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Are you waiting for Android

I was just wondering how happy everyone is with Windows mobile, if you are waiting for android, or waiting on another operating system to swtich phones or what not... Just wondering what everyones up to.

i just recently got my at&t HTC Fuze about a week ago and im in love with it!!! love google maps and youtube!
I love windows mobile! never going to leave it!

I've had My Touch Diamond 2 for just over a week. WM phones are the best phones I've had. I still like Motorola and Nokia but HTC with WM is on the top of my list. Samsung is bleh.
What I'm waiting for is Android on my TD2.

No android for me. I'm digging WM on my PPC's!!

Android is too young and inmature OS, perhaps with a couple of years can become a good option, but by now I´ll stick to WM because you can have a lot of fun with it!

ppl will need quite some time to switch to another new OS

Android and Symbian are too close to Windows Mobile for me. If I switch, it'll be to the iPhone OS.

I love WM! But the Omnia HD has too many good specs, not necessarily a good OS, so I'm switching to it.
I voted WM though.

I voted for Android. I had it working for a brief week on my AT&T Tilt and it was amazing (even though it's kinda buggy and not fully supported). I would love to see Google actually release a ROM (that would be fully supported) by them, but we all the know the chances of that happening.

The reasons I might switch to it are:
if they release a good, stable, and fast clamshell device with a nice screen.
if the softwares I am looking for are all supported and can be found.
otherwise, I am happy with WM, but it takes a lot of time and effort just setting it to run the way you want. I wish it could be as easy as opening a box.

I have had 5 windows mobile phones so far in the last 5 years and presently I have the HD. I can see each generation progressively improve and I think HD is the best phone I ever had.
For me switching over to Android, I can only consider if they have an office program as powerful as Softmaker. I extensively use my phone for managing and editing word and excel documents and I am all out for SoftMaker. So till the other platforms have anything whcih comes close to this switch over is not a possibility for me.

Android's alright, but Windows Mobile has such an extensive library of applications, and such a large support community, that I cannot imagine what it would be like without all that.
Plus, if you have a popular Windows Mobile device, it's likely that within a year, Android will have been ported with almost full hardware/software functionality (exceptions include cameras, proprietary hardware like proximity sensors, etc.), so it's really a win-win situation with most WINdows Mobile devices. Just my opinions anyway.
Dave

I already made the switch to android for the most part and love it, but still have my dash around for gaming. Wm is awesome but so is android, will take time to really take off though.

i love winmo but i am getting sick of all the problems, lack of updates, crappy UI, need to actually cover up the OS, etc.
I have been running Android on my Vogue on and off and like the change so im probably gonna try out a new OS on a new device till WM7 hits cuz 6.5 is just rubbish in updates compared to the competition
iPhone Gen 3.0 or most likely Palm Pre are next on the horizon for me

iPhone vs AT&T fuZe

First of all I would like to say many thanks to all the developers in this site. I think you all have the talent and know how of making a plain windows phone into something incredible. My thanks to the maker of energy rom, and all those fantastic developers. Helping to make this comunity greater and better. I am going to miss you all. Yes I have moved into the iPhone community.
Let Me just tell you all this is my opinion and yours counts as well. I have been a very avid windows mobile user, but more so an htc fan then any. I write this thread to let you all know of my findings from switching to an apple device. with that said I also would like to emphisize that my findings are based off of device and not network.
iPhone vs windows mobile
*landscape supported in both
*copy and paste supported in both thanks to OS 3.0
*user interface- on iPhone comes built in with a nice OS
-on htc nice as well but customizable. Thanks to xda forum
*physical keyboard- only built in to some htc devices
-on iPhone does not include a physical keyboard but I feel this product in terms of progress is moving foward faster. So what I mean is this product does not include a physical keyboard you can purchase one. But the soft keys included are nice with a little practice. Even thow landscape is not supported on most device but it is on the most use full apps.
*productivity- email, document editing, mms, tethering, auto spell check,
WM- supports all of these except spell check is an extra step
iPhone - supports email, doesn't come with word editing apps but i have purchased docs to go which I like and will allow me to get free updates.($5) mms thanks to mms not supported thanks to AT&T but it will by summer( check iPhone alley for up to date news or engadget. Tethering again thanks to AT&T no sir again to be announced, auto spell check is default and a plus since o generally suck in spelling.
* customizble- supported on both via xda and jailbreak, I still like the OS so I don't need to until I get bored but I'm pretty happy now.
*UI
- wm/not very user friendly but customizable thanks to xda. Hope fully windows gets the clue.
-iphone/ very user friendly , auto spell check on the fly, dual touch, browser a plus still waiting on firefox but iPhone browser is much faster. No flash support this is a downside the the iPhone. The text magnifier is a handy tool. Easy access tools like app store handy and comes with pre approved handy tools.(and free apps ass well)
*multimedia on both is pretty equal
*gaming is a dead blow away based off of amount of developers and screen size On the iPhone , dual touch helps in dramatic amounts.
My thoughts- altough the iPhone is not the best choice for everyone. There are pros and cons for both device. This being a WM forum I expect "flamming" but instead write why you stay with wm(not htc related because I love xda and htc and don't wish to sell my fuze) i find apples iPhone is moving slot faster progress wize in terms of when they started and what it has accomplished to this date. Windows made a big mistake delaying development on windows 7.0 OS. 2010 just shows they where not ready. Thank you all

