First Time Smartphone User...Recommendations?

[harmonyLGS]

Hey guys,

I'm planning to get an Android, and I've never used a smartphone before. I'm currently using a non-smart phone, and use a very old ipod nano for my music. My carrier is T-mobile, and I'll be renewing my contract (which is part of a family plan)

I'm considering getting an android, but was wondering how it's quality is as a music player, as I'll mostly by using my prospective android as mostly a dual phone/music player. Since I'm planning to listen to music a lot on the android (since I have 1 hr bus rides to school each way), I was wondering how the battery life would hold up, if I'm using it as both music player and a phone?

Additionally, are there a lot of differences between the different android phones in terms of audio quality and ability to play music? And if so, which android phone would be the best in terms of being a music player? I've been trying to search for information on this, but I keep only finding results on differences btwn android music apps, which isn't really my question.

Lastly, I was wondering about how much data plan would be enough? Currently, T-mobile seems to offer either $10/mo for 200 MB, or $30/mo unlimited. Since I'm a first time smartphone user, I'm not sure how to gauge how much data I would need. Due to the android phone's ability to connect to wifi, and I'm mostly at home or at university where there's wifi, I wouldn't be connecting to the internet too much outside of using wifi. However, I heard that even if I'm not actively using email or internet on my phone, it's still uses up the data. So, my question is..would 200 MB/mo be enough for me, and exactly how much is 200 MB/mo?

Hope my questions get answered..thanks!

 

[xdmds]

At this very moment, there are 3 choices for top android phones. The Mytouch 4G, G2, and galaxy s 4G. They are all top android phones (with the mytouch and G2 leading the performance area for single core cpu phones if you're into rooting your phone and flashing custom roms/kernels). Amongst the 3, it depends on what you want. The galaxy s has the best display (AMOLED) while the G2 has a physical keyboard. Samsung galaxy phones have top notch graphics cards while the adreno 205's in the mytouch 4g and G2 are in close second.

performance-wise, the mytouch and G2 are about identical and made by htc while the galaxy s has better graphics and display but is made by samsung (whether thats good or bad is up to your preference)

Regarding the data plan, there is no way in hell you can get through a month with only 200mb if you are using an android phone. Just a few videos or occasional browsing will put you way over that much in a week. Keep in mind the unlimited isn't really unlimited though, it's soft capped at 5gb then they'll throttle you to edge speeds.

hope this helped!

 

[Ngo93]

Don't forget the Nexus S! And if you can wait until April 20th, there is an upcoming Sidekick 4g.
But the 200 mb data really depends on his usage. You can't really say that it's impossible with an android phone because many people are within wifi hotspots for a majority of the time, and many people do use the 200mb plan. I'd say try the 200mb plan first and if you need more upgrade to the unlimited plan.

 

[xdmds]

Don't forget the Nexus S! And if you can wait until April 20th, there is an upcoming Sidekick 4g.
But the 200 mb data really depends on his usage. You can't really say that it's impossible with an android phone because many people are within wifi hotspots for a majority of the time, and many people do use the 200mb plan. I'd say try the 200mb plan first and if you need more upgrade to the unlimited plan.

my bad I completely forgot about the nexus s!

 

[iPhail]

I'm considering getting an android, but was wondering how it's quality is as a music player, as I'll mostly by using my prospective android as mostly a dual phone/music player. Since I'm planning to listen to music a lot on the android (since I have 1 hr bus rides to school each way), I was wondering how the battery life would hold up, if I'm using it as both music player and a phone?

Get an iPhone. No seriously, it will work best for your needs. It is reliable, good music experience, long battery life and is easy to use compared to Android. Dont let my profile fool you, get an iPhone... Actually...

 

[mrsbelpit]

^on a tmobile family plan, the iphone is not available unless you want to jb and run on Edge speeds.

Samsung Vibrant or SGS 4 g or the Nexus S would have the best music player, they are pros in the MP3 player market. any of them would also be a great introduction to the smartphone world.

I have a Vibrant, and listening through the music player the battery does not get drained. Streaming would produce a bigger drain, but if it's on your SD, the impact is minimal.

Remember, you have 14 days to try phones out, (30 in some states), so take advantage of it. Return a phone if you don't like it, try something else.

