What should I get - iphone 4 or Samsung galaxy?

punksluck

Hello,
My upgrade is due today but I'm in a bit of a dilema - should I wait a few weeks for the new iphone 4 or should I go with getting the Samsung 'high definition' Galaxy phone. I like the idea of owning an android phone so it can play flash video but I've never owned an iphone and so I can't really compare the two.

Does anyone here own the Galaxy and if so, is it as good as they say?

Exhortation

Make two lists on a piece of paper. Call one list "Need" and the other list "Want". On the first list write down what you need from a phone and on the second list write down what you want from a phone. When you've finished scribble out the "Want" list then look for a phone that has the features from the "Need" list only. Chances are you don't actually need either of the phones you've mentioned and will save yourself a fortune in the process.

Snakeeyes21

The galaxy, I bought one the other day, great phone.
iphone is just overpriced tat, it does nothing new, does the same as cheaper phones but at a premium.
But then again if I was offered an iphone on a great retention package I wouldnt say no, I would sell it and get the galaxy.
It all depends what you are looking for, a phone thats crippled by the software, then get the iphone, if you want a completely open phone that you can tweek and mod to get it to do what you want then get the galaxy.

Oscar_The_Grouch

Exhortation wrote: »

Make two lists on a piece of paper. Call one list "Need" and the other list "Want". On the first list write down what you need from a phone and on the second list write down what you want from a phone. When you've finished scribble out the "Want" list then look for a phone that has the features from the "Need" list only. Chances are you don't actually need either of the phones you've mentioned and will save yourself a fortune in the process.

This is a very good piece of moneysaving advice and one I followed the last time I got a new phone. I was travelling quite a bit and was sick of carrying around lots of devices to do multiple tasks - phone, satnav, storage device. As a result, I did not get an iPhone, but went for a Windows Phone instead.

Now that the iPhone does everything I want it to do (including free satnav from Skobbler) and more, I would like to get an iPhone.

The iPhone is something I've always wanted and even though my current phone does what I need it to do, I still WANT an iPhone. I can't justify the cost, but Mrs Grouch is very understanding and I have a birthday coming up.

So my view is that if the iPhone is something you WANT and you can afford even though it's overpriced, get it. If it's something you are still not sure about, go for the cheaper option and wait for next years model!!

punksluck

Thanks for the advice guys.

Thanks for your advice about the Galaxy phone Snakeeyes. I was looking for a phone that wouldn't be restricted by the software and one where I could tweak and toy with the software. The Galaxy sounds perfect for me - the only reason why I was hesitant about the Samsung is that I currently own the Samsung Omnia i900 and the touch-screen and software suck. I just didn't want to invest in another Samsung and be left feeling disappointed again.

bubblesmoney

consider an android phone. the samsung galaxy s (not any other galaxy or the wave) specs look good on paper, dont know how it will be in actual use. the super OLED screen looks good in reviews and on paper. the hummingbird processor does some 90 million polygons or something like that compared to 24million for 3gs and 22million for snapdragon processor in the 3d polygon test. but that is just one test so i dont know in what way the hummingbird and snapdragon processors compare to each other on the android platform. most online tech magazines rave about the snapdragon processor as the best on the market presently, although they also rave more about the superOLED screen compared to the amoled screen as it has less glare than amoled screen. HTC seems to have taken a huge chunk in preorders for the amoled screens and hence shortages for other manufacturers getting amoled screens. samsung manufacturs screens and hence they have exclusive access to these super amoled screens for atleast a year! but the phone is not just about a screen or HD etc. just see the woes of the sony ericksonx10 owners stuck on 1.6 android and battery woes etc etc.

the samsung galaxy s may be a good bet as specs look good on paper but i havent seem any useful reviews online on youtube yet comparing the desire and samsung galaxy s. while there are many useful videos available for the desire to get an accurate picture.

from hands on experience of the last month and a half as an android users, i love it. websurfing is fast, very fast. it has been buggy and frustrating at times, but after tweaking the htc desire phone to my satisfaction, it is working beautifully now and will work better (faster upto 450% faster in some tests as described by google videos online) when it gets the froyo 2.2 android update. htc have said 2nd hald 2010 officially, but loads of rumours quoting leaks have said the date to be 23rd june 2010. anyway just a couple of days now to find out if the rumours are true! they could very well be rumours going by the debacle of the hero updates, but they seem to be on the ball on the hero case atlast as users in usa and taiwan have already got the 2.1 update and uk users are supposed to get it this month officially as per htc official statement recently.

about the htc desire i can tell after tweaking it (i have not rooted it, so still have the warranty). i have used the google navigation many times even on long journeys lasting a few hours in unfamilar territory, not once did it lose a signal during the journeys. directions were accurate, rerouting was accurate (i have the tomtom 760T with recent maps less than a year old) and quick, street view is great when available, voice is clear although volume could be better but this wont be an issue if you have bluetooth capable speakers in your car (my car is old so doesnt have bluetooth capable speakers so i use the desires speakers for navigation), gps lock is in about 5 secs after start never needs more than 10 secs for GPS lock when outdoors!

google maps and navigation and google earth is great and free, but will affect you data usage.

i have not needed to buy a single app till date as free apps were good enough for my needs till now.

