Android?

[evadwolrab]

I have people telling me I should consider the HTC Desire instead. Does that do Flash too? I cannot decide!

PS. To add that app do I literally go to the site in my phone's browser? Because that would be fucking rad.

[Tech007]

Originally Posted by evadwolrab

I have people telling me I should consider the HTC Desire instead. Does that do Flash too? I cannot decide!

PS. To add that app do I literally go to the site in my phone's browser? Because that would be fucking rad.

Desire - is 2.1 and not flash for now. Nice phone. Flash it with CM6 and you are all good. But check what your carrier may have done to the OS. Like I said - it's a bit messy out there right now. DOZENS of different devices in 48 countries on 59 carriers in just 18 months. Compared to just ONE iPhone 4.

KATG app - yup manually download - press hold icon and pick install. Done. Rad-i-licious.

<tucks his geek back in>

But WAIT there's more - Android Tablets at KMart!!

[evadwolrab]

So basically, CM is an open-source distro that effectively copies the latest official Android and makes older phones have those features? Does that mean that Android doesn't auto-update itself and you have to keep buying the latest phone if you want the latest version of Android? Seems odd.

Wikipedia says the following:
Galaxy S: Operating system Android 2.1 (Upgradable to 2.2) with TouchWiz UI 3.0
Desire: Operating system Android 2.2 (Shipped with 2.1)

Is that people stretching the truth or have HTC done an official update? Also, it looks like I'll only be getting 2.1 with the Samsung and I'll have to use a third-party updater.

[Tech007]

OK here is my take on it all. And BTW I am a Google fan boy.

I like to call Android a "Google Phone". Data in the clouds. Slim apps on devices.

The phone carriers want to put themselves between the user and Google. And they go way beyond putting their logo in the start-up screen, and to geeks they mess it all up. And this slows down the revision process enormously.

HTC does Sense UI. Motorola does Blur.

CM is an attempt at getting back to the basic Google roots-ish.

[Tech007]

OS Updates - carriers can upgrade 3 ways;

- new handset
- download/PC/USB software update
- OTA - Over the air update. Done magically via carrier pushing out new build.

Guess which they prefer?

Geeks want OTA and 2.2 is being rolled OTA out as we speak.

I love CM - so far so that is my route/root ;-) . Rooting my phone was a long, torturous 3-4 hour process but now that it is done it takes about 5-10 minutes to flash new CM builds.

[flerchin]

As near as I can tell, CM only works on a very few specific devices. From the cyanogen website: "It’s been a few weeks of work, and a great effort from everyone involved! I’d like to present the first CM6 release candidates for the Nexus One, Dream, and Magic phones! Versions for other devices are on the way."

I love it, and helped about a dozen people root their phones to use it, but it's not for all devices.

I tried CM 5.08 for the Dream/Magic, I just looked up the Magic specs, and the extra memory you have probably mitigated the issues I was having.

[Tech007]

Yup - it's messy out there and you need to look before you leap right now.

But I'm really excited to see the cheap tablets and handsets we will be able to pick from by years end.

Just a note - watch out for cheap tablets with resistive touch screens. They are pokey and clunky like the screen on cheap car GPS units. Wait for the pricier capacitive screens that will roll out for $200-400 around Nov/December.

There will prob two lines of tablet/phone - 2.2 on the low end and android 3.0 on the higher end for 10" tablets.

Now you know why Apple rushed to market with the new phone and Pad. They could hear the android truck coming down the road...

[evadwolrab]

From what I can tell, comparison-wise:

HTC Desire
+ nicer/more integrated widgets
+ flash on camera
+ very pretty GUI (shh, it matters to some people)
+ slightly cheaper contracts
- battery life not as good
- video records lower resolution
- no GPU in the chip, so not as graphically powerful as the Samsung

Samsung Galaxy S
+ 720p, 30fps filming
+ best screen of the lot
+ front facing camera for future Skype goodness
+ fairly future-proof in connectivity (n-wifi and Bluetooth 3.0)
- blurry photos/jittery video
- Samsung seem slow at updating the firmware (but maybe they'll get better if they're really backing the phone as they seem to be)

It seems both will support Android 2.2 either now or in the near future.

It looks like the Galaxy is the better gadget, but the Desire runs slightly smoother on the interface side of things and looks damn pretty whilst it does it. Cannot... decide.

[ThisIsMyUserName]

Glad to see another adopter :-)
So far 7 of my friends have switched, mostly to Droids, and they had no idea other phones could be so awesome. Apple's marketing has everyone thinking they came up with things first, or are the sole providers of any features.

Depending on what phone you get, there are early lists of what phones are getting what updates. The only time you should need to buy a new phone to get an update, is if it's too old and can't support it. The Droid is going to be updated at least until the end of the year to version 3.0. Anything newer/faster than that should be good for a while.

Google also claims to be streamlining the update process so it's not months between one device vs. another.

Here are some handy sites I frequent for news/reviews.

Droid Life: A Droid Community Blog
Android and Me - Google Android phone news, apps, and rumors
Android Phone
Androinica

[flerchin]

The flash on the camera is a feature I really wish my phone had. It makes picture taking so much better. I'd go with the Desire just for that reason, or Nexus One.