The Great Smartphone OS Shoot-out
If you want a smartphone - and, let’s face it, most people do these days - you have four choices, all of which have recently been updated. Apple’s rightly admired iOS has now hit the big 5-point-oh, Google’s rather more blue-collar Android is about to turn 4, while Microsoft’s Windows Phone is now a precocious seven-and-a-half. …
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Death greatly exaggerated, still five years to go
Symbian Anna/Belle should have been included to show what the opposition still have to work on.
The only thing really wrong with Symbian were the sub-sub-sub-sub-menus and being late to the touchscreen party which have been corrected. After a quick read I didn't know WP7's and BB's dialler was so painful, find it hard to believe that there can be mobile browsers without text reflow, and as for camera functionality they all look decidedly lacking.
Yes, but where would an interested party go to buy a phone running Symbian these days? I haven't seen one in quite some time.
Depressingly difficult to find
But if you do look or ask many phone shops do still have them - well some at least, in the UK mainly N8 and C7 (though there are several others). If you head to Germany there are more than that in some shops.
Nokia are low in the sales rankings because their advertising and marketting departments shoudl have been shot and replaced with people that have a clue what to do - if Nokia had done this 3 years ago they'd still be in the number 1 slot - the products are actually damned good.
Frankly when faced with an onslaught of advertising from Apple putting an occasional advert of a blind man taking photos of a roller coaster was really just a completely stupid and idiotic idea - the person behind that should be lynched by the shareholders for the damage he has done to their investment.
I hate to admit it but..
.. I do like the look of the WinPho7 interface.
and this is from a guy who generally detests all things Win.. My work laptop is linux, all my home pc's are linux, my tv runs linux, I one owned a debian phone (now on Android).. you get the idea.
The fact that it look like Win8 desktop rather Win7 does present a small problem to me - what will they call the mobile platform when the similarly Metro styled Win8 surfaces?
eh?
erm... why does your Android not look like my Android?
is it because you've actually reviewed HTC Sense running on an older version of Android? or is that what ICS looks like?
if it's the former, it seems a bit weird to review the latest version of each of the other three OSs, but then review an old version of Android with some weird manufacturer specific hacks on top.
swing and a miss.
And there's the rub...
I think they call it fragmentation...
Rub this
<quote>I think they call it fragmentation...</quote>
No, they call it choice.... Of course 'choice' is an alien concept to you fruitfans out there, with yours being limited to: 1) "How much am I willing to let Apple gouge me for internal flash storage at £100 per 16GB?", and (not until very recently): 2) "What colour, black or white?"
I did; she said "What fandroids think fragmentation means." Can't ague with that AI.
Not a bad view of the 4 platforms. Its interesting to see how some platforms top some areas but are lacking in others.
One thing though, WP7.5 does have a quick jump feature in contacts, you just need to tap the current letter and you can quickly jump to another one.
It would have been nice to have a look at the social network integration which is on offer on the various platforms too. Concentrating on the built in social functions rather than the 3rd party apps. I have a sneaky feeling WP7.5 would have come out miles ahead in this category.
Cloud contacts
iOS most certainly DOES sync Gmail contacts and has done for a number of iterations of the OS.
Portability & Poll
Try getting your information off a dead iPhone onto another brand of phone. Easy if iTunes wants to talk to your new phone, but iTunes only talks to apples.
That section of the walled garden cost me another 18 month iPhone contract. I never had a problem with the walled garden till I realised just how restricted I was. My fault of course for not using outlook and maybe it's got better in the last couple of years but boy did that make me angry. I had naively hoped I'd be able to drill into the iTunes backup.
You're right of course not to pick a winner but let others pick based on what they're looking for (even if it is something of a cop out...) Perhaps democracy can choose a winner.
I'd be curious to see a poll of reg readers - to see what OS they are using, and what they'd prefer to use. Better keep in a choice for Symbian and non-smart phone choices as well.
Err... no
"Easy if iTunes wants to talk to your new phone, but iTunes only talks to apples". Not quite. I, for example, have my info (email, contacts, etc.) easily available via Gmail. And, if I really wanted to, I could use Hotmail. I could probably use Yahoo, too, but I don't Yahoo so I can't be sure about that.
Now, it's true that I can't move my apps over, but IOS apps won't work elsewhere. Moving songs and movies and whatnot over is fairly simple; if you had your stuff synced to your computer in the first place, you can use the sync client for the new phone to move 'em. If, for example, you have an Android phone talking to a Mac (possibly the worst possible combination) then you'd need Mark/Space's Missing Sync for Android <http://www.markspace.com/products/android/missing-sync-android.html>. Note that this will handle moving your email and contacts over, too.
Apples and oranges are surprisingly similar!
In other news, my house came with windows which opened and closed and allowed in light, doors which prevented burglars from taking my things, and running water from taps in the bathrooms and kitchen! I understand that there are different types of houses with different types of window, door, tap etc, but they all do pretty much the same thing.
