Biting the bullet on a smart phone....any advice? Woodworking/Carpentry apps?

[Clisby Clark]

I really need to be able to take pics and send them instantly for my job-carpentry/remodel/cabinetry, etc. Are there any apps out there that are useful in woodworking? I went to look at phones today and was pleasantly surprised at the prices (guess it pays to be near the last one on board sometimes) of both phones and data packages. My other main requirement is to be somewhat rugged-girl at the store suggested an Otter case (half the price of the phone!). I am using AT&T as my provider. The phones we looked at were:

Motorola Atrix 2

Blackberry Touch 4G

iPhone4

AT&T Impulse 4G

Samsung Focus Flash

If anyone has any experience with these phones or others or just general advice on smartphones I would appreciate it.

[Matt Meiser]

I had Android and now have an iPhone. I liked Android an I like the iPhone but id recommend iPhone for the simple reason of market share. You can choose from a vast multitude of accessories.

Otter box cases are great. My wife and I both have Commuter cases and my daughter has the Defender on her iPod Touch. If they made the Commter for my iPad I'd have that too.

[Craig McCormick]

Buy the Otter case online for $17.00
I love my iphone.

AZCRAIG

[Clay Crocker]

+1 on the iPhone 4 from a former Android owner. The Otter case is the best, IMHO too.

[Paul Steiner]

I would recommend the iphone and an otterbox. I had a droid in an otterbox and I left it on top of my truck, I made a hard left and realized the noise I heard was my phone hitting the street. The otterbox broke but the phone was fine. My biggest complaint with the droid is that my first one bit the dust 12 months after I got it. Verizon was very good about replacing it and ended up giving me another 3 months later when my replacement had software problems. I upgraded to an iphone and really like it thus far. I have not found any worth while woodworking apps. But the woodwhisperer has an app that lets you view videos and articles. The best related app or podcast is Ace on the House which you get through the Adam Carolla app.

[Jeff Sawyer]

I have a BlackBerry Storm 3G, it's ok. Takes good pics, and I can save and e-mail but Ive been having problems with upgrade downloads, looking to switch to an i phone. Plus At&t i phone is cheaper than Black Berry on Verizon.

[Robert Joseph]

Another vote for iphone from a former droid user. It's way less glitchy.

As far as tools there are a few tree/wood identifier apps.....Leafsnap, ID Wood, etc.

[Mark Ashmeade]

+1 on on iPhone4. I got spam from Best Buy today. Today and tomorrow only, they're offering a free iPhone4 32GB, with 2 yr signup. Note it's not the 4S, but hey, it's free!

[Roger Chandler]

I have the iphone 4s and the otterbox case...........what about the apps he was asking about related to woodworking and carpentry? Any good one you folks here know about?

[johnny means]

I have an HTC EVO 4G, pretty much just like every other full featured Android phone. I find that My Measures and Evernote make great field note apps. My Measure allows you to take a photograph and place field measures right on the photo. I also have a little app called Relievo which is a measured drawing app. Works great and is simple to use. These three pretty much made a pencil and notebook obsolete. Evernote also converts voice to text on my phone, which is great for taking notes while wearing gloves or when your busy actually working. HTCs also are built a bit more rugged than the Iphones and don't absolutely require a $40 Otterbox.

[John A langley]

Clisby. Another one for the Iphone. If you really want to go high tech get the new Ipad with the camera and get the app called Measure It. You can take a picture, you can send the picture to the app and you can add dimensions to it. You will find it to be very helpful.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I have an android ....Samsung Epic 4G......works well.

[Van Huskey]

Though I hate to plug another Apple device, I must say the Iphone.

[Dave huber]

IPhone 4S
very satisfied.
adding to grocery or other list by just telling it the item is handy.

Fractionation lite is a freebie fraction calculator.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

IPhone. Try inchcalc+ a calculator that adds feet, inches and fractions of inches. Also IDWood has a large database of wood pictures-- nice when planning projects.

