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Ok, so I've been using an HTC for my last 3 phones and now have to decide if I want to go with the Raphael or the iPhone 3g. Anyone here with experience with both care to comment?
If you want a keyboard, higher res screen, multitasking, slingplayer, a wireless modem for your laptop, support from xda dev like me, then you have to get the raphael. Otherwise the iphone would be ok i suppose.
My personal opinion about the iPhone 3G is that i find it more of a gadget then a real poweruser phone.
I also like the fact that the Raphael has a keyboard and that's a must for myself.
Here's a comparison link from pdadb.net for some spec differences.
I say GO HTC!
Plus there's no Cut/Copy/Paste functionality and the only Bluetooth profiles it supports are headset and hands-free, so no file transfers or music streaming.
And you'll have to put up with poor 3G reception: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/08/13/iphone_not_very_3g/
kmann said:
Ok, so I've been using an HTC for my last 3 phones and now have to decide if I want to go with the Raphael or the iPhone 3g. Anyone here with experience with both care to comment?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sort of related to pros...
I had the Diamond for a week and sent it back as the battery life was useless. Also the device heated up a lot when in use. The last straw came when I was trying to use it on the beach and the screen was totally washed out.
I am currently trying out an iPhone, and I must admit it does most all of what I want (phone/email/web) and some more... and the screen is visible in bright sunlight! Just need to get over some missing things - and itunes. Oh, and O2 network (useless 3G - have to switch it off most of the time). Oh, and iplayer works fantastically... thats almost sold me now.
I still have my TyTn2 in case I need a MS6.1 fix, but as things are going, I doubt it.
WatskeBart said:
My personal opinion about the iPhone 3G is that i find it more of a gadget then a real poweruser phone.
I also like the fact that the Raphael has a keyboard and that's a must for myself.
Here's a comparison link from pdadb.net for some spec differences.
I say GO HTC!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with WatskeBart 100%. The iphone has impressive hardware with the exception of the lack of keyboard of course but it can't do all that a normal smartphone can do because of the software on the device. If all u want is a media player and internet browser then u should get an iphone 3g. If you are a phone techie then u will be disappointed all the way. Not to say that the touch pro can't be a media player. As i'm writing this email i'm listening to music on my touch pro and i was watching Hancock like 30 mins ago.
HTC for sure!!
I talk from personal experience as I had an iPhone 3g before selling it to buy my Touch Pro.
I had the original iPhone which i soon chopped in for an N95 8gb as it was too slow for net usage and the lack of apps was rubbish. I then got the upgrade to the 3g iPhone thinking this would be an amazing bit of kit due to 3g, GPS and the new App Store. After a week of owning it I was not impressed at all.
Firstly the 3g, its half speed of the HTC only 3.4 i think as opposed to 7.2mbs and even when it does get a 3g connection it times out constently. Then when the 3g connection drops it fails to switch to Edge or GPRS sometimes which means it will never connect.
The GPS is ok, although running google maps of both the accuracy on the TP is much better I found plus you cant put TomTom on the iPhone at present.
Then there is the app store, what a load of tosh. The apps that are free are free becos, well you wouldn't pay for them and to be honest I found I had a load of apps installed just becos you could not becos you wanted them.
I would say the only thing the iPhone does better is music and games, being an iPod it should be and the games you can buy do run very well although limted due to control system.
Another niggle i had with the iPhone is the new case, it scratches so easy and you always feel you have to treat it with cotten gloves. One day indoor use and i had hairline scratches on the apple logo
I sold my iPhone on ebay for a tidy sum and have had a week with the Touch Pro and am so glad i did it.
Plus if you geta WM you get help and support from all the peps on here, the iPhone community is no where near as good lol
2 things which bother me about iphones are
1. got a free rss program of itunestore for my ipod touch
and without copy paste one have to surf to the rss feed one wants
and write it down on a note open the rss program and write it there
silly that one cant copy paste
2. got a free ebook reader program but only way one can get ebooks is from www url's
no option to get all the ebooks on my computer into the ipod
so it's useless
suspect the lack of freedom with iphones / ipods
both consering accessing data from ones computer and
lack of SD data or even basic filesystem access
are one of their biggests problems
forgot tomtom, and a2dp. use that all the time too.... iphone cant do either.
