BillnDollarBaby wrote: 
Best phone name ever.  And let us know how you like it.

I'm off to pick up my Epic.

We've decided on the Samsung Epic...  I was pretty sold on the EVO, but according to Sprint, there are some minor issues that are not apparent in the Epic, plus is has the slide out keyboard.  Our local store claims that if I show up at opening on the 31st, I should be able to get one as the demand is lower —- all the "must have techie geeks" just bought the EVOs and aren't eligible for upgrades yet.

I think I've fixed the battery issue on my Pre, so I should be good to go for a few more weeks.

Is Sony Ericsson not available in US ?

 BillnDollarBaby wrote: 

I am currently infatuated with vignette which you can tell by all the weird photos I've been spewing all over the forum.

 miamizsun wrote: 

The clerk actually installed that one on my phone before handing it over to me.    I only use it at night if I'm not going to recharge.  But nice to have.

 miamizsun wrote: 
Well written apps shouldn't need this... unfortunately....
Google voice is awesome, Google sky is awesomer, and Google goggles is amazing when it works- unfortunately, it usually fails when I'm showing it to someone - "look at this:.... uh never mind".

 edieraye wrote: 
I'll take it. 

I'm not sure which phone I'll be getting, but I am definitely sure it will be Droid.

I'm headed out in about 5 minutes for the Sprint store.  I am heavily leaning towards Evo, but I think its going to come down to the keyboard.  The demo was FUBAR last time I was there, so I called to make sure it was fixed up.

 Lazy8 wrote: 
That's a pretty good list, I currently use 5-6 of those regularly.

#2 on that list is very important (to me) and BG touched on that earlier: Advanced Task Killer - saves and extends battery time - I use that one almost every time I put my phone down.

If you use Gmail, and I do quite a bit, if you put the addess in contacts, you can map your drive right to their doorstep with one touch. Awesome feature.

Google voice/search is very cool too.

 BillnDollarBaby wrote: 

I'm happy to give you my list of "must have" apps - all free.

 BillnDollarBaby wrote: 
I don't know the actual percentages, but I'd say that's close. I'm almost always able to find what I need for free or as an honorary donation. That's the nature of the open source community - a  lot of people will make a tool because they need it and publish it because they think some one else might benefit. It's Karma, and you often find stuff you need written by others in the same spirit. There are a lot of paid ones that also offer free trials or reduced function versions.

You can browse available apps here: http://www.androidzoom.com/  Oddly, you can't search the real app market view from Android.com (http://www.android.com/market/).

I'm told 80% of Droid apps are free, unlike the Apple apps?  Is that true?

 islander wrote: 
I have a free earpiece, so for the moment, that's what I'm using and I'm happy with it.  BDH has a speaker one that he hasn't been using lately.  Since his company buys them, we tend to use whatever they give us.  It's considered PPE, which they are notoriously generous with.

 islander wrote: 
I really appreciate all the info.  I'm inspired now.  I'm heading out for a new playdate at Sprint here in a bit.

 BillnDollarBaby wrote: 
You might give swipe a try for text input: http://www.swypeinc.com/ I've used it and it's okay. It takes some getting used to, but it does function. Some people love it and say it's really fast - I think it has to do with the way your brain/hand interface is wired.

sidenote:  I'm using a BlueAnt S4 speakerphone in my car (it clips to the visor). I hate earpieces because I always forget them and wind up w/ dork syndrome. Plus it's portable, so you can use it in any car or as an office speaker.  Quality is fantastic and prices are good.

 islander wrote: 
I used to occasionally have some issues with Sprint, mostly billing, but it truly looks like Dan did what he promised to do. 

My only grouse about the dead zone here is that it was in my house.  I long ago became one of those people who doesn't use a home phone, so that was where my issue was.

