[Domino]

I'm not going to be grabbing a new phone any time soon; probably sometime in mid August, but I might as well discuss it early to get some better knowledge on what to expect.

I've always had hand-me-down smart phones; the ones I liked anyways. But now, the phone is beginning to really show its age and sluggishness. I'm also going to be heading to a univerity soon where a new phone will be needed.

What I'm looking for in a phone is:

• A fast interface. Something that starts up quick and does not hog down system resources like the one I currently have. I want to click on something (i.e. phone/contacts) and have it load on the screen near instantly. The interface doesn't need to be fancy, it just needs to be fast and fluent.
• Good batterylife. Most of the time I'm not going to be using it all the time. But I would like it to last through the night if I use it as an alarm clock.
• Physical QWERTY keyboard.
• Clear phone speaker, that is loud and understandable without disturbing others.
• Apps and good app support. I've heard andriod has plenty of apps, but seeing that each phone is different, I hope that one application doesn't "fit to screen" and leave boarders from cross platforms.

Basically what I'm looking for. I'm limited to TELUS as a supplier and they typically don't have any of the latest phones that use dual CPU or powerful GPUs.

I'm thinking of an iphone4, though I'm not a big fan of apple themselves. I find Itunes to be garbage let alone the audio quality. If I do end up with an iphone4 I'm thinking of grabbing the extension that auzentech has. But then again, I'm not too sure if I want to go back to 320kbps music. I also like their app support and now that they are getting quite popular, you have a nice mix of many different companies jumping into the bandwagon. But the lack of a physical keyboard and having to deal with itunes is turning me away from it.

I'm also thinking of a blackberry, but their system is quick closed. Let alone, most of the hardware in those phones are a generation behind. The app market doesn't seem too appealing.

Other then that there is andriod. But having heard of some applications that were hacking into your device or stealling information off your phone (or something) I'm not too sure how secure andriod is.

Anyways, cheers on input.

 

[GOTFrog]

argh just typed a 200 word reply and lost it.

Dont know if you are reniewing your contrct or are ready to pay full price but phones for all major carrier work with telus and they have to unlock their phones upon request tho they can charge for the service. Don't know when we will get Dual core phones in canada other than the atrix probalby end of summer. Telus has the Samsung Galaxy S Facinate witch should be a good phone with lots of custom roms. The HTC Desire HD seams to be a great BIG phone with alot of roms too.

 

[jackeyjoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Domino What I'm looking for in a phone is: A fast interface. Something that starts up quick and does not hog down system resources like the one I currently have. I want to click on something (i.e. phone/contacts) and have it load on the screen near instantly. The interface doesn't need to be fancy, it just needs to be fast and fluent. Good batterylife. Most of the time I'm not going to be using it all the time. But I would like it to last through the night if I use it as an alarm clock. Physical QWERTY keyboard. Clear phone speaker, that is loud and understandable without disturbing others. Apps and good app support. I've heard andriod has plenty of apps, but seeing that each phone is different, I hope that one application doesn't "fit to screen" and leave boarders from cross platforms. Basically what I'm looking for. I'm limited to TELUS as a supplier and they typically don't have any of the latest phones that use dual CPU or powerful GPUs.

You're only going to get all of that with android (and yes, google removes the applications that steal information as soon as they know about it). I say a HTC desire z.

1. You'll need to root (android equivalent of jailbreak) to make the phones interface snappy. Not hard to do and if you break it beyond repair warranty won't be able to tell the difference.
2. Once again, if rooted you'd be able to get 2 days out of it easy, stock maybe a bit over a day.
3. Has a physical keyboard, otherwise I'd reccomend a desire HD
4. Not sure about this, HTC's don't have the best speakers but if they are bad hackers usually fix them so they are much better (once again need to root).
5. Android has plenty of apps, and it has some scaling thing where all apps will work at any resolution (no idea how it works but it does).
6. You don't even need to latest hardware currently, the current hardware keeps up with the duals without any trouble.

 

[Domino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GOTFrog Dont know if you are reniewing your contrct or are ready to pay full price but phones for all major carrier work with telus and they have to unlock their phones upon request tho they can charge for the service. Don't know when we will get Dual core phones in canada other than the atrix probalby end of summer. Telus has the Samsung Galaxy S Facinate witch should be a good phone with lots of custom roms. The HTC Desire HD seams to be a great BIG phone with alot of roms too.

Thanks for the info. Ya, I'm kinda dissappointed with the selection. We see all these awesome phones on OCN and we can't get a chance to use them

I'm not exactly sure when the contract is going to end. It is probably going to be soon. I'll have to double check. I wonder what other phones are going to be availible over the summer?

