Main Area and Open Discussion > Living Room

Getting an HTC Desire HD -- Android Phone

<< < (2/12) > >>

phitsc:
tsaint, I really had to laugh when I read your biography ;D

xtabber:
HTC Droid Incredible, after more than a decade with Palm devices. No mobile phone offers a PIM that matches Palm's but a smartphone today is so much more than a PIM. I like it a lot. I also like the HTC Sense UI.

Android phones are really tightly integrated with Google and Google's services, which is good if you use them,  but some may not appreciate as much.  Apple has many more apps now, but I expect Android to catch up, at least for anything I'm interested in. It also allows some things that iOS can't at this time. My initial though was that animated wallpaper was a ridiculous concept, until I found that I could have my up-to-date local weather radar running as wallpaper. That's really useful where I live.

Eóin:
Android phones are really tightly integrated with Google and Google's services, which is good if you use them,  but some may not appreciate as much.-xtabber (November 10, 2010, 06:36 PM)
--- End quote ---

I'm not a fan of Google's big-brother world, so I don't really like it. It is damn handy though :-[

Renegade:
Writing some software to fix some data my wife needs for her thesis. After that, I think I'm off to go get my new phone~! :D

To be honest, I'm a bit nervous as I've been horribly underwhelmed by most of the phones I've had in the past, and I always buy at the high-end of the market, so the comments here are encouraging.

Renegade:
Well, got the phone. Paperwork when you're a foreigner is always painful, but anyways...

So far:

* Android Market is infinitely superior to the iTunes App Store -- Still could use improvement though
* Some things are slightly easier on the iPhone - minor
* Android developers could take some lessons from the iPhone for UX (e.g. dismissing a dialog onscreen vs. being forced to use the back softkey)
* Doesn't come with Swype installed -- big minus -- Can't find it in the Android market either, double-minus
* Screen and device are just gorgeous -- double-plus - very nice feel to the phone
* Imported Facebook contact info in a snap - nice
* "Back" is always the back softkey - sometimes annoying as it is harder to reach than a button onscreen at the top of the phone
* 3 "News" program icons by default? Kind of poor planning there - minor issue
* Could not unlock it immediately - carrier issue (Vodaphone)
* Carrier (Vodaphone) program icon goes to their website -- not a mobile site - designed for desktop/laptop computers - simply stupid - again, carrier issue (did anyone expect competence from a carrier?)
* Good selection of software already on phone - some trial software on there too though - not all free & ready to use (e.g. SoundHound)
* Games program icon goes to Vodaphone website - I'm detecting a pattern here... I think this is an "uncle-daddy" issue.
* Hardware & OS is far more capable than an iPhone (literally - I'm not being anti-Apple here) - proof: I've got a metal detector program on the phone that really works. You cannot do that on an iPhone.
* Korean keyboard (Google) didn't work - uninstalled it
* Softkey backlight turns off sometimes, making them hard to see.
* Lots of Korean software available in Android marketplace - quickly found Samsung Securities & installed it (not tried it yet)
* Default browser page is http://live.vodaphone.com/ which goes to a non-mobile viewable regular web page - completely moronic & again, an uncle-daddy carrier issue - msn.com or google.com would make more sense as they are useful.
* Included ringtones are ok, but nothing spectacular - lots of midi still, but they are both midi and wav
* Included themes and wallpapers are attractive
* "Smart Dial" is very cool.

Definitely a positive experience right off the bat. Minor issues are mostly carrier-related, and seem generally about them being self-centered and greedy with no real consideration for their customers other than as moneybags.

The iPhone does have a bit better UX design though. I suppose maybe I'm used to it, but the "back" softkey seems a bit backwards after having all of those on the screen.

The interface takes a bit of getting used to if you're coming from an iPhone. It is still much better than Windows CE though, which isn't hard.

The UI is clean and easy to use.

I've not actually used the phone yet, so I can't comment on the audio quality. I'm hoping that it's a bit better than I've seen in the past.

For the speakers, they're better than on an iPhone, but still so-so. This is an area where I'm picky though. I do write audio software, play an instrument, and have some high expectations for sound.

I remember an LG phone in 2003 that was simply MIND-BLOWING! While the speakers were still small, the sounds was better than anything I've ever heard on a mobile device. Real, true 3D sound. Not the fake stuff you normally get. I'd like to see the device manufacturers focus a bit more on audio quality like that.

Anyways, I'm happy with the phone so far. I don't anticipate that changing.

And I'll be running out to get MonoDroid very soon! :D Yay~!

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page