SWMBO has been going on about getting a iPhone 3GS since a stepson got one - she likes the way you can download all those useless apps :) - but we can't really afford it. However there's a website where they rate the HTC Desire higher than the iPhone:
www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/15-best-mobile-phones-in-the-world-today-645440?artc_pg=16
(iPhone is #2)
carphonewarehouse are doing the HTC 'free' on a £25 tariff:
www.carphonewarehouse.com/buy/HTC-DESIRE-TG25T-WCON
It looks tempting - any thoughts? Her current phone is just a 'normal' one.
Last edited by: Focus on Fri 14 May 10 at 13:02
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I'll be following this thread with interest as I'm due an upgrade soon and am looking at the two phones that you've mentioned. I'm also looking at the Sony Ericsson Xperia.
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I too am in this boat,
My son works for vodphone, and came home with a desire.
It is a superb phone, very nice to use, simple and easy as you want or loaded with toys if you need them. It does everything you could ever want or need from a phone and looks really nice too.
The battery life *stinks* tho. Really really bad. It will last all day *if your lucky*
I am wainting to see what the iphone V4 looks like - due in the uk in June. meantime I stick with my iphone 3g
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>> The battery life *stinks* tho. Really really bad. It will last all day *if your
>> lucky*
From the review - any help?
Although the [battery life] is a little annoying out the box (HTC wants you to use lots of updating widgets from the start) once you take some things down (or set them to manually update) the battery use is a lot better.
www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/htc-desire-679515/review?artc_pg=13
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>> Although the [battery life] is a little annoying out the box (HTC wants you to
>> use lots of updating widgets from the start) once you take some things down (or
>> set them to manually update) the battery use is a lot better.
No it still stinks. there is a higer capacity battery on the way apparently.
Last edited by: VxFan on Fri 14 May 10 at 18:57
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I've just had the Desire arrive and it certainly is a nice piece of kit. I had another Android phone on the earlier version (1.5) and this is certainly a step forward. With any smartphone like this you will have to charge it everyday (overnight) if you are using its potential, but this isnt an issue for me as it soon becomes habitual and a small price to pay when you consider what it does.
It syncs brilliantly with Google mail which means your email / contacts/ calendar etc are always backed up . It also has the free Google Sat Nav (I've not tested it yet) like other v2.0 android phones.
The following links may be of interest:
androidforums.com/htc-desire/
android.modaco.com/category/430/htc-desire-desire-modaco-com/
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PS I got mine for the same price 300/300+ internet on 18mnth contract ! (Tmob)
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Because the HTC is a newer phone it is technically better than the current iPhone 3GS.
In terms of applications iPhone has shed loads but then most are rubbish. I can't vouch for the HTC but I expect that once one has the main useful apps everything else isn't really worth it. So I expect they are pretty well the same there.
However, bear in mind that the iPhone 4 is due out in a month or so and will have a much better camera, processor etc. I am waiting till then to upgrade my 3G iPhone.
I also feel that Google has been very underhand about the whole Android thing vs iPhone, so personally wouldn't support their OS by buying an Android handset.
Also the iPhone, for me certainly has worked pretty well and any gripes I have will be sorted by then next model.
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Bet it wont be free on a £25/month deal tho' !
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err no.
We pay £21 / month on iPhones with the business shared tariff, but the phone is still £150 or so. (They are about that second hand mind you!)
Edit: but bear in mind that the primary contract is much more than that for the privilege of the shared minutes
Last edited by: car4play on Fri 14 May 10 at 15:21
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I'm going to upgrade to an iPhone V4 in October when my Blackberry contract finishes - I like the Phone interface and well used to it on my iTouch (which will become redundant) O2 are currently offering 93 quid for an ex-contract Blackberry Bold - mine has been in an Otterbox from new and is spotless. So sell the phone to 02, sell the iTouch, sell the Otterbox so I should be quids in. The Bold was free on my current contract.
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Might be a daft question - regarding the £25 contract, does any non-Wifi internet access come out of the 300 included minutes?
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With my 02 contract free internet and wifi access.
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Bother - HTC is now out of stock at carphonewarehouse (sure it was in stock earlier).
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You need to check the deal carefully. The one i selected included unlimited internet (subject to fair use) but in most cases mobile internet will be a separate element which is either included or excluded and not linked to the inclusive minutes.
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Have you looked at the Nokia 5800?
I have one, and it does most of the things the Iphone does, up until now I have preferred 'basic' phones, but I think this ones the bee's knee's
A lot of my friends have Iphones, but personally I don't see the attraction over the 5800.
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It depends how much techy minded you are. Apple products are crippled for any nerdy use. If you wish to jailbreak it, then go for iPhone.
Else Android based phones are better. Plenty of free apps and no iTune business.
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the nokia 5800 is nowhere near the iphone. Only the HTC desire comes close.
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>> the nokia 5800 is nowhere near the iphone. Only the HTC desire comes close.
>>
Pray explain?
I can surf the net, text, Email, take photo's, play and record video, download useless apps, and ummmm errrr.... what else?
Hmmmmmm
I know! make phone calls! ;-)
The OP said they can't really afford an Iphone, and are used to a basic phone.
I would say that the 5800 would at least be a halfway house to the Iphone, at a reasonable cost.
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Its the way it works, the ergonomics, the quality of the screen, the way the tou8ch screen works, web browsing on the Iphone is streets ahead of any other phone. (with the finger pinch feature to widen the screen, and the flip to landscape mode)
you need to use one to realise the why.
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All smart phones are essentially toys but there is no doubt that the iphone is the best toy of all.