My 2 cents on user friendliness.
I would think, from a perspective of someone who likes tweaking, that wm is much more user friendly since it allows me to customize it to my heart's content rather than jailbreaking the thing to even do basic things like changing the background to every page.
The iphone is more idiot proof than user friendly. In apple's classic style, anything that provides the user to customize the system is completely locked down unless hacked. what you can use is what they allow you to, not what you want to.
multi-touch is nice and is something i wish more smartphones will adopt in the future but I don't feel like it's a "game changer" especially gaming on a smartphone is not something that's that fancy. there are plenty counterpart apps for both OS that are mirrors of each other, like the light saber, tetris, bubble breaker, etc etc.
oh i forgot to mention, tethering... it is possible for the fuze to tether thanks to some of the resident geniuses of XDA who saved many of us from having to pay 30-50 bucks extra for tethering. the iphone's tethering is still in the process since I highly doubt att will let them get away with it for free or atleast without some haggling between apple and att.
my conclusion to this is that the review is good, i just don't approve of apple's take on "customization" (or lack thereof).

mputtr said:
My 2 cents on user friendliness.
I would think, from a perspective of someone who likes tweaking, that wm is much more user friendly since it allows me to customize it to my heart's content rather than jailbreaking the thing to even do basic things like changing the background to every page.
The iphone is more idiot proof than user friendly. In apple's classic style, anything that provides the user to customize the system is completely locked down unless hacked. what you can use is what they allow you to, not what you want to.
multi-touch is nice and is something i wish more smartphones will adopt in the future but I don't feel like it's a "game changer" especially gaming on a smartphone is not something that's that fancy. there are plenty counterpart apps for both OS that are mirrors of each other, like the light saber, tetris, bubble breaker, etc etc.
oh i forgot to mention, tethering... it is possible for the fuze to tether thanks to some of the resident geniuses of XDA who saved many of us from having to pay 30-50 bucks extra for tethering. the iphone's tethering is still in the process since I highly doubt att will let them get away with it for free or atleast without some haggling between apple and att.
my conclusion to this is that the review is good, i just don't approve of apple's take on "customization" (or lack thereof).
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Thank you for you input, I agree on customizabilty. This is basic stuff. It's your phone you should be allowed to personalize it by default. What I can do with out jail break is add my own short cuts off the web and changes some of my back ground. My friend has managed to change his icons to a Laker theme, and mms enabled on his phone. Other have managed a vista ultima desktop with video background. Which to me is cool but I doubt I find it usefull productive wize. Gaming on the iPhone is different. I encourage all to take some time to YouTube developed games, ping pong, archers, brickbreaker revollusion, tap tap revenge 2, stick wars , and ifighter. This is thanks to multi touch. But I thank you for your input. And tethering is enabled for free you just have to click a link in iPhone alley. And this is money saving as well. Thank you and more should write this will let Windows mobile step up their game.

Being a long time windows mobile and long time iPhone user, here is my take on this:
iPhone is fun, smooth and pretty nifty - for someone who doesn't rely on a device to get stuff done.
WM is a slower, sometimes ugly beast that gets **** done. It may not be the prettiest but if I need it to do something, it does it.
Case and point - I manage 10 separate business units and I rely on notifications to remind me about things. The iPhone just doesn't cut it, even with its 3.0 upgrade. Without a rock solid time specific task function/reminding system that can be snoozed, it's worthless for me.
What the iPhone does better:
Web - hands down it is a better experience
Email - Again, much better IMO on the iPhone
Note taking - iPhone stomps all over WM here especially with Evernote. The newest Evernote is absolutely incredible on the iPhone.
Pictures - My fuze is much better in this area and I don't want to buy the newest iPhone to get auto zoom.
3rd party programs - iPhone may have 50,000 apps, but WM has the apps "I" need to run my business, at least at this point.
I hemmed and hawed about it for a few weeks but I gave my iPhone to my 17 year old son who doesn't need a business class device and I got an iPod touch. I can still have nifty web browsing on the go and most of the benefits of apps like Evernote.
WM is still king in my mind but there are some things that would push it over the top in regards to the Apple offerings:
1. Capacitive screen - It's amazing and makes the resistive touch of the normal PDA's seem old and outdated.
2. Give us a Word/Excel/PP Viewer program in addition to the damn programs included that rip the formatting to shreds of anything remotely complex that we open with them. Granted, there are other programs that have better compatability that the built in office apps, but come on MS, Office is YOUR program!
3. This is for hardware vendors - Get your **** together and actually include driver support so your devices look and act as smoothly as the iPhone. I have a fuze that has more memory and a faster processor (in MHz only I know) than the iPhone but it's a dog. Gimme some smooth eye candy! I look at this damn device for hours per day, at least make it more enjoyable! MS needs to step up to the plate here and realize that the 3rd party hardware vendors are the ones causing the problems. Make them have to certify devices in the areas of performance and appearance before they launch.
4. Put more than 5 people on task to put an upgraded mobile operating system out. I am embarrassed for MS that they would do something like that. I don't care if they are the best of the best, mobile computing is the future and you guys are missing the boat by such a large margin it isn't even funny in the areas of usability and looks.
-Asbestos

iPhone vs WM
I agree with asbestos, if I need a real fancy music player, I'll put stickers on my "work" WM Touch Pro. My Touch Pro does WORK just fine.
I'll pay for my TP with SPB Mobile Shell 3.0, before given a fancy music player.
Someday, somebody will realize you can play music and videos on WM. Granted Windows Media Player sucks. But there are other multimedia apps.
What I will yield to Apple is our MS developers as a whole SUCK compared to the tons of great apps being created daily for iPhone, that could be made for WM. SOmebody needs to tell WM dev's to just sit down and copy every app they make. Cause WM is not the best in ingenuity.
My two cents,
JWB

Stickers ?!? Really?
That's the most educated piece of mine you can come up with. Better yet how about you mension konomi or any other great media player and recomend windows come with a built in finger friendly and eye candy friendly UI. Yes windows does need to look into developers from this site to make their products better.

