Tempted by Desire

[Guest WearTheFoxHat]

Hi All,

Well after moving from WinMo to a couple of iPhones, I've decided that it's about time I jumped in and tried Android. I really like the look of the HTC Desire and there now seems to be a huge wealth of apps, with only one or two that I have on my iPhone not being available on android. I normally buy my phones outright and keep a discount from T-Mo for not having a subsidised handset. But there is no chance that I'm buying a new iPhone at £600 when there are other suitable handsets out there. It's even more crazy that the phone is still over £250 on a £30/month contract!

I'd looked at Blackberry, and while they are solid, there aren't many apps! Hence time to seriously investigate Android.

So ... I have a few questions before diving in:

1) iTunes syncing ... how easy is it to sync music from iTunes to a Desire?

2) Currently in the car, I have a griffin mount for the iphone which charges and outputs audio via FM. What options do I have for outputting my sound on the Desire via FM, since the car doesn't have audio input connectivity?

3) My current provider is T-Mo, and while I really don't want to get tied back into contract and would rather have discount for no-handset, Im a bit skint at present and rather not spend loads on a new handset. Is there any problems with the T-Mo provided handset being locked down? I notice Vodafone recently dumped loads of updates on Android users and caused a bit of upset!

4) Updates of applications - How does this occur? Is there a simple way to auto-update apps?

5) Google apps mail. My mailbox is hosted with GoogleApps, and on the iPhone the PUSH feature of the email stops after about 30 mins. I certainly hope that it's better with Android! Is the server configured as an exchange server, or via Imap?

6) Is the battery life really that bad?

7) Should I be diving in with the Desire, or are HTC about to drop some more handsets? (Ive just seen the Desire HD video!)

Cheers :D

[Guest EddyOS]

1. FroYo (Android 2.2) has iTunes sync (although I've not tried it yet)

2. You'd need to find something similar for the Desire (I'm sure there's something but I have a standalone Sat Nav so don't know what's out there for the Desire)

3. They have minimal branding but it can be removed using a Gold card should you wish

4. FroYo now has auto-updates for apps (bit tempramental at the mo from what I've seen)

5. As it's Android Gmail is pushed when in the inbox (I get mine within seconds of appearing online)

6. I get about 36hrs with medium usage, but charge each night anyway

7. There will ALWAYS be new phones, you can wait and wait and wait but something better will always come along!! :D

Edited August 16, 2010 by EddyOS

[Guest TheScrub]

I'd recommend it to anyone, coming from the iPhone 3G myself I think it's everything the iPhone wasn't!

Only bad point in my opinion is the unreadability of the screen in sunlight.

[Guest Subject Delta]

Android is a wonderful smartphone platform, especially 2.2, which is just fluid, fast, and awesome.

[Guest spammyspam]

1) Possible but not very smartly. It simply amounts to a file copy and won't do playcounts etc.

2) You can get FM dongles that connect to the headphone socket. My stereo has A2DP so I use BT.

3) Get any and debrand or even root.

4) In froyo you can get them to autoupdate or view all updatable and do them all with one click.

5) Exchange using the built in Gmail app, although the phone has an activesync client too (I can't wait for hotmail to enable this!)

6) For me, yes. I'll get around 20 hours with background data/sync on if I don't use the phone otherwise. If I play a bit (less than 20 mins) that'll drop to around 13-15. I can't use it as freely as I could my other phones.

7) If I didn't have a Desire I'd def look at some of the new Sammys. But then.. there'll always be something new and it's nice to have a popular phone that's so well supported by the scene.

YMMV!

Edited August 16, 2010 by spammyspam