I phone 4 or Samsung Galaxy S II ????

superfish

7Sins wrote: »

I got the Galaxy 1 there last month so not exactly up with the times, t'is sweet though so by my reckonings and my reckonings are usually spot on...Galaxy 2 = Sweet x 2.

Samsung are great though, 50" Tv in living room, dvd recorder, cinema system, all Samsung aswell...updating laptop soon, think I might go....hmmm yea I suppose Samsung

Join us...

hey 7sins take a look at the darky rom thread and learn how to make your galaxy even sweeter mines nearly faster than my pc now

cookie1977

bd250110 wrote: »

For right now, in this moment, the SGS II is the one to go for.
In September with iOS 5, I will probably be going back to my iPhone4 and selling the SGS II. With the introduction of iOS 5 android will offer very little. Who the hell wants a USB drive to store some of your music when you can sore all of your data on iCloud? Notifications will be sorted, for once an for all, the lock screen made useful and there will be widgets for those who can't live without them.
Im not 100% comfortable with an advertising company having all my details, tbh, so Im happy to be able to go back to iOS.

Be warned. It'll be sometime before iCloud in Ireland allows music streaming.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/8565587/Apples-iTunes-in-iCloud-wont-launch-in-the-UK-this-year.html

PogMoThoin

bd250110 wrote: »

Thats fine. But there are those among us who do want syncing, actual, real, proper syncing, across all of our devices. I actually use my mac, iPad and iPhone to get things done, being able to edit, modify and forward/publish my documents (all of them) from any of my devices is huge - but that is just me. I want my data and personal data secure and protected, not under the prying eyes of a marketing company or any number of hackers/malware developers.

Fanboi alert!!!!!
Thats it, totally disregard my valid points, I've seen it before, the "because its an iPhone" argument.

PogMoThoin wrote: »

iTunes is the worst POS software you could ever put on a Windows PC and they force you use it. Its terrible, buggy and slow. Its codec support is dire. I can stream/transfer any format file to my Android phone and I'll find a player on the market that plays it, can't be said for iOS. Then there's sharing, I can allow my friend to copy my media files from my device, you can't share your stuff with iOS, it syncs to your iTunes only. I don't want syncing, I'll decide what I do with my device

Syncing is not exclusive to iOS, I'm free to use whatever syncing method I like, I also use Dropbox, Google Documents, but there are others like Ubuntu Music that cover many platforms, see. I got a friend to install Dropbox on his iPhone, he didn't get the send to Dropbox option when he clicked on a file which made it completely useless. Forcing the use of iTunes to sync has many disadvantages.

bd250110

cookie1977 wrote: »

Be warned. It'll be sometime before iCloud in Ireland allows music streaming.

True, Im mainly UK based, but it will be a while before the iTunes Match service comes live. The rest should work fine.

Thats it, totally disregard my valid points, I've seen it before, the "because its an iPhone" argument.

I think you are being a bit unfair, to be honest. You are are equally (if not more) guilty of being a fanDroid. Im not going to say I think Android is great and iOS is rubbish, just to agree with you. I did say I am happy with my SGS II.

Kenny Logins

PogMoThoin wrote: »

Syncing is not exclusive to iOS, I'm free to use whatever syncing method I like, I also use Dropbox, Google Documents, but there are others like Ubuntu Music that cover many platforms, see. I got a friend to install Dropbox on his iPhone, he didn't get the send to Dropbox option when he clicked on a file which made it completely useless. Forcing the use of iTunes to sync has many disadvantages.

The context 'share' menu is one of the best features of Android IMHO.

PogMoThoin

bd250110 wrote: »

I think you are being a bit unfair, to be honest. You are are equally (if not more) guilty of being a fanDroid. Im not going to say I think Android is great and iOS is rubbish, just to agree with you. I did say I am happy with my SGS II.

What I listed is not exclusive to Android, Dropbox and Google Docs also work on Nokia, Windows Phone and iOS (badly)

bd250110

To say other platforms (and iOS) have had this in the past slightly misses the point. The USP here is ease of use, integration, it works straight out of the box, or at least that is what Apple are saying will happen. The idea is one log-in when you turn the device on and that is it, the device and iCloud service will look after the rest. If Apple deliver no mobile platform will be anywhere near iOS in terms of back-up and sync. When you add in iMessage and FaceTime, that is a pretty impressive feature list that can't be had elsewhere, Apple is basically gunning for BlackBerry customers here. Thats before you talk about the (subjectively) beautiful hardware, great battery life, the best mobile App store, etc.

Yes a lot of these features can only be accessed on an iOS device. What do you want Apple to do, give competing platforms usage for free too? Maybe BB should do the same?

sdanseo

A little input from myself having tried to embrace android.

I had a 3GS for a year, and swapped it for a desire HD (I got a good bargain there). Within 2 days I had sold that on and bought an iPhone 4 on upgrade.

The reason? Android drove me mad. Sluggish, buggy, memory eating, battery eating, lower build quality, lesser quality software, harder to use.

The iPhone is the best built, best feeling phone on the market today. If it had flash player, HDMI out and DLNA (2 of those three will be notched off by the end of the year with any luck) it would be the ultimate device.

amdaley28

bd250110 wrote: »

To say other platforms (and iOS) have had this in the past slightly misses the point. The USP here is ease of use, integration, it works straight out of the box, or at least that is what Apple are saying will happen. The idea is one log-in when you turn the device on and that is it, the device and iCloud service will look after the rest. If Apple deliver no mobile platform will be anywhere near iOS in terms of back-up and sync. When you add in iMessage and FaceTime, that is a pretty impressive feature list that can't be had elsewhere, Apple is basically gunning for BlackBerry customers here. Thats before you talk about the (subjectively) beautiful hardware, great battery life, the best mobile App store, etc.

Yes a lot of these features can only be accessed on an iOS device. What do you want Apple to do, give competing platforms usage for free too? Maybe BB should do the same?

sdonn wrote: »

A little input from myself having tried to embrace android.

I had a 3GS for a year, and swapped it for a desire HD (I got a good bargain there). Within 2 days I had sold that on and bought an iPhone 4 on upgrade.

The reason? Android drove me mad. Sluggish, buggy, memory eating, battery eating, lower build quality, lesser quality software, harder to use.

The iPhone is the best built, best feeling phone on the market today. If it had flash player, HDMI out and DLNA (2 of those three will be notched off by the end of the year with any luck) it would be the ultimate device.

There's an awful lot of if's in there guys and here's another. If the Iphone was that good we wouldn't be even discussing any other phone or Os but it isn't & thats why we are discussing alternatives. The Iphone could be the best if Apple would only take the shackles off the Os but we all know that isn't going to happen so we will still be having this discussion next week,next month & next year.
There will never be the perfect phone or Os whether its Apple,Android or Windows. Each system will always have something which the others would like.

holymax

IPHONE= no flash player/no radio/no..xxxx
and u need to jailbreak
Android is much better than the IOS
But in Ireland,most people would go for IPHONE because due to brand loyalty?
In other countries with better technology such as Korea/Japan more people use the SII

Vic Vinegar

Very good detailed review of the Galaxy SII here

You shouldn't get an iPhone really, their users are annoyingly smug.

bd250110

holymax wrote: »

IPHONE= no flash player/no radio/no..xxxx
and u need to jailbreak
Android is much better than the IOS
But in Ireland,most people would go for IPHONE because due to brand loyalty?
In other countries with better technology such as Korea/Japan more people use the SII

Usual rubbish from the fanDroids. Not all Androids have an FM radio, webRadio is an superior alternative, for me. True iOS does not offer flash games (not that they work well at all on touch devices) but I do have Flash video though a number of browsers available on the iOS App Store. Of course more people use the S II in Korea, the phone is from there and has been released a bit longer. Supplies of the phone are still quite tight here.

In latest news:
http://phandroid.com/2011/06/14/google-removes-10-new-malware-apps-from-the-android-market/
Something is going to have to change with Android, this situation is just not sustainable. In a lot of ways it's even worse than computer malware as these devices have one click purchasing enabled, right on the device.

cnocbui

Ask yourself what you want to do with the device then work out which will do that better.

