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Ask HN: What smartphone to get right now?

• sliverstorm 16y ago
  I have had excellent luck with my Nokia E72. It does not have iphone app capabilities, nor android, but it makes an excellent smartphone, and I love the hardware.
• maxharris 16y ago
  Get an iPhone 4. You're already on AT&T, and you'd like to stay there. I love my iPhone 4. Nothing out there is nearly as good, especially when you're looking at the screen on this thing!
• nextparadigms 16y ago
  Samsung Captivate. It has similar quality display with iphone's display and has the best mobile graphics at right now. It doesn't have a front camera, though. I would wait until November/December until some Android 3.0 phones come out with better UI, next generation dual core CPU's, better graphics, higher resolution, 1 GB RAM, etc
• yanw 16y ago
  You should take a look at the Samsung Captivate which is a Galaxy S Android phone for AT&T, if you want to move to Verizon the Droid 2 should be released later this month (I'm planning on getting the European version of that, Milestone 2 I assume they'll call it)
  • Zak 16y ago
    I am concerned, based on a friend's experience with a Behold II that Samsung will abandon the device and not provide software updates. In the case of the Behold II, Samsung promised an update to Android 2.0 when it became available. After it did, Samsung claimed that it wasn't compatible with the device. Third-party developers succeeded in running 2.1 on it, but, lacking drivers, many hardware features did not work.
    • yanw 16y ago
      In this case there is already an early beta firmware of Android 2.2 floating around to prove that they are working on it, plus they've open sourced the drivers: http://www.androidguys.com/2010/07/30/samsung-open-sources-captivate-sghi897-code/ http://www.androidguys.com/2010/07/30/samsung-open-sources-c...
  • jacquesm 16y ago
    Has samsung stopped more or less requiring that you also own a windows PC? I had one of their slides for a very short while and almost every operation that involved putting data on the phone or taking it off required a Windows only program to communicate with the phone.
    • yanw 16y ago
      It's Android, you don't have to attach it to anything, windows or otherwise :)
      • ergo98 16y ago
        And even if you do, it presents itself as a USB mass storage device, so it's pretty much universally usable.
• Badger51 16y ago
  Samsung G phones, using the android OS, are available on all carriers... I'm with Verizon and their version, Samsung Fascinate is expected sooon, likely after the launch of the Droid 2
• kasunh 16y ago
  I think you should wait and have a look at Dell Streak. The word is that it would be around $500 without a contract
• deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
  • jrockway 16y ago
    That one requires you to be an Android Developer (for $25), and it doesn't work with AT&T's 3G.
• matwood 16y ago
  I just got an iPhone4 so obviously that would be my recommendation. I don't think you could go wrong with it or one of the new Android phones. Since you're already on AT&T and don't mind staying I wonder if you could buy one phone and try it out for a couple weeks and then take it back and try another. That's the only way to really find out about each (Android vs. iOS) since most discussion on the internet about them has reached emacs vs. vi level.
  • rpledge 16y ago
    If he's running Linux I'd be hesitant to recommend an iPhone 4, but I've never tried. I suspect lack of iTunes would be annoying. Is there a good iTunes substitute on Linux now?
    • dimarco 16y ago
      I'm an iPhone user & Linux-only person for the last 2 years and my experience with the iPhone has been great.
      • rpledge 16y ago
        What do you use to put music and movies on?
        • dimarco 16y ago
          I don't watch movies on it, but I get music from iTunes (on the phone), my NPR radio app, and Pandora.
          • htsh 16y ago
            Is it possible to move your own mp3's to the phone?
            • dimarco 16y ago
              Not that I'm aware of.
• lunatech 16y ago
  nokia n900
  • der 16y ago
    I even used the SIM card from my iPhone in my N900, it doesnt get 3G (only 2.5G, due to At&t's lame network) but that doesn't matter to me since I use bandwidth intensive programs on WiFi anyway.
