Karaoke Forums

Right up front.... I just might be the least tech-savvy person here.

So, here's my dilema. I have a 3 year old Blackberry, which I've never taken the time, or had the inclination to learn to use properly... certainly not to a tenth of it's capabilities (aparently).

My three-year contract with the Blackberry has expired, and I am now eligible for an upgrade to a basic iPhone 4s for zero dollars, or $179 for a 32 Gig model.

I spent a half-hour with a local iPhone sales person today, and must say, I was impressed with how simple he seemed to make the operation... but also overwhelmed with the device's capabilities.

Generally speaking, I want a wireless telephone, and text messaging would be nice. Otherwise, I really don't know how I would use the iPhone ... particularly in respect to my Karaoke business. He showed me a "sound meter" app... which was impressive, but how often would I use that? Or the oscilliscope??

Let's say my lap-top broke down at a gig, and I forgot my back-up at home (hey, it could happen).. could I run my show from an iPhone... Are there "apps" that would allow me to run mp3+g files directly into my mixer...??

I have an excellent camera, a pretty-good gps, and a functional Blackberry... Would it be wise to invest the $179 (plus probably an additional $20/month on a decent service plan) on an iPhone.

I certainly don't mind spending the money... that's not really the point.... but I don't want to drop the extra $$$ on something that I'm not likely to use.

What say you?

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Earl
(BS, PHD & Certified CurmuDJeon)

[font=Times New Roman]"Growing Old may be mandatory... but growing UP is still optional."[/font]

Earl,
If you only need a phone to make and take calls and an occasional text message why buy a phone that has options you won't use and pay a higher cost per month, Find a good solid texting phone that can be activated by your carrier and save yourself money and hassle. My phone takes and makes calls and an occasional text...no camera no gps no internet...I have other devices for those functions that I like better. My monthly unlimited costs are lower than most peoples and there are 4 phones on my family plan. Buy what you need, don't fall for the upgrade trick. Downgrade yourself and save a bunch on your yearly bills,.Just my opinion,

If you have a blackberry, you are already paying for a data plan. Moving to an iphone or an android would be a logical move regardless if you want to continue paying for a data plan. If you don't care about having email and apps on your phone, drop the data plan and save yourself the monthly rate.

I would say 2nd least.



I will say, get an iPhone. You cant compare it to an antique blackberry. The hallmark of the iPhone is it is super intuitive to use. 99% of iPhone users have never opened the user manual (or even knew there was one) because it just isn't needed.

As for being "overwhelmed by the capabilities", this is like saying you don't want to get a new car because you are overwhelmed by the interstate highway system. Just because you have one, doesnt mean you MUST use every capability. Even if you were only to use the stock apps...email, iMessage, phone & safari, it is still a superior device.

As an early adopter (I stood in line for the first iPhone on day 1) I have seen it 100 times with friends and family over the years. People say "I only want a phone to make calls and texts on, I dont WANT all that other crap". Then they get the iPhone, and a few months later they have found dozens of apps they love, are iPhone experts, and you couldn't pry it from their dead hands.

You will be too! Just do it, and don't look back. You will be glad you did.

what user manual, iphone come with a little book that isn't even a user manual at all.....

but i have one and moved from a blackberry curve 2 years ago, and you will love the ease of use and features...

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It's all good!

"I will say, get an iPhone. You cant compare it to an antique blackberry. The hallmark of the iPhone is it is super intuitive to use. 99% of iPhone users have never opened the user manual (or even knew there was one) because it just isn't needed. "


Uhh,,,,, I will say, get an android. You cant compare it to an antique blackberry. The hallmark of the android is it is super intuitive to use. 99% of android users have never opened the user manual (or even knew there was one) because it just isn't needed.


If you don't feel you need the internet, don't buy a smart phone. Get a texting phone and save 20 or 30 bucks or more a month you are spending on your data plan.

However, holy cow! It's called a smart phone for a reason! Once I finish my move to Canada, I will sell my Nuvi I bought earlier this year. Only reason I bought it was because of roaming charges to use the GPS on my android. The GPS on the android (using google maps) is pretty darn awesome! It will get you where you need to go, can show a satellite view. Can tell you where restaurants, gas stations, hospitals, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, are. The phone is worth it for that alone. I use my android for so much more and just upgraded from the galaxy 1 to the galaxy 3. I have the iphone 4 for my business phone, sorry but no comparison. I only have 2 phones because work won't let me put my business email on my personal phone.

I paid $500 for my Galaxy 3, bought it unlocked so I can take it with me when I move and not pay the ETF. I had a 32 gb card for my galaxy 1 so I could put thousands of songs on my phone. It's now in my new phone. You can't put that card in the iphone. I paid about 60 bucks for the card and it is interchangable. Easy to change the battery out in the android too. I can do it in less than ten seconds. Try that with the iphone. The cameras are very comparable now. And I love the size of my android! It fits easily in my pocket but the screen is about 1/3 bigger than the iphone.

