Brian is looking to upgrade his cellphone. He's thinking about the Samsung Galaxy SIV, but he likes Siri on the iPhone.
Leo says that Google's voice recognition is now better than Siri. It's more reliable and robust. There's also the HTC One which is a good phone to consider. So getting an iPhone for Siri isn't a good idea.
Stan is upgrading his Blackberry phone and wants to know which smartphone to get. Leo says to not count out the Blackberry Q10 through T-Mobile. It'll be like the new Z10, but with a keyboard. If he's used to Blackberry's ecosystem, it'll certainly be a good upgrade. Will they use the "pearl" trackball? Leo says no, Blackberry has discontinued that. Stan liked the pearl though for running through menus quickly.
Scott just got a new iPhone 5 and found out he can't use it without iTunes 11 -- he would have to update his OS as well! Leo says that's true, but Apple handles sync over the air now, so he doesn't really have to sync directly. He can use iCloud and iTunes Match, if he's a subscriber of it, to sync his music. He can also sync via Google Services.
Don really likes SpeakEvents for those looking for a better narrator on the iPhone. This does require jailbreaking the iPhone first, however, since Apple doesn't give third party programs access to do this.
Mike needs to buy an unlocked, GSM phone. Leo says that Amazon Wireless is a great option for getting GSM phones. The Google Nexus 4 is a pure Google experience with 4G, but it won't do LTE.
Joe wants to know if the iPhone supports Near Field Communications (NFC). Leo says it doesn't. At best, it has Bluetooth. Even though NFC supports Bluetooth, the iPhone doesn't support NFC.
The Giz Wiz's Gadget of the week is the BuQuTech Magnetyze Charger - it uses magnetism to charge your phone. It's a two piece setup - case and magnetic charger. You use their case and then when ready to charge, you just place the phone onto the charger plate. You can even rotate it because the magnet keeps the connection. The kit comes with a magnetic charging cable for use in the office or on the go.
Greg wishes that Apple would've gone with a larger screen and he's now thinking of getting rid of his iPhone in favor of the upcoming Samsung Galaxy SIV. Leo says that it probably won't be out until April at the earliest - it hasn't even been announced yet (March 15). Another option is the HTC One.
What about making the transition? Are there apps for podcasting? Leo says that there are great third party apps for podcasting - including DoggCatcher (Android) and InstaCast (iPhone). The chatroom recommends PocketCast (Android), Downcast (iOS).
Chris Marquardt wants to dispel the myth that you need special equipment to shoot a picture of lightning. Not so! You can even shoot lightning with an iPhone if you're timing is right. The trick is to put your camera on a tripod, set it for a LONG exposure (10-20 seconds), aperture 5.6, iso 400. Focus to infinity and shoot. Then just keep doing that until you get a lightning show.
Richard is blind and wants a smartphone, and is wondering whether to go Android or iPhone. Leo says that several of his blind listeners say that there is no better smartphone than the iPhone for accessibility. Most carriers will have the iPhone 3GS for free, the iPhone 4 and 4S for around $50, and the latest and greatest for about $199 with a two year contract.
