New iPhone 4 vs. Eris

[doogald]

+1...I also remember reading an article (last year) about the whole ATT network performance issue. The gist of it was that non-Apple phones like the BlackBerry, etc. performed much better and used network resources much more efficiently and in-line with ATT's network. There were supposedly things that the iPhone did that were not the most network-friendly (I don't remember the technical details, but it wasn't just the heavy network loads that iPhone users impose). So, when ATT boasts about having the fastest 3G network, it IS true, but they are not using iPhones for these tests--they are using other phones like BlackBerry, etc.

There are people who believe that the iPhone has inefficient radios, particularly for voice, which may be the reason why iPhones notoriously drop calls. If this is the case, it'll be interesting to see if the new external antennas help with this going forward in the iPhone 4.

(That said, I have also heard that the dropping calls issue is peculiar to the US market, again pointing fingers at AT&T's network rather than just the iPhone.)

 

[byteware]

If you tried to connect to a WiFi base station with 570 active WiFi access points, all in the same room, you'd have just as much trouble, no matter how good your device is.

Umm... so why didn't the reporters in the room have trouble? Why did only Steve Jobs have trouble connecting?

The iPhone has had wifi problems for years that Apple has been aware of. However, this couldn't be that problem. This has to be a problem that all the other wi-fi users didn't have....

 

[ericnail]

Eris lives on the Verizon Network where people don't have to pay for going over 2.5GB's.

Nuff Said.

 

[djclark]

I disagree... Apple sells things by claiming their better. It's hard to claim something is better... when it so obviously isn't.
I expect that in 2 to 5 years, having an iPhone will make a statement... kind of like showing people your RAZR makes a statement now.

right. Thats why google, windows, rim are in a perpetual game of keep up. The iPhone defined what a smart phone should look/operate/be. Only a biased fool would not be able to admit that. If apple ever allowed iphone on verizon - it would be android devices that would suffer...

 

[Cajun83]

Only a biased fool would not be able to admit that. If apple ever allowed iphone on verizon - it would be android devices that would suffer...

I doubt that. Lets see, head to head on the same network. You have the iPhone here that has some grids that you can drop apps on... but you can only download the apps that apple allows.... OR you can look at this android phone with a pretty much endless choice of looks, layouts and settings... and you can make your own apps if you so choose to do it.


"Hey, guys, check out this sweet new app I DL'd last night... I went all crazy and decided to put it on the bottom LEFT of my screen instead of directly underneath the rest of the apps... looks sweet huh!"

Vs.

"So yeah, torn between three different launchers now. Sense, ADW and LauncherPro... I like the hidden dropbox on adw and the four dock buttons on launcher pro but I like the HTC widgets on Sense..."

Ooh yeah,yeah... give me the more expensive one with less options.... because I like wasting money on dated ideas and technology. And apple put up some cool looking posters at the mall.

 

[Gajymojo]

To be completely honest, comparing the iPhone 4 to the Eris is like comparing a Ferrari to a Ford Taurus. Both are good cars, but they're designed for different purposes. The iPhone is "supposed" to be cutting edge. The Eris was sold as a cheap, entry-level phone. The Eris was never designed to be cutting edge. Now, the Eris compares favorably with the iPhone 3g, but that's another topic.

The more apt comparison would be iPhone 4 vs. Droid Incredible or EVO 4g. Compared to the top end Android phones, it's really not much better. Give the Android handset makers a few months and there will be a phone that tops the iPhone in every way.

I Co-sign with srmccoy. The Eris really can't be in the same tier as the iphone4 because one is months old while the other has yet to come out for any carrier yet. Although I have to say I really think the Eris is a very nice phone compared to my old Chocolate 2(Got my Eris yesterday) so maybe that's why i feel as though the phone isn't cheap and entry-level.

 

[byteware]

right. Thats why google, windows, rim are in a perpetual game of keep up. The iPhone defined what a smart phone should look/operate/be. Only a biased fool would not be able to admit that. If apple ever allowed iphone on verizon - it would be android devices that would suffer...