• tzury 16y ago
  What a coincidence, today, several years after using several high end, cutting edge smart phones of many kinds (Symbian/RIM/Android), I simply took my SIM card and insert it into an old Nokia 3110c ( http://www.google.com/images?q=nokia%203110 http://www.google.com/images?q=nokia%203110 ), I have found in my drawer. It just a lightweight phone which easy to use as a phone (dial, read/write text messages). Let us face it. Anywhere I am (home or office) I have at least 4 different ways to connect to the web and waste my time over there [;-)].
  • zmmz 16y ago
    Until about five months ago, I had been using the legendary Motorola F3 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_FONE_F3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_FONE_F3 ) for something like two years. Amazing phone, just the absolute basics: even SMS messaging was somewhat difficult. Due to it's e-ink display the battery lasts almost a week. It was a great conversation piece too. Let us face it. Anywhere I am (home or office) I have at least 4 different ways to connect to the web and waste my time over there [;-)]. Actually, it was for this reason that I moved on to a blackberry, I was constantly spending time checking my email. Naturally, by the time you open your browser you go on to check other things etc etc. Now I write (personal) emails almost exclusively from my blackberry and it has made me much more productive. I would have gotten and Android if there had been a model with physical keyboard which I could have gotten, but alas it was not the case.
• victorbstan 16y ago
  I wonder what people think about the non-screened applications for Android, and that many applications have (retro-actively) been pulled because they send private information to douchebags? I'm imagining with Androids popularity, it's going to end up being a world similar to the PC world, where you have Windows cheezoid OS with some antivirus/antiphishig app having to overlook all your applications and make sure they behave properly. Personally I still think the Apple way of pre screening is healthier, as long as it doesn't get draconian. Which poison do you pick?
  • konad 16y ago
    [citation needed]
    • timinman 16y ago
      http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/news/sec/blog/security-firm-discovers-android-apps-collecting-personal-info/?cs=42505 http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/news/sec/blog/sec...
      • konad 16y ago
        Be careful who you trust http://mobiputing.com/tag/jackeey-wallpaper/ http://mobiputing.com/tag/jackeey-wallpaper/ Update 2: Google temporarily banned the developer’s apps, but has since decided that they’re safe. You can now download them from the Android Market again. But the bigger point is that you should look closely at the permissions required by some apps to determine whether you’re comfortable with the type of information they’re collecting. http://www.androidtapp.com/android-wallpaper-apps-falsely-accused-of-spyware-and-stealing-sensitive-user-data-fud/ http://www.androidtapp.com/android-wallpaper-apps-falsely-ac... The worse part about all of this is no one, I mean no one fact checked accurately. VentureBeat, The Wall Street Journal, CNET, Fast Company, Fortune, PC World, Computerworld, Gizmodo, AppleInsider, etc. the list goes on and on and everybody jumped the gun in reporting the issue. No one asked the developer about it nor really looked into the methods Lookout used in building it’s report called the App Genome Project.
  • 16y ago
• Samuel_Michon 16y ago
  Given that you're satisfied with AT&T, I'd recommend the iPhone 4. However, Linux support is non-existent. You can use iTunes via WINE, but experiences have been varied. Luckily, you don't really need iTunes all that much. You only really need iTunes for activation, and that can be done for you at the Apple Store. Media and app purchases can all be done on the phone itself. As for synchronization of data: I recommend Google's services, which integrate nicely with the iPhone --- Apple's MobileMe works best on Mac and Windows. If you decide to go for Android, I'd recommend the Samsung Galaxy S, which on AT&T is called Samsung Captivate. It's the closest thing out there to an iPhone 4.
  • jonknee 16y ago
    Without iTunes you will have no way to backup or apply system updates. It's not worth it.
