What phone to go for iPhone 4s , Android , Windows Phone or BlackBerry

thegoodman

grumbler wrote: »

I MS are lucky to hold some patents that are difficult to overcome (that is hardly a surprise) this doesn't mean that Android has much to do with MS.
If a wheel were invented recently and, say, BMW hold the patent this wouldn't mean that all other cars had anything to do with BMW except the wheels.

If wheels are the important part of the product than it would be to do with the BMW otherwise the product would not work.
Same as if android got nothing to do with Microsoft than why pay?

the ms must have a product which android need to get to make it work

grumbler

thegoodman wrote: »

the ms must have a product which android need to get to make it work

It's not a product. It's just some idea, solution of feature that they patented. You don't need the product (wheels) supplied by BMW. You are perfectly capable of producing them yourself, but have to pay to the patent holder. You may have probably invented the wheel yourself, but BMW came and started demanding money because they hold the patent.

Re mobiles, I can easily imagine that something like, say, "press and hold" or "Flick" or "Pinch" finger gestures can be patented. Or, say, 'notification bar'. Is it really a big deal? Is it really a product?

Yes, if MS invented something and patented some solutions they deserve some royalties.

Cash-Strapped.T32

There is such a thing in this world as taking someone's example too far..
Let's face it, patents are now more of a weapon between the companies than price or competition.
(price-war? too old fashioned let's have a patent-war instead because my lawyers are more expensive than yours)
Bear in mind almost *anything* can be used to trigger such litigation, from a font, to a finger gesture (no demonstrations please folks.. ) and it doesn't matter if it's spurious as long as it drags out for ages and hurts the other, smaller guy more than it hurts you because hey; All's fair in love & business.


I'm very familiar with both Win-Mo and Android, have owned 2 BBs (although done little tweaking or developing for the BB so never got under it's skin so to speak) and have at least a passing familiarity with iOS, so I'm not trying to sound like a defendant for any party here, but seriously, to try & say that Android as an operating system (and it's important to understand what those words mean) is based on windows, or relies on windows, or has anything substantial to do with windows is nonsense - But that's ok, it's not a problem because forums are here for asking questions.


The answer to your question "Is it true that most android phones have Microsoft operating system?"

..is;

No; Not in any way, shape or form does any android phone use an MS operating system.

In fact it's a complete non-sequitur if you think about it;

Android is an operating system, not a manufacturer of phones - The definition of an Android device is any device by any producer that runs the Android operating system.
So for any device to use a MS operating system (Windows by name), then by definition, that device *is not* an Android device - It's a Windows device.

The reply you got might have been a bit brusque, but it was completely true & trying to find little niggly arguments with to do with obscure patents it isn't going to change matters, because it's still true.
None of this post is meant in a rude way so please don't take it as a criticism, just trying to keep things on track.

ruggedtoast

thegoodman wrote: »

If wheels are the important part of the product than it would be to do with the BMW otherwise the product would not work.
Same as if android got nothing to do with Microsoft than why pay?

the ms must have a product which android need to get to make it work

Yeah, just go and buy a Windows phone and see how well it works compared to Android or iOS.

MS has spent a small fortune trying to develop a usable platform for mobile cellular communication. I am sure they are insisting that Android has copied some of it.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/open-source/microsofts-samsung-android-patent-troll-win/9634

Edit: to be fair to MS Windows phones arent as woefully appallingly dreadful as Symbian.

thegoodman

I have looked into Android and seem it is not secured at all due to being open source.
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2116209/android-malware-digital-currency-theft-security-threats
And many other websites reporting this.

Down to iPhone or Win Phone.

Yolina

well it's a bit like on a computer... If you're sensible about what apps you download and use an AV app that checks for nasties, you're pretty much ok. Worth checking what permissions apps require (and if you root your phone, you are then able to allow/deny permissions on a per app basis when using the right tools...).

I'd been using WinMo phones since 2005 (with custom roms) before switching to Android this year and getting a Galaxy S2. The reason I switched is that the new iteration of MS's OS, Windows Phone, is as much locked down as Apple's and I'm not happy if I can't tinker with stuff (and WinMo was by far the easiest to mess about with - the proof being that my previous phone, a HD2, could run Android and WP too so at least I got to try the various OS before deciding!). The WP interface is *really* nice IMHO and well worth having a look at, though, like with the iPhone, there's no provision for a micro sd card so there's no possibility to expand storage.

DUTR

[QUOTE=thegoodman;47643943]I am looking to use the phone for satnav, email, games and music.
Is iTunes type of program available for android phones?[/QUOTE]

I'm struggling to find a smartphone that does not do all of the things that you mention.
As for itunes type programs, I suspect it depends on the handset, I know SE have PC Suite, the Satio suite was the better one of the two, itunes vs gmail vs HTC sync is much the same

thegoodman

Yolina wrote: »

well it's a bit like on a computer... If you're sensible about what apps you download and use an AV app that checks for nasties, you're pretty much ok. Worth checking what permissions apps require (and if you root your phone, you are then able to allow/deny permissions on a per app basis when using the right tools...).

I'd been using WinMo phones since 2005 (with custom roms) before switching to Android this year and getting a Galaxy S2. The reason I switched is that the new iteration of MS's OS, Windows Phone, is as much locked down as Apple's and I'm not happy if I can't tinker with stuff (and WinMo was by far the easiest to mess about with - the proof being that my previous phone, a HD2, could run Android and WP too so at least I got to try the various OS before deciding!). The WP interface is *really* nice IMHO and well worth having a look at, though, like with the iPhone, there's no provision for a micro sd card so there's no possibility to expand storage.

I am looking for easy to use phone not worry about tools, access permissions, mount / unmount sd cards, virus checking, someone hacking in, some software will only work on certain devices depending on the os version, size of the screen, CPU power etc.
Android phones seem too difficult to use.
If you want to chane the os you can do it on iPhone via jailbreak.
I don't have time for all that. You might brick the device than look for another one.

Yolina

thegoodman wrote: »

I am looking for easy to use phone not worry about tools, access permissions, mount / unmount sd cards, virus checking, someone hacking in, some software will only work on certain devices depending on the os version, size of the screen, CPU power etc.
Android phones seem too difficult to use.
If you want to chane the os you can do it on iPhone via jailbreak.
I don't have time for all that. You might brick the device than look for another one.

They're not difficult to use, and tinkering isn't compulsory My mum, who is 62 and in her own words is a complete "techno retard", hasn't had any issues using an Android phone with no help from me (we're not in the same country). I haven't managed to brick a phone in 6 years of flashing them regularly.

Go and and try various handsets (including WP and iOS ones of course) and see which one suits you best

Cash-Strapped.T32

..From the linked article;

Of all the malicious Android apps out there, AVG found that Angry Birds Rio Unlocker was the most popular, thanks to the success of the Angry Birds games.

Woah, stop the presses people - I've just discovered that running pirated/haxxed executables that you don't know the veracity of might be a bad idea; Who the hell knew!? :eek: