I'm After an Android soon....

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

Upgrade time is nearly upon me. Just got the message from my network the other day. I have an iPhone 3G and it's definitely outstayed it's welcome, and I want to jump ship to Android. Simply because of how annoying this device has become since Apple stopped supporting it. :p

Android is a minefield though. There's not one or two devices to choose from... there's hundreds! I've tried looking on websites like GSMArena, but even that left me scratching my head. So many similar phones, got to choose one, right?

Now, I use a Mac and all my music, audiobooks and videos are synced with iTunes, and my and Pictures are also synced with iPhoto. Can I do this with an Android out of the box or will I need to mess about a bit? :|

I don't really want to get the Samsung Galaxy S2, because a few of my friends have one and ... yeah. I think we've all been through that!! However, I HAVE been looking at the HTC Sensation XL and the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc S, and I'm not sure which is best. The Sony definitely looks nicer, but the HTC seems like it works better.

Also, my upgrade is not for another few weeks, so is there anything I should be waiting for? Or is there a good recommendation now? Thanking you.

[Roger H. Veteran]

You'll definitely need to mess about with music and such and if they are DRM (earlier days) then they wont play on the Android device. I like that Android devices show up as a USB HDD instead of just showing up for iTunes or something like that, some people don't. You'd then just be able to copy and paste over your music and same for pictures, no need to sync. You can however use some software for this - i'll let others talk about those options as i'm not familiar with them, especially on a Mac.

The Sensation XL is ok if you ask me and the Xperia devices are ok as well. The normal Sensation is better but that's just my opinion. If you can start now then just go to thes stores and play with em and see what you like better.

[Anibal P]

Galaxy S2, don't be a hipster and get the best phone on the market till the Galaxy Nexus hits whenever that is

[Jeston Veteran]

The Galaxy Nexus should be released over there on Nov. 17th. That'll be the phone to get.

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

I gotta say that Galaxy Nexus phone does look rather breathtaking... I wonder how much it'll cost me!

[Nick H. Supervisor]

I gotta say that Galaxy Nexus phone does look rather breathtaking... I wonder how much it'll cost me!

Without a contract it'll set you back just less than £550.

That said, that's the phone I'm waiting for at the moment.

[still1]

galaxy nexus.....

its an awesome phone and its vanilla os so have total freedom and gets the next update first

[Jeston Veteran]

Yeah, you can pre-order the unlocked Galaxy Nexus from Amazon for ?549.99 right now here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005XYU45E/sr=8-1-spell/qid=1319723953/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1319723953&sr=8-1-spell&seller=

Not sure how much they'll be on contract for you guys.

[Muhammad Farrukh]

Galaxy Nexus would be the thing to get, if you can afford it.

And If you can stand that TouchWiz of Samsung', you should also check out Galaxy S 2, or maybe just stick with the former.

[Marius F]

rather then going for Galaxy Nexus, why not get the Samsung Galaxy S2 HD (it has better specs than the Nexus, the only con is that it's not shipping with Android 4, but it will get the upgrade soon).

[mr.r9]

Consider the Galaxy S2, Galaxy Nexus, and HTC Sensation.

I've been with HTC for 5 years, & I've never been disappointed with them. But as many have suggested, wait for the Galaxy Nexus to come out before buying.

[alphaomegainfinity]

Samsung and HTC make amazing Android phones. However the Xperia Arc S is also quite decent.

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

You all make good points regarding the phones.

As for not wanting an iPhone 4S, my opinion of the iPhone dive-bombed after about a year of using it, so now I would like a different experience with an Android phone. And as for not wanting a Galaxy S2, it is purely because about half the people I know have one. No shame in saying I want something different to them. I'm not after the absolute greatest thing on the market, but I do want something high-end.

The Galaxy Nexus looks like the phone for me! Thanks for the advice. Would be pretty good having a phone designed for and shipped with Android 4.0! Nice way to join the ranks. :p

[Muhammad Farrukh]

You all make good points regarding the phones.

As for not wanting an iPhone 4S, my opinion of the iPhone dive-bombed after about a year of using it, so now I would like a different experience with an Android phone. And as for not wanting a Galaxy S2, it is purely because about half the people I know have one. No shame in saying I want something different to them. I'm not after the absolute greatest thing on the market, but I do want something high-end.

