Whats a good smart phone?

[Squilliam]

I want one which has a good screen, decent camera with flash (because my photos were too dark often) and a decent OS.

So whats a good one to consider? I was originally thinking about Windows Phone 7 but the phones are just too expensive for me to consider.

 

[AlphaWolf]

Your post seems to have eliminated everything but android phones.

Might want to check out the sony ericsson Xperia X10 or whatever the newest one is. I've heard its got a decent camera and something flash like. (Although the thing is too damn big imo.)

 

[Squilliam]

I'll take a look. Currently I can get the full size version for $565 in comparison to $899 for the HTC Touch. Im a bit skittish about some of the Androids because my biggest pet peeve is a sluggish interface for a mobile.

 

[Zaphod]

Well, good thing about Android is that there are about a gazillion different shells/interfaces/app-launchers to choose from. Pretty much any combination of speed, graphical glitz, and features are possible.

 

[tongue_of_colicab]

HTC desire HD? Spec wise its the best I think? But personally I think those 4''+ screens are too big to comfortably hold. Maybe a HTC legend? Not the fastest thing out there but fast enough and it looks stylish.

 

[hatter]

Newer android phones are not sluggish. Though in terms of best package, iPhone 4 remains on the top. And iPhone camera too is one of the best in a smartphone.

But iOS is a closed system and if you like to customize, tweak your device, you should get android. If you can get Droid X, nothing like that. Droid 2 from Motorola or HTC Desire HD are pretty ok. Desire HD has horrible battery though.

Stay away from X10 (supports only Android 2.1) and Legend (too old. outdated hardware/software).

Finally, I would suggest you to wait for a few weeks. Soon, Google in partnership with Samsung will launch Nexus S. This will be the first phone with latest android build - Gingerbread - and is out to have the best in class hardware, including 1.2Ghz CPU.

Due to Nexus moniker, it will also be pure untouched Android device, without any crap that manufacturers put in their devices.

 

[Squilliam]

Cool thanks for the info people.

 

[Grall]

I succumbed to the Dark Side and bought an iPhone4 yesterday. It's really nice. Mostly I did it for the broad apps support and ease of use, but I like Apple's design philosophy and the hardware is just plain nice.

I'm not terribly fond of Steve's psychotic control-freak nature of course, and his desire to decide exactly what people get (or more importantly, don't get) to put on their phones, but hey... Nothing's totally perfect. And if I'm not happy overall with how this thingy works out, I'll just never buy any more of 'em in the future.

 

[Squilliam]

I succumbed to the Dark Side and bought an iPhone4 yesterday. It's really nice. Mostly I did it for the broad apps support and ease of use, but I like Apple's design philosophy and the hardware is just plain nice.

I'm not terribly fond of Steve's psychotic control-freak nature of course, and his desire to decide exactly what people get (or more importantly, don't get) to put on their phones, but hey... Nothing's totally perfect. And if I'm not happy overall with how this thingy works out, I'll just never buy any more of 'em in the future.

I totally would if I could afford it. It'll cost me something like twice as much for an iPhone 4 as it does an HTC whatever and the former would be far more of a thief magnet, especially as I am careless sometimes with my property.

 

[Vadi]

I got the Gigabyte G1305 / Orange Boston (it's being sold under various names, Motorola for instance).
It's a low cost version of the Snapdragon platform. 600MHz CPU, FPU, GPU and a lower resolution display seems to be smooth. You can underclock it too.
It isn't here yet, but I hope the resolution is enough and I can get a newer Android for it. I even found an affordable contract with internet here.

 

[Squilliam]

I just want to say thanks for the help. I found a wicked deal on an HTC Tropy 7 for 2/3rds normal retail price with a plan which costs $22 USD including tax for 160 minutes, 1000 txts and 50MB of data.

 

[Grall]

Grats to you. Hope you'll be happy with it. I've been enjoying my iP4, running Spotify on it and getting access to my playlists that I defined on my home PC, it's great. Battery life is also quite good, not been using it for a full day, but several days with some on-and-off mainly music and surfing use and taking a few pictures just to try out the LED flash with standby inbetween ran the battery down less than 50%.

Just need some nice apps, is there a site that specializes in reviewing apps and showcasing good ones?

 

[Blazkowicz]

I've bought a new phone because I wanted one with USB port for power charging.. now I've got the Motorola WX161, which is a dumb phone. I went out of my way to find it rather than a WX181.. because it's a version with a low-res monochrome LCD screen.

a monochrome dumbphone with LED flashlight and USB port. yay!

 

[Grall]

They still make monochrome phones?

(Speaking of which, I've wanted "retina display" monochrome LCD watches for aages now. Imagine say 1000^2 rez squeezed down to your typical watch display size. That would make some seriously crisp graphics, and even good greyscales...)

 

[Blazkowicz]

I can now read the date and time without hitting a key to switch the backlight on and running into the keyboard unlocking routine.
(most serious issue on my colour dumbphone)

I'd like a high res, orange monochrome OLED display though, on a "smart smartphone" - one that concentrates on the basics, minimal browser, e-mail, file management, music - with a 3.5mm jack, etc.