My opinion of Android and HTC phones ( desireHd)

[Dhfathbd]

I am new to this forum

I have recently purchased a desire HD phone having been an iPhone user for the past few years

On the phone and system...the jury is still out.....with a gun to my head I would have to say the iPhone is still tops .......I have still got my iPhone as a back up

Reasons ......

1/ a number of issues with syncing to exchange

2/ won't read HTML emails

3/ software seems " gluggy" ...not smooth... A little like the early iPhones with the new software upgrade

4/ battery is not good..runs out to quickly

5/ messy to set up...particularly for inexperienced people ...I am not necessarily inexperienced with these things but you don't want to be spending hours and hours playing around with a phone when you have a business to run

In summary....I think android and HTC are on the right track but a way to go yet....I understand that there are workarounds with issues but again...refer point 5.... There is a time limit, music and photos, seriously no one will get near Apple with this aspect in my opinion
I am not biased in any way..I just call a spade a spade as we say in Australia...call it as I see it

Good luck to Android and the phone manufacturers ....good competition is healthy but get it right, spend more money on R&D... get mums and dads to test your phones and not so called experts

 

[k0smo86]

I like to think android is a phone def. geared more towards tech savvy people, enjoy your iPh*ne!

 

[THE ANDROID]

Yeh I got the DHD today and the iPhone 4 is still the best phone out there.

Plus it's easier to jailbreak(root) an iPhone and not forget that some of the older models of iPhones can run Android.

Jailbroken iPhone 4 pwns any Android device.

 

[HTCWozz]

I disagree.

 

[cracksquirrel]

I disagree aswell,

1, I don't use exchange so not a problem for me.

2, I can read HTML emails just fine.

3, Every piece of software I have on my phone runs as smooth as silk, No lag or anything.

4, Battery lasts easily as long as I need it to and I use it for music, pics, maps, web broowsing, email, a few games and at the end of the day there is still about 20% charge left.

5/ Easiest phone I have ever had to set up, and I have had a lot.

I really cant fault this phone at all.

 

[HTCWozz]

I disagree aswell,

1, I don't use exchange so not a problem for me.

2, I can read HTML emails just fine.

3, Every piece of software I have on my phone runs as smooth as silk, No lag or anything.

4, Battery lasts easily as long as I need it to and I use it for music, pics, maps, web broowsing, email, a few games and at the end of the day there is still about 20% charge left.

5/ Easiest phone I have ever had to set up, and I have had a lot.

I really cant fault this phone at all.

Hear hear. Unfortunately though people who have sold their soul to Steve jobs will never see the light. Tis a shame.

 

[Dhfathbd]

Sold my soul to Steve Jobs...what a lot of rubbish....I am a huge fan of good design and well engineered products and it just happens to be that a lot of the apple stuff is in that category, however I spend most of my life using apple equipment but using engineering software developed for windows based platforms...hence I run in bootcamp

In terms of Exchange (which is Microsoft product and none better in my opinion) ..if you run a business as I do it is a critical tool for a mobile phone, any other email programs other than blackberry are for consumers that do not require sophistication

I understand that the Desire or other phones might run more smoothly by running non exchange arrangements but that is not really the point...millions of people and business run with exchange and they need a phone that works well ...desire HD is just not in the same category as the iPhones for these purposes

Try running flickr on a desire hd and then try it on the iPhone ( if you actually have an iPhone and are not just caught up in all the "Jobs vs the rest nonsense" ) and you will realize the difference..I rest my case and reemphasize that I am definitely not a supporter of Jobs or any other individual but rather I take my hat of to the actual people that develop clever products that have been thoroughly developed and tested for all walks of life..unfortunately the Android and matching hardware is not yet up to that level but let's all hope they keep trying because good competition makes for better product for the end user.

 

[HTCWozz]

I just don't understand how you can "take your hat off" to apples product and not everyone elses, on all side by side comparisons I do the DHD and the iPhone they are very much on par with each other, I certainly take my hat off to both products.

