please empty your brain below

Android

I love my iPhone but for email a Blackberry is hard to beat.

Or Windows Phone?

There's another choice. Nokia Symbian. Symbian is utterly hopeless for some things - but that is those things you don't do - such as access the web by phone, or download endless 'apps'.
But the camera in the N8 is very very good - so you might just be one of the small number of people for whom symbian still makes sense

Definitely Android

Android.

iPhone. Particularly if you want something compact and low-maintenance.

If cost is the main factor, the 3GS is still decent and actually good value now - but the camera is middling.

iPhone. Particularly if you want something compact and low-maintenance.

If cost is the main factor, the 3GS is still decent and actually good value now - but the camera is middling.

i Phone (not Blackberry)

I'd lean iPhone myself due to the richer variety of apps available. You may well not want to use them, but the chance that something awesome appears that simplifies a basic task is always there, and it's a marginally better selection with iPhone. Plus, the cameras on recent versions are very solid. However, plenty of Android choices are excellent options too.

Android. I really like it.

I'm only really familiar with iPhone, so I'm going to have to recommend that by default.

I would also say the iPhone, not least because of the awesome amount of transport apps that relate to London and surrounding areas. Some of them are so astonishing, they appear to me as though they are simply magic.

What Lewis said. BusMapper is a particular favourite of mine.

Well, the iPhone is pretty perfect in terms of usage and app support (especially as now you are not forced to use a PC or Mac to activate it), but the camera is only so-so, and the cost is too much for what you get compared to an Android. I have one through work, and use it for my private usage, and find I rarely need to use my (ancient) PC, as most tasks I manage on the phone!

Speaking of which, Android: well, you can now get an Android from almost nothing to sky's the limit - you'll find something there that suits you - Samsung seem to make some good devices, and my wife has been pretty happy with here HTC Desire S (and I would probably buy one myself). The app store also has pretty much what you need to download.

As someone else mentioned, Nokia Symbian is still a good choice for a phone that also can cope with a bit of internet (rather than a internet device that can do a bit of phoning). The Symbian operating system has the advantage that it was designed for mobile devices, so isn't so power hungry. The app store isn't so good, and you won't find everything you can get for iOS or android here. BUT the Nokia N8 camera is great, 12mega-pixel, with Carl-Zeiss lens (2.8/28 if this means anything too you!). I use this as my company phone as it doesn't need charging every day, but also as a "take with me camera".

Disclaimer – I work for a (non-UK based) mobile company in their network design department - not with the devices themselves, but I try to keep up with what my colleagues are playing with!


Android - iphones are so expensive to run

I went for an iPhone after a number of years PAYG on a rubbish old phone. I'd avoided it because of the hype around Apple but was pleasantly surprised about how usable it was.

Android, but only on the grounds of expense.

I've had 3 Blackberries, but my HTC Desire is streets ahead.

However, they all need nightly charging, and I'm not a big user.

iPhone

iphone iphone iphone!

I was in a similar need for an upgrade at the start of the year. My old iPhone 3G just couldn't handle the power of the latest apps. I really wanted to stick with an iPhone, but the price wasn't realistic for me.

I got a little advice over on U75:

http://www.urban75.net/forums/threads/best-price-iphone-3gs-4-or-4s.287350/

This proved most helpful. In the end I settled for an Android Nexus S, £200 SIM free from Carphone Warehouse. The offer is still standing:

http://www.mobot.net/google-nexus-sim-free-200-delivered-carphone-warehouse-34870

I went with giffgaff for my SIM. I pay £10 a month for unlimted data, text and 250 minutes of call. I went with a new phone number for convenience (no one calls me anyway) but it is possible to change.

I've been very pleased. The phone is far more powerful than my old iPhone, and should last a couple of years at least. The keyboard isn't great, but I've installed an iPhone clone keyboard via the Android store.

My needs, as such, are occasionally receiving phone calls and text, tweeting and checking email. All are possible with great ease from the set up.

I can also tether the device, to allow my iPad or MacBook to use the connection.

The camera on the iPhone 4S is quite spectacular. (Wish I'd spent a bit more to get that instead of iPhone 4.) Ease of Internet and e-mail on any iPhone can't be beat.

I have an old Blackberry for work (provided by company, not sure what model), and it's crap. Operating system not recommended.

Android, cheaper plans than apple.

I have HTC Galaxy S the camera is great.

Android is far better value than the iPhone. I'm pleased with mine except that you need a Google account to download free/bought apps. Google pretty much knows enough about us without this...

You can use other mail including other Gmail but once you've signed in to Google, it's Hotel California, you can check out but you can never leave...

My wife has an iphone. She likes it, but as a phone, she says it's rubbish.

