[issigonis]

>>>

To all you cell wizards yonder, let me have your views on the following three phones :

1. iPhone 4S
2. Lumia 800
3. Droid 4

on the following set of criteria :-


a. Ease of use
b. Call / reception quality in our overgrown village called Bombay
c. Ruggedness of build
d. text messaging
e. Music player quality
f. Music downloads from the net & transfer from a laptop ( typically stored in vlc)
g. email set up for Lotus Notes & gmail
h. ease of use in accessing facebook & other internet sites
i. battery life (obviously!)

Please note that I am not a techno wizard and do not wish to mod unless absolutely necessary. Also what will be the pros & cons of Windows 8 in a next gen Lumia and Mountain Lion on the iPhone 5? Can the Droid 4 be serviced in India?

If this comparo is already there somewhere, please share the link.


Regards
issigonis

[joe1980]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm slowly getting convinced to make the move to iPhone 4S. How long could you use the navigation on your iPhone 4S? If I would buy the iPhone 4S, I would also get the Tom Tom navi kit and I read about reviews of using the iPhone 4 with the Tom Tom navigation software and the mobile device gets heated up quickly. Would it be a concern? I do not want to buy a navi device and would definitely use my mobile device. Paid navi apps seems to be a good option, but at the same time it should be not detrimental to the mobile hardware due to excessive heating when I have to use the navigation for a drive that is as long as 5 to 7 hours.

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by R2D2

Like DSLRs, iPhones have country specific warranties. You would need to take it back to the country of purchase for warranty repair or replacement.

Also, note that the IP will not be repaired by Apple and its authorised service agents, even paid repairs, if it is not purchased in the country of use.

There are many IP users on TBHP who have had this experience.

Consider these points before purchasing an IP abroad. If the warranty doesn't matter to you then all is ok.

Cheers!

>>>

This is ridiculous, almost an unfair trade practice.

I buy your product, if it goes bad not due to misuse on my part, within a certain period of time, in which period it was supposed to function optimally, you as an apple or orange or whatever should repair the device or replace it, provided you are sure that the product was not misused by me. That's fair.

But we live in an unfair world.

Does any electronics manufacturer provide a world wide warranty, regardless of country of purchase from an authorised dealer?

Regards

[Durango Dude]

Originally Posted by nkg77

It's possible, but you need to jailbreak your phone and install Bluetooth apps from Cydia

There is a perfectly legal Bluetooth transfer app on App store. No need to jailbreak.
App Store - Bluetooth Photo Share

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by issigonis

>>>

This is ridiculous, almost an unfair trade practice.

I buy your product, if it goes bad not due to misuse on my part, within a certain period of time, in which period it was supposed to function optimally, you as an apple or orange or whatever should repair the device or replace it, provided you are sure that the product was not misused by me. That's fair.

But we live in an unfair world.

Does any electronics manufacturer provide a world wide warranty, regardless of country of purchase from an authorised dealer?

Regards

This is not the 1st product to have country specific warranties - mobile phones, not just Apple's, are required to be conformance with the country's laws for RF emissions, SAR and other telecom equipment rules. Other mobile brands also have country specific warranties - 2 handsets I had purchased in the UK (Nokia) and another in Dubai UAE (Sony Ericsson) were not covered in India.

Many electronic mfrs are going in for country specific warranties to kill the grey market. You can't blame them - they are looking after their business interests and the Govt gets all the taxes and duties that are due to it.

As for Apple - it frankly doesn't care a hoot what a few customers feel since they sell iPhones by the millions and have people rioting (as in China) to buy them. It's quite simple when you are Apple - take it or leave it.

I had a IP4 purchased in S'pore by my bro that had a problem with the home button. Apple India's service centre refused to repair it as it was considered a grey market piece. I was told to take it back to S'pore even for paid repairs.

My IP4s is a legal import...and makes me a feel a bit better should something go wrong as it is covered for both warranty and paid service in this country.

Cheers!

[issigonis]

Originally Posted by R2D2

This is not the 1st product to have country specific warranties - mobile phones, not just Apple's, are required to be conformance with the country's laws for RF emissions, SAR and other telecom equipment rules. Other mobile brands also have country specific warranties - 2 handsets I had purchased in the UK (Nokia) and another in Dubai UAE (Sony Ericsson) were not covered in India.

Many electronic mfrs are going in for country specific warranties to kill the grey market. You can't blame them - they are looking after their business interests and the Govt gets all the taxes and duties that are due to it.

Cheers!

>>> That seems to be fair.

Originally Posted by R2D2

As for Apple - it frankly doesn't care a hoot what a few customers feel since they sell iPhones by the millions and have people rioting (as in China) to buy them. It's quite simple when you are Apple - take it or leave it.

Cheers!

>>> All I can say is every dog ( or should it be apple!) has his day; beware the apparatchiks in CPC if you want to see your apples flourish in the Middle Kingdom! the iPad is already in trouble there.

Originally Posted by R2D2

I had a IP4 purchased in S'pore by my bro that had a problem with the home button. Apple India's service centre refused to repair it as it was considered a grey market piece. I was told to take it back to S'pore even for paid repairs.

