I’m officially out of my 2-year mobile phone contract with AT&T. I’m currently month-to-month, and am in that limbo zone where I can switch to a new carrier at any time, or reupp for a new contract. It’s highly unlikely that I would stay with AT&T. There are times that I am staring at my phone as it slowly loads a page that I get flashbacks of being on dial-up.
When your 3G data service gives you flashbacks of dial-up modems, it’s time to move on.
My plan is to switch to Verizon. Although they won’t be rolling out a HD Voice / Voice over LTE (VoLTE) until sometime in 2014, I’d rather get the better data coverage. But what phone? Here are my choices:
1. Stick with iOS and get the Apple iPhone 5. Sure, it’s the safe bet. It doesn’t have the biggest screens, but there’s a potential synergy when I get my iPad 4. Great screen, vey good camera. And it has the best library of apps, though I don’t use my apps very much. Also, Apple’s version of the iPhone 5 doesn’t support simultaneous usage of data and voice, because of a design decision. Hmmm.
2. Get the Samsung Galaxy S3, and be a Android user. The geek in me would love to tool around with a new phone OS. I like the big phone screens, and I could take advantage of the 3 cellular antennas to use data and voice. But the screen isn’t has nice as the iPhone 5’s, and I’ll have to do more workarounds (Doubletwist) to get my music synced between my Android phone and iTunes. The app selection isn’t quite there yet either. Hmmm.
3. Touch the 3rd rail, and get a Windows 8 phone like the Lumia 920 or the HTC 8X. Again, trying a new (new?) phone OS is exciting for me, but I’m not impressed by Windows 8’s Modern UI on the desktop. Both Nokia and HTC are getting very nice reviews for their respective phones, but I’m just not sure about the interface. Also, the Lumia 920 is only available on AT&T, so I’d have to sign another deal with the Devil if I want the Nokia. Hmmmm.
I’ve got time to decide. Probably another month. What to do, what to do……
Galaxy note 2. You won’t regret it.