Posted April 5, 2011 I've decided to get myself a smartphone once I've used up all of my existing credit. Basically I think I want either a HTC Desire or a HTC Desire HD. The HD version is more expensive, but how much better is it? I'm very attracted by the big screen, but apart from that it seems pretty similar. You can upgrade Android 2.1 to 2.2 on the Desire, can you not? At the moment I'm leaning towards getting a Desire for £250 on PAYG and unlocking it, but I might get the HD if I can find a good enough monthly contract. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 5, 2011 I've decided to get myself a smartphone once I've used up all of my existing credit. Basically I think I want either a HTC Desire or a HTC Desire HD. The HD version is more expensive, but how much better is it? I'm very attracted by the big screen, but apart from that it seems pretty similar. You can upgrade Android 2.1 to 2.2 on the Desire, can you not? At the moment I'm leaning towards getting a Desire for £250 on PAYG and unlocking it, but I might get the HD if I can find a good enough monthly contract. The desire is an amazing phone, probably better than the iphone 4 in many ways, and hell even on contract it's only £20 nowadays. The Desire HD is a complete beast; my cousin has one and it's very fast and responsive. I've got a HTC Hero and it blows my one out of the water. He showed some HD recording on the screen too and it's brilliant. That said, if you're getting a smartphone you really should invest in unlimited internet, and for that you're gonna have to get a contract rather than PAYG. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 6, 2011 I have to say - I'm capped at 500mb internet a month and it's plenty for me, and I consider myself a major roaming user. I just connect it to wifi when I get home and I'm fine and dandy. 3G watchdog tells me I'm at 280mb out of 500, and my cap resets on the 17th. I've never used more than 350mb a month. HTC Desire ftw btw. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 6, 2011 500mb is unlimited really. Yeah HTC are great, I looked at the HD but it was TOO big for me. Would be fine for others though I'm sure. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 6, 2011 (edited) 3G watchdog tells me I'm at 280mb out of 500, and my cap resets on the 17th. I've never used more than 350mb a month. I decided to try out that program to see how much I use. Since this morning I've used 385MB. I have the HD but other than the screen and design, there isn't a lot of difference. Edit: But don't worry because my usage is high. I have completely unlimited usage so I use it a lot - most of it is a laptop borrowing the internet connection. Edited April 6, 2011 by Cube Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 12, 2011 (edited) Introducing the HTC Sensation: 1080p video recording with stereo sound at 30 fps 4.3 inch Super LCD screen with qHD resolution 1.2Ghz dual core snapdragon New HTC sense 3.0 New lock screen with the ability to launch any app upon unlock. Wifi Printing DLNA HDMI Out 8MP camera with dual LED flash Video trimmer Improved Calendar and email Front facing camera The first phone in the world to have countoured glass along the entire edge of the screen. New HTC Watch video store. Rent and buy movies. HTC Watch features progressive downloads so your movie is ready to go from the moment you hit play. Launching in May initially only on Vodaphone Edited April 12, 2011 by Ten10 Added some features, corrected an acronym Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 12, 2011 Introducing the HTC Sensation: Picture! 1080p video recording with stereo sound at 30 fps 4.3 inch Super LCD screen with qHD resolution 1.2Ghz dual core snapdragon New HTC sense 3.0 New lock screen with the ability to launch any app upon unlock. Wifi Printing DNLA Launching in May initially only on Vodaphone And suddenly the "S" range is looking even more outdated than it did when it was announced. It's almost like admitting they were wrong or that it was only a money making stop gap... perhaps due to fulfilling orders for certain components/ other contractual obligations. Still think when the screen is that size, it's just plain too big mind. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 12, 2011 I think unfortunately for HTC Qualcomm were just taking too long to get their dual core chip out the door and due to an agreement they have with them they couldn't just go tegra. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 25, 2011 So, I want to get a couple of spare batteries for my HTC Desire as I've got a few festivals coming up and don't want to run out of juice. Best places to buy? I've seen a few on ebay that look trusted but I don't want to end up with any dodgy batteries that mess up the phone or something. Any advice? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 26, 2011 People on Android forums have been recommending this one: http://androidforums.com/desire-accessories/66987-seidio-1600mah-extended-life-battery.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 28, 2011 Has anyone used like a portable charger? My dad has one he uses for his iPhone, just wondering if people know of a HTC/ Nexus one and how well it works? I think it'd be helpful to have one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 29, 2011 Any portable charger with a usb port should do the job. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 4, 2011 i have the sony ericsson xperia x10 mini pro ( my god that's a mouthfull.... lol ) it's a very nice little phone, the screen may be a little small for some but i find it ok. the keypad is easy to use despite it being small.. as with most the battery is a bit rubbish if you use it a lot but a car charger normally keeps that problem at bay while i am at work.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 4, 2011 Seeeeeriously getting annoyed with my HTC Desire. I love it, generally. There are just two major problems I'm having with it. 1. The keyboard on it is just nowhere near as good as the iPhone's or my iTouch. I keep hitting the . button to the right of the space bar when I want to insert a space which frustrates me to no end. I really miss the long hold magnifying glass you get for text editing too. It wouldn't be so bad if I could accurately choose and replace the offending typo. 2. If Android is so smart, why the fuck do I constantly have storage issues when I have a 4GB SD card in my phone and only a gig used up? Low storage space is a major killer for me unfortunately, even with as many apps as possible moved to the SD. I can't believe they thought that 200MB of internal space would be good for a smartphone when the OS needs space for contact info and such. These two are unfortunately big problems I have with the phone that are frustrating me constantly. If I've missed something here, or there's a way round either of these points then please do share. Can I somehow integrate my SD card so it can be considered internal memory? Or.. whatever.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 4, 2011 Just used google navigation while cycling and it's fantastic. Like a sat nav in your car only while I cycle. And with earphones in, it stops the radio to tell me to turn or where to go and I never have to take the thing out. It's so cool. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 4, 2011 Seeeeeriously getting annoyed with my HTC Desire. I love it, generally. There are just two major problems I'm having with it. 1. The keyboard on it is just nowhere near as good as the iPhone's or my iTouch. I keep hitting the . button to the right of the space bar when I want to insert a space which frustrates me to no end. I really miss the long hold magnifying glass you get for text editing too. It wouldn't be so bad if I could accurately choose and replace the offending typo. 2. If Android is so smart, why the fuck do I constantly have storage issues when I have a 4GB SD card in my phone and only a gig used up? Low storage space is a major killer for me unfortunately, even with as many apps as possible moved to the SD. I can't believe they thought that 200MB of internal space would be good for a smartphone when the OS needs space for contact info and such. These two are unfortunately big problems I have with the phone that are frustrating me constantly. If I've missed something here, or there's a way round either of these points then please do share. Can I somehow integrate my SD card so it can be considered internal memory? Or.. whatever.. This. All my txts have at least one full stop, I've stopped caring about changing it. I thought it was just me and my thumb! The storage thing is very annoying, so many of the pre-loaded or must have apps do not support SD card. It takes the piss. An extra thing that annoys me is the random opening of txt message strings. You click on one and a total different string opens. Doesn't happen too often but is annoying. Apart from those three things, which I can deal with, the phone is awesome. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 4, 2011 I've not encountered the problem with the full stop on my Hero or Desire HD. It's certainly better than not having it there (im convinced that my boss' iPhone keyboard is glitched - the full stop is with the symbols and it doesn't show what case you're typing in. It's a nightmare to use - the Nokia 5800 has a more usable keyboard and that is about 2cm by 1cm). The magnifying glass feature should also arrive soon as it is part of Gingerbread. The storage issue I only had once on my Hero when I installed loads of apps I had no use for. One thing I'm pleased about is battery life. It lasted listening to music to and from work and 9-5 in work while in constant 3G use wirelessly sharing the internet with two computers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 5, 2011 Install a new keyboard Platty/Dyson. There are loads; I use swype. Storage issues are harder to solve unless you are willing to root your phone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 5, 2011 Which involves what? If you could summarize! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 5, 2011 I too condone Swype. It will change your (phone) life! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 6, 2011 (edited) Which involves what? If you could summarize! There is an app called Move2SDEnabler that means you can move any app to the SD card but the app needs root permission. To get root on your phone is different for every android handset; you just find an appropriate guide on the internet. The big site for this kinda thing, to my knowledge, is XDA. This is another reliable site. Rooting may invalidate your warranty (not sure). Edited May 6, 2011 by Mr_Odwin Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 6, 2011 I've not encountered the problem with the full stop on my Hero or Desire HD. It's certainly better than not having it there (im convinced that my boss' iPhone keyboard is glitched - the full stop is with the symbols and it doesn't show what case you're typing in. It's a nightmare to use - the Nokia 5800 has a more usable keyboard and that is about 2cm by 1cm). The fullstop is hidden because a double tap of the spacebar puts in a fullstop and also and space after it. At the left handside there is a shift button which lights up when you're going to be typing in uppercase. I think the keyboard on the iPhone is great. I've used loads of other touchscreen phones and never had one as responsive as the iPhone. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 6, 2011 The only issues I have with the Desire are more to do with the changes that came about with the 2.2 update way back when - so for anyone who got it recently, they might not be aware. Typing a text in the standard message client often result in the selected message changing from the blank one you are typing in to the first message in that thread. And when that happens, it completely messes with your typing and certain keys stop working until you exit the typing window and scroll all the way back from the first message to the current one. As a result, I just downloaded Handcent which is brill but up until that update, I didn't need any other one. The standard, basic thing, proved very fast and reliable. The second lies with the browser. In 2.1, whenever you entered text on screen, it would cut to the same text entering box used for messages and the website wouldn't be displayed. Now it leaves the website viewable and whilst you may think that sounds good, it just brings the thing to a crawl most of the time and the predictive input either lags like hell or just plain doesn't work. I've tried other browsers and none seem as good as the basic one for general browsing but when it comes to typing anything, they mop the floor with it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 9, 2011 Hi all, just a heads up that the google I/O event officially begins tomorrow. So there will be tons of news around android. Perhaps some news about the next release ice cream and also where google and the OHA will be taking the platform in the future. http://www.google.com/events/io/2011/index.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 10, 2011 (edited) News from I/O Google music Launching later today store & stream up to 20,000 songs for free According to rumours Google is set to launch it's cloud based music service later today. Expected to come to US users over the next few weeks. People in the UK probably will take forever. Source: Engadget Catch all the news from Google I/O when the event kicks off at 5pm. Updates 5pm onwards: Watch this event live: http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleDevelopers?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/0/ns1sYGE-w1c News: - Movie rentals coming to android market from today for honeycomb devices. 2.2 in a few weeks. ( currently US only ) - Honeycomb version 3.1 announced - Android 3.1 improved USB support including even an xbox 360 controller - Android version 4.0 Ice cream sandwich will land in Q4 2011 - Ice cream sandwich will be an overhaul adding support for phones, tablets, laptops and computers. - Music beta announced :- requires music manager software for windows & mac, to upload your music to Google's cloud service - Will bring an updated music app to devices including 2.2 and 2.1. - Cloud sync service will start syncing your music to a new device as soon as you add your google account to the new device. - Launching by invitation only in the US as a beta. The service will be free for the beta period. - US based people can visit music.google.com to request an invite. - Google is working with the Open handset alliance to set guidelines for how long it will take for devices to get update to new releases. - They will also decide for how long these devices will continue to be update. - From today all partner's will commit to supporting their devices with updates for up to 18 months from launch (hardware permitting ) - Android open accessory announced. - A set of standards for creating accessories compatible with all android devices. - An exercise bike is used as an example. The phone is connected to the exercise bike and the Cardio quest exercise tracker is automatically recognised. If a supported app isn't found the user is direct to the market. (hard to explain pretty cool you'll have to watch for yourself) - The open accessory API is currently being release for Honeycomb and Gingerbread. - USB support for now. Bluetooth support in the future. - Android development kit accessory announced. It is a peace of hardware that can interface with android devices. Find out more at http://accessories.android.com - Android at home announced. Uses android at home framework so that android devices can interface with devices. They expect every appliance in your home to be able to connect with this. including but not limited to lights, dishwashers, and alarm clocks etc. - A demonstrator uses "force like" movements to turn the lights on the stage on and off. - Android hub announced codename project tungsten ( as in bulb ) - Always on and connected to the cloud. - The example given is using them as an android based cloud music player. Think in house surround system in all rooms. - A different tungsten device is shown. They are displaying NFC communication. A CD with NFC support is waved over it. The entire album is added to the cloud music service. By waving it over the device again it automatically begins playing. - Everyone attending google I/O all 5000 of them get a free samsung galaxy 10.1 tab. Edited May 10, 2011 by Ten10 updates bro. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
