Chesterfield Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 So, its fast approaching the time when Ill be looking at getting a new phone, and I havent got a clue as to what advancements have been made in this area in the last two years. Ive heard a lot of noise made about goodle android, and Ive also come to really like my iphone 3GS and honsetly think its the best phone Ive ever owned. Though it is only the second smartphone Ive owned - the first being a samsung omnia, which was quite pathetic to be honest. Is it possible to use a phone running Andriod as a mini router if you will, the ability to use the android phone and its 3G connection to let a pc/laptop/ipad/in car pc connect to the internet? Whats the benefits of Android over iPhone etc? The reason I was looking to go for a phone that I can use to connect to the internet and share the connection with the ipad etc was because I cant believe the data costs for either pay monthly or pay as you go mifi devices and dongles. It makes more sense to use an unlimited data package for the phone for occasioanl use with a car pc and ipad etc.. Any advice greatly appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarmac@TarmacSportz Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 A lot of my mates have moved to the HTC Desire Personally I love my Iphone 3g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain10101 Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Iphone 4 all the way! Best phone ive ever had by a country mile. No issues at all in 11 months of ownership. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 i use the HTC desire, and when you plug the USB cable in it has an option to tether it a laptop/computer etc. love my HTC and it has piddled all over my old iphone 3g Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Doogyrev and spursmaddave have opinions re Android, maybe an idea to PM them, I've just upgraded from iphone 3gs to iphone 4. Loved the 3gs and the 4 is the double dogs and as far as I understand it you can tether the 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparky370z Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I have a htc desire. I love it. It has got better with the updates too. I am now going to get the upgraded version the "sensation". It is the nutts. Very fast and does everything much better than the desire. If i were you and want to get a HTC wait for the sensation dont get fobbed off with the desire s. Its just the desire but slightly better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 must admit i can see me staying with HTC, 1 have a 2 year contract so have another year to go, was a good move as the speed of development of these phones has slowed down, so hope to have good upgrade choices next july. the windows mobiles look promising, but have no expereince with them. if there is a new top spec HTC due out then wait for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Just been looking at the Samsung Galaxy S II which is coming soon - looks to be quite good. Tracy will almost certainly go to the iphone 4 as her upgrade, but Im not a fan of the way the iphone I have is "locked down". I dont want to go down the "jailbreak" route for the phone, so the flexibility that may come with android appeals to me. Havent looked at the HTC sensation - will pull out a few reviews of that later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keviswatt Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Desire HD or s ..... android is the future I use my HD as a mobile hotspot for extending wifi range outside etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyser Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I have the HTC Desire HD my better half has the HTC Desire, eldest daughter has the HTC Wildfire and the youngest is about to get the HTC Smart guess what I would recommend My mate has the Galaxy and the screen is awesome better than my HTC Desire HD but I'm not changing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R35LEE Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I have the Desire HD and I am just upgrading to the HTC Sensation. It's the highest spec phone out there and Android is very very cool when you get into it but its just personal preference really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keviswatt Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I have the HTC Desire HD my better half has the HTC Desire, eldest daughter has the HTC Wildfire and the youngest is about to get the HTC Smart guess what I would recommend My mate has the Galaxy and the screen is awesome better than my HTC Desire HD but I'm not changing. My mate has a galaxy' its cool but it doesn't have full marketplace access Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HassanZ Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I'm in the same boat...I have no idea which phone to get! I've lost track of the mobile phone advancements also! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Looking at the Sensation vs the Galaxy 2, they have the same processor, but the Galaxy comes with 16GB onboard, whereas the Sensation is just the 1GB. It can be expanded with a micro SD, but thats nowhere near as fast as the fixed ram. The slightly higher screen resolution on the Sensation however is apparently better when web browsing, which I do quite often on my mobile. If the HTC can be used to set up a mini hotspot too, then this on an unlimited data plan would look like being top of my list at present. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HassanZ Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 I'm swaying more towards the HTC side of the market. This time I'm going to purchase a phone outright and get a sim only 28 day rolling contract. Works out much cheaper for me and tend to get a greater usage allowance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Ive got to decide on a network too. As O2 have removed the unlimited data packages from the iPhone (which the missus will still have) then its a no go for me. Leaning back toward orange given I could get 3 phones sharing 500 minutes, free calls to each other, unlimited texts and unlimited data for £84 a month. Sounds pretty good to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 the unlimited on 02 is 500mb a month. don't know if its enough for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 500mb is not unlimited though is it. Its 500mb. Sometimes I can go over that quite easily, especially if it is shared across three business phones. O2 just dont seem to want to embrace mobile broadband at all. If Im going to be tethering a phone to a pc or using it as a mifi hotspot for either a car pc or the ipad etc, then 500mb is peanuts, you can use that up browsing google earth for half an our, or if using it while on satnav, it could use a lot of data. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HassanZ Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 500mb is not unlimited though is it. Its 500mb. Sometimes I can go over that quite easily, especially if it is shared across three business phones. O2 just dont seem to want to embrace mobile broadband at all. If Im going to be tethering a phone to a pc or using it as a mifi hotspot for either a car pc or the ipad etc, then 500mb is peanuts, you can use that up browsing google earth for half an our, or if using it while on satnav, it could use a lot of data. Agreed. Watching movies on Surf the channel or an equivalent will kill off the 500MB allowance in no time! Actually some pic heavy pages on this forum sap huge amounts of download allowance on it's own... Check out this link as an example: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=49898 My phone is constantly downloading e-mails and constantly connected to Whatsapp pushing through messages. That must take up quiet a bi of download allowance too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 500mb is not unlimited though is it. Its 500mb. Sometimes I can go over that quite easily, especially if it is shared across three business phones. O2 just dont seem to want to embrace mobile broadband at all. If Im going to be tethering a phone to a pc or using it as a mifi hotspot for either a car pc or the ipad etc, then 500mb is peanuts, you can use that up browsing google earth for half an our, or if using it while on satnav, it could use a lot of data. Really? I've driven 400 miles today using the sat nav for 6 hours and watching stocks and shares and general surfing and I've used 6.66 mb on my HTC desire. I've got 750 mb a month with Orange (£30 a month) and never use more than 200mb including tethering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 i cancelled my unlimted broad band when i worked out i get 100 mb for free, and the 3g watchdog on my phone shows i only use about that anyway, so i've saved a fiver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leeroy Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 Another HTC vote here. I have the Desire HD and it rocks, although it is a tad large thanks to the big screen.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaydnH Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 I'm going to suggest the new HP phones coming out that run WebOS... the veer looks awesome and apparently the keyboard is useable: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chesterfield Posted May 26, 2011 Author Share Posted May 26, 2011 Looking at the cellular network data usage on mine it's 8.5GB in the last 7 months, so over 1GB a month, some months will be higher than others, but I do seem to use mine a lot. Easiest way is to get one with an unlimited or fair usage policy of 5GB like orange and then I don't need to worry. Will go and get a hands on with the two phones and see what they are like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordGrover Posted May 26, 2011 Share Posted May 26, 2011 iPhone 5/4S/whatever can't be far away - maybe hold off until then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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