iPhone 5 now set for October launch With such an influx of rumours over the iPhone 5's projected release this September, we've practically accepted it as fact. Apparently, we're all wrong though, as the company actually plans to launch its next-gen iPhone in October. That's according to an insider who spoke with AllthingsD and insisted there would be no …
... as some posters who have no intention of ever buying an iPhone but still think that the world is interested in their now frightfully boring and unrequired opinion that those who do want an iPhone are somehow stupid. 6 minutes after the original article. Is that a record?
We get it: you don't like the iPhone.
I want a 5. but when they announce it I'll just go to AT&T and order one and they will call me when it arrives.
I like Apple just fine, but if you are over 12 you really need the patience to wait a few days. The fairy glitter does NOT wear off if you have to wait a few days. No phone is worth standing outside all night for.
When I got my 3GS nearly 2 years ago there was nothing comparable to the iPhone. I've always had an unrational dislike of all things Apple, but after a mate made me play about with his 3GS for half an hour I was sold... And have been a huge advocate of iPhone since then... Until the last few weeks...
Recently I've started looking at what phone to upgrade to next - yeah, I like new tech especially when it's subsidised by the Telco - and I have to say HTC - possibly Sensation although even the Desire HD is pretty sweet - is looking like a winner. The technology is pretty much comparable these days... Dual core 1ishGhz, 1Gb RAM and an 8meg camera... I think with Gingerbread Android has pretty much reached the same "slickness" value that iOS has had for the last couple of years... Certainly from the same "playing around with" experience I've had over the last couple of weeks.
My choice now isn't really going to be based around minor differences in hardware or OS - I think it's more about how the "Cloud" stuff will work, and who you trust to get it right... Apple where you're locked in, Google where you're not or Microsoft where... Not even they really know yet...
In this day and age, most people will put trust in these companies to keep their data safe.
I use google for email, callendar, docs etc already, therefore i might aswell got for Android. I prefer the way the phones work, and i dont see the need for Apple to be reading all my 'cloud stuff' as well as google. So Android is my choice. At least until there's a much better offer from elsewhere.
As for hardware. HTC Sensation seems really good. More modern than the DesireHD too. But i think i might wait to see what the next Nexus handset will be like. But while waiting for that, my trust HTC Hero keeps plodding along.
Maybe not, but face it the choice is "teh eval lock in", "all your data are belong to us" or a heady mix of both! Google are no better, or no worse than either Apple or Microsoft. I'll say one thing for Apple though, their product support is streets ahead of anything offered by Samsung or HTC, who genuinely do base their revenue model on people upgrading their devices yearly.
In previous efforts Apple attempted to put the users computers at the top of the tree with the cloud underneath them, this approach turned out to be fragile, iCloud puts itself at the top in a similar manner to competing sync engines so I'd expect a similar level of reliability between services, which is to say, they will all mostly work for most people.
AFAICT Google's cloud is basically an online filesystem, whereas Apple has gone for Application data Syncing, no idea what MS will do, probably both, I'd predict Googles approach being popular with techs, and Apples with users.
Just from my perspective here in the UK I still think it's a bit early for all this, that wireless networking lacks bandwidth and reliability and simply isn't ubiquitous enough for cloud services to replace local storage, I suspect a few early adopters will get properly burned, I suppose we have to start somewhere though.
In my part of the World, the HTC desire range is more expensive that an iPhone. Yes, that is true. 'm like you looking for a new phone. I have an old Nokia that is on its last legs.
I shall wait for the new iPhone to go on sale and then buy a refurb iPhone 4. I don't want to have to root my phone to get upgrades to the OS, I just want a phone.
Android
1) Are you happy to accept your new device will not be officially supported after the next OS release? Or are you happy to trust that someone on the interwebs provides your updates for you, and you have to support your device yourself like in the "good old days" of PCs. (this one of a few reasons most people buy laptops nowadays)
2) Do you want to have to buy all your apps again.
3) Your data will be sold to the highest bidder, and ads will be your staple
Apple
1) Certain functions will be broken, never fixed and Steve tells you nothing is wrong
2) You can live with the walled cloud Stevie lets you have.
Microsoft
1) You can ever get decent handset/OS mix
here is clearly not an Android user.
Your purchases are tied to your user account. I have had three replacement android handsets (all My fault) And each time I just put in my account details and the handset downloads all my paid for apps no need to buy again. Its a Brilliant system that does work.
Cant see why you think you have to buy again. Question Does apple do that it wouldn't surpise me if they do. Personally why would i want to pay for a phone over my contract cost (apple) when i can get a free phone which I have to say I cant see how i ever managed without it till now.
I have a Galaxy S running Gingerbread It does exactly what i want its fast and reliiable even if battery life does suck a bit.
