187 replies to this topic

[ampburner]

Soooo, I've had a HTC p4350 for a while, it's a decent phone but I'm growing tired of the clunky operating system. Over the past months all sorts of smartphones have been popping up. My TMobile contract expires in the summer, and I want a new one haha, technology is so addicting.

this demo of the new palm pre has helped me make up my mind.
http://www.gadgetgar...r-in-barcelona/
I just hope it doesn't take too long to get to Europe.

anyway, what have you all got?


Most notable platforms...

Windows Mobile
various phones, I like some of the HTC devices, but loathe the OS.



Google





iPhone



Palm Pre (I want this)

[Sketch]

iPhones jailbreak makes it so much better. God illegal thirdparty software is awesome.

[The_Vich]

My phone is hella shitty. I got is 2 1/2 years ago. I don't rally care anyway. I don't use it much.

[The Killer Instinct]

GOOOO I Phone!!!

[Ostrich]

Google FTW. iPhone is overrated (and a battery leech).

[Rain]

I currently have the HTC Touch Pro, from Sprint. I love it. I don't really mind the OS either. I know that WinMo isn't really liked, but I've never had a problem with it. I really want to get my hands on the just announced HTC Touch Pro 2. It looks to be everything I love about my current phone in an updated package. Tilting screen = *drool*.

I do agree with amp as well. The new Palm Pre looks awesome. My sister has already decided to get one as soon as it comes out, so even if I don't buy one, I will be able to play around with it atleast.

[ampburner]

Rain,
the reason WinMo bothers me is because it forces stuff upon me which I don't need on a phone. I don't need a start menu. I don't need a task manager (FFS). And I want something I can operate without using a stylus.

Granted, the more recent HTC models have their own software (on top of windows) to work around most of that stuff, but the other operating systems are just miles ahead of Microsoft.

I really need something with a pleasant UI.

[Rain]

Yeah, I hear ya. I think that's why I don't really have a problem with WinMo. I never really get that deep into the OS. The TouchFlo 3D interface they have on top of WinMo is about all I ever see. I have also noticed that the touch screen on my Touch Pro is also miles ahead of the regular Touch, too. I had to use my stylus a lot with the Touch, but in the three months I've had the Touch Pro, I think I've used the stylus maybe twice.

[ampburner]

currently have this, btw
http://i.expansys.com/i/b/b141502.jpg

[Chief Grizzly]

Hmm, I just posted a two paragraph reply here, but for some reason it never turned up. Never mind, I'll type it out again when I can be bothered.

In brief -
1.) I really like smartphones, and the iPhone especially is really nice to use.
2.) I'm not sure I'd really appreciate all their extra functionality, as all I really use my phone for is to ask for milk from the supermarket.
3.) Maybe I'll get one with my free upgrade when my contract runs out in April.
4.) My current phone is crap.

Edited by Chief Grizzly, 23 February 2009 - 08:52 AM.

[Psycho]

I have the Google G1 but im not really into it. The text messages get fucked up all the time like getting the same notification of the same message over and over again. and internet is quite slow for a google phone. I think im just not made for modern phones.. but I do like the little QWERTY keyboard cause I alway text message

I only use internet for important things like when im traveling and I have to look how late trains and busses leave.

Edited by Psycho, 24 February 2009 - 12:12 PM.

[wsp09875]

The iPhone is a piece of shit.
Yea, I really enjoyed having to stare at the goddamn thing for 30 seconds to send a three letter text message.
That was a real improvement. So I deactivated it and turned my old phone back on. Yay! Real Buttons!
Now I can drive at 85 mph while texting. Buttons Rule. iPhone sucks cock.
Touch pads can suck my balls.

[MaximumPezcore]

I just have a regular Cingular/AT&T Razr without internet or texting, so I really can't compare to your toys.

Now I can drive at 85 mph while texting.

That's always good!

[Ron]

Your phone has no texting? Holy shit, flashback to the mid-90's.

I've got nokia... something. I got it because it looked like it could survive me dropping it a few times, hence why all this touch screen bullshit is not for me. Not only that but hard on with the IPhone in my pocket and BAM, I'm ringing my mom with the only sound being my boner rubbing against my pants, then the screen, then my pants again, then my screen etc.

[wsp09875]

Yes, it is good. Very good.

[MaximumPezcore]

Well, it's not that it doesn't really have texting, it's just that I don't pay for it. I'd rather scream whatever needs to be told to another person in a five second phone call rather than spending 5 minutes writing a text message.

[Shakey]

At the request of Ampburner

Review of the HTC Hero
By Shakey


I’ve always wanted a HTC handset as I thought they were a good blend of technology and design. I’m not a fan of the iPhone but I won’t get sidetracked now. When I heard about the HTC Hero back in June I figured I would get it on my network (T-Mobile UK) or change if I needed to (Vodafone had secured the HTC Magic)

The phone is available on contract (in the UK) with Orange and T-Mobile. Both offer pretty good line rental packages but the unlimited data usage (subject to AUP –they are everywhere now!) from T-Mobile would make me suggest T-Mo to any potential handset owners.

-Out of the box
When the phone arrived I took the delivery envelope/bag in hand and wandered over to my desk (from that point on I did absolutely nothing at work – so no change really but this time I was wasting time with a new gadget) The bag felt very light and the box was so small I feared that I was getting worked up for nothing. This was just from previous comparison to Nokia boxes which are huge and come with weights in them.

