The Swamp

I took the plunge and upgraded to the Iphone 6 Plus. I have been a loyal lifeproof case user for over 3 years and they have absolutely paid for themselves. So I am leaning towards just getting the lifeproof but wanted to put it out there to see if anyone has had success with soemthing else?

I don't get it wet, but I drop it a fair amount, typically just when getting it out of my pocket. Other than stopping being a total clumsy doof, I try to take care of it.

My Father-in-law had to return his first i-6 lifeproof case because of a defect, but as with all other lifeproof returns they were totally cool about it. His second case works fine.

I do hope they improved the touch-id cover. That is definitely the weak link on my i-5 case.

Mr. C wrote:My Father-in-law had to return his first i-6 lifeproof case because of a defect, but as with all other lifeproof returns they were totally cool about it. His second case works fine.

I do hope they improved the touch-id cover. That is definitely the weak link on my i-5 case.

The review I saw said it was an improved Touch ID interface.

I've gone otter box with my last three phones. I've got no complaints. The defender series is a little too big for my pocket. I like the commuter series better. I believe they will replace any case that breaks for free, but I haven't had that issue.

Lifeproof owns Otterbox (or the other way around) now. Are they still separate brands?

I've certainly been happy with my Otterbox. And, unless they've moved - given what Ryan told us, I also like the fact that Otterbox is (was?) from Fort Collins, Colorado. My favorite town in the country.

I use a case I found on the floor of a dollar store. They didn't have anything remotely similar on the shelf, but the cashier shrugged his shoulders and sold it to me. Works great!

govmentchedda wrote:I've gone otter box with my last three phones. I've got no complaints. The defender series is a little too big for my pocket. I like the commuter series better. I believe they will replace any case that breaks for free, but I haven't had that issue.

We've used 5 or 6 different OtterBox products, and our devices have survived every drop. One OtterBox caseon an iPad broke after it was dropped and they did send a free replacement for it.

phxgators wrote:

govmentchedda wrote:I've gone otter box with my last three phones. I've got no complaints. The defender series is a little too big for my pocket. I like the commuter series better. I believe they will replace any case that breaks for free, but I haven't had that issue.

We've used 5 or 6 different OtterBox products, and our devices have survived every drop. One OtterBox caseon an iPad broke after it was dropped and they did send a free replacement for it.

Then you're my fact checkin' cuz.

I threw my iPod in an Otterbox defender case across the room at the end of the Cowboys/Packers game.

It came through unscathed. ;)

Does the job from a protection standpoint but not a fan of the otterbox. Like their customer support and replacement policy but the rubber bumper case stretched out over time and became unusable and the holster clip cracked very quickly (an I only used it on very rare occasions). Probably going with a different brand next time.

wlu_lax6 wrote:Does the job from a protection standpoint but not a fan of the otterbox. Like their customer support and replacement policy but the rubber bumper case stretched out over time and became unusable and the holster clip cracked very quickly (an I only used it on very rare occasions). Probably going with a different brand next time.

Yeah I didn't care for the rubberyness. Much preferred the lifeproof's smooth plastic. The 6 Plus case for the life proof went out of stock pretty much immediately, and my phone is to be delivered today. So I went with a highly rated but less expensive model from Spigen. Something that I won't feel bad replacing with a lifeproof if I don't care for it. Got good drop ratings though so that's important.

AB_skin_test wrote:

wlu_lax6 wrote:Does the job from a protection standpoint but not a fan of the otterbox. Like their customer support and replacement policy but the rubber bumper case stretched out over time and became unusable and the holster clip cracked very quickly (an I only used it on very rare occasions). Probably going with a different brand next time.

Yeah I didn't care for the rubberyness. Much preferred the lifeproof's smooth plastic. The 6 Plus case for the life proof went out of stock pretty much immediately, and my phone is to be delivered today. So I went with a highly rated but less expensive model from Spigen. Something that I won't feel bad replacing with a lifeproof if I don't care for it. Got good drop ratings though so that's important.

The commuter series from Otterbox resolved this problem for me. It's mostly smooth, where the defender series is mostly rubbery.

govmentchedda wrote:The...box...is...smooth...the d...is...rubbery.

No wax for this cheese.

I guess I'm about ready to give up and get a smart phone. We have a house full of Apple devices, and I'm aware of/comfortable with what I can and can't do in iOS is there any compelling reason to consider looking outside the iPhone?

There is not.

Ryan wrote:There is not.

If you like the Google interface and want to spend half the price of an iPhone, there is.

If you are using iTunes with other devices, you'd probably want to to keep your music on the phone on the same platform.

sancarlos wrote:If you are using iTunes with other devices, you'd probably want to to keep your music on the phone on the same platform.

