Got iphone - need help!

[Karl]

Hi all

My mobile contract is due for renewal next month, and I want to upgrade to a phone/plan which allows e-mail access. I know tap all about such phones (Blackberry/Iphone is the limit of my vocabulary on such matters), so would like some pointers.

I don't mind moving provider if needs be. I'm with Three at the moment.

Cheers

Karl

 

[samharber]

The third player in the iPhone/Blackberry smartphone market is the Android family of phones.

Available from HTC, Samsung, LG and several others (but not Nokia) they all share a similar operating system. If you use googlemail, they do pretty much everything you want from the moment you put in your username and password. Otherwise it takes an extra minute to set up an email account.
Make and model wise, the HTC Desire is considered the dogs gonads, but may be overkill.

I hate blackberries, having been forced to use one while on call at work.

iPhones are lovely and shiny, but overpriced and overkill.

 

[matt]

I use iPhone but get a special deal through work on the line rental which makes it very competitive. If I didn't get the deal then I'd be looking closely at HTC.

Bottom line - most people seem to love what they've got. Blackberry is popular amongst business users because it's the most secure. I believe they're fundamentally good at what they do but I think they are popularised in the consumer market on price and the business reputation (but I don't think many people realise why they're popular with business so it could be a slightly false following).

You can get email on regular phones too but it's shonky in my experience (Nokia E51).

 

[Karl]

Thanks Sam - the HTC Desire is available from my current provider, £35/mth. Others (Blackberry et al) are similair(ish) price wise.

Might be an option.

Cheers

Karl

 

[maitland.selwyn]

I no nothing about this BUT my brother in law has an HTC desire (400 quid I think) with an account with some outfit called Giff Gaff.(giffgaff.com) He has nothing better to do all day than play golf and find great deals so it must be a good deal. Might be worth checking out

 

[Anonymous]

HTC desire all the way Karl, I actually designed and fitted the kitchen for the MD of HTC in the UK

 

[Jensmith]

A friend has an HTC Desire and we have iphones but used Blackberry's in the past.

Android is ok but it depends what you want to do with the phone. It also depends on what phone you buy. Android phones aren't built equal so you have to be quite careful as to what you buy.
If you want to make best use of the apps then Android isn't the way to go IMO.
Apparently you only get a few hundred MB of storage on the HTC Desire and I assume other phones are the same. (iphone is 8Gb for 3Gs or 16Gb for the new iphone 4)
The apps are also generally poor (anyone can make them - there's no control over quality) and this comes from my friend who dislikes Apple...

The HTC Desire has already been superseded by two new phones - one out in a few days and HTC churn them out so there will be upgrades all the time. Contracts are similar dependent on provided though the phones might be cheaper.

iphones are expensive, there's no doubt about that but if you want to buy pay as you go you get a £10/month tariff with data included (ie email, internet etc). Just pay for calls though I think you get some inclusive minutes / texts.

Blackberry's are very good phones. They are very well made - I dropped mine several times and it still works fine. That wouldn't happen with an iphone!

Email integration is excellent - it's instant I've found and you can get cheap contracts £10/month with O2 though I bought the phone.
The Pearl or Curve are probably the best depending on what you want.

It really boils down to this:
If you want fantastic email integration - buy a Blackberry
If you want to play great games and have good apps - buy an iphone
If you don't like either of the above - buy an Android phone
None of the other makes have smartphones that are worth considering IMHO.

 

[Chems]

Get yourself an Android phone. Super cool. 3 are doing some good deals and the best bit about 3 is that there is meant to be a lot of 3G coverage when your out and about, and the 3g network is really fast as opposed the GPRS network you get if your not near a 3G area.

I have a sony mini xperia 10 pro, has all the bits of a touch screen with loads of apps, but also a full keyboard for proper typing. Plus its only £180!

Was voted phone of the year last month I think by someone.

It also doubles up as your Mp3 player, sat nav, speed camera avoider, news reader, ebook reader, camera, flashlight and you can call people on it too if you want but never used that function.

Bottom line, An iphone type phone for a 1/4 of the price. Nearly. Kinda.

 

[petermillard]

I know at this stage you're just looking for a phone that can 'do' email, but don't underestimate the convenience of having a device that can also handle your diary, your contacts, your work notes (all synced and backed up) your photos, etc.. etc..

iPhone for me and I'm very happy with it - great camera, easy to use and painless setup, especially if you're already using iTunes. I bought my daughter a BlackBerry Curve recently and was impressed how easy it was for her to set up her email; nice little phone too, and cheap - 'free' handset on £20 pm Orange 'Dolphn' tariff inc. email and web, albeit on a 24-month contract. Small screen on the Curve though - having a portfolio of pictures of previous work with you at all times is handy, but a bigger screen helps!

