Smart Bitches Trashy Books | All of the romance, none of the bullshit.

I love my Android phone. I have the HTC Eris. The Hubs is loknig at the X, I’ll send him this article, he’ll get a kick out of it. Thx for the review!

Hallelujah! A metro NJ/NY/CT resident admitting that AT&T blows chunks! That is the only reason I haven’t caved to an iPhone. Well, that and the insane amount of cash it would take to get out of my VZN contract.

My current contract for my CrapBerry is up in 2011 and I have been seriously considering a Droid. Thank you so much for the review Sarah. Updates would actually be appreciated.

Thanks for this! I just bought a Samsung Vibrant on Sunday and I’ve been staring at my iPod Touch’s non-Kindle collection going, “Okay, NOW what? I just downloaded the fourth in a series, dammit!” Gonna play with Calibre and see how it goes.

After 3+ years of not being able to use my iPhone as, well, a phone, I got a Droid too (Incredible). I live in the boonies and it’s so refreshing to be able to make and receive calls, receive voicemails the same day (rather than up to a week later), and have the phone ring when there’s an incoming call. Amazing. It does everything a phone should!

I’ve used Aldiko and Kindle also. Audible has a Droid app in beta right now, and I’ve also installed eReader and Kobo (but have only used eReader - it’s OK.)

Congrats on your new phone!

Thanks for the comparison. Hubby has recently moved from the iPhone to a Droid and is MUCH happier. But although he loves the Droid (and relies on it for work), I find myself wanting the teenytinyittybittiest cell phone there is—even if that means no Internet. Just a phone pls, k thx bai.

I’m not a Luddite though, I swear! I’ve had a Kindle for 2 1/2 years and I prefer it to paper books. (And I can access the Internet on it, albeit at tortoise speeds. Maybe having that portable I’net access if I need it is why I’m not feeling the need for a smartphone, or wanting to pay the extra $40+/mo. for a phone data plan.)

Smartphones have taken over the world, though. And they’re getting bigger and bigger, which that leaves me without many phone choices, arggh. Oh well. Someday I’ll give up my 20-year-old car, too. :)

Thanks for the info on the Droid X. I’ve been eyeing it. AT&T was my first. Horrible thing for your first time to be such a bad experience. I’ve been with Verizon and haven’t looked back. Although, I am stuck in the Windows world. I believe Windows smartphones are only smart in the same way that some people believe everybody deserves a trophy. So you may have sealed the deal for me a Droid X. Thanks.

I wouldn’t go to AT&T if they paid ME!  I had crappy, crappy service and messed up bills and swore never again.  I’ve just bought a PalmPrePlus.  Lovely, lovely phone, clear sound, nice size, lots of nice apps BUT I have tons of Audible books that I’ve bought and NO AUDIBLE APP.  AND, tons of Kindle books I’d like to also read on my phone but NO KINDLE APP. 

HP has recently bought Palm because of the nifty new Palm webOS so maybe folks will start converting their iPhone apps into Pre apps.  I hope so cause I fell in love with Palm and have been faithful through 3 upgraded phones.  Maybe I should just work on being a phoneSlut and flit away…..after my two year contract is up.  Sigh!  Forced 2 year monogamy.  Hey, I’m sure there’s a romance novel in that!

Welcome to the Android world!

I have a Droid Incredible and I love it. It’s not too big, it’s on the Verizon network and it does everything a smartphone should do and does it reliably.

Not only that, but it’s free of the Smug Mockneck Man telling me I’m holding it wrong.

Hubby and I just got HTC Evo’s (we’ve used Sprint forever and didn’t feel like switching service providers). I’m loving it.  Also downloaded the free Kindle app and its pretty.  I have a Sony e-reader, so I don’t get the benefits of syncing across devices, but I at least have the option now of some of the free Kindle books or things that aren’t available outside of Amazon.

I also downloaded the Borders e-book App, but have done zilch with it yet. 

Other apps that I’ve downloaded and liked: Trip It (for organizing travel info, good for an upcoming trip), and RunKeeper (which tracks speed, time, routes, etc for running/walking/cycling…I’m also liking the built-in GPS service).

I will have to check out that Key Ring app.