The actual difference:
Blackberry: You have an office in your house.
iPhone: You have all Apple brand furniture, how Apple want it arranged, and it all works perfectly well and looks pretty. Not particularly original, though.
Android: Put your curtains on the ceiling if you want! Don't want a door? Install a rolling shutter instead! It might be clunky and hard to use, but damn it it's how you want it!
Windows Phone 7: No idea, never used it.
Android is "prosaic"?
Both Android and iOS just have the same "grid of icons" appearance, so how exactly can iOS be "pretty" but Android be "prosaic"?
However, unlike iOS, Android supports widgets, far greater customisation out the box, and even greater customisation if you install one of the vast number of custom firmwares available - only possible because Android is Free Software. With Apple's proprietary iOS, you're pretty-much stuck with the sterile aesthetics imposed by Apple, along with many other draconian restrictions, a fact you seem to have completely ignored in your review.
If you like hospital-ward aesthetics, I guess you might be inclined to describe iOS as "pretty", but personally I think it's far more prosaic than Android.
Google contacts and iOS
They do sync. I have it set up as an Exchange account, doesn't go anywhere near Outlook.
Same here
Indeed, it's probably smart for owners of all types of phone to connect via Google Sync's Exchange route rather than IMAP since it gets you push email.
My Google contacts and Ipad contacts sync perfectly fine.
Just add Gmail as an Exchange Provider, Calendar and Contracts and Mail sync without any problem what so ever. Verifying on an colleagues iPhone 3, the option is there as well.
Google contacts sync.
Oh c'mon Mr Reviewer and people who've "lost information".
The ability to sync contacts, mail etc. with Google is even there for all to see in iTunes (after plugging your phone in).
Call recording ?
I am *still* looking for a simple app that allows me to record calls. In my job I have a lot of conference calls, and have to minute some. I DONT WANT yet another "voice recorder". I want to be able to hit a button and record a call for as long as it takes.
Anyone ?
Should have added we use Windows Phone at work.
Why the downvote ? Can't really see anything contentious in my comment.
Call recording...
There is a call recording app for android. But it does require custom rom (cyanogen works just fine at least for me) and custom kernel! Head over to xda-developers.com/forum and search for call recorder in Android/Software category :)
On another note, IMHO, first of all, the reviewer talked about most features of HTC Sense as if they were features of Android. Secondly, The reason Android *can* have all those features and many more is because of its flexibility which isn't taken into account in the review at all!
I looked into this for my Galaxy S, looks like there are call recorder applications but they only work on that particular model of phone anyway if you put the phone in speakerphone mode (otherwise it only records the local end, not the caller on the other end).
Doing a bit more Googling though it appears there is a modified phone app for the Galaxy S which allows call recording (presumably though you need to root your phone and I don't know if it's available for other Android phones).
Bit poor really considering my old Nokia something or other (6230i?) could do it.
Rob
I think there are legal issues - at least in the UK, you must tell someone if you're recording their phone call (hence all those 'calls may be recorded' messages you hear on call centres). That won't necessarily stop an individual from doing this, but making and marketing an app to enable it might get you into trouble.
if you use Google Voice
it's simple. Press '4'. <http://articles.businessinsider.com/2011-01-07/tech/29997997_1_iphone-app-android-market-download>
If you don't use Google Voice you need a voice recorder app of some kind, which you say you don't want.
Call recording
MIUI, a very comprehensive Android ROM (and iOS look alike) has call recording functionality built into the main OS.
In the UK, recording a call is legal if *one* of the parties to the call is aware that it is being recorded. That means you can record your own phone calls without telling the person at the other end, but you can't eavesdrop into someone else's phone call.
At the call centres, the boss may record the calls without necessarily telling the employees, so by telling you when you phone up, they comply with the law.
As far as a call recording app is concerned, it would be illegal to install it in someone else's phone and have it record all calls with out letting the person using it know, but if it has a record button you have to press to commence recording, it could never be used illegally.
More witless downvoting, eh?
I'd have thought a default call recorder, with a save/pending/delete choice after each call would be a sensible thing for lots of businesses.
As mentioned, WinPho does have a quick-scroll feature in contacts - just tap a letter to jump to any other letter.
Plus the online storage is 25Gb, not 5. To be honest the online storage and integration with Office was the big selling point for me and beats anything else out there.
Extra storage
For $5 per annum to Google I get 27Gb, or for $20 I could have 87Gb. I get your point re Office although I'm trying to wean myself of that. It's refreshing.
Call handling
Perhaps some of the RegHardware readers can answer the questions I've posed at gonedigital.net on this topic...
Essentially, I want well integrated SIP.
And I want good call handling that can do what I do on Symbian: callers are in groups, each group with a different ring tone, so I know if it's friends, family, VIP, etc. And by using 'profiles' I can select which groups I'll be alerted to, either with a couple of button presses, or by time of day - for example, at night, I only want noises for calls from 'family' and 'VIP' and not from texts.
These - and great email - are to me far more important than apps or games. They're the bread and butter of using a phone, and I want the same functionality in a new phone, even if it's achieved in a slightly different way - but it has to be straightforward to change profile.
And another feature
My two year old Nokia, C-5 has another nifty feature: it has a good stab at saying the name of the caller if in the contacts - very handy when busy, to let you know at once who it is. And, as all ready said, the ability to control call handling by groups is very useful.
I wonder how long it will take for "smart" 'phones to fulfil the "'phone" part of the name properly.
How about a review of all these types, based on telephone call management, SMS and MMS capabilities? i.e. compare them as telephones.
Just yesterday a colleague was complaining about his HTC android something or other and then pulled out an old Nokia that he carries to make 'phone calls (without having to plug it in daily). Symbian does a better job of localisation too, at least to UK English. The move to Windows should solve that advantage for Android and IOS however.
Caller name speech +1
Great in the car. You pair the phone to a bluetooth handsfree interface, keep bluetooth always on so it pairs when you get in the car and so goes into handsfree mode, set up a car profile to auto-activate when in handsfree mode, and set up that profile to have caller name speech turned on.
Another feature that other phones still don't have from a supposedly dead OS.
Unfortunately those of us who know how to use Symbian are stuck down a dead end because there's still nothing else that can replace it yet (apart from BB as a business phone from a data security point of view) and its fate was greatly brought about by the tech press who were more excited with new ways to fade and scroll between screens.
useless article, never going to be useful
Surprised to see such a light on content article supplied by El Reg, with so little information, missing basic parts of the feature set (iOS Reader was the first I saw missing, saw a few more after that and gave up counting). It is always going to be very hard to say "which is best" so you've opted for a very light touch to try and keep it tight and short but it reads like someone hasnt understood how to use the devices to compare them best.
Did you talk about the insane fragmentation of Android? Look at this:
http://theunderstatement.com/post/11982112928/android-orphans-visualizing-a-sad-history-of-support
Would have liked to have seen the E7 or N8 in the review as well. When Elop has finished sucking Nokia dry the next chump in charge might decide to keep it going.
wp7
I've only read the first couple of pages so far, but WP7 has a quick scroll equivalent in the contact list, tap the big letter that heads each section and it gives you a list of all the letters your contacts names start with.
Also, I'm fairly sure that SkyDrive offers 25GB of storage.
Nokia E6
looking forwards to receiving mine. It's the phone Ray Mears would buy.
My Google contacts and Ipad contacts sync perfectly fine.
Just add Gmail as an Exchange Provider, Calendar and Contracts and Mail sync without any problem what so ever. Verifying on an colleagues iPhone 3, the option is there as well.
Opera on iOS has Reflow
Download Opera Mini for iOS, go to Settings, Text Wrapping, On, and voilà your text will reflow nicely. I only use it occasionally for those sites which need it, but it makes reading them a pleasure.
Re: Opera on iOS has Reflow
True, but Opera doesn't come with iOS out of the box, which is the situation we're considering here.
My comparison
Android is like the slightly nerdy kid who can't get a date to the prom but shows up to the 10 year reunion with a supermodel wife who gushes about what a great husband he is. iOS is more like the slightly retarded but widely loved jock who really can only do one thing well, but it's the one thing everyone cares about. WinPho is the kid whose older siblings were all troublemakers and who hasn't yet had a chance, which we all hope he will take, to distiguish himself from them. Blackberry is the class president of the class that graduated two years ago but still hangs around the high school.
"Unified inbox"
Yuck - the whole reason I deliberately have multiple email accounts is to help separate and prioritise communications ("work" work, "client" work, "maintenance" work, high-priority personal, low-priority personal, online notifications (shopping/banking/etc) and so on). Merging all my accounts into a single Inbox defeats that (or forces me to not configure some accounts on my phone at all).
That's where Windows phone does well. I have 3 email accounts configured on my phone, two of them are personal and I have merged, the third is my work account and I have that separate. You can choose to merge any number of accounts into different groups each group can have its own tile. Or you can choose to leave them all separate (the default).
Isn't the fact that there's some confusion between Android Core OS feature and those features the phone maker (or even telecoms provider) have layered on top a valid point? Users aren't going to differentiate between the platform and the implementation. Most people I know who have bought an Android phone haven't bought a specific android phone for a specific window manager, they've bought on cost or brand loyalty (i.e. SE vs HTC). Those people don't differentiate 'their' Android from someone else's Android.
Missing a section
'Ease of use'. I've yet to find someone who can't blunder around an iphone and work out how to do stuff.
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