I never had an Android phone and maybe will get a new phone by Xmas. I am using windows Mobile since HTC Tanager (2003) and 99 percent will get an HTC phone. The only question is, should I get an Android or Windows Mobile (6.5 or 7) I am using XP and Windows 7 on my computers so I am hesitant to get a Droid but also like to try it. Will I miss anything if I get a Droid?
Both Android and WinMo has it's pro's and con's. Windows Mobile is open (sort of) but to a certain extent, whereas Android is fully open source. WinMo 6.5 is damn near obsolete and somewhat slow. Window 7 has taken the Zune theme approach. Andriod is still Andriod, but they have an app store. If you're all about apps, Android is definitely the way to go. I switched from WinMo to Android a few years ago and had never looked back since. I recommend that you go into your local cell phone store and test both OS's out first to see what really fits your need. And no you will not miss out on anything if you don't buy a Droid. Verizon has release 2 newer model on top of the Droid (assuming the original Droid) - HTC Incredible & Motorola Droid X (or Driod 2)
Windows Mobile is as good as dead, and Windows 7 mobile seems to be designed to finish that job. It is to look and work almost identically to the Kin (and the Kin was microsoft's biggest flop ever; even BOB sold more copies!). At this point, no one makes a perfect mobile OS, but Android is currently the best of them IMHO. As a bonus, android tends to get free upgrades. Even after a phone stops getting official support, the community will keep support for these older devices (sometimes the Android community even provides support for windows mobile devices, by making ports of Android for them). This is in stark contrast to Windows Mobile and iPhoneOS, where updates are often either unavailable, or only available for purchase; not a free download. In the short time that I have had my droid, there have been massive advancements...and there are improvements and upgrades being released just about every week. If you buy an iPhone4, what you see now is what you get. Same with windows...but the DroidX you buy today has a very different OS than it will have in 2 years when the contract runs out.
Well, I have to agree that both WM and Droid have their good and bad spots. You could always do what I did, and upgrade to a phone that has been hacked or has been able to be re-flashed with custom roms. I got my LG Incite because it was possible to load hacked and custom roms for Windows Mobile 6.1 and 6.5 and I loved the freedom and content that it provided. Also the fact that we almost have the Droid OS loading perfectly on the Incite. All in all, I would say, yeah, head over to a store and test them both out. There is only one way to decide which one is better, and that is based on your needs and what is available that will actually prove usefull to you. I mean, I still hear people telling me that Apple rules them all cause they have so much this and that, but at the end of the day, all the apps they have to me are useless and pointless. Wow, this turned out a lot longer than I had planned! Sorry bout that guys!
I still have people telling me that apple is the greatest around for all the apps too...then I ask them what app, and I talk it into my phone to find the android version for free...then they say, "You can just talk into it with no typing on a crummy screen keyboard" and I say, "Yeah...but sometimes I still have use the slide-out because it has all the symbols"...then the stupid bastards go out and buy the iPhone4 because their iPhone 3gs is outdated and won't do things watching flash movies...then they come to me to try to fix their new phone when the screen is yellow, there is no signal, the internet is slow, and flash still does not work.
Ahhhh...... The good ol "apple rules", with no explanation or reasons to backing up. Lol. I used to own an iPhone (2G & 3G) and honestly, Apple WAS a good company but for the past 2 years, they've been putting out crap. Had hands with the 3GS & 4 with iOS4 and was not too impress. Their last honest product was the iPhone 2G (which supposedly set the standard for touchscreen smartphone). Everything after that is just a repetition of the product before it, with minimum hardware/software upgrades (this I did not like). Their latest release is the iPhone 4 - despite the attractive looking mirrored-finish design, the entire design is flawed. I've own and had lots of hands on with many mobile phones in the past (and still do) and can say that Apple adapts and integrates older outdated technology to their mobile phone devices and call it innovation. That to me, only show Apple's LACK of innovation (since the iPhone 2G). The only one's "WOW'd" by Apple's so-called "innovation" are, of course, other iPhone users, hence iPhones were all they know and most users were never exposed to any other phones/operating systems. Anyhow, enough with the rambling. There's plenty of stuff Android can do that makes it superior to iOS (compared to iPhones 4): *hotspot *flash support (Jobs firmly stands by "iPhone will NEVER get flash support", regardless the billions of pleads by other iPhone users) *java enabled/support (again, Jobs stand by it) *JIT on Android 2.2 *free voice activated turn-by-turn navigation from Google *widgets, full customization, personalization, etc. *more productive apps (unlike those thousands and thousands of useless Apple apps and especially those single apps that are remake and repeatedly released 1000 - 5000 different times, which results in a larger app library. Not only that, Android apps has always been more developer driven, not company driven like Apple). *has no limit to applications *cost cheaper but has more features and most are higher end than iPhone *is opensource - FREEDOM (whereas Apple is closed and they determine/control how you use your iPhone) *has a variety of phones to choose from *can do almost everything and anything, including 3rd party, out of the box, without the need for rooting - "jailbreaking" *free updates, not charged like Apple *available to ANY cell phone provider (instead of only AT&T) *As you can see, Android truly has no limit and I can go on forever, but most importantly, there's no dropped calls on android devices. All in all, It all really comes down to preference. If you want a shiny, plain/simple, overpriced, overhyped, already outdated device to look cool in, go with iPhone. If you like obsolete products, go with WinMo or PalmOS/WebOS. If you're business oriented, go with RIM (BlackBerry). If you want variety, selection, future, speed, advance options, FREEDOM, go with Android. If you want super HIGH END hardware and quality, go with Symbian/MeeGo (Nokia).