Business over entertainment
asbestos said:
Being a long time windows mobile and long time iPhone user, here is my take on this:
iPhone is fun, smooth and pretty nifty - for someone who doesn't rely on a device to get stuff done.
WM is a slower, sometimes ugly beast that gets **** done. It may not be the prettiest but if I need it to do something, it does it.
Case and point - I manage 10 separate business units and I rely on notifications to remind me about things. The iPhone just doesn't cut it, even with its 3.0 upgrade. Without a rock solid time specific task function/reminding system that can be snoozed, it's worthless for me.
What the iPhone does better:
Web - hands down it is a better experience
Email - Again, much better IMO on the iPhone
Note taking - iPhone stomps all over WM here especially with Evernote. The newest Evernote is absolutely incredible on the iPhone.
Pictures - My fuze is much better in this area and I don't want to buy the newest iPhone to get auto zoom.
3rd party programs - iPhone may have 50,000 apps, but WM has the apps "I" need to run my business, at least at this point.
I hemmed and hawed about it for a few weeks but I gave my iPhone to my 17 year old son who doesn't need a business class device and I got an iPod touch. I can still have nifty web browsing on the go and most of the benefits of apps like Evernote.
WM is still king in my mind but there are some things that would push it over the top in regards to the Apple offerings:
1. Capacitive screen - It's amazing and makes the resistive touch of the normal PDA's seem old and outdated.
2. Give us a Word/Excel/PP Viewer program in addition to the damn programs included that rip the formatting to shreds of anything remotely complex that we open with them. Granted, there are other programs that have better compatability that the built in office apps, but come on MS, Office is YOUR program!
3. This is for hardware vendors - Get your **** together and actually include driver support so your devices look and act as smoothly as the iPhone. I have a fuze that has more memory and a faster processor (in MHz only I know) than the iPhone but it's a dog. Gimme some smooth eye candy! I look at this damn device for hours per day, at least make it more enjoyable! MS needs to step up to the plate here and realize that the 3rd party hardware vendors are the ones causing the problems. Make them have to certify devices in the areas of performance and appearance before they launch.
4. Put more than 5 people on task to put an upgraded mobile operating system out. I am embarrassed for MS that they would do something like that. I don't care if they are the best of the best, mobile computing is the future and you guys are missing the boat by such a large margin it isn't even funny in the areas of usability and looks.
-Asbestos
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my friend you are a perfect example to why windows is best for you.
I'm not saying and nor do I feel you are saying that I beleive the iPhone is better then a fuze. I beleive there is no such thing as an iPhone killer simply because every phone is built for a specific user.
In this case the user is a business user. I can't imagine typing countless emails and documents simply by using the soft keys altough I have seen some impressive typing on the iPhone. Not everyone is talented enough to move like the do. But I find my self getting faster each day. The built in keyboard is an advantage that I don't have on the iPhone. What weighed in my mind was windows mobile first came out in 1975 I beleive... And it has years of experience over the iPhone. The iPhone has 3 years in the market yet development for this device has excelled. What I beleive is windows took it's customers for granted said here is this product enjoy it but never develops after that? Windows 6.1 windows 6.5 windows 7.0 ? These are all slow developed UI. Windows give your consumers what they want not honey combs. Come out with 7.0 already.

Why does everyone who goes to an iPhone write one of these long, stupid, and annoying "goodbye" posts justifying their reasons for going to an iPhone? Just sell your HTC, get an iPhone, and go away. It is that easy.

My take is both are excellent phones/devices.
The reason I went to the HTC over the iPhone isn't a bias against the iPhone, but because I've used PPC/windows mobile OS's since the days of the Dell Axim X5. I'm comfortable with the WM OS, know how to tweak & hack it, customize it to suit me. The iPhone OS, really can't do a lot with it, as far as customization. Plus, the iPhone, is really intended as a "multimedia" device.
The TP/Fuze is too, but, it's not as integrated as the iPhone. I don't play MP3's, movies or anything like that. I use my TP/Fuze as a business device, and it does it very well.
Either phone, you really can't go wrong, it's a choice issue.

asbestos said:
What the iPhone does better:
Note taking - iPhone stomps all over WM here especially with Evernote. The newest Evernote is absolutely incredible on the iPhone.
-Asbestos
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Click to collapse
Say What? How does Evernote "stomp" all over OneNote? What does Evernote do that OneNote does not?

i hate these comparisons wars with smartphones going on. its like console wars or format wars. the iphone isnt bad, infact its very good. you choose the product you like the best. its not like its something you have to show off to the world and that you where the wisest because you choose it and others didnt because they are tards. i find it very hard to recommend windows mobile phones. they can do a lot if you put some work into it like a hobby. i chose between the touch pro and the iphone and went for the touch pro and i must of thought it better for me cause i even paid alot more for it. my entire family has iphones (cept my sister who has a palm centro) and that works for them. i think the touch pro is better in alot more ways but the iphone is there for people who need something easy for them.

