on AT&T - any other options than an iPhone?

[robphelan]

I like my iPhone 3GS, but would like to buy an Android phone. The problem is that i'm on AT&T - i can't really switch b/c AT&T has the best coverage where I live.

I get full bars while my friend who has a new Evo gets 1 or 2 max in my house.

So, is there a valid competitor to the iPhone on AT&T's network?

 

[Patranus]

Do you want an Android phone just to have an Android phone os is there an actual reason you to switch?

What can you do on the Android phone that you cannot do on the iPhone.

Remember, you have to "hack the rom" to access many features on the Android phone.

 

[gsaldivar]

you have to "hack the rom" to access many features on the Android phone.

Nope.

 

[s44]

Samsung Captivate (AT&T-band Galaxy S). Good thing it's good, because it's the only real choice.

 

[dougp]

Samsung Captivate (AT&T-band Galaxy S). Good thing it's good, because it's the only real choice.

Captivate is awesome, and I love it about 10000000000000000000000% better than my 3GS.

 

[gorcorps]

As said the Captivate is the only Android option on AT&T, but it's a solid phone. I just got an iphone 4 and think that's also an awesome phone, so it's really up to you. Have you invested any money into apps and stuff for the iphone?

 

[AstroManLuca]

Do you want an Android phone just to have an Android phone os is there an actual reason you to switch?

What can you do on the Android phone that you cannot do on the iPhone.

Remember, you have to "hack the rom" to access many features on the Android phone.

patrollus

 

[Patranus]

Nope.

Really?
Explain how the G1 originally got multi touch......

 

[gsaldivar]

Really?
Explain how the G1 originally got multi touch......

Is that it...?

 

[Deeko]

Really?
Explain how the G1 originally got multi touch......

The G1 is a two year old phone that has been discontinued and was never released on AT&T - and therefore has absolutely nothing to do with this thread. Why are you bringing it up here? What features are missing from a froyo-based stock Android phone that you think he'll need to "hack" to access? Please cite specific examples, preferably of features other competing smartphones on AT&T can do without rooting/hacking/jailbreaking. Thanks.

Samsung Captivate (AT&T-band Galaxy S). Good thing it's good, because it's the only real choice.

Another vote for the Captivate.

 

[Oyeve]

Really?
Explain how the G1 originally got multi touch......

Palm/3com years before i products?

 

[dougp]

As said the Captivate is the only Android option on AT&T, but it's a solid phone. I just got an iphone 4 and think that's also an awesome phone, so it's really up to you. Have you invested any money into apps and stuff for the iphone?

Major misconception. The Aria is a perfectly capable device that I was satisfied with if I had no interest in games. I originally thought this was the case, but changed my mind - but that little phone is DAMN zippy.

 

[rstove02]

The only things I have heard (that is heard mind you) is that Android phones that come direct from AT&T are restricted to only being able to buy/install apps from the Android marketplace and AT&T likes to add apps that are not uninstallable (bloatware).

Basically AT&T seems to be locking down the Android phones they provide (like how Verizon did few years back). Rumor has it in order to reduce competition with the iPhone, but that is speculation. If I were you, I would probably either wait for something better (non-crippled) from AT&T or hunt for a "out-of-production" Nexus One.

Am somewhat hesitant on any phone from Samsung (Captivate), due to them having a track record of dropping support of their phones fairly quickly. Which means not a good chance of getting newer Android OS updates...ever (well at least updates from Samsung).

 

[AstroManLuca]

Yes, the Aria looks pretty nice. It's not a superphone like the Captivate, but it's not bad either. It has a decent amount of RAM (384 MB) and the CPU is the same one used in the HTC Legend and HD Mini. It's not as good as the Captivate but it's more compact and cheaper so it's still worth considering.

 

[gsaldivar]

The only things I have heard (that is heard mind you) is that Android phones that come direct from AT&T are restricted to only being able to buy/install apps from the Android marketplace

That is true, but that limitation is now easily circumvented, without requiring root:

http://www.androidcentral.com/sideload-android-apps-all-you-want-sideload-wonder-machine

 

[zerocool84]

Really?
Explain how the G1 originally got multi touch......

Is that it...?

That's obviously all he's got. Everyone knows you can do more with Android right out of the box than iPhone. That's just how it is and doesn't look like it's going to change any time soon. More customization and more functionality. You have to jailbreak to do any basic customization on the iPhone.

 

[rstove02]

That is true, but that limitation is now easily circumvented, without requiring root

That is one of the reasons I love Android phones, you can actually tinker and configure them like mad without having to root.

 

[BigSmooth]

If you want Android on AT&T, you probably want a Captivate. The only other viable option is the previously mentioned Nexus One with AT&T 3G bands, but it's discontinued and they are very expensive on eBay.

 

[pm]

I agree with everyone else, the Samsung Captivate and the iPhone 4 are the best things AT&T has.

