Which phone should I get?

[sookster54]

If you're going with Blackberry, wait a bit more because the 9780 will be replacing the 9700 and quite a few current models are reaching EOL in Sept or Oct (8520/30, 9650, 9700) and the Storm 2 is already EOL'd. However, Blackberries are rather behind in the smartphone industry, I've been with Blackberries for over 2 years and switched to Android a couple months ago and haven't looked back. RIM hasn't convinced me to stay with BB compared to what Android has right now.

I'm naturally a fast typer on a regular typewriter/keyboard (~140wpm), I can type fast on the Blackberry's Pearl multitouch (not suretype) just using one thumb, but the QWERTY is a tad slower but got better once I did the keyboard calibration.

 

[SpicyTacoto]

Also with Telus and switched to a Desire from my BB Storm a couple of weeks ago. I never even considered any other Android device carried by Telus or frankly at all. After much research I came to realize that from a hardware standpoint, the Desire is up at the top of the pack compared against all the other Android phones out there at present...so it was a no-brainer for me.

As for looks...well, ditto what others have said. Why would you buy a phone solely based on looks? That said...I tend to agree that the Desire lacks a certain je ne sais quoi in terms of its appearance, but I got a nice skin on mine...it feels *awesome* in the hand and is the perfect size. Fits in a front pocket like butta.

I can honestly say there is very little I miss now that I'm without my BB. BBM...sure, but I downloaded Handcent (which is an SMS app) and it makes text messaging feel like chat and of course I have unlimited text (who doesn't nowadays) so I just use text messaging in place of BBM. Haven't noticed a diff. Of course it was nice with BBM to be able to see the message was delivered and read, but really...it's totally not a deal breaker.

The Desire is FAST...love that about it, and there are SO many awesome apps available from the marketplace. I use my phone for business primarily and have found Exchange Active Sync to be perfectly fine. There are also apps you can download to improve the Exchange mail function. It delivers mail to my phone faster than BB did, interestingly. With BB, the mail would come into my desktop inbox and reach my phone a good 4-5 mins later. With the Desire, I receive it in my dekstop inbox and on the phone practically simultaneously. Pretty cool.

In short...I would have LOVED to have stayed loyal to BB (being a good old Canadian girl) and Blackberries certainly have their pluses like BBM and unmatched communication ability...but like a pp said, RIM just isn't keeping up with the smartphone pack, unfortunately. Overall, Android phones in general have much more to offer, IMO.

Good luck with your decision. I really feel if you go with the Desire you'll be a happy camper, and won't know how you managed without it!

 

[Karlohumpy]

Desire is double the price of the hero...Is it twice as good? Maybe. but still a valid point.

I've got the desire, my GF loves it and her birthday is coming up.However, i'm not sure she would appreciate the performance difference between the two phones as much as I would appreciate the price differnece

Plus the hero has awesome reviews, despite it's older/inferior hardware it's probably still a good phone for those who aren't obsessed with getting everything possible out of a handset.

 

[ajanu]

Desire is double the price of the hero...Is it twice as good? Maybe. but still a valid point.

I've got the desire, my GF loves it and her birthday is coming up.However, i'm not sure she would appreciate the performance difference between the two phones as much as I would appreciate the price differnece

Plus the hero has awesome reviews, despite it's older/inferior hardware it's probably still a good phone for those who aren't obsessed with getting everything possible out of a handset.

The Desire is $50 cheaper than the Hero to buy from Telus outright. It's $30 more on 3 year contract. Don't ask why, no one understands Telus pricing. Smartphones*|* Phones & devices*|* TELUS Mobility Both are cheaper than the pile that is the Milestone.

I had a Hero, I bought it about 7 days before the desire came out. I instantly went back to the store, payed the extra $30, and don't regret it at all. The Desire is in almost every way you can measure 2x the Hero. I don't mind the looks, and there are tons of cases available.

If you want a utilitarian phone, BB is fine. You want fun, you want a Desire. To buy a Hero, you'd have to be a fool or someone to who $30 is a lot of money. You can't run 2.0 apps on the Hero out of the box, and you can't see pixles on the desire screen.

 

[sashag]

Hi All!

I've just registered with this site, and have been following the Blackberry vs. HTC Desire threads. I'm about to finish my 'pay as you go' plan with Virgin Mobile here in Canada, and I'm ready to go with a monthly plan. I've looked into possibly getting a Blackberry Curve 8530, but I'm not happy with the fact that I would also have to have a voice and 'data' plan to go along with it

I also looked into possibly getting the HTC Desire as I've checked out various 'review' sites that talked about the performance of the Desire. I liked what I read, especially when it comes to the speed of the processor. Right now, London Drugs and Telus Kiosks are selling the Desire for about $80 without a 'data' plan attached to it. I think that no matter where I buy the Desire, it would also have to be on a three year plan. I've never liked long-term plans no matter who the carrier was.

