Yeah, that was a reason I got my Desire phone a while ago, Android looked pretty and there's a lot of apps I can use. Windows Phone 7 looks even better, UI-wise, IMO. I have HTC Trophy for more than a week and UI is very nice, it's fast, it does all I want. Alas, no Angry Birds for WP7

I'm pretty sure angry birds is coming. In the meantime there are much better games such as "The Harvest" to be playing.

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out.

Google maps is okay, but it is reliant upon a data connection. So try using it out in the middle of nowhere, or whilst roaming around another country - the data charges would be truly horrendous.

Have you actually used vanilla android devices (ie. nothing with the HTC skins)? The main menu looks truly terrible, just a bland alphabetical list of applications. You can't even move them around like you can on iOS.

The only real issue I have with S^3 is that Nokia shipped it with the same irritatingly lousy set of icons that they've had for probably 5+ years. Install a different theme/icon set and it looks like a totally different device.

So if Nokia had actually spent a little time in getting a designer to work on that aspect of the interface, I do honestly believe that this negativity wouldn't be around.

And of course with the planned integration of what was going to be S^4 features into S^3, the difference between devices that is already negligible will (hopefully) totally disappear.

Hey, like I said completely unscientific etc. However, you can't say they've put any sort of spin on those videos to make the Symbian look bad.

And with one post clonmult demonstrates that, despite what he might claim, he knows nothing about Android!

I only use vanilla Android because I can't stand any enhanced UI especially HTC Sense and its battery/data draining widgets.

You are right about there being a list within Android (call it a menu if you like) of the applications in fixed alphabetical order. However that is all it is ... a list. The idea is that any application you use (however infrequently) you simply move to one of the five home screens each of which can contain up to 16 different icons (or less if you use larger 'widgets'). These home screens can be in any order you like, contain any mixture of applications you like, be customised however you like. It is exactly like the iphone interface ... only much much more customisable! And given that you have room for 80 different applications to be put on these screens there is simply no need to refer to the 'fixed' menu whatsoever.

You didn't think home screens were simply a fixture of the HTC skins did you clonmult? Do some research before making such ridiculous statements next time.

And there you go making assumptions. I own a stock Android device (2.1), and know (and do like) the home screens.

I had one setup for games, one for core apps, one for navigation - all fine. Except that there were always some apps that didn't quite fit right, or looked awkward. Sure, I could have setup a folder (from the home screen? That just feels like a kludge, not even slightly obvious/elegant) for "Random rubbish".

What was interesting is that you can do exactly the same thing on S^3. Okay, there isn't quite the same flexibility in the sizing of the entries on the S^3 homescreens, but it works in almost exactly the same way as it does on Android, the only other restriction is that it only (currently) allows for 3 homescreens, not up to 5.

For example right now I've got the step counter showing the number of steps done today, weather forecasts, feed of facebook status updates rolling through, calendar showing upcoming appointments, music control ....

I wish that someone would actually say what it is that feels "old fashioned" or awkward on the Symbian UI - there's only ever vague wishy-washy negative commentary, never anything constructive.

If you do actually have a stock Android device then that just makes your earlier comments have even less integrity than I thought when you apparently know full well that the 'fixed' menu is, for the most part, entirely invisible and irrelevant in the vanilla Android UI. You weren't trying to make Android look unattractive were you because otherwise I cannot see what relevance your random comments actually had!

As for your comments about some apps not 'fitting' right what has that got to do with Android but more correctly the relevant app developer? All the stock apps that ship with the vanilla os have standard 1x1 icons and although some may not be the most attractive, changing them is simplicity itself. Personally I haven't felt the need.

There have been other comparison videos done with the N8 against the BB and the iPhone, following the same process as done in the Gizmodo videos that demonstrated that it was purely down to a fairly incompetent user.

Both Gizmodo, and to a lesser extent Engadget have both repeatedly shown massive bias against Nokia, for no real reason - okay, they don't like it, but Gizmodo always puts a spin on their articles, and typically anything not from Apple gets lesser respect - even Android doesn't tend to go down that well there.

