What mobile device to get?
[ ] Apple iPhone
[ ] Symbian
[ ] Windows Mobile
[ ] Windows Phone 7
[ ] Palm Web OS
[X] Android
[ ] Maemo
Some comments:
- Windows Mobile is on its way out and nothing will really turn it around anymore;
- I haven't personally played with Windows Phone 7 but I don't like anything I've seen so far - Microsoft needs to give us a good surprise because my hopes are low;
- By the end of the year Symbian is going to power low end smartphones, or very high end feature phones;
- Palm is going to die very soon;
- Maemo gives me the impression of being is a good platform, from the little I've been playing with in the last few days - but lack of software will be a problem. MeeGo (Nokia and Intel) should get a lot of attention from the companies behind the effort (Nokia and Intel) but it will take some time to happen;
- Android is where things will be hot, but the fragmentation worries me - the platform may end up going the way of Windows Mobile with so many different models.
What do you see in the future for smart handsets? What platform you think will go up or down, and why?
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Comment by Madmax77, on 7-Mar-2010 23:23
[✔] Apple iPhone
Comment by MattD, on 7-Mar-2010 23:50
[✔] Apple iPhone
Comment by BlueToothKiwi, on 8-Mar-2010 00:12
[✔] Windows Phone 7
[A month ago I would have said iPhone.)
P.S. Perhaps you should include iPad (3G version) in the survey. OK It cant fit in a pocket - but it is a 'Mobile device' I am seriously thinking of getting one next month
Comment by paulspain, on 8-Mar-2010 00:45
[✔] Windows Phone 7
As someone who loves the Zune HD and Zune services on the Xbox 360 I can't wait for Windows Phone 7. I too hope there is a bit more up Microsoft's sleeve than what they have detailed to date ... and the rumours I'm hearing indicate the next few weeks and months will indeed reveal further innovations.
I woudn't write off any of the others yet except for Palm. They've done their dash I believe.
Comment by Christian Reventlow, on 8-Mar-2010 02:32
For consumer's' the fragmentation is great because it provides choice. Thats not the problem. The problem is for the Android app developer trying to maintain deployed apps on multiple Android devices.
I wrote a detailed blog post about why I think Android may be "A Tower of Babel OS" back in November. to read my detailed thoughts on this topic click
http://telecomdisruption.blogspot.com/2009/11/is-android-tower-of-babel-os-guaranteed.html
Christian
Comment by Mathias, on 8-Mar-2010 03:28
[ ✔ ] Maemo && update to MeeGo
OpenOffice && Gimp. Kompozer. Enough to actually do some small work on the road. Yes, I know that the screen and keyboard are cramped. But it *does* work.
There's absolutely no contending system. Sadly, this means it will stay more expensive than e.g. android.
Also, erlang or (name your favorite lang/app/whatever). 32Gb internal. Virtual memory. With the coming 32Gb MicroSD it will have 64Gb storage. This is spec'd like my old laptop.
Not many people will need this, but those who do have no alternative (and I looked).
Comment by Scott, on 8-Mar-2010 05:09
I am surprised BalckBerry is not on this list, especially since Palm is! Isn't RIM second only to Symbian devices?
Comment by zocster, on 8-Mar-2010 06:07
not seeing blackberry there? hmm
Comment by pengo, on 8-Mar-2010 06:42
Despite all the issues raised by the fragmented versioning and proprietary customisations, Android is my personal platform of choice.
As a developer I'm looking for some abstraction to allow me to develop for multiple devices without rework: Titanium provides this for the Android and iPhone/iPad platforms and I anticipate other smartphone OS additions in the near future.
Comment by Hammerer, on 8-Mar-2010 08:05
Whatever the system, you should buy what meets your current needs. I've got a UIQ touchscreen phone that works great for me even though UIQ has been dead for a year.
A cheap phone, even with a dead-end technology platform, will still meet someone's need simply because the price is right.
Comment by roamingsim, on 8-Mar-2010 16:47
[✔] Palm Web OS - I really like the look of this platform, and am a fan of the portrait keyboard hardware... but when oh when will be able to get this in NZ?
Comment by Foo, on 8-Mar-2010 23:10
[✔] Android
I think it is very important to assess your needs and purchase accordingly.
Personally, I would go for Android, but the iPhone has a very complete controlled ecosystem and wins if you are interested in gaming on a mobile device, as well as having the largest app store.
I've heard positives about Windows Phone 7 Series, but it sounds like the first phones are still at least six months away? I also wonder what the next iteration of the iPhone will be like - more memory, higher res, OLED, better camera, faster processor?
Comment by steve, on 9-Mar-2010 08:50
I agree with your comments about fragmentation on Android. Many articles on the web recently have lamented Google shooting itself in the foot by not standardising enough to make it easy for developers to write one app that works in as many places as possible.
You made comments about most of the other platforms, but left iPhone out... would be interested to hear your comments on that...
Comment by kiwipixter, on 9-Mar-2010 15:21
Should this article be called "Which mobile OS?".
Just because the OS sounds great on paper doesn't necessary translate to great devices, e.g. any Motorola WM devices.
As for WP7, for goodness sake, there are no devices announced yet. The closest we have seen so far is a blurry video of an LG device. hmm.. LG has no track record of making smartphones, let alone making good smartphones.
My classification of mr Freitas is a geek prosumer when it comes to smartphone user. This leaves out iPhone, Symbian devices from SE and consumer focused devices from Nokia, and Palm. Mr Freitas also never liked BlackBerry, from reading his reviews here.
So i think he'll lean towards a N97, or most likely a 3rd gen Android 2.x device like the Nexus One (or an HTC branded). The problem is there are n't many Android phones available in NZ.
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Comment by siideways, on 7-Mar-2010 23:15
[✔] Apple iPhone