Whitewater Forum: Iphone vs. Droid: The Paddler's choice awards

Iphone vs. Droid: The Paddler's choice awards

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Category: General
Forum Name: Whitewater Forum
Forum Discription: Open Discussion Forum. Whitewater related subjects only
URL: http://www.professorpaddle.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=10160
Printed Date: 19 May 2025 at 11:34pm

Topic: Iphone vs. Droid: The Paddler's choice awards

Posted By: jP
Subject: Iphone vs. Droid: The Paddler's choice awards
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2010 at 8:17pm

I was wondering what you all would say about the matter of "smart" phones and their service providers. What you have and what kind of experience you've had using it.

ice

specificly:

-How well does it work out among our typical haunts (common meet spots such as BZ, Split Rock, Cashmere, ect.) and in such remote areas in general? How much is the success or failure of your device dependent on the phone itself, and how much of it is due to the service provider?

-How well does your phone work for browsing this site and other paddling related sites such as AW, ect? (again please distinguish between the performance of your phone and the reliablitiy of your service provider)

-anything about your phone that you like or don't like (the interface, typing sh*t, ect.)

Or if you have a different phone such as a blackberry, why do prefer it?

shopping for a new phone soon.

thanks

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🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋

Replies:

Posted By: dblanchard
Date Posted: 23 Oct 2010 at 8:44pm

The best browser I've found for Android phones is the Dolphin HD browser, available in the app market. Like many others, it lets you choose your user_agent string to appear to web servers as either a mobile browser (which redirects to a sites mobile page, e.g. m.nbc.com), or as a desktop browser, i.e. you get the full experience, including Adobe Flash, which plays just fine on it. Same great pinch to zoom as everyone else, but it also supports gestures. You could set up the gesture of a letter "P" to take you directly to ProfessorPaddle without having to type anything. I haven't loaded PP on it, but I'm confident it would display just swell. Pages are repaginated when you zoom so that the text doesn't run off the edge of the screen. Also, there is some app specifically for reading online fora. If you are interested, I'll find what it is.

Speaking of typing, the reason I would go with Android over any other phone is because of Swype. Swype is an onscreen keyboard that lets you tap keys in like the rest, but also lets you drag your finger through words to enter text. You'll have to watch the video to really get it. It works great and I'll never miss the hardware keyboard I used to have (Windows Mobile).
http://swypeinc.com/

I just saw that it is available on one of the Nokia (Symbian) phones now too.

I'm on Sprint, and they have been fine for most places, but I don't get out as much as the rest of you. I have the Evo 4G, with a 4.3" screen and love it. Do I look like I'm excited to see you when I'm wearing tight jeans, you bet, but it is a dream to use and I watch TV on it over the web (no Hulu yet, but nbc.com, etc.).

The GPS in it is solid. The best sport tracking app I've found is Endomondo.
http://www.endomondo.com/

Lastly, the best hands-free apps I've found are Google's Voice Search and Vlingo. I like Vlingo about as well as Google's, but it also let's you put it in car mode and it "listens" for you to say "Hey, Vlingo" and then starts listening for commands like "Text jP." after which it confirms whom I want to message and asks for the body of the message "Meet me down by the put-in before running the shuttle." after which it reads the message back to you for confirmation. I love it.

Prices on phones, and on plans are often negotiable. If you are in a contract already, but within a couple months of getting out, you'll probably need to ask for the retentions department. Don't say you're looking to leave unless you really are, but tell them what you think is a fair price and ask whether you can get a monthly credit or such to make up the difference. I pay $85/mo. inc. tax for one line that has all-I-can-eat everything, and one line with 450 minutes and more texting than my wife could eat if she cared to. We've been with Sprint for years, and each time we're up on our contract I make sure the cost won't rise on the next one. Sure, I'm locked in for another term, but I'm not going to get a better deal from anyone else.

More later if people are interested.

I'd love to hear what Android apps people are using, and why, and we may as well let other platforms represent as also.

D

Posted By: jP
Date Posted: 24 Oct 2010 at 12:19am

Thanks for the beta, man- I really appreciate it

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🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋🐋

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