Android vs Windows Phone 7?

[RealityClash]

Hey all,

I'm sure there has been multiple threads like this one in the past but I'm looking at buying a new phone in the next 2 - 4 weeks and originally I was set on Android because of its popularity aswell as currently having an HTC Wildfire which I really love, but recently after watching a few videos on phones running WP7 I'm thinking I might look more into that side of the market aswell. One of the things that really started getting me thinking about going for WP7 is that, from videos, the user experience seems to look a lot more smooth and fluid than Android which can often slow down quite a bit and take a while to open apps.


Preferable specs are as follows:
- The more powerful the better (This is one of the things that puts me off WP7 atm seeing as they currently have no dual core phones available)
- Preferably a screen size between 4-5 inches
- Thickness isnt much of an issue as long as the phone still looks nice
- Unless someone knows of any exceptional other phones I'll likely be going with an HTC phone either way
- I'm not a fan of plasticy phones (One of the reasons why I really like HTC)

As for what I'll mainly be using it for:
- General phone tasks (I'm a big texter but hardly ever make calls)
- Music and videos (one of the reasons why I want a large screen)
- Web browsing
- Games, I've heard that the WP7 marketplace has a lot of great games?
- GPS navigation

Also I've noticed that the few WP7 phones that I have looked at don't have micro sd card slots? Whats with that?
But yea, the main phones I'm thinking about atm are either the HTC Sensation or HTC Titan and possibly Samsung's Nexus Prime if that gets released soon (apparently its getting announced on the 19th now).


As I only have experience with Android it'd be great if some of you guys out there who have experience with WP7 let me know what you think of it, how does it compare to Android and which OS is better for what?

Thanks

 

[Maziar]

I personally prefer the UI of W7 because it's a bit smoother than android but it's still immature and has way less apps than android,so if you want a handset now,get an Android one(they usually have better specs too)

 

[ssddx]

wp7 is still in its infancy, and will most likely remain there until it adds a feature to draw away the iphone/android crowd. personally i feel its just not worth taking the risk.

android phones are pretty much the ones you want to look at if you're in the market for a non-apple smartphone.

to answer some of your questions and quell any rumors:

android devices interconnect gmail, gmaps, gnav, etc together which is really nice. not always 100% fluid but definitely convenient.

phone slowdown is caused by having too many apps open at once. this could happen on any smartphone. older android versions did not autoclose apps when running low on memory, 2.2 and above do. if you're worried, get a dualcore.

are you sure you want the htc wildfire? i've heard alot of people listing that in app comments noting compatability issues. personally i'd suggest something like the dinc or bionic if you want to stay with htc.

if you like the "look" of wp7 you can duplicate the homescreen effect fairly easily. just google for "wp7 homescreen for android" or similar and you will find some posts on the subject. there are even custom icons and "launchers" available for this nowdays.

if you want to theme your phone to look like wp7 (not just the desktop), you can do that as well if you're tech-adept. most apps are themeable if you get the basic know how.

the only cons i can say are that battery life will be pretty crappy unless you follow a few of the basic powersaving rules. i can get about 10-11 hours with moderate use, 5-6 heavy and 1-2 with gps nav and bluetooth running. well worth it though.

--

i'm using a dinc rooted with miui.

on top of all the nice things android offers i get...

-free tethering (wifi hotspot or wired)
-easy to apply theme (that work on the whole phone)
-custom lockscreens (that actually work!)
-easy custom boot animations
-etcetera

i'll agree that android isnt as pretty as apple ios, nor does it seem to work as seamlessly as ios or wp7....but despite that it is still solid and what it brings to the table is well worth it.

 

[blackhawk1928]

Hey all,

I'm sure there has been multiple threads like this one in the past but I'm looking at buying a new phone in the next 2 - 4 weeks and originally I was set on Android because of its popularity aswell as currently having an HTC Wildfire which I really love, but recently after watching a few videos on phones running WP7 I'm thinking I might look more into that side of the market aswell. One of the things that really started getting me thinking about going for WP7 is that, from videos, the user experience seems to look a lot more smooth and fluid than Android which can often slow down quite a bit and take a while to open apps.


