Move over, iPhone

[Alaris]

Yes, I am still using this. I have 512MB to store music on it. It also has a blotch of roughly 25 pixels permanently orange now near the lower left corner. No phone. No wifi. In fact, no way to connect to anything except usb. But, it still works.

Go ahead and lol.

[Zalis]

I'm serious that I own a Zire31. My parents got it for me when I graduated from college.

Along with what the other guys said, I think a lot of it boils down to preference. I'm about half and half on buying/ripping CDs for my library or buying digitally, but iTunes isn't too bad to get used to. Then again, I use a Mac and a PC. (tho I've stopped storing music on the PC) Syncing iOS devices with iTunes is pretty easy, though I can understand not wanting to use a new app.

Is there an equivalent non-phone device to the iPod Touch? Aside from going the tablet route, I don't know the answer to that.

[Alaris]

Is there an equivalent non-phone device to the iPod Touch? Aside from going the tablet route, I don't know the answer to that.

Alternatively, could I use a phone device as a non-phone, except for occasionally putting my phone chip in it when I don't want to drag both items?

If I buy the device, you'd think I can own and use it independently of how I pay for the phone service, right? At least, I know I can swap the phone chip between any of my old phones without problem (I got them all from the same wireless provider though).

[RD]

I don't think it's very easy to swap SIM cards in and out of most smartphones, but, yes, in theory, you could do that. Probably no Wifi, though.

I had a Creative Zen:


Bought it when I was in college, used it for like five or six years. My old manager saw it on my desk and said "What is THAT?" "An mp3 player." "What is it, the FIRST one?"
It was one of the first that played video. I dropped it about a bazillion times and it still worked great. Once in awhile I'd have to reset it, but it was the best.

I ultimately converted to an iPod, but only because I won one at a party and it was only like a year ago (maybe not even). When they Fed-Exed it to me, the girls wrote a note that said something like "Now you have no excuse not to upgrade." It's okay. I can't play music that I've ripped music off YT anymore (acoustic / live performances) and some of the mp3s I've "obtained" are crazy loud. It's annoying, but it's not like I can really complain about piracy.
Just annoying because I don't have access to my CDs anymore, so I've downloaded a lot of it, plus there's stuff I really couldn't get legally (like every Ikimono-gakari album mmmmm).

[Zalis]

Old stuff from my music-downloading college days shows up just fine on my iPod Touch. Maybe because I stuck with mp3 formats.

I still use a little 2GB Sansa Clip for running, since a Touch is a bit bulky when you aren't wearing winter gear.

[shawn]

There is absolutely no reason to get an iPhone. Ever.

Android is far more flexible. You can root them to give the phone admin access, and then install custom ROMs. This means there's no waiting for your carriers to put out updates, you can just do them yourself. And these custom roms also tend to focus on battery life and stability, rather than eye-candy, such as the HTC Sense ROM. The notification bar is a hell of a lot better than iPhone's blue popups, and the menu also has shortcuts to common toggles like WiFi, cell data, screen brightness, etc etc.

The iPhone has more apps, sure. But you'll have to pay for them, and chances are 90% of the apps on the iStore aren't anything you'll be interested in. You can easily find comparable and completely free alternatives on the Android Market. The Android Market also allows things such as game emulators. I can connect a Wii Remote to my phone through bluetooth, then use it to play GBA, NES, SNES, N64, and PSX. I also have ScummVM for playing old LucasArts/Sierra games such as Day of the Tentacle and Freddy Pharkas.

Even without rooting, Android has more customization, homescreen/themewise. Think of any iPhone you've ever seen. Horizontal slide to unlock which loads a homescreen full of icons, right? Here's a quick sampling of some of my themes:

Spoiler

I happen to like the minimalistic text widget a lot. (The clock/date thing on every screen except the WP7 clone.) Also in that blue theme, the white wave on the background moves around similar to the PS3 menu.

You can install applications from outside sources. This means instead of going through the App Store, you can send yourself an .apk file (which is the Android app format) and install it on your phone like that. People will often release apks on reddit or xda for betas or whatnot. Or if they've made a new free app and want to get it out and noticed quickly.

There's also an ad-blocker app. lol.

[nabbed]

There is absolutely no reason to get an iPhone. Ever.

Android is far more flexible. You can root them to give the phone admin access, and then install custom ROMs. This means there's no waiting for your carriers to put out updates, you can just do them yourself. And these custom roms also tend to focus on battery life and stability, rather than eye-candy, such as the HTC Sense ROM. The notification bar is a hell of a lot better than iPhone's blue popups, and the menu also has shortcuts to common toggles like WiFi, cell data, screen brightness, etc etc.

The iPhone has more apps, sure. But you'll have to pay for them, and chances are 90% of the apps on the iStore aren't anything you'll be interested in. You can easily find comparable and completely free alternatives on the Android Market. The Android Market also allows things such as game emulators. I can connect a Wii Remote to my phone through bluetooth, then use it to play GBA, NES, SNES, N64, and PSX. I also have ScummVM for playing old LucasArts/Sierra games such as Day of the Tentacle and Freddy Pharkas.

Even without rooting, Android has more customization, homescreen/themewise. Think of any iPhone you've ever seen. Horizontal slide to unlock which loads a homescreen full of icons, right? Here's a quick sampling of some of my themes:

Spoiler

I happen to like the minimalistic text widget a lot. (The clock/date thing on every screen except the WP7 clone.) Also in that blue theme, the white wave on the background moves around similar to the PS3 menu.

You can install applications from outside sources. This means instead of going through the App Store, you can send yourself an .apk file (which is the Android app format) and install it on your phone like that. People will often release apks on reddit or xda for betas or whatnot. Or if they've made a new free app and want to get it out and noticed quickly.

There's also an ad-blocker app. lol.

All valid points.

Nevertheless (and I am an avid Android supporter, and I'll never even consider an Iphone or a mac), some of the smartest men and women (I do have examples) prefer an Iphone to Android phones.

Just as a lot of smartest men and women prefer macs to pcs.

If there is no reason to get an Iphone ever, why do these smart people make such an irrational choice?

Is it possible that some of the smartest people on the planet are also the stupidest?
Or is such an assertion false?

[Ringsgold]

These smart people don't want stuff to fiddle around with and tweak to their liking, they want stuff that works out of the box. Thus apple.

Apple actually make good quality products, they're just really annoying about it and seem to think they should control how you use the products you buy from them. Some people don't like that, others don't care as long as it works.

Oh and I forgot way overpriced.

@Shawn: Katatonia <3

[David Holtzman]

If there is no reason to get an Iphone ever, why do these smart people make such an irrational choice?

1. There's good reason to believe that being smart makes a person more susceptible to irrational choices, not less.

2. Just because someone is smart doesn't mean all their choices are.

[shawn]

^That.
Why get a phone that's by far more expensive, yet does much less? It's like paying 50k for a "pimped out" Dodge Charger... but you can't open the hood, and the tires can't be changed.