My Windows Mobile 6.5.3 based HTC Touch Pro2 is driving me insane at the moment. I'm not due to finish my contract until the end of November, but almost every day is going to be a strain, assuming I don’t just upgrade now, which I could do since I’m probably going to get something SIM free away from a contract anyway.
Strangely after all I’ve said previously, for a while this week I was basing my delay on waiting until Windows Phone 7 is released next week, just to see. Surprisingly the thing that put me off again was reading an article about application development on the device, and how locked down non-Microsoft apps are in this initial release. As an example the Twitter client can’t even get access to the camera or photo album. Good for security, bad for functionality.
Version 1 teething troubles, I’m sure, but they are there just the same, so the operating system must be judged on them. Back in the box for now Windows phone 7, perhaps I’ll see you when you can play with the bigger kids.
If I had to choose a phone to buy today I'd probably go for an HTC Desire or a Samsung Galaxy S, both great little Android phones. The fact Android is under assault by legal terms from Oracle, and Android vendors from Apple and Microsoft worries me only a tiny amount. The Oracle charge seems to be the greatest threat (the others are just play fodder for patent holders).
To a certain extent I sympathise with Oracle, after all they do now own and develop Java, so some licencing would only seem fair. Then again I just know what I read, and having worked on the periphery of media even I know how the truth and reports rarely overlap to and great extent, although I do like to think that for the most part the technical media is more accurate than The Mail.
I'm waiting to get my grubby mitts on an HTC Desire HD or Desire Z, and possibly a look at Android 3 if I can hold out that long.
The Desire HD may be out of the game as the screen is possibly too big. It’s like a tablet device (which would save me buying one of them) but it doesn’t particularly look like it will be comfortable in your pocket.
As for the Desire Z, why not keep the 8MP camera of the HD? Not the end of the world, but frustrating.
I need to see them both before any decision, then weigh up the pricing.
On a related note, I did fancy a Kindle, I am a big fan of eInk screens and I love the way it stores your place in a book between devices, so I could read a book on it from both my laptop and a Kindle and keep my place.
Having said that I’ve been using the Android Kindle application today, and I think for the short periods I get to read these days a backlit screen will be bearable (and it also keeps track of your position). Plus the PDF rendering in Android will be much better than a Kindle I’m sure (must try it), an important consideration with the amount of PDF files I have in my collection. Lastly the £109/£149 I save by not getting a Kindle will help the phone fund nicely.
Of course, for reading the Desire HD screen will be better than the Z…
Gaah!
I guess I’ll just wait and see them in the flesh.
Now, about that Galaxy S...
