The Mobile Phone thread

Why call it a 'toy'/'fashion item'? Some of your posts are incredibly immature but I guess thats due to your age and how you think that your opinion often is fact.

No one is arguing with the point that Android is a great OS. I don't know if you read my post but I currently own two Android devices (a dual core Samsung Galaxy S2 and a tablet) and have dipped into time to time starting with the original G1 (the first Android device) and then again with the Nexus One and Nexus S.

From all technological sources and from close work partners, friends and colleagues who I connect with over application development (even though thats got nothing to do with my job/career - its just another opportunity to do further business) they all agree that while Android is a great OS it still needs to mature.

You can list all the great advantages such as customisability, widgets etc but as usual your not even bothering to list any of the huge problems that have been documented regarding the OS by people far, far more knowledgeable then you. And then you claim 'i'm not bias'. Yeah right.

Firstly the platform suffers from a huge fragmentation problem. Those 'app stores' you talk about as an advantage aren't that good a deal to the actual developers. But you wouldn't know that. See its quite simple. Having loads of different app stores is completely unnecessary. You only need one and thats Google's own Android Market (plus they already allow third party downloads from within the settings). Having different app stores will eventually create compatibility problems or worse still some apps may only be available on a certain app store for a period of exclusivity (as was the case with Tune In Radio Pro). The current Amazon app store is only available in the US. Who knows how long it will take to come to other countries. But to a developer why bother putting your app onto a market with a smaller audience?

Oh thats right you might want to because Google sadly haven't done a good job curating the Market. Some of the most common complaints we hear from developers is that the sections within the Android Market and the rating system are broken. Their apps get lost in all the crap. This need to be fixed. (Thankfully Google will be updating the Market as was outlined at I/O recently). This is in turn forcing some developers to release onto a different store for exposure purposes. But then their stung again when that store is not available on a certain carrier (AT&T were blocking third party app stores until recently) or in a certain country.

Then the other, more major area of fragmentation lies with the OS itself. Android is growing rapidly which is great, but the fragmentation of the OS is getting to such a point that they have had to step in with members of the Open Handset Alliance.

We have had several major releases within 2 years.

1.5 Cupcake.
1.6 Donut.
2.0/2.1 Eclair.
2.2 Froyo.
2.3 Gingerbread.
2.3.3 Gingerbread.
2.3.4 Gingerbread.

Then you have all the different bloatware from carriers (Verizon, T-Mobile) and all the different UI skins from manufacturers:

Touchwiz - Samsung
HTC Sense - HTC
MotoBlur - Motorola
Timescape - Sony Ericsson
etc.

This causes a huge problem in regards to timely updates as instead of it being upto Google when they are released, its now upto both A - The Manufacturer (who have to ensure the new OS works with their skin) and then B - The Carrier (who has to test that their crapware works with the new OS).

This means that some phones are out of date already after just two months on the market. (Look at the Xperia X10 which I believe if i'm correct still hasn't received the Froyo update of last May alongside loads of other phones.)

Yes ROMs solve the problem to a certain extent, but they don't work on all the phones, especially if the manufacturer locks the bootloader as HTC have decided to do.

Then finally you have the actual quality of the apps. The unanimous, undisputed opinion of those in the know is that the quality of Android apps is not near the level of iOS. Why? A lack of solid APIs and other things. I have bought many apps from both the App Store and Google Android Market and its clear that the overall quality of the apps on Android still has a way to go. Yes its improving daily but its still way behind.

That point is further exacerbated by the fact that Google recently released Honeycomb (Android 3.0) which is a major revision to the platform and finally adds stuff developers have been screaming about such as hardware acceleration and new and improved API's such as HTTP Live Streaming controls.