[Victor Robinson]

iPhone.*

Apps:
Units (free) unit conversions
The Woodshop Widget (free or maybe a few bucks, don't remember) - board foot calculator, hardness scale, wood movement calculator, and a few other handy functions.
SPL Meter ($1 or $2) - great for assessing relative noise levels around the shop

[Bob Reda]

Think about this. I went to get one and the person talked me out of an I phone and into a samsung tablet (fits into back pocket) (maybe he saw the little gray hair I have left and that I can't see that well) Says it does everything the Iphone does except the phone part. I love it, best decision I made. Its a bigger screen than the phhone, can get all the apps, do email and messaging, has a camera and video, easy to operate.

Bob

[Homer Faucett]

I've had a Droid X for about 18 months, which replaced an iPhone 3gs before that. Personally, I like the Droid with the Android system much better than the proprietary iPhone operating system that precludes you from using Flash, and makes it much more difficult to setup your e-mail accounts, especially if you use Google systems for business. I've found that most accessories and apps that were available for the iPhone are now available on the Androids.

[Ken Deckelman]

IPhone. Try inchcalc+ a calculator that adds feet, inches and fractions of inches. Also IDWood has a large database of wood pictures-- nice when planning projects.

+1 there, the inchcalc app is well worth it.

[Rick Lizek]

Buy the last version IPhone, cheaper and you can Vlingo, Dragongo and dragon dictation.
Look at the Lifeproof case...more expensive but better than Otter.
Droid or Apple... Neither is perfect.
Lots of good apps...buildcalc better const calc. Measureit, camscanner, and more

[Rob Holcomb]

I have the Droid X2 and love it. Nice big screen and it has a dual core processor. With that being said, any smart phone, whether it be android based or an Iphone will do what you want done. It's more the look and feel of the phone that you will be deciding on. Screen size, ruggedness etc.

[Dave Aronson]

The atrix for the docking station only. That way you can use it as a phone on the road with android apps and then in the docking station in the shop to view pdf files of plans and use the pulse app to read the news forums.

[Dale Coons]

I'm with Bob-- have a Droid, which does everthing, but my eyes 'have aged along with the rest of me' and Bob has done what I intend to do next go--get a plain old cell phone for calls and a tablet for everything else. Having said that, I really like the Droid and would probably stick with something similar if I had younger eyes. Practically speaking, there's only what I'd call marginal differences between iOS and Android for most people. iOS has Siri, Android has more flexibility and is an open system. Both marketplaces have 99.99 percent junk and relatively few really good apps. Really good apps wind up on both systems. While I really don't use my phone for woodworking there are a few apps you might be interested in. RealCalc is a great calculator, RoadSync is a complete mobile Microsoft Outlook system, Documents To Go is a mobile Microsoft office clone, Bubble is a level that you can calibrate, Expense IT is a nice expense app that lets you take pictures of reciepts and attach them to a report, and gStrings is a really cool tuning app for instruments. These are android apps, but many of them I know are available for iOS and those that aren't probably have an excellent competitor.

Good Luck with a difficult choice!

[Harry Hagan]

I have the first version of the Blackberry Storm and won’t be getting another Blackberry product.

Invariably, when I find a newly developed application for a smart phone, Blackberry phones can’t use the app. Also, the Blackberry Storm is pretty much useless for accessing the internet.

Note: I read the other day that most people now access the internet via their phones rather than PCs or laptops.

I’m still waiting for the iPhone 5.

[Dale Coons]

As an example of 'equivalence'--I just checked the android marketplace for 'inchcalc' and found 'Dimensional Calculator' which 'works in and converts between fractional inches, millimeters etc'. 4.5 star app based on 25 reviews. RealCalc will also do conversions, but isn't designed to work primarily with fractional inches.

[Mark Ashmeade]

One other thought - if you have a Mac as your computer, the iPhone will sync wirelessly with it, and iPad. No idea about Windows machines with either iPhones or other phones.