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>> there is no doubt that the iphone is the best toy of all.
Not according to Techradar :)
(see link in 1st post)
It looks like the £25 contract doesn't include unlimited internet, but there are a number of contracts that do for £30 eg. Orange do 500 mins + unlimited texts + unlimited internet.
Regarding the 5800, there is a good review here where they give it 5 stars:
www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/nokia-5800-xpressmusic.htm
"It may not have quite the polished feel of the iPhone, but with so many good features, it's in many ways better than the iPhone. Headline features include the very high resolution touchscreen with 16 million colours, the 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, 3G video calling, an excellent web browser with support for Flash, the music player & FM radio, GPS positioning with Nokia Maps, WiFi, Bluetooth and an 8GB memory card."
And you can get that free with unlimited internet for £20 (only 100 mins though), so I'll certainly mention it to SWMBO. She'll need to see them in the flesh first.
Meanwhile I'll just keep on using SWMBO's old (circa 2005) Samsung E350, which only got passed on to me after it had passed through my son's hands...
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I think you've already convinced yourself Focus and have got to the stage of searching out selective reviews to support your view. The consensus of those who worry about these things is that the iphone is still the best on the market but that the 5800 is a good phone at a good price.
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I've got a 5800 with unlimited internet for £15/month. I got it because I couldn't justify the monthly cost of an I-Phone. While it does lots of things, when I compared it to my friends I-Phone, it really didn't come close.
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>> I've got a 5800 with unlimited internet for £15/month. I got it because I couldn't
>> justify the monthly cost of an I-Phone. While it does lots of things, when I
>> compared it to my friends I-Phone, it really didn't come close.
>>
Really its horses for courses, as the OP stated in their opening post, like MLC and myself, the cost of an Iphone compared to the 5800 is prohibitive, and hard to justify.
as always, my advise is to step back, look at what you want the choices have to offer, factor in the costs, then decide which is the best option for you.
as I said, a lot of my friends have Iphones, and don't get anywhere near using all the functions, so IMO means they have wasted money, where as I have a cheaper phone, I probably use it to much the same level as they do, so I feel I have the better deal!
Go play in a few phone shops, see what they have to offer, ask their advice, then go away and think (ignore the 'best deal if you buy now nonsense)!
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I should add I'm not disappointed with the 5800. The free Nokia maps function with sat nav and camera warnings is particularly good.
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>> I think you've already convinced yourself Focus
Well the iPhone wasn't really an option as I said, but only because of the cost - I thought it was the best at what it did.
>> and have got to the stage of searching
>> out selective reviews to support your view.
Not at all - I can't remember how I got to it, but the review I've mentioned is the only one I've looked at so far. There may well be others that don't rate it - I've yet to check.
>> The consensus of those who worry about these
>> things is that the iphone is still the best on the market but that the
>> 5800 is a good phone at a good price.
It's the HTC Desire that the Techradar website reckons is better than the iPhone - I'd be interested to hear of more users of both, not because we're thinking of buying an iPhone (see above), but to check that the Desire isn't going to be a disappointment. The 5800 is still an outside bet.
EDIT: if the iPhone was the same price as the Desire, I think we'd get it
Last edited by: Focus on Sat 15 May 10 at 11:32
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I have the Nexus One, which is virtually identical to the Desire. It thrashes the iPhone in terms of screen quality and resolution, and is considerably faster for web browsing. Google Maps looks much better, and you get decent, free, turn by turn navigation which even speaks road names.
Good(ish) selection of apps, and with the new Android update called FroYo due next week people are predicting a 450% speed increase.
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I have used both, as I said above, and as above I said you ARE going to be disapointed by the Desire.
It fails the basic function of being a phone, when you need it most. The last thing you need is an important call to be made and the battery is dead on you.
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Have you considered the possibility that you had a dodgy one? I use mine intensively and invariably get 2 days use out of it.
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As I said, my son works for vodaphone, so I had the chance to use several.
A whole two days? wow. I dont call that good either.
Edit. The Iphone was charged in the car on Wednesday. Its been left turned on with Bluetooth and Wireless turned on, and has 1/2 power left.
Last edited by: Zero on Sat 15 May 10 at 13:15
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We're going to have to agree to disagree on this. iPhone battery life is equally as pants as any smartphone, and I think you have to accept that you're going to have to plug it in every day or two to recharge.
Either you don't use your iPhone (if you left it in the car then regardless of bluetooth or wireless settings it's barely going to be using power) or you've managed to discover a whole new form of battery technology.
I rest my case, however, on the fact that when the battery on the Desire goes flat in the middle of nowhere, it's a 20 second job to swap it for a different one.
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>> the nokia 5800 is nowhere near the iphone
5800XM is best value for money smart phone. It has more features than iPhone. Its only issue is occasional operating system crash. Otherwise, it is a winner.
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Best value does not necessarily mean 'best'.
It's down to personal opinion. As a 5800 owner, I'd rather have an I-Phone.
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>> I rest my case, however, on the fact that when the battery on the Desire
>> goes flat in the middle of nowhere, it's a 20 second job to swap it
>> for a different one.
If you have one, and it hasnt caught fire in your pocket.
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I would go for an iPhone if choosing in this category. I prefer a good phone personally (my phone but company SIM that is data less) and an iPod touch. If my company SIM had data I might get an iPhone.
I saw an HTC Windows mobile device a few days ago on holiday. The screen was brilliant and all the rest.... about 120% size and weight of an iPhone though.
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HTC Desire vs iPhone - Badwolf