HTC as the it can access parts of the internet the iphone carn't reach
Touch Pro rocks!
I personnally think the Touch Pro and iPhone are not / should not even in the same category at all:
- 2.8" screen for "pocketability" vs 3.5" screen for comfort
- Full qwerty keyboard vs no keyboard (granted, the on-screen keyboard on the iPhone is even better to use than PCM Keyboard on my VGA 4 inches-screened HX4700, mainly due to the capacitive touchscreen)
- On one side, the nerly endlessly extensible Windows mobile, can do anything, but you can't expect noobs to fiddle with the registry everyday and swap ROMs to have a better-working device
- On the other side, the iPhone platform is less open, but easier to use for nOobs, apps are easy to install, and (where the features are actually implemented) it just works
Surely there are other different points!
I myself just couldn't care to be ensconced in the iPhone, with clearly throttled-down features (no A2DP protocol for BT, no MMS, no video with the camera, no f#$..g copy-paste, for Krishna's sake? How hard can it be?).
My vote goes for the Touch Pro!
My 0.02$...
kmann said:
Ok, so I've been using an HTC for my last 3 phones and now have to decide if I want to go with the Raphael or the iPhone 3g. Anyone here with experience with both care to comment?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I hope that kmann could make his decision based on our replies
plain and simple........copy and paste........nuff said.
the iphone is just a glorified Ipod, the HTC phones are usable computers in your hand and much much more.
I would suggest that you take a look at the iphone thread on the macrumours forum. You get the views of a large number of iphone owners there. To my mind, they fall into 3 categories: On the fence types, fan boy types (for whom the iphone can do no wrong) and a substantial number of people who are having real problems with the iphone - not so much the things that are missing (cut and paste, a2dp etc.) but problems with doing basic phone stufff (like making calls) and build quality issues (cracks appearing in casings, bits falling off/ stopping working etc.).
I am not an iphone hater - I have an Ipod touch with the very latest firmware on - it is a great music player and some of the apps from the apple store are good fun - I have even bought a couple! I have also spent a couple hours playing with the latest iphone (a friends'), as a phone and a serious business tool, it just didn't cut it for me.
Ok, time to chime on again. Thanks all for your input. I've got 30 years of experience in deep IT technology. I've programmed Operating Systems, hardware etc. I've cooked my own ROMs for the HTC phones. And maybe I'm getting old and tired of fighting the hassles, but you've got to admit the iPhone is sexy, and simple.
Sure I understand the limitations, for example, I use push email and Calendar sync and I realize Apple has yet to fully implement the ActiveSync APIs which causes issues.
So I am in a quandry. Am I tired of fighting the custom ROMs and having the some extra features I rarely use, or do I want sexy and simplicity.
Ah, I guess we live in great times when these are the decisions I have to wrestle with.
kmann said:
Ok, time to chime on again. Thanks all for your input. I've got 30 years of experience in deep IT technology. I've programmed Operating Systems, hardware etc. I've cooked my own ROMs for the HTC phones. And maybe I'm getting old and tired of fighting the hassles, but you've got to admit the iPhone is sexy, and simple.
Sure I understand the limitations, for example, I use push email and Calendar sync and I realize Apple has yet to fully implement the ActiveSync APIs which causes issues.
So I am in a quandry. Am I tired of fighting the custom ROMs and having the some extra features I rarely use, or do I want sexy and simplicity.