Oh - and stick with AT&T. T-Mobile at worst. Keep away from the the other networks. Their networks are N America and a few other places only, useless if you do any traveling. AT&T or T-Mobile will work anywhere on the planet.

[Steve knight]

the iphone has been the only phone that has held up to sawdust. I used have phones go bad in a few months sometimes because of sawdust. Iphone has the best resale value of any phone ever. I cloud is pretty good I like photo stream better on a windows compute. the photo's are streamed right to a shortcut on the desktop where I can drop them in a email or look at them easier then having to email from the phone.

[Forrest Bonner]

Check out the iPhone 3GS from an AT&T store since that is your current provider. I just got two 3GS 'free' from AT&T - had to pay $31 each for the tax. Maybe that is only in CA. For $50 I put a router in the DSL line to the iMac and have Wi-Fi all over the house (and garage/shop). Very handy for downloads and really saves on data since over Wi-Fi AT&T does not charge that use to my Data Plan. And with AT&T iPhone (of any kind) you must have a Data Plan but do not need the Text Plan. Good hunting!
Forrest

[Steve knight]

not sure of I would get a 3gs. I mean it depends on what apps you want to use. by next year there won't be any os updates for it. any smart phone now needs a data plan so no getting away from that.

[Michael Peet]

[...] id recommend iPhone for the simple reason of market share.

Not sure I understand this; Android has way higher market share than iPhone. http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-11-15/tech/30400455_1_ios-iphone-smartphone-market. Or is it an underdog thing? :)

I also like both products. When I have had the chance to play around with other people's iPhones I thought they were pretty slick. I had a handful of Blackberrys in the past and hated every one without exception. When the last one kicked the bucket I got a Droid X, rooted it, installed a third party ROM without all the Verizon / Motorola bloatware, and the result is a very fast and stable phone with a battery that lasts a couple days. That said I don't think people should have to go through that just to get a good phone. YMMV.

Mike

[Forrest Bonner]

Apple continues production of the 3GS with 2 million sold this last quarter and expects to sell 1.5 million in the first quarter of 2012. Does not sound obsolete to me, but who knows what Apple will do. My OS is the 5.0.1 (9A405) which is one down from 4S. But that 9A406 release (very quietly done) is ONLY for the 4S to 'fix' a 4S-peculiar SIM-card problem.
Forrest

[Steve knight]

but look at all the features 5.01 did not add to the 3gs. by ios 6 I doubt it will even run that version. apple is bad about not supporting older hardware. a lot of new aps that won't run on the 3gs too.

[Forrest Bonner]

Oh, golly! I did NOT intend to suggest that the 3GS was equivalent to the 4 or 4S. There are many apps that will not run on my iPhone 3GS - face-to-face and skype are but 2 examples since I do not have a front camera. Will the iOS for iPhone 5 work on the iPhone 4S? will the iOS for the iPhone 6 run on the iPhone 5? Who knows???? My point was that unless you have need for the iPhone 4S capabilities, there is a cheaper way to enjoy the iPhone and still have access to an up-to-date OS. Someday that will change and if that is a problem, then we will buy new hardware.
Forrest

[Steve knight]

what I am saying is saving 100 on buying a 3gs that is over 3 years out of date will cost you more in the long run because you will have to upgrade sooner. going by apples record the 3gs will not be able to run ios 6 or it will be really slow doing it. the 3g will not run ios 5 and is really slow on ios 4 If you buy a 3gs you are buying a non supported phone that has a good chance in a year to be obsolete unless you only do basic things with it. if you spend 100 on a iphone 4 you will get two or three years before you have to upgrade. more if you get a iphone 4s. thats the nature of any computer these days. 3 year old hardware does not go very far.

[Matt Meiser]

One other thought - if you have a Mac as your computer, the iPhone will sync wirelessly with it, and iPad. No idea about Windows machines with either iPhones or other phones.

Oh - and stick with AT&T. T-Mobile at worst. Keep away from the the other networks. Their networks are N America and a few other places only, useless if you do any traveling. AT&T or T-Mobile will work anywhere on the planet.