  • jRoden 16y ago
    If you're totally on the fence and any modern smartphone would suit your needs, I would (and did) go with the iPhone 4 (caveat: having mac/pc access would make it much easier). It's sleek, it's smooth, it's got the X-factor and you'll probably have a lot of fun with it. The screen is stunning, the video and still cameras are great (I've officially retired my digital point-and-shoot), FaceTime is a fun gimmick, iOS is incredibly smooth and responsive, and then there's the app store. You can also sync the calendar to your google account, just to clarify, since old_gregg implied that you couldn't. And yes, it also automatically identifies phone numbers and email addresses in text. In fact, it picked up "wednesday at noon" in an email and gave an option to make a calendar event out of it.
  • whatusername 16y ago
    I had some success with iTunes running on XP as a VMWare Guest under Ubuntu 09.10... was a bit of a pain but it worked.
• ephramzerb 16y ago
  The site I'm working on doesn't address your linux constraint, but it exists to help you make exactly this type of decision: http://www.measy.com/quiz/category/smartphones http://www.measy.com/quiz/category/smartphones
• old-gregg 16y ago
  Nexus One. I'm surprised you're even asking. Fully Linux-friendly, hackable, powerful and doesn't have any crapware from carriers or hardware manufacturers. Buy it at full price and sign up for a $59/mo month-to-month plan from T-Mobile. Enjoy built-in tethering and guaranteed upgrade to the latest version of Android. I own N1 and iPhone 4 and I believe that N1 is a superior phone. It doesn't need to be plugged to a computer for everything and as a phone it works much better on TMobile than iPhone does on AT&T: the reception is worse on the iPhone, it wouldn't accept MMS or SMS with non-English characters in 2010. WTF. The software (Android) is totally in a different league too: integration with Google calendars, maps and contacts is truly amazing, and you quickly get used to your phone automatically recognizing phone numbers and addresses in arbitrary text. Another huge thing is Google Voice: you can dial any number straight from your address book without even worrying which country you're calling to, that's mind blowing to me (and I use it daily). I bought both because we're doing software development for both, but I'm not proficient enough to comment on their APIs and programming environments. I do prefer Objective-C to Java though
  • mahipal 16y ago
    The choice of Java is one of the most mind-boggling things to me. There must be so many developers turned off of the platform because of it. Luckily, you can now distribute Python scripts as APKs (http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting/wiki/SharingScripts#Scripts_as_APK http://code.google.com/p/android-scripting/wiki/SharingScrip...).
    • jonknee 16y ago
      What would you have chosen? Java is popular, featureful (have fun allocating memory with objective-c while working on iOS apps!) and fast. I'd bet that it got more people interested than turned off.
      • tjstankus 16y ago
        Java is popular in the broad sense, but it doesn't seem to be very popular with the developers I know that are creating and interested in creating mobile apps.
• stevejalim 16y ago
  I was fortunate enough to be given a Nexus One at a Google developer day and really love it (not just because it was free). My wife now uses my iPhone 3G and, playing with that handset from time to time, I wouldn't go back to it. If you're in the UK, I know Vodafone supply them. Or, if you're in the US, you can just buy one as an unlocked developer phone: http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/08/nexus-one-developer-phone.html http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2010/08/nexus-one-dev...
• awolf 16y ago
  iPhone 4, if like me, you think user experience and ease of use are the most important factors in a device you use 20-30 time a day while on the go. Droid 2 on verizon (out in about a month I believe) if you have philosophical objections to Apple or want freedom from syncing with your laptop. The original droid is still a great phone and was pretty well designed. Droid 2 will have better hardware and battery life than the original while keeping the same design.
  • ergo98 16y ago
    >Droid 2 on verizon (out in about a month I believe) if you have philosophical objections to Apple ...or if you want a professionally functional notification system, or widgets, or strong universal voice support, or... Seriously, whenever someone starts in with "philosophical objection" they're propping up a garbage strawman. I choose Android because, in a hundred and one ways, it provides me a more usable, more powerful, more useful device.
    • awolf 16y ago
      Having used both in real life and for development my OPINION is that iPhone if far and away the best device on the market. A lot of people I associate with who own Android phones agree with me yet they tell me they refuse support Apple's policies and are voting with their dollar. And I completely understand their view point. Do you?
