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smarrt phones - discuss
http://www.x404.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=10069		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  rykard [ Thu Aug 19, 2010 12:46 pm ]
Post subject:  smarrt phones - discuss
Hi,
I am looking to replace my battered Motorola V3 with a new phone, the missus said why not a smart phone... I know next to nothing about them, but they seem to fall into 2 camps iPhone/android... what's the main differences/selling points of either and are there models to avoid?

hopefully this won't turn into a flaming session...
Author:  rustybucket [ Thu Aug 19, 2010 1:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: smarrt phones - discuss
What do you want to do with your phone?

If you make good use of a smartphone then they are brilliant devices. However if you wouldn't really use the facilities of a smartphone why buy one? You should buy the phone you need.

Why not try a few out and see what you think?
Author:  John_Vella [ Thu Aug 19, 2010 1:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: smarrt phones - discuss
rykard wrote:
[...]they seem to fall into 3 camps iPhone/android... and Windows Mobile. what's the main differences/selling points of either and are there models to avoid?


Corrected.

The main differences, (in my opinion) are:

iPhone - You can only use apps that Apple approve, unless you are prepared to Jailbreak your phone. The UI is quite nice though, apparently.
Also I believe Exchange support is quite good these days.

Android - All I know about Android phones is that the wife has one, but Android owners seem to like them.

Windows Mobile - You can use MS Office, Outlook, Internet Explorer, etc, and there are lots of free apps.

Since I haven't looked at any models recently I'm not up date on the latest models but I'm sure others will be able to help.
Author:  EddArmitage [ Thu Aug 19, 2010 2:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: smarrt phones - discuss
We have threads for iPhone, Blackberry, and Android, which are probably worth a read if you don't mind skipping through the crap trotted out by some people about their miraculously superior brand.
Author:  jonbwfc [ Thu Aug 19, 2010 2:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: smarrt phones - discuss
John_Vella wrote:
iPhone - You can only use apps that Apple approve, unless you are prepared to Jailbreak your phone. The UI is quite nice though, apparently.
Also I believe Exchange support is quite good these days.

The iPhone App store has a frankly stupid number of apps on it and, outside a specific set of things they ban for a variety of reasons (porn, things that break carrier agreements, some stupid reasons that make no sense) you'll probably always find there is indeed ' an app for that'.
iPhones seem to have very good resale value
They are however a bit 'dull' - due to the massive media exposure even the iphone 4 doesn't really have a lot of 'cache' to it any more. Very few people will probably bug you to have a go of your iPhone these days.
Exchange support is indeed good but it does seem to have the odd bug or two from what we've seen.

John_Vella wrote:
Android - All I know about Android phones is that the wife has one, but Android owners seem to like them.

Android phones are very good - generally most of them are as good or better than an iPhone. However the OS situation is a bit of a mess; some phones have different versions of the OS than others, which means some apps work on some models of phone but not others. Also the UI is not standardised, which means some are better than others. In most of them, once you stray away from the obvious functions things can get a bit 'geeky' - I'd say Android is still behind the iPhone in sheer user friendliness terms. A good Android phone is as good as an iPhone for less money usually, but you'll need to do research to make sure you're getting a good one, whereas with the iPhone you know exactly what you're going to get regardless of which model you buy.
The Android App store is smaller than the iPhone one but is probably busier and has a higher percentage of apps which are free. Quite a lot of them are very good and those that are are much more likely to be free than on the iPhone store, however the open nature means some of them are pretty bad and even, in the odd case, outright nasty.
Android phones are still unusual enough to have some curiosity value - if exclusivity is an issue, an android phone will be better than even an iPhone 4.
If you get one of the ones with the newer OS on it, Exchange works well. if you get one of the ones with the older OS version on it, it doesn't work at all, despite what anyone may tell you.

John_Vella wrote:
Windows Mobile - You can use MS Office, Outlook, Internet Explorer, etc, and there are lots of free apps.

Absolutely, utterly awful. You know the old maps that had a sign on the unexplored ocean that said 'here be dragons'? Just like that. Stay Away. I don't know anyone whose used one of our work Windows mobile phones who either hasn't dumped it for an iPhone/blackberry/android or is going to the first chance they get. We've had more than a few winmo phones been 'accidentally dropped' onto hard surfaces. from a distance. With force. However, if you desperately want exchange connections to work as well as possible and this is the only overriding factor in your purchase decision, then maybe give one a try. But be prepared to swear at it, often.

Jon
Author:  l3v1ck [ Thu Aug 19, 2010 3:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: smarrt phones - discuss
Steer clear of Windows mobile. It's being completely replaced soon with mobile 7. The existing OS will be obsolete.

I find Android phones more customisable than iPhones. I would never swap my HTC Desire for one. Plus a lot good things (like sat nav) are free on Android via Google.
Author:  Geiseric [ Thu Aug 19, 2010 4:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: smarrt phones - discuss
l3v1ck wrote:
Steer clear of Windows mobile. It's being completely replaced soon with mobile 7. The existing OS will be obsolete.

I find Android phones more customisable than iPhones. I would never swap my HTC Desire for one. Plus a lot good things (like sat nav) are free on Android via Google.


Ditto... I love my Desire, just need some funky games for it now.
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