i use the phone for calls / texts / internet surfing / sat nav / camera / video camera / teaching aid for my 21month child for teaching animal names, sounds, colours, numbers etc etc and for fine motor skills ie drawing and using buttons etc for my child / picture editing with picsay app / gmail / yahoomail / calenders / shopping aid (google goggles / shop savvy / google voice search which works great even with my indian accent) / accessing documents (word / excel / pdf are the ones i have used to view) /gmail / yahoomail / multitasking / surfing the ineternet including flash based websites / youtube videos. all without problems. of course camera is of the quality of a phone and not comparable to a regular camera but still very usable. i rarely use my regular digital camera now for photos or videos.

since i bought the htc desire i have no need now to buy a netbook which i was about to buy before but cancelled the idea after getting the desire! i also dont need my tomtom 760T or my car factory installed old satnav, i dont need my camera, i dont need my archos 605 wifi media player or internet access device. my gadget bag will be a lot lot smaller when i travel next abroad!

with further tweaking of the settings (including test settings) and installing htc power control widgets and task panel app, battery times are good now last charge lasted me 31h, but i fiddled the settings since and now 23hours and 32mins after previous charge i still have got 71% battery juice left to play with :T. thats with wifi being on throughout the time, gps was on for about 2-3hours, screen was bright at max setting for about 2-3hours, and later at medium setting, synching on through out, apps loaded to maximum limit on phone, nexus 1 live wallpaper on through out etc etc etc. so when you have fiddled the settings and conditioned the battery and battery sensing software you get a good battery life like mine. there might be better phones around but i am bloody pleased with mine and if i had to buy again today i would still buy the same phone although i would have a look certainly at the samsung galaxy s. i wouldnt even bother to look at the iphone 4, what i can do with the desire suits me fine. i had played around with two way video calling in 2003 on three network and am not a fan of that, more over the iphone 4 two way video calling is even worse that what three network phones provided 7 years ago on their video calling phones on three network. the iphone4 phone limits video calling to only between iphone4 phones and that too on wifi only, while three network phones could do it on mobile in 2003 to any video capable phone.

if the iphone is what you look for then certainly buy it, it has good specs as well but will certainly be more expensive. but getting accessories will be more easier for that like stereo attachments etc. but shouldnt be hard for other phones as well.

it all boils down to what you want and what you like and what you are willing to pay for it.

BillScarab

Oscar_The_Grouch wrote: »

This is a very good piece of moneysaving advice and one I followed the last time I got a new phone. I was travelling quite a bit and was sick of carrying around lots of devices to do multiple tasks - phone, satnav, storage device. As a result, I did not get an iPhone, but went for a Windows Phone instead.

Now that the iPhone does everything I want it to do (including free satnav from Skobbler) and more, I would like to get an iPhone.

The iPhone is something I've always wanted and even though my current phone does what I need it to do, I still WANT an iPhone. I can't justify the cost, but Mrs Grouch is very understanding and I have a birthday coming up.

So my view is that if the iPhone is something you WANT and you can afford even though it's overpriced, get it. If it's something you are still not sure about, go for the cheaper option and wait for next years model!!

Skobbler may be free but have you seen the standard of the maps it uses? It uses OpenStreetMap maps and lthere are massive gaps in the coverage.

bubblesmoney

BillScarab wrote: »

Skobbler may be free but have you seen the standard of the maps it uses? It uses OpenStreetMap maps and lthere are massive gaps in the coverage.

yes, even the comments on the page linked above for the skobbler app on the itunes store gives it CRAP reviews.

google navigation is excellent on the htc desire. i am comparing it to my existing tomtom 760T with less than 1y old maps and also my nissan factory installed satnav (but the nissan maps are from 2003). the google maps are no way poorer than the tomtom maps and the voice guidance is pretty good and in many places faster than even my tomtom as i did comparison tests with both devices in action at the same time during one journey. rerouting is very good as well. for the end point etc the google navigation is even better than the tomtom satnav in my personal experience both in terms of actual end point and also the option to see streetview or sattelite view etc and find destination easily if an unfamiliar place. only thing is google navigation will use the data connection. but there is a stand alone alternative in terms of copilot maps which are installed on the device and it costs only about 26£ for the maps and wont use data connection and reveiws were good on cnet uk reviews as far as i remember. instant traffic data is better on tomtom as it gives voice output for that while traffic on the google navigation is presently shown on the colour screen in different colours along the route map. speed camera alerts is better on the tomtom although i have not explored to see if this option is there on google navigation as well.

but if the OP is into gaming and needs the phone for that then iphone might be the better option as at present there are better games available on itunes than on the android market i think, but i dont play games much on my phone so this isnt an issue for me.

also i think the htc desire screen is a dual touch screen unlike the iphone which is a multitouch screen. but on a screen the size of 3.7 inches i dont think i will ever use more than 2 fingers and a dual touch screen suits me fine as it can do pinch and zoom and flick / rotate etc effortlessly without any lag. if the OP wants true multitouch then the iphone might be the better option but i doubt ANYONE will actually use the true multitouch feature in day to day life and i doubt many such apps exist even that use true multitouch rather than dual touch for which loads of apps exist in games. i dont know whether the samsung galaxy s screen is dual touch or true multitouch.