Now that I'm back in the land of modern technology, it will probably be a good idea for my work to get a 'smartphone'. I know there is a fanboy base for iPhone and for Android. And there's probably already a thread or two about this here, but, hey, new input can't hurt, eh?

What do you use, if any? Have you had both? Do you prefer one over the other? Etc....

I have friends here that have iPhones and AT&T and say that works just fine for them. But, they say... wait for iPhone 5!

Maybe the iPhone 5 will have a cutter and a lighter app built in!

:-k

I've had every version of the iPhone on AT&T without issue, except for a few months after the 3G released (I have an iPad on Verizon for redundancy, not just a fanboy.)

I wouldn't expect the iP5 before October. You never know though- they don't announce until release is imminent. But a summer release would be the quickest revision they've ever done.

That being said, smartphones are not great for prepaid plans due to data use and the high upfront cost of purchasing outright (they are heavily subsidized in exchange for monthly plans).

When upgrade time comes, I'll probably go back to the droid. So many things I don't like about the iPhone. I like being able to customize stuff? What can I say? The cookie cutter iPhone bugs me. I want to be able to turn blue tooth on and off from any screen I want, not have to go into nested menus three deep. Also, Siri doesn't work for anything other than an occasional chuckle.

you have a Jitter Bug

Funny thing is, android is going more locked down in the next few versions. Turns out when people have the ability to do whatever they want, they end up causing problems which messes with the user experience.

Just a few replies to some other comments I saw (tech is work and a hobby for me)-

I certainly agree that certain abilities should be easier to get to without jail breaking, but as iOS has developed, Apple has been pretty good about adding the best features of jailbreak applications. The other nice thing is that an iPhone handles battery management so well that there really is no need to turn off bluetooth all the time. It took me a lot of time to stop doing the things I was used to but didn't need to do anymore, like force closing apps running in the background or carrying around an extra battery, but the experience improved once I did.

I'm with iPhone simply because almost everyone I know has one, which simplifies things, and every single app is available on the iPhone first, and those apps get the most updates (and as a developer, you make the most money there). That and sending video to an AppleTV a killer feature that we use daily.

I can understand the complaint about the screen size. I have phones with a larger AMOLED and it's nice, but not as practical for technical reasons, which makes it hard to believe that iPhone would increase the size anytime soon.

I carry my phone naked and it fits fine in my front pocket. I repair plenty of phones that were in otterboxes. Keep in mind that Android phones have so many versions and are unsupported so quickly that repair parts are 3x that of iPhone parts. (support is also an interesting note, as the 3GS is still supported by software updates, almost 3 years since release- you won't find that in the android world)

AT&T does throttle your grandfathered unlimited data plan if you overuse, and will switch you if you are abusing it (using tethering for instance). They can force you to switch if they wanted to (once you're out of contract), but have been nice enough not to yet, even when upgrading to new versions of iPhone.

Not everyone needs a smartphone and yes, they are more complicated than a normal cell phone. Of course, we never ran out of batteries or had to restart the old ATT model 500 rotary, so why did we ever switch?

Also, my wife used an ipohne for almost 3 years, she recently upgraded to the razr maxx. she loves it and says she will never go back to iphone.

We also got each other ipads for christmas...we are both now the proud owners of two paperwieghts. neither of us use them, In my opinion it was a complete waist of money.

But now I am getting a company phone and I'm not sure which to get since they seem to be coming out fast and furious.

I am really hesitant to get an iPhone since my boss's drops calls constantly and even when it doesn't hang up, it cuts out every 1/2 second of speech. Of course, I know the faithful will always blame the network, but we have the same network and I don't have nearly the issues with my relic.

It seems like most reviews never even hit upon the quality of the device as a phone. All they talk about is Apps, camera, etc.

I like the iphone OS. It seems pretty common sense to me, although I have had little experience with the Droid's. my iphone interfaces seemlessly with my Apple computer and iCloud and is pretty hassle free. I usually leave my phone on for a week at a time and then every once in a while turn it off and 30 seconds later turn it back on. No issues that way. I think choosing a phone has a lot to do with what type of stuff you use it for. Each seem to have pluses and minuses.

Good point on service, picking your carrier first and your phone second is a great idea. I work on a large government site, Verizon happens to have it well covered such that their subscribers get service in most areas and inside their offices. You know who the non Verizon customers because they are standing by windows to talk or outside trying to get a signal.

Apple devices do work well with iTunes. My Razor has a built in backup application to select iTunes Play List and load them into the phone. I added Power Amp to manage/play music on the Razor.