Windows smartphone

[Mychael]

Couldn't decide if this was better in off topic or here. Mods can move it if they wish.
My question is has anyone had expereince useing the Windows smartphones?
My phone contract runs out this yr and I'm looking at alternatives to my iphone (which I've been pretty happy with), I was first looking at the Samsung Galaxy S2 which everyone rates as a good bit of hardware but after lots of reading about the Android software I've gone off it a bit.
To get the best from an Android phone it seems you need to tweak it quite a bit and I've not got the time nor patience for that so wondering if anyone has experience with useing and owning a windows phone.

 

[Core]

I personally have not experienced a Windows phone, but everyone I have known that have had one have expressed their regret for buying one, mostly due to performance issues.

I would say it depends on what you are looking for in a smartphone.

 

[Mychael]

Well I am basically quite happy with my iphone but Apple so far is staying with the same screen size which is a pity as some other brands are now bringing out phones with bigger screens. That's the only reason I'm thinking of changing.

 

[Core]

No YouTube app or video streaming capability, not even HTML5 video support. What's most worrisome is the lack of a decent app platform...

First, there are basic problems with the way in which Microsoft allows developers to use the WP7 platform. Because there's no multitasking here, not only do apps not run in the background, but they can't even sustain themselves during a screen lock. This would be fine if the applications had an instant save state that they woke up from, but they don't. Instead, no matter what you do, you have to reload the app all over again. This is incredibly frustrating, as app load times on the platform are somewhat lengthy for most of the third-party titles we tested. In particular, Seesmic and Twitter (which is still in beta) were nearly unusable in their current states, thanks to a combination of slow loading times, no backgrounding or save states, and a very buggy scrolling mechanism.

Read the whole review at http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/20/windows-phone-7-review/.

 

[Nibiru2012]

I'll throw in another wrench into the works here... I have heard nothing but excellent reviews and comments from friends and co-workers regarding the HTC brand of phones using the Android OS.

My boss has the HTC Thunderbolt and that is one awesome phone indeed!

 

[Mychael]

I think the phones themselves are good. But from what I've been reading you have to tweak an Android system a lot more to get it set up right.
I just don't have the time for that. To me a phone is a tool not a lifestyle item,one of the beauties of the iphone with it's closed system is it works out of the box.
Having said that I like the newer larger phones available now.

 

[mr.magoo]

Let's throw out "best" phones. Once I move, I'm thinking of going with Sprint with a phone they offer, but as to which one, I'm not real sure. I'd need something that doesn't need a lot of tweaking.

My question is probably way too general, but I'm trying to look ahead to a functioning brain again.

 

[Thrax]

I think the phones themselves are good. But from what I've been reading you have to tweak an Android system a lot more to get it set up right.

You don't. What Android offers that the others don't, however, is that you can. If you ever don't like something, you can change it. Nobody else offers that.

 

[Mychael]

You don't. What Android offers that the others don't, however, is that you can. If you ever don't like something, you can change it. Nobody else offers that.

So are you saying that out of the box an Andriod phone will do all the sort of stuff an normal user would want? Tweaking is optional?

 

[mr.magoo]

I'm being inundated with e-mails from Tiger Direct and commercials on the damned TV about all this 4G capability. Sprint was attractive because they advertise that data is unlimited and they have HoH services. Just did a search for reviews and T-Mobile comes out on top followed closely by AT&T.

Phone choice is crazy as well. How does one pick a phone out of the myriad of choices?

 

[Mychael]

I can say having gone in as a smartphone virgin for the first time last year that the iphone is very easy to come to grips with.

 

[Thrax]

So are you saying that out of the box an Andriod phone will do all the sort of stuff an normal user would want? Tweaking is optional?

Yeah. It'll do email, web browsing, app downloads... whatever you want. You don't need to tweak anything, but Android is nice because you can if you want to. That's the freedom of open source.

Think of Android like Windows. Do you need to tweak Windows to use it effectively? No, but you can, and that's the beauty. It's entirely up to you.