An HTC Sensation XE off ebay and a SIM only monthly rolling contract (or PAYG). £300 for the phone, and a £20 monthly contract with 300 mins, unlimited texts and 1GB data. As for iPhone vs Android somebody's done a better of explaining.

Have Blackberry, great for work would not recommend for personal use particularly if email is not your thing. Cameras not good. Don't even try online access due to tiny screen.

Apple might be worthwhile if you have invested in loads of music on itunes, but otherwise too expensive and if a camera is high on your list you can probably get much better elsewhere.

The main problem with Android phones is the user interface is a bit nondescript and requires a bit of input to set up to your tastes - Some manufacturers (HTC,Samsung) have addressed this by adding their own interface on top of android.

The new Windows phones may be worth a look, certainly the interface looks slick and although customisable is basically setup for you. Nokia use this software so cameras should be good and being Microsoft the web access should be good. Limited selection apps though.And quite new so I don't know if good deals are available.

Recommend you try each in your local phone shop. True test will be which one allows you to do what you want to do (camera/blogging etc.).

I've never felt that Android is as refined an operating system for anyone but the sort of power users that like to hack their phone. I'd suggest to anyone else that the iphone is far safer bet - it's well supported and has a limited hardware set, compared to hundreds of different Android handsets all with different resolutions and operating system versions.

Android vendors are more concerned with the next phone and sometimes seldom push updates - Apple supports old hardware generally in full through the next generation of phone (2 years after launch) and most features in the handset after that (3 years after launch)

As part of my job, I deal with sorting out mobile phone problems in home and office environments.
This is based on my clients experiences.

Ease of use: iPhone (age range 5-92)
Camera: iPhone 4S
Email: iPhone
Syncing: iPhone
Cost: not an iPhone
toughness: all about the same, all easy to get repaired. (I have seen lots of cracked iPhones, but they are easy to fix, they just look more spectacular cracked)
Lifespan: iPhone (4yo models still work perfectly)
Waterproof: none
Trustworthy security: same - put a PIN on it!
Battery life: get over it just plug them in every night. Smartphones are small computer with the ability to make calls.

I do have clients with Android phones. Quite a few are confused by them and often regret buying them.

As for Blackberrys - fiddly keys. The OS is slightly nightmarish.

As for my personal advice. iPhone, you would have access to a wonderful array of apps: maps, geological maps, fantastic london based travel apps, a useful camera. As for the iPod bit, stuff the music its great for audiobooks.

Android. More things are free on it.

I'd recommend an Android, a lot more choice in device and definitely cheaper
(plus, if one day you need an app, for anything, it'll more likelly be available for free than on an iphone)

This will sound like one of those [phone company] mails you get sent - but my Nokia N8 has a more useful camera than the standalone Sony DSC 55 I'd been lugging around with me, a rugged Otterbox makes the fiddly buttons easier to use (and disguises the contour of the zoom lens).

As soon as I get out of contract, I'll follow Jason's advice and go with giffgaff's tariff.

Hang on, Thursday's post turns out less self-centred than it seemed on the surface...

I was in a similar position as you about a year ago and went for a Blackberry. Wanted to email, tweet, send pics and go online.

Crap for online as detailed above. 'Dies' constantly, refuses to update frequently. Not really app minded but infuriating not being able to use the few news feeds (BBC, Grauniad) available.

Daughter had HTC Desire about the same time which seems to be reliable and more flexible. Watching this with interest as also wondering if iphone is the way to go come upgrade.

I bought an Android phone because I like to fiddle with settings to get things the way I like. I got my wife an iPhone because she's not technically minded and I thought it would be simpler. So I've had the chance to compare.
Both phones are computers, so they they can do lots of wonderful things with less than total reliability and some infuriating idiosyncrasies. But because the Android phone is less locked down, there are often ways of getting round its problems, while with the iPhone you tend to be stuck with them. My wife has become so annoyed with a couple of things about the iPhone that you really ought be able to change but can't, that she says her next phone will be an Android.
What computer you use at home also seems to make a big difference. All my friends who use Macs have iPhones and seems happy with them, while the Windows users go more for Android.

Android, and I LOVE it!!! This is my first smart phone, so I checked out all the carriers/phones. I got the best phone and the best plan price (this was more than a year ago).

Note: I'm a diehard Mac user, and also had an iPod Touch, but I still went with Android.

iPhone - I've got one, my mum has my old one, my sister got one because she was jealous everyone else had one. We all get on well with them.

I'd say the iPhone 4 is probably a good deal right now too, and good enough!

Anything but Blackberry - both iPhone and Android are fab.

iPhone for sure. In just a few months me and mine have become inseparable.

iPhone all the way. so easy to use and hassle-free. Even if you got a cheap 3GS or (probably better, a 4) it'll still work very well indeed for years. Camera, occasional blogging all easy. Go for it :)

iphone 4S mate, you can throw your digital camera away once you buy it











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