Again, need to push you for more details here. "Task switching", to me, implies one task stops (or pauses) when another starts, and resumes when the other finishes. Since this isn't the case on Android, could you please explain what the difference is?

Another thing to note is that generally speaking most Android phones have poor battery life compared to Symbian powered phones....

I'm not keen on the squares interface on the UI for WP7.

But it still proves the opposite to your point

Yes I have. And it's still better than the Symbian powered Nokia handsets that are available in terms of the UI.


Themes and icons can only do so much for a UI, they only change some of the appearance and colour scheme, they don't do a great deal for the rest of it and a UI experience isn't just icons and colours.


I think it would take more than just a designer to put some flashy icons on the UI. I think a complete overhaul of the UI would be required really, to a level where you'd stop to wonder if it really was Symbian under the hood.


The difference between which devices? If you mean Symbian compared to iOS and Android there's a huge gap and it's very noticeable. The other two are modern and fresh while Symbian, due mainly to it's UI, is dated, clunky and dull which is what causes this general opinion and hurts it's popularity.

It's a matter of personal taste. Or getting used to it. It can display a live information (weather, number of missed calls, emails, texts, updates). You get a lot of information without opening any application. It works for me, I already liked it in pictures.

Beauty is MS has stipulated that all the Xbox Live games have to have a free trial.

Try it out and let us know what you think.

I need a WP7 but holding out until either Dell Venue Pro becomes available or for second generation of devices. My s60 Samsung i8510 and technically do most of what even modern smartphones do, just more painfully.

I just installed the free trial, I am no gamer (that's why I mentioned Angry Birds). I did not have a lot of time to play with it, but I am impressed, visually it looks very good, moves very fast.

I wanted WP7 phone and could not wait There are few things I do not like and I hope will be resolved in an update - no file transfer with Bluetooth, import of contacts only from SIM, an alternative - a download from an email account. I wanted to import them from a file with photos and everything and it took me a while till I found a way. The phone is not visible in Windows Explorer as an USB drive, but it takes a bit of registry manipulations and it appears there (you have to have Zune software installed though). Bluetooth is the only thing that bothers me, otherwise I am happy.

Google maps is not truly free though. With Ovi Maps, as long as you switch off traffic etc, and as long as you've already downloaded the maps (which you can do by connecting your phone to a PC), you can use it without using any mobile data at all. You can't do that with Google.

Most smartphones come with 'unlimited' data plans, so unless you're a heavy user it's still free.

And as someone who has OVI maps and full featured Google Maps I can state that Google Maps is actually slightly better to use.

Try using it for free abroad...

Not a Nokia fan at all, but Ovi Maps really is a fantastic deal. If you travel abroad a lot, it's well worth getting a cheap 5800 or something similar just for the maps.

If I was going to rely on it in a foreign country I'd stick to my HTC Desire HD running Navigon 3.5. Beats OVI maps hands down. Admittedly it wasn't free to buy, but after the initial purchase it's free to use and it's great.

Other than that, Google Maps with the Android navigation features are pretty much spot on for a freebie.

In your opinion its better.

In mine, having used both (full versions), I prefer Ovi Maps.

Oh, and those 'unlimited' plans - as you put it in quotes, you acknolwedge that they aren't even slightly unlimited. If you're a heavy user, you'll hit the fup and try the networks policies quite easily.

I think the discussion started on free satnav functionality so comparing something that costs £50+ against something that costs £0 is a little unfair. If I was going to fork out that kind of money I'd go and buy a TomTom

I've used OVI on my previous phone and I'm using google now, I have to say that I liked the ability to be able to download the maps with OVI, for a freebie it's a cracker....of course you can go and spend £50 on Android

You do realise where Navigon get their maps, don't you?

They buy in the maps from Navteq, the company owned by Nokia, who use the same maps in their own Ovi maps application.

So at least on the maps themselves, Navigon is pretty much the same as Ovi maps.