Recommend me a Mobile Phone

[LondonTom]

Also... While Android has a good app count, including the most popular apps like Facebook etc... The general quality of those apps is shocking when compared to its iOS alternative. The general quality of app in Android store is poor. There is something to be said about Apples approval process.

Don't download crap then? I find the android store has almost all the big stuff, as its just to big a market to ignore (even if iOS sometimes gets stuff first , but its getting better for this). I find there's better free stuff on android made by people for the heck of it.

I have an SII with the ICS update and love it, despite a slightly crashing problem/slowness everytime...I could probs looking into what's causing it but cba.

When it gets closer to my contract renewal, I am going start trying out some of those custom ROMs and hopefully be eyeing up the Galaxy S4 (Maybe the next note, i quite like the note despite complaints of it being to big, but people tell me the SII is to big so you know , hopefully rumors of that Flexi glass screen stuff coming out to market soon are true!)

[the_hedge]

After all the fuss I made about iphones my HTC Sensation XE has served me well over the last 12 months. The Beats Audio headphones were a bonus as well.

Can't see my returning to an Iphone as I only want a 12 month contract and the iphone is just too expensive on12 months. I will probably end up with Galaxy S3 or a HTC One X in the next few weeks.

[5co77ie]

After all the fuss I made about iphones my HTC Sensation XE has served me well over the last 12 months. The Beats Audio headphones were a bonus as well.

Can't see my returning to an Iphone as I only want a 12 month contract and the iphone is just too expensive on12 months. I will probably end up with Galaxy S3 or a HTC One X in the next few weeks.

Same with mine - the apps I have are all free - and work fine, the navigation tool being the most used.

[the_hedge]

I see the new Nokia/Windows phone is being released today. Last chance saloon for Nokia.

[eFestivals]

I see the new Nokia/Windows phone is being released today. Last chance saloon for Nokia.

not sure about that.

I reckon the release of windoze 8 in November might give it a huge boost.

[thetime]

loving the typo (not taking the piss, just really funny that your frequently faulty phone was referred to as a galaxy not).

The note's phablet form is something that really interests me, I don't know about others but I mostly use my phone for texts, rarely for voice calls, so a larger more useful screen really appeals.

Haha might aswel of been.

That why I got it as I perhaps do 10 minutes of calls max a month. Use it for texts/internet/music and sky go.

[Spindles]

Indeed. I have to confess that I had an android handset but gave it to my daughter to replace hers as she broke her screen and isn't due a new contract soon, I use an n900 as my phone, but use android 4.x on tablet devices, it is a great OS which must be on the verge of become a viable opponent to windows for many home users (and some enterprise, if you are happy to replace office with google drive as I am).

These days a phone is the last function performed by the device in your coat pocket, but we still call it a phone I am just a slave to the integrated keyboard so can't go for a touchscreen phone (had one of those fold out nokias, then a htc soapbar, the n900 is a few years old and going strong, just has NO software for it as nokia chose to fragment their phones between symbian, maemo and windows).

The note is a great device, although your experience with failure rate doesn't fill me with confidence in their build quality (same can be said for apple, lots of people I know went through 3-4 before they got one that worked for longer than a fortnight)

[the_hedge]

not sure about that.

I reckon the release of windoze 8 in November might give it a huge boost.

This is the key though, will Windoze 8 migrate people away from Apple/HTC. I'm not sure it will.

Just checked and it's not looking good

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2198737/Disaster-Nokia-Finnish-firm-unveils-new-flagship-Lumia-handsets--share-price-immediately-plummets.html

Edited September 5, 2012 by the_hedge

[eFestivals]

This is the key though, will Windoze 8 migrate people away from Apple/HTC. I'm not sure it will.

I'm not sure it will either - but I'm also not sure it won't.

At the moment, windoze phones look odd to any phone user. In a few months time they won't do, they'll look the biz & latest thing with computer screens that match.

Whether that's enough to have people change from what they've come to know I don't know, but I don't rule it out. Just a few years ago people used to rave about the old nokia interface, and couldn't think of themselves moving from it.

So all i'm saying is what has happened before could happen again.

[Spindles]

It could go either way, apple/google/nokia have already done alot of the ground work in demonstrating that a good software/media delivery marketplace being in place is make or break for a platform (nokia's maemo/meego store is a joke, like a student project from the 90s) and that you need software to be able to entice and keep users on a platform.

I'm told by friends who develop for the various platforms that windows 8 toolset is great, with MS paying alot of small developers to produce software in readiness for the platform launch, which means that it will launch with ALOT of games and apps that have never seen the light of android or apple app stores, nor will be likely to (MS like platform exclusives and are happy to pay for the privilege, in my experience).

[thetime]

People can say what they want but it simply comes down to... If you can afford an iPhone its probably the one you will end up buying...

You sure, note was more or less the same price as the iphone. Same can be said for the samsung g3 and other phones. Im not one for loads of apps just the usuall social media, hotels, booking.com etc etc and there as good on either.

The one thing that put me of was and still is the battery, you can change it when it drains and I prefer some spares rather than worry about being near a charging point. It is good for festivals or going camping for a week and not worrying about having a dead phone.

Although iphone has the market on docking speaker stations, its very rare you can get one for any other phone.

[eFestivals]

Will to bet that 80% of Android users would swap their phone for an iPhone over night...

Only the fashion victims.

My android phone (I've no idea if it was cheap or expensive) does everything I need of it. Why would I change?

(Having said that, I got a phone with a physical keyboard, deliberately. I'm now keen to have another go with a screen keyboard cos I'd prefer to have a bigger screen than I've got ... so I might buy something else. But I won't buy an iPhone cos why would I pay the extra for nothing I need?)

