College Student: Inspire vs. Infuse

[mtruong15]

Hello. I will soon be moving into the world of smartphones, and will also be entering college soon. I've been reading reviews for a while now, and have researched much about the Infuse & the Inspire. There seems to be a lot of debate about both, and I'm leaning toward the HTC Inspire though for it's price. And I have a few questions.

The inspire has the price advantage(which is appealing), but spec wise the infuse is better. I'm still conflicted though because I don't know if I'd really need a "higher spec" phone because I just need it to help me organize in school, and if the difference will be really noticeable because it'll be my first smartphone. Does it really matter? And I don't really understand the difference in having HTC Sense. I see some of my friends with HTCs, and it seems more modern and friendly. What is the real benefit from HTC Sense?

I have AT&T and just want to make sure if this will be my best choice for a smartphone for college because I will be holding on to it for 2 years. I just want to make sure that the phone I'm getting will be worth it.

I was also wondering if the Inspire would be useful for organizing my schedule/schooling? And if the battery life would last in a day on a somewhat moderate use? (I'm used to charging my phone every night, so as long as it'll last me 1-2 days)

 

[clintrojan]

I am a college student and just jumped aboard to smartphones in march with the Inspire. I have to say I really enjoy it and don't regret the choice at all. The large screen on the infuse is tempting but the cost difference doesn't really make it worth it in my opinion.

I have been able to play everything that I have thrown at my inspire. The hardware difference isn't that vast honestly. If it was the Galaxy S 2 then it would be worth it, but the infuse is just a minor improvement from the GS 1.

HTC Sense is the default launcher that HTC phones use. I use Launcher Pro or Go Launcher replacements though. The Sense launcher has widgets for calender, social networking, weather, etc... These make it easy to see all the content. Also Sense has a couple good features (ringer is louder when in a pocket and quiets when you take it out, if it rings on a table simply flip it on it's face and it will silence, during a call lay it on it's face for speaker phone). I found those to be really awesome since this was my first smart phone. Touchwiz (samsung phones) doesn't do this as far as I know.

Battery life has been an issue for many. Don't expect to get 2days of battery from any smartphone. I use juice defender app which almost doubles my battery. I can get around a day and a half on a full charge. Many others haven't gotten as good battery life as I have though.

There are many apps to help organization that you can get with any android phone. There are calender and agenda apps. I personally use these all the time because I have a bad memory. My college has it's own app that you can browse classes, use blackboard, sport schedules, etc.

I think if price is an issue then go for the Inspire as you wont be disappointed. If you want a larger screen and don't mind paying $199 then the infuse might be better. Both are good phones. Honestly it depends on preferences and if you are going to use a launcher replacement (like i do) then it doesn't matter much. Go to the store and try them both out.

 

[raver_returns]

Everyone is different. The inspire will do everything that the infuse will do, with exception of the front facing camera. Some advantages to either phone, though.

Infuse-- better screen, faster processor, front camera (and now I'm reading that the screen isn't all it was supposed to be)

Inspire-- price $30 Radio shack, htc sense, big screen without being a huge phone

I personally chose the inspire because the infuse is just a huge slab of a phone. There's an awful lot of extra phone surrounding the already 4.5 screen. Also, it's very thin (which is cool), but it's actually too light for my taste. Kind of a "Fisher Price" feel to me. It may be only mental, but it just feels fragile. So there's a certain comfort level lost.

All in all, you really can't go wrong with either one. If price is no issue or you need a front camera-Infuse. If price IS and issue, and you don't-Inspire.

 

[Thors Gal]

Inspire vote

Well, you buy a computer for the apps. So android is ticket. You will probably replace it every few years like a computer so it is not a major of a commitment as it might seem right now. And there is no way you have have "the best" for more than about 5 minutes so just pick one and don't look back.

I went with inspire and price was a big factor. I got mine for $50 at radio shack May 2nd. I have enjoyed the heck out of it and part of what I wanted from a smart phone was PDA fuctions. I feel more organized already with my contacts (always had address and phone numbers and emails address scattered all over) I like being able to check my emails while in the city. I love the shop list apps, calendar and the task list apps. Again to pick up or do stuff in the city before I drive 30 mins back home- then remember I need to get milk. (with gas $4 a gal every trip to the city hurts) I think the college having it's own app is awesome. I can't imagine how great that would have been back in the day I went to college. My phone is very fast and surfing is not the slow painful process it is on my husband's HD2.

I went camping last weekend at a park where I did not get ATT phone signal last year on an normal phone. This year I surfed the web and looked up a wild flower to get the name. No one else could even make a call out and I had awesome signal. I have been really pleased with my network signal.

I was looking at inspire vs Atrix and price and looks won me over. I found 2 really good comparison videos on youtube. I found by turning off the web/bluetooth/wifi till when I need it has saved me battery life and data. At 3 weeks I am at about 160 megs used. (and I have been using it a lot) At night I use internet pass through to download apps and I leave everything turned off at work except the phone. At lunch and breaks I turn the internet on and play with the phone and forget to eat.... One night I forgot to turn the web of and the phone used almost 4 megs. On campus I bet there a lot of hot spots. So, next month I will down grade my package to the $15 a month plan.

Good luck,
Thors gal

 

[cordell507]

i would go with the inspire due to the fact that it has an amazing community and support and also i've heard that the infuse is actually slower that the inspire probably due to less RAM and the last thing that you'd get is amazing HTC build quality over samsung which is the worst.