HTC HD2 versus iPhone, Blackberry Storm 2

Hello,
I have been recently thinking about changing my HTC Touch Cruise for something newer. To my mind obviously came: HTC HD2, iPhone, Blackberry Storm2.
I know that specifications-wise, HTC wins. BUT...
I have recently experienced the new Blackberry and realized that: the operation system works much quicker and nicer than Windows which HTC uses. It also seems to have less problems -> my current HTC needs a good hard restart once a week or so, because it freezes on more demanding films or some music.
I thought that Windows has much more applications available - well, I am not so sure any more once I realized that thesaurus.com produced their dictionaries for... iPhone and Blackberry. Windows has lost its market and is not taken into account by the newest developers.
I am also wondering whether 4.3'' isn't a little bit too much -> I won't be able to put it into my pocket any longer!
What do you think? HTC seems to have created a very beautiful palmtop, full of great specifications but it has also committed one crucial mistake - it used Windows...
I would be grateful if you could share with me your opinions. Maybe my fear is unjustified and the newest HD2 works perfectly in all the aspects easily beating the competition?

I have to agree with you.
I have been a WM fan for the last 5 years or so and have become disilusioned with the OS. I too was looking for a change and had been watching the LEO. This is indeed a good hardware spec, but imho let down by WM6.5. I decided that I was after a better consumer experiance and opted for the iPhone. Everyone raves about them for a long time now so I decided (after much researching) that I would try one. I have not been let down by it yet. Mind you, I've only had it 3 weeks. I'm taking a punt that in 18 months or so, WM will have caught up or Andriod will have matured, but until then, I'll take a walk on the dark side.
So far I'm loving the fact that is just seems to work and it integrates with my car hifi perfecly. I can now play music and do hands free over Bluetooth. Under WM I could only do handsfree. Surfing the internet is now almost as easy as on my desktop. Safari browser beats anything else I've tried so far. The on screen keyboard was a worry at first, but it's easy to use, especialy in landscap (I have big thumbs). As a music player, well it beats WM any day of the week.
I know I will eventualy hit it's limitations, and when I do I'll consider jailbreaking, much like using custom ROMs from here realy. Untill then I'll keep an eye on the mobile development and look forward to seeing what happens in 18 months.
Good luck with your search, for now I have found my answer, I hope you find yours.
Mav

Personally I'd go for the HD2, as I rank spec more than software. The iPhone is a but too common and its pricing is a far too high for what you get (mins and txts etc). Blackberry has the same problem its too common, I know loads of people with Blackberrys who only use them for Facebook, but if your the kind of person who send and receieves loads of e-mails get a BB as they do it better than WinMo and iPhone.
Alex

Here we go again..........
Leo of course

Well I have been WM for several years and thought I would give the iPhone a trial. A BIG MISTAKE. Its dredful and im getting a HD2 next week.

I thought i'd add my comments to this, i've been predominantly symbian s60 / win mob for years now due to the fact that they "do" everything. But i think its fair to say that windows in all guises comes with the fact that as soon as you start to ask a bit of it, it sticks it's fingers up at you and stops working (symbian too, but to a lesser degree). Usually resulting in a reboot. I recently had an upgrade to do so i started researching into what i might get. In the end, after a spate with symbian, i v much wanted a win mo device but was ever so curious about the iphone. So many ppl couldn't be wrong, right? I was also deeply tempted by the blackberry bold too. I ended up going for the iphone as the upgrade and bought a TP2 as well. I just couldn't do the iphone thing on its own in case i hated it.
Pleasingly, i don't. The iphone is everything a win mo phone isn't, and vica versa. The iphone is completely dependable, never misses a beat, does what it does do perfectly and apart from some of the crazy apps, completely dull. It is frustratingly good. Even multitasking isn't really much of an issue due to push notifications and the like. I'd love to say the screen res is an issue but it never is. Safari is in a league of it's own. But it is dull. I use it as my everyday phone because it's dependable, but i use my TP2 to mess about with, i've had that many different ROM's on it it's silly, i follow forum progress with different things going on with bated breath, excited to see if they can pull this new rom off, or a linux port. It's exciting, i can modify the hell out of it and personalise it my way. I can send files via bluetooth without having to jump through hoops (unlike the iphone).
So, it comes down to what you want it to do, and if you can put up with less or more customization. There is a lot to choose from out there now and it's hard to decide. Look at the palm pre, and droid, and what about the n900 0n maemo?? Whatever you decide, you'll end up with a really good bit of kit, cos the mobile world it going potty with new stuff at the mo.
Just one last note, in defence of win mo, it may be getting a bit left behind in terms of bling, but it still remains one of the most functional os's out there, it's just that the young guns have caught up now.

Hmmm as I don't like iPhone (because everyone has it) and I wouldn't go Sony Ericsson (because I don't believe in their great ability of doing palmtops), I am personally trying to find reasons for continuing with HTC.
1.Is Windows 7 going to be released "soonish", so that if I buy HD2 now I might get some (hopefully) acceptable o/s?
2.There is also Droid Eris / HTC Dragon / HTC Passion / whatever it is called. If it is "HD2 on Google Android 2.0" then the question arises:
------is it just the case of software? If yes, I assume xda-masters will sooner or later allow easy migration between these two systems, or are there any technological obstacles? If this were true then this would be the best option -> One phone if you get bored - you can always swap to another o/s...
3. What was the market response to Android 2.0? What do you guys think about it, as compared with Windows?

