Support NeoGAF

[gkryhewy]

Yay black! Tell me how it works out for you, I'm especially interested in your thoughts on the InvisibleShield. You should be getting it by the 3rd, right?

Will do -- I suppose I should do that in the Magic thread... actually the CSR said I should have it by the 28th, but she may be mistaken on that. Pre-orders are guaranteed by the 3rd.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Will do -- I suppose I should do that in the Magic thread... actually the CSR said I should have it by the 28th, but she may be mistaken on that. Pre-orders are guaranteed by the 3rd.

Wow, the 28th? That's almost a week from now! Lucky. I'll most likely end up waiting three weeks from now, which means you'll have plenty of time to divulge your experience.

 

[Chojin]

GPS is GPS, isn't it? The goodness depends on the phone's internals, or so I thought.

T-Mobile has a 5GB cap?

10 Gig cap. If you go over 10 gigs then it forces you to use Edge until your next billing cycle.

I can't see this being an issue unless you tether it, but this upcoming decade is the decade of streaming, and I could see how 10 gigs would be an issue when we're netflixing stuff to our phones eventually.

Chojin, thanks for the info. I'm not sure what you mean with the $15 unlimited text/no data plan... I think I'd want the data; I was just hoping that a text plan would be bundled. I send/receive maybe 10-20 texts a month, and have been paying a la carte. Is there a loophole I'm missing? Perhaps I'm not savvy :lol

I know someone who might qualify for the government discount. What's the best way to pursue that?

Data plan: The unlimited text bundle is an alternative if someone absolutely does not want a data plan whatsover. I mentioned that there's some people that will use the PDA features exclusively wifi so it works for them. However its a policy as of last month that all PDA devices utilize one of the three data plans I mentioned. Its a money thing and its a "rightfitting" the customer thing with a device they're really going to be happy with. I know that sounds big brother, but, it lessens complaints that their device does stuff they don't want it to do and why am I paying extra for it. We ran into a lot of that with the blackberry pearl and the pearl flip. People were getting crackberries cause their friends got them and then they were all angry that even though it looks like a regular handset, it has all this "blackberry crap." I know right? But I'm serious, sometimes people just want a phone but then they want what their friends have

Government: The Government account thing was a jib, there's not necessarily a discount, I'm just saying a Government account can opt out of the data plan requirement all together. And just cause someone works for the government doesn't mean that they'd be a government account if they signed up. Government accounts (as far as I can tell, I don't work in that kind of setting, but I did when I worked for ATnT i did(pre-Cingular bleh))) are set up by a telecom manager from the government agency. They're the "for government use only" phones and such.

I also thought from the launch press conference that the MyTouch came with a 2-year warranty, but it looks like they want 30 bucks extra for it. What's the deal?

EDIT: Allright, I ordered a MyTouch (black). The CSR offered me unlimited messaging for our family plan for $9.99/month into perpetuity, so that was a pretty deal. Knocked off the upgrade fee and shipping for the phone too. I also ordered an invisibleshield for it from ZAGG.com

Herm..... Can you show me where there was a 30 dollar extra charge for the warranty? As far as I know, the 2 year warranty comes with the purchase of the phone. The only way I can figure 30 dollars for any warranty is the extended warranty provided by Asurion which is like... 3 bucks a month and I guess that would be 36 dollars a year...

Also, congrats on the myTouch. I'm still sticking to my G1 for now though.

 

[gkryhewy]

Herm..... Can you show me where there was a 30 dollar extra charge for the warranty? As far as I know, the 2 year warranty comes with the purchase of the phone. The only way I can figure 30 dollars for any warranty is the extended warranty provided by Asurion which is like... 3 bucks a month and I guess that would be 36 dollars a year...

Also, congrats on the myTouch. I'm still sticking to my G1 for now though.

