I have Verizon. Virtually all my friends and family have Verizon. I'm totally satisfied, so I won't be switching to another carrier.

That said...

I wish the iPhone was available to Verizon customers. But it isn't.


However, I just went to Verizon's website and watched a lengthy ad for the new Motorola Droid exclusively for Verizon. It looks really really cool.

Anyway, it mentions using "Andriod apps." Are these comparable to the apps available for the iPhone?

Does anyone here have any experience with them?

__________________
Ben
Chaplain, US Army
Ft. Riley, KS
TE Ohio Valley Presbytery, PCA

Some are compatible. Some are not. btw there is a strong buzz in the tech world that the iPhone will be available on the Verizon network net spring. You may want to wait before making your purchase.

P.S. What I mean by compatible is that there are some apps designed for the Android Market and the iPhone App Store.

__________________
Bill Brown
Elder
Reformed Baptist
Maryland

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?
Visit my BLOG Theology for the Rest of Us

There is also a strong buzz that it will be T-Mobile, which makes a lot of sense since they are the iPhone carrier in most of the world.

__________________
We shall not adjust our Bible to the age; but before we have done with it, by God's grace, we shall adjust the age to the Bible. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Lawrence Underwood, Jr.
Pastor - Providence Family Fellowship / Mobile, Alabama
1644/46 LBC
My Blog - Imprimis

I have heard the buzz until I'm hearing bees in my sleep. A tech friend told me that the buzz is bull.

Hence, I picked up my Droid this morning prior to a business trip to Chicago next week. At this point it is pretty cool but lots of twists and turns. It looks like the Droid blows away the iPhone.

Ben, like you, I have a longstanding Verizon account along with my wife and youngest daughter. Changing was not an option. And, the Droid looks truly AWESOME (to use an overused term).

__________________
Dennis E. McFadden, Ex Mainline Baptist (in Remission)
Atherton Baptist Homes, CEO
First Baptist Church of Alhambra, Member, Transformation Ministries (CA)

Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

I propose you don't buy the phone because the commercials are stupid. All that pomp for a cell phone. Anti-climactic. Seriously.

__________________
Andrew DeShazo
Husband of Kathryn
Father of Phillip-Giles B. DeShazo
Deacon
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, Memphis, TN
"From out of the depth of unbroken Infinfity arose the Question, "Who am I?" And to that Question there is the answer, "I am God!" -Meher Baba, died 1969.

"I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Christ, died 33 AD, ressurected three days later.

The Droid blows away the iPhone? I suppose if it's constructed with a detanator and high-grade explosive it may do just that. I think it comes down to preference: Google geeks or Apple geeks.

Not nearly as stupid as the Palm-Pre commercials with the extremely creepy woman.

__________________
Fred Greco
Senior Pastor, Christ Church PCA (Katy, TX)
Christ Church Blog

"The heart is the main thing in true religion...It is the hinge and turning-point in the condition of man's soul. If the heart is alive to God and quickened by the Spirit, the man is a living Christian. If the heart is dead and has not the Spirit, the man is dead before God." (J.C. Ryle)

Well, since I did not want to drop Verizon and the Droid is the best of the Verizon stable, there was little choice.

However, having played with it and set up my e-mail, etc. . . . it is VERY cool. Since Android is open source, there are LOTS of FREE apps from third parties, including some Bible programs. And, with a built-in 16 GB of memory . . . not too shabby.

It is precisely this which will send Android winning out over iPhone OS in the end. Don't get me wrong, the iPhones are great, but the stodgy and rigid restrictions they have due to Mac's business practices (and it's totally their prerogative, I am a capitalist after all) will catapult Android (along with Android's open app atmosphere). There once was a browser that came free with an operating system. Meanwhile, another browsing software was charging folks for its use... guess which browser dominated?