Preferable specs are as follows:
- The more powerful the better (This is one of the things that puts me off WP7 atm seeing as they currently have no dual core phones available)
- Preferably a screen size between 4-5 inches
- Thickness isnt much of an issue as long as the phone still looks nice
- Unless someone knows of any exceptional other phones I'll likely be going with an HTC phone either way
- I'm not a fan of plasticy phones (One of the reasons why I really like HTC)

As for what I'll mainly be using it for:
- General phone tasks (I'm a big texter but hardly ever make calls)
- Music and videos (one of the reasons why I want a large screen)
- Web browsing
- Games, I've heard that the WP7 marketplace has a lot of great games?
- GPS navigation

Also I've noticed that the few WP7 phones that I have looked at don't have micro sd card slots? Whats with that?
But yea, the main phones I'm thinking about atm are either the HTC Sensation or HTC Titan and possibly Samsung's Nexus Prime if that gets released soon (apparently its getting announced on the 19th now).


As I only have experience with Android it'd be great if some of you guys out there who have experience with WP7 let me know what you think of it, how does it compare to Android and which OS is better for what?

Thanks

I have never been an Android fan, because so far
1) None of the phones were really powerful enough to run the OS as smoothly as iOS five. Simply things like scrolling between pages, or scrolling down websites were choppy. Android was always choppy, too complicated, and menu layouts were way to complex and had useless customizations.
2) 99% of the applications are junk, even though it has a lot, there is no qualification process for the App store like in Apple, so in Apple each app has somewhat quality, while in Android most of them suck.

However, after playing with my friends new Samsung Galaxy S2, all that changed. I still don't like Android, but if you are getting an Android, I would recommend the Samsung Galaxy S2, it easily beats all of HTC and Motorola phones. Everything is smooth and its powerful.

 

[ssddx]

@bh, hope you dont mind a few counterpoints.

we all have our own preferences. personally i love apples aesthetics and "it just works" phillosophy. however, i really really really hate their iron grip on everything they touch. android offers up some flexibility. if apple had the freedom of android, it would be the one and only good choice...but alas the company is just so stubborn.

as far as choppyness with android, it depends on the phone you get and how much crapware you have running. i'm on an older singlecore phone and the only choppyness i see is on pages with flash ads (hey... does iphone have flash yet??) or when the phone is still booting into the desktop. i've seen nothing worth complaining about though.

the menu system isnt as horrible as you make it seem. i've never had trouble finding a setting. there is definitely room for improvement though (i like what miui did).

the reason why alot of apps are junk is because app developers are focused on the istore instead. its more profitible. in general android users would rather have things for free (even if its with ads) over a paid app. if they do pay for an app it had better be worth it (you should see the crapware some devs are trying to sell!). devs need to get serious (and have a limited free and paid version) in order to profit. once they realize this the market should improve.

i agree that some of the crap should be sorted from market, however at least google doesnt rule it with an iron fist. the istore has also been in existance for much longer, not to mention being first. i'm sure thats a big reason for the gap in apps... but as time goes on that should change.

99% of apps dont suck. sure there are garbage ones, but consider that quite a few of them are free and aren't really generating much (if any) revenue for the dev. that said, the problem is more with the lack of serious dev interest in android and the inability to locate good apps quick that is hindering the market.

---

as far as a powerhouse is concerned....skip out on the galaxy s2..

get a nexus prime (or droid prime, galaxy prime, whatever they will call it)

if rumors/leaks are to be believed its a beast and may be a serious threat to the apple ip5.

 

[blackhawk1928]

@bh, hope you dont mind a few counterpoints.

we all have our own preferences. personally i love apples aesthetics and "it just works" phillosophy. however, i really really really hate their iron grip on everything they touch. android offers up some flexibility. if apple had the freedom of android, it would be the one and only good choice...but alas the company is just so stubborn.

as far as choppyness with android, it depends on the phone you get and how much crapware you have running. i'm on an older singlecore phone and the only choppyness i see is on pages with flash ads (hey... does iphone have flash yet??) or when the phone is still booting into the desktop. i've seen nothing worth complaining about though.

the menu system isnt as horrible as you make it seem. i've never had trouble finding a setting. there is definitely room for improvement though (i like what miui did).

the reason why alot of apps are junk is because app developers are focused on the istore instead. its more profitible. in general android users would rather have things for free (even if its with ads) over a paid app. if they do pay for an app it had better be worth it (you should see the crapware some devs are trying to sell!). devs need to get serious (and have a limited free and paid version) in order to profit. once they realize this the market should improve.

i agree that some of the crap should be sorted from market, however at least google doesnt rule it with an iron fist. the istore has also been in existance for much longer, not to mention being first. i'm sure thats a big reason for the gap in apps... but as time goes on that should change.

99% of apps dont suck. sure there are garbage ones, but consider that quite a few of them are free and aren't really generating much (if any) revenue for the dev. that said, the problem is more with the lack of serious dev interest in android and the inability to locate good apps quick that is hindering the market.