Thanks for all the info, Chojin. The 30 dollar warranty -- just go through the TMO web site and begin clicking through the preorder process for the MyTouch. You'll see the $30 warranty a couple pages in, before you have to make any commitments to buy, obviously. It's a special box with a screen protector, cleaning cloth, and the 2-year warranty. It is from Asurion, but it's listed as a flat $29.95 for two years. They have an entire page in the checkout process dedicated to this offer.

The other lame thing about it is that it only covers damage, not loss... and according to the CSR I spoke to, only damage/defects related to manufacturing. Although I'm dubious about that. The CSR suggested that the $5.99 monthly insurance was really a better deal since that covers loss. I didn't purchase either for now. Really, I'm not at all sure what the stock warranty is on this phone.

 

[Chojin]

Thanks for all the info, Chojin. The 30 dollar warranty -- just go through the TMO web site and begin clicking through the preorder process for the MyTouch. You'll see the $30 warranty a couple pages in, before you have to make any commitments to buy, obviously. It's a special box with a screen protector, cleaning cloth, and the 2-year warranty. It is from Asurion, but it's listed as a flat $29.95 for two years.

The other lame thing about it is that it only covers damage, not loss... and according to the CSR I spoke to, only damage/defects related to manufacturing. Although I'm dubious about that. The CSR suggested that the $5.99 monthly insurance was really a better deal since that covers loss. I didn't purchase either for now. Really, I'm not at all sure what the stock warranty is on this phone.

Interesting... I wasn't aware of the change as of friday. I'll look into it at work tommorow. Now keep in mind about the insurance. You still pay a premium with the insurance if you lose or physically damage the phone. Its at least 180 dollars for the myTouch. I'll get an exact quote tommorow if you want. Warranty is good for any defects of the hardware itself.

From what I understand the warranty is covered by Tmo without any extra charge and there's also a warranty by the manufacturer which can vary.

I'll put it on my to do list so I can get you a better answer. That 30 dollar warranty charge sounds funky.


So it IS from Asurion. Yeah thats not our standard warranty. I'll definitely look into it then because that's extended warranty and from I was told that we're covering the myTouch for two years cause we're supposed to be so in love with the dang thing. Something doesn't sound right.

Edit: Keep in mind I'm not customer service so ordering phones is not my specialty. But I have access to their policies so I'll get a good answer for you.

 

[gkryhewy]

Edit: Keep in mind I'm not customer service so ordering phones is not my specialty. But I have access to their policies so I'll get a good answer for you.

I appreciate that. I typically opt out of the optional stuff since I'm pretty good about taking care of my phones, but I'd love to know what level of protection is included. Thanks again.

 

[Chojin]

I appreciate that. I typically opt out of the optional stuff since I'm pretty good about taking care of my phones, but I'd love to know what level of protection is included. Thanks again.

Werd, when I was at ATnT I had insurance for my Nokia 3300 cause it was the first time I ever had a phone and I'd constantly end up giving people a "free" phone at bars after a few drinks.

But the G1 is so godly that I can't ever no matter how balls drunk I am ever lose it or break it, I take care of it!

Well not to mention with my discount it would end up being the same price as the premium if I had insurance ;P

 

[ThatObviousUser]

10 Gig cap. If you go over 10 gigs then it forces you to use Edge until your next billing cycle.

I can't see this being an issue unless you tether it, but this upcoming decade is the decade of streaming, and I could see how 10 gigs would be an issue when we're netflixing stuff to our phones eventually.

10 gigs is definitely enough for me, maybe moreso. Plus I don't think I even have 3G around me right now, so I'd be using EDGE anyways.

Also, congrats on the myTouch. I'm still sticking to my G1 for now though.

I need to lay off going to XDA. :/ Apps2SD is almost too good to pass up. I suppose I can hope for an official solution eventually, because non-root wise I'm still getting the MyTouch for its larger ROM- I can see myself installing tons of apps.

