"Android is much more customizable"

[Yas786]

Why offer advise on getting a Blackberry when all of your data is stored in Canada.

If you're going to worry about using a custom ROM that might be a potential security threat, then why are you not worrying about that?

After all, we all know how close Canada is to those pesky Americans that want all of our bank account details:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article6945972.ece

Lol do you know how blackberries work??? Out of all the platforms out there it's the most secure....why do u think major companies/corps use bb's as their communication devices??? Secondly all the data from BB's are encrypted so even RIM, the manufacturers of bb devices don't even have access to that data....the UAE and Indian govts want access to that data and RIM can't give them that as they don't have the encryption keys to give....that's why BB's are widely known as the most secure mobile devices around.

Also the Canadian banking is regarded as the most stable banking system in the world....hell Obama himself praised the Canadian banking system a yr or so ago...while the American and British banking system were going into meltdown, the Canadian banking system didn't get that affected.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=afWw27XA56jM

Just a bit of info for you so that in the future you know what your talking about.

As for this whole iPhone and android argument?....each to their own is all I have to say...I prefer the iPhone over android....my last 2 android handsets didn't last more than a month with me whereas the iphone4 I've had since aug and not once has it bored me

 

[Rimsy]

I completely agree, customising things isn't for everyone, and its not really necessary either.

Depends if you want to make your phone unique and have it display what you want it to display, or have something pretty much identical to everyone else.

Be your own person or fit in with the flock (just to carry on the dramatic theme)

 

[Squink]

I realised that the whole subject was a potentially contentious one, so I tried to put my initial post in a fairly neutral fashion. I know people feel strongly about one platform over another - there's something about gadgets and computers that brings it out in all of us, but I was sort of hoping that people would say exactly what they've done to their Android phone to take advantage of the platform. One or two people have said bits and pieces, but the rest of it seems to be arguing.

I've just been browsing some of the 'top app' sites for Android to see what's on offer but it's not clear to me what apps allow you to do things that you couldn't do on an iPhone (I don't know enough about iOS to know exactly what Jobs doesn't want people doing). Fortunately one of my mates has said he's getting a Desire HD as soon as it's released, so I'll get to have a play around on that before I have to make a decision.

 

[Masterdog]

You're going to be happy either way, they're both excellent pieces of hardware. I haven't rooted my Desire and don't really have any inclination to do so, so I come at it from an out-of-the-box perspective.
Based on my experience, there isn't much difference in terms of the functionality of apps. There are some things you can do with Android that you can't do with the iPhone (Wi-Fi hotspot is the immediately obvious, and useful, example), but on the flip side iPhone apps tend to look better than their Android counterparts. I think this will become less true as time goes on tho and Android becomes more mature. The weakest thing with Android versus iOS is the Market imo, it's not nearly as user-friendly as the iTunes Store. It's perfectly usable, but could do with definite improvement.
The biggest thing I think you should consider though is the hardware you're getting. A HTC Desire HD has a bigger screen, a much better camera, and faster processing than the iPhone 4, and it's less expensive*. For me that would completely make it a no-brainer.

* Amazon lists them as £489 for the Desire HD and £589 for the iPhone 4, contracts may differ of course

 

[Robbo]

Depends if you want to make your phone unique and have it display what you want it to display, or have something pretty much identical to everyone else.

Be your own person or fit in with the flock (just to carry on the dramatic theme)

Thats the thing though, its not really 'identical', that is a very over dramatic theme you have going on there though

 

[Deleted member 77746]

HTC Desire just got a T3 gadget award......




























For phone of the year

 

[Boozebeard]

In my nerdy gaming eyes it seems somewhat like this:

iphone = console gaming
Android = PC gaming

With a console anything you put on it is most likely just going to work. With a PC you can have problems with compatibility and stability but you also gain the advantage of being able to tweak and mod things.

Seeing as I'm an avid PC gamer the more tweak-able android platform appeals to me much more

 

[brummie]

HTC Desire just got a T3 gadget award......
For phone of the year

Yay for them with nearly a quarter of the year left to go

Not like anything else will be coming out in that time

 

[BananaDunka]

I doubt any other device will be as hot in sales as the Desire has been. Sold so many units that they had to switch to SLCD. Weeks of waiting for many people due to stock and so on.