---

as far as a powerhouse is concerned....skip out on the galaxy s2..

get a nexus prime (or droid prime, galaxy prime, whatever they will call it)

if rumors/leaks are to be believed its a beast and may be a serious threat to the apple ip5.

@bh, hope you dont mind a few counterpoints.

Ah, thats no problem . Its a forum, discussing and arguing is what its all about.

we all have our own preferences. personally i love apples aesthetics and "it just works" phillosophy. however, i really really really hate their iron grip on everything they touch. android offers up some flexibility. if apple had the freedom of android, it would be the one and only good choice...but alas the company is just so stubborn.

This, I agree on partially. Apple does like to maintain totalitarian control over its products. Maybe its because they don't want any garbage to start appearing from it, not sure. I think it can a bit more open, but Apple is a company thats focused on more simplicity. Android is more of a Linux descendent. It wants open source and complex customization, while Apple, as shown with there OSX, and iOS platforms, they are focused on very simply layouts for users.

Apple's iOS (and OSX) market is generally different than that of Androids markets. Apple is focused more on people who aren't computer literate and want simplicity/reliability vs customization/complexion. So I guess you can say that Apple is geared towards the older population, like grandparents, and people born in the 50's, 60's.

Android is focused on more very technologically knowledgeable young people who know what they are doing. I consider myself Technologically knowledgeable and certainly not old, so by my Logic, I should have an Android, but I just love Apple's iPhone so much. It does everything I need, it always works, its super easy to use, and I can get a million accessories for it.

as far as choppyness with android, it depends on the phone you get and how much crapware you have running. i'm on an older singlecore phone and the only choppyness i see is on pages with flash ads (hey... does iphone have flash yet??) or when the phone is still booting into the desktop. i've seen nothing worth complaining about though.

the menu system isnt as horrible as you make it seem. i've never had trouble finding a setting. there is definitely room for improvement though (i like what miui did).

Yeah, it does depend on the phone a lot. Just a few years back, like 1-2 years ago, a lot of my friends and colleges were getting Droids, the emerging super-phones with Android. Thing is, I didn't like any of them. They just were choppy, and they DID have crapware running on them.

Better, newer phones like the Droid Bionic and Samsung Galaxy S2 (especially the Galaxy), are truly showing what Android is capable of. Its not choppy, they have better screens (although the resolution still sucks...Galaxy S2 at 206PPI vs iPhone at 330PPI), and run smoother, similar to iOS.

I was going to recommend the Nexus Prime with Ice-Cream-Sandwhich, but it hasn't come out yet, but if it does, I do recommend it, as it will be the highest end Android Phone available. Right now though, Galaxy is the King.

the reason why alot of apps are junk is because app developers are focused on the istore instead. its more profitible. in general android users would rather have things for free (even if its with ads) over a paid app. if they do pay for an app it had better be worth it (you should see the crapware some devs are trying to sell!). devs need to get serious (and have a limited free and paid version) in order to profit. once they realize this the market should improve.

i agree that some of the crap should be sorted from market, however at least google doesnt rule it with an iron fist. the istore has also been in existance for much longer, not to mention being first. i'm sure thats a big reason for the gap in apps... but as time goes on that should change.

99% of apps dont suck. sure there are garbage ones, but consider that quite a few of them are free and aren't really generating much (if any) revenue for the dev. that said, the problem is more with the lack of serious dev interest in android and the inability to locate good apps quick that is hindering the market.

Well that may be a valid reason, but it doesn't defeat the fact. Moreover, in Apple, there are tons of free applications. Infact, my iPhone does EVERYTHING I need and more, and all of my applications are 100% free, except for a GPS program I bought for $70 called Navigon (but thats a replacement for a true dedicated GPS so it doesn't count).

 

[ssddx]

valid points.

i'd probably have an iphone myself if android wasn't on the market. i just do not buy into all the hype (people were paying over $1000 for a new model on ebay!)

as far as control goes... a happy medium between the two would be perfect.

yeah, orginal droids started off with too much bloat and not enough hardware. new models are better though. if you think about it, even 480x800 screens have a high enough ppi to be good, however i agree 720p screens (like the prime has) will be ideal.

as far as the market is concerned, yes i realize it needs alot of work. this is where google itself should step in and give guidance. maybe offer up a program for devs to lure them into making good programs. it is improving though.

about the gps program... replacement for a "free stock gps that came with the phone" or a replacement for your "other gps device" ? i've heard about navigon before, i think android has it also. however, i'm still using google nav... it works better than things like garmins and tomtoms, the only ah heck is text-to-speech which means it sounds strange at times.