 

[Chojin]

I need to lay off going to XDA. :/ Apps2SD is almost too good to pass up. I suppose I can hope for an official solution eventually, because non-root wise I'm still getting the MyTouch for its larger ROM- I can see myself installing tons of apps.

I'm sorry to hear that about XDA. Seemed you were pretty pumped for it.

Yeah... the whole root business is so lame. It really has to deal with marketplace, which is silly cause you can install non-market place .apk files from the SD card anyway. But not being able to run them off the SD card is just... ururugh... Reminding me of my Wii

Its even sillier cause if you buy or get an app from the marketplace you can't uninstall it and keep the apk on the sd card for later use. YET, if I install a non-marketplace app I can do just that so keep a ton of apps on the go just in case.

It really makes no sense.

Edit: Oh, browsing via EDGE SUCKS. Just wanted to give you a heads up. Then again I don't have 3G in my area yet (soon SOOON SOOOOOOON) so I don't have anything to compare it to cept my wifi connection.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

But not being able to run them off the SD card is just... ururugh... Reminding me of my Wii

Nail on the head. I had to deal with Nintendo doing the EXACT same thing for two years, now I'm gonna have to wait for Google now too. :lol Worst part is they said it isn't coming in Donut, either.

Its even sillier cause if you buy or get an app from the marketplace you can't uninstall it and keep the apk on the sd card for later use. YET, if I install a non-marketplace app I can do just that so keep a ton of apps on the go just in case.

It really makes no sense.

There's absolutely no reason free apps should not be at least installable on the SD card. Google was incredibly shortsighted in that decision. Pay apps without copy protection, too, should not be a problem. It's just not logical that nothing is being done.

Edit: Oh, browsing via EDGE SUCKS. Just wanted to give you a heads up. Then again I don't have 3G in my area yet (soon SOOON SOOOOOOON) so I don't have anything to compare it to cept my wifi connection.

I'll be using Wi-Fi mostly, anyways, probably.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

CrunchGear just got a test HTC Hero and published some photos and initial thoughts, with more in-depth thoughts coming this week.

On the flipside, browsing the XDA forums its apparent that even in their Magic (the non-Google Experience ones) and the Hero ROMs, HTC modifies Android down to the core, and that's the only reason their smart dialer and other features work. Just an interesting observation.

 

[santouras]

On the flipside, browsing the XDA forums its apparent that even in their Magic (the non-Google Experience ones) and the Hero ROMs, HTC modifies Android down to the core, and that's the only reason their smart dialer and other features work. Just an interesting observation.

mmm that sucks. means it will be less likely that there is a rom available for non-htc phones

 

[ThatObviousUser]

mmm that sucks. means it will be less likely that there is a rom available for non-htc phones

Probably depends more on the drivers than anything. I took away the thought that HTC's Android builds will be harder to upgrade than normal ones since they follow a different development path.

This is idle speculation on my part, though.

 

[Flynn]

Man, here's hoping that Verizon phone turns out to be of some verifiable quality. If I can't have me an iPhone anytime soon, Android's the next best thing. And I should actually be able to upgrade/renew by then.

I'm in the same boat. Stuck with Verizon for a while and hoping there's a solid-to-good Android phone with the provider before year end.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

I'm in the same boat. Stuck with Verizon for a while and hoping there's a solid-to-good Android phone with the provider before year end.

Unfortunately, Verizon has stated they will start removing each OS's app store from handsets they carry, and will be replacing them with its own. No BlackBerry AppWorld, Windows Mobile Marketplace, and no Android Market.

 

[trinest]

man looking at some videos of the i7500 has me really hanging out for it now.... Does anyone recommend some reputable import stores? Am in AU

You don't want that shit. But if you insist you can get it as well as the better phones (HTC Hero etc.) from expansys.com.au

Really digging the look of the hero- looks much more polished then earlier Android devices. Would get it if I had the cash :/

 

[Midas]

My dream is that Sony Ericsson announce Rachael as a 2009 phone. I can dream, right?

