Swapping iPhone for Nexus One. Few Quick Questions.

cormie

Hi,
So after a good bit of research and help from some boards users, I've decided I'm going to pass on my brand new iPhone 3Gs 16GB and get a Nexus One instead. It just suits my needs much better. I Just have a few questions and would appreciate any advice

I got my iPhone from VodaFone just 2 weeks ago. I've only turned it on to check it works ok so had to connect it to my brothers iTunes as I didn't want to install iTunes on my own laptop. Now as far as I can see, unlocked iPhones sell for a lot more on Ebay than locked ones, but the 3Gs can't be unlocked yet, is this true? Would I be better off waiting for a jailbreak release before selling it? Besides it being locked to vodafone are there any other points that I may not be aware of I should put in the listing to alert any potential buyers?

Could somebody please advise what Nexus One I should be looking for? As far as I know, it comes unlocked, but are there issues with the GPS in Europe if I buy from the US? I've heard that UK Navigation is locked? Also, to avoid customs charges, should I just buy from the UK? Should I look for a "rooted" one, or would it be best to "root" it myself (is it easy)? What firmware should I be after (I hear multitouch was just introduced recently?). If anyone could link me to a good deal on Ebay (or anywhere) from a reputable seller and tell me "this is the one you need" it would be great as I'm a bit confused with all the firmware, rooting, compatibility things!

I had a wishlist of features and the Nexus One ticked the most boxes (infact, nearly them all) but thanks to everyone for the other suggestions like N900 etc

Any feedback appreciated!

drunkmonkey

I'd be inclined to get a good case for the iPhone and use it for a while and then sell it once the unlock comes out sometime in June or July!

I think you should give the iPhone a chance after all your after getting into an expensive 18mt contract for it, try it for a few weeks!

cormie

I think I'd be more inclined just to get the Nexus one ASAP to be honest and sell the iPhone described as "As New". As far as I remember there's a part on the iPhone that says how long it's been turned on for, used for etc and I think this will go in my favour price wise if I don't use it. Ideally I'd like to pass it to a VF customer who can use it now and knows they can jailbreak it in a few weeks. I'm within budget to buy the Nexus before I sell the iPhone too which helps!

drunkmonkey

A vodafoe customer would be more included to buy a new one themselves as they'll be able to unlock it legally themselves at some time, I'm struggling to sell an 02 locked one, nobody really wants them unless there getting it at a bargin price, it's someone on meteor who will pay good money but they'll want it unlocked, I'd say you'd sell it as is for about 300 - 350 as it is now.

New.White.Socks

Generally the very expensive 'unlocked' iphones on ebay are not the jailbroken ones, which may or may not go for a little more than a locked one, depending on how much the buyer knows about the phones. Having a jailbroken iphone means you can't update it, and jailbreaking is easy to do once they are released, so generally people won't pay much more for them.
Factory unlocked iphones on the other hand are very expensive, but you'll never get that price for yours. And also, it's not guaranteed that the 3gs will be jailbroken in a few months, so I wouldn't wait, and if you're sure you want to get rid of it sell it asap. Say it's new on ebay, and just that it was opened to see if it works (it's common practice on there!).

On the nexus one, it comes unlocked from google or locked to one of the US networks, so you want an unlocked one. Rooting is similar to jailbreaking an iphone, however it voids your warranty with htc, so probably isn't a good idea just yet, especially considering the problems that people have been having with their phones.
The most recent Android firmware has multitouch enabled, and apparently there's another coming out soon with some fixes.
Basically, the only way you can get a nexus one at the moment is from the us, from the google website. So if you're buying a new one, your going to pay that much for it, because even if it's coming from the uk, the person you're buying it from would be making a loss if they sold it for any less (because you can't bulk buy them). You may get a used one (max a couple of months old) for a little cheaper though.