Sieri (or however spelled) is an awesome app. I don't think the droid (lots of them but I use maluuba) is quite as good but I use it to find out nearly any question I have in seconds.

Oh swype? I love swype! I just glide my fingers over the keyboard and it spells out what I want it to. Iphone, sorry don't have. I think you can get a generic app but reviews say it is lame. And the talk to text on the galaxy 3 is pretty much blazing fast and ten times more accurate than it was on G1. Now when I want to text someone, I just speak it. Of course not very good in a loud place.


I could go on and on. Not saying the iphone isn't a good phone because it is but I prefer my android! It won't run a show for me but I use it when I can't recognize a song I'm hearing, click on soundhound and it gives me the song, artist, album, year and lyrics. The lyrics even keep in time with the song.


Unless you buy a lemon (what manu doesn't have them occasionally) you should be happy with either should you so choose to buy a smartphone.

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

Make that the 3rd least....

What's a Blackberry...
I still use a VCR...
I still use my Motorola Razor phone from T-Mobile (and texting is blocked (by my request))...

I'm still not quite a fully-fledged card-carrying member of the 21st Century. My friends tell me that I'm barely out of the 19th Century.

See! You proved my point.

156 pages: http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/iph ... _guide.pdf

@ Cue: Sounds like you'd get along just fine with my coal-fired amplifiers and water-wheel driven turn-tables...

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Earl
(BS, PHD & Certified CurmuDJeon)

[font=Times New Roman]"Growing Old may be mandatory... but growing UP is still optional."[/font]

I still have a Turntable too (plays speeds 33 and 45). Haven't had my Victrola (yes, I'm aging myself here) since the 1980's. That used to play speeds 16, 33, 45, and 78.

I still have 1 Regular Beta deck, 1 Super Beta deck and 2 ED Beta machines..

I still have VCR tapes that I use too. I never thought i'd need a phone that did anything more than made calls, but I got my first 'smart' phone last year & I tell you what I use it a hell of alot more than i'd thought I ever would. I'm actually looking into upgrading to a more feature packed phone now. Not an I-Phone, but a Galaxy III!

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

You said one of the few features you use is texting. I have a blackberry torch and am keeping it for now because I can use the full keyboard. I cannot type a message on my daughter's touch screen iphone. Some of the androids have nice slide out keyboards also.

...Last year I dropped a carrier because they kept dropping me (basic phone: for calls, texting, camera, etc.). Went over to the other side with the big "V" company because of a much better signal strength. However, the local franchise didn't honor the discounted and signed agreement so cancelled within the trial date.

...Eventually went with ST (which piggybacks off of the "V" Network Service) through the local El Walmarte' Store. One year later I updated the first phone I got through ST and went with an Android Samsung Galaxy Proclaim for $179.99 but kept $45.00 per month Unlimited Plan (no contract).

...Is it the latest and greatest? Nope, but it was more than I used to have with a mere basic phone. However the battery life is less with this type of phone. If you use it a lot just keep a charger handy or buy another battery for back-up.

I was a hard core Blackberry user even before it was called the Blackberry (anyone else have a "RIM pager"? ). I loved the tactile keyboard and thought I could never get used to a touch screen. But you can. You just have to go cold turkey. It's a b1tch the first day and you'll hate it. By day three it's getting better. By the end of the week not so bad and after two weeks you're typing just as fast as you were before.

Just like any new piece of technology it's the transition week that is hardest.

I've had my SG3 now for three weeks and I'm not disappointed at all. Battery usually gets me thru, I use it a lot. On the SG1 I bought extra batteries on ebay for just a few bucks, kept them charged and in my pocket. Like I said, changing the battery out takes maybe ten seconds and of course you have the reboot time of a couple minutes. iPhone isn't capable of that. Yesterday I got to try the sbeam for the first time. Another guy had the SG3, I opened up a picture, we put the back of our phones against each other and within a few seconds he had my picture on his phone! Only thing about the SG3 (and I knew this from reviews beforehand) is the screen brightness could be better. Not an issue until out in the sun.

So for the OP, one person on this forum uses an iPad to run his shows. Severin, are you around? Or should I say Alex?

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

Yeah it seems the batts on smart phones in general don't last too long, my next phone i'll defintely have extra batts charged

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I thought this was a K A R A O K E website

Well, since he was asking about how an Iphone could be incorporated in his 'karaoke' business......

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

...Exactly GM40, we are chatting about Karaoke and using a phone to run our shows. Come January I'm getting the new chip put into my arm to run my shows. You sound like a KJ that's still using a.... (auh, crap what do you call those things?)...oh, I remember now, laptop. Are you?

.... .... Of course I'm just kidding...maybe?