      • ergo98 16y ago
        >Having used both in real life and for development my OPINION is that iPhone if far and away the best device on the market. And, having used both devices in real life and for development, the Nexus One is the best device on the market (if the Galaxy S Pro had 2.2, I'd easily choose it as the market leader). In fact after using an Android device for a while, and trying to go back to an iPhone 4 for a while, the completely gimped notification system (which, to me, is the #1 requirement of a smartphone), and the lack of widgets, made it feel absolutely crippled. So where does that leave us? Sounds like a couple of people with opinions. Saying that the iPhone is the best and people who choose otherwise do so for philosophical reasons is absolute garbage, and you're just messaging your own ego and choices, betraying a fundamental insecurity. I choose Android because it's, "far and away", the best platform in my opinion.
• pg1 16y ago
  Iphone UI is a little bit better. Android is open and google products works very well on these phones. Regarding development it's easier to develop apps for andorid. Only problem is fragmentation. Different screen sizes and os versions can make lot of troubles.
  • rimantas 16y ago
    Another problem is the set of countries you can buy programs from Android market, and even smaller set where you are able to sell your own.
• jpwagner 16y ago
  gfr, are you writing a book or something? you've done 8 Ask HN's and only ever posted 2 comments...
  • jpwagner 16y ago
    i'm going to guess you work for some company (hopefully htc, samsung, lg, or apple) and i'll tell you exactly what i want from a smartphone and why it's a bad time to buy one right now. first of all it seems like every month two new "iphone killers" are released. they all have the same functionality, they are all the same size, and they all require you purchase the same one of five service choices. until that changes, what's the point of upgrading. in the recent past, the netbooks, then the kindle and then the ipad appeared and it made people realize that their smartphone was not everything they wanted out of their devices. so now there's a slew of new features entering smartphones and will be for the next 6-12 months. but what i want is simple. it's not some way to turn a phone into a tablet and it's not some way to turn a laptop into a tablet and it's certainly not some way to turn a laptop into a phone. i want 3 devices that all sync: (1) a laptop for development, storage, and other processing power needs (i have this one) (2) a tablet that's smaller than the ipad but bigger than the iphone (dell streak?) it needs to fit in my pocket (barely) but not have to load the mobile version of many webpages (3) a watch phone with very limited apps (phone, text, stopwatch, notes, etc) because i don't want my smartphone at the beach, on a hike, on a bikeride etc, but i DO want a phone.
• pykler 16y ago
  I just read a cool review of smart phone OS, http://www.tuxradar.com/content/android-vs-iphone-vs-palm-pre-vs-maemo-which-best http://www.tuxradar.com/content/android-vs-iphone-vs-palm-pr... I liked how the N900 has an XTerm right on it by default, quite awesome! I would stick with android though, and something that can have froyo on it. I would go with the Legend or Desire, or Motorolla Droid if I wanted a keyboard. I currently have the LG Eve GW620 and its impressive for how cheap of a phone it is.
• mcantelon 16y ago
  If you don't want your photos tagged with your phone's S/N# and don't want your text input logged, Android may be the choice for you. http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2553828,CST-NWS-iphone01.article?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+hackernewsyc+%28Hacker+News+YC%29 http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2553828,CST-NWS-iphone01....
