HTC Desire

[andyaus]

There are Two issues here. Software and hardware.

 

Hardware

No one can deny that Apple make a quality product. The Iphone is well designed and well made but it is not perfect. You can also get quality in Nokia, HTC or Samsung. My choice is the Samsung GalaxyS but only because I love the big numbers. Weird thing for a technical consultant to pick on but most other features are very similar and all these phones will meet 95% of anyones needs. One of my big needs is that at 50 I need reading glasses and hate having to find glasses to make a phone all. Samsung have always had bigger numbers so this feature is important to ME...Which feature is most important to YOU?

 

Software

I run Mac computers at home and thought the Iphone would be best but the need to integrate through Itunes leaves me cold. Android is designed by google and is an open platform. Many very large companies like Avaya are using android as the platform of choice in their new telecommunication systems so big business will use android to link phone calls, email, sms. tweets and video conferencing. This means that huge developments will be made using this software and I believe future applications will require android to work.

 

There are many more firms developing devices based on the Android platform than the Apple system so the future is obvious. Cheaper, more flexible devices will be developed to integrate with android. Competing products from Apple will always be more expensive and unless apple change their policy they will be restricted to apple devices.

 

I am changing my Iphone 4 to a Samsung galaxy S next week....But remember in this business a month is a long time and new technology is just around the corner. Still wondering about the new Ipad...Ill tell you more when I research it.

[andyaus]

I prefer Android over Apple simply because I find Apple products to be too restrictive. I appreciate the amount of panache and effort that goes into making Apple's interface as intuitive and easy as possible. But to accomplish this level of polish, Apple puts limits on functionality, features, and content. When you use an Apple product, you have to think and do things the way Apple wants you to. There's little you can do to alter the way you interact with your device. Where as, on an android platform, you can customize and personalize your interface and apps to do things the way you see is best and most efficient for you.

 

On the hardware front, Apple can deny and spin the information a dozen different ways, but at the end of the day, they have a very real problem with their antenna design. Simply saying that all mobile phones suffer from signal attenuation when gripped a certain way, is not a solution. A software update is not going to fix things either. It's a hardware issue and no amount of software patching is going to fix it. If anything, their patching just changes how your signal strength is displayed and makes the signal bars look taller. That's deception, not a solution. It's a matter of poor RF Antenna design.

 

Comparing the number of apps for Apple and Android is meaningless at this point. Both platforms have plenty of content with similar utility. There's also plenty of platform crossover.

 

When all is said and done, choosing Apple or Android is just a statement in personal style and preference. Some people will be drawn to Apple's clean aesthetics. Other folks prefer to be able to freely tinker and mold their device into something that looks nothing like what the manufacturer envisioned, but works very well for them nonetheless.

 

Know yourself and choose wisely.

 

Cheers!

 

ZGF

 

 

Good thoughts...I agree completely

[The Viking]

Since the topic came up. I put my piece of shit Iphone 4 in the safe of the hotel for 3 weeks when I was in Thailand lately. When I started to use it again, the screen had a yellow spot on it. I tried to google the issue and found out it was some sort of glue on the screen that was supposed to go away when the phone was in use again, it didn't. Went to the store today, and they would take it into service. BUT, they told me to pay 40 $ for a new sim card as the loanable phones don't use micro-sim. As it's a guarantee think, It should be covered by them. So guess I'll just throw the crappy phone into the wall and get a new one on the insurance instead.

 

I'm never getting a iphone again, sometimes it even turns of for a while unable to turn it on, and it's never hit the ground or anything.

[bergenser1]

I have never owned an apple product and probably never will either due to the way apple restricts the use of their products.

I currently own an HTC Desire and I am almost 100% satisfied with it, the only complaint so far is the battery lifetime when using wifi.

Owned a HTC Hero before and was really happy with that phone also.

Android os with HTC sense is a great combination in my eyes.

Did I mention that I can install absolutely any app I want without any manufacturer restrictions, if its not on the android market I just download from the website and install from the memory card.

