If you have an iPhone and are thinking about getting the new Fire Phone from Amazon, my advice would be to stick to the iPhone.
I got the chance to test out the Fire Phone at an AT&T store in Long Beach, not because I'm interested in getting one someday, but because I was curious as to what all the fuss is about. Is the Fire Phone the phone that will bring Apple to it's knees, or is it just another Apple wanna be?
The best feature on the Fire Phone by far is Firefly, an innovative piece of technology that recognizes music, movies, TV shows, or any type of product. Whenever I hear a song I like in the car I always have to remember the lyrics so I can later google it so then I could buy the right song on iTunes. The Fire Phone instantly recognized Lenny Kravitz's Again playing in the background at the AT&T store and pulled up info about the song.
Other than Firefly, however, the Fire Phone is not worth the $649, or even the $199 two-year contract with AT&T.
While the FireFly makes it easier to buy music and Dynamic Perspective makes playing games a lot more fun, a smart phone is supposed to be a lot than fun and entertainment. It is also supposed to be a companion to make everyday life just a little bit easier, and unfortunately, the Fire Phone is unable to do that.
There are some very annoying things about the Fire Phone that you can take for granted on an iPhone. For starters, when you go to the E-Mail app you can type up an E-Mail, yet there is no search bar to look up an E-Mail you sent days, maybe even months ago. There isn't even a "sent" part of the E-Mail app that lets you make sure that your E-Mail even went through. This is a problem if you rely on your smartphone to send E-Mails throughout the day.
Another problem with this phone is the Weather App. Of course the app shows weather in your city, but what if you're planning on going to say, Hawaii, and you want to know what the weather will be like when you get there so you can pack accordingly? With the iPhone you can look up the weather in cities from all around the world, yet the FirePhone doesn't give you that option.
And then there's the problem with the Notes App. On the Fire Phone you have to remember to press the check mark on the top right hand corner in order for the note to save, while the iPhone saves notes automatically.
Buying music may be easier with the Fire Phone, but you can't set one of your songs to be your alarm sound like you can on the iPhone. This is a major bummer if you want to wake up and start your day listening to your favorite artist.
Even the calculator app on this phone is disappointing. Whenever I leave someone a tip, all I have to do is take out my iPhone, type in the bill plus 15%, and then give the right amount. But with the Fire Phone there is no % button, so you have to do all the percentages manually.
But by far the biggest problem with the Fire Phone is the internet. It is virtually impossible to open more than two screens at once, and while it has sites such as Amazon, FaceBook dedfaulted, it doesn't default any news sites, not to mention navigating the internet on the phone is extremely frustrating.
The Fire Phone does have some potential, and maybe in a few years, if Jeff Bezos and the rest of the people of Amazon read this review and fix all the complaints I have listed, then maybe it might be worth taking a trip to your local AT&T store. Until then, stick with what you've got.
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