Going around in circles Samsung Galaxy S vs Iphone 4

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SBD

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Hey guys I am currently looking for a new phone, I am with vodafone atm and I need an upgrade from my terrible Samsung omnia :(

I have looked at the specs for both phones seem similar but with the Samsung having a better gpu and the AMO LED screen. I think it comes down to the UI and how everything is put together. Do you think relying on Android is a good idea where updates can be a bit of a pain due to needing the UI changes before I would see an update.

My Samsung hasn't seen many updates and I have read that Samsung in general have been poor at keeping older android devices up to date with the current iteration of android.

The key factor for me is that I want the best platform and a phone which is new as I will be keeping it for atleast 6 months ;)

Maybe what I am really asking is, is Android 2.2 better than iOS 4?
 
have you considered a HTC Desire?

It has nearly the same specs as a galaxy S except it has a weaker gpu and comes with a very user friendly ui also the camera has a flash if thats important to you.

Also 2.2 has been released for the Desire ;) not sure if its out yet on the Galaxy S
 
My only reason for not wanting the HTC Desire is that I think for a top of the range phone it has been out for a little too long and I just feel that there is something waiting around the corner from HTC ;)

The ui on the galaxy S seems very similar to the iphone, where the HTC sense is very different. I might have a look at a few youtube vids just to get a feel for the ui ;)
 
I was a happy iPhone 3G user until I was forced to update to the OS 4.0 and the phone now runs like a dog! This has basically forced me to upgrade as it is unusable and I refuse to buy another iphone on principal!

Had a look at the Galaxy S today and it amazed me how quick it runs. I've ordered one so will know how it compares when it arrives. I'm looking forward to being able to get away from itunes too. If you're happy with the current iphone (if you have one) and just want something similar go for an iPhone 4 as it will be familiar ground. If you want something that is really customisable but not as polished as an iPhone OS then get the Galaxy.

I didn't see much worth upgrading to the iPhone 4 from the 3G so was happy sitting it out, but because I was forced to update to OS 4 as the app store apps wouldn't work anymore, I've moved away from Apple. I was perfectly happy with them before that! Looking forward to tinkering on the Galaxy as the screen is stunning. Go have a play with one in a shop!
 
SBD said:
My only reason for not wanting the HTC Desire is that I think for a top of the range phone it has been out for a little too long and I just feel that there is something waiting around the corner from HTC ;)

The ui on the galaxy S seems very similar to the iphone, where the HTC sense is very different. I might have a look at a few youtube vids just to get a feel for the ui ;)
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There are rumours of a Desire HD in the works but no official announcements yet. I think it would be best to have a look in the shops and have a good feel of the phones, but ide still recommend not striking out the Desire just yet its a lovely phone :)
 
I think I will head into town tomorrow and have a good play around with the phones. This is still doing my head in, on the one side I would have a lovely apple iphone which looks great and would just work, on the other side I would have a phone where I can get a free sat nav and change just about anything. I can see android as a platform just getting better and better as I believe it is still in it's infancy.

How do the apps compare with android and apple? Are most of the android apps free?
 
SBD said:
How do the apps compare with android and apple? Are most of the android apps free?
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Android has less games than the iphone thats for sure, however there are some cracking games on the android market. Speedx 3d is a personal fav.

It depends what type of app your after, but a lot of the apps i have on my desire are free and do what they are designed to do very well :).

Also the android market is a lot more open meaning you get some cool things like snes emulators or game boy advance emulators which are rather cool :D
 
The iPhone4 is a nicer piece of hardware (better screen, better battery, better camera), but it's also vastly more expensive.

With regards to iOS vs Android, it's a personal preference thing. Apart from games they are pretty equal for App availability, browsing and making calls/texts now. Android has a better multitasking and notification system along with a decent free Navigation system, but iOS is more polished with a better music player. Android also has widget support which can be a good timesaver.

For me the iPhone's price is the single biggest factor, it simply isn't worth £300+ more than a Galaxy S.
TCO on a Galaxy is about £25/month over a 24 month contract, for an iPhone4 16GB it's over £40/month.
 
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Jongo said:
There are rumours of a Desire HD in the works but no official announcements yet. I think it would be best to have a look in the shops and have a good feel of the phones, but ide still recommend not striking out the Desire just yet its a lovely phone :)
Click to expand...

There are two new phones rumoured for October - the HTC Vision which is apparently a Desire with a QWERTY, which is rebranded as a HTC Desire Z, and the HTC Ace which is to be rebranded as the HTC Desire HD, which is meant to be similar to the Evo, with a 4.3in screen, 8MP cam, 4GB internal storage etc, but with an aluminum case like the Legend.