My IP4s is a legal import...and makes me a feel a bit better should something go wrong as it is covered for both warranty and paid service in this country.

Cheers!

>>> Do you mean that you bought your IP4 in India? If so, what has been your user experience? I am curious to know ( please refer to my post above : iPhone 4S vs Lumia 800 vs Droid 4 above for details).

Thank you for an illuminating post.

Regards

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by issigonis

>>> >>> All I can say is every dog ( or should it be apple!) has his day; beware the apparatchiks in CPC if you want to see your apples flourish in the Middle Kingdom! the iPad is already in trouble there.

The story that's unfolding in the Middle Kingdom is company trying to make some money. But I am happy Apple is getting a dose of its own medicine.

Originally Posted by issigonis

>>> >>> Do you mean that you bought your IP4 in India? If so, what has been your user experience? I am curious to know ( please refer to my post above : iPhone 4S vs Lumia 800 vs Droid 4 above for details).

Yes I bought my IP4s in India from Reliance Digital. Ok, now let me share that I have an Android phone too, the Motorola Razr. Now, both are so called 'high end' handsets and I bought the Razr coz I don't like the plasticky Samsungs. The iPhone has spoilt me you see, and I prefer glass and metal all thanks to it.

Between the 2 competitor OSes, I like the IP4s for:

a) the UI
b) the h/w and s/w combination that works perfectly. No crashes, no lags and no freezes
c) no waiting around for a pie-in-the-sky OS (ICS) update which will be superceded by a new Android OS in mid 2012 which is supposedly called Jelly Bean


Now what I hate about the IP4s is that it doesn't have the customisability of the Android (obviously), I love the Razr's AMOLED screen and I miss having an alert LED on the phone to highlight new messages, missed calls and the like when the display is switched off. What I positively detest about the IP4 is the single home button - it is a single point of failure, a hand-me-down from the days when IOS was not a so called multitasking OS. You use the button multiple times only to show the task bar and switch between apps. This causes additional wear and tear. I hope the IP5 has a touch sensitive button like the Razr.

Now to your questions. I will give you my preferences based on my experiences with the IP4s and Razr (treat this as a generic android phone)

Ease of use - IP4 hands down.
b. Call / reception quality in our overgrown village called Bombay - I I dunno coz I live in Pune. But the IP4s is as good as the Razr and better than the IP4. Moto's handsets are known for their RF performance.

c. Ruggedness of build - this is a tie between the Razr and IP4s
d. text messaging - The IP4s anytime. Android is clumsy for any messaging and emailing

e. Music player quality - I assume you mean sound quality. Well, IP4s hands down again. The Razr has low SNR but I am using 3rd party apps like Poweramp to play my music which are as good as the IOS music player.

f. Music downloads from the net & transfer from a laptop ( typically stored in vlc) - the Razr scores here. Courtesy an open system, no being tied to that awful iTunes.

g. email set up for Lotus Notes & gmail - gmail is Razr, Lotus Notes - I am not sure if either support it out of the box. A 3rd party app might work. I use MailDroid on the Razr for POP3 and Roadsync by Dataviz for MS Exchange. The Apple works flawlessly out of the box with POP3 and Exchange.

h. ease of use in accessing facebook & other internet sites - This is a tie.

i. battery life (obviously!) - The IP4s has a slight edge over the Razr. Possibly because the Razr has a faster processor (1.2 Ghz v/s 800 Mhz for the Ip4s which uses a clocked down version of the iPads A5 chip) and the Razr has that big beautiful 4.3" AMOLED display

Hope this helps.

Cheers

[issigonis]

>>>

R2D2,

Thank you for a detailed and point by point explanation. The sense that I get it is that the IP4S might just have the edge on the android here. I had read somewhere that the Droid 4 is an iPhone 4S killer but unfortunately it is unavailable in India (ditto the Middle East and possibly Europe as well). Also, if bought from the US, all those warranty related risks come into play.

I am fine with your points on the call quality, build quality, emailing ( which is slightly lower in the priority list) but transfer of music files from my laptop to the iP4S may likely become an issue.

I have been told by Imagine ( an authorised dealer for Apple products in India) that I have to first convert all my audio files into mp3 and all my Youtube video files into mpeg4 before they will help me transfer these from my Windows XP Professional environment to the Apple iOS5 environment. The proof will be in the pudding when they actually do that.

Why is iTunes awful?

By the way they are quoting a humungous 57.5 for an iP4S 64GB. 32GB is I think 45 odd.

Regards

P.S. :
1. The Jelly Bean is Android ver 5. I am uncomfortable with all the layers that individual cell manufacturers put on the basic android to make it non-seamless across cellphones of different brands; the look and feel changes drastically

2. I want to check out the Lumia 800 too; am more curious about the Windows 8 and the next version of Lumia which will have the 8- seems Microsoft is well on way to providing a uniform user experience across all platforms - desktops/laptops-notepads & cellphones. I think they are slightly ahead of Apple and android here. Of course we don't really know if iOS5 & Mountain Lion will have something similar or better.