There aren't any issues with using GPS or any of the other functionality in the UK as far as I know. There are issues with 3g connectivity and the touchscreen though, so do remember android won't be as streamlined as the iphone os.

cormie

I'm not sure what you mean that a VF customer would be able to unlock one legally if they bough it themselves? Could they not with mine? Another question actually, will ANY VF sim from ANY country work in mine, or just VF Ireland I wonder?

partyatmygaff

New.White.Socks wrote: »

Generally the very expensive 'unlocked' iphones on ebay are not the jailbroken ones, which may or may not go for a little more than a locked one, depending on how much the buyer knows about the phones. Having a jailbroken iphone means you can't update it, and jailbreaking is easy to do once they are released, so generally people won't pay much more for them.
Factory unlocked iphones on the other hand are very expensive, but you'll never get that price for yours. And also, it's not guaranteed that the 3gs will be jailbroken in a few months, so I wouldn't wait, and if you're sure you want to get rid of it sell it asap. Say it's new on ebay, and just that it was opened to see if it works (it's common practice on there!).

On the nexus one, it comes unlocked from google or locked to one of the US networks, so you want an unlocked one. Rooting is similar to jailbreaking an iphone, however it voids your warranty with htc, so probably isn't a good idea just yet, especially considering the problems that people have been having with their phones.
The most recent Android firmware has multitouch enabled, and apparently there's another coming out soon with some fixes.
Basically, the only way you can get a nexus one at the moment is from the us, from the google website. So if you're buying a new one, your going to pay that much for it, because even if it's coming from the uk, the person you're buying it from would be making a loss if they sold it for any less (because you can't bulk buy them). You may get a used one (max a couple of months old) for a little cheaper though.

There aren't any issues with using GPS or any of the other functionality in the UK as far as I know. There are issues with 3g connectivity and the touchscreen though, so do remember android won't be as streamlined as the iphone os.

Get a HTC Desire instead. Internally it's the exact same phone as the nexus one except with many fixes such as multi touch out of the box. More Ram and HTC Sense.

New.White.Socks

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Get a HTC Desire instead. Internally it's the exact same phone as the nexus one except with many fixes such as multi touch out of the box. More Ram and HTC Sense.

Well the N1 has multitouch now, sense is a matter of personal preference, and you don't get some features on the desire such as google voice.

drunkmonkey

cormie wrote: »

I'm not sure what you mean that a VF customer would be able to unlock one legally if they bough it themselves? Could they not with mine? Another question actually, will ANY VF sim from ANY country work in mine, or just VF Ireland I wonder?

No other bill pay or pre pay Vodafone customer will be able to get it unlocked by Vodafone as it's registered to your account, your the only one who could get it unlocked in 18mts, it's also locked to Vodafone Ireland so a Vodafone sim from another country won't work in it.

partyatmygaff

New.White.Socks wrote: »

Well the N1 has multitouch now, sense is a matter of personal preference, and you don't get some features on the desire such as google voice.

I had that installed on my Desire within 1 hour of getting it!

xabi_a

OP, you mentioned navigation. The Nexus One has full Google maps functionality with search, directions etc. It's one of my favourite features.

In the US (but only there unfortunately) you have additional full SatNav functionality, which is fully integrated with Google maps. You simply search for somewhere on Google maps (or touch a point on the map) and with one or two touches the phone is giving you real-time navigation directions to that point, using GPS. Full voice commands, and the display shows you a typical SatNav view.

However, this navigation only works in the US, you won't see it at all outside of there. Hopefully it will be enabled sometime soon.

Without it, you can still use Google maps to get directions (just like on your PC), and you can follow that path because the GPS function shows you your location and direction of movement. You just don't have a the voice commands "turn left in a quarter mile" etc.

cormie

New.White.Socks wrote: »

Generally the very expensive 'unlocked' iphones on ebay are not the jailbroken ones, which may or may not go for a little more than a locked one, depending on how much the buyer knows about the phones. Having a jailbroken iphone means you can't update it, and jailbreaking is easy to do once they are released, so generally people won't pay much more for them.
Factory unlocked iphones on the other hand are very expensive, but you'll never get that price for yours. And also, it's not guaranteed that the 3gs will be jailbroken in a few months, so I wouldn't wait, and if you're sure you want to get rid of it sell it asap. Say it's new on ebay, and just that it was opened to see if it works (it's common practice on there!).