My hesitancy with the onscreen keyboard is this... I am used to a tray keyboard and am comfortable with the two thumb typing model.  With on screen (which I have and use on my Touch), I can't seem to make that work and tend to revert to one finger typing.  That being said, the wider tray keyboards I played with almost felt TOO wide.  I think I'm ready for a second play date at Sprint.
Edit: And I'm glad to hear about the size being okay.  I felt like I was holding a brick.  But I also felt that way about the Pre at first.  I tend to use an earpiece whenever possible because I hate holding the flat phones to my ear.

Top 25 Android apps: The best of the best

I use some of these and will be trying a few more. ATK works well. I love Dropbox on every other platform so I'll check it out for the Droid. Used DTG on my previous phone and liked it. Tripit has never worked for me, but it's a great idea. Google Goggles is pretty slick when it works.

 BillnDollarBaby wrote: 
Evos are in short supply, I'm still waiting for one more for my last tech. So you may want to put yourself on the list. Sprint's CS and pricing rocks. Their tech is good as well. People bitch about them but I've had all carriers and they all have dead spots and issues. We've been w/ Sprint off and on for 15 years and I've suffered sometimes (mostly with billing), but they have always come through in the end - just be sure you have a decent tech when making plan changes).

I love the Evo size. It was a bit much at first, but it really helps with reading and writing mail. The extra bit of space makes the on screen keyboard pretty usable (good thing, because my bluetooth keyboard is an old model that is no longer supported).I've actually been able to compose reasonably long mails w/ it. 

 islander wrote: 
We are in a very sketchy coverage area.  They have been telling us its "better 3G" but we are skeptical, just because everyone tells you nonsense like that.

I can't beat my Sprint plan, which is why I'm trying to keep them despite the coverage issues.  On top of the fact that they have the best prices on their Everything plans, I get an 18% discount from when BDH was working at a corporate branch.  Since he is now franchise, we no longer get that perk, but as long as I don't change my account, it stays on there.

I've been a customer for 7 or 8 years and got "Platinum Customer" status from them and they do hook me up a lot.  Two months ago when BDH called in to talk about the $10 surcharge, the guy apologized and while he couldn't do a damn thing about it, did give us a $50 credit just to be a nice dude and last month, they gave us a free Airave (usually $100) and waived the monthly service fee ($5) because of our sketchy area.  BDH is beyond impressed with the CS.

I think its down to the EVO and the Epic for me because of the screen size.  The other Droid touch phones have screens comparable to the Pre, which is a bit of a struggle.  I have really good  vision and even I have things that are lost to me.  BDH can't even use my phone because his fingers are too big.  I like the EVO.  I am considering waiting for the Epic, due at the end of the month, because it has a slide out keyboard, but I'm still on the fence.  My Pre is on life-support, so it may make up my mind for me any day here.

Edit:  The Airave works great.  I have absolutely no more issues with my phone here in the house.  We're not sure, but we think the metal heat barrier in the roof was part of the issue, on top of the area.  His Verizon works fine in the house.

 BillnDollarBaby wrote: 
Seattle has pretty good 4G (home to Clearwire!). Even w/ the $10 charge the plans are cheaper than something comparable from the others. It does suck that they charge you $10 if your not in a 4G area though.  

4G rocks. I don't think you will see a 3g improvement unless you are in a sketchy coverage area though.  The phone overall is cool. Size was a concern, but i find it just right.

The battery life was bad initially, but a little bit of setup and turning off radios when not in use (easy buttons on one of the home screens) makes it perfectly reasonable. I'm about even w/ my tech who has an iPhone 4g. I have a spare battery, but don't use it because of the hassle of the cover (it snaps on, but takes a  good bit of effort to get it off. I have faith in the HTC material quality, but it does seem to take a lot of force). My phone comes off the charger at 5:30 am, gets exchange synch and one pop account pushed all day long. I average a little over an hour on the phone, and about 15 texts a day plus a lot of e-mail. I use navigation and other apps frequently. I always have charge left when I go to bed at 10:30 pm.