The Galaxy Nexus looks like the phone for me! Thanks for the advice. Would be pretty good having a phone designed for and shipped with Android 4.0! Nice way to join the ranks. :p

(Y)

[notuptome2004]

Well you cant really compare the old iPhone 3G the 2nd Generation iPhone to the current 5th Generation far and in between since the iPhone 4s is far more powerful and running iOS 5.0 and as it is by a few sites who have done benchmarks the iPhone 4s outperforms every other Phone out ther and Tablet running the same hardware as the other Phones.

[Sir Topham Hatt]

Just to say, I can't really afford it but I will probably be getting the Samsung Galaxy Nexus when it comes out.

Unlocked from Amazon, yeah expensive but I bet contracts will all be over £40 a month for crap all:

Sim Only:

£15 / month (probs around 400mins / 500Mb data)

30 day - 12 month contract

Phone Cost: £550

TOTAL COST: £910

Based on 24 months for easy comparison

Contract:

£40 / month (around the same as sim only)

24 month contract

Phone Cost: £50

TOTAL COST: £1010

Based on out-of-the-air guesstimates

Sim only means:

• No crapware on the phone from carriers
  
• Updates as soon as released by Samsung (instead of waiting for carriers)
  
• When you sell the phone after the two years, you will also get probably about half of what you paid for it back.
  
• Max of 12-month contract means you can get a better deal in a years time.
  

I was conned by Vodafone for two years and saw everyone else (it seemed) getting so much better contracts that I went on to a Sim only and bought my £350 HTC out-right. Yeah, it was about 8 months after release, so the price was lower than the £500 it started at. This is one reason I am looking at the Galaxy S2 as that will go down when the Nexus is released. However I might try and stick with my Desire until the price of the Nexus drops, then buy it as I don't really want to spend £550 on one if I am honest.

But then I guess I am lucky. I can get a deal for £13 a month (600 mins, 2500 texts, 500Mb) on a 30 day rolling contract. Very tempting indeed.

[iKenndac]

Ignoring specific phones, check out doubleTwist. It's a piece of software the does a great job of syncing iTunes content over to Android devices, and will even transcode media if need be.

[AJerman]

I firmly believe that the SGSII is better than the Galaxy Nexus. Don't get caught up in the hype. Sure, the Nexus comes with ICS, but you can be promised that the SGS II line will get ICS very soon.

The Galaxy Nexus lacks in a LOT of places. For one, it's using a 1.2 GHz OMAP processor with an SGX540 GPU. I'd take the 1.2 GHz Exynos CPU w/ Mali400 GPU in the basic SGS II any day. If you live somewhere that's getting the SGSII LTE, it has a 1.5 GHz Snapdragon CPU. The LTE version is also supposed to have an Ardeno 220 GPU, which will be questionable since it's the oldest of the group, but it's supposed to be the fastest with the new Snapdragon package, we'll have to wait and see.

Aside from that, the Galaxy Nexus has the HD screen, but you get that as a Super AMOLED with a Pentile subpixel layout vs a Super AMOLED+ with a standard RGB subpixel layout, which arguably brings it's DPI to below that of the SGS II. The Nexus also has no SD card support, 5 MP rear and 1.3 MP front cameras vs the SGSII's 8 MP rear and 2 MP front, and has no HDMI out.

Also, one more to mention, the Galaxy Nexus has a slightly larger battery at 1750 mAh compared to the SGS II's 1650 mAh, however, due to the fact that the Nexus is a 4.65" screen vs a 4.3" screen, and the fact that Super AMOLED uses ~20% more power than the Super AMOLED+ screen, this will be negated.

So to summarize:

SGS II: Better CPU, Better GPU, Better Cameras, RGB Stripe screen layout, HDMI Out, Micro SD card support

Nexus: ICS, 1280x720 screen

So unless the arguably better screen and ICS (right now) is the most important things for you, then the SGS II is probably a better choice (especially an SGS II LTE).

[Jeston Veteran]

I firmly believe that the SGSII is better than the Galaxy Nexus. Don't get caught up in the hype. Sure, the Nexus comes with ICS, but you can be promised that the SGS II line will get ICS very soon.

The Galaxy Nexus lacks in a LOT of places. For one, it's using a 1.2 GHz OMAP processor with an SGX540 GPU. I'd take the 1.2 GHz Exynos CPU w/ Mali400 GPU in the basic SGS II any day. If you live somewhere that's getting the SGSII LTE, it has a 1.5 GHz Snapdragon CPU. The LTE version is also supposed to have an Ardeno 220 GPU, which will be questionable since it's the oldest of the group, but it's supposed to be the fastest with the new Snapdragon package, we'll have to wait and see.