I love how the thing syncs my contacts between phone numbers, facebook, twitter.  I was shocked the morning after manually typing in a couple dozen phone numbers from my old phone (which had no features of any kind except number pad and voice calls), that all of a sudden all my entries had photos.  And all of my facebook friends’ birthdays have magically appeared on my calendar (which I can get to from Google Calendar on a computer).  I’m in heaven! (I’ve been suffering some serious multiple-personality scheduling problems for the past couple of years with paper vs Outlook vs online calendars and the day job/home computer/etc and keeping track of who goes where).

My only complaint is that the phone made me set up a gmail account instead of accepting my previous non-gmail Google login.  So now I’m on gmail, 2xyahoo, home domain, writing domain, day job, etc…Email is still a nightmare.

So, Sarah, still liking Double Twist? I should have mentioned for the books you can’t find on your main memory, Astro File Manager. It will find anything on your Droid. Anything! Also, eReader has an app that works and B&N (who owns eReader and for the life of me, I can’t figure out why they’re so far behind since eReader has one) will be releasing their reader app shortly.

If you’re into movies, I use the IMDB app, Seesmic to tweet with, the youtube app and the Borders reader.

Did you ever try Dolphin yet?

I’m glad you’re liking your Droid. My EVO has been awesome though it took some getting used to switching from a Windows based phone. I’ve been with Sprint though since before they even offered to the general public and were only a business provider with two different phone options so for me, the iPhone was never an option. I figured if I waited long enough, Sprint would come up with something. And they did with HTC.

Good luck and if you have questions, let me know. I’ve had mine about two months now. OH! And you can get a 16G memory card on eBay pretty inexpensively. I’m trying for a 32G, but they’re still pricey. Gives you lots more room though.  I’ve loaded oh…6-7 movies as well as lots of books so I’m never bored waiting while the trains go through town. ;o)

Now before I get going on what I think, I want to be clear about one thing. Too many tech articles comparing phones presume that There Can Only Be One. It’s a phone, for God’s sake. It’s not the Highlander.

Thanks for saying this.  It’s not just articles, it’s users too.  I feel like I get a whole lotta flack being an iphone user, and I know there are plenty of iphone-asshats running around with supercilious superiority as well. 

I’ve never had a beef with AT&T, but I’m thinking it’s because I really don’t like talking on the phone—I’m an inveterate emailer and texter.  I’m glad there are a number of decent (though still expensive) options out there.

@Cate, I feel your pain. I just moved to a smart phone last month. I resisted it for as long as I could, but in the end I didn’t feel like I had much choice.

Surprisingly, I’ve liked it more than I thought. I went Droid, but with the LG Ally. I’m not totally thrilled with the Ally and wouldn’t recommend it especially (bad sound, not fully bluetooth capable) but I love the slide out keyboard. I thought seriously of switching to the X and I could have last week, before my first month was up. But I decided not to invest in it right now. I can upgrade phones in a year with Verizon.

Oh, and after years of AT&T (ported over from Cingular) I am not missing it AT ALL. One reason for the switch was that ATT was going to raise my rates $20 a month just because…no other reason. Mandatory $20 a month raise when I renewed. Instead, I switched to Verizon, got a $100 rebate on the phone and $100 for switching. Score.

I think I kind of have a visceral objection to the iPhone and iPad and i-whatever because I get so tired of it being jammed down my throat all the time as the Best Evah. and I watch my friends’ i-devices having tech issues (one of them literally melted) and wonder, this is better than PC, how?

I’m a carry-an-ancient-cellphone-only-for-emergencies person.  (Though I am myself not ancient.  Just cheap.)

But allow me to say that your post is awesome and made me giggle!

Welcome to droid!!!  I got an HTC Hero earlier this year and I LOVE it.  Like another poster, I recently downloaded Border’s reader but haven’t done anything with it.  Sarah, would you care to check it out for us?  I’m curious, as I believe it reads DRM ePub books from Borders ebookstore, if I will be able to import the DRM ebooks I have backed up on my computer, currently being read on my Sony.  That would be a TOTAL win if my phone could read ePub.

I really love the Aldiko reader, but the only way I’ve found to put books on it is to physically connect it to my PC and put the books in it’s superspecial import file (which, by the way, I had to create - it took me a while to figure that out…)

For more free fun apps - Wheres My Droid will make your phone ring loudly until you find it, even if you’ve turned the ringer off.  Weather bug (weather radar!  on my phone!)  Ring droid will make a custom ringer out of any music you put on your phone (and it reads iTunes format!)  I love my droid!