• jordanmessina 16y ago
  I've been an iPhone fanboy (I admit it) since the first generation. I even waited in line for 13 hours for the iPhone 3g. I've spent over $1000 on iPhones and accessories now (I've probably made most of it back considering I sell the old one when I get a new one). I was completely dedicated to Apple and its magical phone. But one day I got a little curious. A friend of mine got the Droid and was in love with it. I figured that I should at least give the Android platform a shot so as soon as Google announced the Nexus One for AT&T I had it ordered and in my hands the next day. I must admit at first I was incredibly angry with the UI, it felt very clunky. Also the touchscreen keyboard was awful and wasn't even close to the accuracy of the iPhone's keyboard. After the first two days with the phone I was a little depressed that I had really just shelled out $500 for this junk. I stuck with it though, and the Nexus One eventually grew on me. What I started to realize was that it was a phone that wasn't built to be pretty or cute but rather useful. For example, all alerts that came in I would know about via the trackball lighting up a particular color (I had red=text or missed call, green=email, blue=twitter @reply). The status bar also made it very easy to see what was happening on my phone without ever having to actually unlock it. Finally I didn't constantly have to unlock my phone, go to app X and see what just came in. Because the marketplace is so lenient, I found everything I could ever want in regards to apps. Wifi Hotspot creator, LED Flashlight app, NES emulator, eBook readers, etc. It's all there and the majority are free. I never paid for one app on my Nexus One and it did so much more than any iPhone I ever owned. Sure, the apps are never quite as polished but you get over it and start appreciating the functionality. On top of that, being allowed to put whatever I want on my phone by simply mounting the SD card is amazing. Not having to deal with iTunes BS was so liberating. Unfortunately, Jobs did an amazing job of hyping the iPhone4 and I switched back over. I've never been more disappointed in my life. I dropped maybe 2 calls the entire time I had the Nexus One. Literally the first call I made on my new iPhone4 was dropped within a minute. The antenna problem was real, and it almost ended my current relationship. My girlfriend stopped talking to me on the phone and resorted to texts only. Thanks Steve! After being spoiled by the usefulness of Android the iPhone feels like such a toy. You can only see one push notification at a time, if another notification comes in the last one is erased, I feel like they force me to be using the phone at all times or else I'm going to miss something. I can't even switch back because I sold my Nexus One to my roommate, who rubs it in every chance he gets. At least my free bumper came in yesterday. Oh did I mention with the new bumper I can't use any standard 1/8" headphone jack other than Apple's ear buds? So every time I want to listen to music I have to take the bumper off...awesome.
• johnnygood 16y ago
  I was in the same situation and went with the Captivate (and Im in a pizza place posting from it right now). Its a really nice device. Its my first smartphone so I cant fully compare but I can say why I chose it. 1. The Galaxy S is going to be a big device on many carriers. 2. Reviews said the battery life is the best around for android. 3. I wanted background apps. The display isnt quite as sharp as the iPhone for text but it is a joy to use. Im not so thrilled with the apps I cant uninstall but Ill probably root the device to take care of that. Oh and the touch mechanism is really good. Ive never written something as long as this post before and Ive only had 4 mistaps. I cant compare it to other experiences but Im very happy with it.
• corin_ 16y ago
  Personally I've been using Blackberry handsets for years, including currently the Bold 9700 since it came out. I use email a huge amount so that's a large factor for me, but I've actually not had any complaints in other areas. Browser isn't exactly amazing, but is easily good enough for what I need it for... I use twitter a fair bit and have a great app for that... I don't want to play games / watch films / read books on it... and all round it's just a really nice phone.
• dagw 16y ago
  Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 mini pro. Small enough to comfortably fit in any pocket while still offering all the smartphone and android goodness you want. Plus it has a real hardware keyboard for easy text entry.
• cesare 16y ago
  I have an HTC Desire and I'm really happy with it. Recently, the Google Maps Navigation has been activated here in Italy (with voice search, which I thought was available exclusively on the Nexus One). Last week HTC released an OTA update with android 2.2, which also added an app for tethering over wifi (tethering via USB was already available) and 720p video recording.
  • StavrosK 16y ago
    I've been drooling over the Desire for a long time, but now, with rumours of the HD Desire coming out soon, I might wait for that...
    • borism 16y ago
      what would HD Desire do more than SD Desire? They already do 720p recording (and theoretically playback) since Froyo OTA update.
      • StavrosK 16y ago
        I'm hoping that it has a screen with double the resolution.