As someone who owns a Motorola Xoom I know that Honeycomb isn't 100% stable. The OS while promising has been called by some to be 'a beta OS' due to constant crashes and a paltry 300 or so tablet optomized apps. Google themselves even acknowledged the fact and said they had to rush the OS out so they could fight off the iPad 2, BlackBerry Playbook, HP Touchpad and others. Not only that they have refused to release the source code of the OS (even though they done it for all the other versions) because they are worried the community might try and put it on a phone. (They didn't add telephonic features into 3.0 thats coming later with, yep you guessed it another major revision this time called Ice Cream). So I wont be getting any custom ROM's for my Motorola Xoom.

So next time you want to point out articles and act like an expert, I suggest you do some background reading first. Google will obviously overtake Apple in both market share and number of apps since they have over 50 manufactures behind them. Anyone can tell you that. But the number of apps means diddly squat. Its the overall quality that means the most. Thats what brings in the customers and repeat purchases. And thats what makes Apple far more money off their App Store ($1.7 billion) currently compared to Google's Android Market ($110 million).
 
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BillyBoy said:
Why call it a 'toy'/'fashion item'?
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That's an opinion, and it comes from my experience with the iPod Touch and also the mentality most iPhone owners I know take towards their phone.
I also said that the iPhone is still a high-performance phone and that I enjoy my iPod which is practically the same, just without a phone tacked on.

It's one of the better phones out there still, but it's the leader as a toy/fashion item - I don't understand why you're kicking up a fuss about that statement?

BillyBoy said:
Some of your posts are incredibly immature but I guess thats due to your age and how you think that your opinion often is fact.
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Oh please, do I really need to add "In my opinion" at the end of every sentence? I don't believe my opinion is fact, I know what a fact is. Bringing my age into it is incredibly patronising.

Admittedly I'm not the most knowledgeable or experienced in the field, but I do have first-hand experience having used iOS and the App Store on my iPod and Android 2.2/2.3 and the Android Market on my phone.

My previous post comes from experience - whenever I've thought of something that I've needed/wanted to do on my phone, the Android Market has had an answer. Each market has it's fair share of shit (Android moreso), but that's obvious.

I don't agree about the quality of the apps, I've found the Android apps to do the same or better than the iPod/iPhone equivalents, plus there's plenty of Android apps that simply aren't possible on iPhone due to the less customisable nature of the device.

Regarding the problems developers face - I don't really care - I'm talking from the point of view of an end-consumer and looking at what's available to me and not the money or business behind them. Obviously those issues you mention havn't damaged the functionality of the Android OS too much, as I have a low-spec device (ZTE Blade) and (as mentioned) I'm yet to be disappointed by the lack of stability, performance, or quality apps.
 
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Rob92 said:
That's an opinion, and it comes from my experience with the iPod Touch and also the mentality most iPhone owners I know take towards their phone.
I also said that the iPhone is still a high-performance phone and that I enjoy my iPod which is practically the same, just without a phone tacked on.

It's one of the better phones out there still, but it's the leader as a toy/fashion item - I don't understand why you're kicking up a fuss about that statement?

Oh please, do I really need to add "In my opinion" at the end of every sentence? I don't believe my opinion is fact, I know what a fact is. Bringing my age into it is incredibly patronising.

Admittedly I'm not the most knowledgeable or experienced in the field, but I do have first-hand experience having used iOS and the App Store on my iPod and Android 2.2/2.3 and the Android Market on my phone.

My previous post comes from experience - whenever I've thought of something that I've needed/wanted to do on my phone, the Android Market has had an answer. Each market has it's fair share of shit (Android moreso), but that's obvious.

I don't agree about the quality of the apps, I've found the Android apps to do the same or better than the iPod/iPhone equivalents, plus there's plenty of Android apps that simply aren't possible on iPhone due to the less customisable nature of the device.

Regarding the problems developers face - I don't really care - I'm talking from the point of view of an end-consumer and looking at what's available to me and not the money or business behind them. Obviously those issues you mention havn't damaged the functionality of the Android OS too much, as I have a low-spec device (ZTE Blade) and (as mentioned) I'm yet to be disappointed by the lack of stability, performance, or quality apps.
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Your posts recently have been bullshit 90% of the time. Its the last time i'm going to bother responding to you.

