Related
I currently have the HD2, and whilst it's a great phone it's starting to annoy me with how many glitches there are, and how many times it crashes and I have to reset it. I have all the cabs running to prevent this such as memmaid, but it does drive me mad sometimes. The other thing is the lack of apps, having come from the iphone. The 2 things I absolutely love about the HD2 though is the gorgeous home screen (the reason I haven't even looked at windows 7 for it, sad but true) and the size of the screen.
What I would like to know is if you can get the home screen of the Desire to look as stunning as the HD2, what features does the desire have over the HD2, and how good the apps are on android phones? Can you get similar apps to that of the iphone like yell.com, ebay apps etc as well as games? Would I miss the larger screen?
I'm toying between the desire, and waiting to see what the iphone 4g is like when it is released, but they would have to make a lot of improvements on the iphone for me to consider it. I would very much be interested in the Sprint HTC Evo 4G but it appears as though it won't be available in the UK
I come from hd2, now im very happy with desire, all its working as desired and no cabs needed
I was happy HD2 owner. Switched to Desire. I see it this way:
HD2:
- unstable, after 8 years of developing WM (thx microsoft).
- manufacturers mistake causes most devices to develop a "ligter spots" on the screen due the digitizer is coliding with actual display.
- Soft plastic body it deforms on impact.
- laggy touch imput
-+ Is big with BIG screen
+ ActiveSync - working with no problem !
+ multitasking - multitasking - multitasking - multitasking
+ very easily customizable (WM)
+ independent on internet connection (WM)
+ most needet tools alredy integrated in stock rom (file explorer,task manager etc.) = fully usable out of the box.
Desire:
- 5mpix camera makes worse photos then HD2. its like 70% of HD2´s quality.
- only one diode.
- unusable withou internet connection (you wont be able to install anything without downloading at least some file explorer)
- battery compartment doors are stupid and they will be damaged when sim card is exchanged oftenly.
- faulty detection of headphones!!! most regular headphones will work bud no Reproductors !!! Any active HW on jack will cause Desire to act mad. Its TRS and TRRS detection problem (desire exlusive Iam afraid)
- Complicated synchronization (50% cases just wont sync), waiting for official HTC android 2.2
+ Speed of OS
+ stability is better then WM bus Iphone OS is still most stable.
+ Android OS (it is still new and under development, bud already lightyears ahead in front of WM)
+ Google Market lots of apps in one place.
+
snerkler said:
I would very much be interested in the Sprint HTC Evo 4G but it appears as though it won't be available in the UK
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It would be rather pointless if it was, since it is a CDMA/WiMAX device and there are no networks in the UK that support either of these for telephony (though I believe there are some small WiMAX networks for local wireless broadband in places).
Regards,
Dave
sviftcz said:
+ multitasking - multitasking - multitasking - multitasking
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Click to collapse
Why have this as a particular plus point for WinMo, when Android multitasks too?
Regards,
Dave
Just a thought:
I came from 3gs to desire and consider it better, actually so much better that it makes you wonder just what apple will come up with. Apple are used to having a market to itself and a widely accepted "best" phone of its kind. That has been blown away by the desire (my opinion) but I do wonder just how good the 4g will be against such competiton as the desire on android 2.2. I just cannot imagine apple accepting defeat by releasing something only as good or not quite as good as the desire. It would mean a uturn on flash and maybe some new tricks. I bought my phones outright just in case apple come up with an absolute show stopper BUT it will have to make the desire look like an abacus before I'd pay the mad iphone tariff's again. Android is just to good to be slung over a barrel by apple's controlling ways and prices. Bottom line, I'm fasicinated what the 4g will offer but suspect not enough, though its only a week or so to being announced so watch the "unveiling first" then you'll most likely go get a desire. If we were months away from unvieling I'd say just get a desire. I have only one negative of susbstance to offer about the desire and that is battery life. If you used only as a phone and text then of course its fine but using its capabilities I find its worse than iphone on battery but I can live with it via usb chargers in home, car and work.
Apple?
Apple is out of the game.
All they ever try and do is put bigger storage, and a slightly better camera to make a fatter phone.
It's the same old since the start of the iPod.
They won't come up with anything new, and the whole idea behind the iPhone OS is what holds it back.
As long as you stick with an OS that insists that access to everything is done by shortcuts on your homescreen (and yet still not multitask the way it should), it's going nowhere.
They're trying to do the Windows/Mac thing without the menus.
Look at it this way. I don't have a single icon on the desktop of any of my computers, but still I can access anything I want just as simply, or even see what I want without clicking anything. (a la android + widgets).
Apple made it so you can't see a thing on your home screen, except maybe the current date if you have your calendar icon set to display it.
I speak from experience here, I started with WinMo, and couldn't handle it, I moved to the iPhone and it was a heap of junk, gave it away (free) weeks after spending several hundred on it. Moved to the Xperia, WinMo again, it was nice, but still lacking, even with developing WinMo 6.5 ROMs etc. Then I came to the HTC Hero, amazing phone, best ever I'd say. Then came along the Desire and blew it out of the water. Lets just say, I'm Android for life now, until the next big startup comes and knocks it off its podium.
That being said, if you like customization without the trouble, the nexus is also a nice device, if somewhat slightly less capable than the desire, but it will always get the latest first.
I tried the desire out instore the other day, and I have to say I prefer the HD2. The Desire has some nice features, but I wasn't wowed by it. I've read reviews about how good screen is and I have to say I was very disappointed. Yes it was more colourful/vibrant than the HD2, but it's nowhere near as crisp imo.