 

[bam0]

I realised that the whole subject was a potentially contentious one, so I tried to put my initial post in a fairly neutral fashion. I know people feel strongly about one platform over another - there's something about gadgets and computers that brings it out in all of us, but I was sort of hoping that people would say exactly what they've done to their Android phone to take advantage of the platform. One or two people have said bits and pieces, but the rest of it seems to be arguing.

I've just been browsing some of the 'top app' sites for Android to see what's on offer but it's not clear to me what apps allow you to do things that you couldn't do on an iPhone (I don't know enough about iOS to know exactly what Jobs doesn't want people doing). Fortunately one of my mates has said he's getting a Desire HD as soon as it's released, so I'll get to have a play around on that before I have to make a decision.

First off, IMO homescreen widgets are fantastic, seeing the latest tweet, facebook update, piece of news etc without having to open a full app. Sounds like something really small and insignificant but it's something you miss when you don't have.
Changing the keyboard, this might sound really unimportant too but if you find the qwerty keys too small in portrait mode there are whole range of other keyboard options, or you've got things like Swype amazing if you've ever tried it.
Like I said the two above examples might seem really inconsequential but consider how much you interact with these parts of the phone, given how Apple are so much about the experience and interface it seems odd they would lock down these bits so much, especially the input mechanism.
All said the iPhone is still a great phone, I used to have a 3G and have spent some time playing with a 4G and it looks and feels great. But given the cost differences and restrictions Apple impose I prefer an Android device atm.

 

[me227]

First off, IMO homescreen widgets are fantastic, seeing the latest tweet, facebook update, piece of news etc without having to open a full app. Sounds like something really small and insignificant but it's something you miss when you don't have.

Are there no widgets on iPhones?

Never really used them much, so it's a genuine question.

 

[BananaDunka]

No, there are not!

 

[bam0]

Are there no widgets on iPhones?

Never really used them much, so it's a genuine question.

Nope, the homescreen is pages of icons, although you can now have folders of icons too, but there are no widgets.

 

[Yas786]

You can get widgets on the iphone but it means that you have to 'jailbreak' it in order to get widgets and even then the widgets that i have seen on the cydia marketplace arent that great tbh.

 

[me227]

Wow, I just assumed the iPhone had this. Some of the widgets are so handy!

 

[CSlater]

Lol do you know how blackberries work??? Out of all the platforms out there it's the most secure....why do u think major companies/corps use bb's as their communication devices??? Secondly all the data from BB's are encrypted so even RIM, the manufacturers of bb devices don't even have access to that data....the UAE and Indian govts want access to that data and RIM can't give them that as they don't have the encryption keys to give....that's why BB's are widely known as the most secure mobile devices around.

Also the Canadian banking is regarded as the most stable banking system in the world....hell Obama himself praised the Canadian banking system a yr or so ago...while the American and British banking system were going into meltdown, the Canadian banking system didn't get that affected.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=afWw27XA56jM

Just a bit of info for you so that in the future you know what your talking about.

As for this whole iPhone and android argument?....each to their own is all I have to say...I prefer the iPhone over android....my last 2 android handsets didn't last more than a month with me whereas the iphone4 I've had since aug and not once has it bored me

Firstly, let me say that I agree with you on security. I have no problem with the premise that BBs are more secure than both Android and iPhone. However, since you come across a little lecturing and overly annoyed I must pick up on the REAL reason most businesses use Blackberries: Familiarity and cost.

Let me explain:

Blackberries were the first decent 'smart' phones. They had no real competition outside the first Windows Mobile phones and Palm-style pocket PCs. Businesses picked up the Blackberry and adopted it. Right now businesses have a system their employees are familiar with and all their PC software can talk to. Changing to Android or iOS will be time-consuming and costly. Costly because if you're a business you're more than likely buying lots of new units, might have to pay for different software that helps your business talk to your new devices and productivity may well drop until your new employees become more familiar with the new system. If anyone tells you it's about security just scream at them 'b*ll*cks!'. If security was really an issue for businesses they'd all have adopted Linux a loooooong time ago. Hell, thousands of businesses are still on Windows 2000, XP and running IE5 or 6!!! Security indeed! We're all aware that even if adopting Linux is too big a jump you should at least have Windows 7 and be accessing the net on Chrome or Firefox.......and maybe even Safari or IE9 if you twisted my arm hard enough.