Is size important - The SG2 is pretty big - you might find you want something a bit smaller. But if taking and viewing photos or making and watching videos is your thing, then the large brilliant screen on the SG2 may be the way to go.

As for the iCloud being a great incentive - a whole lot of 'not thinking' going on here. I suggest reading this article:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/apple/8564093/Apple-iCloud-the-criticism.html

Maybe one day the iCloud will be a great thing, but not at the moment, and maybe never if the record labels hold out on streaming, which I suspect they might.

If you are a millionaire, fine, the cost of transferring many gigabytes isn't going to worry you but for most people it should - I'm thinking music and videos here. At 3G data rates, I would say it is way too expensive to contemplate. So if you really need WiFi access to make it usable, it's pretty pointless. Why not sync your stuff at home a lot more quickly and cheaply?

The ideas behind the iCloud are predicated on things that don't exist - and may never exist. They may get 3G data costs in the US that make this idea workable - if streming is ever allowed - but I doubt the rest of the world is going to see data rates cheap enough to make it practical. For this to 'really' work, Apple would have to buy Vodafone and have a very low data tariff for iOS devices world wide.

In the last two months I have had 3 days without a functioning phone line. Made me glad all my music and stuff wasn't sitting in N. Carolina.

bd250110

cnocbui wrote: »

Maybe one day the iCloud will be a great thing, but not at the moment, and maybe never if the record labels hold out on streaming, which I suspect they might.

In the last two months I have had 3 days without a functioning phone line. Made me glad all my music and stuff wasn't sitting in N. Carolina.

I quite agree with a lot of that link. Apple have been here before and dropped the ball massively. Beta testing suggests the functionality works well so far, so it bloody well should, it is basically a rebranded and free version of the current mobileme suite.
I think there is a bit of confusion about iCloud. It does not store, stream or interact in any way with your music or media. It syncs Mail, Contacts, Calendars, Documents and the like between all your iOS/PC devices. Only these items will be stored in the cloud.
iTunes in the Cloud is a separate product ($29.99 annually in the US), but part of iOS 5 and iCloud. That will store copies of all your music and allow you to download whatever you like, on demand, if you want it while out and about. The originals will still be on your home PC/Mac/Media Centre.
Your iOS device will still sync (over local WiFi network) with your PC/Mac, that is not going to change, much like happens today, just wirelessly.

Foxhole Norman

No mention of WP7?

cnocbui

bd250110 wrote: »

I think there is a bit of confusion about iCloud. It does not store, stream or interact in any way with your music or media.

Er, you are wrong.

bd250110

cnocbui wrote: »

Er, you are wrong.

Just double checked. Only music that has been purchased in iTunes will be "pushed" to your other devices. Music will not be stored in your iCloud, but you will be able to re-download any music previously purchased in iTunes. If you pay a fee each year all of your music will be available for download from the store or iTunes Match (US only). There is no provision for streaming in this service. AFAIK Google Music and Amazon Music Locker are true streaming services, playback would depend on a connection. Im not sure which would be preferable, there are definite pros and cons to both.

PogMoThoin

bd250110 wrote: »

Just double checked. Only music that has been purchased in iTunes will be "pushed" to your other devices. Music will not be stored in your iCloud, but you will be able to re-download any music previously purchased in iTunes. If you pay a fee each year all of your music will be available for download from the store or iTunes Match (US only). There is no provision for streaming in this service. AFAIK Google Music and Amazon Music Locker are true streaming services, playback would depend on a connection. Im not sure which would be preferable, there are definite pros and cons to both.

What good is it then so? Have you actually paid for everything in your collection? If so, then you're the only one I know that did, it costs thousands fill an ipod/iphone.

You can use this on your GS2 or iPhone, you can even stream to any browser, in any format including AAC (as long as its DRM free)
http://www.audiogalaxy.com/#/music?
And it's free

bd250110

PogMoThoin wrote: »

What good is it then so? Have you actually paid for everything in your collection? If so, then you're the only one I know that did, it costs thousands fill an ipod/iphone.

iCloud seems to be a back up service, rather than anything else. I agree, it is not as useful as Google Music Beta, although another poster stated his preference for storage on the device, so you can't please everyone!
I have not paid for all of it, but a fair proportion of it, all of it has been purchased either on CD or copied from friends CD/iPod/iPhones, a lot of it comes from Amazon or Play.com, usually once ripped I will sell the CD on eBay.
This is not ideal, but until the music labels allow iTunes Match outside the US, it's the only solution. Well, that or Spotify, of course!