For Sprint, I recommend:
Nexus S (Good)
EVO 3D (Better)
Galaxy S 2 (Best, launches in early September)

For T-Mobile:
Nexus S or Vibrant (Good)
G2x (Better)
Sensation 4G (Best)

For Verizon:
Droid Incredible 2 (Good)
Droid X2 (Better)
Droid Bionic (Best, launches in September)

For AT&T:
Captivate (Good)
Atrix 4G (Better)
Infuse 4G (Best)

I have ranked these phones by performance and the overall user experience. They're not sorted by price because, like PCs, Android phones are not absolutely indicative of their price.

 

[Mychael]

The Galaxy S2 would be my choice. They are in shops here now.
Love the large screen.
There is a forum called Whirpool http://www.whirlpool.net.au/
Which has lots of discussions about things electronic. There are 50 something pages about Android and converting from ios to Android.
After reading thruogh it I was getting the impression Android was ONLY good if you spent some time with it and that put me off a little as I've no time for that sort of stuff now but some of the Android (Or windows) handsets really interest me.

 

[Multex]

Hello everyone,
Dear Mychael, I have read a lot about Windows smartphone's and they are not so good, maybe in future they will be, but now they're not.
As for iPhone, my uncle was at the very top of an IT Company before it moved to India and trust me when I say, he had lots of phones. iPhone does it all, yea some phones have bigger screens I know but all together hes the winner.
He owns a 3G series and is currently waiting for 5.

Galaxy S II shares the first place on the market along with iPhone 4, so that's how good it is.
Yes, it has a bigger screen but have you checked the prices?
In the home menu they are almost both the same.
Also, Samsung is being sued by Apple for stealing their features and similar phone custom's.
Galaxy S II has higher contrast, but the view angle and color qualities are way better on iPhone4.
Galaxy S II runs on a lower resolution and has almost 100 PPI's ( Pixels per square inch) less than iPhone 4, meaning that it's not as sharp.
When it comes to the internet, yea Galaxy S II is slightly faster, but not much.
Download speed can be higher but it depends.

I know a businessman that had some problems with S II but I think it's cause of our shitty country - Serbia to be honest.

As for Nokia, think their days are over.
The only thing that their new N8 is the best at, is taking pictures and filming.
I own an N97, works fine no doubt in that, but for a teenager like me.
For a businessman, nah, I don't think so.

Also, I have friends in States that own HTC phones, and it serves them well!
Great models I must say.

Choose well my friend.

My Choice: Go for iPhone 4 if your in a hurry! 200$ Contract for 16GB and 300$ for 32GB.
If you are not, wait for iPhone 5.
It's coming out soon !

Cheers!

 

[Mychael]

Hi Multex,
Thanks for the long post.
I've got a 3gs so not at all interested in the 4 as not enough improvement to be worth while plus it's near end of life.
Samsung Galaxy S2 cheaper then an iphone over here.

I'm waiting to see what the iphone 5 is like but I had a play with a Samsung Galaxy S (not a 2) owned by a workmate, he has not jailbroken/rooted/flashed the phone and I thought it was pretty good.
Fast and the screen interface every bit as good as my iphone.

On the other side of the coin is that if I stay with iphone then easier to just sync my itunes to the same brand and I know which apps I use whereas I'd have to research them all over again if I got an Android phone.

 

[Multex]

At my place - Serbia Galaxy S2 costs like 500E, that's like $720
iPhone can't even be bought here, cause Apple doesn't ship it here.
And there isn't a retail store.

Also, other countries don't ship either.
Our internet sucks here and If I'd had an iPhone, I wouldn't be able to completely use him cause of lack of internet.

And everything needs to be paid extra which I don't mind but it's too expensive plus DL speed is really slow.
No one here uses their phones to read mail,news,make schedule's,appointment's and many other stuff that one iPhone or Galaxy S 2 allows you.
iPod's,iPad's you can't even see that anyone uses.
If I told them about iTunes the reaction would have been wtf ?
To be honest, you can't even buy Apple's laptop.
The online and local store's don't have them and other countries don't ship product's here.

Yea my uncle is waiting for iPhone 5 too, his contract time passed too.
He doesn't work or live here for like 20 years.
Wish I could go to Toronto.

Sorry for bad English

 

[mr.magoo]

Just got a flyer for an LG Phoenix phone, free with a contract, of course. It's with AT&T and I need something to replace this WalMart special I currently have.

 

[amanda110]

I use HTC with Android OS, I think it's nice than Windows Phone