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I'm switching from WP7 (urgh) to Android, help me GAF!
- Thread starter NinjaBoiX
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Battery life is amazing on Samsung phones. I've played with a couple of them, and they are so great.
My Samsung Infuse lasts around 10 hours with everything (except blue tooth) on. Have internet radio, web browser, and even games running all at once, and I still get a bunch of battery life.
My Samsung Infuse lasts around 10 hours with everything (except blue tooth) on. Have internet radio, web browser, and even games running all at once, and I still get a bunch of battery life.
aorange999
Member
You should have waited a week MWC is next week and there will be a lot of new phones being announced. Also dat screen is way too big.
Or wait for the Lumia 900
If your so convinced on downgrading to Android here are my recomendations:
Galaxy Nexus (the new one)
Galaxy Note
Galaxy S2
No other phones bar the Galaxy Series, end of the discusion.
NinjaBoiX
Member
I didn't want to pay for an upgrade, this was free. Also, yeah, the phone could be considered too big. But the screen is too big? Surely not!
NinjaBoiX
Member
Or wait for the Lumia 900
If your so convinced on downgrading to Android here are my recomendations:
Galaxy Nexus (the new one)
Galaxy Note
Galaxy S2
No other phones bar the Galaxy Series, end of the discusion.
I don't see the appeal of WP7, it's ugly, restrictive, and quite slow in my experience. It's nice enough to use, it just doesn't seem to offer a great deal. And apps and games are extortionate on it. Yay for MS.
Ruud_Luiten
Member
Slow? You sure? My first generation WP7.5 telephone is blazing fast...
You can say anything about WP7, but slow isn't the right word...
NinjaBoiX
Member
Maybe it's the handset (HTC Mozart) but it stalls in the browser all the time. I dunno, it kind of feels like there isn't much to WP7, it feels really underwhelming. Android seems to be a veritable treasure trove of content, WP7 has a handful of overpriced games, and some apps I'll never use. The cupboards just seem a little bare to me.
brain_stew
Member
Touchwiz noticeably improved performance over stock Gingerbread and added a bunch of extra features and codecs.
Unknown Soldier
Member
Android as an OS is considerably more advanced under the hood. WP7 is a pretty face but that's all really by comparison. Anyone who thinks Android is a 'downgrade' is quite frankly delusional. Also, WebKit blows all incarnations of Internet Explorer away, the browsers on iOS and Android run rings around whatever MS is using in WP7 these days. Plus Chrome is now in beta on Android, and Firefox has been on Android forever (though kind of crappy). I think MS are calling whatever WP7 has Mobile IE9 but it's still mostly based on the Trident engine used in IE8, a browser which is almost 3 years old.
The Note is a fantastic device and it will do things that WP7 devices haven't even dreamed of yet. Oh, you'll be getting ICS on March 1st supposedly, so that's something to look forward to!
brain_stew
Member
What is the relevance if support in 3+ years? Nobody keeps a phone that long.
Yeah. These fucking contracts now are bullshit. To get a new phone free now on contract, it just isn't worth it. In fact even if you pay some money up front, it still probably isn't worth it.
You're better off getting a sim-free phone and going sim only.
I'd also wait until March/April because some of the new quad-core phones will be out then. If you're getting your phone on one of those bullshit contracts, it will probably piss you off when you realise you could have got a much better phone if you waited a couple of months. Even if you don't want the latest phone, the inevitable price drop you'll see once the next-gen phones start rolling out is enough to wait.
Unknown Soldier
Member
Samsung abandoning the original Galaxy S for ICS is pretty bad. You can still buy the Galaxy S or phones derived from it even today.
NinjaBoiX
Member
Oh man, it may be big, but the Note is a fantastic device. I don't really call that much (I have no friends) and mainly use it for browsing and texting (smut lines). But seriously, I am so looking forward to messing about with it, more so than any phone I can remember. Any apps and games I should get? I haven't used Android for like 2 years, totally out of the loop.
frankie_baby
Member
To be honest though are they really that bad, a 2 year contract at £30 a month works out at £720 which includes getting a four to five hundred pound phone "free" meaning your only paying two to three hundred pounds for the phone service, not too bad when looked at that way, its just not as good as we used to get it but at least its still a damn site better than the Americans get
NinjaBoiX
Member
I hear what you are saying, but to get a brand new phone, I'd probably have to pay, which I'm not willing to do. Plus, no matter when you get you're phone, it'll be superseded by a better handset a few months down the line. If I waited till April and posted a similar thread, I'd no doubt get someone saying, "you should wait till August, the new phones will be coming out". It's like buying a PC, no matter what you do, it'll be out of date before you know it.
VanMardigan
has calmed down a bit.
My nexus one says you're a liar. Launched in 2009, forgotten by late 2010. Has the hardware necessary for ice cream sandwich but ain't getting it.
NinjaBoiX
Member
Oh man, I looked into getting an iPhone, and it was £100 up front, then £50 a month for the basic package. Fuck that jazz, that's £1300, for a fucking phone!