Ah, I guess we live in great times when these are the decisions I have to wrestle with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i got sexy, simplicity as well as configurability. NOkia E71 (white steel). cant go wrong, 3.5G, BT, WIFI, GPS. all works as it should. IM using Garmint Mobile XT with Australia NT Maps 2009 without any issues, BT works like a charm, music player is fantastic, 8GB microsdhc card is fast.
dont know what else to say, im glad i bought this phone.
jasjamming said:
i got sexy, simplicity as well as configurability. NOkia E71 (white steel). cant go wrong, 3.5G, BT, WIFI, GPS. all works as it should. IM using Garmint Mobile XT with Australia NT Maps 2009 without any issues, BT works like a charm, music player is fantastic, 8GB microsdhc card is fast.
dont know what else to say, im glad i bought this phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Wow, one of the top chefs of all time goes with the E71 (it is a badass device btw). Are you considering getting a touch pro and cooking for it or are you just chillin in the forums (hope its the former or your part of the elite project).
I will go for the Raphael because of this great forum here, but as far as I have compared these two phones in action I must say that at this moment the only advantage of the Raphael is the keyboard, if you really need one:
1. The screen resolution of the iphone is not VGA, but the screen size is bigger (3.5 against 2.8) and this is a big advantage. The screen quality is great and the keyboard is bigger because of the size, so for many people it is not a problem to type.
2. Programs start much faster on iphone. Yes, they do!
3. The OS is much more stable for the moment. Plus, iphone comes with a stable version of a web browser, not with a beta version of Opera (which I like, but still it is beta!).
4. The iphone is really easy to use.
Cheers,
Eriol
Eriol said:
I will go for the Raphael because of this great forum here, but as far as I have compared these two phones in action I must say that at this moment the only advantage of the Raphael is the keyboard, if you really need one:
1. The screen resolution of the iphone is not VGA, but the screen size is bigger (3.5 against 2.8) and this is a big advantage. The screen quality is great and the keyboard is bigger because of the size, so for many people it is not a problem to type.
2. Programs start much faster on iphone. Yes, they do!
3. The OS is much more stable for the moment. Plus, iphone comes with a stable version of a web browser, not with a beta version of Opera (which I like, but still it is beta!).
4. The iphone is really easy to use.
Cheers,
Eriol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also agree with Eriols arguments. The program starting part can be quick on HTC i think that depends on how your ROM is configured.
Eriol said:
I will go for the Raphael because of this great forum here, but as far as I have compared these two phones in action I must say that at this moment the only advantage of the Raphael is the keyboard, if you really need one:
1. The screen resolution of the iphone is not VGA, but the screen size is bigger (3.5 against 2.8) and this is a big advantage. The screen quality is great and the keyboard is bigger because of the size, so for many people it is not a problem to type.
2. Programs start much faster on iphone. Yes, they do!
3. The OS is much more stable for the moment. Plus, iphone comes with a stable version of a web browser, not with a beta version of Opera (which I like, but still it is beta!).
4. The iphone is really easy to use.
Cheers,
Eriol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that brings it back to what WatskeBart said earlier about the iphone being a gadget not a power house phone. Don't get me wrong I have nothing against the iphone i think the hardware is excellent for a second try but there need to be some tweaking. They should open up the software and do like google did for andriod offer 10k for the best iphone progs.
I'm not sure if someone has done a thread like this before but I wanted to know your personal experiences on these 3 devices:
1. N900
2. HD2
3. Nexus 1
Only comment if you own the phones and list what you like or don't like about it. Thanks
I have the n900. It is pretty bad ass. I love the multitasking and flash web browsing. I can access sites like justin.tv with no problems. One thing that is lacking is the amount of good apps available. Which is normal considering its still early in its stages. But with flash, anything that available in apps, I can get from a website. I still prefer apps though. Having android withdrawls after recently dropping my g1. The n900 made a great companion to the G1. I now plan to get the N1 when I am availble for upgrade and use that in companion with the n900.
n900
I've had the N900 since it was released. It is an amazing device, but it has quite a few limitations. I was a previous HTC TYTN II owner and a soon to be Touch Pro2 owner. I am thinking about switching to the Touch Pro2 and selling my N900 for a couple of reasons. The N900 is an extremely powerful device with a ton of potential. However, with MeeGo coming out, slow firmware updates, etc. I am not sure that it is the best choice over the HD2 or Nexus One.