Its certainly not a toy or a fashion item. Some idiots may think that by owning an Apple product it gives them some kind of access to an exclusive cool club and that they can arrogantly swan about but they are quite simply twats.

However if a branded product offers a great experience for what it is - a phone and then gives the owner/user a luxury-premium outlook then its only another advantage. The Apple brand clearly has this distinct advantage.

What people are sick and tired of is idiots like you grouping people into some kind of technological stereotype. Just as Flawless said grow the fuck up.

Also perhaps you should call it a toy to all those major companies and firms which hand out iPhones to their employees due to the solid security (its still not as secure as a BlackBerry but its still far better to use as an enterprise class device than any current Android phone).

But then again you wouldn't know anything about that. Your just another armchair expert who perhaps reads a few techblogs (if that), buys a few apps and thinks he knows everything.

Your stupid point of 'I don't care i'm just the consumer'. If thats the case then why bring up the argument about the number of apps? I don't know if you know this, but shock horror its app developers who make Apps! Gosh thats a bit of a surprise isn't it? And fundamentally at the end of the day your experience with your phone would not be anywhere where it is today if it wasn't for all those developers since most of the added functionality that you pay for after the initial purchase of the device comes from them. So actually it makes a huge difference to you, the ignorant consumer. If they don't support the phone you might as well go back to using a regular old Nokia!

Next time a little more humility and a less holier than thou attitude and maybe, just maybe your posts might become worth reading. :BYE:
 
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You're the one making personal attacks, not me, yet you're using my age and "maturity" as points to bring up. Quite pathetic, really.

Someone asked if HTC was better than iPhone, I gave my opinion that I thought Android was better but that the iPhone was better as a toy/fashion item (which it is good at, and that's what some people may want it for, I know someone who bought a Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 because they though it looked nice, and I basically use my iPod Touch as a "toy") that was my opinion.

As this was later picked up on (like by you with the quote "Its certainly not a 'toy' unless your a fucking retard" which by the way was an obvious not-so-indirect insult) I elaborated on my opinion.

I did state that although Android is my preference, the iPhone is a good phone, but still maintained that it was the top toy/fashion phone as well, which if anything is a compliment to it.

My posts seem to have struck a nerve with you for some reason, but thankfully you've decided to not reply, so I won't bother picking your last post apart - hopefully this thread can return to having some proper discussion again :).
 
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Does anybodies opinion actually matter to anybody else anyway?

I purchased what phone I wanted. I couldn't give a toss what anybody else thinks about it. It does what I want and need it to do. I'm happy with it.

Whatever I have certainly isn't a fashion statement and it's certainly not a toy though. I also don't care about somebody knowing more about certain app stores than others either. It's all irrelevant to me.

Whoever asked what phone was better should just go and look at them all and decide for themselves and not take the word of anybody in here anyway.
 
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My new mobile phone is amazing!
 
I like the retro feel of it, suits me totally
 
My Tesco iPhone 4 contract will be up soon. Anyone have any tips for a good sim-only smartphone deal?

Still loving my iPhone, almost a year old now.
 
£20, 150 mins, unlimited text and 1gb data. Tesco Mobile. I get a shedloads of clubcard points because of this. I might just stick with them because their coverage is quite good and pretty cheap.
 
I pay £20 and get 500mb data, unlim text and 800 mins on o2.

Went through quidco and got £120 cashback too and £50 high street vouchers.
 
I have a pay monthly one with Vodafone and get 600mins, unlimted texts, 1GB of data and BT openzone.
 
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Stef, check out Giff Gaff. Recommened in here before I think but AFAIK, they are still one of the cheapest network providers around (they run on O2s network).

My contract is up in October and I will be jumping on with Three most likely. Their 3G coverage is superb and O2s is well, very poor. They're not the cheapest by a long shot, but I'm sick of seeing that little GPRS dot.
 