I'm not wowed by the new specs of the iphone 4 either, it's a slight improvement on the 3Gs, but not exactly groundbreaking and only just catching up with other phones out there.
So I'm at a lost as to which phone to get, the only other phone that looks interesting is the Samsung Galaxy S, but I haven't tried one yet, and it's only on vodafone.
I think I'll just keep the HD2 and go on a sim only contract until something takes my fancy
alias_neo; said:
Apple is out of the game.
All they ever try and do is put bigger storage, and a slightly better camera to make a fatter phone.
It's the same old since the start of the iPod.
They won't come up with anything new, and the whole idea behind the iPhone OS is what holds it back.
As long as you stick with an OS that insists that access to everything is done by shortcuts on your homescreen (and yet still not multitask the way it should), it's going nowhere.
They're trying to do the Windows/Mac thing without the menus.
Look at it this way. I don't have a single icon on the desktop of any of my computers, but still I can access anything I want just as simply, or even see what I want without clicking anything. (a la android + widgets).
Apple made it so you can't see a thing on your home screen, except maybe the current date if you have your calendar icon set to display it.
I speak from experience here, I started with WinMo, and couldn't handle it, I moved to the iPhone and it was a heap of junk, gave it away (free) weeks after spending several hundred on it. Moved to the Xperia, WinMo again, it was nice, but still lacking, even with developing WinMo 6.5 ROMs etc. Then I came to the HTC Hero, amazing phone, best ever I'd say. Then came along the Desire and blew it out of the water. Lets just say, I'm Android for life now, until the next big startup comes and knocks it off its podium.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
LOL.
Hi all,
Finally down in Australia a few of the better Android phones have been released on decent phone plans, so I'm deciding out of the HTC Desire or Samsung Galaxy S for my next phone (both free on $49 monthly plans over 24 months).
I know the Galaxy S is more powerful and slightly larger, but I'm a big fan of Sense in my current phone (HTC Hero) to the point where I only use HTC's widgets on the homescreens since they look great and work so well.
Also HTC's got a better track record the Sammy for updates and support, as well as obviously a large community for roms.
Main issue is, in the few stores (all Telstra down here) that they have demo Desires, they all seemed to be quite...stuttery on the homescreens. When scrolling left or right, the screens and widgets didn't seem to move smoothly as if it was struggling to process it (which I would have thought the Snapdragon would have no probs with).
In contrast, the demo Galaxy S glided between homescreens and menus perfectly, even with live wallpapers on.
Is this simply an issue with the demo ones they have out and loaded up with Telstra's apps, or are the Desires not as fluid in use on the homescreens?
I spend most of the time on my Hero working from the widgets on the homescreens, so I really like it to be speedy but most of all smooth. Might seen like a bit of a superficial issue, but was very surprising when I tried the Desire out to find it kind of jittery.
Thanks in advance!
Never had a stuttery home screen here. Been using it for 2 months and flashed a few different Roms too. Maybe the device needed a reboot?
Hmmm...i actually had the exact opposite experience regarding these two phones, SGS was stuttery with live wallpapers when i tried it, desire on the oher hand is smooth
Plus the lack of a flash for the camera is mind boggling in a high end phone
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App
my desire gets a quadrant score almost double the galaxy s lol it can keep its fancy gpu id rather have a snapdragon over that crappy apple a4 wanabe chip neday
My desire is very fluent when scrolling on the homescreen using my finger. Very beautiful. However using the optical trackball, you can scroll "further", multiple screens at once. Doing that results in terrible stutter. Yuck.
PS:
"Fluidity" is very subjective. Since I play PC games I am used to FPS > 120.
You could wait for the official OTA update release of Froyo 2.2 or root and flash a custom Froyo ROM with Sense - you will definately notice a speed improvement and scrolling will be a lot smoother.
I've never had any real trouble with stutter on my Desire, as someone above said when you swipe use your finger not the trackpad. If you want to move around the homescreens quickly you're better off using the pinched out view of all the windows. Its common knowledge really that if you load every screen with widgets and a live wallpaper your device wont be that fast, just be smart about how many widgets you run. Also the Galaxy S has great hardware but its not a very nice phone.
Thanks for the replies!
Good to know custom roms should keep it happy and fast. I've actually kept my HTC Hero on 1.5 with overclock due to the far less smooth movement and scrolling on the Eclair and Froyo roms (other than vanilla).
I'll probably go with the Desire after trying out vanilla android on my Hero for a few days that made me miss Sense.
I had another look at the Galaxy S which was extremely smooth and definitely a powerhouse (and the amazing screen), but I'm not a fan of Samsung's decision to try and make it look like an iPhone both in hardware and software. The cartoony primary colours throughout the interface were pretty garish too, kind of like they seriously need a decent graphic designer on the team. =S
Only other option is whether to wait for the next wave of Android phones at the end of the year for the launch of 3.0 Gingerbread...
After having the Desire and using the Galaxy S a bit... I can definately say the UI and homescreens on the Desire are MUCH smoother then on the Galaxy S. The Galaxy S does have a much better GPU though... and slightly better processor... yet is slower and more sluggish... doesn't make much sense.
After having the Desire and using the Galaxy S a bit... I can definately say the UI and homescreens on the Desire are MUCH smoother then on the Galaxy S. The Galaxy S does have a much better GPU though... and slightly better processor... yet is slower and more sluggish... doesn't make much sense.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Well no,Hummingbird's CPU is not better than Snapdragon's Scorpion core,in fact it's a little worse.And the difference between the GPUs,the Adreno 200 and the PowerVR 540,is not that big because of hardware,but more of the bad driver used by HTC.The PowerVR will still be better with the new driver,but the gap won't be that big.