 

[ThatObviousUser]

My dream is that Sony Ericsson announce Rachael as a 2009 phone. I can dream, right?

We'll be lucky if they officially announce it at all in 2009.

...not to crush your dreams, or anything.

 

[santouras]

You don't want that shit. But if you insist you can get it as well as the better phones (HTC Hero etc.) from expansys.com.au

Really digging the look of the hero- looks much more polished then earlier Android devices. Would get it if I had the cash :/

you mean the phone or buying outright? Cause the galaxy flogs the magic and dream and only loses to the hero in the ram department. Much better screen and a flash on the camera. The reviews of it have been overwhemingly glowing

 

[trinest]

you mean the phone or buying outright? Cause the galaxy flogs the magic and dream and only loses to the hero in the ram department. Much better screen and a flash on the camera. The reviews of it have been overwhemingly glowing

The phone man- its a Samsung- the devil company. Worse then Telstra.

+ the Hero is cheaper, has a nicer GUI thanks to HTC and its from a reputable company whos known for quality and value.

 

[santouras]

The phone should be hitting the UK in the next few weeks and I'll wait for the head to head reviews of the hero and the galaxy before I decide which one to go for

 

[Flynn]

Unfortunately, Verizon has stated they will start removing each OS's app store from handsets they carry, and will be replacing them with its own. No BlackBerry AppWorld, Windows Mobile Marketplace, and no Android Market.

That sounds like a bunch of crap. Maybe its time to jump ship then.

 

[Chojin]

Warranty on the myTouch update:

Yes its 30 bucks. Its optional warranty through Asurion. If you opt out its still 1 year warranty which is standard with Tmo devices. I'm kind of angry about that because when they were pitching it to us they were orgasming over how UNPRECEDENTED THIS WAS.

Well, its 30 bucks. Depending on what contract you have you're probably going to be able to upgrade to a new phone by the time the warranty expires in one year with the normal warranty.

My dream is that Sony Ericsson announce Rachael as a 2009 phone. I can dream, right?

Depends on when Donut comes out. S-E already stated they won't release a phone until Android supports Flash. And its just a rumor we're getting it in october. Though adobe dude says we're getting flash so. ::shrugs::

Maybe an announcement in 09.

 

[gkryhewy]

Chojin -- thanks for the confirmation on that. Yeah, I'll skip the warranty.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

That sounds like a bunch of crap. Maybe its time to jump ship then.

Though also note, if you're savy you'll still be able to sideload the app stores. The downside is that, to my knowledge, the Android Market does not exist in a stand-alone installable package.

Depends on when Donut comes out. S-E already stated they won't release a phone until Android supports Flash. And its just a rumor we're getting it in october. Though adobe dude says we're getting flash so. ::shrugs::

Maybe an announcement in 09.

They were much less vague than noting Flash, if I recall their line was they were waiting for "better media support" in general for "2.0", but yeah with Donut and Flash on the way now would be the time S-E would have to start moving.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2009/07/20/review-htc-hero/

This brings us to the HTC Hero, HTC’s first Android phone to use the company’s new Sense UI. In one sense the Hero is “just another Android phone”; in another sense, it’s an entirely new direction for HTC and the platform.

The Hero is a great phone. It is on par - and ultimately better - than the Palm Pre and, some would say, the iPhone on many points. It also turns those lumbering Windows Mobile and Symbian into something that you will fondly remember from your youth, a set of dinosaur technologies now extinct.

[...] On the whole the Hero is amazingly small and quite attractive. It is a well-designed phone with no rough edges, a la the Pre, and none of the iPhone fragility. You could feasibly drop this without much thought, something you’d want to rethink with the iPhone.

[...] Android is messy. It is like a good Linux distribution - visually impressive some of the time and technically impressive all the time... I believe that Android will, in the end, replace Windows Mobile and Symbian as the OS of choice for most smartphones. However, it is still a work in progress.