Limitations From my POV (reasons I may switch back to WM)
-Sync with Google/Ovi is incomplete/not working unless you use a 3rd party solution
-Landscape only!!! This can get really annoying while doing things such as driving
-Limited app selection - Missing MANY important things: Google Maps is a good example (Ovi Maps isn't very good)
-Maybe not a true smartphone? - The built-in PIM functions feel really limited in scope when compared to WM and S60 (not sure about android)
-Keyboard is OK, but it is a bit cramped - it doesn't slide out very far and it only has 3 rows
-Expensive ~$500 - You can find a Touch Pro2 for as low as $275 or less if you shop around
-The hardware inside is amazing and it 'looks' nice, but the casing feels average if not somewhat cheap for such an expensive device
Other things to think about
-Maemo browser is amazing, but Opera 10 for WM is pretty much just as good, w/ the exception of Flash
-Maemo has a great interface and multi-tasking
-automatic application updates and a good amount of free applications that are centrally located (easy to find)
-N900 has 32GB built in - although 16GB cards and soon 32GB cards will be available soon
-N900's Camera and screen are amazing
Basically what it comes down to is that the N900 has AMAZING hardware specs and performs well, but Maemo is really incomplete and its future on the N900 is unknown with MeeGo coming up. Also don't forget to factor in limited application selection and sync abilities (syncML doesn't exist OTA on N900).
EDIT: I forgot to add, that I guess the main deciding factor in me choosing the Touch Pro2 may have been cost as well. Its hard to carry around something so expensive, worrying about messing it up or losing it. Swapping phones w/ TP2 would save me ~$250. If I were you I'd choose the Nexus One as Android really is looking to be the big future platform to compete with iPhone, but this phone is somewhat expensive as well.
you like carrying around two phones? I hate it, and when I don't use one of my other phones I miss it. I have a HTC Touch HD WM 6.5, NOkia E71 (my love) and just ordered n900. I'm hoping n900 pleases me, if not then I'll go for N1.
Does the n900 lag? someone told me that when you have multiple sms's going, the internet, and music it lags and skips and what not. I hope this isn't the case. I like the actual keyboard, which is one of the main reasons I'm getting it, but I also like N1s voice activated sms and etc. I guess I'll just wait and see!
Thanks for your input
It has a tiny tiny amount of lag when switching programs and all that but its nothing bad at all considering the abilities of the phone (n900).
But I only plan on carrying one device at a time. I just got the touch pro2 so once I decide which to keep I'll sell the other.
well if you're ever interested in the HTC touch HD running WM 6.5 let me know I'm trying to sell mine
I'm very happy with the Nexus One...it rocks! See it's forum section for full details & advantages.
giggles33 said:
you like carrying around two phones? I hate it, and when I don't use one of my other phones I miss it. I have a HTC Touch HD WM 6.5, NOkia E71 (my love) and just ordered n900. I'm hoping n900 pleases me, if not then I'll go for N1.
Does the n900 lag? someone told me that when you have multiple sms's going, the internet, and music it lags and skips and what not. I hope this isn't the case. I like the actual keyboard, which is one of the main reasons I'm getting it, but I also like N1s voice activated sms and etc. I guess I'll just wait and see!
Thanks for your input
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't mind carrying around two phones. One is for regular calls and the other is for "business" calls (got to keep the feds off me! ). As for lag, I have not noticed it. I've ran multiple web pages with flash video, AIM, app manager, internet radio and took photos all at the same time with no lag.
I simply loooove the n900!!!
If you want the Nexus One, I suggest you to wait for HTC Desire, it's the HTC version of Nexus One, expect if you love the nexus one design.
PS: N900!
Hi folks. It's been some time since my activity on this forum (back in my Tytn days). For the last 2.5 years I've been a corporate employee and "enjoyed" a company provided Blackberry 8310 with all of it's pro's and con's. In December I'm living my company and relocating to France to study for my MBA for 1 year. The Blackberry of course will stay with the company and I need a new device. I will try to provide as much information as I can about what do I need and what are the priorities. PLEASE help me with your recommendations. BTW, as I said, I'm moving only in December and that's when I will be buying the phone, so if there are models which are not released yet, but MIGHT be interesting by than, please let me know.