And the Desire is not so smooth at the beginning,but use it for some time,give the system time to settle.Mine got a lot smoother after a week or so.So go for the Desire.It will also get 720p video with the next update and then will have nothing to be jealous about!
The HTC Desire has the most fluid homescreens of any android app i have tested.
Currently i'm running an Nexus One with FroYo (Stock update). And even on froyo the homescreen on the nexus one is visibly more laggy and less fluid than HTC Sense homescreens on HTC Desire. Thats why i had to switch to launcher pro beta, because it couldn't stand how much worse the homescreen on the nexus one performs.
So i can assure you that the problems you have seen must be because of demo devices being played around with all the time, and getting cluttered up after some time.
You can find an in-depth review of HTC Sense on my blog if you are interested in more details:
http://smartphoneblogging.com/2010/07/review-new-htc-sense-features-on-htc-desire/
AXIS of Reality said:
Hi all,
Finally down in Australia a few of the better Android phones have been released on decent phone plans, so I'm deciding out of the HTC Desire or Samsung Galaxy S for my next phone (both free on $49 monthly plans over 24 months).
I know the Galaxy S is more powerful and slightly larger, but I'm a big fan of Sense in my current phone (HTC Hero) to the point where I only use HTC's widgets on the homescreens since they look great and work so well.
Also HTC's got a better track record the Sammy for updates and support, as well as obviously a large community for roms.
Main issue is, in the few stores (all Telstra down here) that they have demo Desires, they all seemed to be quite...stuttery on the homescreens. When scrolling left or right, the screens and widgets didn't seem to move smoothly as if it was struggling to process it (which I would have thought the Snapdragon would have no probs with).
In contrast, the demo Galaxy S glided between homescreens and menus perfectly, even with live wallpapers on.
Is this simply an issue with the demo ones they have out and loaded up with Telstra's apps, or are the Desires not as fluid in use on the homescreens?
I spend most of the time on my Hero working from the widgets on the homescreens, so I really like it to be speedy but most of all smooth. Might seen like a bit of a superficial issue, but was very surprising when I tried the Desire out to find it kind of jittery.
Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Telstra demo phones are loaded with widgets that are all going to be running when coming out of sleep and need to update. Give it a few moments to fin
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA Appsh its updates and it will be fine. I only use 3 of the 7 screens and its very fast with no jittering
The only lag I ever notice is if an application is installing or if widgets are updating. Other than that it's very smooth.
I currently have the HTC EVO....and love the phone with a passion, but I don't love how basic the UI/Animations are on the phone and screen changes. It is super fast, but like all phones...it has it's buggy moments too. With the EVO I can change my UI with "home" apps like Launcher Pro which are more pleasing on the eye then the standard sense it comes with....but still lacks the smoothness and super graceful animations that WP7 comes with. The flipping tiles are just an example of some of the animations I am talking about.
Now I know that WP7 has it's short comings...but so did Android at it's launch as well as IOS, but overall it's a solid phone and super fast as well. WP7 will grow as the months and years pass, just as android did with 1.5, 2.1 and 2.2
I had to sit and think if I could do with out some of the better features the EVO has over the HD7, which is the phone I am wanting to switch to.
1. Do without the front VGA camera on the EVO (yes)
2. Do without the "8" megapixel back camera and go down to an "5" (yes)
3. Do without changing how my screen looks every bloody week, lol (yes)
4. Do without the 100,000 apps that are currently in the Android Market place (yes - as I only use several)
I guess the only thing I will really miss is the good friends I have with Androids that I play "android" games with online like wordfeud.
Am I alone in coming from what I think/thought was the best thing that ever happed to smartphone? Are there more people like me, that are switching from Android to WP7....or am I crazy insane and should stick with what I have because it truly is the best of the best?
I just wish Android could be gorgeous and sexy in it's UI as WP7 is!
I moved from a HTC Legend to a HD7. The main thing i miss is the google integration. Mainly google talk & google latitude both of which I used everyday.
Hopefully they will become available for WP7 in time.
Apart from that i'm happy i made the move. The OS is very different from android and really challenges developers to create visually engaging apps. Already lots of apps are available that weren't at launch and as the USA launch approaches I reckon the number of apps will be 2x-3x in time for xmas easily.
I love the UI and it's simplicity and simple but great animations. It really is a solid OS and although on paper it doesnt stack up against android, on a day to day practical level its perfect.
well it is all really a personal preference. I have been using WM since 5.0 (motorola Q) and had the omnia 1 and now the omnia 2. I don't really like android so I will be going to WP7 once it hits Verizon. But obviously you like the droid, but have some reservations. The question is does the lack of FULL multi-tasking, no copy/paste (until Jan) and things of that nature bother you? Obviously you have thought about those other things, so think on these, if they bother you then stick with the DROID, if not give WP7 a shot. As to whether Android is the "best of the best" that is a matter of opinion, no matter what anyone here says, so ask yourself, do YOU think android is better?
Thanks bean_ian and Omega RA....I have thought about the "no" full multi tasking and "no" copy and paste (until jan), and decided I can totally live without those & the other minor shortcomings mentioned a slew of times through out the internet and review websites.
The EVO is superior to the HD7 in many ways....but HANDS DOWN WP7 kills Android in how beautiful, simple, and easy to use the UI is! To me that is what I am buying the phone for, as I mainly use it to surf the net (for info on the go)...HUGE twitter head here, and I use Facebook alot too.
I like pretty, I will not lie...lol. Both phones, the EVO & HD7 are gorgeous body wise, but I want the VERY same when I power it on too.
I went from blackberry with the 8700, to the iphone 2g, to the iphone 3g, to the nexus one, and now to the HD7.