On the nexus one, it comes unlocked from google or locked to one of the US networks, so you want an unlocked one. Rooting is similar to jailbreaking an iphone, however it voids your warranty with htc, so probably isn't a good idea just yet, especially considering the problems that people have been having with their phones.
The most recent Android firmware has multitouch enabled, and apparently there's another coming out soon with some fixes.
Basically, the only way you can get a nexus one at the moment is from the us, from the google website. So if you're buying a new one, your going to pay that much for it, because even if it's coming from the uk, the person you're buying it from would be making a loss if they sold it for any less (because you can't bulk buy them). You may get a used one (max a couple of months old) for a little cheaper though.

There aren't any issues with using GPS or any of the other functionality in the UK as far as I know. There are issues with 3g connectivity and the touchscreen though, so do remember android won't be as streamlined as the iphone os.

Thanks for the input! Ah I didn't know that about Factory Unlocked VS Jailbroken. Is there any way I can factory unlock mine? If not, I might just put it up on Ebay and just accept whatever the highest bidder is willing to pay for it as that's probably what it's worth anyway. If it being Vodafone locked means it can still be used by VF UK sim cards and even Europe, then that would be even better!

When I go to the google site, it says it's not available in my region, I can't even see a price on it. Have you any idea how much it is? I found the website: http://www.fonezonline.ie/ and they have it for 546 delivered and as far as I can tell it's unlocked too. It's also including VAT as far as I can see so it would be about 450 ex vat for me I think (I'm VAT reg'd).

So would you suggest to avoid buying it from Ebay yourself or is there any reputable seller or listing you could recommend? My friend is also interested in one so it may be a case of buying 2 even!

cormie

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Get a HTC Desire instead. Internally it's the exact same phone as the nexus one except with many fixes such as multi touch out of the box. More Ram and HTC Sense.

I'm kinda decided on the Nexus, I had a quick look at HTC sense and I don't think it's something I'd use at all. I don't think I'd be using much ram either. What are the advantages of the Nexus over the desire do you know? If any of the things I need aren't in the desire then I'd probably stick with the Nexus.

New.White.Socks wrote: »

Well the N1 has multitouch now, sense is a matter of personal preference, and you don't get some features on the desire such as google voice.

Google voice is a very important feature for me, if the desire can't use it as well as the Nexus, the nexus will definitely come out on top for me. That is to say, writing texts, searching, mapping etc.

xabi_a wrote: »

OP, you mentioned navigation. The Nexus One has full Google maps functionality with search, directions etc. It's one of my favourite features.

In the US (but only there unfortunately) you have additional full SatNav functionality, which is fully integrated with Google maps. You simply search for somewhere on Google maps (or touch a point on the map) and with one or two touches the phone is giving you real-time navigation directions to that point, using GPS. Full voice commands, and the display shows you a typical SatNav view.

However, this navigation only works in the US, you won't see it at all outside of there. Hopefully it will be enabled sometime soon.

Without it, you can still use Google maps to get directions (just like on your PC), and you can follow that path because the GPS function shows you your location and direction of movement. You just don't have a the voice commands "turn left in a quarter mile" etc.

I drive for a living so will always have a standalone GPS anyway so the navigation part isn't too important. I just need to be able to calculate routes and may even look into getting a map app anyway that has maps installed so you don't need a net connection as you do to use google maps on the phones. I also need to be able to use VIA points in navigation, as far as I know neither the iPhone or Nexus has this feature. I've seen a video of somebody who hacked their nexus to be able to use the sat nav on the go in the car with the directions.

Another point to note is that I read before that you need to root the nexus to use tethering with a laptop so I'll probably need to do this anyway

Thanks for all the feedback so far everyone!

New.White.Socks

cormie wrote: »

Thanks for the input! Ah I didn't know that about Factory Unlocked VS Jailbroken. Is there any way I can factory unlock mine? If not, I might just put it up on Ebay and just accept whatever the highest bidder is willing to pay for it as that's probably what it's worth anyway. If it being Vodafone locked means it can still be used by VF UK sim cards and even Europe, then that would be even better!