The question I would like answered is, can the HTC Desire be 'unlocked' or not? If I'm going to buy a phone, whether it's the Blackberry or Desire, I want to know if I can use these phones on another network once the three year plan was over? I thought that I also read on this forum that someone that just bought the Desire, wanted to 'unlock' their phone. I'm guessing that this person must have bought the Desire 'outright', otherwise I don't think that they would have been able to get out of their contract if it wasn't. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[soupbandit]

I was also wondering if it's possible I can take the hero back and get the desire if i don't like it a couple days after i get it.

edit: I should also say that I'm coming from a chocolate spin -_- so any smartphone would seem amazing to me.

 

[Wardogz]

At the very least you must get an HTC Legend, but I would recommend the Desire. The Hero is past it, it's too laggy.

 

[Karlohumpy]

The Desire is $50 cheaper than the Hero to buy from Telus outright. It's $30 more on 3 year contract. Don't ask why, no one understands Telus pricing. Smartphones*|* Phones & devices*|* TELUS Mobility Both are cheaper than the pile that is the Milestone.

I had a Hero, I bought it about 7 days before the desire came out. I instantly went back to the store, payed the extra $30, and don't regret it at all. The Desire is in almost every way you can measure 2x the Hero. I don't mind the looks, and there are tons of cases available.

If you want a utilitarian phone, BB is fine. You want fun, you want a Desire. To buy a Hero, you'd have to be a fool or someone to who $30 is a lot of money. You can't run 2.0 apps on the Hero out of the box, and you can't see pixles on the desire screen.

What the hell is TELUS?..that pricing is rather strange? Im from the UK and for a sim free desire i'm looking at 280-300 pounds and for a hero 120-150 pounds. For 30 dollars difference, as you say you'd have to be a fool to not go with the desire.

-I also looked at the legend. More affordable, but still significantly more expensive than the hero.

 

[sookster54]

Desire is double the price of the hero...Is it twice as good? Maybe. but still a valid point.

Clear out your eyes and look again. The Hero is $500, the Desire is $450.

Hero: 3.2" screen, 256MB RAM, 528MHz CPU, Android 1.5
Desire: 3.7" screeen, 512MB RAM, 1GHz CPU, Android 2.1/2.2

Karlo, Telus is a Canadian carrier (1 of the 3 big), and even though they have the most amount of subscribers (3 yr contract) and largest gain in Q2, they're the worst, IMO. Their website is half broken right now since most of us can't sign in to pay up or modify our plans/services and they're encouraging us to go paperless at the same time, and their OS updates are almost a year behind. And their retention/CS stinks.

 

[sookster54]

I was also wondering if it's possible I can take the hero back and get the desire if i don't like it a couple days after i get it.

edit: I should also say that I'm coming from a chocolate spin -_- so any smartphone would seem amazing to me.

You SHOULD be able to take it back and exchange it plus the difference in price. As long as you don't modify the phone (re rooting, flashing).

LOL @ the Chocolate.

 

[sookster54]

The question I would like answered is, can the HTC Desire be 'unlocked' or not?

Yes it can be unlocked via mobileincanada, if you don't want a contract you'll have to pay $450 plus tax for it ($503 in BC & ON), but honestly it's worth every penny.

 

[SUroot]

...Is it twice as good?

Yes. My fiance has a hero. Even now its been updated to 2.1, whenever I have to use it, I cringe a little in displeasure. Great phone but once you've tried the desire, there's no going back

 

[SpicyTacoto]

Karlo, Telus is a Canadian carrier (1 of the 3 big), and even though they have the most amount of subscribers (3 yr contract) and largest gain in Q2, they're the worst, IMO. Their website is half broken right now since most of us can't sign in to pay up or modify our plans/services and they're encouraging us to go paperless at the same time, and their OS updates are almost a year behind. And their retention/CS stinks.

You're high. TELUS is nowhere near the worst. I've been with them for over a decade and have generally good things to say. I've been able to upgrade phones mid-contract numerous times and I have a very competitive rate plan. You would not catch me within 1,000 miles of Rogers or Bell, personally.

 

[sookster54]

You're high. TELUS is nowhere near the worst. I've been with them for over a decade and have generally good things to say. I've been able to upgrade phones mid-contract numerous times and I have a very competitive rate plan. You would not catch me within 1,000 miles of Rogers or Bell, personally.

Been with Telus since they bumped BCTel off the map back in 98, the past couple years they've been nothing but difficult with me. Go on over to howardforums and read up the complaints. My sister is on Bell and they've been good service to her, I've been pondering.

 

[SpicyTacoto]

I would consider your sister lucky. Everyone I know who is with bell has nothing but problems. Not surprised that there is bad feedback on hofo..no carrier can make every consumer happy, and sometimes it even varies geographically.

Anyway...we hijacked the thread a bit here...