Actually Nokia are moving away from Symbian on their high end phones - the N8 should be the last of the N series to use it, they will be using Maemo/Meego in future - and Maemo is the reason that my answer to the original question in the thread is "neither of the above" - for my needs it's better than both.

I doubt it, if that was the case than why all the work into Symbian^4 which is due out Q2 next year?

They are still using Symbian for the non-high-end phones. The aim is to try and eliminate the dumbphone class entirely (so I guess Series 40 is finally dying). It may even increase Symbian's marketshare, since it'll become a lot more mass-market.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/23/n...ll-meego-from/

Interesting, I have never tried a Meego (horrible name BTW) device, what are your thoughts on it?

They've stated it pretty clearly - Symbian^4 is for mid range phones, MeeGo for the top end - http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE65N14720100624

edit, moox beat me to it...

Yeah moox filled me in on that news, I wasn't aware of it.

Never had one or tried it.

I have owned a Maemo device (I assume parts of Meego will be taken from that) and it was actually very nice.

I hear that the N900 is pretty good also (and it can run both Maemo and MeeGo), but seems to be an enthuasiast's phone only. Certainly not as mass-market as Android or iOS.

Maemo 5, which is what the N900 uses, is really very good - as I said, I find it better than iOS. It's a significant improvement on Maemo 4 which the N800/810 used.

I agree MeeGo is a crap name, it's a result of Intel and Nokia getting together and merging the Maemo and Moblin projects. MeeGo 1 was recently released to a fairly lukewarm reception, although it was very much a preview release for developers - hopefully it will be a lot better by the time the first devices hit the market...

That's because 2.1 needed HTC to work on their Sense UI..High End Android Phones out at the moment will not need Sense if the rumours are correct when 3.0 come out and will be able to upgrade as soon as Google release it. 3.0 will provide it's own User Interface.

I'm not a great fan of what HTC do, in regards to discarding previous phones. After 3.0, there will be much less fragmentation and much quicker upgrading for Desires/Nexuses etc.

The UI isn't the only issues with upgrading, it will always require drivers and so forth to operate correctly.

Also from what I have read HTC aren't giving up on Sense UI and Windows Phone may even use it too. This is all rumours though and we will just have to wait and see.

They might not give up on it, but I think it's going to be pretty pointless for high end Androids. I know if I get the choice between using what Google provide or using Sense..I'm going to go with Google simply because of the quicker upgrades. Then again, like you said, it may not happen.

I'm aware of the 3rd party ROMs - just a bit twitchy about flashing a device that doesn't quite belong to me (yet). I do suspect, though, that these ROMs would be better supported by the community as opposed to the zero support currently offered by HTC for already released products.

The OP is a troll maybe?

On topic, I thought the Desire was proven faster etc than an iphone? My lad is an Android fan, wouldn't give deskspace again to an apple phone.

It's kinda difficult to compare the speed when they use different OSs. I can say that the iPhone 4 everything is pretty much instant, even loading 3D games.

That was the main thing that impressed me with my desire, it was very fast compared to my iPhone 3G, But the phone was just to annoying so sent it back

You are comparing a new phone to a 2 year old phone though so it's definitely gonna be faster.

Very true, but faster doesn't mean better, I'd have my 3G over it any day

What features did you not like about the Desire out of curiosity?

You have to remember that Apple's current sales model includes the previous generation at the low end.

Until a month ago, people could buy an iPhone 3G on a 24 month contract.

Try telling them that they aren't getting an update.

Because of the staggered launch, some countries are still selling the 3G and 3GS.

In the UK, you can buy an 8GB 3GS. If I was buying that phone now, I'd expect iOS 5 in about June next year (albeit with very restricted new functionality) and to get a new phone a further 12 months later (i.e. when Apple brings something new out).

I've used both and liked both. I am very happy with my Desire but as I have said on previous threads, maybe that is because I went into it with lower expectations.

Really you're looking at a prettier and smoother UI and more well-rounded App support on iOS compared to a more customizable, flexible and 'open' Android OS. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages but, truth be told, for about 80+% of the functions of a smartphone both OSes are pretty similar, really.

Updates are nice (and it's something Android and Android phone manufacturers can hopefully improve upon) but sometimes they can be problematic on old phones. Swings and roundabouts, really.

Apple have a more impressive legit gaming library, but if you were wanting to be a tad naughty, Android users have access to emulators (something I don't think Apple will *ever* support), so have a whole catalogue of Playstation, SNES, Megadrive etc games at their disposal should they wish to use that function. Again, Apple have lots to keep people entertained with though through their pre-approved stuff.

Really I find it difficult to make the decision between IOS and Android. As a pretty, sparkly, 'wow' factor piece of software, iOS is an incredibly decent operating system. In principle I prefer Android's approach even if it's more rough around the edges, because I think openness and freedom is more desireable a feature on a smartphone than a locked-down piece of kit. Of course, in day-to-day practice, for 99% of what I and others do, I'm not sure it's a big deal really, but that's how I make my cautious decision of Android over iOS.

Frying my memory card on day 1 didn't impress, then there is battery life, even with advanced task killer it didn't last a day, the touch screen just isn't as good as the iPhone its not as responsive and something require another press, typing on it wasn't as good as the iPhone, writing an email was a bit of a pain to be honest, radio picked up nothing but static but I can't really count that as the iPhone doesn't have a radio, and lastly the MP3 player was a bit crap.

I'd definitely agree the MP3 player isn't as good - the sound quality isn't as good as an iPhone but obviously with the iPhone evolving from the iPod Apple have a bit of a headstart there. That's not to say I find it rubbish though.

(As an aside, I'll be honest, despite the manufacturers wanting me to use smartphones as MP3 players I very rarely do - it's an extra thing to carry around but I just use my iPod. There's nothing more annoying than listening to a track and being called/getting a message IMHO, so I just avoid it by rarely using it as a music player - not to say I never do - I use last.fm occasionally when I'm in the mood, but it's a bit atypical for me personally. )

I can't say I've noticed much difference typing-wise between the iPhone and the Desire although you can download custom keyboards if you don't like the default.

Again, touchscreen I had absolutely zero problems with and found just as responsive as an iPhone. I think because the UI isn't as polished (even with Sense) it can seem more 'clunky' but really I don't personally think there's anything in it.

Big downers are the battery life and the app/internal storage issue, definitely. The battery always lasts me a day but then I do turn off a lot of the non-essential stuff when I'm at work and then turn it on again on my breaks and at home. I've not used up anywhere near my internal storage yet but I do think you should have the option of saving to SD card and apparently that's coming in 2.2, which will be nice.

If I went to an Android phone I know the things I will miss will be games, the iPhone has simply tons and tons of great games. The most recent I have purchased is Hero of Sparta 2 with Simcity Deluxe probably being my next purchase when it becomes available.

Looking at the Android store the games don't look anywhere near as good.

Are you sure you didn't get a dud phone?

I don't think I experience any of the issues you have (apart from possibly the MP3 player, but that is subjective anyway).

The iPhone undoubtedly has some great games on it but that's not to say there aren't some good ones on Android as well. If you're using your smartphone primarily as a gaming platform I'm not going to lie - the App store has plenty more 'out of the box' decent games than Android at present, but as I mentioned earlier whilst not totally legit you can very easily turn your Android device into a console with an emulator (giving you access to a whole host of great games). And games like Cestos on Android are incredibly well made and addictive. New games are coming all the time as well. I've never felt, personally, when I've been in need of entertainment that my Desire won't keep me entertained.