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackeyjoe You're only going to get all of that with android (and yes, google removes the applications that steal information as soon as they know about it). I say a HTC desire z. 1. You'll need to root (android equivalent of jailbreak) to make the phones interface snappy. Not hard to do and if you break it beyond repair warranty won't be able to tell the difference. 2. Once again, if rooted you'd be able to get 2 days out of it easy, stock maybe a bit over a day. 3. Has a physical keyboard, otherwise I'd reccomend a desire HD 4. Not sure about this, HTC's don't have the best speakers but if they are bad hackers usually fix them so they are much better (once again need to root). 5. Android has plenty of apps, and it has some scaling thing where all apps will work at any resolution (no idea how it works but it does). 6. You don't even need to latest hardware currently, the current hardware keeps up with the duals without any trouble.

Thanks for the info. I don't know if rooting the phone would be an option. I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to be getting a data plan. And having the rooted phone "accidently" sign into the internet might be a little too costly....?

 

[Rayzer]

Bell and Virgin Mobile released the HTC Incredible S today so I'm sure the rest of the newer generations of HTC phones will soon follow. Since Telus currently has the HTC Desire, I wouldn't be surprised if they're able to secure the Desire S.

It's doesn't have a physical keyboard nor is it a dual core phone.

Like mentioned above, the only phone I can see that fits most of your criteria is the HTC Desire Z, but it's only available to Bell. So unless you sign with them, you'll have to unlock it before it works for Telus.

If you're interested, the Samsung Nexus S is rumored to be released April 7th on almost every carrier in Canada.

 

[Domino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rayzer Bell and Virgin Mobile released the HTC Incredible S today so I'm sure the rest of the newer generations of HTC phones will soon follow. Since Telus currently has the HTC Desire, I wouldn't be surprised if they're able to secure the Desire S. It's doesn't have a physical keyboard nor is it a dual core phone. Like mentioned above, the only phone I can see that fits most of your criteria is the HTC Desire Z, but it's only available to Bell. So unless you sign with them, you'll have to unlock it before it works for Telus. If you're interested, the Samsung Nexus S is rumored to be released April 7th on almost every carrier in Canada.

Eh it does lack the keyboard but the phone does look nice. It sure is snappy.

I wonder if there is going to be any android 2.4 phones out by august?

 

[jackeyjoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Domino Thanks for the info. I don't know if rooting the phone would be an option. I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to be getting a data plan. And having the rooted phone "accidently" sign into the internet might be a little too costly....?

...you mustn't know what rooting is, it just removes some security features built into phones that lets you do more to it (customising wise). The only way you'll have any trouble that you couldn't have on it at stock is you download a bad application that does the above.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Domino I wonder if there is going to be any android 2.4 phones out by august?

Google is secretive about their release dates, if you see a news article about a new statue of a particular food outside of googles HQ you'll know something is coming

 

[linkinparkfan007]

Well you have the option of the Optimus One. I got one and it's not the fastest phone on the market but there's been a huge amount of tweaks, and i'm running unofficial version of Gingerbread.
Contacts takes maybe 4 seconds to load with 200 contacts, Messaging since i've had approx 3000 texts and it takes 3 seconds to load. If you want something simple you can get Launcher 7 which will provide the Windows Phone 7 experience.
Also I have my phone clocked @ 480 minimum to 748mhz max so it is a nice speed compared to the 245 and 600mhz

As well there is the Nexus S coming to all providers soon enough, + Ice Cream over the summer, and lastly look for something with atleast 512MB of RAM. (I'd personally get the Nexus S since it will be the phone despite speed the one with the lastest OS).

Although only downside of the Optimus One is no actual keyboard.

 

[Domino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by linkinparkfan007;13005449
Well you have the option of the Optimus One. I got one and it's not the fastest phone on the market but there's been a huge amount of tweaks, and i'm running unofficial version of Gingerbread.
Contacts takes maybe 4 seconds to load with 200 contacts, Messaging since i've had approx 3000 texts and it takes 3 seconds to load. If you want something simple you can get Launcher 7 which will provide the Windows Phone 7 experience.
Also I have my phone clocked @ 480 minimum to 748mhz max so it is a nice speed compared to the 245 and 600mhz

As well there is the Nexus S coming to all providers soon enough, + Ice Cream over the summer, and lastly look for something with atleast 512MB of RAM. (I'd personally get the Nexus S since it will be the phone despite speed the one with the lastest OS).

Although only downside of the Optimus One is no actual keyboard.

Are those timings based on the non overclocked speeds?

Hey, what do you guys think of the Windows 7 phones? What about the app market?

 

[Rayzer]

Seeing as you're from Canada, Koodo Mobile is rumoured to release the Google Nexus S for $425 with no tab. If true, this pretty much beats all other Canadian carriers who are most likely to sell the Nexus S off contract for $499.99.

http://mobilesyrup.com/2011/04/06/koodo-mobile-rocks-in-with-425-no-tab-pricing-for-the-nexus-s/

 

[Domino]

Is it cheaper to go with a data plan and purchase the phone directly in the long run?