<p>Hi All -- Contemplating getting my 15 yr old a Droid Incredible, X or Fascinate for Holiday gift. My problem is that I know nothing about smart phones or how much the on-going cost is (aside from the data package fees)...</p>
<p>So -- How many of you have a Smartphone?</p>
<p>How much do you spend on monthly average for apps?</p>
<p>How difficult is it to use? ie Learning Curve time to truly make it worth while over his old Chocolate phone?</p>
<p>He isn't a tech/gadget kid</p>
<p>Droids are great and would make fantastic gifts. They are very easy to use!</p>
<p>For Apps - the Android app store is smaller in comparison to Apple’s App Store, but is also cheaper (lots of free apps). Its hard to find a monthly amount, but with most apps being free, and the most expensive ones say $2.99, I would say no more than $8USD/month. (That would probably go down after he has his phone for a while too)</p>
<p>Fascinate is a great phone, as is the X. I like the Incredible too.</p>
<p>Personally, I think there is a larger learning curve on Droid phones than the Apple iPhone 4. I remember picking up the first iPhone four or five years ago and learning how to use it in like 15 minutes. It took me about 1 hr to become comfortable with my friend’s Droid X.</p>
<p>I think your teenage son/daughter will easily learn how to use a Droid phone in 1 day. By day 5 he/she will probably be able to lock your car door with the phone. (Yes, there is an app for that)</p>
<p>Apps do not have a monthly fee whatsoever. Most apps cost $1-3. There are many free ones. If he/she buys an app it will go directly on your credit card so you will know what he/she bought.</p>
<p>If he/she texts a lot you might want to look into the Droid 2 since it has a physical, sliding keyboard. The Droid Incredible and Samsung Fascinate are a great phones. The Droid X just has a larger screen. The internal specifications are about the same. Nothing significant.</p>
<p>Make sure you buy a cellphone case! Those high-resolution screens can easily be damaged if dropped.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t recommend the Fascinate. The GPS is a real pain. The Droid X is the best in my opinion. A smartphone is one of those things that you quickly get used to. I find myself using my phone during conversations to settle some point of contention, look up nearby restaurants, entertain myself during waits, etc.</p>
<p>Also, if you don’t want to pay for texting, you can use Google Voice (google gives you a new number with unlimited texts).</p>
<p>Just to give an example of the apps, Angry Birds is $.99 for the iPhone, but free (ad supported) for the Droid. I have about 70 or so free apps and I haven’t even found the need to buy any.</p>
<p>You might want to consider the new Windows Phones too. I have an old HTC Touch Pro running Windows Mobile and its a pain and WinMo deserves all of its bad rep, I’ve played with the brand new ones and its night and day. I feel that Microsoft finally took the ease to use of the iPhone, while adding a ton of new features that set it apart.</p>
<p>For example, if your son has an Xbox 360, he can link his phone now to his Xbox Live account and play games that add to his gamerscore. It also carried over Microsoft Office from the older WinMo phones, something that has saved me a ton of times. I can’t tell you how many times I completely forgot about typing an assignment only to do it on my phone during school and printing it off just in the nick of time.</p>
<p>My uncle once need advice about buying a droid. My input just got him killed 
But I avenged him by blowing up the Death Star, so it’s all alright</p>