It’s been a little over nine months since I encountered the first Android device, the T-Mobile G1. If you weren’t around to read Peter Ha’s review then I’ll summarize it for you here: the G1 and Android sucked back then. With the passing of two seasons, we’ve found that it’s a much more robust and useful OS than we initially thought.

[...] As you browse through the Market you find odd apps everywhere: What’s this ToggleWifi app? Oh, it let’s me toggle Wi-Fi on/off without having to dig through the menu? Can the iPhone do that? Nope. Google Voice? It’s there and it’s free. Find My iPhone? Sure, Android has the same functionality. Thanks to Wheres My Droid I can send a quick text to it and it starts chirping. Need to fuss with Transmission, the bittorrent app, from the phone? You can do that with Transdroid.

I think you can see where I’m going with this. You might consider the Android Market homebrew, but what’s wrong with that? That’s the great thing about being an open platform. Android, on the whole, is a great platform.

[...] Now for the bad news: the Hero widget engine is very slow... Sliding from page to page is fast enough, but once you’re there you’ll notice a definite lag. For example, when you slide to the email page, it’ll take about 5 seconds to see the latest email. Then when you go back to the default clock page you’ll notice the clock is stuck at a previous time - say ten minutes before - and updates a few seconds later. It’s frustrating to see this lag front and center on the device.

[...] I don’t know if the way is as clear here, in this case, but I think the HTC Hero is the dawn of a new era of Android usability. Windows Mobile and Symbian should be shaking right now and Palm execs had better be planning a built-in vibrator/teleportation device combo in the next WebOS phone because anything they can do, it has been shown, HTC can do better.

[...] This is a phone for the masses, yet it still has the power and geek chic of Android. To paraphrase Candy’s character in the movie, the Hero is fun for the whole family.

Choicest quote? "The Android Market is no match for Apple’s App Store, but it doesn’t need to be. In fact, it’s better than the App Store."

 

[ThatObviousUser]

http://phandroid.com/2009/07/21/sony-ericsson-xperia-x3-android-with-specs-pics/

Sony Ericsson hasn’t said anything yet but if the pre-order page on Expansys isn’t an evil gag, it appears the Sony Ericsson Xperia X3 will be the first Sony Ericsson Android Phone!

Specs:

• 4-inch touchscreen
• 800 x 400 pixel display
• 8MP Camera with LED Flash, Auto Focus, 8X digital zoom
• Video Recording at VGA resolution (640×480)
• 3.5mm headset jack
• MicroSD expandable
• Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, AGPS
• Quadband GSM/GPRS - 850/900/1800/1900MHz

Hrm, maybe we'll see an announcement this year after all.

 

[Midas]

http://phandroid.com/2009/07/21/sony-ericsson-xperia-x3-android-with-specs-pics/

Specs:

• 4-inch touchscreen
• 800 x 400 pixel display
• 8MP Camera with LED Flash, Auto Focus, 8X digital zoom
• Video Recording at VGA resolution (640×480)
• 3.5mm headset jack
• MicroSD expandable
• Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, AGPS
• Quadband GSM/GPRS - 850/900/1800/1900MHz

Hrm, maybe we'll see an announcement this year after all.

DROOOOOOOL. The only question is what I should get while waiting.

 

[Krelian]

That Sony Ericcson Android phone looks awesome. Maybe next time I'll get an SE device again

 

[ThatObviousUser]

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009...ied-may-bring-help-push-android-to-new-demos/

Today has been a hell of a day for info and live shots of unannounced handsets and guess what… The trend continues. Above, we have our first glimpse of the upcoming HTC Click — a handset that definitely doesn’t put the “roid” in Android, but it may open up some new doors for the young OS. We’re seemingly looking at a low to mid-range handset that could potentially be priced well below current Android offerings. As such, Android could find itself falling into the handsets of a completely new demographic; a step that may be necessary if Google’s OS is to substantially increase its market share any time soon. We’ve got nothing right now as far as specs go, save for a touchscreen and an odd pad/click wheel for navigation. Hopefully we’ll get more soon but in the meantime, hit the jump for another shot.