I have experienced all the ball-games in town and I am excited to try out the rookie.
If I dislike it, I will just go back to Android with a Tegra 2 powered phone.
Yes, I've just bought my HD7 and I'm selling my Desire.
Will use it as a gap inbetween Android 2.2 and Android 3.0 whenever that decides to come out. Let's see if the HD7 is enough to persuade me to stay with WP7 instead of selling it in about 6 months for a Android 3.0 phone..
brummiesteven said:
Yes, I've just bought my HD7 and I'm selling my Desire.
Will use it as a gap inbetween Android 2.2 and Android 3.0 whenever that decides to come out. Let's see if the HD7 is enough to persuade me to stay with WP7 instead of selling it in about 6 months for a Android 3.0 phone..
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you are definetly happy with it "hands down" over Android 2.2? I believe I will be...but like other peoples opinion having had android.
I had a Nexus One and before that a HTC Magic.
asbessette said:
It is super fast,
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
asbessette said:
but still lacks the smoothness and super graceful animations that WP7 comes with.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you clarify? You seem to be contradicting yourself...?
Which animations are you on about?
AdrianK said:
Could you clarify? You seem to be contradicting yourself...?
Which animations are you on about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
He is refering to WP7 being fast and Android though good, not as fast.
AdrianK said:
Could you clarify? You seem to be contradicting yourself...?
Which animations are you on about?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The EVO is superfast, no doubt, 1Ghz Snap Dragon and all....but every phone regardless of "snapdragon" or not, has it's moments of buggyness.
NOT SAYING that WP7 or the HD7 will be bugless...it too has a super quick 1Ghz SnapDragon, and I'm sure will have it's glitches on the rare occasions. Point being (I guess) would be that the EVO/Android 2.2's speed is certainly "not" a factor or reason that I should to keep it, and not move to WP7.
Some animations include...the screen rotation, with android the screen just turns with no animation - BAM it's turned. With WP7 it turns fast but has a little animated wobble/bounce to it, as it settles into it's new position (very quick one so it's not obtrusive, but a nice touch) - small potatoes to most, but these little touches count to me.
Also the tiles flipping out when you touch a specific tile to "go into" that hub....the tiles fly away, and when coming back to the home screen the tiles flip back in a smooth beautiful way.
There are others, through out the phone that are seen in the slew of videos on the UI found on youtube.
There is just no real nice....smooth animation to Android. Some "home" replacements give it a try, like Launcher Pro....but it's still choppy at best.
Yea I'm migrating from android. Moto Cliq with 2.1 upgrade. Android is nice, but I sick of all the sluggishness.
diablos991 said:
I went from blackberry with the 8700, to the iphone 2g, to the iphone 3g, to the nexus one, and now to the HD7.
I have experienced all the ball-games in town and I am excited to try out the rookie.
If I dislike it, I will just go back to Android with a Tegra 2 powered phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
"Android with a Tegra 2 powered phone"
I heard its going to kick everything butt out of the park. I have heard a plathora of new features that its going to come out with. I just hope to do release it to market FAST.
im planning on switching as well... android is great but its looking like the next windows mobile: clunky / inconsistant UI, no guidelines on hardware or updates making it go out of control with fragmentation (different processor arquitectures, speed, screen sizes, shapes, resolutions, etc.) makes it a mess to develop for without p!ssing a few people off because of incompatbility issues, OEM's still release 1. 6 devices today, and most are currently upgrading to 2.1 (wtf? ? isnt 2. 2 the current? ?) multiple app stores, really? poor quality apps when it comes to asthetics and function compared to iOS
AND THIS IS COMING FROM AND ANDROID USER AND LOVER **sorry but thats how i see it**
WP7 really interests me since microsoft will keep tight control on hardware and software thus giving us apple-like experience, and android-like hardware choice. i also loved how they provided all drivers for the snapdragon chip as a supported processor making it use its full potential since its tighter integrated with the OS unlike android where its like a one-OS-fits-all where the lack of optimization can make the strongest cpu fall short of the snapdragon (just like apple makes theirs so silky smooth with slower cpu's than ours) xbox live integration, and great developer interest also makes me sure that it will be a success. just needs time to grow but im willing to evolve with them...
im switching but not 100% since im stock with sprint(which i can cancel) so im on a nexus one on tmo running cyano nightly 226 and ive never seen android running this fast before, cyano really killed with 226 ..anyway im not a big fan of big phones like evo(which i own lol) and tmo is offering the hd7 same size...so i might give att a try with the surround or samsung
Really glad to hear other peoples reasons for leaving the all mighty Android and switching to WP7....definetly enlightening!
I started this post because I felt in my head that I might be trying to talk myself out of switching, with all the MS haters pointing out all the minor lacking issues WP7 has...albeit, it'll all be fixed in time.
I truly want a beautiful experience when I use my phone, not just a beautiful phone being pulled out of my pocket.
I am 100% certain that I will be switching carriers and phones on November 8th when T-Mobile gets the HD7...and selling my HTC EVO. "IF" and when Android comes out with a UI that has great animation and is not so basic looking, I might be back!
I am trying to fully understand this:
A major reason for you liking WP7 is the transitions?
To each his/her own but if you got sick of changing your UI screens I believe you will eventually get really sick of the screen transitions. That was the first thing when I saw the demo that I was praying that I could turn off when I got sick of it.
I am having a hard time accepting all of the initial shortcomings the more I am seeing the end result of these shortcomings. I love the hub style screens but I am not sure if it is enough.