When I go to the google site, it says it's not available in my region, I can't even see a price on it. Have you any idea how much it is? I found the website: http://www.fonezonline.ie/ and they have it for 546 delivered and as far as I can tell it's unlocked too. It's also including VAT as far as I can see so it would be about 450 ex vat for me I think (I'm VAT reg'd).

So would you suggest to avoid buying it from Ebay yourself or is there any reputable seller or listing you could recommend? My friend is also interested in one so it may be a case of buying 2 even!

Ah see I'm in the UK so I can get it sent here! The google price, for the unlocked phone to the UK is $577.65, including shipping and a charger, and to the UK you need to add 17.5% to that for customs, so basically anyone selling an unlocked one in the UK/Ire has paid $678.74, which is just over 500 euro, anything on top of that is their profit.
Ebay might be a good option, just make sure it's coming from Europe so you don't need to pay customs.
It's worth checking when you buy it whether the phone was originally bought (posted from the google website to) in Europe or the US. In the US you get a standard 1 year warranty, but if it was sent directly to the europe from google you get a 2year warranty, which is obviously much better.
Ebay can be good for getting deals for more than one item, so worth looking.
About unlocking your iphone, unless as someone pointed out you do it yourself in 18mths, the only way to unlock it is illegally. Factory unlocked means the phone was never locked at all, and there's no way of doing that with yours now.

cormie

Thanks again for the info!

Hmm, so going by the average price on Ebay, being about £500, and with the price from the US working out to be €427 (if I was to get somebody to buy it while in the US and bring it back basically). If I buy one off that fonezonline.ie site, which is including VAT (I can't yet tell if it is inclusive of 21% vat), then that could be the best option. I could find out whether it has the 2 year warranty too.

My other option, is to just buy a used one. I think I may need to root it to use it for tethering ANYWAY so the warranty may not be used anyway.

Is there a way to "unroot" it if warranty repair is needed I wonder?

Is it easy to unlock the iphone "illegally" would you know at all?

partyatmygaff

cormie wrote: »

I'm kinda decided on the Nexus, I had a quick look at HTC sense and I don't think it's something I'd use at all. I don't think I'd be using much ram either. What are the advantages of the Nexus over the desire do you know? If any of the things I need aren't in the desire then I'd probably stick with the Nexus.



Google voice is a very important feature for me, if the desire can't use it as well as the Nexus, the nexus will definitely come out on top for me. That is to say, writing texts, searching, mapping etc.

The Nexus One and HTC Desire are pretty much the exact same phone. Both are made by HTC and share the same components. The only major difference is that the Nexus one runs stock Android and has noise cancelling dual mics and that the Desire runs HTC Sense and has 64MB extra ram (Makes multitasking run better and may be needed for some intensive apps). The only advantage the Nexus one has at the moment is that it can be rooted but the Desire has come close to being rooted. The capacitive buttons on the Nexus one are apparently very annoying aswell compared to the real buttons on the HTC Desire.

That and the fact the HTC Desire is a good bit cheaper.

I had Google Voice installed on my phone in minutes, it doesn't work too great with anything but an American accent though.

cormie

Thanks for that, with regards the rooting, which is very important, does that mean that the desire can't be used to tether with a laptop (use it to get online when you're nowhere near a wifi spot etc).

Does the desire have all the apps and the same menu widget system etc as the nexus?

The dual mics apparently help when being used in a car, in my case a van, which would be a big plus for the Nexus too!

drunkmonkey

Your iPhone can't be unlocked by anybody at the moment it's just not possible. You can tether with it, give it a go before you sell it, it
really is a cool phone you just haven't given it a chance! It should also get a lot better with OS4

partyatmygaff

cormie wrote: »

Thanks for that, with regards the rooting, which is very important, does that mean that the desire can't be used to tether with a laptop (use it to get online when you're nowhere near a wifi spot etc).

