iPhone V Android

[Calldepartures]

I am in the market for my first smart phone. I will only be using it within Australia. 2 questions;

1. Which is better from an aviation point of view (useful apps)? Android or Iphone?

2. Do you have to be with Telstra next G to use it in flight or do they work on 3/Vodafone 3G network?

Thanks
Call Departures
(first post!)

[Capt Claret]

I find Telstra Next G less useful in flight than was the old CDMA or GSM. I also find on the ground that I have far superior coverage with Telstra Next G than my colleagues with Vodaphone or Optus. And I say that hating Telstra with a passion.

As to Apps, the only one I use is Rowan Wilson's NAIPS on an iPhone.

[Goat Whisperer]

very happy with my iphone 4 from Voda.

I use a Telstra prepaid sim for the occasional time I'm out of Voda's coverage.

I can't believe how bad Telstra are to deal with for simple matters, but admit their coverage is excellent. It's funny checking email 7000' over a vast outback salt lake.

The NAIPS App for iPhone is outstanding. Well worth the (tax deductible) $9.99

[scardycap]

Paid $349 for a HTC Wildfire and went on the $40 prepaid cap with Telstra and haven't looked back.
Not a fan of Telstra but the cap has been good value and the phone is great. Getting reception no worries buzzing up and down the east coast at 20 thousand feet.

[BrazDriver]

HTC Desire HD coming soon. Put the iPhone to shame. I think to start with only available on Vodafone. I think someone was making a NAIPS app for Android.

[StallsandSpins]

I recently got a samsung galaxy S. Im quite happy with the phone itself (seems superior to iphone in many ways) but android is still a bit lacking in the aviation apps department compared to iphone.

There is no NAIPS app i can find. which was one of the reasons i got a smartphone in the first place! i think the problem is that there is still no facility for australian android app developers to sell their apps on the android market yet. hopefully this will change soon

[ForkTailedDrKiller]

I find Telstra Next G less useful in flight than was the old CDMA or GSM.

Ditto!

I also find on the ground that I have far superior coverage with Telstra Next G than my colleagues with Vodaphone or Optus.

Ditto!

And I say that hating Telstra with a passion.

Ditto!

As to Apps, the only one I use is Rowan Wilson's NAIPS on an iPhone.

.....and ditto!

Dr

PS:

There is no NAIPS app i can find.

Then you are just not trying hard enough!

[capt787]

Been with Optus for years in Sydney. No reception at 1500ft over Sydney.

[Old Akro]

I partly agree with FDTK & C Claret. Telstra is a nightmare and if there was any option at all I'd change. But NextG is the best game in town. I had a small fleet of CDMA phones with guys working (in cars) in NW Vic / W NSW & Nth SA. It took us ages to get Next G to an equivalent level of reception. Its very dependent on handsets. Anything without the Telstra blue tick is only useful as a paperweight. We now use the LG flip phones and with external aerials we get better reception that we ever got with CDMA. I have both one of these phones and an iphone and frankly find that the iphone is close enough to the same coverage as the LG phone that I don't bother with the LG phone anymore. The iphone's big screen can be useful for weather radar in flight. I seem to have more coverage problems over suburban areas (I was once told that Telstra can make the base stations vertically directional) but have few areas of non coverage once I'm going. I'd do the iphone. But you do need to be organised to be able to charge it each and every night and occasionally I need a top up during the day.

Did I mention that I hate Telstra?

BTW, you need to check the Telstra bills carefully. They are frequently wrong. Last year most months I had a $1000 credit each month for errors. I find that Telstra's bills are basically wrong the first month you add or delete a number or make any other changes.

PS the AWIS app for the iphone is really good.

[TSIO540]

Having naips on the go might be nice, but airservicesaustralia (dot) com/brief is free, can be accessed by any smart phone and works just as well..

I just use an el-cheapo telstra prepaid T106 and it works ok at FL210 in outback Qld.

I've had mates with Telstra Iphones and they noted that the Telstra ones have an internal aerial modification that allows them to work on the Next G network - they had pretty good range too.

With respect to using BOM radar - I would be cautious about relying on it in flight... No one should be flying amongst Charlie Bravo's without an onboard Wx radar, its just plain dangerous unless your machine is built to pull >10G's

[compressor stall]

Telstra ones have an internal aerial modification

It's the network frequency of the Telstra Network (but not Voda etc) that was more compatible with the 3GS. not a modification. I think the new iPhone 4s have a wider spectrum of networks they can access at higher speeds. Try whirlpool.com.au for more info.

As for apps -

Sunrise Sunset Pro. very useful for determining Last light etc.
World view - webcams all over the place
Aeroweather - Latest TAF/TTF Metars from any airport also Last lgiht etc
Iports - same as above but with RWY info
Time Calc. A time calculator.
Touch PLan - a quick and dirty flight planner
Mental Case - combined with mac software, a fantastic test / notes / study tool. Brilliant and easy to make questions with pics and diagrams.

There are a bunch of pprune threads on this - I'm sure I've typed it a few times! Search.

[BEACH KING]

Originally Posted by TSIO540

With respect to using BOM radar - I would be cautious about relying on it in flight... No one should be flying amongst Charlie Bravo's without an onboard Wx radar, its just plain dangerous unless your machine is built to pull >10G's

Only an idiot would RELY on BOM radar to go anywhere near TS or CB's. It is, however, a useful unapproved information source to assist making an EARLY inflight decision to return home, or divert to somewhere safe, when the actual weather conditions differ markedly to the APPROVED forecast. I love my stormscope for the same reasons.

[Old Akro]

Where I find the iphone BOM handy (as Beach King suggests) is to confirm that a weather pattern has progressed according to the forecast. Its a really handy part of the information mix which includes BOM weather charts, Aviation forecasts, AWIS at stations enroute plus eyeballs.

[Ultralights]

Been with Optus for years in Sydney. No reception at 1500ft over Sydney.

I am with optus, funny thing is, 8500 ft between Walgett and Coonamble, full 3 g service, yet 3500 ft in the sydney basin... nothin....

[Fly-by-Desire]

With respect to using BOM radar - I would be cautious about relying on it in flight... No one should be flying amongst Charlie Bravo's without an onboard Wx radar, its just plain dangerous unless your machine is built to pull >10G's

In an ideal world yes, but until the day WX radar is mandatory at least i'll have my BOM radar. Works very well IMO!

[Inverted Flat Spin]

YouTube - iPhone4 vs HTC Evo

[Shagpile]

Go Telstra - as much as I hate their ripoff attitude, they have by far the best network. By a lot.

Look at buying the phone outright (about $850) from Apple and buying a prepaid sim.

People incorrectly mistake prepaid as being for teenage school kids and unsuitable for business. Wrong!

Since prepaid is marketed at kids, it offers good value with a lot of calls, txt and data (use your credit balance to buy data packs).
$30 = 100min talk, 200txt & 450mb
$40 = 200min talk, 400txt & 600mb
$50 = 200min talk, 400txt & 2gb