Which android phone is equivalent performance to iPhone 3G?

LydiaJ

Hi Everyone. I'm a regular on some other MSE boards but new to the Phones board. Apologies if my question has been asked loads of times before - I've tried searching the forum and haven't found my exact question.

I've recently bought a second-hand iPhone 3G from a bloke at work. I've been very pleased with the whole smart phone experience in general. I've found it a little slow at times (although another friend tells me I could fix this by downgrading to a previous version of the OS??) but I'm happy with the screen resolution and all that sort of thing.

However, there are a few things that I've been in the habit of doing with my ancient Nokia not-so-smart phone that iPhones don't do. I've tried googling them and found pages where people ask "how do you make it do x?" and the answer comes back "you can't". Since I got it second-hand, I reckon I can probably sell it for about as much as I paid for it, and use the money to get something that suits me better.

I've done my research into the available OS's and the functions I want, and decided that android is going to be the one that suits me best and will do all the things that I need from day to day. So now the question is which android phone to get. I'm prepared to pay for a reasonably decent one, but don't want to shell out more than I need to for functionality I won't use.

I've seen lots of comparisons between HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy and iPhone 4, saying that they're fairly similar in quality. I've also seen reviews comparing the Desire and the HTC Wildfire and saying the Wildfire is cheaper but slower and has worse screen resolution. These comparisons are of limited use to me since I don't know the phones they're comparing with.

What I really want to know is, how expensive an android phone do I need to buy in order to get the same sort of performance that I'm currently getting from my iPhone 3G? And which models would people recommend?

Of course I will make the final decision by going to a shop and looking at the phones themselves, but getting time to spend shopping isn't easy in my family circumstances, so I want to make sure I've got as much info as possible before I go.

Thanks loads.

Oscar_The_Grouch

The Android comparison to an iPhone 3G would probably be the T-Mobile Pulse. It runs Android 1.6 which is a much older version of the OS, but still up to date enough that apps appear to be saying "must have Android 1.6 or higher". The problem you would have is that it will very soon be out of date and updated apps will not run on it. I've not had an Android phone and I'm going for the iPhone 4. If I were to go Android, I would only look at the HTC Desire or Wildfire; I don't like the Galaxy S - it looks like you're holding a textbook to the side of your head!

Are you looking for PAYG or contract?

If you are looking PAYG then to be honest, the Desire HD is due out soon (next couple of months at the latest). After that, the cost of the Desire and Wildfire are likely to drop (plus you'll be able to pick up second hand ones from people that have upgraded). If you can wait a couple of months then do so.

LydiaJ

Fantastic advice - that's just the sort of info I wanted, so thanks Oscar. I'm on PAYG and want to stay that way. I've recently had a bit of a windfall and have money available to buy a phone, so I'd rather pay less but in a lump up-front than pay more spread over a 24 month contract. I got my second-hand iPhone 3G cheap when the iPhone 4 had just come out. I'll wait for the Desire HD to come out and try to pick up a cheap Desire or Wildfire.

john-306

I agree mostly what Oscar says, but.....

don't like the Galaxy S - it looks like you're holding a textbook to the side of your head!

Samsung Galaxy S is 4" screen
Desire HD said to be 4.3" screen so gonna be even bigger overall.
Or did you mean wait till it comes out so the others will drop in price?

I know the Galaxy S is big and I was looking to get the Desire but due poor screen (outdoors) and radio reception I might just go Samsung

Oscar_The_Grouch

john-306 wrote: »

I agree mostly what Oscar says, but.....


Samsung Galaxy S is 4" screen
Desire HD said to be 4.3" screen so gonna be even bigger overall.

The Dell Streak is even worse at 5" - you may as well have a laptop strapped to your face!!

goRt

Sony Ericsson x10, android 1.6 at the mo, but 2.1 coming before the end of sept.
You can get them for ~£200 on fleabay

Llyllyll

Oscar_The_Grouch wrote: »

The Dell Streak is even worse at 5" - you may as well have a laptop strapped to your face!!

Exactly.