And besides there is a lot of "iPhone is great cause I say so" kids our there who won't give HTC a look in because of that philosophy.

 

[cracksquirrel]

I have never owned an iPhone and I never will, Played with a mates and they just don't do anything for me.

Maybe flickr is better on an iPhone, But to be fair flickr is owned by Yahoo, A big google competitor, So it would kinda makes sense.

 

[THE ANDROID]

Adding mail accounts is sooo much easier on the iPhone, I added my Hotmail and my University account through Exchange flawlessly.

^It doesn't matter if Yahoo and Google are competitors, MS and Apple are but they both make programs for each OS

On the DHD, I keep gettin an error when adding any email account, google mail got added but everything else keeps returning an error.

iPhone 4 can do screenshots, louder speaker, better camera, better screen, better battery, more apps and a bigger hacking community(?)

I just hope Android becomes better in 2.3, I want screenshot, copy from email without opening Menu and to actually be able to add email accounts!

 

[Dhfathbd]

Who was it that said they wonder why I take my hat of to Apple...that someone obviously doesn't read very well..just skims over the top....I take my hat of to good design as my previous reply clearly stated, maybe that someone should relook at my previous reply, it seems to me that their are many people out there caught up in a branding war...apple vs whoever....how childish..look at the product, do comparisons forget the brand and then make comments as a clear thinking intelligent person would do

 

[cracksquirrel]

I see where you're coming from but I just cant say that anything on the iPhone is better than my desire because for me it just works (becoming a bit of an Android fanboy I think)

I got 4 mail accounts set up easy,
I dont need to make screenshots,
The speaker is good enough for what I use it for - hearing my phone when i get a call or message - I always hear it,
I disagree on the better camera - have seen mates pics he has taken on his iPhone 4 and I think my Desires pics are better when printed out - yes they do look better on the iPhones screen but it has a higher resolution (which I do love),
Apps - More free ones on the Android market - Ive got loads installed and I havent had to pay for any and they all work,
Don't need to hack it - I have tried a cyanogen rom on it and I prefer the htc rom.

I am biased towards the desire obviously, I could have had an iPhone 4 but after playing with them both I decided the desire was the one for me, It does everything I want it to and more, Plus I preferred the bigger screen and I like the sense ui.

When you say copy from email do you mean copying text ?

 

[Dhfathbd]

Do you have exchange?... A lot different

 

[cracksquirrel]

Do you have exchange?... A lot different

Aaah, If it's an exchange thing then I aint got a clue, Don't use it, I only use the default htc mail app.

I think then for more business orientated users it has a few flaws where the iPhone is better.

 

[Dhfathbd]

You are spot on...and that's my whole point with these phones ...the iPhone seems to cater for everything where the rest all seem to have limitations and dodgy issues.
Microsoft Exchange is a huge thing for business users...and this makes up a very large part of the phone market, accordingly you need a phone that just works without problems
Apple seem to have it in the bag..I reckon all the various previews that you see on the Internet about " which is the best phone"" ....all paid for by manufacturers
This is not to say that the desire ht is a bad unit...it's not bad but not good for exchange and not in the race for music or photos

 

[Bnice]

We can go back and forth on Android is better or iphone is better but that is a user experience choice.Both Android phones and Iphone are right on par with each other.The endless customization,personalization and notification is what i like with Android,i have nothing against the iphone but lets be honest the phone looks the same from day one and boring.

 

[THE ANDROID]

We can go back and forth on Android is better or iphone is better but that is a user experience choice.Both Android phones and Iphone are right on par with each other.The endless customization,personalization and notification is what i like with Android,i have nothing against the iphone but lets be honest the phone looks the same from day one and boring.

It may look the same but you can jailbreak it like you root Android. iPhone is ahead of Android. All the extra little things make it the better device.

I still can't add my yahoo, hotmail or uni account. Also I want a key tone when pushing letters on keyboard.