Probably worth mentioning that smartphones generally work more easily within their own 'eco-system' i.e. as mentioned above, Android is pretty seamless if you're already on GoogleMail, Contacts & Calendar; iPhone is brilliant with MobileMe. With the BlackBerry you have to jump through a few more hoops to get the contacts and calendar synced but it's not onerous, and email setup is very easy.

A lot comes down to personal preference of course - I'm sure you'll try a few out and see how they feel, first.

HTH Pete

 

[matt]

FWIW - iPhone works fine with Google apps.

 

[Jensmith]

Bottom line, An iphone type phone for a 1/4 of the price. Nearly. Kinda.

I'm sorry but you're pushing the boat out a bit there!

Paul (my fiance) fancied one of these as a replacement for his iphone 3G but when he tried it he didn't think the keyboard was very responsive considering it's a proper keyboard.

Bottom line is you have to go along to the shop and try these phones out. It's really down to personal preference and everyone is going to have a different opinion.

I was really anti iphone until I tried one..... not I have a 3Gs and love it. It's not perfect - I see the flaws but compared to the current competition the iphone is the best at the moment IMO.

 

[mickthetree]

I have to add my 2 penneth worth here.

I have an HTC HERO. Email is pretty good on there, but the worst feature I find of all of these types of phones is actually making a phone call. Surely the primary function for a phone?

Anyway, I'll be getting a small standard phone which can also handle emails next time. For me I want to be able to read my email on my phone, but not reply. I would rather it made calls easily and wasnt the size of a small laptop.

IMO.

 

[Oryxdesign]

I've had an HTC and a Blackberry now I have an iPhone4 and it runs circles around the other phones I've had.

 

[Chems]

Bottom line, An iphone type phone for a 1/4 of the price. Nearly. Kinda.

I'm sorry but you're pushing the boat out a bit there!

Paul (my fiance) fancied one of these as a replacement for his iphone 3G but when he tried it he didn't think the keyboard was very responsive considering it's a proper keyboard.

Bottom line is you have to go along to the shop and try these phones out. It's really down to personal preference and everyone is going to have a different opinion.

I was really anti iphone until I tried one..... not I have a 3Gs and love it. It's not perfect - I see the flaws but compared to the current competition the iphone is the best at the moment IMO.

The iphone really shows the quality of £400 they are, used a few and they are lovely. I couldn't carry something worth £400 around with me thou I'd be scared to use it! The Xperia Mini has its niggles but I personally think the keyboard is best.

I'm currently being taught how to program the chip set in the new gen of smart phones so when I know enough an write the first UKW app it will be for Android only if that sways your decisions!

 

[matt]

I've had an HTC and a Blackberry now I have an iPhone4 and it runs circles around the other phones I've had.

Just don't hold it in your left hand to make or receive calls (or is it right hand)?

(I know, I know... you can get the free case/bumper - just couldn't resist.)

 

[toolsandtimber]

I recommend Android as a mobile phone operating system. My phone of choice would be the HTC Desire but the new Desire HD is coming out very soon so if you can wait then I would go for the HD.

Also as for network, Orange and T-mobile have merged now so they have excellent combined coverage!

 

[petermillard]

I couldn't carry something worth £400 around with me thou I'd be scared to use it!

So... you don't take your tools anywhere, or use them either then, lol!?

Just to clarify, iPhones work fine with Google Mail & Docs, but the setup whilst not difficult on an iPhone, is easier on Android, where it's just a qeustion of logging in to your Google account and you're done.

Pete

 

[Chems]

I couldn't carry something worth £400 around with me thou I'd be scared to use it!

No, I have to polish the festools after each use. Its so time consuming!

 

[wobblycogs]

My 2p worth...

I have an htc desire and it's the best phone I've used by a mile.

IMHO the choice is between a high end Blackberry, iPhone4 and a high end Android such as the Desire. A colleague has a BB and really liked it at first. The keyboard makes typing a long ish email easy but other than that he felt the phone was a bit awkward (and he dropped and broke it yesterday -doh)

I like the iPhone4 but you need to be an Apple person in my view. Not being able to just stick arbitrary files on the phone using standard Windows drive mappings for me is a show stopper.

If you're a Google person then an Android based phone is brilliant. It integrates seamlessly with all the Google services which I find hugely useful.

One thing no one has mentioned is whether you want a phone with a keypad or touch screen. If you work in an environment where you commonly have dirty hands (building for example) a touch screen will fail quite quickly as it will get scratched. A keypad will last longer but they aren't indestructible.

 

[CNC Paul]

Karl,


The only comment I can make is the iPhone is the only phone ( same one for 2 years) I have owned that has not been affected by dust (screen and buttons), all the others had to periodically stripped down and cleaned or packed up.