As for the bit about the banking sector I don't see the connection apart from RIM being Canadian. That's like saying because France do the best Sauvignon Blanc we should also buy French shoes. Germany produce excellent cars; I wouldn't recommend their cuisine.

Well, now you know.

 

[Von Luck]

One factor why you don't see anyone in central government with either an iOS or Android device is that RIM spent a lot of time and money in working with CESG to ensure that Blackberry devices (and the supporting BES infrastructure) are accredited to transport restricted material.

With regard to the topic at hand, I personally went for an iphone4 - which was a real shocker as I've always loathed Apple, however having tried out the HTC Desire the ip4, I had to admit the iphone was a slicker user experience and the battery lasted longer. My only real criteria for use were that it makes calls, I can check my email and I can watching video when commuting. For all of these it works beautifully.

 

["andy"]

Same old, same old.

You can customise <-- iPhone user: "I don't want to customise"

You get free satnav and free cloud syncing <-- iPhone user: "I don't want free services"

You can WiFi Tether <-- iPhone user: "I bought an iPhone, I can only just about use a colouring in book whilst keeping within the lines. Let alone know what WiFi Tether is"

You can use flash <-- iPhone user: "I don't use flash (oh but you try to Mr iPhone user, your Youtube application only supports certain YT content that's been encoded to H.264)"

Same old arguments, same old responses.

except you can JB and do all those things except flash on the iphone ? and even then youtube is not a problem due to the app or the html5 site

theres atleast two free sat nav programs in the app store. and you dont need an internet connection to use them

people are having a go at that guy for making problems out of nothing but you all seem to think jailbreak is some sort of big problem.

 

[Mekrel]

except you can JB and do all those things except flash on the iphone ? and even then youtube is not a problem due to the app or the html5 site

theres atleast two free sat nav programs in the app store. and you dont need an internet connection to use them

people are having a go at that guy for making problems out of nothing but you all seem to think jailbreak is some sort of big problem.

My post was referring to the usual way these threads go, Android users explain the benefits of Android and iPhone users rebuke them.

iPhone users explain the benefit of the iPhone, Android users rebuke them.

Hence the same old, same old comment.

 

[Fegruson]

Lol do you know how blackberries work??? Out of all the platforms out there it's the most secure....why do u think major companies/corps use bb's as their communication devices??? Secondly all the data from BB's are encrypted so even RIM, the manufacturers of bb devices don't even have access to that data....the UAE and Indian govts want access to that data and RIM can't give them that as they don't have the encryption keys to give....that's why BB's are widely known as the most secure mobile devices around.

Also the Canadian banking is regarded as the most stable banking system in the world....hell Obama himself praised the Canadian banking system a yr or so ago...while the American and British banking system were going into meltdown, the Canadian banking system didn't get that affected.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=afWw27XA56jM

Just a bit of info for you so that in the future you know what your talking about.

As for this whole iPhone and android argument?....each to their own is all I have to say...I prefer the iPhone over android....my last 2 android handsets didn't last more than a month with me whereas the iphone4 I've had since aug and not once has it bored me

Please do tell me about how Blackberrys works... oh wait aparently you just have. Please do tell me though, am I speaking to Spawn, or is this his brother who, by the sounds of things, probably wrote the OS itself.

Before you lecture me, telling me to read up on the (oh holy) Canadian banking system, re-read the post to make sure you know what I actually put.

That has nothing to do with what I put. Well done Obama though, isn't he a nice guy?

That last bit in my original reply was supposed to be sarcastic (hence 'pesky'). Obviously not enough sarcastic smiles for you, here, have two

Also, "it's encrypted". I'm glad for the Blackberry users out there, knowing that their data can never be unencrypted...

It's good to hear when companies have so much profit and generate an encryption that's uncrackable (currently looking for the chip that Intel said was uncrackable but was [not the hdcp stuff recently]).