I may end up choosing an Android phone. Maybe the rugged Defy.
nicksti said:
I am trying to fully understand this:
A major reason for you liking WP7 is the transitions?
To each his/her own but if you got sick of changing your UI screens I believe you will eventually get really sick of the screen transitions. That was the first thing when I saw the demo that I was praying that I could turn off when I got sick of it.
I am having a hard time accepting all of the initial shortcomings the more I am seeing the end result of these shortcomings. I love the hub style screens but I am not sure if it is enough.
I may end up choosing an Android phone. Maybe the rugged Defy.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, the major reason I like WP7 over Android is the Animated transitions "throughout" the phone (not just the screen transistions) and the SMOOTH operations and function of the apps! That is just the major reason....the hubbs that have several apps combined into them is another reason, saving me time.
The functionality/smoothness of the Android UI is far from up to par with iOS and WP7...although Android crushes both is other areas, like the ability to change something. Although I like the ability to change how my home screen looks from day to day or hour to hour...at the end of the week, I'm still longing for a beautiful experience when I USE my phone, or do what I need to do on my phones OS.
krjcook said:
Yea I'm migrating from android. Moto Cliq with 2.1 upgrade. Android is nice, but I sick of all the sluggishness.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you blaming Android for the sluggishness or the fact that the Cliq has a ~530MHz processor in a 1GHz world?
I'm switching to Linux because Windows 7 is just too sluggish on my PIII 900MHz.
------------------
Personally, I won't be making the switch, but that's neither here nor there.
Most every carrier will give you a return period. It's not like you actually risk losing anything (as long as you take care of the phone). Give it a try for your two weeks (or whatever your carrier allows) and see how you like it.
Two weeks is long enough to determine if you love it or if you find the transitions to be annoying as hell when being used.
At about a week and a half, I would try going back to the Android phone for a day or two. If you're annoyed as hell by the Android phone, then keep the WP7.
If you find yourself relieved to be back with the Android phone, keep it.
If it's about even, then think to the future. Is the Android phone likely to get an upgrade (either officially or through a 3rd party ROM)? Is the WP7 likely to continue to get upgraded?
Make a pro/con for each phone & decide which one you'll ultimately be happier with.
For me, the cons for WP7 are too many, but for YOU, it might be reversed.
Ultimately, what fits you better is what you want to determine & the best way to figure that out is to compare/contrast through actual use.
I've seen a LOT of phones demo'd that have super smooth animations, but in actual use, they suck horribly once things are installed on teh phone. Since the WP7 can't multitask, this isn't likely to be such a big deal, but it might be. Actual use is really the only way to know.
I wonder how many tiles you can get on there before it gets ridiculous
I've seen a few posts of people asking what it's like coming from an Android device. I've been a hardcore android fan for years, infact I had a G1 as soon as it was released and then upgraded to a Desire. I recently took a chance and went and bought a HD7 so here are my opinions on what's great and what's not compared to android.
Just to mention, I don't have an unlock code yet, the phone is locked to o2 and I'm in a T-Mobile contract so I haven't been able to test any phone functions (Phone and SMS/MMS).
What's Good
Zune
OMG Zune is awesome, It's never been available in the UK before but the whole experience is great. People put down Zune syncing as a negative but imo it's a much nicer and better way of syncing music/pictures/videos to your phone than having to connect, mount and then drag and drop.
The application itself on the phone is great, certainly better than the iPod app on iPhones. It's nice seeing your last played artist as the background in the app and the live tile, when playing music you can see what's coming next, swipe left to right to skip tracks and there's a now playing type feature that will come up regardless of where you are just by pressing the volume button.
Zune Pass is awesome, it's slightly cheaper than Spotify which is what I was previously using but the best bit is rather than just streaming (and then adding to a playlist and making it avaliable offline) you actually download the music from the store like you would do if you were buying it, it becomes part of your library with all information, tags and cover art. You can also, like spotify, stream.
The Apps
Microsoft have totally reinvented mobile apps and, while there aren't many of them, the majority of WP7 apps are 1000x better than the same or alternative app on Android, iPhone, WebOS and any other platform you can think of. Apps look sexy, there's no more going in and out of sections to do a specific action, you simply swipe left to right.
If you're reading this, you've probably seen examples before and know what I'm on about but if you don't... Take twitter for an example. With the android app, once it's loaded up i'm presented with a load of options... Tweets, Mentions etc. I need to go in and out of these if I want to view more than 1 thing. With WP7 you're presented with everything, your timeline loaded first, swipe to the left to see mentions etc... There's no jumping in and out of different sections.
Apps are also graphically rich, there's little to no plain black backgrounds (apart form in general apps like messaging and calendar where you wouldn't really want anything else).
Gaming
The games on this platform blow away anything else I've seen on a mobile device. They're pretty much xbox live arcade games but there are other great non-xbox games aswell. It ties in with Xbox Live pretty well, you earn achievements and games go in your played list. Each game has a "trial" option where you can download a demo version before buying.
The UI
Anytime I read Android Fanboy's comments about WP7 they always point out how the interface is rubbish and tiles are too simple. I disagree. Tiles are basically widgets just like in Android. Some are live, they display information which are pushed to them or they show some sort of animation... just like how in Android widgets can show information. Some aren't live, these would be the equivalent of taking an app from your app drawer in android and putting that on the home screen. Instead of swiping left to right to see more, you swipe up and down. Instead of pressing a button to view apps, you swipe to the left. They're pretty similar when you think about it.
Scrolling is silky smooth and the whole experience is Much quicker compared to android (and I'm comparing to Cyanogenmod with Launcher Pro, not Stock). The interface and Typography is consistent throughout and the typography is awesome.