Looks neat. This is exactly what I was saying earlier in the thread, Android needs dominate the low-spec phones if it wants to truly succeed. Get people of all budgets used to the OS and it'll become the standard. Will add to the OP tonight.

http://phandroid.com/2009/07/21/motorola-morrison-picture-snapped-appears-black-and-blue/

Apparently a Moto employee is already walking around with a working model and let this bad boy out of his sight a bit too long. Unlike the last picture of the Morrison, we can clearly see that Android is the OS.

Notice this blue beauty is emblazoned with the Motorola and T-Mobile logos, leaving no questions where it came from and where its going. This time around we can make out 3 distinct hardware buttons which previously were unidentifiable due to the white background - now Android makes a lot more sense. The buttons are (1) back, (2) home and (3) call/menu/action/something. It’ll be interesting to see how that last button with the 4 boxes functions considering the needs for “Call” and “Menu” both need to be addressed, unless done somehow or somewhere else.

Also of interest is that this version of the Motorola Morrison is black and blue as opposed to previous pics we’ve seen that showed a white and blue model

This looks increasingly like a "mass market" phone too, hopefully Motorola will announce it soon.

 

[santouras]

man that xperia looks so hawt.... was pretty much sold on the hero as well

 

[ThatObviousUser]

man that xperia looks so hawt.... was pretty much sold on the hero as well

And also, with Android running on the screen, I'm suddenly very attracted to the Morrison too. Hope its specs are decent.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

HTC Hero inspired widgets available in the Android Market

The HTC Hero has received a lot of buzz for its physical design and new user interface. HTC Sense is the name for the newly designed UI and its set to debut across a number of devices. Developers have recognized the popularity of the HTC widgets and began to release copies. Now users with the original G1 can make their phone look like the beloved Hero.

LevelUp Studio has released a pack of Hero widgets to the Android Market under the name Beautiful Widgets. Included with the set are widgets for clock with weather, WiFi, Bluetooth, and airplane mode.

Definitely looks nice, and you don't even have to sideload a ROM to do it! It's $1.39, but the developer is adding more widgets.

---​

Gizmodo's HTC Hero Review: Ambitious, But Tragically Flawed

It's the Android phone we've been waiting for. Almost.

The HTC Hero is as much a champion for HTC as it is for Android: It's the first genuinely gorgeous piece of hardware running Android, and the Sense UI is the most ambitious, polished software HTC has developed yet. It doesn't have a carrier in the US yet, but as Android's headline phone, it makes the just-launched myTouch 3G on T-Mobile a lame duck. It's the most important Android phone to date, since it's the first one to really give us at peek at just what Android is capable of.

The Hero is flawed, though, in ways that are truly depressing in light of its potential and how much it does get truly right: It's often sluggish, which absolutely destroys the user experience. It's a particularly unfortunate affliction as the iPhone 3GS and Palm Pre emphasize speed, making the Hero feel that much slower.

Reading the full review now. Though I'll take plain looks over sluggishness any day.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

http://www.tmonews.com/2009/07/htc-click-coming-to-t-mobile/

The HTC Click, mentioned as a low end Android phone, is expected to drop on T-mobile later this year. According to our tipster, that’s not the real news, the real news is just how low end this device might really be. Well, we’re being told the sweet spot for this phone will be $99. Among the low price point, we’ve been told to expect a form factor “smaller than the Samsung highlight,” a resistive touch interface and snap on faceplates.

I think it could go a little bit lower than $99, it still has to compete with the iPhone 3G after all. A resistive touchscreen Android phone... I wonder if that's going to affect any apps. I also wonder if this will run Sense, as even the beefy Hero is apparently having trouble running it smoothly.