Windows machines do as well with the iOS5. All our i* devices are on iOS5 now and doing this. Its not 100% reliable, but good enough. Once in a while my iPad or iPhone don't sync but its virtually always one or the other that doesn't, not both at the same time.

As for roaming it depends on where you go. Big cities in Europe yes, rural areas in the US, maybe not. Co-workers on ATT are regularly sending out emails that they are going to Podunk and won't have cell service. If you want the best US coverage and don't care about foreign travel, go to Verizon.


Not sure I understand this; Android has way higher market share than iPhone. http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-11-15/tech/30400455_1_ios-iphone-smartphone-market. Or is it an underdog thing? :)

Yes, but Android spread across dozens and dozens of different phones.

[keith micinski]

what I am saying is saving 100 on buying a 3gs that is over 3 years out of date will cost you more in the long run because you will have to upgrade sooner. going by apples record the 3gs will not be able to run ios 6 or it will be really slow doing it. the 3g will not run ios 5 and is really slow on ios 4 If you buy a 3gs you are buying a non supported phone that has a good chance in a year to be obsolete unless you only do basic things with it. if you spend 100 on a iphone 4 you will get two or three years before you have to upgrade. more if you get a iphone 4s. thats the nature of any computer these days. 3 year old hardware does not go very far.


Every statement in this quote is false. The 3gs is only a model and a half ago and still runs the most up to date operating system available. Even if it can't run iOS 6 when it comes out 8 months from now it will still only be one OS behind, I repeat 8 months form now. You also say you will only be able to do basic things with it in a year because it won't be supported. Next year every single app and hardware feature that currently works on the phone will continue to work. A free 3gs does 95 percent of what an iPhone 4s will do and does it almost as good in most cases. I am an admitted Apple fan and have owned every iPhone model the day that it came out. While I would agree, buying the newest hardware is always the best thing to do for longevity if you can afford it getting a free 3gs is still an amazing piece of technology that would fit most peoples needs. Also for anyone saying that Apple is a closed system feel free to point out a single advantage that Android has because it is so called "open". And by the way the lack of flash now no longer matters because 90 percent of Android phones never supported flash and the ten that did won't have to worry about it because Adobe quit developing a mobile flash because even they admitted it is a dead technology. Any smart phone you get Apple or Android is going to be a great addition to your work and your everyday life it just depends on what kind of a system you want to work with.

[Julian Tracy]

Buy the iPhone strictly out of the "free" upgrade possibilities.

I've had each iphone since the 3G version.

When my 3G was 1 year old, I sold it on CL for $280 within 10-20minutes of listing on CL and bought the 3Gs for $299.

When the 3Gs was 1 year old, I sold it for $320 on CL and bought the Iphone 4 for $299.

When my Iphone 4 was 1 year old, I sold it for $375 on CL and bought the Iphone 4s new for $399.

So, for about the last 3-4 years, aside from my initial purchase, I've had the latest phones, with newer batteries and features AND warranty for basically free.

Android phones have that kind of resale?? I doubt it.

Like Apple laptops, buy one today for $1000 and it'll be worth $650 in 2-3 years. Anybody know of a PC laptop that old worth more than $45-85.00 ??

Lot's of better reasons, but the resale on iphones is phenomenal.

Julian

[Mark Ashmeade]

As for roaming it depends on where you go. Big cities in Europe yes, rural areas in the US, maybe not.

Not just big cities, not just Europe. GSM serves 80% of the world's population with over 4 billion subscribers, and about 600m for CDMA. Verizon and Sprint just backed the wrong technology horse, but made a decent fist of it in the US.

It's all moot now anyway. The CDMA technology standards group threw the towel in, and 4G LTE is a GSM-based standard. Once voice over LTE hits, Verizon & Sprint will be at the top table.