 

[harmonyLGS]

Thanks for the recommendations guys!

@mrsbelpit: I've considered the Samsung Galaxy S, but was just wondering how it compares to the mytouch (htc) 4g? I've heard good things about htc mytouch 4g, but I'm not sure how well it functions as a music player?

 

[ashykat]

There's always Windows Phone 7. The HD7 and the Dell Venue Pro are both great options and the Zune player is great. A Zune pass is $14.95 a month plus you get 10 free downloads with it, so that's pretty cool. I've used Android for music and to be honest I haven't been crazy about it. In my personal experience it's just not a whole lot of fun.

 

[Guamguy]

Hey guys,

I'm planning to get an Android, and I've never used a smartphone before. I'm currently using a non-smart phone, and use a very old ipod nano for my music. My carrier is T-mobile, and I'll be renewing my contract (which is part of a family plan)

I'm considering getting an android, but was wondering how it's quality is as a music player, as I'll mostly by using my prospective android as mostly a dual phone/music player. Since I'm planning to listen to music a lot on the android (since I have 1 hr bus rides to school each way), I was wondering how the battery life would hold up, if I'm using it as both music player and a phone?

Additionally, are there a lot of differences between the different android phones in terms of audio quality and ability to play music? And if so, which android phone would be the best in terms of being a music player? I've been trying to search for information on this, but I keep only finding results on differences btwn android music apps, which isn't really my question.

Lastly, I was wondering about how much data plan would be enough? Currently, T-mobile seems to offer either $10/mo for 200 MB, or $30/mo unlimited. Since I'm a first time smartphone user, I'm not sure how to gauge how much data I would need. Due to the android phone's ability to connect to wifi, and I'm mostly at home or at university where there's wifi, I wouldn't be connecting to the internet too much outside of using wifi. However, I heard that even if I'm not actively using email or internet on my phone, it's still uses up the data. So, my question is..would 200 MB/mo be enough for me, and exactly how much is 200 MB/mo?

Hope my questions get answered..thanks!

Get a Samsung one in particular, especially a Galaxy S type or variant.

The reason for this is that its built in music player rocks. Its the best music player I've seen in a phone. Its one of the most underrated features in the Galaxy S and visually and feature wise, its better than the player I've seen on the iPhone or iPod Touch.

Try putting the phone on its side and watch the app goes into landscape mode. Awesome.

There is a reason why Samsung is so confident that its making Android music player devices, yes, without a phone function. They are pure Android "iPod Touch" devices.

Of course, it's only Samsung's and its not available for other Androids period.

Another reason for going Android is pure wireless sync between desktop and phone, which you can do with WinAmp. And the future is already here with Amazon Cloud Sync and soon, Google Music Sync.

No more no more of the USB syncing crap.

With the Galaxy S, if the phone comes with a built in 16Gb, you can add 32Gb and get a whooping 48Gb. That's a lot more than an iPhone right now and when it comes to music playing, storage is king.

I don't recommend WP7 phones at all. Most come in with 8gb (not enough) and few come with 16gb. Putting your own 32GB SD can either deck the phone or risk issues with upgrades. Also, they don't do multitasking with streaming music apps like Pandora which is not available on WP7 anyway.

If you want to control data usage on the Android, turn off background notifications, and turn off auto sync. You can find these in Settings > Accounts and Sync. That way you only use data manually. Its simple as that.

Also on Android, should you choose, there are also APN killers that lets you turn 3G data off and on at will. When you are in wifi, there is no 3G data consumed.

200mb sounds small though. Many first time smartphone users are too overly conservative with their expectations. Its like choosing to use a small paper plate in a big buffet. A smartphone is a life turning event. its like crack, it can be addicting once you discover a new world. You will find yourself with the lust to turn loose.

 

[mrsbelpit]

Thanks for the recommendations guys!

@mrsbelpit: I've considered the Samsung Galaxy S, but was just wondering how it compares to the mytouch (htc) 4g? I've heard good things about htc mytouch 4g, but I'm not sure how well it functions as a music player?

Well, I tried the MT4g, which is a fine device, but I had a problem with the screen, esp. after seeing the Vibrant. You really can't beat the Sammy phones for music. See Guamguy's post above. ^