Mostly I use my phone for..... CALLS so I will skip this one. The rest of my uses are:
1. PDA stuff (emails, IM, calendar, tasks....). Most probably will sync it to GMAIL.
2. Reading ebooks
3. Internet surfing
4. I do VERY limited media (video or audio) - almost none at all (maybe only youtube)
5. Managing and keeping track of things like: shopping lists, travel itineraries, finance....
6. As I'm moving to a new country, probably GPS and language stuff (translation) would be used allot.
Here is what I need from the device:
1. Any brand (HTC, Motorola, Samsung or ANY other). As I wont have time to read thought the forums daily and looking for the newly created custom rom, I prefer a company that provides ROM updates in a reasonable timing.
2. I NEED A DEVICE THAT IS FAST TO RESPOND AND NOT SLUGISH!!! I'm tired of constant delays in response for a button press.... I want a device that will keep responding IMMEDIATELY even when I have several programs installed
3. Due to the previous bullet, I would guess Android is the better option. If, however, that are other options that will work as good, I don't mind.
4. I would love the screen to be as big as possible, but the phone should still remain a portable device and shouldn't become a NetBook
5. I love full QWERTY keyboards (blackberry style or sliding one). However, they usually effect the size screen or the thickness/weight of the device. If there are any interesting options out there - I would consider them, but seems like high quality touch screen is the preference.
6. 3.5G is a must (I dont know if I will use it right away, but I need to have the option) and of course Wifi, BT, GPS. Sensors like accelerometer, compass, proximity are also very nice things to have
7. Battery life - at least 1 full day of operation
8. Must be one of the latests models to have a longest possible life (support, upgrades, usefulness)
9. The price should be in the $500 area (read as "I would prefer to pay $300 if such a device exists, but I also WONT spare the extra $50 is it will be worth it")
Your feedbacks and thought would be happily considered and recognized
Evgeny
I assume your going to be using the phone with a French Carrier so GSM devices only
HTC desire ;]
Nexus one is no longer sold by Google and I guess you want a brand new phone
Galaxy S international version, fastest phone on the market
if you happen to get the LG Optimus Z I will call you god lol
So, HTC desire is the top line HTC model? Is Samsung Galaxy S better and what's "Galaxy S International"?
When will the Super LG comes out?
If you need a smartphone for games/music plus quite good battery life get Galaxy S, if you want smartphone for games/movies/photos plus very good battery life get Droid X, if you want internet(MID)/social/photo smartphone and wanna be cool in the USA get EVO 4G. And if you want a powerful smartphone, with 1-2day battery life, for movies, music, games, entertaiment, work, social and etc. Combined in size fit-in-hand and optical trackball get HTC Desire.
As I will be getting the phone in November/December, the desire HD will be availble and also the LG.... what should we expect from them?
Get Desire HD or whatever device that turns out to be the "HTC Ace".
The Desire HD is kinda an upgraded Desire in terms of onboard memory, camera size and screen size (atleast i think thats all so far)
If you're after a physical pad, try looking at the HTC vision, which basically looks like it will be a Desire with a slide out keyboard. But because it's only really rumoured it's hard to know if it is coming out, what it is etc for sure.
Still, I'd say Android would be a good bet for you for all your points. Check out Phandroid.com ( they are having server issues at the moment but normally a lot more stable) for info on current/upcoming phones and everything Android related. Engadget is also pretty on top of new phones coming out too if you aren't already a frequent visitor to their site.
Ppl, more opinions about it? Do you have any news about Desire HD and about Optimus Z? I also tried to look for Galaxy S International but didnt find it... what unique about it comapred to Galaxy s 16G?
knfevg said:
The rest of my uses are:
1. PDA stuff (emails, IM, calendar, tasks....). Most probably will sync it to GMAIL.
3. Internet surfing
4. I do VERY limited media
5. Managing and keeping track of things like: shopping lists, travel itineraries, finance....
2. I NEED A DEVICE THAT IS FAST TO RESPOND AND NOT SLUGISH!!! I'm tired of constant delays in response for a button press.... I want a device that will keep responding IMMEDIATELY even when I have several programs installed
5. I love full QWERTY keyboards
Evgeny
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My profile is the same. Based on the above, check Motorola Flipout. that's what i'm getting as a replacement to X10 Mini.