Should I have added that fucking I hate iTunes?

On the occasions that I need to listen to purchased music (when I run), I would probably keep the ipod around.

Brontoburglar wrote:

Ryan wrote:There is not.

If you like the Google interface and want to spend half the price of an iPhone, there is.

The big name Androids are as expensive as the 6, and certainly more expensive than the SE (which is what I'm looking at).

What do you recommend? I guess the only feature I truly give a shit about is a better than decent camera.

I'm an iPhone guy but as more options to get music and media become available(currently Amazon prime has 70% of stuff I have already on my phone) the pull to stay that way diminishes.

rass wrote:
The big name Androids are as expensive as the 6, and certainly more expensive than the SE (which is what I'm looking at).

What do you recommend? I guess the only feature I truly give a shit about is a better than decent camera.

The Nexus 5x or 6P. Those are the Google phones. They are "vanilla" Android, meaning there are no skins on it (Samsung and others have their own interface that they load on top of Android) and there are no pre-installed apps except the Google Apps. And you can delete whatever you want. A lot of other phones you can't delete the pre-installed shit on.

And the 5X is $350.

Brontoburglar wrote:
The Nexus 5x or 6P. Those are the Google phones. They are "vanilla" Android, meaning there are no skins on it (Samsung and others have their own interface that they load on top of Android) and there are no pre-installed apps except the Google Apps. And you can delete whatever you want. A lot of other phones you can't delete the pre-installed shit on.

You can also very easily root most Android phones and install a "lite" version of Android such as Cyangenmod or the like. One of the bad things about my being issued a state property phone for work (and personal) use is that I can't root it and am stuck with the pre-installed Samsung shit.

I got a Nexus 5 less than a year ago. Right at $200. Does all smartphone stuff great but the phone sucks a little. Nexus 4 had a much, much better phone and I use it for talking as much as anything else. The google/nexus phones get all android updates pretty much immediately so you are always on a great os. Recommend.

Rush2112 wrote:

Brontoburglar wrote:
The Nexus 5x or 6P. Those are the Google phones. They are "vanilla" Android, meaning there are no skins on it (Samsung and others have their own interface that they load on top of Android) and there are no pre-installed apps except the Google Apps. And you can delete whatever you want. A lot of other phones you can't delete the pre-installed shit on.

You can also very easily root most Android phones and install a "lite" version of Android such as Cyangenmod or the like. One of the bad things about my being issued a state property phone for work (and personal) use is that I can't root it and am stuck with the pre-installed Samsung shit.

You have to be fairly savvy to root a phone. It's not something I would recommend to anyone who isn't too tech-savvy or not great at following directions. If you're going to go with plain Android, there's no sense in buying a non-Nexus phone to root it unless you have a burning desire to do that.

Well, as do most things, the decision came down to $$$ and adding a line to my wife's Verizon account and adjusting the data plan was the cheapest option, by at least $30/month. I went with the iPhone SE, which is back-ordered so I'm still a caveman for another month or so. Thanks for the advice everyone.

rass wrote:Well, as do most things, the decision came down to $$$ and adding a line to my wife's Verizon account and adjusting the data plan was the cheapest option, by at least $30/month. I went with the iPhone SE, which is back-ordered so I'm still a caveman for another month or so. Thanks for the advice everyone.

I think that's the smartest thing. Get the outlay as low as possible. They most all are similar in what they can do these days for 99% of users who don't want the worry of rooting anything.

After spending 5 days with my new phone I'm so fucking lazy and can't be bothered with this password shit on the iPad why can't I use my finger print to login I don't have time for his shit.

So my current phone is on its last legs with the battery randomly dying after minimal use. I want to get another of the same one (Google Nexus 5), but it's not one of the available options from my carrier (T-Mobile; I use a pay-as-you-go plan and don't want to change since it works best for my relatively low rate of use).

I see where I can buy an unlocked Nexus 5 directly from Google, but wouldn't know how to get it to work with my current service and number.

Is this possible? Is it easy? I have no real idea and can't expect any help from my carrier, who loves to obfuscate the everloving fuck out of things if you're not directly giving them more money.

Take the SIM card out of the bad one. Put it in the new one. Give the IMEI to T-Mobile.

Fin.

Before coming back to America I bought a Google Nexus 6 on Amazon. Returning to America I walked into an AT&T store in Virginia where I was visiting friends. (I've had my cell phone plan on military hold since before Korea up to this point.) They reactivated my account on the spot and I was golden. It should be the same for T Mobile because it's the SIM card. I've been doing the unlocked cell phone thing since 2008-ish.

Shit, here I was opening the back of my phone to try to find the SIM card to no avail, thinking it maybe didn't have one, then looking it up to realize it popped out from the side.