  • Maakuth 16y ago
    I'm with you on this. It's basically the Nexus One hardware, with some quite minor differences and some HTC-specific Android customizations. It was already pretty darn good, but with last week's OTA-upgrade to Froyo, i'd say it's an excellent smartphone.
    • topbanana 16y ago
      The main hardware differnce is that the Desire has real buttons (back, home, menu etc) wheres the Nexus One has soft buttons without the same level of touch feedback.
      • borism 16y ago
• karimyaghmour 16y ago
  Get an N900. I've had an iPod touch for close to a year and a BB curve 8900 for 1.5 year. I still use the former for music, but no longer for browsing or apps and I've entirely replaced the latter. As a developer there are just layers and layers of goodies to be found. Hint: forget about the Ovi and Maemo Select pointers pre-packaged on the phone and go straight to maemo.org for apps, that's where the interesting stuff for a techie is. The only caveat here that you have to be aware is that Nokia has folded all Maemo efforts into MeeGo (a merge with Intel's Moblin.) So to an extent there seems to be an evolutionary disconnect, but keep in mind that the N900 is THE device used by MeeGo dev teams (a slew of people from Intel and Nokia). Android is still very much on my radar but for purely professional reasons. The fact of the matter is that having used Linux since '95 there is nothing in that environment that even closely resembles a Linux environment, despite it using the Linux kernel (i.e. the user-space has nothing to do with a classic Linux user-space.) In addition, while their platform is "open", their development process isn't. IOW, you get code-drops every so often with no possibility of participating and/or looking into the bleeding edge. Meego, on the other hand, has been engineered with that in mind.
  • tshtf 16y ago
    The N900 is an interesting beast. If my father called, and asked me what smartphone to get, I'd suggest an Android device. If an old friend called, who happened to be familiar with Linux, I'd advise the N900 with no reservations. The N900 is more open than Android in that it uses the traditional APIs used on the Linux desktop. You can install pidgin, irssi, otr, asterisk, and just about everything else that is popular with Linux. It even comes with an xterm app by default. The N900 also has incredible integration with Skype, including video. It also supports adding SIP accounts. Both Skype and SIP work very well over 3G on T-Mobile US.
    • losvedir 16y ago
      > Both Skype and SIP work very well over 3G on T-Mobile US. Interesting, where? I have an N900 on T-Mobile in Boston and it's been very disappointing. I had visions of a "data only" relationship with the phone, but neither Skype nor SIP over 3G are of acceptable quality. Over wifi, works pretty well, though. How have you set yours up? I tried Google Voice -> Gizmo5, buying a skype number, and some other things and nothing worked. For instance, the phone can't seem to handle an incoming SIP call and phone call at the same time -- so I couldn't forward my Google Voice number to both my actual cell number and SIP, and answer with either depending on the situation. Then, I have general issues with the phone -- no good maps solution (the Nokia program is terrible, and can't use Google Maps), email is painfully slow to open and inconsistent about polling every 5 minutes like I want it to, I've hung up on incoming calls several times because the "Answer" button gets replaced by the "Hang up and send a text message" button when I'm taking it out of my pocket, etc. All in all, I've been somewhat disappointed with the phone.
• eldavido 16y ago
  I was in a similar situation about a month ago -- no smartphone, felt like I was falling behind. I ended up getting an iPhone, because it's what people have now, and there's probably a bigger market for contract work on it right now. I also have a Mac, though. Longer-term, I'm betting on Android to overtake the other platforms (mostly as a matter of cost), but it's still in the stage where startups and early-adopter types are the main users, as opposed to the very mainstream iPhone.