Paparazzo

sdonn wrote: »

A little input from myself having tried to embrace android.

I had a 3GS for a year, and swapped it for a desire HD (I got a good bargain there). Within 2 days I had sold that on and bought an iPhone 4 on upgrade.

The reason? Android drove me mad. Sluggish, buggy, memory eating, battery eating, lower build quality, lesser quality software, harder to use.

The iPhone is the best built, best feeling phone on the market today. If it had flash player, HDMI out and DLNA (2 of those three will be notched off by the end of the year with any luck) it would be the ultimate device.

You didn't give it much time. My wife was mad into the iPhone, she had it for a year and got HTC desire. She didn't want to, but I was getting one and she wanted to try it. She hated it for about a week, for the next week she was more open minded, then she loved it and now a year later she can't believe she ever used the iPhone and is wondering weather to get the sensation or the galaxy 2. And she actually loves itunes!
She says the only problem with the HTC is "its not an iPhone"!

amdaley28

PogMoThoin wrote: »

What good is it then so? Have you actually paid for everything in your collection? If so, then you're the only one I know that did, it costs thousands fill an ipod/iphone.

You can use this on your GS2 or iPhone, you can even stream to any browser, in any format including AAC (as long as its DRM free)
http://www.audiogalaxy.com/#/music?
And it's free

That can't be any good because its free & it doesn't have a big apple on it

CyberGhost

I tried Galaxy S II, and I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

Before I tried it, I read a lot about people claiming it's smooth, I don't know what they were comparing it to, but it definitely was not as smooth as the iPhone.

Android is definitely not there yet as far as consistency and user experience.

I won't consider Android until:

- Hardware UI Acceleration is implemented everywhere in the UI.
- Until the UI consistency is fixed, and the UI in general is improved.
- Application quality is improved.
- Update mess is sorted, with hardware manufacturers being hit with strict policy of updates and guarantees of updates.

iPhone is a MUCH better and pleasant experience overall, also as far as apps go Android is a second class citizen to the iPhone, things get done on the iPhone first and then if there is time left Android is handled. Skype still does not have video support.

There is also "unity" with the iPhone, since so many people have them, you can use apps/services like Viber. Whereas with Android, every manufacturer has their own thing, there is no "standard".

Galaxy S II's UI is very inconsistent, you know that bouncing effect when you hit the end of a list? Well it's present in some menus, absent in others, not a nice feeling when you are expecting it to bounce off nicely as you scroll and you suddenly run into a wall.

Android's update is also a mess, HTC Desire is only one year old and HTC is already cutting support for it, Gingerbread is not coming to it. There is basically no feeling of security with Android, Google releases it and then waves it off to manufacturers to modify it however they want and as long as manufacturers and carriers control updates, it'll always be in their interest to hold them off and make you buy a new phone instead. 3GS a two year old phone gets the latest iOS. With Apple at least you know that for two years you'll get support.

iPhone's consistency and UX is simply unmatched. You get it and it simply works, it might not do as much as Android, but what it does, it does brilliantly, it does more and more with each update.

And it's little things make a ton of difference, things like scrubbing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2UU95ykJQc&feature=player_embedded



Also have you noticed how most of the Android users get Android and then spend most of their times tweaking it? Some apps work with some models, some won't, etc... And going over to XDA forums becomes and more frequent occurrence. If you want to play with a Lego phone that's fine but if you want a stable, reliable experience, iPhone is the way to go.

And if you want to play with it and experiment there is Jailbreaking and Cydia. And trust me, no enthusiast/hacking community matches the iPhone community, Android community is popular but they are not close to the iOS community.

A jailbroken iPhone is VERY powerful.




Android Ice Cream Sandwich is supposed to tackle the Android problems I listed above, and it's supposed to be out in around September, it'll be interesting how it comes out, however before that, I would not recommend you an Android.

