Goodbye iphone, Hello HTC Desire HD!

[Ooie]

So after spending a weekend in Melbourne my old iphone 3G finally gave up the ghost the other week. Wouldnt open any apps, didnt ring, couldnt send messages etc etc.. Tried to restore it but itunes kept telling me there was an unrecoverable error with the phone and to contact Apple Support... pfft.. not going to happen!

I am very much over the whole apple ecosystem that they have created and so decided to get an Android phone. Ended up getting a HTC Desire HD.. all I can say is WOW!

So much better than the iphone, so much more you can do with it, not to mention the massive range of apps that are available that you would have no chance of getting on an iphone. Oh and the customisation side of it is awesome!

The only downside is that battery life is much less than the apple, but that is easily solved by the fact that you can change the battery in them with ease (you can get them on ebay for $3.95 each).

So my question to all those who are now using Android devices, what are your picks of the best apps/customization available?

[Ice]

jeesh best apps.....how long is a piece of string ?!

here is goes and is only some of them !

-Sound hound....like shazam, only free unlimited tags and works everytime.
-music box...download any song you can think of for free
-photo bucket
-google earth, like on a pc, will look great on the desire
-astro file manager, can stop and run processes
-Titanium backup, works only if you have rooted your phone but then you can get rid of whatever you want, even the bloatware that comes with your phone.
-where's my droid. brilliant, if you lose your phone and its on silent, text your self and it will turn up the cvoloume or gps and give you its location and keep ringing, etc etc
-tune in radio.....get any radio station from anywhere in the world
-scanner radio....yes tune in to any cb radio ;) police, truckies etc
-of course there is angry birds and i paid for a game called pool break.
-also in goole maps it now has its own gps navigation system so bye bye tomtom

[Nurb608]

Pete's already listed some good ones, especially astro file manager.

Some others would be
-AroundMe
-Aussie weather radar
-Tapatalk :p
-Facebook

There are just way to many to list.

[hazrd]

jeesh best apps.....how long is a piece of string ?!


about this yellow
:p


thinking about the desire.. but ill hold off for another couple of months yet.....

[btm]

The only downside is that battery life is much less than the apple
how is that even possible...???

[Ooie]

how is that even possible...???

I would say that it has a lot to do with the massive 4.3" display.
I also note that it takes much longer to charge up than the iphone.. A full charge from empty would take 1.5+ hours while the iphone used to be fully charged within 45 mins max.

I have found that by changing a few settings (ie turning off wifi, bluetooth and auto-sync while out and about) and not running widgets and live backgrounds makes a big difference to my battery life too. I can normally get a whole days charge this way.

For me I am really not that fussed. I have a charger in my car, on my desk at work (cradle) and one at home so 90% of the time I am not far away from somewhere to charge it up.

[Nurb608]

I would say that it has a lot to do with the massive 4.3" display.
I also note that it takes much longer to charge up than the iphone.. A full charge from empty would take 1.5+ hours while the iphone used to be fully charged within 45 mins max.

I have found that by changing a few settings (ie turning off wifi, bluetooth and auto-sync while out and about) and not running widgets and live backgrounds makes a big difference to my battery life too. I can normally get a whole days charge this way.

For me I am really not that fussed. I have a charger in my car, on my desk at work (cradle) and one at home so 90% of the time I am not far away from somewhere to charge it up.

You can go into the settings and into "about phone" and it will show you where all the battery power is being used. My wifi is 43% usage of the battery

[Ice]

about this yellow
:p


thinking about the desire.. but ill hold off for another couple of months yet.....


go on have your say !

[Ice]

Pete's already listed some good ones, especially astro file manager.

Some others would be
-AroundMe
-Aussie weather radar
-Tapatalk :p
-Facebook

There are just way to many to list.


oh nice one Rors, i was going to say i just shortcut the bom website but hey, this is using the bom, lol

[Nurb608]

oh nice one Rors, i was going to say i just shortcut the bom website but hey, this is using the bom, lol

Yeah, that's what i had originally before I got that app, just prefer to be lazy lol.

[Ice]

Yeah, that's what i had originally before I got that app, just prefer to be lazy lol.

well im going to do the same now.....brilliant.....

[hazrd]

go on have your say !

Oh I love it, I only played with it at JB for around 20min and it was awesome, but I have some things to spend on the car before I buy another phone ;)

[Ice]

Oh I love it, I only played with it at JB for around 20min and it was awesome, but I have some things to spend on the car before I buy another phone ;)

oh, i thought you were going to rubbish it being an iphone man. I was looking forward to a good arguement as im now very well versed in Android/iphone wars.