[Matt Meiser]

That 80% of the population stuff is exactly what I'm talking about. It doesn't do you any good if you're in a Nebraska town where 0.000000000000000001% of the worlds population lives. I haven't been to Europe since spring of 1999 and don't have any plans to go (which means this will be the year, right?) but fairly regularly travel to places where there's no GSM coverage here. Like I said, it depends on where you go.

The article I read recently said Verizon is doing VOLTE trials. Won't be surprised at all to see it offered soon the way they are pushing their LTE buildout. I just wish they'd make it here. They are oh-so-close. Just a few miles south of me there's coverage.

[Gene Davis]

iPhone 4s has best camera, easy upload to cloud, sets all pics in folder in your pc.

Carpenter cut- optimize is excellent app for shop.

The voice rec Siri app is wonderfully productive.

[keith micinski]

If you go Android be sure you check and see what operating system they are running and also realize that most of the Android phones can't be upgraded to the newer software as it comes out, they have gotten better on that though.

[Craig McCormick]

I have sold totally broken iphones for $180.00 - $250.00 on ebay. Yes broken. Nothing no lights no noise.

AZCRAIG




Buy the iPhone strictly out of the "free" upgrade possibilities.

I've had each iphone since the 3G version.

When my 3G was 1 year old, I sold it on CL for $280 within 10-20minutes of listing on CL and bought the 3Gs for $299.

When the 3Gs was 1 year old, I sold it for $320 on CL and bought the Iphone 4 for $299.

When my Iphone 4 was 1 year old, I sold it for $375 on CL and bought the Iphone 4s new for $399.

So, for about the last 3-4 years, aside from my initial purchase, I've had the latest phones, with newer batteries and features AND warranty for basically free.

Android phones have that kind of resale?? I doubt it.

Like Apple laptops, buy one today for $1000 and it'll be worth $650 in 2-3 years. Anybody know of a PC laptop that old worth more than $45-85.00 ??

Lot's of better reasons, but the resale on iphones is phenomenal.

Julian

[Julian Tracy]

Ebay's full of idiot buyers who'll pay too much... I don't bother with selling through ebay anymore, seems a pain. I've dumped off all my iphones on CL.

JT

[Forrest Bonner]

what I am saying is saving 100 on buying a 3gs that is over 3 years out of date will cost you more in the long run because you will have to upgrade sooner. going by apples record the 3gs will not be able to run ios 6 or it will be really slow doing it. the 3g will not run ios 5 and is really slow on ios 4 If you buy a 3gs you are buying a non supported phone that has a good chance in a year to be obsolete unless you only do basic things with it. if you spend 100 on a iphone 4 you will get two or three years before you have to upgrade. more if you get a iphone 4s. thats the nature of any computer these days. 3 year old hardware does not go very far.

Well, I thank you for informing me that my iPhone 3GS no longer works with iOS 5. It has worked fine and pretty fast for the last 2 months with iOS 5 (9A405), but I will run out now and recycle it. Economics is another matter, but that is for each user to decide. Fortunately, there are alternatives - even alternatives to Apple.
Forrest

[Mark Ashmeade]

Well, I thank you for informing me that my iPhone 3GS no longer works with iOS 5. It has worked fine and pretty fast for the last 2 months with iOS 5 (9A405), but I will run out now and recycle it. Economics is another matter, but that is for each user to decide. Fortunately, there are alternatives - even alternatives to Apple.
Forrest

He said the 3G doesn't work with IOS5. Indeed it doesn't. The 3GS does, but that has a faster processor than the 3G.

The "problem" is that as soon as a new feature comes out, the other manufacturers introduce phones with that feature. They have to constantly innovate to attract buyers. It's a totally different market dynamic than say stationary power tools, where the same design can be current for decades. Also, there's only a few tens of thousands of a particular tool made, at max, whereas there are tens of millions of phones made.

A mobile phone has a non-obsolescent life of no more than 3 years. That's why there's 2-year contracts on them to recoup the initial loss that got you in the store. After 2 years, you're free to get another with the latest gizmos. Just how the market has worked.

[johnny means]

Buy the iPhone strictly out of the "free" upgrade possibilities.

