Poll: Which smartphone platform do you own and use mainly? • Hacker News Board

Re: Poll: Which smartphone platform do you own and use mainly?

#71

Post by shriphani » Sun, Aug 07, 2011, 7:26 AM UTC

I use a WP7 device. I got it because the closest ATT store to where I live is the store on the Microsoft campus and they carry just the WP7 lineup (duh) so I got that.

My interest in WP7 was piqued once I saw the efforts to provide interesting APIs for phones : http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/redmond/projects/hawa...

Also, I am not a phone dev and I could build a working app without going through whatever the Hello World version is (I have never used silverlight before and had to do very minor googling) in approx 7 hours.

Re: Poll: Which smartphone platform do you own and use mainly?

#72

Post by kalleboo » Sun, Aug 07, 2011, 7:49 AM UTC

robryan wrote: post #8

Main reason I have an iphone and would probably continue with them as long as they stay reasonably close to state of the art is that app eco system. Pretty much every company I see with develop for iphone first and then maybe Android later if they are successful enough. Despite not being the biggest user of apps I know if something new and interesting comes out I'll most likely be able to take advantage of that.

I find that while I like trying out apps, I only have a few that I actually end up using. So I have a cheap iPod touch for trying out apps and doing dev work, and then I use an Android phone daily.

Re: Poll: Which smartphone platform do you own and use mainly?

#73

Post by kalleboo » Sun, Aug 07, 2011, 7:49 AM UTC

When a non-android smartphone adds support for Mobile Suica and 1seg, then I'll be glad to entertain switching.

Re: Poll: Which smartphone platform do you own and use mainly?

#74

Post by mooism2 » Sun, Aug 07, 2011, 8:31 AM UTC

My phone runs Symbian.

When iPhone 5 comes out, I will probably buy a by-then-cheaper iPhone 4. If I don't it will probably be because of the keyboard (I text much more than I phone).

I'm avoiding Android because I don't want even more of my life going through Google (same reason I haven't tried out Google+).

Windows Phone isn't on my radar. I was holding out for Maemo, but it's not living up to its potential, even before Nokia decided to switch to Windows instead.

Re: Poll: Which smartphone platform do you own and use mainly?

#75

Post by yason » Sun, Aug 07, 2011, 8:49 AM UTC

I don't use a smartphone because I just prefer to mostly be disconnected unless I'm explicitly at my laptop and secondly, I really have actual use for the GSM phone, text messaging, calendar, and the alarm clock features.

My previous phone lasted almost five years. I was given a smartphone from work but it was full of "nice to have" things that I felt didn't matter in the end. And it consumed battery like a proverbial sponge. Now I have a Samsung E2370 Xcover which gives me a month of battery life. It has lots of features I probably haven't even touched yet because I haven't actually needed any of them.

I work for a company that develops smartphone platforms themselves and I find the mobile architecture quite interesting but I just don't want to use one myself.

Re: Poll: Which smartphone platform do you own and use mainly?

#76

Post by aurynn » Sun, Aug 07, 2011, 8:59 AM UTC

I use an Android as the carrier I was on in Canada (Wind), like T-Mo, doesn't get the iPhone, and Android was the best smartphone available.

That said, I'm not a big fan of the phone I got (a Samsung Galaxy S), and Android's UI inconsistencies and lack of a culture of UI excellence really, really, really drive me up a wall. Going to switch to iOS as soon as the iPhone 5 comes out.

Re: Poll: Which smartphone platform do you own and use mainly?

#77

Post by redthrowaway » Sun, Aug 07, 2011, 9:04 AM UTC

shiftF wrote: post #58

redthrowaway wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Every Android phone I'd played with didn't feel great. It felt slow, and clunky - almost as if smartphone CPU speed couldn't handle all that Android. My roommate has a Galaxy S. While I haven't played with it too much, my initial reaction was quite positive. It felt as smooth and quick as an iPhone 4.

I have no clue on the state of Android responsiveness nowadays - but when I played with a few a year ago, I believe the browser responsiveness was still lacking. I realize the Galaxy S is an old phone, but you might have played with one running a newer OS.

I'm still using an iPhone 3GS, and the browser is pretty damned sluggish even with iOS 4.3, which is a huge improvement over jailbroken 3.1.3.

Re: Poll: Which smartphone platform do you own and use mainly?

#78

Post by yread » Sun, Aug 07, 2011, 9:24 AM UTC

Maro wrote: post #26

A relative recently purchased a Samsung WP7 phone. I was highly skeptical until I spent a few minutes playing around with it. The UX experience (design, speed) was about as smooth as my iPhone, smoother than Android devices I've played with. Right now there are not enough apps for WP7 to make it interesting to me, but if MSFT can get devs in large numbers to develop for the platform, then Apple will have to watch out…

I also recently got Samsung Omnia on the cheap and it's pretty good. Hardware is awesome and the OS is super snappy. The only apps I'm missing now are not there because of API limitations (I'd like to see some VOIP) that's going to get hopefully fixed in September with Mango. Oh it would be also cool if Navionics ported their marine navigation app on WP7.

EDIT: The only annoying thing about it is how US-centric it is. I had to create a new live id with us location to be able to access marketplace and I don't really know whether I can develop for it when I'm not in US and I don't have a US credit card.

Re: Poll: Which smartphone platform do you own and use mainly?

#79

Post by ricardobeat » Sun, Aug 07, 2011, 9:35 AM UTC

sandipc wrote: post #55

ricardobeat wrote: post #34

Had an Android (1.6) for a year. After the initial excitement wore out (a week), I could barely answer a phone call since the interface bugged out everytime. The battery wouldn't last for a work day, and every app froze/crashed randomly (including contacts, phone app, and other system apps). The only good experience was MotoBlur syncing perfectly all my profiles, yet it's interface was just as crappy. I already had a…

I think you'll find Android 2.2+ to be a very, very different experience from 1.6 - Google has really worked out many of the silly problems that you mentioned (that certainly plagued early versions of the platform, I agree) .

I installed 2.1 in the last few months before giving up, battery improved but the rest didn't change. I've seen much better devices on 2.2+ (Atrix/Galaxy S/Defy) for sure, but I'm already a lost customer. The only system I'm willing to give a chance in the future is WebOS.

Re: Poll: Which smartphone platform do you own and use mainly?

#80

Post by dablya » Sun, Aug 07, 2011, 10:12 AM UTC

I just got iPhone 3gs from my company. So far, I like my HTC EVO 4G better. Built in navigation system is not as good. Google voice integration is not as good. No swype. No way to tell if there is new mail just by looking at the phone. I can't even change the notification sound for new mail.

I wanted to hate this phone as soon as I found out my company was no longer going to support android phones connecting to exchange, and it's been easy to do so far...