Battery Life
I have a HD7 and don't know weather this is device specific or OS specific (however the phone does seem to have a smaller battery than my desire). Today I got 12 hours use. 4 Hours of those I was playing music. The phone is constantly being turned on, new things being downloaded, wifi is on all the time due to me not being able to put my contract sim in yet. On android I averaged about 7 hours, this was with 1 hours worth of music.
What's not good compared to Android
Multitasking
There IS multitasking, to some sort of degree. I don't really know the specifics but what I do know is that Last.FM can play music in the background and Twitter seems to update itself in the background. However what it is hard to get used to is switching between apps. There's no kind of "running applications" menu or anything like that, when switching you need to go via the home screen and load the app. This isn't a biggie but it can take some getting used to when you're used to holding down the home button.
App Prices
Games are quite pricey, they're better than any other games I've seen on a mobile but nevertheless, pricey. They range between £2.50 and £6.00 from what I've seen. Apps aren't pricey but there certainly seems to be more paid apps than free apps which coming from android is weird. However, this may be down to the fact that it's a new platform and there aren't that many apps yet.
Closeness and Customisation
The fact that the device is closed doesn't bother me that much however there are a few things which are annoying like the fact that you can't load custom ringtones. Customisation also doesn't bother me that much but it might be a biggie for some people. You can chose between a light (white backgrounds) and dark (black backgrounds) theme and then choose between a set list of about 6 colours for tiles. That's about as customisable as it gets, you can't set individual colours for tiles or anything like that.
Apps
This is not really a negative, it's a new platform and there aren't many apps, this is acceptable imo. But to some people, they might not like this idea. If you're an "App Whore" and can't live without having 10s of thousands of apps to chose from then windows 7 phone isn't ideal for you yet.
Bugs
There are a few bugs to be ironed out, sometimes apps wont launch. Having said that, it's not like Android doesn't have any bugs even now...
Conclusion
IMO, WP7 has more positives over Android. There are a few niggles but I await to see how Microsoft deals with them and how the future of this platform shapes up. It certainly beats any version of android pre 2.0 hands down. I hope Google bring out something impressive with Gingerbread!
Thats some good insight for users who are planning or thinking of switching from Android.
The battery life is poor because of the big and power hungry screen and the fact that HTC put a small battery in that device.
Other phones like the Samsung Omina 7 will last much longer.
Although Zune pretty much covers my music needs I do love last.fm - Glad to hear it can play in the background.
I knew certain third party devs were/are developing with Microsoft to enable background tasks but nice to have it confirmed for last.fm specifically
Phone Titan said:
Thats some good insight for users who are planning or thinking of switching from Android.
The battery life is poor because of the big and power hungry screen and the fact that HTC put a small battery in that device.
Other phones like the Samsung Omina 7 will last much longer.
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Click to collapse
I didn't think the battery life was poor, I think it's quite good compared to my Desire.
Just to add something that I just noticed:
Status
There is no kind of status screen, you cant find out what percentage the battery is and all you have to go by is the battery icon. This is frustrating coming from android where you could find out exactly what percentage the battery was at.
Very nice review/comparison. Thanks!
yes very nice interview some of the android fanboys ned to read this!!!
How's the display on the HD7? I've heard some mixed reviews.
Phone Titan said:
Thats some good insight for users who are planning or thinking of switching from Android.
The battery life is poor because of the big and power hungry screen and the fact that HTC put a small battery in that device.
Other phones like the Samsung Omina 7 will last much longer.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, that's incorrect.
The Omnia 7 has a bigger battery capacity, but as most of the backgrounds on apps such as email, webpages etc are white, the AMOLED chews the battery up just as bad if not worse if you use these resources, where as the HD7 chews up battery on blacks, so the opposite of eachother.
In general use, they work out about the same, with omnia 7 slightly better. Use the Omnia for web browsing and lots of email and it's worse than the HD7.
I have both handsets and I've tested this.
risq said:
Actually, that's incorrect.
The Omnia 7 has a bigger battery capacity, but as most of the backgrounds on apps such as email, webpages etc are white, the AMOLED chews the battery up just as bad if not worse if you use these resources, where as the HD7 chews up battery on blacks, so the opposite of eachother.
In general use, they work out about the same, with omnia 7 slightly better. Use the Omnia for web browsing and lots of email and it's worse than the HD7.
I have both handsets and I've tested this.
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Those white backgrounds you refer to are the "Light" theme. You can change it to Dark in the settings.
Thanks for the review. I'm waiting for the HD7 to arrive. I've been waiting for a revamp of messenging and mail and WP7 has delivered them. What I really will miss is 3G video call capability.
brummiesteven said:
Just to add something that I just noticed:
Status
There is no kind of status screen, you cant find out what percentage the battery is and all you have to go by is the battery icon. This is frustrating coming from android where you could find out exactly what percentage the battery was at.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
As long as the Battery Icon is accurate, that's fine.
On my Vibrant the Battery Icon estimates ~25% higher than your actual battery level, so it'll show full when you're 75%, and ~30% when you're about to get a warning about your battery level.
As long as it's accurate, I can care less about a status screen.
Thanks I was still being stubborn as I saw the 4g, but this reassured me that I will not regret the switch
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Took delivery of my HD7 yesterday, coming from the HTC Desire - no problems so far apart from 1 random reboot - but then I had that on the Desire in its first week as well, maybe it's a "feature" that HTC include.
I have used WM6.5 (for years), WebOS, IOS, Android and now WP7. I would say WP7 has the most promise.
Reasons:-
-The whole Zune thing - knocks Itunes into a cocked hat - it looks delightful and works beautifully - Zune Pass is what Spotify should be!