Aside from that, the Galaxy Nexus has the HD screen, but you get that as a Super AMOLED with a Pentile subpixel layout vs a Super AMOLED+ with a standard RGB subpixel layout, which arguably brings it's DPI to below that of the SGS II. The Nexus also has no SD card support, 5 MP rear and 1.3 MP front cameras vs the SGSII's 8 MP rear and 2 MP front, and has no HDMI out.

Also, one more to mention, the Galaxy Nexus has a slightly larger battery at 1750 mAh compared to the SGS II's 1650 mAh, however, due to the fact that the Nexus is a 4.65" screen vs a 4.3" screen, and the fact that Super AMOLED uses ~20% more power than the Super AMOLED+ screen, this will be negated.

So to summarize:

SGS II: Better CPU, Better GPU, Better Cameras, RGB Stripe screen layout, HDMI Out, Micro SD card support

Nexus: ICS, 1280x720 screen

So unless the arguably better screen and ICS (right now) is the most important things for you, then the SGS II is probably a better choice (especially an SGS II LTE).

You forget to mention how the Galaxy Nexus is a GED which in my opinion trumps the negligible differences between the CPU and GPU. The screen we have yet to be able to compare so you can't really use that argument. Also, it will likely use their MHL adapter for HDMI out, so there goes that argument as well. As far as cameras go, it's not always about the MP... I'll be happy to have instant shutter speed and next to 0 seconds taken before first shot. The lack of a MicroSD slot is the only thing I'll agree with here, and that certainly isn't a reason to dump this phone for the GSII.

[Joey S]

Galaxy Nexus without question. Or wait until Samsung and others release ICS phones and see what takes your fancy. You want ICS though, that's a must.

[rajputwarrior]

You'll definitely need to mess about with music and such and if they are DRM (earlier days) then they wont play on the Android device. I like that Android devices show up as a USB HDD instead of just showing up for iTunes or something like that, some people don't. You'd then just be able to copy and paste over your music and same for pictures, no need to sync. You can however use some software for this - i'll let others talk about those options as i'm not familiar with them, especially on a Mac.

The Sensation XL is ok if you ask me and the Xperia devices are ok as well. The normal Sensation is better but that's just my opinion. If you can start now then just go to thes stores and play with em and see what you like better.

no they don't... they use MTP don't they?

[AJerman]

You forget to mention how the Galaxy Nexus is a GED which in my opinion trumps the negligible differences between the CPU and GPU. The screen we have yet to be able to compare so you can't really use that argument. Also, it will likely use their MHL adapter for HDMI out, so there goes that argument as well. As far as cameras go, it's not always about the MP... I'll be happy to have instant shutter speed and next to 0 seconds taken before first shot. The lack of a MicroSD slot is the only thing I'll agree with here, and that certainly isn't a reason to dump this phone for the GSII.

GED is definitely a plus, I'll give you that, but that can be negated by third party developers that keep the phones as up to date as GED phones, if not more sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I do like that it's a GED, definitely a plus. However, GED definitely has absolutely zero to do with the CPU and GPU. You can't pick a random thing to negate half my points. GED compares to Samsung delivered updates and TouchWiz, it doesn't compare at all to CPU and GPU. If you're saying it's going to be faster because it's AOSP, that's quite possible, and even probable, but we'll have to see how Samsung's ICS release compares in due time, not to mention there are AOSP ROMs for the SGS II if that's really important, but I'm trying to avoid discussion about having to hack the SGS II to compare, so I'll leave that on the side.

The screen will be as much opinion as Retina vs SLCD vs SAMOLED vs etc is, that's why I used numbers. The screen technology is inferior, the real DPI is inferior, the only thing it has going is the technical number of pixels, and at that density, pentile will be less annoying, but it still won't be as sharp as an SAMOLED+. Especially with the screen size being 0.35" bigger.

You're right about HDMI out I believe. I had previously read several times that it didn't have HDMI out, but reading more articles makes it sound like it will support HDMI out. Misinformation based on confusing pre-release specs, sorry.

As for the camera, I'll happily take higher quality pictures over not having to wait half a second for the shutter. That's just a huge lack of patience. It's not like it's 5 seconds vs instant. Nearly instant is definitely nice, but the SGS II is fast enough that it's not a big deal. MP is definitely not the only thing that matters, that I do understand very well, however, from the sounds of people who have had a hands on with the Nexus, the 5 MP shooter on it isn't anything amazing. We'll have to see when more people get it and take more pics.