Does the desire have all the apps and the same menu widget system etc as the nexus?

The dual mics apparently help when being used in a car, in my case a van, which would be a big plus for the Nexus too!

The Noise Cancellation in theory should work great. In practice it doesn't make a massive difference to justify the price difference.

I don't know where you heard the HTC Desire needs to be rooted to tether. That type of control is what Apple are famous for not HTC
When I plug in my phone to my PC I get four options

Charge Only - Self Explanatory

HTC Sync - Calendar/Contacts Sync program

Disk Drive - Makes the HTC Desire a Mass storage device so you can browse the SD Card

Internet Sharing - This is the tethering option.


You can tether straight out of the box. No need to root.


If you want to root the phone anyway a root solution is in progress and will probably be released before the end of the month by my estimation.

Remember that a root will invalidate the phone's warranty.

cormie

I've to buy a 1GB tethering add on from VF to tether with it unless it's unlocked/jailbroken according to this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055859030

I'm definitely not prepared to do that and I reeeally don't want itunes on my laptop either

I guess I'll just have to see what I can get for the VF locked iphone then. I didn't get the iphone to get an iPhone, I just got it because I was switching to a plan that will save me money from the o2 plan I was on and I just happened to get an iPhone for 80 quid too, so as long as I make more than 80 quid and can put a good dent in the cost of a Nexus One I'll be happy with that

cormie

partyatmygaff wrote: »

The Noise...cut....invalidate the phone's warranty.

Thanks again, I read here before that the Nexus one had to be rooted to allow tethering? Maybe that was incorrect or maybe it does and the desire doesn't, which is a plus for the desire.

I've had bad experiences with hands free kits and phones, if the noise cancellation thingy can solve this it would be a big plus for the nexus.

What about the desire menu system vs the nexus? The desire seems a lot more basic from what I've seen of it and the nexus appears to allow you to do more?

Why is the Nexus One seemingly so much better than the desire if the desire is cheaper and more freely available?

partyatmygaff

cormie wrote: »

Thanks again, I read here before that the Nexus one had to be rooted to allow tethering? Maybe that was incorrect or maybe it does and the desire doesn't, which is a plus for the desire.

I've had bad experiences with hands free kits and phones, if the noise cancellation thingy can solve this it would be a big plus for the nexus.

What about the desire menu system vs the nexus? The desire seems a lot more basic from what I've seen of it and the nexus appears to allow you to do more?

Why is the Nexus One seemingly so much better than the desire if the desire is cheaper and more freely available?

Never heard anyone say the Nexus one was better tbh . Before it's release it was dubbed the Nexus Two. The Desire is apparently going to be getting 720P recording and DivX playback in an update unlike the Nexus One.

The Noise Cancellation Mic's only operate when you use the phone as a handset, when you use a hands free system the phone's microphone gets overridden. The Desire has the exact same Menu System as the Nexus one, why would they be any different? They run the exact same OS

HTC Sense is probably the best UI for Android right now, the stock UI that you get on the Nexus One isn't too bad but HTC Sense makes Android a whole lot more slick.

drunkmonkey

cormie wrote: »

I've to buy a 1GB tethering add on from VF to tether with it unless it's unlocked/jailbroken according to this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055859030

I'm definitely not prepared to do )

Ouch! That bills just going to get bigger and bigger, can't say I didn't warn you!

cormie

drunkmonkey wrote: »

Ouch! That bills just going to get bigger and bigger, can't say I didn't warn you!

Sorry, I meant to mention that I have a 2GB allowance with my package, the iPhone doesn't allow the 2GB to be used to tether, but other phones don't have the same restriction. I wouldn't use more than 2GB which is why I wasn't prepared to buy the 1GB just for the privilege of what other phones allow you to do with your 2GB. So the iPhone would end up costing me more pretty much

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Never heard anyone say the Nexus one was better tbh . Before it's release it was dubbed the Nexus Two. The Desire is apparently going to be getting 720P recording and DivX playback in an update unlike the Nexus One.

