Nicker on 3/6/2012 at 20:08
Greetings TTLG Technocrati.
My phone still has buttons and apparently this is no longer de-riguer, so I will either be upgrading with my present carrier or signing on with a new one.
But all the claims and promises of the various devices presently available are mind boggling and sorting out the hype from the reality is a career path I cannot dedicate myself to at this time. And that's even before I try to untangle the carrier plans available...
My question is, what are your recommendations for a touch-screen phone?
Your insights into either specific models or into the significance of various technical qualities and capabilities of the hardware and software, would be greatly appreciated.
Apart from the usual telephone, text and internet access, my specific interest is high quality photo and video capability.
Thank you all in advance for your time.
Al_B on 4/6/2012 at 22:31
The problem with mobile phones is that there are almost as many opinions as there are phones. As I'm sure you've seen, IOS and Android are the two platforms with the most traction at the moment with Microsoft's Windows Phone, RIM's Blackberry and Nokia's Symbian lagging behind.
I personally prefer the Android platform as it is open, easy to develop for and there are a decent number of apps available for it. In my opinion it's not as slick as the products available on Apple's platform as a whole, but it's not been a major hardship.
As far as a phone is concerned, if you can stretch to something like the latest iPhone 4 or Samsung Galaxy S2 or later you should be reasonably future-proofed. Neither will be as good quality as a dedicated camera and it'll all change within six months, of course, but it'll at least be a starting point.
Nicker on 5/6/2012 at 22:12
Cheers Al_B.
Thank you for leaving the beaten path and sharing your insight. Future proofing is a real concern especially since, as you observed, the future is only a few month away.
You have given me some points of reference to keep in mind. Much appreciated.
BrokenArts on 5/6/2012 at 23:03
I moved the thread back to get more opinions than anything. Nicker, take it from here. We've had discussions before about razors, etc.
SubJeff on 5/6/2012 at 23:54
Quote Posted by Al_B
easy to develop for
Says who?
This is my advice as an Android zealot with my 3rd Android phone (HTC Sensation).
If you have a Mac and an iPad then get an iPhone.
If you are a PC user get an Android phone, and then an Android tablet if you ever want a tablet.
Why? Imho it is better to say within the same "ecosystem" because you can sync everything. I grudgingly use Windows because I need Office (and no, Open Office
won't do) and all the games I have are Windows games. But I get on fine with it tbh and all the Google stuff that is synced more or less works fine on the PC/phone. Google still haven't combined all their stuff (Picasa for example) but as far as email, calendar, Google+ it's all good.
At to which specific phone? iPhone 4S, obviously, or if going Android then a Galaxy S3 or a HTC One X.
Briareos H on 6/6/2012 at 00:32
I just got a HTC One S and it's a great piece of hardware. So thin and fragile though... like all smartphones you just don't get to let it slip and fall down, even from a few feet. It works wonderfully and the camera is great and fast. Some sample shots from a random website (
http://www.soyacincau.com/2012/03/28/sample-pictures-htc-one-x-and-one-s/) here.
The One S is cheaper and outperforms the One X in every benchmark and almost every feature. The One X or GS3 shouldn't be recommended unless you enjoy screens the size of Canada. And to think I still find the One S too big compared to my old HTC Desire.
Chimpy Chompy on 6/6/2012 at 01:13
I got an HTC Wildfire S cos it was cheap. :p
tbh I'm mostly happy with it. Except for the puny 128mb onboard storage, much of which is already taken up with preloaded stuff. Not all apps can be moved to the SD card - I've tried some workarounds with mixed success. So i've been limited in how many I can install. It's frustrating as just, say, half a gig would cover most people's needs and I doubt it would force a major price hike.
Still, it does all the basic smartphone stuff. I can check ebay auctions or my google reader or amusing cat videos, or use it as a satnav.
Nicker on 6/6/2012 at 09:44
Quote Posted by BrokenArts
I moved the thread back to get more opinions than anything. Nicker, take it from here. We've had discussions before about razors, etc.
Thanks for the relocation, BA. It's all about location.
And thank you to everyone for their replies.
scumble on 6/6/2012 at 10:04
Quote Posted by Subjective Effect
If you have a Mac and an iPad then get an iPhone.
This does assume that you're willing to fork out the dough for a phone every month. Like Chimpy Chompy I got an HTC Wildfire as it's a very frugal Android handset. It is a bit sluggish, but I don't think I want to pay extra even if the iPhone is a decent piece of kit. It would just be an expensive toy for me.
Also I'm not senior enough to get one from the company I work for...
