Hello Eric, I am sorry you are so unhappy with your iPhone 5 since updating to iOS 7.1. I know what it is like to have a phone running perfectly only to have things seemingly get messed up after an update.
I have been following this thread and almost everything I was going to say has been said so well by others. However, I would like to add the following: 1. Always both manually close and restart your phone after using any GPS tracking application such as the maps apps. Today, I had to use A T & T Navigator 3 separate times for 30 minutes each. After each trip, even though the turn-by-turn navigation automatically ended the trip upon my arrival, I manually closed the app and rebooted the phone after each use. Granted, I am using an iPhone 5 S but the reduction in my battery level upon my return home after over eight hours out was minimal--even I was surprised. I always manually close and reboot after launching any GPS app such as Google Maps even if I don't actually initiate turn-by-turn navigation. 2. I have an Android phone and I love it. While I would not necessarily recommend that anyone either switch to or from Android or iOS, as a general rule, I don't like putting all of my proverbial eggs in one basket. This is why I maintain a pay-as-you go cell account using Android; so I can stay up-to-date on all the latest blind and low vision accessibility options in that arena. While I would hate to lose the use of my iPhone, were something to go wrong with it, I would have no problem immediately switching to my Android phone running Google's TalkBack screen reader. If you have any interest or curiosity about Android, I suggest that you consider purchasing a low-end Android device, perhaps a phone, and get a pay-as-you-go SIM card and jump in. Eric, in my world, there is no such thing as either Windows or Mac, Android or iOS, Jaws or VoiceOver, this or that. There is room enough for everyone and everything if one only has the desire to learn and the finances to get started. Good luck and hang in there, Mark -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Eric Brinkman Sent: Sunday, June 29, 2014 12:58 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Tired of quality decline and considering switching to Droid As someone who uses GPS and browses the web regularly, the battery life on my iPhone 5 with the latest IOS has become completely unacceptable. I have read MacWorld's guide to improving battery life and followed their suggestions, but I am still lucky to have over 30% charge after a trip to NYC. If I don't put the phone into airplane mode while at work or bring a charger to the office, I will have 20% or less by the time I leave. And i don't even use my phone at work. There's just poor cell coverage in my office, but this wasn't a problem until recent months. I think it's due to the walls, as I am on Verizon and have no issues when outside. If I stay with IOS, I will buy a juice pack when I upgrade to the iPhone 6 this fall. But there are so many bugs in the latest IOS that I wonder whether I might be better off on Android. The dictation feature seems to have gotten less smart since IOS 7.1, often typing the word comma when I want a comma punctuation indicator. There are so many bugs with Facebook and VO that I could easily spend five paragraphs detailing them. Also, I really don't think I should need to buy a juice pack, as I didn't have much of an issue with the battery life prior to IOS 7. These issues are the result of Apple rushing products out the door before they are ready, something that's been crippling the company ever since the IOS 6 Maps debacle. Had you asked me a year ago, I would've said I'll never switch to Droid, but now I'm not so sure. Does anyone on this list know what the situation is on Droid concerning GPS and accessibility? The last time I heard, good screen-reading software was available but I wasn't sure about GPS. I have heard that now Google's dictation functionality is in many ways smarter than Siri. Is battery life far superior on the top-of-the-line Droid phones as well? Thanks in advance. Eric -- The following information is important for all members of the viphone list. All new members to the this list are moderated by default. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. The archives for this list can be searched at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- The following information is important for all members of the viphone list. All new members to the this list are moderated by default. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. The archives for this list can be searched at http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