>> CraigRoberts
I've been a Desire HD user for 6 month now, most of that time running Android 2.2. Despite the inevitable and manifold minor bugs every time an App got updated, it was a small price to pay for iPhone-beating flexibility. I couldn't have been happier, all told.
At the weekend, I accepted the over-the-air update to install Android 2.3.3.
Whilst I've noticed lots of nice speed, stability and power managment improvements, some of the little changes have cokced things up slightly. Of course, UI changes often take some time to get used to, but some things have been changed so that they are far less elegant and bizarrely, more fiddly. Whilst that's disappointing, its not the end of the world.
What is far more frustrating is how some things just don't work properly now. Here are some examples:
The web browser now renders pages just a little bit smaller. Interface text is now a little bit bigger. No settings have changed and no tweaking rectifies this - its just made a load of websites not fit the page and text suggestions obscure what you're typing. Brilliant
The previously flawless Flash plugin now has an odd light stripe down one side of played video content. The predictive text on the QWERTY keypad no longer picks up sensible corrections like it used to. Barely at all, in fact. It's maddening.
So here is the big problem: who do you go to in order to raise those issues?
Google have an eminently unsupported "help" forum. Your mobile provider won't have a clue. And HTC? They like scripted answers. They like them very much.
The moral of this story is that whilst Android is utterly brilliant and definitely able to outperform iDevices on a number of functions, I'm beginning to feel the sting of the support issues that come with such sprawling fragmentation. I want Android to be the most amazing thing ever and its nearly there on so many levels.
Sadly for my aspirations, Apple still provides the best user experience for all of their paranoid lockdowns. They're fiercely protective of their band and that drives them to actively support their customers.
Something to bear in mind before making the jump. :-)
PS: the Sensation does look epic and I believe it is supposed to be the flagship handset that supplants the DHD, on account of its far more current dual core processor.
I've had an iPhone 4 since day 1. Recently bought a TomTom Car Dock to go with my TomTom App. I had updated to IOS 4.3 and the Car kit stopped working. Tomtom support blamed the iPhone.
I booked an appointment at the Apple Store to get some support on this and a Macbook battery issue which was being reported. When I demonstrated the problem to the Techy, he immediately replaced the Phone no questions asked. Unfortunately this failed to fix the dock issue but it eliminated the problem from the iPhone. I kept the new phone and reported the problem to TomTom. Tomtom then replaced the dock and all is now well.
Oh, and the laptop battery was replaced in the same way.
I think I might buy an android phone next time.......NOT.
Steve
I currently run Anrdoid 2.3.3 and have not seen any of the problems Frank Drebin has reported, flash video displays perfectly both in webpages and in full screen.
Websites display just fine and the predictive text is far sharper than me when it comes to constructing legible sentences.
Your problems are not everyones problems, suggest you install a stock ROM and not the carrier branded rubbish you seem to have been sent.
>> tmTM
I'm really pleased to hear you've had a flawless Android experience (as it does give me some hope!), but sadly I don't think you read my post. At least, not beyond "So the big problem is..."
I didn't anywhere assert that the issues I was facing were platform (or even device) wide problems, because I'm well aware that virtually no two Android handsets are configured the same way.
As I'd hoped to make clear, my point was that this insane level of fracturing leads to a buck-passing culture between app, OS and device/UI makers and it is this which leaves users totally shafted when they have a problem that needs sorting out.
And even if you're running a vanilla implementation of Android (which you must admit is exceptionally rare for the vast majority of owners who understandably can't afford a SIM-free handset and don't fancy pissing about flashing a custom ROM onto it) - good luck getting specific and timely support from Google, should something fuck up.
Which it inevitably does every time an app or web service changes. I can post you a link to a thread I've now given up on where hundreds of users are STILL having to manage with terminally broken Google Calendars THREE MONTHS after it was finally picked up by a Google Employee. I even got the story posted on CNET. It's mad.
So this totally support-less situation is *the* biggest drawback of Android and it is only that point which I was drawing attention to. I'm a massive fan of all Android stands for, but as a user myself, that's simply the experience I've had.
Bottom line: The freedom on Android is utterly marvellous. The support customers get when measured against Apple, though, is not. So its simply buyer beware - Android isn't perfect, as of course Apple isn't either. :-)
I am no fan of Apple due to the "lock-in" and generally because it is Apple. (Sorry fanbois, probably get some down votes on that comment alone!)
But as a 3GS user since 2009, I do like the OS, simple does what you need it to do.
The aftercare is good too, I recently "water damaged" my iPhone and got a replacement from the Apple Store (long drive away) for £55. Try doing that with a HTC!
So eagerly awaiting the new phone as our contract is due for renewal at work.
We also use around 20 iPods, for managers email and comms, great for a manager on site whom you do not want to be desk bound and is not IT literate, as most people can get there heads around the emails system after first use.
So can't wait for my new one! :)
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