I've had each iphone since the 3G version.

When my 3G was 1 year old, I sold it on CL for $280 within 10-20minutes of listing on CL and bought the 3Gs for $299.

When the 3Gs was 1 year old, I sold it for $320 on CL and bought the Iphone 4 for $299.

When my Iphone 4 was 1 year old, I sold it for $375 on CL and bought the Iphone 4s new for $399.

So, for about the last 3-4 years, aside from my initial purchase, I've had the latest phones, with newer batteries and features AND warranty for basically free.

Android phones have that kind of resale?? I doubt it.

Like Apple laptops, buy one today for $1000 and it'll be worth $650 in 2-3 years. Anybody know of a PC laptop that old worth more than $45-85.00 ??

Lot's of better reasons, but the resale on iphones is phenomenal.

Julian

Don't believe for one minute that your carrier is giving you these $600 phones at those amazing prices because they like you. Cellular companies are ingenious when it comes to recouping "upgrade" costs.

[Mark Ashmeade]

Don't believe for one minute that your carrier is giving you these $600 phones at those amazing prices because they like you. Cellular companies are ingenious when it comes to recouping "upgrade" costs.

Actually I would disagree with that. They let you have $600 phones for a third of the price precisely because they like you. What they don't like, is losing customers. They'd rather have a customer who they don't make any money out of, or even a tolerable loss, because if they don't have you, the opposition will. A certain telecom company has a sign in every building for the employees. "Rule #1. Take care of the customer. If we don't, somebody else will".

The industry term is "churn rate", and a high churn rate costs a LOT of money to put right. Losing money most of the year on a customer is OK. That customer will eventually go on vacation overseas, or call Mom on her Caribbean cruise, and they will recoup the loss.

[Michael Weber]

There's a 'level' app that's really cool and includes a degree indicator (think tiltbox).

[Mark Ashmeade]

There's a 'level' app that's really cool and includes a degree indicator (think tiltbox).

RIDGID has a free one. Works just fine.

[Kevin Barnett]

I have the Samsung Galaxy IIS, the wife has the iPhone 4S. The kids have iTouches. Mine is faster, clearer, lighter, thinner, and has a break-resistant screen. The app store is nicer for the apples, but the Android team puts out some decent free things that cost money in the app store. I can also talk to the phone to text or email just like the iPhone 4S. Only downside to the Samsung is that I don't have Siri talking back to me - it just does what I ask.

I find it pretty amazing the accuracy of the transcription programs for either one.

As for woodworking, the best app is the youtube player and watch the WoodWisperer...

[Steve Roxberg]

I have a Samsung Focus the first version of the Windows 7 phones and love it. It is an excellent phone, the newer version is 4G which I don't think any of the iPhone's are but since I use mostly wifi access I'm not sure it matters.

Yes the iPhone has 500,000 apps but I use very few apps and don't really have a huge need for them.

Don't buy anthing without giving the new Windows 7 phones a close look.

[keith micinski]

Windows mobile 7 was two years obsolete when it came out and I looked at their Market place and it brought up a whopping 1 app for carpentry or woodworking. Also 4G covers about 10 percent of America and when it does it is currently being implemented at about the same speed as HSPA+ which the iPhone 4s does support. Also 4G battery life is absolutely ridiculous and most people turn their 4g off so that they can make it through a day but the kicker is a lot of Phones don't let you turn 4g off. I want to amend my original statement where I said any smart phone will be great. I should have said any smart phone that is an Android or an Apple will be great everything else will be less then these two platforms in a number of ways and will probably only become more obsolete as time goes on.

[James White]

Ebay's full of idiot buyers who'll pay too much... I don't bother with selling through ebay anymore, seems a pain. I've dumped off all my iphones on CL.

JT

Local pickups? I think that most on CL are looking for local pickup. That means if you are in a non Urban area. You have a small market compared to Ebay. Don't get me wrong. I no longer sell on Ebay. The fees are just too high when Paypal gets factored in.

James