Sorry more phone advice needed!

[beardosh]

Looking for a bit of advice if I may....

Currently have a Blackberry (Storm) and it is utter tripe. The app world is pointless for anyone outside of the US and the phone itself is so buggy and awkward to use I have developed tourettes each time I have to use the stupid thing.

As I have now come to the end of my contract I need to ditch it ASAP. So my options are either the iPhone or an android based phone. I know the iPhone has become a bit of a 'Marmite' device but the other half has one and so do friends etc. and they are very good phones and they have very little troubles. But I am a bit hesitant on paying out £100+ just to get my hands on it before I even start paying the monthly contract. I am interested in the Samsung Galaxy which seems to be getting good reviews but I have never played about with an android phone before. What is the o/s like and is the Android Market Place as good as the Apple App Store?

Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

There are thousands of apps for the Android, but there is less checking on the application before publication. Any developer can pay their $25 (I think) to advertise their Droid app in the Market, so it could be doing anything if you don't know where it has come from.

One good thing, the application has to register to access various bits of your phone, like mail or GPS, so when you are installing an app, it tells you which parts the app is trying to access, so if you don't think an particular app needs access to mail, and it says it is going to use it, then possible best not to install it.

I've had my Desire for 3 weeks and love it - apart from the battery life, but that's the same on any smart phone.

 

[Gordon Bennett]

Like all these things it depends on your budget and what you want the phone for. I’ve got a Wildfire as I couldn’t justify the extra cost of a Desire or iphone as I wanted a phone for calls/texts and the occasional bit of internet so didn’t need all the bells and whistles. Got to say the little chap does me fine, the operating system is plenty quick enough and easy to use. The newer version of android (2.2) is no doubt better (should get it on the Wildfire later this year) so perhaps the Desire HD might be worth waiting for? Android market seems to have a good range of apps – it will shortly or already has over taken the one for the iphone in terms of numbers of apps available.

Would agree that the battery life with most smart phones is pants.

 

[beardosh]

Battery life I can live with as I pretty much charge my phone each day as it is anyway. Cost is not really an issue - if I decide to go for the iPhone then I will probably pay as much as I can to then keep the monthly cost down. What I wanted to understand was whether the Android Market was more similar to the app store than the Blackberry App World. I want a phone that will do it all and like the sound of the Android phones as they definitely appear to be on the rise. But the iPhone is so easy to use is it worth swallowing the extra initial cost?

If they didn't lock us into 2 year contracts each time, the decision would not be so damn difficult!

 

[Easy 10]

Got a Wildfire meself, and very pleased with it. The Android OS took a bit of getting used to (as I was used to Apple iPod Touch), but now I've got to grips with it, its excellent.

Re the battery issues - the thing to bear in mind is that even when the phone is in idle, theres a number of tasks still "ticking over" that drain the battery endlessly. Its worth downloading Advanced Task Killer - go into it, and you can cancel all sorts of pointless updating thats going on when you're not using the phone.

Also, turn wi-fi off when you're not using it, and Background Data, and GPS. Just activate them as and when you're going to use them, otherwise leaving them on all the time will EAT into your battery.

If I do this, mine just needs charging every couple of days after normal usage with texts, the odd phone call and a bit of internet.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Got a Wildfire meself, and very pleased with it. The Android OS took a bit of getting used to (as I was used to Apple iPod Touch), but now I've got to grips with it, its excellent.

Re the battery issues - the thing to bear in mind is that even when the phone is in idle, theres a number of tasks still "ticking over" that drain the battery endlessly. Its worth downloading Advanced Task Killer - go into it, and you can cancel all sorts of pointless updating thats going on when you're not using the phone.

Also, turn wi-fi off when you're not using it, and Background Data, and GPS. Just activate them as and when you're going to use them, otherwise leaving them on all the time will EAT into your battery.

If I do this, mine just needs charging every couple of days after normal usage with texts, the odd phone call and a bit of internet.

This is probably true, I've not played with all the options properly yet.

Regarding the contract, my colleague did the usual thing with Vodaphone of threatening to leave, so they gave him te same deal on 18 months - if that's any use. I accepted the 2 year deal myself - but that's just the sort of guy I am.

 

[Easy 10]

This is probably true, I've not played with all the options properly yet.

Best thing to do is drag the Power Control widget onto one of your home screens. Then you can toggle the Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and Data Refresh (ie most of the power-draining background stuff) at the touch of a button, without having to navigate various menus to find them.

 

[Tricky Dicky]

Best thing to do is drag the Power Control widget onto one of your home screens. Then you can toggle the Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, and Data Refresh (ie most of the power-draining background stuff) at the touch of a button, without having to navigate various menus to find them.

 

[daveinprague]

power bar and advanced task killer work wonders for battery life ... ive never even held an I-Phone...so no idea... HTC Legend and I love it.