-Simplicity of the UI - Android is extremely customisable but gets cluttered and simply ain't as pretty as WP7 (IMHO).
- Social network integration excellent (bear in mind I do not use twitter)
- Info displayed on lock screen useful
- Ability to use camera when device locked
- Kindle app is coming - big thing for me as I am an avid reader.
- Everything so fast and fluid!
- Did I say it looks beautiful?
Things WP7 needs:-
- A bar code reader app/ google goggles type app
- An Ocado app (UK readers will know what I mean)
- Turn by turn nav
- Cut-n- Paste- HTML 5.0, Flash, silverlight
- Text reflow/ wrapping in the browser - the Android browsers I have used are still the best.
BTW, I fervently hope that the WP MArketplace does NOT get filled up with 300,000 useless fart apps/ tip calculators etc. quality not quantity is what is required!
Just to expand on Copy and Paste... There are some scenarios where you need it.
At the moment I'm dealing with an eBay seller. I received a message from him in my GMail Inbox. So I go ahead and type a reply. I get an error back telling me that my address isn't recognised (I recently changed from @googlemail.com to @gmail.com). So I then have to go and type the message out again in the Ebay app as I can't copy and paste what I wrote earlier in the email.
i, too, will be switching from android, but my case is different: for a year i've been stuck on 1.5 (galaxy i7500) so i didn't get the taste of even 1.6 not to mention 2.1, so i had to draw the line. i got bored with android ui and wp7 ui blew my mind, plus the incredible smoothness and speed were enough to convince me to switch. i'll be getting the mozart because it has the best dimensions among other wp7 phones, it's not a huge monster. 8mpx camera is also a treat
zard said:
Thanks for the review. I'm waiting for the HD7 to arrive. I've been waiting for a revamp of messenging and mail and WP7 has delivered them. What I really will miss is 3G video call capability.
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Click to collapse
When I reached home this morning, picked up the papers, I saw the HD7! I was so happy and the rest was history. I'm enjoying my HD7 reading the posts in XDA and typing this response. I've not set up my emails and contacts, but the browser is a joy to use. It loads so much faster now than my Td2 with my same WiFi speed.
Is there backgrounds? I really like that from Android, all I have seen is white and black backgrounds...
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Smokexz said:
Is there backgrounds? I really like that from Android, all I have seen is white and black backgrounds...
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are no background options at this current time but you can change the colours.
JEEtoP said:
Although Zune pretty much covers my music needs I do love last.fm - Glad to hear it can play in the background.
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Click to collapse
JEEtoP,
I love LastFM too. Is there already any way/app to get LastFM scrobbling the music I'm listening with Zune?
Thanks.
I'm new to this forum, but have lurked for a while now. A lot of insightful posts, good debate, and professionalism by almost everyone. It's great as I definitely learn a lot from reading them.
Anyways, to the topic at hand. I'm an owner of an HD7 and an HTC G2 (Desire Z overseas). My G2 for a few months was my daily driver, after I sold my Vibrant and purchased it mainly for the HSPA+, however the physical keyboard was a nice add on as well. I went ahead and rooted the device, installed Visionary temp root, and overclocked to 1.2ghz (found it to be my sweet spot, as I've had freezes with 1.4 and won't even bother trying anything higher). The phone is lighting fast, I installed LauncherPro first thing first, customized the home screen to my exact liking, hooked it up to my Exchange account, and basically turned it into my perfect Android device.
Ever since I sold my 3gs and purchased an HTC Hero (GSM), I fell back in love with Android. I had originally bought the G1 in October 2008 when it was released in the states and grew into the Android ecosystem. I switched to iOS only because the 3gs was released, but I ended up going back. One of the main reasons why I enjoy Android so much is because it has a variety to choose from in regards to everything you can do with the phone. There isn't a thing that isn't possible with the OS and you have to appreciate it's willingness to allow anyone to make that happen. It isn't a system that's shoved down our throats, although I have always been against the OS being on so many devices.
Around a month ago, I started doing some research on WP7. I wasn't familiar with WM6.5 or any other Microsoft phone. All I knew was that you can flash Android on an HD2. The more research I did, the more I began to find myself interested in it, it looked smooth, very fluid, and if there is one thing I missed from my 3gs experience that even with the G2 overclocked I don't have is fluidity. The OS looked solid, and I think it's a bit understating when you claim consumers don't care about that. If anything, the GUI is one of the most important features on an OS, and no matter what the processer or device of an Android ran phone, the device is generally still slow and stuttery. Granted you can fiddle with the settings, mess with animation, change the speed of certain things within' the UI etc. etc. Still, it lacks in that department and the fragmentation of the operating system doesn't help. Also, another issue I have with Android are the keyboards. Yes, all of them. I still can't use swype as imo the learning curve isn't as simple as they make it seem and even using Smart Keyboard (great customer service by the dev btw) as my G2's daily driver still proves to be faulty. Lets not even get started on the stock keyboard. The only one that seems to work the best are the 4'3 inch devices, because the screen is so big. It worked well on my previous Vibrant, but still stuttery. Of course my G2 has a physical keyboard so you would think this would be a moot point. A lot of times I don't even use the physical keyboard for whatever reason.