---​

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/22/htc-adopting-android-on-50-of-its-handsets-in-2010/

Uh oh Microsoft, this can't be good news. HTC, the premier manufacturer of Windows Mobile cellphones is rumored to be shifting half of its handsets to Google's Android OS in 2010. To put this in perspective, HTC lists 28 devices on its European website and of those, just 2 run Android, the rest are WinMo. DigiTimes' sources also claim that HTC is on track to make 30% of its 2009 handsets Android-based which means that several of Andy Rubin's 15 to 20 Android handsets coming this year would have to be HTC branded for this to be true. DigiTimes also claims that HTC will launch a handset that's simultaneously a "high-profile 3G handset" and "entry-level model" with touchscreen and TouchFlo 3D / Sense UI. HTC is said to achieve this seemingly contradictory feat by basing the handset on Qualcomm's BREW Mobile Platform when it launches in September or October. Of course, none of this is confirmed, but will undoubtedly be a topic of discussion when HTC reports earnings on July 30th.

Hrm, Magic, Hero, Lancaster, and Click are all we know about at the moment, with rumors the Whitestone could possibly an Android device as well.

2009 is definitely huge for Android, if HTC is increasing their Android production by 20% I can't wait to see how the rest will follow.

 

[tokkun]

Gizmodo's HTC Hero Review: Ambitious, But Tragically Flawed

Disappointing, but not entirely surprising based on some of the youtube video I've seen. Since HTC has stated that Sense will be going to all of their future phones, I will probably just try to hold out until they eventually release a Sense-based phone running on Tegra or Snapdragon.

We haven't seen the elusive HTC SuperStar based on the Tegra platform yet, and with HTC's comments about putting Android on a larger percentage of their handsets, there is always hope.

 

[Phoenix]

http://www.tmonews.com/2009/07/htc-click-coming-to-t-mobile/



I think it could go a little bit lower than $99, it still has to compete with the iPhone 3G after all. A resistive touchscreen Android phone... I wonder if that's going to affect any apps. I also wonder if this will run Sense, as even the beefy Hero is apparently having trouble running it smoothly.

---​

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/22/htc-adopting-android-on-50-of-its-handsets-in-2010/

Hrm, Magic, Hero, Lancaster, and Click are all we know about at the moment, with rumors the Whitestone could possibly an Android device as well.

2009 is definitely huge for Android, if HTC is increasing their Android production by 20% I can't wait to see how the rest will follow.

Who REALLY cares about Windows Mobile to be honest. Its quickly getting up there with Symbian as an OS that nobody actually WANTS on their phone.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Who REALLY cares about Windows Mobile to be honest. Its quickly getting up there with Symbian as an OS that nobody actually WANTS on their phone.

Yeah, there maybe some business people who want it for familiarity, but it's not suitable for the general public anymore. 6.5 is trying to add a touch- and app-friendly gloss over the OS, but I don't think that's going to cut it. In addition, the yearly $99 developer fee and high app listing price (more than five apps costs you $99 per app) for the Marketplace, not to mention the usual WinMo glitches, won't make it a very attractive proposition for app developers in my opinion. Windows Mobile 7 is about the closest to a possible savior, but by then I doubt anybody will truly care.

 

[Skittleguy]

Yeah, there maybe some business people who want it for familiarity, but it's not suitable for the general public anymore. 6.5 is trying to add a touch- and app-friendly gloss over the OS, but I don't think that's going to cut it. In addition, the yearly $99 developer fee and high app listing price (more than five apps costs you $99 per app) for the Marketplace, not to mention the usual WinMo glitches, won't make it a very attractive proposition for app developers in my opinion. Windows Mobile 7 is about the closest to a possible savior, but by then I doubt anybody will truly care.

WM6.5 sucks. No matter how pretty they made it, it was still awful. At least HTC tried to make it better, but still, no.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Skittle by the way, what's with the red Xs on your avatar's eyes?

 

[trinest]

WM6.5 sucks. No matter how pretty they made it, it was still awful. At least HTC tried to make it better, but still, no.