That's why I went for the Wildfire (which isn't as big as the Desire).
Reports of the 'poor' screen on the Wildfire are, IMO, unwarranted. You know it hasn't got an AMOLED screen (like the Desire) when you buy it, but for everyday use it is superb.

You may notice some difference if you watch HD content on it all day but that's about it

In case you can't tell, I'm well pleased with mine...

PS - Wildfires are £230 SIM free at Play.

bubblesmoney

better to see what price you want to pay and get the best phone for that money. almost all of them will do what you want them to do. but the newer apps etc may be limited to only newer versions (going forward) of android ie 2.2 (froyo) at the moment.

phones that have got (unbranded htc desire / nexus 1) or due to get 2.2 (branded htc desire, htc wildfire, htc legend, samsung galaxy s) might be a better bet for the future and for resale values too. phones that are expected to be able to run live wallpapers and 2.2 are mostly expected to be able to get the newer version for android due for release at the end of the year. but better to get some phone with a 1ghtz processor as then you will mostly get the newer version of android too. being stuck on older versions means not being able to access stuff on the android market properly and with limited features.

big doesnt necessarily mean uncomfortable to hold. big might mean easier typing and viewing videos and better ergonomic for holding and one handed operation. there are few reviews that comment on the samsung galaxy s being good ergonomically even though big but it is still lighter than the iphone4.

if you need to use the phone outside a lot then consider super amoled screen device like the samsung galaxy s you can see the screen better under direct sunlight too among other advantages. but all phones have their disadvantages too.

like i said almost all the android phones will be able to do what the iphone3 did. i say almost because if you work in a university or company that needs proxy access for wifi internet access then forget android phones as most cant do this or the workarounds might be too technical or untried.

but no point buying an old phone as it is equal to an iphone3, better buy a phone which is as new as possible as long as it falls in your budget. shortlist a few phones after reading up on them and asking around and also trying them out in shops.

buying on contract might be cheaper especially if you are an upgrade customer. in my experience on PAYG you mostly end up paying more for the phone and even if total costs are taken in to the picture you still pay more unless you hardly use the phone and have very low usage on PAYG. keep an eye on hotukdeals website for deals on the phones in your shortlist.

dont buy the x10, i know people who own these phones and they themselves tell me never to buy that phones. it is subjective anecdotal opinion but i would rather go by what people who own the phone say.it is still android 1.6 which is two versions old android software http://www.techradar.com/reviews/phones/mobile-phones/sony-ericsson-xperia-x10-679702/review?artc_pg=2 just read posts on sony ericson x10 forums about the problems and you will know what users of the phone think about the phone.

see reviews on techradar , electricpig websites etc on smartphones. see price comparison websites like omio, cnetuk etc (be sure to tick the box for internet packages only, buying a PAYG phone for a smartphone like the desire etc is asking for trouble on the data usage front and increased bills)

see the top ten smartphones article on techradar websites and other websites. see electricpig reviews of the samsung galaxy s. see youtube reviews of all the shortlisted phones before going to the shop to check them out.

ps: be prepared for poor battery life compared to your old (nonsmartphone) nokias. battery life might come as a shock coming from an ordinary nokia.

my advice would be to only go for a phone that has or is getting android 2.2 in the near future (ie in a month or two), dont bother with other phones if buying now unless you want to mod the software etc and flash custom roms etc which isnt for everyone.

what do you want to use your phone for ???? phone / basic camera / basic video camera / gps satnav / browsing / facebook / productivity apps / documentation / business applications / fm radio / video game playing / media player etc etc etc. see what your requirements are then decide which phone suits you best. dont forget to get a mobile contract plan with inclusive data usage or you will get hit with huge data bills with these new smartphones unless you are very very careful.

dot111

I have a Galaxy, bought it a few weeks ago, fed up of waiting for up date for HTC Magic, my contract phone.

I love Galaxy, a tad bigger than iphone, but a thing of beauty :-))

bubblesmoney

dot111 wrote: »

I have a Galaxy, bought it a few weeks ago, fed up of waiting for up date for HTC Magic, my contract phone.

