Thanks! Her Samsung GS3 is completely stock, but has taken all OTA updates (I believe they are on 4.4.2 at this point.... maybe 4.4.4. I have the same age S3, but I rooted mine from the get go and its on 4.4.4. I've avoided rooting her phone (same as my wife's GS3 and my 20 year old daughter's GS3) for fear of having it go bad and taking grief. But if rooting is a possible solution (I like rooting devices... every Android phone I have had, my Nexus 7, my old HP TouchPad... heck, even my Sony SW2 watch). I suspect its the attraction to free, limitless messaging offered by iMessage though. Confirmed the phone is 4.4.2. So 4.4.2 phones have issues with group messaging?
Agree with you... hate the ready access to phones, but teachers are using the phones to message kids about tests, major projects, as well as encouraging them to Google news and current events. Plus, since she is on the basketball team, its important to make sure we are at the right place and time to pick her up... if a traveling game its important to keep in touch, etc.
I've had no problem with communicating with groups of iPhones using my Moto X. And at my company, it is EXTRAORDINARILY unlikely for someone to not have an iPhone. In fact, it's pretty actively frowned upon. My friends/coworkers just had to get used to seeing green bubbles instead of blue ones. I guess that's just tough. They can use Hangouts or Groupme if they care about texting limits.
tell her about the working conditions of the chinese factories that develop those iphones and then ask her if she still wants one... who am i kidding? she's a teenage girl, she won't care.
Don't get the argument about the imessage being so much better because of using WiFi. Messenger apps are so well optimized that they use very little data. For example, I've been in Italy now for more than a month and used Whatsapp to text to my German friends and family daily, also sent them tons of pictures. In over one month the app only used around 10mb, it's a joke to make the WiFi thing a sales point.
That's just the reality of how fast tech is moving nowadays. Kids and young teens are going to all have iPhones/smartphones eventually.
Buy her a Beeper and tell her if she keep whining about the Iphone you'll get her a Carrier pigeon next.
Isn't the argument for using those apps geared to not having to pay for SMS/MMS? Or are they truly claiming Wi-Fi over cellular data as a selling point? Lol
I've been using Hangouts with my cousins and friends. Most of them are on iOS devices and we communicate through that. We send pictures and GIFs to each other all the time without any issues.
How can you say NO to your daughter? Stronger than I, my friend. You should just breakdown and get her the iphone. Be nice.
Kids having jobs puts their grades at jeopardy and can skew their priorities. Also, there aren't phone booths in the foyer of every grocery store, mall, library or department store like there used to be.
Take her to the Sprint store and let her muck around with all the phones in the hopes of forcing her to get something cheaper.
I've been observing this about my brother/nephew for a couple of years. One thing my brother tells his kid is that being a follower in a group is the most boring thing in the world. And IMO it's very important that kids don't get into this "everyone's doing it!" mindset and are able to make their own independent decisions and be their own person, and to teach kids how to make those decisions in a good way. I notice my nephew really seems to have understood this idea and now is far more understanding of why he has to justify certain wants. The other day, he presented his dad with a "report" based on his own research of why he should get a particular smart device. Was super proud. His conclusions were flawed of course, because after all he's a child. But just the fact that he used his time on an ipad to look up what's good and bad about various similar devices and put together some semblance of a report and recommendation - that was enough to earn him the device he wanted. I think that lesson will stick with him a long time.
I always thought apple hate was more a reaction to price & overzealous fans, but I understand it more after my first & probably last apple product (ipad). Just seems so inflexible & incompatible compared to anything else I've ever used. The rest of it is just insult to injury, getting grilled for not liking or even questioning something about them, then having paid more for the privilege. But doesn't look like they're going anywhere anytime soon, so just know that if your daughter doesn't have the new iphone, she's nothing.
I don't understand why you care if she gets a GS5 for ~$200 or an iPhone in the same price range? Your not going to be the one using it, so if that's what she wants and it isn't going to cost you any more money, why not? Some people love apple and some hate them, but iphones are generally considered to be good phones.