I love that it's really tiny, but for text input it's not so good, and the screen is full of deep scratches after barely 2 months, a disaster. so Flipout should be better. (also it has bigger battery, android v2.1 and twice ram over X10 Mini).
some people here recommend you HTC desire. I doubt it's a good option for you. It has a HUGE screen, it's bulky and heavy. If you're not using media much, what for? Even HTC Legend is quite big, but if you have much more browsing over texting, it may be a decent option.
for a heavy texter, i'd say go flipout.
and most Android phones (especially new ones) have good response, so nothing to worry about it.
Well, since you like a large-screen, very fast speeds, latest model and nice battery life, I would direct you to an HTC Evo 4G. For most of those features WITH a full qwerty physical keyboard, I would direct you to a Samsung Epic 4G or a Motorola DROID 2. However, all three of those phones, HTC Evo 4G, Samsung Epic 4G, and the Motorola DROID 2 are all on CDMA networks. Since you're moving to a different country, you would definintely want a GSM phone. So, I say get an HTC HD2, Samsung Vibrant or Samsng Captivate. Those are some of the BEST GSM phones right now, along with the iphone 4.
Shot all to this.go for hd2 or desire..nothing to think more buddy
Sent from my HTC Tattoo using XDA App
Well, 2.5 month later and I'm 1 month before the purchase (and 3 days before I return my BB). What are the current best-models? The desire HD DOES seems like a nice thing, but I understand that it has some battery lifetime problems and general quality problems of the plastics.....
I am on the AT&T network in the USA and I cannot leave it. My old phone was an HTC Fuze (HTC Touch Pro I think is the general term) and I loved it. The only issue I had with it was that it was a bit on the slow side and it lacked a 3.5mm jack, but I didn't really care. I loved it's slide out QWERTY keyboard. I loved Windows Phone. I loved it. Then the touch screen started to go bad (as if it was always being touched by something) and it being an old phone I decided to get a new one. I got an iPhone 4. I hate it. WM 6.5 let me customize my home screen so that I could see all my upcoming calendar appointments right there when I look at the home screen. The iPhone requires you to drag the top of the screen down. This may seem trivial to some, but I'm hugely scatterbrained and it really helps. There were other aspects too like the QWERTY keyboard, the ability to put emulators on it (I played Pokemon Blue on my phone), and things like that. I can't do that on my iPhone currently. Oh yeah! The built-in Stylus was also amazing! I just loved that phone.
Here's what I'm looking for in a phone:
AT&T Carrier (must-have)
Windows 7 (at least WM phone)
Slide-out QWERTY Keyboard (no Blackberry style or that wierd Vertical Slide for tiny buttons)
Stylus/Big enough Screen (if stylus, must be built-in like the Fuze, not peripheral)
Good performance (I'm referring to emulation. I played PSX games on my HTC Fuze, but only RPGs due to slowdown and lack of sound. I would like to be able to play emulators, especially SNES emulators, without slowdown and with sound smoothly)
3.5mm Headphone Jack (not a requirement, just a nice have that my old phone didn't)
What do you recommend? When I saw the HTC 7 Pro, I was in love. Then I found out it's not available for my carrier. Is the LG Quantum really the best phone for me? It technically meets my specifications, but there's something about it that I don't like. What about the LG eXPo? That caught my attention a while ago. Can that be end-user upgraded to WM 7 or 7.5 and meet my requirements?
note: I want to avoid Jailbroken/Unlocked phones if possible. I don't like fiddling with that stuff myself, and I don't want to trust some random ebayer to have done it right. I am definitely capable of learning, but I don't take unnecessary risks.
Doesnt the US version of HTC 7 Pro work on ATT network? 7 Pro and the LG are the only WP devices with landscape keyboard, then there is the Dell Venue Pro with vertical slider.