[hazrd]

Fail :p

Nah I do like my iPhone but the HTC does exactly the same thing but with a better looking interface

The iPhones interface is very bland, until u jailbreak it, but u don't have to go that far with the android which is what I like

[Ice]

Fail :p

Nah I do like my iPhone but the HTC does exactly the same thing but with a better looking interface

The iPhones interface is very bland, until u jailbreak it, but u don't have to go that far with the android which is what I like

yep you are correct to sum it up...try tell that to an Iphone diehard though, haha

make sure you root your phone when you get it ! then you can get rid of the crap !

[gmonkey]

Love having emulator support on a phone friggen awesome!



Sent from my X10i using Tapatalk

[hazrd]

yep you are correct to sum it up...try tell that to an Iphone diehard though, haha
make sure you root your phone when you get it ! then you can get rid of the crap !

a 2nd hand 32gb 3gs still goes for around $400-$500 which is pretty good so it will almost pay off the HTC when i buy it ;)

[JohnBu]

My contract runs out mid year...

My iphone 3GS has been good to me.. but the 4g is excellent.

hmmm new iPhone 4g replacement or the Nexus S...????

[Ice]

good luck choosing, haha there are so many options out there !

[poita]

iphone 5, galaxy 2, new htc, new lg, all with dual core cpu and 1gb ram.

im upgrading in june/july, gonna be a hard decision.

although im pretty sure i'll remain a sheep

[guy 27]

im pretty sure i'll remain a sheep

+1. i've had an iphone for over 3 years now and really can't fault it.
although the new playstation phone looks great.

i'll make a decision later in the year if i'll move from iOS to Android.

[2002_XC]

although im pretty sure i'll remain a sheep

.... One of us, one of us.....

[Rogue]

1st quarter this year the Xperia Arc is coming out..looks great..android 2.3, 1080p video. all sorts of cool stuff. Much better than the epic fail (can you say x10).

no need to root your android device. If you are going to buy it outright just try get one from suppliers either Roadhound or Brightpoint (ask the retailer if they have them) as they come without any company branding whatsoever.

I currently have a galaxy s running android 2.3 and its great.

Iphone is terrible

You've done well with going android.

by the way, there is no point "waiting for the next best thing" before you buy a phone because it has turned like Computer hardware..there is ALWAYS going to be something better coming out soon. For example, by time you get your normal dual core phone there will be native 3d (no glasses required) phones on the horizon.

[hazrd]

lol so true

thats just technology, you buy something new, and before u know it, its no longer "the latest"

[poita]

99% of stuff is obsolete before it's released :lol:

but what can you do

[ChrisMaz]

Finally.... Fanboys discover the wonders of Android.

http://getandroidstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Android-Win-over-iPhone-and-Windows-Mobile-7.jpg

Om nom nom nom

[Ice]

Finally.... Fanboys discover the wonders of Android.

http://getandroidstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Android-Win-over-iPhone-and-Windows-Mobile-7.jpg

Om nom nom nom


haha so true !

[poita]

your just sounding like android fanboys now :p

[xplosv57]

i still think my N95 was the best phone, can't text and drive with any of these 'smart' phones!!!!!!!!!

also haven't had any issues with my windows based phone so i wouldn't rule out them either.

plus ive dropped the phone on the screen a couple of times, twice quite hard on concrete, not even a scratch on the screen, something you definetely couldn't do with an iPhone without the screen going bang!!

[hazrd]

i still think my N95 was the best phone, can't text and drive with any of these 'smart' phones!!!!!!!!!

also haven't had any issues with my windows based phone so i wouldn't rule out them either.

plus ive dropped the phone on the screen a couple of times, twice quite hard on concrete, not even a scratch on the screen, something you definetely couldn't do with an iPhone without the screen going bang!!

thats why they are called smart phones :lol:

you saw what i did to my iphone at the servo up in QLD that night :p

[Vectracious]

your just sounding like android fanboys now :p

but at least they don't go around saying calling their mobile an "android phone" etc like the iPhone fanboys do.

Keep reading how good all the android stuff is - most likely will go with whatever is out when my contract is up later this year (sept). Still not 100% about a keyboard on a screen though....

[poita]

but at least they don't go around saying calling their mobile an "android phone" etc like the iPhone fanboys do.