My Note is free on a £30 a month contract, with 500 mins/unlimited texts/2gb of data/subscription to BT HotSpot roaming wifi/free insurance/and these changable extras every month like Sky Sports and whatnot. To add all of that to the iPhone contract would probably bring it up to at least £70-80 a month. Add on the £100 for the phone, and you'd be looking at the better part of £2000. The Note will cost me just over £700. And on paper, the Note is far better than the iPhone. It's just a no brainer.
Yeah. Mobile World Congress begins on the 27th of this month. At least wait to see what is coming out.
Depends what phone you're getting.
The Galaxy Nexus on Three comes to a total of £816 on the cheapest tariff. That is if you want the phone free. £34 a month to be exact. You get 500 minutes, 1000 texts and 1000mb of data for that.
Price on Amazon: £440. You can get it a little cheaper than that though. If you get a £12 month sim only contract with a similar amount of mintues and data it will cost you a total of £144. That comes to £584
I've also noticed that three has stopped doing the all-you-can-eat data for £15 offer. :/
http://store.three.co.uk/SIM_Only/Voice_Pay_Monthly
Oh wait... No they haven't.
here it is.
http://store.three.co.uk/view/product/ql_catalog/threecatdevice/1001?tariff=SIMONLYAYCE12600
here it is.
http://store.three.co.uk/view/product/ql_catalog/threecatdevice/1001?tariff=SIMONLYAYCE12600
NinjaBoiX
Member
I've already ordered the Note, it's arriving on Friday. I'm sure there'll be better phones announced, but probably not for free on a £30 a month contract. That's my limit too, so with all the extras I got, I'd be pushed to find a better deal elsewhere.
Okay. The Note is a bit too big for me. Not the phone I would choose, but a decent one none the less.
It wasn't the only reason I said wait though. There could very well be a drop on contract prices in a couple of months on certain phones once the newer phones start coming out. You'll be stuck on that contract for 2 years.
MarkMclovin
Member
I agree. If you look at it that way, then in 2 years time you'll still be paying £30 per month for a phone that isn't worth 4 hundred pounds. You'll be lucky if it's worth a quarter of that.
IMO, you are far better off saving for the phone first, then going for a decent sim only deal. I bought my GS2 from Amazon for just over £400 and my sim only deal is £4.90 per month that covers my minutes, texts and data easily.
But, horses for courses n all that.
NinjaBoiX
Member
But that's always the case though. There is always something better that comes along, no matter when you upgrade. I agree with everything else you said, but "hang on till the new phones come out" is something you could say to anyone, regardless of the situation. As I said, it's like PC's, there almost isn't such a thing as top-spec in such a fast moving industry.
And no matter when you start, you are always stuck with a 2 year contract. These issues are not exclusive to my situation, they are just cold hard facts.
Just curious how MS is 'restrictive'. What about the OS not letting you do that you want to do? I've had android and WP7 and I completely agree that Android is much more user friendly for people who want to do what they want to do with their phones but how is WP7 restrictive to you? You said you were a very simple user so I was curious how a simple user would feel the way you did.
Also, you're in for a bit of a shock if you think you'll get improved battery life from a top end android phone. As much as I loved the OS, the battery life on almost every phone was terrible. I rarely made it through half a day on my EVO while my work S2 isn't much better. My titan (wp7) and even more so my wife's Focus S (wp7) absolutely destroy anything I've ever used when it comes to battery life.
Not trying to convince you not to get an android phone. I think you should. I like switching OS's every time I get a new phone. Keeps everything fresh.
thesoapster
Member
Yep. I have the SGN and like it a lot, but the S2 will have the software. From what I've seen the S2's camera is better, too (except the SGN has the least shutter lag...if that's important to you).
NinjaBoiX
Member
No, it's okay. There's an app for that.
NinjaBoiX
Member
The Note has a 2500mAh battery. I'm reliably informed that battery life is not an issue on the Note.
You should probably stay away from Android then if you want games. iPhone is where it's at if you want high performance mobile games. It has the largest number of quality apps and the best games are much higher quality than anything on Android.
Android is less restrictive but I have to ask; to what end? What is it that you want to do that you think Android will offer?
I've spent time with all three operating systems and I absolutely hated using Android overall.
There's no "right" screen size. Personally, I too think that the Note's screen size was some Samsung engineer's dare that went just a little bit too far, but screen size preferences are all objective anyway. So hey, whatever makes you happy. I can't deny the screen size is awesome for web browsing, but if you've any familiarity with Android hardware at all you'll probably know you're not going to see many apps that take advantage of the Note's larger screen.
NinjaBoiX
Member
Yeah, but iPhone's are insultingly expensive (£100 up front, then £50 a month for the basic package? Yeah, no thanks) I refuse to pay almost three times the amount over the two years just to get a better choice of games. And the Note is a more capable device, gaming aside.
It's that much more expensive, huh? In the US, an iPhone 4S basically costs the same on contract as any number of other smart phones. A Galaxy S2 is the same price as a 4S around here.
The iPhone itself is quite fast. Android phones are all about specs, but the OS is slow enough that you still run into performance issues and hitches. The iPhone experience is just much smoother overall and more tailored to a mobile experience. Also, the Note uses a Pentile matrix screen (which I detest).