...phew. Thats just rumours though :D
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
That's very subjective and depends on you. I'd look at both before you buy.
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Nope, it's not subjective. AMOLED & Super AMOLED do not require back lighting and produce better colours because of this, especially dark/black colours that are not washed out by the back light.

"Retina display" is basically Apple doing their usual "apply a cool name to technology that already has a name" trick. It's an IPS display:

A type of LCD technology which aligns the liquid crystal cells in a horizontal direction. In this method, the electrical field is applied through each end of the crystal, but this requires two transistors for each pixel instead of the single transistor needed for a standard thin-film transistor (TFT) display. This results in blocking more transmission area, thus requiring a brighter backlight, which will consume more power, making this type of display less desirable for notebook computers.
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More back light = poorly dark colours and blacks, with more battery drain.

But hey, it's called RETINA DISPLAY :cool: that's a cool name right? Watch all the Apple consumers lap it up and tout it as the best thing since sliced bread...
 
biron_w said:
That certainly isn't true. There is no way the iPhone screen is better than the super AMOLED screen the galaxy has.
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In my experience the touch response is much better on the iPhone than on any Android devices i've tried.
As to display quality This Engadget comparison puts them pretty much equal on colors, brightness, viewing angles etc but says the increased pixel density on the iPhone gives it a noticeable advantage.
 
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I would also agree that the Samsung has the better display, the iphone has a higher resolution but I would have to compare both side by side to see if there was any real difference in sharpness.

I am thinking more and more about the Samsung now :P I really need a play with it :D
 
Check out this first:

http://www.androidcentral.com/htc-desire-hd-ace-and-desire-z-vision-show-vodafone-inventory-system

We're still not entirely sure what's planned for a couple of HTC codename-phones that have been floating around -- the Ace and Vision, but damned if they haven't appeared in an inventory system for Vodafone D2 in Germany as the Desire HD (a name we've heard before) and Desire Z, respectively. German blog BestBoyZ says the Desire HD should be similar to the aluminum unibody design of the HTC Legend (read our full review of that one), and have features of of the HD2 and Desire (whatever that means).
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The Desire HD is rumoured to be on the way very soon.
 
Mekrel said:
Nope, it's not subjective. AMOLED & Super AMOLED do not require back lighting and produce better colours because of this, especially dark/black colours that are not washed out by the back light.

"Retina display" is basically Apple doing their usual "apply a cool name to technology that already has a name" trick. It's an IPS display:



More back light = poorly dark colours and blacks, with more battery drain.

But hey, it's called RETINA DISPLAY :cool: that's a cool name right? Watch all the Apple consumers lap it up and tout it as the best thing since sliced bread...
Click to expand...

Can you see why iPhone owners don't want to post here? But that's another thread.

All I said was there difference in display technology was subjective and it is very subjective and it depends what you want out of a screen. Both have there plus points in real life situations. As someone else has posted, the colours, viewing angles, brightness are on par. Also before you say Engadget are pro apple, I think you'll find they are as much pro android as well (very anti windows mobile 6 and Symbian).

For example, skimming news sites (or any site), you wont be able to read past the headline without zooming on a galaxy but you can on an iphone 4 because the screen is so much sharper from the increased resolution. On the other hand in direct sunlight the Samsung will perform better because of the AMOLED tech inside.

Its more than just specs on a sheet of paper.

Also take into account build quality, resale value and price into account before you decide.

But just look at these figures on enviriphone, iPhone 3g 16GB £175(June 08), HTC desire £142(May 10), HTC Hero £85(July 2009), Samsung Omnia II £96(Dec 09)
 
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b0rn2sk8 said:
Can you see why iPhone owners don't want to post here? But that's another thread.

But just look at these figures on enviriphone, iPhone 3g 16GB £175(June 08), HTC desire £142(May 10), HTC Hero £85(July 2009), Samsung Omnia II £96(Dec 09)
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Actually, you'll find a load of posts here where I say positive things about the iPhone, not as of late though due to the ignorance of Apple users in the light of antennae issues, combined with the cheek of Steve "you're holding it wrong" Jobs acting as if his Jesus phone doesn't have issues.

The last part of your post sums it up for me really, the fact the resale value of a two year phone that will never do video recording, multi task, have a LED flash, is higher than a 6 month old phone that side by side, has more features and better hardware.

I've lost count also of threads where people ask for advice on buying an iPhone vs some other phone, yet ignore all advice and choose the iPhone anyway.
 
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