I'm using Android at the moment having used WM for the past few years. It's version 1.5 and I'm loving it. Can't wait for 2.0 to come out for the Hero.
It hardly ever needs a reset - it 'just works'

The HD2 is one bad boy! No one knows when Windows 7 going to be released...maybe 3rd Q of 2010. But WM6.5.1 should be a lot sooner for the Leo...

I think its funny that every ppc that htc release, we seem to have this debate "blah" vs iphone, or is "blah" the iphone killer, this has been going on since the touch diamond, personaly i dont think any ppc can be compaired to the iphone, as ppc's are tools with functionality where as the iphone is a toy, it has no real functionality, yeah it looks good and there are lots of apps availble for them but how many of them are useful? and as for "killing" the iphone its clear by now that it has a far too big a fan base to be killed off, anyway thats my 2 cents lol

mancsoulja said:
I think its funny that every ppc that htc release, we seem to have this debate "blah" vs iphone, or is "blah" the iphone killer, this has been going on since the touch diamond, personaly i dont think any ppc can be compaired to the iphone, as ppc's are tools with functionality where as the iphone is a toy, it has no real functionality, yeah it looks good and there are lots of apps availble for them but how many of them are useful? and as for "killing" the iphone its clear by now that it has a far too big a fan base to be killed off, anyway thats my 2 cents lol
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Well said!
+ 1 for this!
Every new phone and threads start with comparatives...

Very, Very UNFAIR comparison!!!
Seriously, HD2, go against someone ur OWN size (aka Xperia X10, i8910 HD, Motorola Milestone, N900, Acer F1)!
Leave iPhone alone! It's NOT even a smartphone (moreover not even a basic phone as it still lacks some basic phone functionality that people had for over a decade) as it doesn't even do multitasking...
What's "blackberry"?
bye

Im old and lost. WM on HD2, Android??, iPhones?

Ive been using HTC phones since forever.... Ive had the Canary, Tanager, Voyager, Hurricane, Polaris (Touch Cruise) and am currently using the Touch Diamond. Ive enjoyed Windows Mobile but never really took to TouchFlo3d. I liked Windows Mobile because I have CoPilot and used to do quite a bit of geocaching.
Now im up for contract renewal and soooo much has changed in the last two years.
Im wondering what the score is with windows mobile? Has it been overtaken by Android? What about my CoPilot, geocaching programs and Bejewelled Blitz game?
Im assuming the HTC HD2 is considered the best WM phone at the moment but should I be looking at Android phones.... if so, which one?
And how does the iphone fit in. I dont like the look of all though little boxes of "apps"! Im a minimalist kinda guy! Im considering an iphone because I have been forced into using a mac cos my partner has run off to uni to do a post grad course and taken the family laptop!
Any help of choosing between the HTC HD2, the android phones and the iphone would be great.

Here you can see what is considered the best device by XDA members:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=5391877#post5391877
As for Android, I prefer to stay with WM, android is too young and immature for now, I´m sure in the future can be a good OS option, but not by now.
Just my opinion
Good luck,
p.d: Never consider yourself an old!!, as a Mexican saying says: Old? old the mountains and they are still green!

rikpotts said:
Im wondering what the score is with windows mobile? Has it been overtaken by Android?
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That depends on whether you are normal, healthy human being or an extreme technology geek. The most important thing to understand about Windows Mobile is that when you first start up a WM phone, it really doesn't work very well. It can be made to work reasonably well, but it takes a great deal of tweaking to do it. If you're the sort of person who actively enjoys tweaking, hunting down applications and .cabs to customise the phone to make it behave in exactly the way you want, then WM is a good choice. If you simply want it to work, it's a terrible choice.
Android is already well ahead of WM in terms of usablity for normal people, but hasn't yet caught up in terms of programmability or customisability.
The iPhone is effectively two completely different devices in one, depending on whether or not you go through the "jail-breaking" procedure. (This is a bit like installing a cooked ROM on a WM phone, only rather less drastic and easier to reverse; like flashing custom ROMs it does void your warranty, though). Without jail-breaking the iPhone is very much a "black box" - you only do what Apple has chosen to let you do. That said, it's the best piece of user-interface design I've ever seen, beautifully intuitive, and it has far more applications than every other smartphone platform put together (and what's more they're all in one place so you can actually find them - WM apps are scattered all over the Internet with no catalogue).
By contrast, a jail-broken iPhone is as flexible as an Android phone, and very close to Windows Mobile.
If you don't want TouchFLO (a.k.a. Sense) then investing in a high-end HTC phone is probably a waste of money. You get the support of this website, and (in the case of the HD2) a capacitive screen, but neither is worth the price premium over rival devices - Sense UI is what you're paying for if you buy an HD2. Obvious WinMo equivalents are the Toshiba TG01, or the Acer NeoTouch. On the Android side you should check out the Google Nexus One, Motorola Droid, and Acer F1.