Keep reading how good all the android stuff is - most likely will go with whatever is out when my contract is up later this year (sept). Still not 100% about a keyboard on a screen though....



tbh i couldnt give which one i had, i just like stuff that works and does what i want it too. hence why i have an iphone

i can play games, i use it as an mp3 player, net, email, remote desktop

[03srit]

I'm checking out this phone today to replace my 3GS.. Been reading a fair bit about it and it seems pretty good.. Is it worth getting now or should I wait for newer ones that are coming out soon?

[hazrd]

I'm checking out this phone today to replace my 3GS.. Been reading a fair bit about it and it seems pretty good.. Is it worth getting now or should I wait for newer ones that are coming out soon?

id wait another couple months, theres a couple of new releases coming out like the iphone5 and i think a couple of phones with the later android version software :) oh and nokia is apparently going to scrap their symbian crap and start making their phones with windows7 software like the htc mozart

[03srit]

Thought so thanks.. I'll still check it out though to see if it is better than my 3GS.. :)

[hazrd]

It never hurts to shop around :)

[Rogue]

like i already said, there is no point waiting a few months at all. i guarentee when you wait a few months...in only a few months time after that you will be seeing even better phones again coming out. If you get something like say the galaxy s...you can get it updated to android 2.3 anyway (i have one atm). its basically the nexus s firmware straight onto the galaxy s. I'm sure you can do that with the desire hd too

[Charles]

Hi Ooie.
Put XDAdevelopers in google and look for your phone.

[Rogue]

if i could like your post charles i would..haha..

[dieselhead]

Got a Moto Defy the other day. Fantastic little bugger! Now to sell my HD2...

[Rogue]

defy looks good..not the best spec wise...but..its a tough phone!!...got to be the greatest tough phone ever made.

[fezzick]

You bought the wrong phone!!!!!!

Samsung Galaxy S

[poita]

You bought the wrong phone!!!!!!

Samsung Galaxy S

Only decent once you put gingerbread on it though

[Rogue]

well..i have to say that it is even decent with froyo (no currently released phone in aus has gingerbread anyway) but you are right.it does get better with gingerbread.

[[OPCSRi]]

April is the month for me to update and for months I have been stewing over the HTC Desire HD. Had a play with on of robys mates one and it just awsome. As everyone has said it's battery life needs to be looks at but it's manegable.

[dglewis80]

well..i have to say that it is even decent with froyo (no currently released phone in aus has gingerbread anyway) but you are right.it does get better with gingerbread.

I have a X10i with Gingerbread

[Ice]

I have a X10i with Gingerbread

right......you able to forward to some forums where they have done this ?

[Vectracious]

right......you able to forward to some forums where they have done this ?

http://talk.sonyericsson.com/message/50925

I haven't read all of it though so if it's wrong dont shoot the messenger!

[Ice]

http://talk.sonyericsson.com/message/50925

I haven't read all of it though so if it's wrong dont shoot the messenger!

thanks Pete, looks to be pretty good to me...might try it on the girls phone when she isnt looking, haha

[03srit]

Contract finished today and I might get the desire hd tomorrow.. I'm thinking if the iPhone 5 does come out soon my girlfriends contract ends in 3 months so I'd still be able to play with it :)

Btw how's vodafone though? I'm currently with optus..

[PS88]

Just replaced my Ipone 4 with / HTC Desire HD .

[hazrd]

my mates in Redcliffe and his voda coverage is shithouse. That being said, it might be different in your area

[poita]

I wouldn't go near Vodafone, they wont be around much longer ;)

[03srit]

But theyre the only carrier that offers desire hd? :s what should I do?

[Nurb608]

As Pete said, i wouldn't go with vodaphone, or 3 for that matter. Optus sucked when i had it for a week so when my contract is up, as much as i hate it, back to telstra it is.

[dglewis80]

I'm with Vodafone and they suck balls! The only way to go (and I hate saying this) for coverage is Tel$tra. My work phone is Tel$tra and never had a drop out. My personal phone doesn't even get coverage in my office.

[poita]

But their the only carrier that offers desire hd? :s what should I do?

buy one outright for around $600.

[Nurb608]

I'm with Vodafone and they suck balls! The only way to go (and I hate saying this) for coverage is Tel$tra. My work phone is Tel$tra and never had a drop out. My personal phone doesn't even get coverage in my office.

Thats because we hise you away in the dungeon :D

But yep, totally agree, thats why i got out of Optus, and considering we have a tower on site, Telstra is the only one with covereage :(

[03srit]

buy one outright for around $600.

But that could go towards my fuel pump and possibly fpr :)

Is the issue just about the coverage?

[poita]

coverage and they are on the verge of going under, so a little birdy tells me

[dglewis80]

That's the main issue, their data has been a bit slow lately too.

