty fast. Autocorrect, while hilarious at times (and annoying at other times - tome is a word, damn it, you don't always have to make it to me!), is really helpful with the common finger misplacement mistakes.

Oh, and as for the breakage factor: I have a Speck case on my phone, and I let my preschooler play with it. 'Nuff said.

[lynthia.livejournal.com]

P.S. Posting a reply here instead of LJ was a complete pain in the ass, and I'm not likely to do it again.

[cyrano]

I think I should be due for an upgrade on the current contract, but I'll double check next time I go in. And yeah, the durability is what worries me about the Kyocera model most. I am not always possessed of the utmost of grace.

So the iPhone will figure out that when I type "i" sometimes I mean "o" but can't find it because of the lack of guides? Because my general experience with autocorrect has been a mixed bag.

[cyrano]

): Thanks. Was it making DW use your LJ account that was the issue?

[cyrano]

So how hard is it to scold autocorrect and make it put back whatever it's fixed? I've seen where people make three efforts to type what they want to say, but that's with new attempts rather than noticing, going back, and repairing.
(Please feel free to answer me on LJ.)

[missroserose]

Actually, yes - it comes preprogrammed with a number of common contextual cues (for instance, if you type "o" and a space it'll automatically correct it to a capitalized "I"), and as it learns your patterns and common mistakes it starts to account for those too. It's not perfect (see damnyouautocorrect.com, for instance) and there's a definite learning curve involved when you want to type something that's *not* what it's predicting, but on the whole I've found it to be far more time saving than not. Just be careful when entering passwords - it doesn't correct spelling on those, obviously, and it can be a little humbling to realize how dependent on autocorrect you've gotten after the third quick-typed failed login.

[missroserose]

If you pay attention, it's not hard at all. The iPhone puts up a little box with the word it thinks you 're typing. If you tap the box (or just hit space or an end punctuation), it'll replace whatever you're typing with the word in the box; if that's not what you want, you can press the little "x" at the end of the box to make it go away. Thing is, the latter takes an extra step, and most people get so used to the AC reading their minds that they try to correct by using the exact same set of keystrokes (which, of course, produces the same response in the AC.)

[cyrano]

That sounds pretty tolerable. And my natural distrust for machines and their chicanery should hold me in good stead.

[lynthia.livejournal.com]

The OpenID thing isn't so bad. It's the constant question-answering. Do I really want to see that page, it's adult content! Yes. I said that a minute ago. Oh, now answer our clever question to make sure you're not a robot! Um, guys, "hair" is not really a body part. So let's not use brain teasers, hmm? Maybe just straightforward questions?

Ask me a non-robot question when I log in, fine. But every time I want to click on anything? Super annoying.

[cyrano]

Do you mind if I pass this on to them? It doesn't mean it'll change, but they're small enough that they do seem to pay attention.