When apple released the first iPhone, they ran a whole bunch of ads claiming that they had the whole internet...they kept running those ads off-and-on for years, remember the ad that claimed, "this is not a shrunken down internet, this is the full internet"...yet to this day, there is no flash support. Apple may have been better than the alternatives of the time (Blackberry and WinMo6), but they were still a terrible company who repeatedly broadcast lies to millions of people in order to sucker them into buying devices that didn't do anything close to the claims. These days? Well, to compare Steve Jobs with Hitler isn't really fair; he never killed any jews as far as I know. However, he is a fascist totalitarian dictator who acts like a meth head and goes on long, irrelevant rants to attempt to explain his complete lack of logic...I guess that is why he reminds me of Hitler so much. Just to be clear: Google sucks, RIM sucks, Apple sucks, and Microsoft sucks...it is just a matter of which company sucks the least for your situation. At the current time, both Apple and RIM restrict their best devices to AT&T, so they are both out for anyone who wants to make phone calls or surf the net. Microsoft just plain sucks right now, and Windows Mobile 7 will be even worse...so that just leaves Android and Symbian...and while Symbian is still around, they are almost forgotten.
It is totally depends on you some prefer android as compared to windows mobiles while others later vice versa. Both Android OS and Windows mobiles have its own pros and cons to attract it buyers. I will explain bit of it. Android OS Pros: Linux Based OS. Open Source Very Hackable and Powerful Being updated and Improved at a fast pace Developers exited, and proving interesting Apps Android OS cons: Limited number of Handsets, more expected Q3 Power Management issues currently, but may improve Interface still not that intuitive and easy to use, especially for non techies. Windows Mobile 6.5 OS Windows mobiles Pros: Stable, well established. Thousands of programs available New Interface improves Touch navigation Great sync capability with Exchange and now Google Mobile sync Variety of Handsets available on all networks Easy to tether,with Internet sharing Easy to hack and great community at XDA-Developer Windows mobiles Cons: Still an old OS, so can be a bit chunky at times Interface not completely consistent Browser Not as good as Safari, bit Opera and Skyfire provide good alternatives Carrier Crippled features on many phones, but pretty easy to hack.
I would have to disagree with the statement about all three android cons you listed... Limited number of Handsets, more expected Q3 -There are phones on every network, several phones on most networks. There may have been more phones made for winmo 6.5, but currently there are more android phones available to buy new. Power Management issues currently, but may improve -That is a matter of the phone. My droid goes a whole day on a charge, listening to audio books, surfing the net, watching flash videos, using GPS, using WiFi, and overclocked 250mhz. I use this thing about 15 hours a day, and I still have 30-40% battery left when I plug in at night. I know there are some phones that can't last 15 hours in standby mode (Samsung Galaxy/Captivate)...but that is a hardware issue combined with the refusal to do firmware updates. Interface still not that intuitive and easy to use, especially for non techies. -I would say Android is about the same as iOS here. There are a lot more features on android, so there are more menus for them, but the features that are on both devices are equally easy to access and use. As for winm6.5, it is terrible in this respect; it has few features and they are all hard to get at. These are the reasons that those smart hackers over at XDA spend so much time trying to get Android running on winmo phones!
I almost forgot this thread. Thanks for the insights. I'm sold at Android right now especially that WP7 doesn't have copy and paste and multi tasking. Might get a Desire HD next month.
Bugless Beast (with the more useless apps removed), low voltage 800mhz kernel, and a little bit of tuning with the greatest app ever...AutoStarts.
Same here, I was really looking forward to WP7. I still think the OS is great and feels very organized. However they really messed up on their launch devices. Copy and Paste is supposed to be coming soon with an update, but either way you can never go wrong with Android. If you could even wait a bit more, wait to see what handsets companies will release for Android 2.3, which should be very soon.
