[TheZookie007]

When it comes to smartphones, Blackberry is all well and good, but everyone is salivating over the iPhone, and with good reason (despite AT&T's suckiness)...but the open-source Android OS, backed strongly by Google, is coming up fast. (Windows Mobile is so blah they don't figure in this discussion at all LOL)

The most recent version of the iPhone is the iPhone 3GS, but within a few weeks, the Motorola-made Droid (powered by Android) is coming out, with Verizon as the carrier.

NetworkWorld: "Smartphone smackdown: Motorola Droid vs. iPhone 3GS"

TechCrunch: "Verizon Droid Is The Real Deal"

The Boy Genius Report: "Motorola Droid hands on"

-- TheZookie "game on!" 007

[MasterDragonfly]

Exclusive: Google to Crash Android Party

If talk of the Google phone plan is true, the **103** of a unlocked, low-cost, Web-friendly touchscreen device will probably undercut other Android phone efforts by players like Motorola, Samsung and Dell.

[PregNut]

I'm sure however good the Droid is, Verizon's user unfriendly interface will make it frustrating to use.

[TheZookie007]

"Motorola Droid: A Visual Tour"

And I just heard that, although the counter staff don’t tell you about it, you can actually get a Droid on a 1 year contract for $269 instead of 2 years for $199. Get a $39.99/month 450 minute + $29.99/month unlimited data plan, and you should be in like Flynn. And although the Android Marketplace pales in size to the iPhone App Store (10K apps to Apple's 100K-and-rising), here are 10 Android apps for starters.

Plus, there's a rumor afoot that Apple/AT&T are going to introduce a 8 GB iPhone 3GS (to replace the 8GB iPhone 3G) for just $99. Curiouser and curiouser....

[Palomine]

"Motorola Droid: A Visual Tour"

And I just heard that, although the counter staff don’t tell you about it, you can actually get a Droid on a 1 year contract for $269 instead of 2 years for $199. Get a $39.99/month 450 minute + $29.99/month unlimited data plan, and you should be in like Flynn. And although the Android Marketplace pales in size to the iPhone App Store (10K apps to Apple's 100K-and-rising), here are 10 Android apps for starters.

Plus, there's a rumor afoot that Apple/AT&T are going to introduce a 8 GB iPhone 3GS (to replace the 8GB iPhone 3G) for just $99. Curiouser and curiouser....

Hard to understand how just a decade ago, most folks got along fine with just a regular, inexpensive home phone line. Now many pay the additional $70. a month Zookie describes (if not even MORE) on top of their land line, to say nothing of monthly charges for cable/satellite, internet access, etc... It's not like a dollar has more value (more buying power) than it did 10 years ago.

[rtpoe]

It's the long-term contracts that I don't get. Well, from the point of view of the provider, sure. But why are people falling for them?

[TheZookie007]

I guess that's settled then.

[MasterDragonfly]

I guess that's settled then.

You forgot to post the mouseHover() alt text:  "It may be a fundamentally empty experience, but holy crap the Droid's 265 ppi screen is amazing."

XKCD ftw.

[PregNut]

It's the long-term contracts that I don't get. Well, from the point of view of the provider, sure. But why are people falling for them?

Easy: iPhone 3Gs 32GB with 2-year contract, $299. Without contract, $749.

[MasterDragonfly]

Easy: iPhone 3Gs 32GB with 2-year contract, $299. Without contract, $749.

Interesting.  The typical cost to break one's contract is $150-200 (if you bail out before the 2 years are up).  So it would seem to be a quick way to save $250.  Of course, I'm guessing that the marketing droids have already figured that one out, with a far steeper exit clause.  (Wild guess; I don't have the info, but would be interested in reading the actual figures.)

[TheZookie007]

No, actually, you're right, PregNut, and your figures are just about in the ballpark. The carriers can do absolutely nothing to prevent one from getting the phone, signing up for the two-year contract, waiting a month, then bailing out while paying the break fee. The fact that they charge so much to get out of a contract, esp. when the service is as crappy as AT&T's, is particularly irksome. It's practically daylight robbery. And Palomine has a point, too. We're all crazy; why would anyone with their right mind be willing to pay two thousand dollars over the course of two years just for a mobile phone (and its service contract)? It's madness. Get DSL Internet access, and Netflix if you want to watch quality TV, and that should be good enough. It doesn't make sense to pay for mobile and cable as well. We must all be smoking something LOL

[TheZookie007]

Since it's Cyber Monday, looking for some (any) deals available for the iPod Touch (which is the iPhone but without the telephony functions). Amazon.com has an 8GB 2nd-generation Touch for $158. Or I suppose you could:

• get a refurbished 16GB iPhone 3G from AT&T for $99, then activate it
• sign up for the $30/month data plan
• sign up for the cheapest voice plan at $39.99/month (Nation 450 w/Rollover® Minutes)
• wait for 32 days, then cancel the plans, and pay the early termination fee of $175
  

for a total cost of $344. Definitely cheaper than buying it without the contract, eh?

Or at least you could do that...if the model in question wasn't temporarily out of stock :D
 

[TheZookie007]

With this week's launch of the Nexus One phone from Google, things have heated up even more.

Mashable: "Nexus One vs Droid vs iPhone [Comparison Chart]"

[TheZookie007]

"Google Nexus One: The 'Fuck You iPhone' Phone"

[MasterDragonfly]

"Google's biggest announcement was not a phone, but a URL"