__________________
Josh Hicks, Chloë's Dad
Christ Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church, RPCGA
Facebook - The Calvinist Vent
Board Rules - Signature Rules - Suggestion Box

It is God that multiplies our sorrows.... God, as a righteous Judge, does it, which ought to silence us under all our sorrows; as many as they are, we have deserved them all, and more: nay, God, as a tender Father, does it for our necessary correction, that we may be humbled for sin, and weaned from the world by all our sorrows; and the good we get by them, with the comfort we have under them, will abundantly balance our sorrows, how greatly soever they are multiplied. - Matthew Henry

Not sure how this criticism is directed towards Apple? The App Store has about 100,000 apps with half of them being free. It's up to the third party developers to decided whether they want to charge for their app. It's the same with Google. They have free AND paid apps.

btw I am all for competition in the smartphone arena. I want the Android OS to push the limits of technology. Either Apple will respond to the competition or Google will overtake it. Then again, maybe another company will come on the scene and blow them both out of the water.

What is the cost of an Android cell phone?

__________________
Ivan R. Schoen, B.A., M.A., M.L.I.S.
Pastor of Maranatha Baptist Church (SBC)
Poplar Grove, IL, USA
http://maranatha-sbc.org

$199.99 with the usual 2 year email/voice plan

__________________
Todd K. Pedlar
member, First Congregational Church, (CCCC) Cresco, IA
http://inprincipiodeus.solideogloria.com
http://puritanwisdom.blogspot.com

"As God did not at first choose you because you were high, He will not now forsake you because you are low."
John Flavel in Keeping the Heart



Click to get: Board Rules -- Signature Requirements -- Suggestions?

And how much per month? Doesn't seem worth it.

Minimum is $79.99 I think with only 450 anytime minutes each monthly.

Wow! Sorry. Most certainly not worth it to me.

Ivan,

In fairness, I wouldn't pay for it either. It is my company phone to replace my old LG Dare.

Too rich for my blood. I heard something about Sprint selling two Blackberrys for $48.95. Don't know which Blackberry they were talking about. I think it does make a difference. I have a Sprint account now.

You still have the ridiculous data packages the com companies require you to purchase to make full use of their phones. After dropping a bundle on my Droid, I realized that Verizon wants me to pay another $10 to get the GPS navigator I had with my old LG Dare! It's always something!!!

[People who use Microsoft Server, are forced to pony up an additional $15/mo to be able to get their emails with Droid!!!]

I don't care who the carrier is, they're gonna get you. At $30/month the iPhone data plan is less expensive than the Blackberry plan ($40/month). But the iPhone has two data/email plans: individual user and enterprise user. If you want Microsoft Exchange Server access it's going to cost you $45/month. Bottom line: smartphones are not for the budget conscious.

and that's over and above the voice plan you have, right? So we'd probably be talking $100 or so before taxes and fees?

Yep.

These phones make perfect sense in a business environment. They may also fit in the budget if you have a family plan with multiple numbers. But for a person on a budget? It could be a bit much.

Verizon's website says that an unlimited voice/email/messaging plan would run $149.99 per month.

Is that a lot?

Way too rich for my pockets.

I apologize... let me restate: Is that cost excessive compared with similar plans from other carriers?

Depends. If you can justify unlimited minutes then it's comparable. I know, that with AT&T, you can add 10 numbers to your "A" list and call/receive calls from those numbers with unlimited minutes. I was able to reduce my allotment of minutes from 2100 to 1400 and save a considerable amount of money over the course of 12 months. Even though I use my phone for business ever penny counts. I'm sure Verizon has a similar friends and family type program. You should take that into consideration when picking your rate plan. Why go for the higher plan when you can save money on the numbers you call the most?

It's directed toward Apple because they're very stringent on APP restrictions. Android won't be, and I believe they're laissez faire approach will pay off over Apple's heavy regulation... particularly on the development end.

If you need a phone of this sort for your business I can understand why you would have it. If you don't, why have such a phone? I suppose, if you can afford it, but I can afford it and I don't see why I should get it...not for the prices stated.

I realize that our economy is based on a consumer society, but if y'all are depending on me to support that society, we're in trouble. I won't get into all of the things that people normally have these days that I don't have. I don't think of myself as being noble at all, just sensible.