Well, you are partly right. Google just added multi-tasking (kind of a limited version), something that the iPhone has had for years. Google is just adding folders, which is something else that the iPhone has had for years. Heck, Google is just releasing the ability to customize your home screen background. That is completely simple and the iPhone has had it for years. What kind of phone is Google making anyways...

Sarcasm aside, I think there is one thing that the iOS can do, that Android cannot (as of yet), video calls. Other than that, almost every other update to the iPhone has either been playing catch up with Android, or something like putting the antenna on the outside edge of the phone.

 

[psiclist]

I have been using Macs for 25 years. Compared to Windows which I have had to use often at work , IMHO, there is none. Better, hands down, in so many ways. But that is just my experience. But I got tired of waiting for Verizon to get the iPhone. Since there is no way in hell I would switch to ATT, when I lost my plain old phone recently I went to the verizon store to get a new one. Free, with a new contract. When I told the guy I wanted music on my phone, he showed my his Motorola. I said what is the least expensive that will do that? The result was I bought an Eris. (it's not windows!) And I realy like it. The only hassle is hand entering my contacts and music (after breaking DRM). I love having navigation and being able to access the internet when I am out and about. I got some Klipsch headphones and the music sounds good enough. Battery life could be better but I just plug it in when I am in my car. But I digress.... the iPhone is probably better than my Eris, but when technology is obsolete practically upon release, why would I want to pay for a very high quality phone that I will be replacing soon anyway?

 

[SyDTRaKKeD]

in my opinion the iPhone 4 is only superior in the hardware department. that really is a major part of any phone but every argument eventually comes down to Android vs. Apple and how open Android is and how fascist Apple is and all the same old arguments over and over again...

the day that the iPhone4 comes out i'll give it a few months max. before a handset comes out running Android that has way better specs than iP4. and guess what? all the iP4 lovers will look over and see these better phones and be consumed with jealousy and anger that they are stuck with their crappy phone at least until next june...

i would still take my eris over an iPhone any day!

 

[gruss]

right. Thats why google, windows, rim are in a perpetual game of keep up. The iPhone defined what a smart phone should look/operate/be. Only a biased fool would not be able to admit that. If apple ever allowed iphone on verizon - it would be android devices that would suffer...

Are you high?
Combined inbox, rim has been doing that for years?
,Folders, really? Wtf?
Background? Honestly?
How can ppl say this turd is"new technology"
Even the screen which probably will be gorgeous is not "cutting edge", but they brag about dpi then say there is more to a camera then mp's? They use just enough truth to make the sheeple believe.

 

[ericDylan]

right. Thats why google, windows, rim are in a perpetual game of keep up. The iPhone defined what a smart phone should look/operate/be. Only a biased fool would not be able to admit that. If apple ever allowed iphone on verizon - it would be android devices that would suffer...

umm... in case you forgot .. once upon a time the razr was redefining what a cellphone was and now the iphone redefined what a smartphone.

would you buy a razr now? i wouldn't

that alone doesnt mean that the iphone will forever be irrelevant but if apple never actually makes palpable improvements on it then i doubt it will be around forever. there is not a huge difference between the iphone 4 and the 3gs and there is not a huge difference between the 3gs and the 3g and so on... there has not been one embodiment of the iphone that has really improved at the rate that nearly all other smartphones seem to be improving at.

 

[doogald]

there is not a huge difference between the iphone 4 and the 3gs

Interesting statement made by somebody who has not actually used an iPhone 4.

 

[ericDylan]

Interesting statement made by somebody who has not actually used an iPhone 4.

no but there is a specification sheet on about every tech news site under the sun! ... kinda hard to miss the slight differences/improvements between the two relatively identical phones ... the major if not only real difference is the front facing camera which can only be used with other iphone 4's ... and only on wifi ... more trouble than it's worth?

 

[doogald]

no but there is a specification sheet on about every tech news site under the sun! ... kinda hard to miss the slight differences/improvements between the two relatively identical phones ... the major if not only real difference is the front facing camera which can only be used with other iphone 4's ... and only on wifi ... more trouble than it's worth?

A display with for times the resolution; a faster processor; a bigger battery, with more talk and standby time; a better camera with a better sensor; gyroscope sensor for better gaming performance. These are all on the spec sheet, but I think that I'll wait on deciding whether it's a lot better based on the people I know who had a 3Gs who will get a 4. It is definitely a rush to judgement to say that it is a minor update without actually trying it, don't you think?