[singalong]

I switched from a Nokia e71 to a HTC Hero and then to a HTC Desire HD recently. I also have a ton of experience handling IPhone 3GS for my sister who is a complete retard as far as tech goes and one has to fix the phone for her from time to time.

 

The HTC Desire HD is by far the best phone I have used and after I installed Swype I can type faster on this phone than in any other phone ever - including full qwerty keypads like the e71.

 

If the choice is between iShit and Android - I'll take a high end Android pone like the Desire or the Galaxy S anyday...

[grizzlybear]

I have never owned an apple product and probably never will either due to the way apple restricts the use of their products.

I currently own an HTC Desire and I am almost 100% satisfied with it, the only complaint so far is the battery lifetime when using wifi.

Owned a HTC Hero before and was really happy with that phone also.

Android os with HTC sense is a great combination in my eyes.

Did I mention that I can install absolutely any app I want without any manufacturer restrictions, if its not on the android market I just download from the website and install from the memory card.

 

Same for me. Apple restricts and you have to enter you creditcard before using the phone first time.

[Digsy]

I have the Desire, great wee phone, guy at phone place said it was a better phone than the I phone, screens huge and it seems easy to use plus I'm addicted to the aps

[Unique]

I prefer Android over Apple simply because I find Apple products to be too restrictive. I appreciate the amount of panache and effort that goes into making Apple's interface as intuitive and easy as possible. But to accomplish this level of polish, Apple puts limits on functionality, features, and content. When you use an Apple product, you have to think and do things the way Apple wants you to. There's little you can do to alter the way you interact with your device. Where as, on an android platform, you can customize and personalize your interface and apps to do things the way you see is best and most efficient for you.

 

On the hardware front, Apple can deny and spin the information a dozen different ways, but at the end of the day, they have a very real problem with their antenna design. Simply saying that all mobile phones suffer from signal attenuation when gripped a certain way, is not a solution. A software update is not going to fix things either. It's a hardware issue and no amount of software patching is going to fix it. If anything, their patching just changes how your signal strength is displayed and makes the signal bars look taller. That's deception, not a solution. It's a matter of poor RF Antenna design.

 

Comparing the number of apps for Apple and Android is meaningless at this point. Both platforms have plenty of content with similar utility. There's also plenty of platform crossover.

 

When all is said and done, choosing Apple or Android is just a statement in personal style and preference. Some people will be drawn to Apple's clean aesthetics. Other folks prefer to be able to freely tinker and mold their device into something that looks nothing like what the manufacturer envisioned, but works very well for them nonetheless.

 

Know yourself and choose wisely.

 

Cheers!

 

ZGF

 

You made a good summary there. I prefer Android.

 

I think that more and more people begin to realize that Android is the way to go now.

[ritch]

currently back in the uk atm what im currently using has limited apps but the tarrif for its price is pretty decent.

 

3 pay as you go sim = 1 £

2nd hand inq chat off ebay = 15 £

top up = 10 £

 

i get skype and unfortunately it doesn't have the android os which i would prefer over the apple os based on principle of their very succesful marketing of their product. in the end given the choice between high end phones i'd go for something with a a good front facing camera, skype get a data plan no need for a contract.

 

only thing i sacrificed by getting something 400 quid cheaper is the camera.

 

if i went high end i'd go samsung.

 

do not ever get a windows os phone they are the biggest nightmare.

[xrayspecs]

I've been quite happy with my iPhone. I agree about the lack of customization but jailbreaking opens it up for all that.

 

Having said that I'll be tempted to try Android once my contract ends just for a change.

[ZGreyFox]

I've been quite happy with my iPhone. I agree about the lack of customization but jailbreaking opens it up for all that.

 

Having said that I'll be tempted to try Android once my contract ends just for a change.

 

Agreed. Jailbreaking will give you the ability to customize your interface and add software/functionality you otherwise wouldn't be allowed. My dissatisfaction extends to the hardware front too. It offends me that there is no memory card slot, replaceable battery, and common usb connectivity. Such restrictions are deal breakers for me.