Many Thanks for the replies. I was worried my question didnt get to the point but the answers covered my confusion.
So windows mobile still has some life left in it yet!
I had no idea about where Android was up to... now I know.
"you only do what Apple has chosen to let you do."
This is what I feared. Despite flashing phones for a large portion of my spare time I dont actually like doing it. I agree with what you said about WM phone not working well out of the box but can be good if you spend a few days googling and messing about. My diamond is a hand me down from my partner cos she hated it... but like the look of my old orbit 2. I spent many weeks tuning that one. Ive just left the diamond as is..... except disabling TF3d (I have actually started to use it for the last 2 days only!)
I find the iPhone appealing, especially after reading that it has more application around for it. Plus I only have a couple of ibooks now. Ive even done away with the pc at work! (only cos I do the bookkeeping at home on the mac, its easier to throw it in the back of the car and take it with me!)
I know the like of high street banks etc are making "apps" for it but ive also waded my through WM Smartphone, 2003SE and WM6 applications for years. It sound iike the iphone has made good ground.
I think its gonna be a HD2. Though ill have a quick look at how people have customised the iphone. Ill bend arms in the call centres to get either one for free!
Once again, thanks for spending the time in answering my questions. You have saved me a long evening in front of the laptop!

Well, make sure you demo an iPhone before buying, and do some serious reading in some of the jail-break community forums. In my experience a good rule of thumb is: if you can't think of any specific reason not to buy an iPhone 3GS, you should buy one. By contrast, anyone who is any doubt about whether they want an HD2 or not should definitely not buy one; and I say that as an HD2 owner who has no intention of selling it. It's a great device for some, but its appeal is deep rather than broad. In my case the things I use it for most are web-browsing and video playback, and a big, hi-res screen helps a lot with both of those. Even there it was a close thing - Apple's "Safari" browser is superior to the HD2's Opera in several ways.
There's a recent survey from Gartner which found that Apple currently controls 99.4% of the smartphone app market.
Demo a couple of the high-end Android phones, too - HTC Hero and Motorola Milestone are good places to start. And try an HD2 before you buy as well - see whether or not the keyboard drives you nuts!

Shasarak said:
That depends on whether you are normal, healthy human being or an extreme technology geek. The most important thing to understand about Windows Mobile is that when you first start up a WM phone, it really doesn't work very well. It can be made to work reasonably well, but it takes a great deal of tweaking to do it.
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IMO that's not exactly true. I had bought a Touch Diamond 2 in early 2009 and with the stock ROM it was awesome. I used it for couple months without facing any problems. After few months I switched to custom ROMs but only because I needed to have newer OS builds (6.5, 6.5.x) on my phone.
Android is so superior in few years? You better wait few years and see if Android is still running so smooth when supporting more than 5 different phones.... Probably you'll switch back to WM 8 then because it's supposed to run so stable.

I just went to the Apple Store in town for an iPhone demo only to be told they don't sell them, or have demo versions.
So I asked for the lead to plug my iBook into the telly. He gave me a DVI Macbook one. "no, I have an iBook"
"Sorry mate, you cant get em"
I said "yeah you can, £18.99 + del on the Apple Store website.
He clicked around on his iPhone for 5 mins until I gave up and found one myself in the shop.
I gave him my Visa card only to be told that they dont accept Visa Debit!
Im not surprised Apple stuff is so expensive.... they have to markup to cover the loss of sales for reasons similar to my first ever contact with Apple!

RAMMANN said:
Android is so superior in few years? You better wait few years and see if Android is still running so smooth when supporting more than 5 different phones.... Probably you'll switch back to WM 8 then because it's supposed to run so stable.
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How exactly is any of this in any way connected to a purchase decision? Are we supposed to say "well, WinMo may not be very good, but there's a good reason why it's not very good (has to support so many different phones) so we should buy it anyway out of sympathy"? Or are we supposed to buy a WM6 phone now on the grounds that in three years time the next-but-one version of WinMo will, in your opinion be superior to the next-but-six version of Android? Even if your prediction turns out to be accurate, nothing you say here can possibly be relevant.

rikpotts said:
I just went to the Apple Store in town for an iPhone demo only to be told they don't sell them, or have demo versions.
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Ouch. Well, try a mobile phone shop. Here in London you'll find a demoable iPhone in O2 or Carphone Warehouse stores. Probably Orange and Vodafone too these days.

I would at least consider looking at Android handsets that are currently on the market. Windows Mobile is an alright OS, but Windows Mobile 6.x is on its way out, with WM7 coming in towards the end of this year, so you might not want to buy a WM device until WM7 ships, or you may get stuck with 6.x. I've used Android extensively through ports and emulators, and I can safely say that it's a very good mobile OS. Either a Windows Mobile or Android device would work fine, but I would recommend waiting until the end of the year if you want Windows Mobile. The best Android and Windows Mobile devices on the market are probably the Nexus One and HD2, respectively.
As for the iPhone, I don't really get what's so special about them. I own a first generation iPhone and a first generation iPod Touch, and while they're both nice devices, I wouldn't say they're the Jesusphone that everyone claims them to be. Maybe it's just because I like an open OS like Android (Linux kernel, open source) or WM (proprietary yet infinitely customizable), but the iPhone doesn't seem that great to me. And while Jailbreaking makes things a little more bearable, it still doesn't make the iPhone worth using to me

Shasarak said:
How exactly is any of this in any way connected to a purchase decision? Are we supposed to say "well, WinMo may not be very good, but there's a good reason why it's not very good (has to support so many different phones) so we should buy it anyway out of sympathy"? Or are we supposed to buy a WM6 phone now on the grounds that in three years time the next-but-one version of WinMo will, in your opinion be superior to the next-but-six version of Android? Even if your prediction turns out to be accurate, nothing you say here can possibly be relevant.
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I'm not saying "WM may not be very good". I think it kicks ass. Honestly! I already ran Android on the emulator to check it out but I don't see anything special that I don't have with WM. And besides that on Android you can only code applications in Java despite the Linux kernel. I stick to my C/C++ and I see no f'kn reason to downgrade to Java just because of Google.