---

just like you my phone does everything i need. most of my apps are free, a few of them running on ads. the only programs i have paid for are one live wallpaper, a program which controls autostarts and a new tts generator (svox) which gives my phone an awsome uk-english accent voice.

between iphone and android... its hard to go wrong. it mostly comes down to which suits you better. try telling that to the fanboys though.

 

[blackhawk1928]

yeah, orginal droids started off with too much bloat and not enough hardware. new models are better though. if you think about it, even 480x800 screens have a high enough ppi to be good, however i agree 720p screens (like the prime has) will be ideal.

Yeah 720P is excellent, but the iPhone still has a higher PPI than the new nexus prime will have . Many don't notice, but I have 20/10 vision (above 20/20), and I can clearly see jaggedness even on an the iPhone retina screen on small text. I have good eye for that stuff .

about the gps program... replacement for a "free stock gps that came with the phone" or a replacement for your "other gps device" ? i've heard about navigon before, i think android has it also. however, i'm still using google nav... it works better than things like garmins and tomtoms, the only ah heck is text-to-speech which means it sounds strange at times.

There a lot of freebie GPS apps, but they all download maps on the fly. Navigon is a 3GB download with the entire country map so you don't need to waste data downloading them on the fly, not to mention it works whether you have a cell signal or not.

 

[ssddx]

if the dp ends up with a 4.6" display it should have a ppi of around 319-320. keep in mind that this number may grow if its a smaller screen size or if you count the extra pixels used for the osd buttons. if the source i used is correct the retina display is 326ppi. so yes, technically the ip4 may have a higher resolution (pending info) but not enough of a difference either way to make a difference.

you can do the same thing in gmaps. once you download a tile, you can have it saved forever. i know there is a way to download a whole tileset as well but its not as easy as just downloading navigon. bandwidth really isnt a problem for me (unlimited) and in any case the file sizes aren't too bad (its just vector images).

---

in any case.. looks like the op abandoned this thread. no use discussing options anymore.

 

[blackhawk1928]

^Unlimited?...Oh well, I'm on AT&T and I have 2GB/Month limit. And the Nexus prime at 4.65'' w/ 1280x720 is at 316PPI and the iPhone is 330PPI (I calculated myself). Yeah it is about the same. I'd like to see 500PPI in a phone though, because when you read REALLY small text, it helps. And I can see REALLY small text on print outs.

 

[RealityClash]

Thanks for all the input guys, lets keep it to Android and WP7 though, no way am I going near an iPhone
Anyway even after searching through nearly every shop in town that sells phones I wasn't able to find a single place that had a WP7 phone in stock so I still haven't been able to have a play with WP7. I did get to have a play with the HTC Sensation and I have to say that I am really impressed.
Looks like it may end up being either the Sensation or the Nexus Prime depending on what info gets released on the 19th.

 

[ssddx]

@bh

afaik there haven't been any official spec listings or photographs posted. all we have are some guestimates, photos which 95% have been confirmed fake and a video which cannot be confirmed. in any case, as you said, close enough. i'm with you on the dpi... but mostly on larger screens (tvs, monitors) as this is where the difference would truly shine.

@op

i've seen some wp7 at my local vzw store.... you might want to try looking at different wireless stores (not just your own) if you really want a peek at wp7.

the same smartphone can have different names on different networks so bear with me if its called something different on yours (i'm vzw). for current release phones i'd have to say something like the bionic or the new galaxy s. if you want to wait 1-4 weeks then we should have the prime coming.

get something with a dualcore, at least 2.3gb, and a decent sized battery (over 1750mah) if you can. htc sense is pretty nice, nice apps and interface. you can change how your launcher bar and other elements appear in the future without rooting if you get tired of the "curved dock" design.

 

[RealityClash]

@ssddx

Sorry I should have mentioned that I live in New Zealand. Our carriers over here (Vodafone, Telecom and 2 Degrees) are sadly only just beginning to introduce more smartphones into the New Zealand market and the prices on some of the phones are horrendous. The HTC Sensation for example costs nearly 1.5 - 2x as much from the one carrier over here that sells it compared to if I were to get imported from the US or UK.

Anyway back to the point, it looks like WP7 is going to be a no go at this rate so I'll probably make my decision between the Sensation and Nexus Prime on the 19th if Samsung and Google do make their announcement.