 

Having said that, I would say choose carefully when trying out an Android. With great freedom comes great variability in quality. A device may look very good on paper, but do your due diligence. Read the forums and check for common complaints. e.g. I got a Samsung Galaxy purely on specs and the fact that it was the best Android offered at the time by my Carrier. I didn't realized that the Galaxy line has a problem with it's onboard GPS. It's just takes a very long time to get a fix, and once a fix is acquired, the position hops around and does not stay locked. Fortunately I was able to fix the issue by tethering an external Bluetooth GPS to it.

 

Good Luck!

 

ZGF

[Angeldust]

I judt got a motorola defy (android) - and quite happy with it,

I bought it because it was the only rugged phone that could find.

Gorilla glass, water/drop resistant. Coming from HTC HD7, I must

admit - that the out of the box "user experience" of the windows phone

is much better. Sure - you can make the droid just as good as well,

once you understand the steps involved. (Rooting / deodexing).

And all versions of android 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and 3.0 will not be available to

all phones.

 

Once consolidated it might. Out of the box experience is probably in

iphone's favour - even with the restrictions/limitations, the iphone

"gets the job done",without much tingering.

 

And I'm considered a hardcore MS freak

[TopC4t]

As a an ex-IT technician I've always been heavily mindful of what tech I buy as it has to be -the best-. I was an early adopter of android getting the G1 and have moved up since. I'm currently looking to upgrade to either a HTC Desire Z or the Motorola (Shock horror) Milestone 2.

 

It turns out that Motorola, after having some success with the Milestone 1, Droid 1 if you're American, they are aiming to become a 'premium' android phone manufacturer so keep tabs on them over the next couple of years for phones as you'll be pleasantly surprised. I know I'll catch some flak for buying Motorola with it's slightly more locked up version of Android and the mostly useless 'Motoblur' which is far inferior to the 'HTC sense' but overall at the moment it is the best UK-available (there is a Samsung in the states that is oh so much better) physical keypad enabled Andorid and that's my advice if you like that.

 

On the Apple vs Android front comparing a high end android phone to an Iphone it basically comes down to 2 things styling and your ability to get the most out of a phone. If you a slightly more technically literate that the average bear an android phone is for you. Settings galore to fiddle with and an nearly unrestricted plethora of apps on the android market. Granted there are not as many apps / quality apps -yet- and I stress -yet- but that is chancing by the day as people realise that android's policies are less restrictive to development and that android is gaining market share so you needn't worry on that point. Iphones appeal and even advertise this fact, that they 'work out of the box' for the average consumer who isn't totally ok with most technical stuff. This is not to say people with experience with IT would not by an Iphone. Finally styling. Apple products are stylish. No getting around that point. Steve Jobs buys entire companies so he can assure nobody else can get what he uses to make their products and shops. I.e. He bought a German company to make the huge panes of glass for the Apple shops and bought a forest for the wood benches inside. Apple are that committed to every stage of their product looking the best... and it shows. Android phones on the other hand can have equally good styling (i.e. samsung) but the argument here is pretty moot. It's all about personal preference.

 

Anyone looking to buy an android phone soon I would suggest you get a minimum 1ghz processor to enable it to be upgraded to 3.0. I have found this website http://www.gsmarena.com/ to be insanely useful on picking new phones.

[jojo90]

So since I last posted I've become a bit of an apple geek (this is from a guy with 2 technical degrees)!

 

I've replaced my 3GS with an iPhone 4 and picked up a stunning 27" iMac. The display on this thing is the best I've seen.

 

Now I have more than enough technical ability to build my own PC running whatever OS from Linux to Windows to a hackintosh. Maybe I'm getting a little old now but I just don't have the time or motivation to be faffing around getting things working. Apple products aren't just 'pretty' they are actually very well built and designed! Whilst I used to bash apple products as overpriced and underspecified.. now I can actually afford to buy the stuff I realise that was just ignorance ;).

Edited May 13, 2011 by jojo90