So even then, if you say the camera is a wash, and hdmi is added, you still come up with a slower CPU, slower GPU, and no microsd card making the Galaxy Nexus AT BEST close to on par with the SGS II. I'm certainly not suggesting anyone dump a Galaxy Nexus for an SGS II, however, I maintain that the SGS II is better than the Galaxy Nexus. However, when you look at the fact that the Galaxy Nexus will be $299 vs the SGS II's typical price of $200, it makes the SGS II a much better choice. Of course this varies depending on your carrier, but in the end, I'd say which ever is cheaper is the better choice. Both great phones, but the Nexus isn't anything amazing.

no they don't... they use MTP don't they?

Sometimes you can change modes depending on the phone and the manufacturer's software, but mounting as a standard USB drive is always an option.

[+jamesyfx Subscriber²]

Well you cant really compare the old iPhone 3G the 2nd Generation iPhone to the current 5th Generation far and in between since the iPhone 4s is far more powerful and running iOS 5.0 and as it is by a few sites who have done benchmarks the iPhone 4s outperforms every other Phone out ther and Tablet running the same hardware as the other Phones.

You write truth, but the actual use I'd get out of an iPhone 4S would be the same as what I get now. Since I don't use apps (nothing interests me in that respect), and I'd still be stuck with a system I can't really play about with.

Also, the screen is definitely the most important thing. I want it to be a bright, crisp display.

[Jeston Veteran]

GED is definitely a plus, I'll give you that, but that can be negated by third party developers that keep the phones as up to date as GED phones, if not more sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I do like that it's a GED, definitely a plus. However, GED definitely has absolutely zero to do with the CPU and GPU. You can't pick a random thing to negate half my points. GED compares to Samsung delivered updates and TouchWiz, it doesn't compare at all to CPU and GPU. If you're saying it's going to be faster because it's AOSP, that's quite possible, and even probable, but we'll have to see how Samsung's ICS release compares in due time, not to mention there are AOSP ROMs for the SGS II if that's really important, but I'm trying to avoid discussion about having to hack the SGS II to compare, so I'll leave that on the side.

The screen will be as much opinion as Retina vs SLCD vs SAMOLED vs etc is, that's why I used numbers. The screen technology is inferior, the real DPI is inferior, the only thing it has going is the technical number of pixels, and at that density, pentile will be less annoying, but it still won't be as sharp as an SAMOLED+. Especially with the screen size being 0.35" bigger.

You're right about HDMI out I believe. I had previously read several times that it didn't have HDMI out, but reading more articles makes it sound like it will support HDMI out. Misinformation based on confusing pre-release specs, sorry.

As for the camera, I'll happily take higher quality pictures over not having to wait half a second for the shutter. That's just a huge lack of patience. It's not like it's 5 seconds vs instant. Nearly instant is definitely nice, but the SGS II is fast enough that it's not a big deal. MP is definitely not the only thing that matters, that I do understand very well, however, from the sounds of people who have had a hands on with the Nexus, the 5 MP shooter on it isn't anything amazing. We'll have to see when more people get it and take more pics.

So even then, if you say the camera is a wash, and hdmi is added, you still come up with a slower CPU, slower GPU, and no microsd card making the Galaxy Nexus AT BEST close to on par with the SGS II. I'm certainly not suggesting anyone dump a Galaxy Nexus for an SGS II, however, I maintain that the SGS II is better than the Galaxy Nexus. However, when you look at the fact that the Galaxy Nexus will be $299 vs the SGS II's typical price of $200, it makes the SGS II a much better choice. Of course this varies depending on your carrier, but in the end, I'd say which ever is cheaper is the better choice. Both great phones, but the Nexus isn't anything amazing.

Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean being a GED would make it faster or anything, I just meant that I'd gladly take the advantage of having a GED over the slight difference that the CPU/GPU would make. I honestly think the CPU/GPU of the two devices are quite comparable, and since the Nexus will be easily unlockable/rootable, I plan on overclocking the CPU anyway which will make it an even closer match (until the GSII is rooted and overclocked of course). Either way I think the GSII is also an amazing phone, but I just think the benefits of a GED outweigh the pros of the GSII.

[Raa]

An excellent choice mate, you definately won't regret switching to Android whatsoever. (Y)