That was one of my reasons for moving from O2, Flawless, 3G coverage is very poor. Now with Vodafone and it's miles better.
 
It's kinda pointless recommending networks, it's all down to how each one performs in your area.

In my old house, only Orange got a 3G signal compared to O2 and Vodafone. In my work address, Orange and Vodafone get 3G but not O2. I went to Yorkshire and hardly anywhere had 3G on Orange but I imagine Vodafone or O2 did.

The only way to know what's good for you is to check for 3G coverage in your area and areas where you'll travel. No 3G? Rule them out. If the others get 3G, go for the cheapest plan I guess.
 
Three are horrendous, I recommend to avoid at all costs. Was with them a few years and they just got worse as years went by.
 
Has anybody got a windows 7 phone? if so how does it all work? is it good? Is it quick? does it work well? I know it depends on the phone, but I just want to know if the actual user interface is good.
 
Getting mine on Tuedsay, will leave impresiions then Bob. From what I've read, it's very quick, very intuitive and everything clicks well together. Look up the Engadget review of the Omnia 7.
 
DagsJT said:
Getting mine on Tuedsay, will leave impresiions then Bob. From what I've read, it's very quick, very intuitive and everything clicks well together. Look up the Engadget review of the Omnia 7.
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Cool will do, let us know what you think. It looks good on the things I have seen, but just wanted to see what others think of it that have it.
 
Collected the phone earlier, had it about an hour or so now and I'm impressed.

It's very fast to go through whatever screens you ask it to, contacts just work as a hub and everything just kinda flows and connects with each other. The tiles on the homescreen are kinda like widgets where you can pin whatever you want onto your main page and access it quickly without navigating to it. For example, you can have contacts, an album, a song, an app, a video, all "pinned" onto your homescreen to access straight away.

Speaking of music, I'm very impressed with the Zunepass. I signed up for the 14-day trial as Spotify isn't available just yet ... and I don't think I'm going back to Spotify either. The library on Zune is so much better so far. In the short time I've spent looking for music, I've found a few artists that aren't available on Spotify. Pink Floyd and Oasis are just two of the bands but there doesn't seem much that I can't download to my phone.

For £8.99 a month and a ridiculous amount of content to choose from, I'll definitely be signing up for it once my trial is finished.

Camera is superb and seems a lot better than the Galaxy S, looks a lot more detailed. I've taken some photos, might upload them here so show you.

No multitasking is a minus point but that's coming in the next update and I've not really had a need for multitasking yet anyway.

Any other questions, let me know.
 
How are the games? integration with xbox live good? what are the apps like?

Be good to see how it is in a week or so for you?
 
Haven't and probably won't bother with the games as I have an iPad
might've been tempted but they're faaaar too expensive at around £3 or £4 each on average.

The apps are nice, the ones I've used, but there's not much going on and not too many apps yet. The marketplace works well, far better than Android. I'm missing Swype from Android though.

Also found that Metallica are available in Zune for download. Pissed over Spotify so far.

XBL integration is really good, can bring up your profile, achievements, games played, friends, requests. Quite funny seeing your avatar bouncing around!
 
Is there any phone on the market right now that has a really good processor, flash support in the browser and a high res screen (Im talking something close to the retina display on iPhone or 800x480)?
 
Samsung Galaxy S2 and HTC Sensation both have dual core 1.2 Ghz processors and huge screens. Not that high resolution though. Still looks awesome though.
 
:THINK:
I prefer a higher resolution than a bigger screen. Im basically looking for something that has a good web browsing experience. The iPhone 4 is great but lacks Flash.
Are they any upcoming phones to look out for? Im not looking to buy right now.

Thanks for the reply.
 
Actually the HTC Sensation has a qHD screen. I think its 960x540 so in that respect its better but it still doesn't have as high a DPI as the iPhone 4 due to the increased screen real estate.
 
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