I know this has been done before but I was thinking that phones change and there are a load more out! I have wanted an i phone for ages but now I've thought about looking at other options that are out there which may be significantly cheaper. It has been suggested to look at the HTC's (but which ones) and the Samsung Galaxy S (I think) but what else do you suggest?
I want something that does the same/similar functions to the i phone. I like the idea of having my i pod, internet, phone and everything all rolled into one in one device for me to carry around. What else can do this job as well as the i phone??

htc desire = amazing

HTC desire is the obvious one. Does everything a me-phone does, without being as restrictive. Plus you can hold it in whatever hand you like…

HTC Desires are difficult to get hold of at the moment.

I got a Galaxy S instead and having used both actually prefer it now. The screen is better, and it has Swype built in (although I think this can be added to the desire via a download).

Excuse my ignorance but what is Swype?? thinking I might look at the HTC desire ….

Went to a stag do this weekend – an allnighter (more or less) – by 11pm just about everyone with an i-phone had no battery left. Mine lasted until the early hours then when it did almost run out, I swapped my battery over.

Come the morning, every i-phoner was rushing around looking for somewhere to charge their phones. I still had over a days charge left. You can't change the battery on an i-phone.

This alone is enough for me to get a Desire over an i-phone.

Another vote for the Desire here – love mine

You carry a spare battery around?

Nokia X6
Big memory, ace AGPS, good camera, use it for everything !
Battery lasts for days, even when using it loads.

Better pocket shape then an iphone too

yeah ourkidsam, in his utility belt phone case 😉

You carry a spare battery around?

If I know I'll be out all night (or all day on business) then yes – the battery can easily fit in a pocket/wallet.

A day doesn't sound like very long for the battery to last… unless you're rinsing it

Unfortunately a day's about average for "smart" phones. When you consider their size and the amount they can do it's still impressive but frustrating.

edit: ….waits for the "I've got a xxxxxx and it lasts 3 weeks without a charge" 😉

The battery life of smartphones is an absolute pain in the neck. Think less than a day if you use it heavily.

I don't mind having to recharge it regularly if I use it I guess it's just convenience! Looking like the HTC Desire is a winner. So where's the best contract? Cheapest but with most minutes/internet etc, or where have you had good service? I'm binning Carphone Warehouse as they have been appalling and getting a new contract elsewhere.
What's the HTC Wildfire? Not heard of it before .. doesn't look much different to the Desire?

my mate has the Galaxy S, tis very nice and feels lighter than the iPhone.

Not sure about the i-phone 4 but the 3GS has a pathetic 1200mAh battery.

Standard Desire battery is 1400 but you can get a spare "better" one for a small outlay. With the i-phone that it – battery is integrated.

I've still vaped my battery in under a day on a recent trip to London (on the train, used it a lot) – best tip is when out and about, switch off all auto synching – pretty much doubles the battery life.

Got mine direct from Orange but it's on a business plan. Paid £100 up front, pay about £35 a month with a big wad of free MBs chucked in. Not a great deal but okay for me.

Got my unbranded HTC desire from mobiles.co.uk for £20 all the price plans you could ever need on there!

Paid £129 for an HTC Desire from T-Mobile.
£15/month gets me 300 mins/300 texts/unlimited internet & a flexible booster thing that I've currently got set at 60 mins to Europe & Australasia (to call a mate in Perth).

Not sure if they are still doing that exact deal, but they were by far the cheapest. Not had any issues with mobile coverage yet.

The battery life of smart phones isn't great, but when you consider all the things the little battery is having to power, it's hardly suprising.

I don't own a smartphone, but I will say anyone with access to the net can change an i phone battery.

Sony erricson X10

I will say anyone with access to the net can change an i phone battery.

Not exactly something you'd do if it just ran out on the train would you. Or carry a spare round ready to swap it.

tails – Member
I don't own a smartphone, but I will say anyone with access to the net can change an i phone battery.

But isn't it a 'tools' job that you'd do if your battery wasn't holding charge etc. rather than something you'd do if your battery became flat through use?
I think surf-mat is alluding to the fact that with a Desire (and other phones) you can just slide the back off, take old battery out, put a fresh one in assuming you have a spare and off you go. With an iPhone this isn't possible.

mobile fun have started selling a mahoosive battery for the desire (I think it's 2200mAh) and a larger back cover to go with it. That should last plenty of time and might be a decent purchase for weekends away etc. I don't think this is the kind of thing that the iPhone's integrated approach will allow.

we my judasphone4 runs for in excess of 24hrs thats being used to make and receive calls, play music, surf the net and take both photos & videos. I've not experienced a single dropped call due to "the grip of death" and more often than not use the phone left handed. I'm an apple hater but I didn't allow my dislike of apple and bitter experience of weeks of infuriatingly poor customer service dissuade me from purchasing what, in the real world, is the best piece of kit (and app store) available.