That front-facing camera may be usable with other platforms going forward, depending on whether anybody else uses the open standard that Apple publishes. There is certainly no reason why it would not work with a Skype app; Skype themselves say that they are interested. Apple said that FaceTime app would work on WiFi in 2010, but they are working with carriers on getting it available on mobile networks.

 

[cmajpwc]

Are you high?
Combined inbox, rim has been doing that for years?
,Folders, really? Wtf?
Background? Honestly?
How can ppl say this turd is"new technology"
Even the screen which probably will be gorgeous is not "cutting edge", but they brag about dpi then say there is more to a camera then mp's? They use just enough truth to make the sheeple believe.

What I think he meant was, that Apple didn't INVENT what a smartphone should be like, it REinvented it. Apple made a lot of things user friendly, such as the combined inbox and folders. It's a newer, easier way to do it, hence REinventing it.

It is new technology, because it's using a new processor a new screen and a new battery, and it's thinner. If it was old technology, they'd just cram the OS into a 3GS or something and call it a new phone, similar to the 3G and 3GS. There really wasn't any new technology there. That's not new technology, that's just an upgrade. But the iPhone 4 IS new technology.

And there is more to a camera than just mega pixels. There was a huge camera thread on here where that was discussed.

 

[Demache]

A display with for times the resolution; a faster processor; a bigger battery, with more talk and standby time; a better camera with a better sensor; gyroscope sensor for better gaming performance. These are all on the spec sheet, but I think that I'll wait on deciding whether it's a lot better based on the people I know who had a 3Gs who will get a 4. It is definitely a rush to judgement to say that it is a minor update without actually trying it, don't you think?

That front-facing camera may be usable with other platforms going forward, depending on whether anybody else uses the open standard that Apple publishes. There is certainly no reason why it would not work with a Skype app; Skype themselves say that they are interested. Apple said that FaceTime app would work on WiFi in 2010, but they are working with carriers on getting it available on mobile networks.

Actually, I think the iPhone 4 is the most substantial upgrade they have ever made. I'm not going to be a biased idiot and say "iPhone sucks boooooo". But Apple is going to really pull some tricks out of their bag if they want to keep their "superiority" over other smartphones. Because to people in the Android world, the iPhone 4 is not all to impressive, since its basically at same level as the Evo or Incredible. Especially considering that in a couple months, some Android phone will come out, and be superior to the iPhone 4. And the iPhone 4 will fall behind again until next June.

Its all perpetual obsolescence and "my phone is better than your phone".

 

[squirrellydw]

I think both ios an android are here to stay. It just comes down to what system you want to get locked into. Ios4 was not playing catch up, it was the next logical step for it. Android hasn't been around as long so they were catching up to ios and did it faster. I look at it this way, Apple changed the way we are use our phones, there is no denying that. Google comes out with Android and for lack of better terms copies ios. Now both os's are about the same with minor differences in what they do and how you do them. This is why google has said that android releases are going to slow down. They are both going to copy off of each other in there own way. Android will have the market share just as MS does but Apple will still be a player.

 

[gruss]

What I think he meant was, that Apple didn't INVENT what a smartphone should be like, it REinvented it. Apple made a lot of things user friendly, such as the combined inbox and folders. It's a newer, easier way to do it, hence REinventing it.

It is new technology, because it's using a new processor a new screen and a new battery, and it's thinner. If it was old technology, they'd just cram the OS into a 3GS or something and call it a new phone, similar to the 3G and 3GS. There really wasn't any new technology there. That's not new technology, that's just an upgrade. But the iPhone 4 IS new technology.

And there is more to a camera than just mega pixels. There was a huge camera thread on here where that was discussed.

Agreed there is more to a camera than mp, but they tout there 300+ dpi screen with no "new" technology just a catchy name, then turn around and bash cameras with bigger numbers saying numbers aren't everything? Big numbers are only better if apple says so? Even if the camera and screen are better I really don't care, ATT sucks around here, and I refuse to ever put that horrific piece of bloatware called itunes on my pc so I guess its a moot point.