I think the best way is to go to the store and play a bit (like 15-30min) with the competing phones. I would suggest that you pay a bit more attention to HD2, iPhone 3GS and in march the Bravo will be out, if you can wait that long. I would also suggest the Nexus one, however you can't see before you buy, and people are reporting numerous problems. You can see the nexus in action on youtube.
What works for me, won't necessarily work for you, and vice versa.
Don't let the sales rep tell you that google maps is navigation, it's not.
Have in mind that iphone and some android devices don't support BT file transfer, if you use that.
If you like multitasking don't go for the iphone.Another "glitch" is that its browser doesn't support download.
If you use exchange, it works best on winmo and blackberry
If you use the phone as usb stick go for android or winmo.
There are of course other differences. It all depends on what you use and what you need.
For satnav winmo has the widest range of apps. However there are nice apps for android and iphone.

rikpotts said:
Ive been using HTC phones since forever.... Ive had the Canary, Tanager, Voyager, Hurricane, Polaris (Touch Cruise) and am currently using the Touch Diamond. Ive enjoyed Windows Mobile but never really took to TouchFlo3d. I liked Windows Mobile because I have CoPilot and used to do quite a bit of geocaching.
Now im up for contract renewal and soooo much has changed in the last two years.
Im wondering what the score is with windows mobile? Has it been overtaken by Android? What about my CoPilot, geocaching programs and Bejewelled Blitz game?
Im assuming the HTC HD2 is considered the best WM phone at the moment but should I be looking at Android phones.... if so, which one?
And how does the iphone fit in. I dont like the look of all though little boxes of "apps"! Im a minimalist kinda guy! Im considering an iphone because I have been forced into using a mac cos my partner has run off to uni to do a post grad course and taken the family laptop!
Any help of choosing between the HTC HD2, the android phones and the iphone would be great.
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wait for the 4th gen iphone, if you can't, i recommend you jailbroken iphone 3gs.
you'll fly, if you try iphone.

When I went to the Apple store and asked to look at the iPhone the first thing the chap said was "wait til mid 2010"
Thankyou for the great replies.
In the end....!! I got a Sony Ericsson Naite. And a laptop! Samsung N130.
I love my iBook but ive just enrolled with the OU to finish a couple of Uni quals I never actually finished and need windows. Plus I can synch my Diamond properly now. I run a shop on an ind est and have just setup a website and my orders come through to the phone. I need to synch.
Once again, many thanks for the time spent.
Rik

Again confusion over HD2 Vs iPhone 3GS

I am really in serious confusion like others for buying HTC HD2.
After the annoucement from Windows for no upgrade to WM7 to any of the mobile right now in market.
See, I am not worrying about WM7 upgrade to HD2 and I like HTC HD2 very much even with WM6.5.
All my worries are if after WM7 release, if there is no any applications/other development for WM 6.5, then it will be a big problem, even though MS announced it will support WM 6.x.
Atleast what we are looking for is atleast the backward compatiablity. Whatever applications which developed for WM7 atleast work for WM 6.5 even if not for WM 6.1.
See, WM6.x has been released somewhat around october 2009 and not even six months old.
There are around 50 and over windows mobile phones running on WM 6.x.
Even if WM7 is getting released this year end, it's not fair for MS not to upgrade to WM7, atleast we want the backward compatility wihout the upgrade. IT'S NOT FAIR FOR THE COMPANY NOT ALLOWING THE TRUE CUSTOMNRS TO UPGRADE THE NEW VERSION WHICH IS WITH IN 1 YEAR (WM6.5 oct 2009 - WM7 sep 2010)
Still, I am having a wavering mind which one to go, HTC HD2 or iPhone 3GS. Before March 1, 2010, I am very sure and confident to buy the HD2 and planned to buy it on March 6,2010. Now I hold the plan and don't have much time for my recontract and I need to go with anyone of it.
I dont' know now the HD2 is calling as "Dark handset". It's "Dark" due to it's future
Though, it's very diffcult to select and also, it's upto ones requirement, can you guys help on which one should I choose between HD2 and iPhone 3GS, at this present scenario and after MS annoucement.
I am planning to wait for MIX (15-17 mar..?). Can I wait for it and give one more change to HD2 or do you thnik it's not correct time to go for windows mobile and time being to go for iPhone. Need a neutral verdict. thanks

I am also having this issue, i have been with WM since the Orange SPV was released many years ago.
My issues are much the same as above, i am about to get myself into a 2 year contract and i have the same two device options. as stated above my concern is that, now WP7 has been anounced there will be a real lack of drive for companies and developers to release apps for 6.5. added to this the news that the HD2 will not be upgradable to WP7 makes me even more unsure as to what device to go for.
at the moment companies are not making apps for WM6.x where as these are being released all the time for the iPhone. ie. a decent Sky app, banking apps, BBC iPlayer, Kindle, ebay, the list goes on.
I know none of you are fortunetellers and what the future holds is unknow, but with the infomation that we have at this point in time, i'm worried that i'm going to be stuck with a device that is largly redundant.
I'll finish off by saying the i would rather stick with Windows, and not have to go with apple.
Whats your advice?
Thanks
Allan

-6.5 will have support for another 2 years plus xda support.
-I can see my HD2 running android by the end of the year.
-wp7s won't be brilliant til at least half way through next year.
-I use my DS as a gaming machine.
-I'll buy an ipod touch if i want apple apps.
imo, the bigger problem would be HD2 vs Desire.