The only thing that I really didn't like about the Captivate was the Samsung overlay over Android. I prefer stock to TouchWiz or whatever Samsung calls it. Also, as a phone, it was very fast and very smooth - except on some large webpages where it was a little sluggish/jerky (as I recall http://icanhascheezburger.com/ was one). I've also heard that the battery life isn't stellar... but then that's a problem with all smartphones. On the other hand, I loved the feel of it in my hand, the display is gorgeous, I liked the FM radio, and the camera seemed to take good pictures... overall I was impressed. I'm still thinking about getting a Captivate.

So that's a question that I have... can you toss the Touchwiz interface without rooting a Captivate?

 

[tatteredpotato]

Really?
Explain how the G1 originally got multi touch......

Hahaha I literally lol'd at this. You picked one obscure feature of the very first Android phone. Besides I think that it's a plus that Google gives the community resources to add features that haven't been officially released yet (and Apple had something to do with Google not including multitouch officially earlier).

Now if Android still lacked multi-touch then you'd have yourself an argument.

Back to the topic, get the Captivate if you want Android on ATT, although you might have a better experience with the iPhone. Just think about it, everyone had Android but only ATT has the iPhone. It's in ATTs best interest that the Android platform doesn't do too well, and they definitely don't want it cutting into iPhone sales. Does the Captivate allow for side-loaded apps?

 

[ponyo]

I agree with everyone else, the Samsung Captivate and the iPhone 4 are the best things AT&T has.

The only thing that I really didn't like about the Captivate was the Samsung overlay over Android. I prefer stock to TouchWiz or whatever Samsung calls it. Also, as a phone, it was very fast and very smooth - except on some large webpages where it was a little sluggish/jerky (as I recall http://icanhascheezburger.com/ was one). I've also heard that the battery life isn't stellar... but then that's a problem with all smartphones. On the other hand, I loved the feel of it in my hand, the display is gorgeous, I liked the FM radio, and the camera seemed to take good pictures... overall I was impressed. I'm still thinking about getting a Captivate.

So that's a question that I have... can you toss the Touchwiz interface without rooting a Captivate?

I really like Touchwiz. I thought I would hate it but it has some really nice features like toggle bars on the notification screen and calling and messaging by right or left swipe. I also like how it tries suggest contact as you're keying on the dialpad.

You can run any number of different home launchers if you don't like touchwiz without rooting. Launchpro is pretty popular. You can switch home launchers on the fly as often as you wish anytime you want.

I find the batterylife more than acceptable. It's much better than Mytouch3g I was using.

My Vibrant didn't have any problem loading and scrolling on the above website. I do have adblock running on my rooted phone. Surfing on this phone is a real pleasure. I actually prefer using this to my wife's ipad.

I really like the media capabilities of this phone. It'll play basically any type of video file you throw at it and it looks gorgeous on this screen. Then when I want to watch it on my large plasma TV I can just run allshare on the phone and play the video wirelessly via my ps3. It's an awesome feature and so easy to use.

 

[sjwaste]

If you go with an Android phone, I'd suggest looking around and seeing if its already rooted, or at least that it's feasible to do so (ie. no locked down/signed bootloader). Really, seriously, one of the coolest things about Android is the developer community. 99% of what I do probably doesn't require root, but it's fun to occasionally flash a new ROM and see what folks have done.

Coming from the iPhone, you'll also enjoy being able to replace the stock apps, but you will also probably not be impressed at all with the music players. I now use one called cubed (superscript 3 is the actual app title), which is pretty good. bTunes is basically a knockoff of the iPod interface, so that's there too. bTunes has better support for headset controls, as its the only one I've found that will let you triple-click to go back a track. Handcent is a little nicer looking than the stock SMS app, allows a lot more customization in terms of visuals, notifications, etc. Launcher Pro is a very nice home screen/app launcher replacement. Biggest reason I could never go iPhone now, though, is Swype. There isn't a better keyboard, imho.

Anyway, have fun.

 

[sjwaste]

You can run any number of different home launchers if you don't like touchwiz without rooting. Launchpro is pretty popular. You can switch home launchers on the fly as often as you wish anytime you want.
[/q]

I second that nod to Launcher Pro. It's pretty nice. Especially when paired with Fancy Widget on the main screen, although that might not be available in the market anymore because HTC complained. It's basically a knockoff of the Sense clock/weather widget, complete with shortcuts to the clock and weather apps.

My Vibrant didn't have any problem loading and scrolling on the above website. I do have adblock running on my rooted phone. Surfing on this phone is a real pleasure. I actually prefer using this to my wife's ipad.

Which ad blocker are you using? I've been considering this route, but basically haven't done it out of laziness. Any rec on what works well?

 

[tatteredpotato]

I second that nod to Launcher Pro. It's pretty nice. Especially when paired with Fancy Widget on the main screen, although that might not be available in the market anymore because HTC complained. It's basically a knockoff of the Sense clock/weather widget, complete with shortcuts to the clock and weather apps.

Beautiful Widgets has a HTC style clock with clock and weather shortcuts. It costs a couple bucks though.

 

[sjwaste]

Beautiful Widgets has a HTC style clock with clock and weather shortcuts. It costs a couple bucks though.

Yeah, that's a nice collection, but they charge in GBP in the market. For some reason, Google won't allow payments charged to Amex in foreign currency and I've just been too lazy to put my debit card on the account.