EDIT: Also consider this: iPhone has tons, TONS of accessories that support it, every modern stereo system supports it, cases, holders, etc... No other phone has this much choice.

bd250110

I agree with a lot of what you say, I do think the Galaxy s II is silky smooth though. I think this phone is as far as Android can go without serious software modification. We already know the second core is pretty much wasted, for example. Personally, I think launcherPro is all the launcher anyone could ever need.

I honestly do believe that Google need to force the hands of the manufacturers, like they have begun to do with Honeycomb. Personally I think it should go further, make the proprietary launchers and skins an option, but all android phones should ship with stock Android, by default. Sense, for example, is the biggest load of overhyped, functionless, resource hogging piece of crap - the PC iTunes of the Android world.
It's not like manufacturers have a choice anymore, what are they going to turn to WP7?

srsly78

Terrible post from Apple advocate above. Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees... The bit about "accessories" made me particularly laugh. Iphone uses proprietary ports, so only proprietary Apple stuff will work, which they charge a premium for. Android devices usually use open standards, Bluetooth, microUsb port, fullsize USB port on some tablets etc. They don't need special accessories, because STUFF JUST WORKS with them.

You should not have to pay extra for accessories, android users can all use each others charging cables (same as Nokias and Windows phone too). It's only poor Apple users that are still stuck in "proprietary land" and have to pay through the nose for "special cables". Iphone only added proper Bluetooth support in the last version I think, before that it was a special apple-only bluetooth (facepalm).

Some extra points: a jailbroken iPhone is a joke Most android has a hardware accelerated UI on top (HTC Sense or Touchwiz). Android is very easy to use, the only people that complain are people used to iOs. My Nexus S gets updates straight away. As you say "iphones UX is unmatched.... but it doesn't do as much as Android". Right...

And finally... *drumroll* The G1 (first android phone ever) can be found running the very latest version of Android. The very first iphone can be found in the bin.

PogMoThoin

How about them glueing the battery in place, in a sealed unit.
Nasty, nasty tactics

Gotta admit it though, the iPhone is a perfect phone for a "twelve o'clock flasher", I even told my mother get one........ so I wouldn't have to answer question after question if she bought an Android

amdaley28

CyberGhost wrote: »

I tried Galaxy S II, and I'm thoroughly unimpressed.

Before I tried it, I read a lot about people claiming it's smooth, I don't know what they were comparing it to, but it definitely was not as smooth as the iPhone.

Android is definitely not there yet as far as consistency and user experience.

I won't consider Android until:

- Hardware UI Acceleration is implemented everywhere in the UI.
- Until the UI consistency is fixed, and the UI in general is improved.
- Application quality is improved.
- Update mess is sorted, with hardware manufacturers being hit with strict policy of updates and guarantees of updates.

iPhone is a MUCH better and pleasant experience overall, also as far as apps go Android is a second class citizen to the iPhone, things get done on the iPhone first and then if there is time left Android is handled. Skype still does not have video support.

There is also "unity" with the iPhone, since so many people have them, you can use apps/services like Viber. Whereas with Android, every manufacturer has their own thing, there is no "standard".

Galaxy S II's UI is very inconsistent, you know that bouncing effect when you hit the end of a list? Well it's present in some menus, absent in others, not a nice feeling when you are expecting it to bounce off nicely as you scroll and you suddenly run into a wall.

Android's update is also a mess, HTC Desire is only one year old and HTC is already cutting support for it, Gingerbread is not coming to it. There is basically no feeling of security with Android, Google releases it and then waves it off to manufacturers to modify it however they want and as long as manufacturers and carriers control updates, it'll always be in their interest to hold them off and make you buy a new phone instead. 3GS a two year old phone gets the latest iOS. With Apple at least you know that for two years you'll get support.

iPhone's consistency and UX is simply unmatched. You get it and it simply works, it might not do as much as Android, but what it does, it does brilliantly, it does more and more with each update.

And it's little things make a ton of difference, things like scrubbing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2UU95ykJQc&feature=player_embedded



Also have you noticed how most of the Android users get Android and then spend most of their times tweaking it? Some apps work with some models, some won't, etc... And going over to XDA forums becomes and more frequent occurrence. If you want to play with a Lego phone that's fine but if you want a stable, reliable experience, iPhone is the way to go.