As for myself, i don't care about android nor WM7. In a few months from now i will be buying an HD2, either used or new!

I would never own anything apple, especially an iphone they're crap!!! my sister has had one, like most people, she realised they were crap but wouldn't admit she'd spent £500, plus £40 a month for 18 months for something inferior to my tp2 that was free and only £30 a month for 12 months with more minutes, texts and data...lol... and you have to create an itunes account to use it, i mean, come on, if MS tried a stunt like that they'd be pulled up in front of every court in the land, and what modding fun can you have with an iphone??? unless of course you like putting up shelves with a glorified mp3 player, and who's really bothered about wm7? besides, with the savings you can buy visual studio and write your own apps...lol...

glyndal said:
imo, the bigger problem would be HD2 vs Desire.
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This is my problem....I've been scratching my head over this for the past few weeks. I'm so used to wm that the HD2 looks like the logical step, but the Desire looks awesome and wm7 won't be available for the HD2

You shouldn't even compare the HD2 to the iPhone dude, HD2 is now lightyears ahead of the iPhone..

As someone above said, 6.5 will be supported for the life of the phone. And lets be honest, who cares if its not? How much "support" did microsoft give 6.1 in the past few years?
No competition in my book: HD2

I will try to give my opinion as best as I can. I think I have a bit of experience in this area - mainly because I went through the exact same issue and I made a choice. As one can see in my signature below, my choice became the iPhone 3GS.
Mind you, this wasn't an easy choice. As someone who typically despises Apple and their products (in fact, the iPhone 3GS is the first Apple product I've ever owned), it's not like I decided to switch from WinMo to iPhone on a whim. I thought it over for a period of several months.
Originally, once I realized moving onto WP7S would be impossible for me, I was simply going to stick with WM6.X, then the news starting coming that developers were canceling WM6.X projects (including a few which I was really looking forward to). Even on XDA, there were topics from developers stating concern, and some mentioned that they were going to put some 'major' projects on hold to develop for WP7S instead. So faced with the possibility of sticking with an OS that seemed to be dying even as Microsoft profess continued support, it seemed like moving on would be the wiser choice. Unfortunately, moving onto WP7S would essentially be starting all over for me, and the idea of doing such a thing for a brand new OS seemed incredibly stupid to me.
So I figured if I had to move to a brand new OS, why not choose one that had great support already? A lot of choices went through my mind (WebOS, Android, Maemo, etc), but I ultimately chose the iPhone because I figured it would be the easiest transition.
Ultimately, I think I was proven right. Within a span of two days of owning the 3GS, my primary concern, applications, was almost completely alleviated. As I had expected, the iPhone had a replacement application that was equal (and, in many cases, better) to what I had used on Windows Mobile. Additionally, many of my other concerns (lower res, on-screen keyboard, browser, etc) turned out to be fine. In fact, it was often better than I would have hoped for. Even my biggest fear, having to use iTunes, turned out to be very minor.
For someone who typically hated Apple's design philosophy, I was extremely impressed with how they designed the iPhone.
Of course, not all was completely well. Even as I am an iPhone owner, I'm still trying to use the iPhone like I used WinMo, which, of course, just plain doesn't work. It takes some adjusting, but it's admittedly not too bad (it also helps that some fine folks created apps to help the transition. ). The only other problem I see on hand is Apple's infamous restrictiveness...and I'm not even referring to the App Store. For someone with a mild OCD of keeping all my files neatly organized; Apple's refusal to allow me to even do something as simple as even renaming my files is aggravating. However, I am getting used to it.
So to get to the point, I ultimately switched to the iPhone out of 'lost hope' for Microsoft's platform, and the belief that the iPhone would make for the easiest transition compared to other OSes. I will continue to pay some attention to WP7S to see if it's ever worth coming back to, but if my experience with, well, Windows Mobile is any indication, a year or two of owning the iPhone, and switching will be almost impossible unless Apple does something extremely drastic. To the TC, am I recommending the switch to the iPhone? Ultimately, I think it is your choice, but if my experience is something to go by, switching to the iPhone may not be as big of a deal as one might think. Hell, you might even enjoy it.

AND, what would stop this community from creating WP7 rom, I'm quite certain we'll see these being pushed around on top of all the nex-gen phones, IE Google Nexus. Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it.

wesbalmer said:
AND, what would stop this community from creating WP7 rom, I'm quite certain we'll see these being pushed around on top of all the nex-gen phones, IE Google Nexus. Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it.
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I agree, no doubt we'll see WP7 on some devices to an extent, but you'll miss the full functionality due to the specs of some devices

Why would you want it?
As far as I can tell its missing shed loads of features and all you will do is restrict the HD2 massivley. Your much better off imo, staying on 6.5 until the better version(s) come out next year or whenever they are due....

What about HD2 vs the iPhone 4G commign this year?
Just speculating now