• dotBen 16y ago
  No one is mentioning the HTC Evo (which you would want to mod to r00ted Android 2.2), which I totally love. The screen is HUGE, to the point that it almost becomes a tablet - yet it is still a phone. The screen makes the phone a little big, but given that the screen goes practically up to the edge of the phone on all sides, it's efficiently proportioned. And I find I can get v productive on it - writing longer emails, reading ebooks, etc. I get all the benefit of Android (see elsewhere in this thread), Sprint (which is actually v good coverage in SF and other metros), 4G coming soon and unlimited plans for $59. Wifi tethering is free if you r00t the phone. You won't have any problems with running linux with it (for a start you don't really have to connect it to a computer for anything unlike the iPhone) whereas it's practically impossible to run iPhone + linux effectively (via Wine basically, urghh)
  • paul9290 16y ago
    Agreed i used my friend's EVO and she laughed saying your iPhone 3G looks like a Palm Treo circa 2005. Which I agreed. The EVO's screen is awesome; better then the iPhone 4.
• praxis22 16y ago
  personally I went for a Samsung Galaxy S, (A8 processor, Android, 4" AMOLED screen) this was more of a leveraged bet on Android, and a decent processor, than anything else, 3G network in the UK. Like you I had delayed, but in the end I went with Android because of the rapid iteration model of the platform as opposed to the curated nature of the Apple Product/Service. Not to mention the hackability of the Android platform. YMMV
  • rue 16y ago
    Been quite happy with my Galaxy S as well. I was actually going to get an iPhone 4 but the local carrier kept giving "dunno" as the availability date and number of units expected; at this point I am glad I opted out. The UI/UX is not quite as good as i4 and the market is not yet comparable to the AppStore but I cannot really complain too much about either fact. Froyo update should arrive sometime in the next month or two though the 2.1 is usually snappy enough already. Someone also mentioned the U.S. (rebranded?) version does not have a front camera - my phone does. I am not sure if this is the case, but might pay special attention to that if it is important.
• Cabal 16y ago
  Android on the carrier of your choice, hands down. My wife and I recently switched from a pair of iPhones to a Droid and HTC Incredible, respectively. Using our phones (and integrated Google Voice) is like a breath of fresh air. Between leaving AT&T, the customizability of the OS that my wife likes, and the developer freedom that I like, I can't imagine us making a better choice.
• lyime 16y ago
  I just spent some time with the Samsung Galaxy S (T Mobile) last night. I was very impressed. The lightest smart phone I have played with at that size. The screen is great, not as good as iPhone 4 but still one of the better ones. It came preloaded with Avatar in HD. Tt's not the best selling point but a good way to demo the phone and I was impressed by the quality once again. Now the most impressive part was Swype keyboard. First time using it after seeing it 2 years ago at Techcrunch 50. Basically, once you use that keyboard pattern its tough to go back. I think you should be able to install that on any Android device. I use iPhone 4 day to day. Pretty happy with it, apart from the service.
• jsz0 16y ago
  There's no one-size-fits-all solution. Since both Android and iOS have parity for basic functionality either would be a good choice. For third party apps most of the interesting stuff is still happening on the iPhone. There may be equivalent Android apps (ports or clones) but in my opinion it's still a second class platform. Especially when you get into multimedia apps, creative apps, games, etc. On the hardware side the iPhone has probably the best display out there and one of the best cameras. Availability of regular software updates are worth considering too. If you want the wild-west experience there's a pretty healthy selection via JailBreak. If you can wait a few months it may be worth seeing which phones are going to get Android 3.0. The N1 probably will but all bets are off with HTC and Samsung. I'd say most of their phones sold today will get it eventually but who knows when. Both HTC and Samsung totally dropped the ball on the 1.x->2.x transition. Motorola hasn't experienced a major OS update yet so it's not clear if they will be better prepared. The gimping of 2.2 features for the original Droid is not an encouraging sign. I would suggest a Super AMOLED screen if you want to use your phone outdoors. Maybe wait for the next device Google adopts as a developer reference platform?
  • cma 16y ago
    Just pointing out that the N1 is HTC.
• safetytrick 16y ago
  My wife just got a Droid X, I've got the IPhone 4 and I am very jealous. Her phone is amazing.
