next question du jour... smart phones

[hokieinashburn]

okay, had the original droid for a year and had no complaints until it went whack on me at the end. got the iphone 4s and had no complaints. stupid arse thing is currently unusable because the screen is cracked and glass comes off in your hand.

apple - $200 to fix
verizon - $200 for new phone (using my son's upgrade)
kiosk @ tysons - $175 to replace the glass

so, i'm completely annoyed that it would shatter falling onto a linoleum floor from 3 ft and i'm tempted to just go with something else. i don't need a pull-out keyboard. i need email, internet, stupid games to entertain my kids, etc. i don't like the super thick phones and i don't want to have to wrap my phone in a 3" plastic case to keep it safe.

any good recommendations?

[AbsolutHokie04]

okay, had the original droid for a year and had no complaints until it went whack on me at the end. got the iphone 4s and had no complaints. stupid arse thing is currently unusable because the screen is cracked and glass comes off in your hand.

apple - $200 to fix
verizon - $200 for new phone (using my son's upgrade)
kiosk @ tysons - $175 to replace the glass

so, i'm completely annoyed that it would shatter falling onto a linoleum floor from 3 ft and i'm tempted to just go with something else. i don't need a pull-out keyboard. i need email, internet, stupid games to entertain my kids, etc. i don't like the super thick phones and i don't want to have to wrap my phone in a 3" plastic case to keep it safe.

any good recommendations?

Repair it yourself. My friend repairs iTouch/iPhone screens all the time, I think it costs him $30 for parts and 30 minutes of effort.

If you have a Verizon upgrade, you can get a good Android phone from Verizon/Wirefly for $150 (top of the line) down to 1 penny.

Any phone you get either needs to be protected, or it will break if you drop it. Otherwise look into the Cascio Gz'One

[Bleedin OandM]

Have Droid Razr with Diztronic case. Dropped it several times, no probs. Most folks are suprised that I have a cover on it because it's so thin -- I hate bulking a phone up too. But, it doesn't cover the screen. Phone supposedly has "gorilla glass" so that might help. It must be pretty good, it's not scratching. I think dropping it on something besides a level floor could be a problem if a corner of something hit right on the glass, but I'm very happy with my set-up and costs 6 months in.

okay, had the original droid for a year and had no complaints until it went whack on me at the end. got the iphone 4s and had no complaints. stupid arse thing is currently unusable because the screen is cracked and glass comes off in your hand.

apple - $200 to fix
verizon - $200 for new phone (using my son's upgrade)
kiosk @ tysons - $175 to replace the glass

so, i'm completely annoyed that it would shatter falling onto a linoleum floor from 3 ft and i'm tempted to just go with something else. i don't need a pull-out keyboard. i need email, internet, stupid games to entertain my kids, etc. i don't like the super thick phones and i don't want to have to wrap my phone in a 3" plastic case to keep it safe.

any good recommendations?

[BayouGobbler]

Have Droid Razr with Diztronic case. Dropped it several times, no probs. Most folks are suprised that I have a cover on it because it's so thin -- I hate bulking a phone up too. But, it doesn't cover the screen. Phone supposedly has "gorilla glass" so that might help. It must be pretty good, it's not scratching. I think dropping it on something besides a level floor could be a problem if a corner of something hit right on the glass, but I'm very happy with my set-up and costs 6 months in.

My brother broke the gorilla glass on his samsung charge the first day he had it. But it dropped about 12 feet.

[DeBord]

Have Droid Razr with Diztronic case. Dropped it several times, no probs. Most folks are suprised that I have a cover on it because it's so thin -- I hate bulking a phone up too. But, it doesn't cover the screen. Phone supposedly has "gorilla glass" so that might help. It must be pretty good, it's not scratching. I think dropping it on something besides a level floor could be a problem if a corner of something hit right on the glass, but I'm very happy with my set-up and costs 6 months in.