Still, it's a non-issue as the price difference in Europe kind of kills the iPhone idea for ya.
It doesn't matter what kind of hardware you have if the games aren't even available on your platform
No matter, you'll find out this stuff for yourself now that you've bought into Android
NinjaBoiX
Member
Eh? I said "gaming aside" it's a more capable device. Regardless, gaming isn't the be all and end all to me. I few little time-wasters and GTA3 will do me! But obviously iOS is the place for mobile gaming, but they are asking me for way too much money. I could get this phone, a Vita, some games, and still have the best part of a grand to spare! The iPhone, as good as it is, is ridculously priced to me.
Manmademan
Member
I'd wait a bit to see what's coming out of MWC, personally.
edit: reasoning being that 1.) the benchmarks on the Krait processor appears to make current processors a joke and 2.) new, shiny phones coming soon tend to mean price drops for the current crop. Waiting a month or two to see what's announced could mean serious money in your pocket.
iOS still does have much more games, though there's a great deal to keep you busy, and it's definitely improved a lot in the last couple years. Here's a couple of threads to keep you busy:
Android Gaming Thread
Apps for Android Thread
Enjoy your new phone! The Note does look really nice.. I'm looking forward to upgrading to whatever is best in another few months.
The N1 has a TINY ROM partitioned out for the OS. They literally couldn't fit ICS into it if they tried without cutting features out. Not only that, but any device pre-Honeycomb doesn't have support for unified storage (hence why you have OS storage, application storage and media storage). Nexus S has a much bigger ROM to play with, which is why it got the upgrade. There's no other reason behind it.
Cyanogen 9 will hit the N1, at some point. But they'll have to work around the restrictions of the hardware. That and the old 1ghz Snapdragon isn't kicking it like it used to.
NinjaBoiX
Member
Nice, cheers man.
The Faceless Master
Member
the Galaxy Note has spectacular battery life!
NinjaBoiX
Member
I got the official Flip cover too, sounds like the best mix of accessibility and protection. Although I may also get a pouch to slide that into as well, just for when it is in a bag or whatever. The flip cover barely increases the size at all (ah, the irony!) so it should slip inside a pouch, cover and all.
frankie_baby
Member
For some reason Iphones (at least the top ones) are charged an upfront fee for even with a contract which totally goes against how the uk has always had phones free on contract for the last 10 years, its probably mainly due to the networks thinking they can get away charging "cos you know like its an Iphone"
NinjaBoiX
Member
I'm pretty sure it's Apple's deal to be honest. Network operators are told what they must charge by Apple, and are legally obligated (or at least obligated to the extent of being able to stock their product) to stick to it. That's what the guy at Orange said anyway.
I'll admit, iOS is easily the best of the three OS's, and the iPhone is a glorious piece of kit, but nearly £2000 over two years is a scandalous amount of money to charge. Better games or not, I could get the Note with 2 years service with extras (£720) a PS Vita, a handful of games (£300), and still have nearly a grand to spare! It's ridiculous, I never realised how expensive they are. I'm suprised so many people are willing to pay that much TBH.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
My Blackberry contract runs out in a month (YESSS) and I'm thinking about my next phone too. I'm nearly guaranteed to do another 24 month contract, so I don't really want a 4s or a Galaxy S2 because I made the mistake of buying a year old phone last time. I want something brand new which will last me the two years well.
I hate the Windows Phone UI (so ugly), so I'm basically waiting out the iPhone 5 or Galaxy S3 announcements. Hurry up! I'm just going to keep my Blackberry contract rolling monthly until one of them come out.
I hate the Windows Phone UI (so ugly), so I'm basically waiting out the iPhone 5 or Galaxy S3 announcements. Hurry up! I'm just going to keep my Blackberry contract rolling monthly until one of them come out.
Congrats on the purchase. As a proud WP user it's the only phone that I wish also had a WP version (and WP support for the specs of course).
The browser on WP kicks the shit out of the one on iOS from my experience, no idea about Android since I haven't really used one since I dumped the Hero for my Omnia.
I don't get people who don't like Metro, especially when it's compared to Android... iOS I find ugly and dated, but at least it's cohesive. Google is making lots of progress in that department with ICS (from what I've seen of my brother's S II and roommate's Spica who both upgraded last week), but it's still way behind MS and Apple in terms of mobile UI IMO.
The browser on WP kicks the shit out of the one on iOS from my experience, no idea about Android since I haven't really used one since I dumped the Hero for my Omnia.
I don't get people who don't like Metro, especially when it's compared to Android... iOS I find ugly and dated, but at least it's cohesive. Google is making lots of progress in that department with ICS (from what I've seen of my brother's S II and roommate's Spica who both upgraded last week), but it's still way behind MS and Apple in terms of mobile UI IMO.
Foliorum Viridum
Banned
It's pure aesthetics to me. I just hate the way Metro looks. It's not to my taste at all.
I'd take my dated and shit Blackberry UI over it.
I'd take my dated and shit Blackberry UI over it.
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