• omrisiri 16y ago
  I was in the exact situation about four month ago and i decided to go with the N900, my considerations were: 1. I wanted a phone that is not Completely closed 2. I don't care about the eye candy 3. I run Linux - Anything that is not 100% compatible is out of the question 4. I Wanted a real keyboard - i just can't get used to those on-screen keyboards 5. I wanted Skype support out of the box 6. REAL multitasking So I obviously ruled the IPhone out first. Other than eye-candy and hype i couldn't find any good reason to actually want to own one. I have to say - it is a beautiful phone, but I'm the kinda guy that want something practical. My two real contenders were the N1 (the best android phone at the time) and the N900. The N900 won eventually since: 1. the keyboard is one of the best i had used. 2. It is a Nokia which in my opinion means a better build than HTC. 3. It's almost a Full Linux box - I could take almost any application i have on my box and recompile it with minimal effort for the N900 (it can use either GTK or QT) 4. For some odd reason i really like resistive screens (once you get used to pushing a little ,it feels a lot more accurate than capacitives) With all that said, for anyone thats not a total Linux geek like me - an android phone will be the phone i recommend to anyone who asks. its obviously the place to go now. The community behind android is growing rapidly, which means it will progress faster and become more polished with every release.
  • boyter 16y ago
    All good points and the same reason I went with the N900. My only complaints being the screen isn't the best (res is fine but brightness and saturation aren't as nice as htc desire or iphone) It really is the ultimate geek phone.
• scotty79 16y ago
  Samsung Galaxy i9000 currently best smartphone on the market. 4 inch super amoled display. 16 GB of built in storage. Supports up to 32GB micro SD. Also runs on android so you are safe from Steve craziness and Steve tax (unlocked costs half of iPhone 4 16GB). Most powerful GPU. Runs Quake 3 like a charm: http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-features/50507-galaxy-s-thrashes-nexus-one-in-quake-3-duel http://www.tgdaily.com/mobility-features/50507-galaxy-s-thra...
• seanx 16y ago
  Do you like to tweak things? If so get some variety of Android. If you don't get an iPhone. The iPhone will "just work" but it won't do nearly as much as Android. I have had both (+ win mobile) and prefer android by a long shot.
• jkmcf 16y ago
  None? Verizon LTE is supposedly launching in a few months and then you'll want an Android phone that works w/ LTE. Of course, we don't know where you live, so LTE may not be available in your area.
• auxbuss 16y ago
  I've had an HTC Wildfire for a couple of months and love it. It's basically a smaller version of the Desire. I develop on it too. It works fine. Best phone I've ever had by some margin.
• Tichy 16y ago
  I've heard recommendations of the Samsung Galaxy S, as well as Nexus One (I only know the N1 and love it).
• elidourado 16y ago
  Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx supports the iPhone 4 out of the box: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PortableDevices/iPhone https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PortableDevices/iPhone
• timinman 16y ago
  I bought a HTC Hero thinking that it would be more open and Linux friendly as an Android device. It's not. I can't even update the firmware to 2.1 to get the cool new Google apps.
• arzvi 16y ago
  got an iPhone to test it for a week, and the first thing I did was to msg my friends, got some replies, and some SPAM. If I needed to delete the spam, I had to press the msg line to get into the msg, then 'Edit' to edit the conversation, then touch the msg then 'delete' button below. Still the conversation albeit empty, stood there. Usability sucks.... I did all these with two clicks in my N72 Nokia, and the Nexus or HTC Evo is far better for me to use than iPhone. I love the way iPhone handles things, its fonts, its colorfulness, and the easier input (size and accuracy of touch space) but I would give it to a girl who needs them to be 'cute' pets rather than a work horse and easy to manage organizer/'get your work done fast' device a nerd like me would need. Android anyday, but then iPhone is the mother of all smartphones since they were the reason the smartphones entered mainstream, and we are having this conversation. Apple is the best for 'cute/beautiful' UI, usability?? - nah
• deleted 16y ago
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• imsky 16y ago
  HTC Aria. Fast, fits in your pocket, and runs Android. I've been very happy with it so far. Also since you're on AT&T, this is a no-brainer.