[03srit]

When they go under and I'm under a plan, does the plan gets cancelled and I get to keep the phone? :) wishful thinking but damn that sucks.. I so want the phone..

[dglewis80]

I was with onetel when they went under, they transfered my account to Testra. Still had to pay it out.

[chrissn89]

When they go under and I'm under a plan, does the plan gets cancelled and I get to keep the phone? :) wishful thinking but damn that sucks.. I so want the phone..
+1 stay away from Vodafone and 3 mobile, i just got out of my contract with 3mobile and i had 15months left, they let me out free as long as i send my iphone back.

[hazrd]

But their the only carrier that offers desire hd? :s what should I do?

its not the HD - only the normal desire, there isnt much difference between the two, and this one is on smelstra
http://www.jbhifi.com.au/phones/htc/desire-sku-58845/

and what everyone else said, kicking my optus shit to the kerb once my contract is up

[Vectracious]

and what everyone else said, kicking my optus shit to the kerb once my contract is up

Here here - have put up with Optus the last 15 months and have had enough - contract is up in September and will be going back to Telstra. I dont give a crap that the plans arent as good value as anyone elses - I'm sick and tired of the rubbish call quality/drop outs/having to walk around my house and work place because 9/10 times on a call the phone starts dropping out - and its not the phone because this same behavious happens on any phone I put the sim card in.

[cbwolf]

I got out of my Vodafone contract 22 months early after a complaint to the TIO completely free of charge. Im now with Telstra and love it. Reception everywhere, always and fast 3G speeds.

I also had the Desire HD when it first came out, played with it for a month or two and happily now use an Iphone 4. The Android phones just arent there yet in terms of being a together and polished system.

[ROCCO]

Here here - have put up with Optus the last 15 months and have had enough - contract is up in September and will be going back to Telstra. I dont give a crap that the plans arent as good value as anyone elses - I'm sick and tired of the rubbish call quality/drop outs/having to walk around my house and work place because 9/10 times on a call the phone starts dropping out - and its not the phone because this same behavious happens on any phone I put the sim card in.


BS try it with an iphone...Its full of win!!

[poita]

BS try it with an iphone...Its full of win!!

:facepalm:

[Vectracious]

BS try it with an iphone...Its full of win!!

you might have something there - two negatives make a positive :p

[hazrd]

BS try it with an iphone...Its full of win!!

George, it wont be any better with an iphone, because Charlie Sheen didnt design it..........

[poita]

George, it wont be any better with an iphone, because Charlie Sheen didnt design it..........

and he probably won't hold it the right way

[vxr-bandit]

Desire = win

[ROCCO]

iPhone 4 with ios4.3....so full of win its scarey...and of course i'm onto something...2 wrongs almost always make a right

[Vectracious]

iPhone 4 with ios4.3....so full of win its scarey...and of course i'm onto something...2 wrongs almost always make a right

mate has an iphone 4 - he can't share calendar appointments - makes the iCrap 4 so full of fail it's scary - how can they claim it to be a smartphone when it can't do something windows phones and blackberry's have been doing for years????

[Ooie]

OK Guys...

Lets not turn this into an iphone vs android argument here.

For the record, I bought my Desire HD outright through http://www.Mobicity.com.au They offer very good service and good prices.
I am with Optus and have not had a problem with them for a long time. I wouldnt go near vodafail with a 10 foot pole.

Also, there are a couple of things to remember with your choice of network...

Telstra: 850mhz & 2100mhz (although I have heard rumours that they are closing down their 2100mhz bandwith to sell it off)
Optus & Vodafone: 900mhz & 2100 mhz

Iphone (all models) - 850/2100
HTC Desire - 850/2100
HTC Desite HD - 900/2100

Bit of food for thought here too...

To the people who are on Vodafone/Optus & have an Iphone, there is no wonder you have reception/dropout issues! Your phone is only utilising ONE bandwith which is only generally available in metropolitan areas. The 900mhz band is used in rural areas as its lower wavelength means that they dont have to put up as many base stations.

Lastly... There is an 850/2100 version of the Desire HD available, but I am unsure of the availability.

[Ice]

mate has an iphone 4 - he can't share calendar appointments - makes the iCrap 4 so full of fail it's scary - how can they claim it to be a smartphone when it can't do something windows phones and blackberry's have been doing for years????

oh, haha i see now Pete ;)

[hazrd]

stuff


ahhhh, that makes a lot of sense now!!

[03srit]

Anyone using cyanogenmod 7?