And if you want to play with it and experiment there is Jailbreaking and Cydia. And trust me, no enthusiast/hacking community matches the iPhone community, Android community is popular but they are not close to the iOS community.

A jailbroken iPhone is VERY powerful.




Android Ice Cream Sandwich is supposed to tackle the Android problems I listed above, and it's supposed to be out in around September, it'll be interesting how it comes out, however before that, I would not recommend you an Android.

EDIT: Also consider this: iPhone has tons, TONS of accessories that support it, every modern stereo system supports it, cases, holders, etc... No other phone has this much choice.

Be careful or you'll run out of excuses not to buy an Android phone.:D
You don't by any chance have a big Apple tattooed on your ass do you

bd250110

srsly78 wrote: »

Terrible post from Apple advocate above. Talk about not seeing the forest for the trees... The bit about "accessories" made me particularly laugh. Iphone uses proprietary ports, so only proprietary Apple stuff will work, which they charge a premium for.

As ever it's about choices. There are not very many specific Android accessories out there, there are thousands of iOS accessories. Very few of them are actually made by Apple, probably less than a dozen. The vast choice usually menas there will be options right across the price range, from bargain basement to prices in the thousands, depending on the accessory. This is where Android fragmentation is a bit of a disadvantage. All iOS devices, so far, have ports in the same place and are roughly similar in size, so a lot of accessories are universal. Other than a case you don't need to get a whole new set of accessories every time you get a new phone. Even accessories exclusive to one iPhone model have a much bigger market than any single Android device (3 form factors, versus literally hundreds). That said, I expect some of this to chance, Google has made a big push into making Android hardware accessories interact with the device, this is good.

Why do fandroids keep bleating on about what iOS did, or did not have in the past? How is that relevant to anything? The OP asked what is the best phone out there right now. My advice remains the same: For the next few months SGS II, without a doubt. With iOS 5 (with out without new hardware) it's all up for debate again.

srsly78 wrote: »

And finally... *drumroll* The G1 (first android phone ever) can be found running the very latest version of Android. The very first iphone can be found in the bin.

An official ROM, it it? Cause the iPhone 2G has been flashed with iOS4 by the dev community.

Let's compare like with like. How about all those desire owners on FroYo - no more official updates, ever, for a phone not yet discontinued! End users should not have to root and flash custom ROM's on what was a flagship handset up to a few weeks ago. The two year old 3Gs, still getting official updates, only missing features the hardware physically cannot support (camera, gyro, etc).

srsly78

Do you not understand? There are no "android accessories" because there is no fscking need for them

Also, Apple fans get very confused between Android and HTC or Samsung. Android is an operating system, HTC is a manufacturer. They also do Windows phone. Stop confusing the two.

bd250110

I am not confused. Google has said Android handsets should be supported for a minimum of 18 months. HTC comes along and gives some BS excuse that it's former flagship device is no longer flavour of the month. To hell to the customers with the majority of their 12/28/24 (in Canada 36) month contracts left. You're stuck on FroYo - officially. The majority of users would be neither interested nor capable of flashing a custom ROM, if they even knew what that was. There is no confusion on my part.

Im not sure what you think an accessory might be. To use my phone in the car I need a BT handsfree system, of some sort. To charge my phone I need a 12V in-car cable of some sort, to listen to music at home a TV/stereo/Media interface of some sort is necessary. Make no mistake both Android and iOS need accessories, just like they both need Apps.
At I/O Google seemed to be pushing Android accessories in a big way, which is the kind of thing I am talking about. Anything from a light bulb, to treadmill to a house is an accessory as far as Google are concerned. Personally, I think this is really cool and useful. Maybe I just don't get it. I spend most of my time doing stuff with my phone, not flashing it. Silly me.

srsly78

You don't get it. The point is that there are no android accessories, there are rather GENERIC accessories. Lauding platform-specific as an advantage is akin to punching yourself in the face and enjoying it.

Android users (tablets aside) can share chargers with Nokia and Blackberry and Windows Phone. Apple users can't.