In the box I received
Handset
Battery
Charger (with USB cable – unfortunately some kind of proprietary connection though  )
http://picasaweb.goo...feat=directlink
3.5mm Headphones (3.5mm is the standard audio jack)
Oh, and a short intro-to-your phone thingy

-Powering Up
Turning the phone on for the first time it seemed to take an age to start up. Once it was up and running there was a tutorial to show you how to use the onscreen keyboard and the predictive texting thing, which I’ve been told is similar to the iPhone. It will make suggestions to finish words and easily allow you to add words to the dictionary.
Like the iPhone it has a QWERTY touchscreen keypad which pops up when needed.
There is a pretty cool function where is vibrates as you type so that you can feel if it has registered your press. Is that haptic feedback?

Then you have the Google account registration thing so that it will check your Gmail and Gcalendar and Gcontacts etc. I also set up my work email address on the Microsoft exchange thing so my work calendar is integrated too for work calls and meetings.

Android is pretty straightforward and the Sense UI is a mix of a ‘normal OS’ and the iPhone one. There are icons to select for programs but there are other menu buttons and you can access settings and such quite easily. You can just drag and drop the position of widgets and icons as you wish.

You can of course disable the Sense UI and use the standard android OS view

With the trackball and the touchscreen you can use the screen for very large/general movements and then scroll around with the trackball or select a small hyperlink/fine movement using the trackball.

-Average use
You slide your finger/thumb across the screen to navigate the 5 ‘panes’ that can display info in the form of widgets or just have icons for programs. I have my work emails displayed by the email widget and then I have a program that tells me the service available on the tube, delays, suspensions etc
To change them you can select the + sign and add it in and to get rid of them you just hold down on them and then you can move them or delete them from the screen.

I use this to check work emails and Gmail when out and about. When in the office/home I turn on WiFi and enjoy the faster connections although the handset supports HSPA (whichever acronym is the best one) and I’ve found uploading images to picasa (google image thing) etc v.easy and quick.


-Android Store
Once you have the phone running anc charged one of the first things youll do is try your hardest to fill it up with junk. Happily the android store is more than willing to help. I’m not sure of any QA/QC so there is a lot of crap on there and also a lot of very similar programs.

I have on my handset
TasKiller (to shut off programs running in the background)
chompSMS (I didn’t realise but it makes the texts look like iPhone conversations bubble things)
Battery widget (allows you to turn on/off GPS and WiFi quickly and easily)
Wikimobile (just like Wikipedia but just no images at all, a great prog for pub arguments)
Beeb player (visually it’s not great but you can hear the audio just great – good for University Challenge, nobody on that program is a looker so the blurriness is a godsend )
Robo defense (you HAVE to have at least one tower defence game on the handset, I think it is a clause of the ownership agreement)
Solitaire (to waste even more time)
TubeStatus (quicker and easier than going to TFL.gov.uk on WAP)

-My Experience
I have all five panes full of stuff, some crap, some useful and I’ve not encountered the ‘lag’ that other users report. I use google maps and check where I am and more importantly which way I’m facing (it has a digital compass )

Now that I actually let it rest and I’m not constantly downloading, the battery will happily last a whole day if not half of the next. It will need regular charging but I hope to give it a good few charge cycles and hope that the battery keeps its charge better.

The screen is very clear and is cleaned very easily. I just put it in my pocket and when I nect take it out the screen is clean and there are no smudges. I might get one of those plastic sticky things to stop scratches though.

-Downsides
The camera although it is 5MP really is a bit crap. There is video and you can upload straight to Youtube I believe, but I haven’t found the quality to be great. My last phone was an N95 and the 5MP camera on that was great. On the HTC Hero there is no macro setting, night setting etc. Although I’m sure it can be added later or there will be an app for it on the store I guess.

When on the phone the screen turns off, to access it you need to push a button, as I normally press the call end button to access the screen when its asleep I have hung up on people like an eejit before.
I’ve just got an app that should ‘wake it up’ in a call if I shake it a bit. I need to try it out though.

At first the battery didn’t last long at all. But I was playing with it 24/7



Overall Rating: 4/5 stars


If anyone has any particular questions I’ll check back and see if I can answer them

sweet review

I'm wondering which you prefer, the Sense UI, or the standard Android one?
I've heard that the sense ui is nice and slick, but can be laggy at times because it has a tendency to 'push the device CPU to it's limits'. I'm wondering if this is true, and if it's a problem at all. Any thoughts on that?

personally Im going to purchase a Palm Pre when the GSM version gets released in Europe, I'll definitely post a review

I use the SenseUI and I like it as i like the screen animations and transitions.
I've not experienced any lag but I have been careful to limit the number of running apps

Edited by Shakey, 15 August 2009 - 01:33 PM.

[Chief Grizzly]

Real nice review Shakey, this has prompted me to do a review of my own Nokia E71 tomorrow as a way of repaying the time you spent writing a pretty comprehensive summary. Looking back on what I wrote a few months ago I realised I've been fully converted to smartphones and now use it for many other things other than simply calling people. Viva la revolution.

[ampburner]

sweet review

I'm wondering which you prefer, the Sense UI, or the standard Android one?
I've heard that the sense ui is nice and slick, but can be laggy at times because it has a tendency to 'push the device CPU to it's limits'. I'm wondering if this is true, and if it's a problem at all. Any thoughts on that?

personally Im going to purchase a Palm Pre when the GSM version gets released in Europe, I'll definitely post a review

[Charm & Strange]

A general piece of advice i have here is avoid Sony Ericssons, their chargers are horribly designed and after a year or so will always cause problems, whenever you plug it in the weight puts a strain on the mobo and eventually the connections break. Witnessed this first hand on 3 of their phones now and the design hasnt changed despite constant complaints.