I got fed up with not being able to swap the battery on my 3GS so i have just sold it and I was going to get a Desire. Then I saw the Dell Streak and instantly knew it was right for me. 90% of what I do on my phone is browsing and the 5 inch screen is brilliant to me.

musta been a riviting stag doo if you were able to wear out your battery by 11pm ….

for an mtb friendly phone look at the nokia e73 – got an e71 and its withstood incredible abuse over last 18months

no touch screen to kill with muddy greasy fingers when riding and doesnt die at first sign of moisture 😀

I'm just getting to grips with a Desire that I bought here. Seems great but the biggest issue for me so far is not getting full BBC Iplayer functionality. This will be a pain as I used to listen to a few of the late night weekend radio shows on my Ipod touch through a dock at home.

Worth bearing in mind as an IPhone will do this.

I've got a Nokia N900, does pretty much anything you can think of but you probably need to be a bit of a computer geek to really appreciate it.

A good tip on all smart phones to increase battery life is to switch to GSM only mode when you're not actively using the internet. Just staying hooked up to 3G seems to use a load more juice than 2G mode, even if you're not browsing etc.

Trasil rat – Have you heard of an activity called "taking lots of photos?"

20 old mates beered up on a remote beach by a huge fire – best stag do I've been to in fact.

N900 user here, works for me but is heavy on battery – 24 hrs usually. Tend to just charge overnight as a routine.

I agree with tenuous that it helps to be a bit of a geek to get the most from it, but I'm not a geek and prefer the keyboard to screen typing etc. Doesn't help with spellings etc though!

20 old mates beered up on a remote beach by a huge fire – best stag do I've been to in fact.

Weren't the strippers a bit parky?

Munqe-chick – Member
Excuse my ignorance but what is Swype?? thinking I might look at the HTC desire ….

Swype is a way of entering text by dragging your finger over the letters you want. It is so much quicker than using a 'normal' phone keypad or the one of the iPhone/Desire that those phones seem very clunky. I don't know how anybody could stand to type out an email using the on screen keyboard on one of those.

The other thing that the Galaxy S has over the Desire is the screen. It really is marvelous, much better than that currently shipping with the Desire (Galaxy S has Super Amoled, Desire now has TFT)

The only down side is that the screen is larger than the Desire (by half an inch or so)

just picked up a galaxy S and the screen really is the bollocks. I had been waiting for the iphone 4 but then seen the galaxy S and it looked interesting, hadn't used android until i went to the shop. I played with both right next to each other in the shop for half an hour yesterday and after spending even a small bit of time on the galaxy the iphone screen looked very cramped. The iphone one is very slightly sharper. So far very impressed came out the shop and logged into gmail and facebook and there you go, contacts and calender all synced right there, might be able to do this with the iphone but i was impressed.

I'm just getting to grips with a Desire that I bought here. Seems great but the biggest issue for me so far is not getting full BBC Iplayer functionality. This will be a pain as I used to listen to a few of the late night weekend radio shows on my Ipod touch through a dock at home.

It can use the normal iplayer flash website if you have the latest software update, with proper flash. Works fine on mine.

Joe

So where would you get a Desire from? looking on line there are loads of really cheap websites but I'm not sure abotu them whether it is easier to walk into a shop and say "right I've had this offer on the internet can you match it?" and see what they say? any suggestions or advice on where is now best? I'm looking at spending around £25 a month.
Also what would 500MG get me? I want to surf the internet, read e-mail, FB etc I would not watch TV or you tube or download masses of music or videos (I'd do this on PC at home). Is 500MG ample or do I need more?

not getting full BBC Iplayer functionality

myplayer. Free on the market, combined with rockplayer for video files. Lets you stream or download for later consumption* all the iplayer content.

*try that on an iOS device, heh.

OMG I have just ordered myself a HTC Desire! Getting sent DHL tomororw but I won't be in to get it boooo and they wouldn't send it to a work place! Please see my classifieds ad for some brand new unboxed i phone accessories 😉

Cool!

Now get on here with those inevitable noob questions we've all had! A great phone but needs some "training."

I blew some slightly "wow man" mates away on a stag do on Friday (on the beach) with the Google Star tracker app that's free. Loads of other amazing stuff too.

Surf-Mat e-mail in profile .. .do tell me more about what I should get (especially the free stuff!) and how to use it!!! can't wait although probably won't get it as I won't be in to sign for it from DHL!!

re. batteries – laptop power is a better comparison than non-smartphones.