Must say a good word for AT&T.  Mary C. in their fraud department is awesome.  Yes, dammit. The bloody box the iPhone should have been in was delivered empty and - thank you - according to Mary its activation had nothing to do with me!  At last! Someone could access the right data to believe me.

And, er, I do live in an area where AT&T reception is decent.

After the latest fiasco of no email, I got rid of my iPhone.  I’m still with AT&T b/c the service where I live is good, but I am utterly unsold on Apple products.  The ‘geniuses’ in the store were consistently snotty—I work in IT and am not an electronics moron but was treated like one every time I tried to explain that my phone didn’t work.  It was always something else - not the phone. 
Did you reboot?  Daily. 
Do you turn it off all the way?  Repeatedly. 
AT&T has a tower down.  For six months? 
Turn off the bluetooth and 3G, turn down the screen.  Um, isn’t that called ‘functionality’?
So yeah, I’m pretty sure the Emperor has no clothes.  I love this clip:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FL7yD-0pqZg

I went Droid, but with the LG Ally. I’m not totally thrilled with the Ally and wouldn’t recommend it especially (bad sound, not fully bluetooth capable) but I love the slide out keyboard.

i think that is the LG way.  Currently, I’m on a family plan with AT&T, so i can’t switch companies without paying for it myself (which i can’t afford to do).  Back in October, I bought an LG Neon (unfortunately i didn’t do enough research to find out how sucky it is as a phone.)  I could access the internet, although I couldn’t get this site on it, and texting was ridiculously simple (it too had a slide out keyboard).  Just after my 30 days was up, the phone aspect stopped working properly—when i would make a phone call it wouldn’t ring on my end, and i would have no sound for 30 seconds to a minute, which lead to everyone from my mom to 911 hanging up one me.  When I took it to the store (2 days after the return period ended), they switched my SIM card for free (since i had no service whatsoever) and told me to call the Warranty People.  About a month later, the trade in arrives.  This time, it worked well for a total of 2 months before it started doing the same thing as the old one.  Of course i didn’t have the money for another new phone for 3 months, so i lived with the craptastic service until about a month ago.  Now, I have a Pactech Link, which is omg amazing, although because I am still on AT&T I still have the issue of dropped calls.

Also, apparently AT&T is stuck in the year 2000…I’ll be moving in a month, and I need to get DSL service.  Guess what, AT&T only offers dial-up internet for my area.  what the hell is wrong with them? Comcast, Verizon, etc. all offer DSL for my area, so why not AT&T?

I’ve had my HTC Hero for about two months now, upgraded from a phone that did nothing but make phone calls.  I am still way behind on the learning curve, LOL.  The website Phandroid.com was helpful in learning the basics, as they have forums for each specific phone.

I must look into the Key Ring app.  Two that I have downloaded and recommend are the Dolphin browser and the Handcent texting app. 

I tried to get the Kindle app the other day and it wasn’t available.  Must try again.  The screen is so teeny tiny on the phone that I don’t see using it over a paper book, but hey, having an emergency book back-up system would be nice.  I got stuck at a longer than expected child’s dance audition the other day with nothing to read, teh horrors!

*sob*

Am I the only person who lives in the fabled Verizon Wireless dead zone?

I had Verizon when I moved out here with my Kyocera 7135 Palm phone. No mothership. No phone battery because it kept trying to find the mothership.

And then came the day when the transmission dropped out of my car leaving me at the side of the road between a cow crossing sign and a tractor crossing sign. With crappy signal, and no battery.

Long story short - research reveals that the only company that does get service in my area is ATT. And it still sucks. We have a cell phone signal amplifier in the house. It makes it so the phones at least work in our living room… if you stand near the window… while pointing the phone in the direction of the signal unit.

Needless to say, we’re screwed when the power goes out. (The cell phone signal amplifier relies on electricity).

And the kicker? Verizon provides my land line service. People who walk into my house with Verizon phones soon realize that they have to go out to the back of our back lot, stand on a boulder and imitate the freakin’ Statue of Liberty to get a call out…

Verizon Wireless Blackberry services do work, though. Just not the DAMN PHONE.