 

[Dhfathbd]

Wow..if I were to buy a product on looks ....no way....thats like falling in love with someone based purely on looks, however if you have done all the correct comparisons as I have and your tests show they are on par them you am I to make comments ..what tests and comparisons have you seriously performed?... Have you tried exchange on Android ? .....have you compared flickr with both phones? have you seriously compared the screen resolution with both units ?, have you ever actually owned an iPhone to compare over time or just borrowed one?

 

[Dhfathbd]

On the subject of looks....would you prefer a Porsche or a Japanese car....Lexus, Mazda etc

Porsche have retained the overall look of their vehicles for decades

I know what my choice would be

 

[Bnice]

What porsche or lexus etc have to do with this? Folks always want to make some off the wall analogy.Just because yahoo don't work for you or flicker looks a certain way on another os doesn't mean thats the overall determination of a phone. What may be a hinder to you may not to someone else. With Android you don't have to root to customize your phone.You take Android straight out the box and an iphone out the the box,android do more.The iphone is a good device but it's not blowing away any of these high end smart phones that came out the last year or so.

 

[Dhfathbd]

I suggest you read my original comments again so you understand what I am talking about ...Porsche cars..again refer to some comments from a contributer suggesting that he buys phones on how they look and the fact that iPhones look old compared to what is now available..maybe read his/ her comments
If you have done serious testing to confirm that these HTC phones are as good or better than the apple product I would like to know more..it is certainly not my findings ..again...read my original posting

 

[Dhfathbd]

This issue seems to be prevalent with the Android dating back to even last year. I found other forum items where HTC Hero users experienced same in

From what I can tell and have tested (your mileage may vary) is that it occurs with either calendar or contact items that have been deleted from the Android device. For whatever reason Android is not able to work with Exchange (2003 in my environment) to have them deleted from the account, thus creating the "Conversion Sync errors".

Manually deleting the item from your Exchange/Outlook client removes the "issue" and it begins to sync normally again.

Not elegant, but a work around!

Hey HTC whats up with that? Can we get a resolution already!?

 

[HTCWozz]

Your one of them went you? You say you like good deaign when all youe doing is knocking Android and HTC and loving on iPhone. You also keep accusing people of not reading which is pretty hypocritical.

Yes, I do own ab iPhone and to answer your questions....

Exchange I have no problems with
Flickr is incredible using HTC sense.
I have about 5 email accounts running flawlessly in HTC sense.

Me. Childish? I'm not saying iPhone are evil, I commend Apple for their products, where you just hate on HTC and Android on one scrap of evidence. (A concern i dont share anyway)

I'm not trying to argue, you seem reasonable and smart. But please try to look through the apple goggles.

 

[Dhfathbd]

I still say...read what you have said previously as well as my original posting......fascinated to hear you are using exchange without issues ..what version and have you modified your settings on your server in some way...?
Hate HTC... constructive criticism that's worthy...it's not only my opinion from my own experience and others ..and...if I can also say that it's not just the HTC phones that have problems with exchange ...there are many from my own experience and others...but the thing is..with the iPhone " love ii or hate it" it just works Without dramas

 

[jonrwg]

HTC is just a phone manufacture, no? If is the OS blame Google on that not HTC. Since I got my DHD I got no problem at all with all the issues you wrote up there. There is one thing you should have done before buying any product, researching. Before I got my DHD I've done lots of research on Android OS and the product itself. I learn how to customised, learn how Android OS works, search for all possible issues / flaw and solutions for it. After figuring all those things and made up my mind then I would proceed and buy the phone. Get the phone and use all those information I've gathered.
Most of the problem doesn't come from the phone but the users itself where they doesn't want to open their mind on the things they not normally used. I got Iphone, BB, WM5, 6, etc. Lots of smartphones I've used and the best so far is Android because I can do what I want with my phone rather than being instructed by others to do what they feel is right. BB is my second choice and I love the BB Mesenger. I think you should learn how the OS works first before buying one. Therefore problem solved. Well, that is me and that is how I do stuff. Make my life easier doesn't it. lol..

No offence though. Cheers.