[t8yman]

Will to bet that 80% of Android users would swap their phone for an iPhone over night...

i very much doubt that. android/iphone is very much a ps3 vs xbox, or mac vs PC thing. very little of it is finance based bias.

[Spindles]

Absolutely, this is a platform, not a brand. I wouldn't be considering moving to windows phone or IOS because I am invested in the software I have bought and use. I could chose to move to another platform but unless it offers me all the productivity I have paid for at no extra cost or an evolution beyond anything we currently have, I won't be.

I could "afford" an iphone, I personally don't see the need to pay double/triple what I currently pay (which throws me a new handset every 12 months while never costing me over £13 a month) just to use that handset. The annual saving on the contract paid for a rather nice quad core Asus nexus 7 tablet though, Android 4.1, lovely little device, really shows off what can be done with this hardware generation and at a fantastic price. It all depends on how you look at it.

[Spindles]

Just a few years ago people used to rave about the old nokia interface, and couldn't think of themselves moving from it.

So all i'm saying is what has happened before could happen again.

This also.

Radical change is going to be the main defining factor in how things move forwards, I think. I don't think anyone denies that apple changed the phone space with their entry into the field, or that MS have been slow to catch up and failed miserably thus far.

Google are changing the rules of business, MS make their money selling OS and productivity software, google give theirs away, apple tie theirs to an overpriced hardware sale and a walled garden to ensure you keep paying them for everything you do, ever.

I still don't know if I can trust google, that remains to be seen.

[thetime]

This also.

Radical change is going to be the main defining factor in how things move forwards, I think. I don't think anyone denies that apple changed the phone space with their entry into the field, or that MS have been slow to catch up and failed miserably thus far.

Google are changing the rules of business, MS make their money selling OS and productivity software, google give theirs away, apple tie theirs to an overpriced hardware sale and a walled garden to ensure you keep paying them for everything you do, ever.

I still don't know if I can trust google, that remains to be seen.

Will be interesting where it all goes from here. Faster processors but what else can they do? Unless im editing pictures I dont switch on laptop anymore.

I wonder where smartphones wil be in 2 years.

Edited September 5, 2012 by thetime

[Spindles]

Well, like mr eFests points out, less than a decade ago most people didn't want to use anything but nokia because it's interface worked so well for what it did, it all depends on how we are using the devices.

A fascinating subject, imo, one that mates and I tend to chew over with a pint or a moroccan woodbine (back when I could, it's a cup of coffee and a codeine these days).

I am a fan of an integrated slide out keyboad, not a fan of software keyboards at all and believe that we are heading towards the phone being one "screen" in an integrated home/world and becoming more ubiquitous as a device that interacts with others (eg: using your handset as the controller for your tv or media system is already quite normal).

I'd be interested in how the note works out for people, I find mobile phone screens too small to be usable for productivity and it is a device that comes closer to what I think is needed (to be fair I prefer a 10" or above and find 7" screens to be a bit squinty for my taste).

[the_hedge]

On the basis I use my phone more for browsing and very rarely for calls I might go for the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 when it comes out next month. With a 5.5" screen it really is becoming a Phablet.

[Essex_George]

Should I go for HTC One X or S3. Reading reviews they look pretty close. But not sure if I want a massive phone like those so maybe go for HTC One S, or is this not as good as the X?

[thetime]

Should I go for HTC One X or S3. Reading reviews they look pretty close. But not sure if I want a massive phone like those so maybe go for HTC One S, or is this not as good as the X?

Htc phones are awful on the battery. Other than that they do the same.

[the_hedge]

Should I go for HTC One X or S3. Reading reviews they look pretty close. But not sure if I want a massive phone like those so maybe go for HTC One S, or is this not as good as the X?

The only downside to the One X is you can't change the battery unlike other HTC phones.

I have 3 batteries for my Sensation which comes in very handy at festies. Other than that that the One x is great and the larger the screen the better as far as I'm concerned.

[Essex_George]

I have read that the S3 touchwiz ui is not as good as HTC sense. But I guess as with alot of things its easy to get used to. I have a Desire at the moment that is starting to die a little and showing its age now, although I have rooted it and installed a custom rom which has made it much smoother.

[t8yman]

I'm loving my SG3 after being an iPhone user for about 5 years. I'm currently enjoying watching apple announcing the iPhone 5, they are bragging about some "new features" that are either already on the SG3, or better on the SG3.

[Spindles]

I think the iphone5 might well be the nail in the coffin for apple's business model. There are very few people left who haven't realised that they are paying over the odds for tech that can be purchased for less and used less restrictively. Changing the dock adapter (again) is cynical as hell.

Not to mention that any email that ends with "sent from my iphone" is usually incoherent shite sent by someone unreasonable (I work in customer service, had never seen the "sent from my <device> before apple started defaulting it as a suffix on emails and it does my nut in). It always reminds me of the joke "how do you know someone owns an iphone? Because they will tell you repeatedly"

I'm currently waiting for a good device with a decent sized screen and slide out keyboard (I don't like software keyboards) and am still using my sturdy nokia n900 until one arrives, obviously for myself I'd prefer android as a platform as I'm invested in software and it would be nice to save a few pennies but if ms or RIM bring out a device which suits my needs I'm not at all fanboy-ish.

[Ed209]

good read on iphone launch http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19557497

I've been an iphone user a little while, but moving back to the UK next week so on the look out for a new phone and I'm definitely going android, and most probably the SG3.

Saying that, I've actually been a non-smart phone user for a couple of months cus I lost my iphone and I've found the transition back, on the whole, fairly straight forward and quite liberating.