I love Galaxy, a tad bigger than iphone, but a thing of beauty :-))

you need to update your htc magic with froyo 2.2 cyanogen rom version 6 (CM6 RC1) i think. that version on the htc magic even beat the stock samsung galaxy s in CPU performance tests !!! which is saying something. http://androidandme.com/2010/07/news/droid-x-vs-galaxy-s-and-more-with-quadrant-professional/

ps: to the OP the tmobile G2 / htc vision (??? htc desire z with hardware keyboard) is due for release end of sept and preorder sooner with tmobile as per reports http://androidandme.com/2010/08/carriers/t-mobile-news/t-mobile-g2-spotted-in-the-wild/ and also http://androidandme.com/2010/08/phones/htc-manufacturers-news/htc-vision-to-be-named-htc-desire-z-for-european-launch/ so prices of similar older model phones might drop a bit

LydiaJ

Thanks for the input, everyone - especially bubblesmoney for such a detailed response.

What do I use a phone for? Well, I used to use my old Nokia mostly for texting, with a few calls and photos. I used the alarm clock nearly every day as well. I spent £10 most months on PAYG, with the occasional £15 or possibly £20. I get 300 free texts a month on Orange Dolphin, which has always been enough for what I use, and the £10 pays for my calls. I often send texts that are quite important, and which I would need to do something about if the person didn't receive them fairly quickly, so I relied heavily on the Nokia's ability to tag items in the "sent messages" folder once they had been delivered to the person's phone.

My jobs both require me to have my phone on silent for particular times (although these vary from day to day and week to week). I'm quite good at remembering to put it onto silent, but useless at remembering to put it back onto normal. I'm also prone to putting it down and forgetting where I've put it. For these reasons, I've always used the timed profiles on my Nokia, so that it never got left on silent permanently. Then when I lost it I could ring it up from my landline and hear where it was.

I also had a Dell Axim PDA. It started refusing to sync with my laptop at about the same time that my Nokia died. The idea of getting a smartphone was to get one gadget to replace both of them. I used the Axim for calendar (both for home and for work) and contacts (sync with Outlook on laptop). I took notes on it when listening to talks. I also downloaded some software for it (a couple of searchable Bibles) and had a few very basic games, which were handy for keeping my kids quiet occasionally. I didn't have it enabled for internet, email, phone or anything like that. I used excel mobile a little, but could easily manage without that.

I got the iPhone at the beginning of the summer holidays, so my usage over the last month hasn't been typical of how I would use it in term time. (I am both a teacher and a parent, so my life is very different between term and school holidays!) I've made some calls and sent some texts as usual. I've also used maps to get to places on holiday, and kept an eye on my emails (and the MSE forum) while away from home. I used it a lot for FB on the day I took my son into hospital and wanted to keep posting updates of how he was, but hardly at all the rest of the month. (He's now fine, BTW.)

I think that when term starts again I really won't use it much for email and internet. It's quite rare during the term for me to have any time for email/internet when I'm not near a computer anyway. But of course I can't really be sure what my term time smartphone usage will be until term starts and I see what I end up doing with it. The holidays are important enough for me to want a phone with maps and GPS, email and internet, but the term time usage has to be the basis of deciding what tariff to go for. Dolphin PAYG has 100MB free data usage that wasn't enough over August, but I think would probably be ample once my kids and I are all back at school, or maybe even for holiday usage as long as I don't let my son watch youtube on it!

I agree about the importance of getting something that has got (or is about to get) the most up to date version of the OS. What I want to avoid is paying a lot of extra money for hardware functionality that I won't use - graphics quality that's only needed for HD films, or processing speed that's only needed for gaming, or something like that. I'm not too fussed about battery life as long as there are chargers available for mains and 12V car socket.

If any of that info would make a difference to anyone's recommendations, I'd appreciate suggestions. I hadn't thought about youtube, so thanks for suggesting that - I'll have a look there as well as continuing to read other reviews online. I don't quite know what my budget is. I've recently had an enormous payout from a life insurance policy. I am intending to spend it buying a house, but can divert a little in the direction of a phone. So I have enough money to buy whatever phone I want, but it will cut down my house deposit, so I don't want to spend more than I need to.