The only HTC 7 Pro released in the United States is for Sprint and is called the "HTC Arrive." I was not aware it could even be unlocked for usage with AT&T.
Im not sure is it possible to unlock and use at ATT's network, Im in Europe and dont know about US networks. Im sure if you will search you will get the answer. 7 Pro is a great device, I love it. The OS runs so smoothly, that Im sure that the LG with same specs will be a good device also, but I would go for the HTC if anyway possible.
Lotus1 said:
I am on the AT&T network in the USA and I cannot leave it. My old phone was an HTC Fuze (HTC Touch Pro I think is the general term) and I loved it. The only issue I had with it was that it was a bit on the slow side and it lacked a 3.5mm jack, but I didn't really care. I loved it's slide out QWERTY keyboard. I loved Windows Phone. I loved it. Then the touch screen started to go bad (as if it was always being touched by something) and it being an old phone I decided to get a new one. I got an iPhone 4. I hate it. WM 6.5 let me customize my home screen so that I could see all my upcoming calendar appointments right there when I look at the home screen. The iPhone requires you to drag the top of the screen down. This may seem trivial to some, but I'm hugely scatterbrained and it really helps. There were other aspects too like the QWERTY keyboard, the ability to put emulators on it (I played Pokemon Blue on my phone), and things like that. I can't do that on my iPhone currently. Oh yeah! The built-in Stylus was also amazing! I just loved that phone.
Here's what I'm looking for in a phone:
AT&T Carrier (must-have)
Windows 7 (at least WM phone)
Slide-out QWERTY Keyboard (no Blackberry style or that wierd Vertical Slide for tiny buttons)
Stylus/Big enough Screen (if stylus, must be built-in like the Fuze, not peripheral)
Good performance (I'm referring to emulation. I played PSX games on my HTC Fuze, but only RPGs due to slowdown and lack of sound. I would like to be able to play emulators, especially SNES emulators, without slowdown and with sound smoothly)
3.5mm Headphone Jack (not a requirement, just a nice have that my old phone didn't)
What do you recommend? When I saw the HTC 7 Pro, I was in love. Then I found out it's not available for my carrier. Is the LG Quantum really the best phone for me? It technically meets my specifications, but there's something about it that I don't like. What about the LG eXPo? That caught my attention a while ago. Can that be end-user upgraded to WM 7 or 7.5 and meet my requirements?
note: I want to avoid Jailbroken/Unlocked phones if possible. I don't like fiddling with that stuff myself, and I don't want to trust some random ebayer to have done it right. I am definitely capable of learning, but I don't take unnecessary risks.
Click to expand...
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OK, first off, there's a huge difference between Windows Mobile 6.5 and Windows Phone. I'm really surprised you liked WM6.5, because it was always slow and annoying to me. I am even more surprised you had a bad experience with the iPhone. While I am completely devoted to Windows Phone, I still think the iPhone is a solid phone.
About phones, AT&T definitely has the best Windows Phones. While the Quantum is its only keyboard slider, I would reccommend you reconsider your keyboard requirement. ALL Windows Phones are smooth/fast, have the 3.5 jack, and have reasonably big screens. All Windows Phones also have an awesome on-screen keyboard. WM6.5 phones are not capable of upgrading, and I don't even think AT&T sells them anymore.
By the way, I've had the HTC Arrive, and it's a good phone, but the new AT&T devices are thinner, faster(as in processor), and have 4G LTE.
My recommendations?
1. The Nokia Lumia 900 - $99 on contract
I have it currently, it's awesome. 4" screen, 4G LTE, beautiful hardware.
2. HTC Titan II - $199 on contract
I almost picked it over the 900, but its $100 more and doesn't have Nokia's exclusive apps. It does have a bigger screen though, and some say a better camera.
---------- Post added at 01:42 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:40 AM ----------
Forgot to mention, a stylus will NOT work with any Windows Phone, as they use capacitive (multi-touch) screens. Also, emulators are partially supported on Windows Phone, I think there are a couple on the marketplace, but it seems like they are always dealing with trademark/copyright issues.