I would go back to Verizon Wireless in a New York Minute if I could get decent service out here. Hell. I’m tempted to call the company and tell them they can put a tower in my yard (there has apparently been some resistance to this by other people in the area).

I love living out here. I’d rather live out here than in the city. But I want my amenities, too. Is this too much to ask? Is it?

Even my dad has a Droid! (He’s still trying to figure out how to stop it from saying “DROID…” every 5 minutes throughout the night.)

All you people enjoy your lovely Droids that actually work as phones. I’ll just sit out here like the little match girl who is going to freeze to death because her iphone dropped the call.

Oh wait… I said

Sorry. As you can tell, the whole Verizon’s one dead zone is my house thing is a bit of a sore spot with me…

Thanks so much for this article! Here in Northeastern Nevada, our choices are only AT&T and Verizon. I switched to Verizon and have been much happier. Customer service is remarkably better!! I will consider a Droid for my next phone for sure.

No Smartphone here, but I live in the Greater LA area so while officially there’s great AT&T service I live in the boonies of LA so it’s actually terrible. Had to switch to Verizon to be able to make a cal within 2 blocks of my house. So good luck to you with your new phone! Make lots of calls.

When I got my first cell phone it was with Southwestern Bell Cellular which became Cingular which is now AT&T.  Everytime that the name has changed- the customer service has become more difficult to deal with.  Not sure if it’s because of internal issues or changes in policy but I can totally understand where you are coming from.  I have a Samsung Eternity and don’t use the internet much but can see myself using it more in the future.  Have never really been that impressed with Apple products and the Iphone is no exception- I have friends that have it and I’m just not that impressed.  I am however impressed by the photo’s of the droid and will look into that for my next upgrade.  Thanks for the post!

@Nadia (from a fellow Hero user) that screen may be small, but Aldiko reader on your phone uses every millimeter of the screen!  No annoyingly huge margin like on my Sony reader.  I’ve been impressed with Aldiko and that’s what I use when I’m out and about.  I don’t carry a purse, but my phone is always in my pocket.  It’s hard to beat the eink on the Sony for readability, but the convenience of a book in my pocket is awesome!

I haven’t checked out the Kindle app or the Border’s app, but I’ll get around to it someday!

Where I live (Colorado Mountains—way, way up) Verizon is the ONLY carrier that gets any kind of reception at all, and it’s spotty at best. I’ve got the Droid Eris (wouldn’t buy it again) and am still figuring out apps, since my other phone didn’t have any of them. I have the Aldiko for downloading books. Seems to work OK although I’d rather use my e-reader for books.

Biggest grumble - it’s supposed to link contacts to Facebook. Nobody can figure out why my phone won’t do that. Not really a big deal, but I’d like to see their profile pix in my “people” list so I can tell who’s who more easily. Even the manufacturer couldn’t explain beyond, “it’s a facebook interface problem, not a phone problem.” Yeah, right. Hubster’s identical phone links just fine.

Most frequently used app: GroovyFish (although it’s my grandson who uses it).

Thanks for the review. Just sent it to my DH. If I get the phone I’ll have to take you for drinks to get a tutorial on how to put my books from my Sony library. Why am I so challenged that way?

I took a few minutes to look at the Kindle and Borders reader apps for my droid phone to compare to my regular reader app, Aldiko.

The Borders app was not so good.  Two big problems for me.  First, I couldn’t find any way to load non-Borders books into their reader.  Not a total shock, but I’d had hopes, with it being an ePub reader, of using it to read DRM books that Aldiko can’t handle.

The second problem with the Borders app was a lack of in app brightness control. Holy burnt retinas - even on night mode. 

I can’t find anything in the app or in the Borders ebookstore to help me figure either problem out.  So, I think I’m done with the Borders app.

The Kindle app has the same “I only read books from MY store” issue.  It DOES have in-app brightness control. 

So my ranking would be Aldiko then Kindle, and I won’t even put Borders on the list due to eye strain.

I only spent about 20 minutes total tonight.  (I’d already downloaded the apps)  Maybe there is better stuff I’d spent more time, but I don’t think so.  Any other opinions?

I LOVE My DROID!

But, when does DROID get a TBR app?

http://itunes.apple.com/app/tbr/id362964263?mt=8

Just curious if the verdict’s changed at all on the droid x after a few weeks and its shiny-newness has worn off. Still a good e-reader alternative?