I've had good luck with my RAZR. Gorilla glass is good and it has that kevlar backing. I also put just a basic rubber cover around it to protect the corners. I've dropped it on the concrete driveway a few times and in a store and it doesn't even have a scratch on it.

[BUGGZY]

okay, had the original droid for a year and had no complaints until it went whack on me at the end. got the iphone 4s and had no complaints. stupid arse thing is currently unusable because the screen is cracked and glass comes off in your hand.

apple - $200 to fix
verizon - $200 for new phone (using my son's upgrade)
kiosk @ tysons - $175 to replace the glass

so, i'm completely annoyed that it would shatter falling onto a linoleum floor from 3 ft and i'm tempted to just go with something else. i don't need a pull-out keyboard. i need email, internet, stupid games to entertain my kids, etc. i don't like the super thick phones and i don't want to have to wrap my phone in a 3" plastic case to keep it safe.

any good recommendations?

should have purchased the Apple Care+, 2 years of protection for $99, $49 deductible (up to 2x during the plan) and you would be all set. i would never buy Verizon phone insurance, but the Apple Care+ was a no brainer.

by the way, i'd say the drop/point of impact may have been bad luck. i have no case on my 4S and have dropped it multiple times on multiple surfaces with no such damage. just some dents/scratches on the aluminum and 1 minor scratch on the glass.

[ME Hokie 07]

should have purchased the Apple Care+, 2 years of protection for $99, $49 deductible (up to 2x during the plan) and you would be all set. i would never buy Verizon phone insurance, but the Apple Care+ was a no brainer.

by the way, i'd say the drop/point of impact may have been bad luck. i have no case on my 4S and have dropped it multiple times on multiple surfaces with no such damage. just some dents/scratches on the aluminum and 1 minor scratch on the glass.

I don't think that's a good value. You're guaranteed to be out $100, $150 if you break the phone. If you don't purchase the insurance and you do break the screen, you might never spend a dime, or if you're HIAB, you're out $175. I'd take the $25 bet I won't break the screen and keep that money to use on a new phone when my contract is up. If you have kids playing with it, I guess I could see it but for most responsible people, prolly not worth it. They don't lose money on those insurance plans.

[AbsolutHokie04]

I don't think that's a good value. You're guaranteed to be out $100, $150 if you break the phone. If you don't purchase the insurance and you do break the screen, you might never spend a dime, or if you're HIAB, you're out $175. I'd take the $25 bet I won't break the screen and keep that money to use on a new phone when my contract is up. If you have kids playing with it, I guess I could see it but for most responsible people, prolly not worth it. They don't lose money on those insurance plans.

If you don't have insurance and break your phone, you could be out as much as $700 to replace it with the same model.

That said - I don't have insurance on mine. If I am irresponsible and break my phone, it's broken and I figure out what to do. But for anyone with kids, and anyone who's broken a phone before, I can understand why they'd get it.

[BUGGZY]

I don't think that's a good value. You're guaranteed to be out $100, $150 if you break the phone. If you don't purchase the insurance and you do break the screen, you might never spend a dime, or if you're HIAB, you're out $175. I'd take the $25 bet I won't break the screen and keep that money to use on a new phone when my contract is up. If you have kids playing with it, I guess I could see it but for most responsible people, prolly not worth it. They don't lose money on those insurance plans.

but if the phone was completely broken at any point, i'd be out $800. and i do have 2 young kids, refuse to put a case on my phone, etc, so $99 for 2 years of coverage is a no brainer for me.

[BayouGobbler]

but if the phone was completely broken at any point, i'd be out $800. and i do have 2 young kids, refuse to put a case on my phone, etc, so $99 for 2 years of coverage is a no brainer for me.

99 for 2 yrs wand a $50 deductible is a no brainer. The verizon insurance for androids is $7 a month plus a $90 deductible. That's not worth it for me and I have broken or lost most of my phones.