If you really want the 7 Pro, you can order one online from Europe (there are various online stores that will ship overseas). It should work with AT&T's 3G, though I recommend that you double-check the bands it supports just in case, and of course make sure it's SIM-unlocked. You'll have to pay full price, and AT&T doesn't appear to offer any plan discount even if you bring your own device instead of getting a subsidized one (yet another reason I think they're a crap MO, but I assume you have your reasons...)
Do not get the Arrive; it is a CDMA-only phone and is completely incapable of connecting to a GSM network like AT&T uses. The 7 Pro as sold in Europe (and possibly elsewhere) is GSM.
Let me further explain why I loved my Fuze (HTC Touch Pro)
It was slow (ish), but not that slow. I had removed all the bloatware from mine and a few tweaks and it was only noticeably slow when doing certain non-typical tasks. This was a non-issue for me except for 2 problems: I could not play SNES games and I could not play PSX games with zero slowdown.
How I used my phone:
Organizer/PDA with contacts and a calendar. The customizable home screen that displays all upcoming appointments is great, as was the calendar system. I'm scatterbrained and it really helped me. Iphone's lack of customizability in this area sucks.
As a flash drive. I always had a usb to micro usb cable in my backpack and so I kept all my schoolwork on it as well as anything I needed. There's an app for it so my iPhone can have similar functionality, but it's not nearly the same.
As a game device to while away the time. I had PSX JRPGs on it, the original Pokemon games, Zelda, Mario, etc. These were all emulator based games from my childhood. This is strait up impossible on the iPhone without jailbreaking, which I won't do, and also means I basically require the slide-out keyboard as touch-screens work poorly with emulators.
Lastly, I stored music on it, but never really used it as an MP3 player because it lacked the 3.5mm jack.
From what everyone is telling me, and from what I've learned about how Windows Mobile 7 is not a PocketPC based operating system, I'm most likely to leave it for android. I strongly dislike operating systems that don't allow for 3rd party apps without prior approval. That's one reason I hate the iPhone. The others are the lack of a touch screen and the lack of a customizable home screen. The way I currently use my iPhone, except for a few features it's nothing more than a browser enabled phone because it simply can't do what I want it to do without jailbreaking.
I guess the phone to get for me is the Samsung Captivate Glide since Windows Phones don't really have what I'm looking for.
As smartphones become comically big I find myself wanting to carry one less and less. In the 3 years or so from the HTC HD2 being launched and being a massive phone (if I recall correctly HTC had joke dimensions of "Big" on the box) to being tiny compared to today's flagship phones).In any situation where I am willing to carry something that big with me I have my tablet. In fact I generally seem to have my tablet on me, which i can also use as a phone as such I'd rather not carry a second device with me most of the time.
The only caveat is that there are times when carrying a tablet is impractical but I need to have a phone on me and I'd like to be able to check my email, google maps,maybe even evernote(so god damn useful!) and snap a decent photo. The Sony K800 was fantastic for this in it's day but there doesn't seem to be a modern successor. Modern technology should have a 50 gram wafer thin credit card version of this in our hands or a ultra compact quality point and shoot camera that also has smart phone capabilities. The industry however has moved away from from dumb and feature phones it seems and it's a massive smartphone or a cheap dumbphone designed for LDC markets.
Options I can see:
1) Tablet + old ultra light dumb phone. When you're without the tablet you're back to the stone ages
2) Tablet + feature phone e.g Nokia X3-02 but no tethering so I'd have to have a seperate line for the tab and no android goodness.
3) Tablet + smartphone no need for a 2ndline for the tablet as you can tether when there's no wifi. The iphone 5 weighs in at 112g it should be possible to have a 70g 3inch smartphone? Is there something I'm missing. I'm hoping there's a one designed for emerging markets that I've missed. Is there a small light android smartphone out there somewhere?
I'm guessing a lot of people on here are now carrying around a 7-8 inch tablet that just need a backup phone. What are you guys using?