*slap* WM6.5 is sex.


Anyway the HTC click looks interesting as a low level phone.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

*slap* WM6.5 is sex.

Probably not. But we'll see when the reviews come in.

 

[SFA_AOK]

Shame about the Hero review, I wonder if updates will help. It's a double shame because I think I prefer the Hero's form.

It went on sale on Orange yesterday here in the UK - think T-Mobile are still to announce details (every few days there's a "We'll announce details soon" tweet) but anyone in the UK eager to get one can do so now.

I'm leaning back to the Magic and maybe getting those add-ons instead

 

[clav]

Anyone know if Sprint will get an Android phone any time soon?

I was thinking if I were to switch from T-Mobile Prepaid to Sprint's Sero plan (through a friend or TOL), I was wondering if it would be possible to obtain an Android phone.

Hm...

I know Sprint doesn't allow the Palm Pre and Samsung Instinct to be on Sero (although very few have found ways around it), but I was wondering if Sprint will have an Android phone this year.

Otherwise, I might settle with a HTC Snap/Touch Pro with Sero.

Thoughts?

 

[ThatObviousUser]

Anyone know if Sprint will get an Android phone any time soon?

I was thinking if I were to switch from T-Mobile Prepaid to Sprint's Sero plan (through a friend or TOL), I was wondering if it would be possible to obtain an Android phone.

Hm...

I know Sprint doesn't allow the Palm Pre and Samsung Instinct to be on Sero (although very few have found ways around it), but I was wondering if Sprint will have an Android phone this year.

Otherwise, I might settle with a HTC Snap/Touch Pro with Sero.

Thoughts?

The number one (rumored) runner for Sprint right now is the HTC Hero, as shown in the OP. In addition, the "Samsung InstinctQ M900" was leaked as an Android phone, and the InstinctQ name usually refers to it being a Sprint handset. However, we have no other details about the M900 other than it having Wi-Fi.

 

[SFA_AOK]

Engadget have put up their review of the Hero: http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/23/htc-hero-review/

The Hero represents a valiant effort from HTC -- though unfortunately, the company appears to have bitten off more than its last-generation hardware can chew. If this build of Android were to be loaded atop the guts of a 3GS or Pre, the performance would likely be astounding, but fused with the two-year old architecture of previous devices, it's mostly disappointing. We're not saying this isn't the best build of Android on the market -- we think it is. What we are saying is that this build is a bit too much for a device like the Hero to handle, and that makes for an uneven, sometimes frustrating experience. Going into the review, we desperately wanted to love this phone, but given the combination of a few poor hardware choices and an OS which outclasses the device it runs on, we can only recommend that you enter at your own risk. HTC has an explosive entry in the smartphone category with what its done on the software side... now it just needs the hardware to match.

 

[Skittleguy]

*slap* WM6.5 is sex.

I stand by my statement. After having used WM6.5 on my Vox and Kaiser, I can say that it's still fugly.

Skittle by the way, what's with the red Xs on your avatar's eyes?

I made him a Black Lantern to further my nerdity :3

 

[jonnybryce]

Damn...for all the hype about the Hero having flash, that was abysmal and useless.

The UI looks great, but it needs more power.

After seeing that, I'd rather go with a Magic than a Hero. Standard Android may not be as flashy but atleast it doesn't chug around in the browser and calender like the Hero. What's the point of flash when videos play less than 1 frame per second?

 

[Midas]

Okay. So no HTC Hero for me. What should I get while waiting for Rachael...

 

[SFA_AOK]

Plus, Flash is coming through official channels anyway. I wonder how good the copycat widgets are on the Magic...

 

[Chojin]

Interesting rumor here at work.


some of our peeps are calling the myTouch the "Signal Sucker"

We've been getting calls about how a myTouch next to another phone is somehow causing the non-mytouch phone to lose signal strength. By bars and such.


WAAAACKY