Thanks Johnnie. Sounds straightforward enough. If I'm getting the exact same phone model as I have now, there wouldn't be a chance the IMEI wouldn't be accepted by the carrier, would there?

Johnny Carwash wrote:Shit, here I was opening the back of my phone to try to find the SIM card to no avail, thinking it maybe didn't have one, then looking it up to realize it popped out from the side.

Thanks Johnnie. Sounds straightforward enough. If I'm getting the exact same phone model as I have now, there wouldn't be a chance the IMEI wouldn't be accepted by the carrier, would there?

If this were a agile ago, maybe. But these days unlocked phones are quite mainstream so you shouldn't have a problem.

Johnny Carwash wrote:So my current phone is on its last legs with the battery randomly dying after minimal use. I want to get another of the same one (Google Nexus 5), but it's not one of the available options from my carrier (T-Mobile; I use a pay-as-you-go plan and don't want to change since it works best for my relatively low rate of use).

I see where I can buy an unlocked Nexus 5 directly from Google, but wouldn't know how to get it to work with my current service and number.

Is this possible? Is it easy? I have no real idea and can't expect any help from my carrier, who loves to obfuscate the everloving fuck out of things if you're not directly giving them more money.

Same phone and carrier. Cracked mine up and shards are starting to come loose. Will probably just get the same thing. Let me know what kind of deal you find.

when are you getting phones for your swamp offspring?

flaco jr just started 5th grade.. more independent -- taking the bus for the first time and all that.
he has uses of a laptop (his) and old tablets/phones at home (Samsung Tab2, and an S2) on wifi around the house... skype and email to keep touch with friends and family far and close...(of course, i control all acces.. his email is on gmail and goes thru my account... plus i know all the passwords)

thinking of dropping a feature phone on him.. relatively cheap.. texting allowed.. but no web. most of folks in town seem to give out iphones and s7s to 4th grade and up.. i just don't see why that's good (and i'm cheap).

when do swamp jrs get a phone? difference in gender?
enlighten me please!

elflaco wrote:when are you getting phones for your swamp offspring?

flaco jr just started 5th grade.. more independent -- taking the bus for the first time and all that.
he has uses of a laptop (his) and old tablets/phones at home (Samsung Tab2, and an S2) on wifi around the house... skype and email to keep touch with friends and family far and close...(of course, i control all acces.. his email is on gmail and goes thru my account... plus i know all the passwords)

thinking of dropping a feature phone on him.. relatively cheap.. texting allowed.. but no web. most of folks in town seem to give out iphones and s7s to 4th grade and up.. i just don't see why that's good (and i'm cheap).

when do swamp jrs get a phone? difference in gender?
enlighten me please!

Mine are in 3rd and 5th grade (and preschool). All boys. The big two have ipods, but not phones.

Mine are in 10th and 8th. No smart phones. They got flip phones last year to help coordinate after-school pickups, but that's it.

My fifth grader is begging for a phone. She has access to my laptop, the iPad, tablet and my wife's old phone on WiFi at home. We keep tabs on all apps and communication. No email for either of the girls or texting from any device, unless it is on my phone or the wife's phone. When they get their license is probably when they will get a phone.

No way am I dropping $300+ on a device that they will either lose or break in less then 6 months. I do like the ideas of flip phones. That may work, and I can get some cheap ones online.

My 9th grader has a Galaxy (the waterproof one). His first true smartphone. He had his first phone in 6th grade.

Man I'd be horrified to be you guys. It seems like a tough question all around.

Shirley, do they complain about not having phones, especially the 10th grader? It seems from the outside looking in that almost every kid in high school has one and is constantly taking pictures of themselves. Not saying that yours would be a complainer, just hard to imagine in this day and age.

My dad's sister constantly broke he and his brothers balls about giving their kids phones so early (smartphones weren't a thing until I was grown, but my sister definitely had one in HS) and the shit was just non stop. She gave her twins their first phones when they were 11 and acted like it was no big deal.

It's very interesting from the perspective of someone currently childfree.

tennbengal wrote:My 9th grader has a Galaxy (the waterproof one). His first true smartphone. He had his first phone in 6th grade.

Similar for us. We used AT&T Go-Phones starting in about sixth grade. They were free and you only had to pay for minutes used. We got our daughter an iPhone for Christmas when she was 12. All her friends had them, and they are constantly communicating through snapchat and text and whatever.

We held out on my son, who is 16, until just this summer. Mostly we were afraid that he would lose it, or that the concern about him losing the phone would be a constant source of stress and conflict. But around here it seems like the boys are less likely to have the phones.

15 and 12, both have iPhones because I'm not a god damned monster like Dave.