Because I also had a couple of questions regarding my account, I thought it best to go to the local Verizon store in Shrewsbury. The store was moderately busy for a weekday afternoon, attributable to the holidays. I signed in at the unhelpful kiosk and waited for my name to be called.
While waiting, I had a look at the iPhone 4s. I had a question about setting up a hotspot with the phone, a question answered by checking the Settings app. Another question popped up. Is there a way to synchronize my Gmail contacts with the iPhone's address book? The settings didn't offer an obvious path.
I heard a faint voice call my name. I turned and was greeted by a salesperson. I told her that I was interested in the iPhone, but had a question about Gmail contacts. She replied immediately that contacts are stored in iTunes.
I told her that I use Gmail for all of my email and contacts now and that synchronization is essential.
"The contacts are stored in iTunes," she repeated. "But, I can check." She disappeared around the corner for a few minutes and returned to tell me that there was no way to do this.
I shook my head and said I couldn't do without my Gmail contacts. She said that the Android phones would work. I nodded and said that I'd take a look at some of those. On my way across the store, I sent a tweet about my experience.
I was interested in two Android phones, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the RAZR by Motorola. I've heard bad things about battery life with 4G phones, but great things about the power and features of the phones themselves.
A woman was making a call with the one Nexus on display. I wandered around for a bit, waiting but trying not to be creepy about it. On she talked.
The RAZR was a few feet away. It was unavailable for other reasons.
I left the store to get on with my other errands of the day. Soon, I received a helpful tweet from @vzwsupport:
@RoasterBoy We would love to have you! I hope you haven't completely changed your mind.
I can provide you with instructions. ^CMA quick check of Google showed several solutions for iPhone/Gmail contact synchronization. I should have thought of that first. (Let me google that for you.) I might have even asked Siri. But, I'm only interested in buying a phone. I'm not in the business of selling them.
3 comments:
I would not buy an iPhone 4s now, if you have a while and want an iPhone, I'd wait for the 5, rumored to be in May. I went to an Android device recently, there are several standouts. Different model names will apply as I'm on ATT, HTC Vivid, Samsung Galaxy S2, Motorola Atrix 2, Samsung Galaxy Nexsus (Verizon), Mororola Razor (Verizon) I use Gmail for all personal stuff, and other for work depending on the phone. With iOS you set up multiple inboxes, the contacts are NOT stored in itunes, unless you want that defeatured POS.
The innards of the iPhone 4s are good, but a 3.5" screen just seems tiny today, 4.3 and 4.5 are common with Android devices. iOS devices are fine for Gmail, but not as good for other services. Mobile hotspot is only available at a charge, Google Maps will not speak directions, you need to use the carrier's extra cost app.
I really like the Google integration on current Android devices, and expect ICS will increase that shortly.
Thanks for the tips. If my phone wasn't crashing, I wouldn't be shopping just yet.
As I mentioned, I'm interested in the Nexus, but am concerned about 4G battery life. The extra $100 over the iPhone is also a point of hesitation. I've not heard a clear explanation of the source of the 4G battery problems (VZW or Android). I keep a spare battery for my current Incredible, even with 3G, and need to use it about once a week.
This review, Galaxy Nexus on Verizon LTE; maybe the bigger battery isn't really needed - Computerworld Blogs, suggests that such worries may be unfounded. Dunno if ICS is doing the magic here.
I have found that with all smartphones, "never pass up an opportunity to plug it in" is good advice. Remember that 4G is a marketing term as it exists in the US today. LTE does not exist in most of the country, but is expected to over the next year or so. If the phone you get does HSPA+ as well you will get partial benefit right away. I ran speed test in my kitchen, turned wifi off, and got 10MB down and 7MB up, but with a 2GB soft cap..... The iPhone 4s is not any kind of 4G. I think that not paying extra in a hotel now and then because I can use the phone as a hotspot it will be useful. Remember that all of the current crop of LTE phones have an additional radio to power, so it'll eat more battery. If you went with an HSPA+ only phone it could be a good compromise if you don't feel the need to go to the top of the class.
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