With enough research, I decided on purchasing an HD7. I don't like buying phone's on contract so I decided to find one on craigslist. I realized a day before the Nexus S was released here that there were quite a few firesales on craigslist. Probably due to the fact that people with TMobile wanted to sell their device to purchase the N-S. At least that's what I assumed, considering I was able to buy a great condition HD7 for $250. To no surprise, he was selling to contribute to the Nexus. At first I was skeptical, didn't know much about the OS besides what I saw on youtube, and I was a little weary of the screen because I read that the colors are a bit faded. Regardless, the phone grew on me. The screen is beautiful for all it's detractors and the colors are fine to me. I'd argue that the Vibrant (and specifically screens with Super Amoled) tend to have an awkward blue tint/hue that becomes quite annoying when you begin to notice it more and more. The whites look blue, the blacks look blue, I understand the hue of the actual screen is blue, still doesn't make up for it. The only problem I have with the HD7 is portraying blacks, as it tends to ghost when you scroll and the smaller letters get skewed. Also there seems to be purple borders on the tiles when you scroll with a black background. For this reason, I changed it to white and found no problem. Aside from that minor issue (that doesn't bother me now because I enjoy the white more anyway), the OS is an absolute monster.
Where do I begin? The positives -
-Keyboard - I'm sorry, but there is NO better keyboard on the market today. Windows Phone 7 is far superior due to the sizes of various screens. IOS has a dandy keyboard but it's either too small on a 3.5 inch display (beautiful retina though, can't deny that), or too big on an iPAD. I've already explained my stance on Android keyboards, and I think it isn't even a close margin. The WP7 keyboard hands down is the most user friendly in the market today. Oh and spellcheck is fantastic as well.
-UI - Most fluid UI in the market today
-Exchange support/outlook/syncing w/calendar/contacts - Fantastic. Don't get me wrong, Android does this well, but for some reason, it's just more enjoyable on the fluid and buttery smooth Metro UI.
-Email - The email client on WP7 is awesome. The pinch zoom in an email box on a 4.3 inch display is smooth and a fantastic experience. Same can be said for the pinch and zoom on IE. I know it re-renders words while Android doesn't, but the 5 finger multi-touch support and amazing scrolling makes it a notch above the Android browser, which with any processor, still has laggy pinch and zoom.
-Netflix - Again, goes back to watching Netflix on demand on a 4 inch or 4.3 inch display. No other phone can boast about that feat. (I know iOS has Netflix)
-Web surfing - See email. Again, smooth like butter. Granted there are random rendering issues and freezes here and there, it's still a great experience being able to scroll and move along as smoothly as it does on such a big screen.
So now I was left with a decision to make. Do I use the HD7 or the G2 as my daily driver? Both have their advantages, and ultimately, I looked at which one had the least amount of disadvantages, and it came down to the HD7. As a daily driver, I mainly use my phone to text, email, check my work email, calendar, and surf the web occassionally. In all those fronts, it works better then the G2. In terms of games and such, the WP7 market is still going, but I have to give the edge to the Android Market simply because it's more well estabilished. I also like the fact that I can download directly from a website like say Gameloft. Gives you the chance to work outside of a walled ecosystem. You have to remember, Microsoft is in this for the long haul. There is no such thing as late in the market. The market constantly grows and if a revolutionary product is released, people will be intrigued by it. Tickle Me Elmo wasn't late in the market, the Wii wasn't late in the market, and automobile companies who are now currently building the future of cars aren't late in the market. There is no such thing, the future is always now, and innovation will constantly be showcased for the masses to witness and endulge themselves with.
If we all stuck to the theory that 4 months of being public is enough time to doom a company, then we're more behind then I thought. They aren't investing millions upon millions of dollars in a company that they're going to give up on in 4 months. Updates will come, fixes will be sent, the product will flow, you must give it some time. To this day, for all it's glory, Android still hasn't managed to update the ever infamous lag in their UI. No matter what device, dual core or not, it's just too fragmented and the GUI is in desperate need of change. I'm not demoting Android by any means, it is in fact a great great OS and one that has ultimately changed the game. But to dismiss a new innovation with as much promise as WP7 is silly. To those who have differing opinions, to you I say just try one out for a little while. If it was capable of growing on me (a self admitted Android fan), then I see no reason why the normal consumer wouldn't be able to feel the same way.
i will have to agree, like you said i admit i am a big big big fan of android os. but i just bought htc surround recently and UI is amazing on this new WP7 phones. people just need to give it some time, thats all
I am also a fan of android, but as someone running a small business, needed something that would not soak up my time messing about with rooting and tweaking. wP7 just does the business for me in a slick and professional way. Sure, there are missing features (document sync to skydrive mostly for me) but the positives outweigh any negatives for me
I used to be a big android fan, and I'm still thinking about getting an atrix, but with android you always have to ask yourself, what is the point of all that great hardware if the OS isn't optimized for it.
I've had a Vibrant and an N1. I LOVED my N1, and I wish I still had one, but I quietly ran out of things I wanted to do with it. I couldn't find a single music player I liked and I quickly ran out of games I wanted to play.
To me, fluidity and music are by far the most 2 important aspects of a smartphone. WP7 and a Zune Pass do this better than any other option.
So many people say NO to wp7 with sevral words;
Sevral people say YES to wp7 with so many words.
Very interesting!
Totally agree with everything the OP has said. Android just isn't a next-gen phone OS IMHO.
Great post by OP.
It's possible to see positives in both, while preferring to use one over the other.
Reflexx1 said:
Great post by OP.
It's possible to see positives in both, while preferring to use one over the other.
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Click to collapse
I need to print this out and:
1/. Go back to the ATT store where I met that d-bag rep referenced here:http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=924802
2/. Give this to my buddy who is about to purchase a Nexus S as his first smartphone.
Perfect post about WP7 IMHO.
I think it's a great post. It just goes to show that it doesn't matter which OS is better, or newer/older, or hot at the time. It comes down to what works for you, the person that actually has to use the phone on a day to day basis.