[ajay_satpute]

I would like to add few points to what R2D2 has already mentioned.

IP4's build quality is excellent. To prove the same, Apple had thrown this phone down from a helicopter in mid air and it worked fine after the impact. I agree that this is an extreme case, but still.

iTunes is not that awful as it is perceived to be. iTunes will convert any audio file for you, you don't have to do it yourself. Just drag and drop any audio file onto iTunes and it will convert the file first and then add it to the playlist of your choice.

The biggest PIA is setting your own ringtone. Its some m4a type file and the steps to create your own ringtone are little complicated. Its NOT AT ALL as easy as on any other phone OS. You can, of course, download readymade ringtone from some sites(ZEDGE.net), but not sure about their reliability.

Regarding Nokia Lumia, Nokia is going to launch Lumia-2 pretty soon. The current version is not a full 3G phone, since it doesn't have the front camera required for video calling and few other minor issues. So if Nokia, then wait for a while.

Android phones have a tendency to freeze sometimes. For instance, if you are playing Angry Birds on say Samsung Galaxy S2, when you release the bird, it tends to hang in between before it lands at the destination. Rendering graphics can sometimes be a problem, but being an open system, Android is very good.

Now a secret...I am a big fan of Apple, its products, its innovations, THE touch (not their pricing strategy), so I would any day say buy APPLE.

[issigonis]

>>>

ajay,

Thank you.

A few points for you, below.

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

I would like to add few points to what R2D2 has already mentioned.

iTunes is not that awful as it is perceived to be. iTunes will convert any audio file for you, you don't have to do it yourself.

>>> Imagine told me explicitly - bring your audio files in mp3 and we will load it onto the iP4S. Apple only plays mp3 audio files.

Just drag and drop any audio file onto iTunes and it will convert the file first and then add it to the playlist of your choice.

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

I would like to add few points to what R2D2 has already mentioned.

Regarding Nokia Lumia, Nokia is going to launch Lumia-2 pretty soon.

>>> Any idea about an India launch? I am certain they will launch the rest of the world equivalents of the 900, maybe around middle to late 2012, possibly with Windows 8.

Also, which docks will suit the iP4S? The room size is about 11 x 12 feet and I will likely play hindustani classical, western classical, jazz & old hindi film music tracks, converted from vlc into the Apple spec mp3.

Regards

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by issigonis

>>>

By the way they are quoting a humungous 57.5 for an iP4S 64GB. 32GB is I think 45 odd.

.

I bought my 32GB for 51K INR .The 16GB 4S costs 44K INR .

I know that handsets bought outside India would not be considered for warranty replacements/repairs,but I am not sure about paid repairs.Why wouldnt Apple refuse to repair them .Does that mean one doesnt take their phones outside the country of purchase .

Having been a fan of BBs ,I was about skeptical about typing long mails on the iPhone .I actually like the touch screen on the iPhone and would recommend this over any other handsets presently available .

Dunno about the Droid4 .I personally have never liked the Droids

[designersf]

Originally Posted by cruiser@0523

Depends on what you want, i chose an iphone because it looks kick-a$$ in white, and you get your apps free,(cydia, installous) and loads of customization options ! for example, i have a turbocharger instead of the traditional slide to unlock



The iphone 4s has nothing substantial for the price difference, addition processing power, not required, Siri wont work in India, 5 mp camera on iphone 4 is great, i dont see a reason why someone would buy it unless he lives in Usa.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team : Please use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts, instead of creating another back-to-back post.

I would be really lad to know how you got the turbocharger thingy!

[joe1980]

Which one do you guys recommend? The 16GB or the 32GB? What would I loose if I buy the 16GB? Is there an SD Card slot available on the 16GB version? If yes, what is the maximum external memory that I can use?

Anyone here used Tom Tom Navigator on the iPhone 4S? Can you please post your experience here?

[vinod332002]

Originally Posted by joe1980

Which one do you guys recommend? The 16GB or the 32GB? What would I loose if I buy the 16GB? Is there an SD Card slot available on the 16GB version? If yes, what is the maximum external memory that I can use?

Anyone here used Tom Tom Navigator on the iPhone 4S? Can you please post your experience here?

iPhones dont have extendable memory. You can't even open up the back and look at the battery.
How many GB your iPhone should be depends solely on what you plan to store on it. If you intend to store a lot of videos and photos apart from your music, go for the 32 GB.
I use Sygic Mapmyindia on my iPhone and it works like a charm (at least in Mumbai)

[speedsatya]

Originally Posted by joe1980

Which one do you guys recommend? The 16GB or the 32GB? What would I loose if I buy the 16GB? Is there an SD Card slot available on the 16GB version? If yes, what is the maximum external memory that I can use?

Anyone here used Tom Tom Navigator on the iPhone 4S? Can you please post your experience here?

Except the storage capacity ,it is the same . You cannot insert a SD card

But yeah you can buy space on the iCloud.By default you get 5GB space on the cloud as well .

On which one ,depends on your usage .