The Noise Cancellation Mic's only operate when you use the phone as a handset, when you use a hands free system the phone's microphone gets overridden. The Desire has the exact same Menu System as the Nexus one, why would they be any different? They run the exact same OS

HTC Sense is probably the best UI for Android right now, the stock UI that you get on the Nexus One isn't too bad but HTC Sense makes Android a whole lot more slick.

So is the Desire actually newer than the Nexus One then? I don't know much about either, but I thought the Nexus one was deemed to be the best? So the Desire has absolutely everything the Nexus has (even the dots flying passed the home screen?) except for the noise cancellation mic and currently being able to be rooted?

Is the Desire a step up from the Nexus one by HTC?

Is there any functionality it would be lacking compared to the Nexus One at all or is everything the same? Maps, navigation, contacts, calendar, synching, multitouch, apps etc?

partyatmygaff

cormie wrote: »

So is the Desire actually newer than the Nexus One then? I don't know much about either, but I thought the Nexus one was deemed to be the best? So the Desire has absolutely everything the Nexus has (even the dots flying passed the home screen?) except for the noise cancellation mic and currently being able to be rooted?

Is the Desire a step up from the Nexus one by HTC?

Is there any functionality it would be lacking compared to the Nexus One at all or is everything the same? Maps, navigation, contacts, calendar, synching, multitouch, apps etc?

The Desire is much newer than the Nexus One. The HTC Desire was only released in Ireland about 3 days ago by Meteor and about a week ago worldwide. The Nexus One has been out since January this year so it's four months older (Not much I know but that is a long time in the world of mobile phones ).
The Nexus One WAS the best Android phone, now it shares that title with it's brother (So to speak) the HTC Desire. They are the exact same phone both made by HTC. The only differences are cosmetic and the fact that the Desire has 64MB more ram and the Nexus One has dual Mics. The Nexus one has a trackball and the Desire has a trackpad.

You can turn the HTC Desire in to a Nexus One (All you have to do is disable sense and that's all there is to it) and you can turn the Nexus One in to the HTC Desire (Albeit HTC Sense is a bit buggy on the Nexus one for some reason).


You won't notice any difference in functionality, they are the exact same phone! In fact the HTC only widgets and apps are much better than the stock Android ones in my opinion. You don't get exchange activesync with the Nexus one but you do on the HTC Desire thanks to HTC's mail widget.

cormie

Hmmm, interesting, thanks for making me undecided again :mad::D

So where would be the best place for me to get a desire considering the original post? What type should I be looking for etc?

So basically it's EXACT EXACT EXACTLY the same, but newer, without the dual mic and the buttons and track pad are a bit more responsive and better?

So the only only ONLY difference is the dual mic thing and everything else is the same and can be made just like the nexus one?

One thing to note is I dislike using any mobile company/provider/manufacturers software. I like it to be just open and not needing to do synching or anything like that through special software. I just want it to be as drag and dropable as possible, I don't mean that in a "putting a song on the HD" way, although I want that too, but I mean that I don't have to use any Nokia type suites to sync with files from the computer and for it to be only compatible with that type of software and ad loads of crap to google synching and all that kinda thing.

Can you just confirm that the desire can also search through the phonebook and find somebody by typing in say three middle letters of their last name, so I could find you in my phonebook by typing in "myg" and partyatmygaf would come up?

New.White.Socks

Calling the desire 'much newer' is a misleading. They're essentially the same age, same generation, with slight differences. Remember technically the Nexus hasn't even been released in Ireland, so a discussion about which is newer just doesn't make any sense.
A lot of people feel strongly about which they prefer for one reason or another, but really the differences are small.
N1 has 4 touch sensitive buttons on the bottom, desire has real ones.
N1 has noise cancelling mics for phone calls (which do work well)
Desire has more memory so it can handle multitasking a bit better, but both phones are fast with the 1ghz snapdragon processor.
Other than that it's just the software they're running. HTC change android to their 'Sense' which some people prefer, which have different widgets etc, but basically anything that one does, the other can do if you set it up that way.

The main reasons to go for the N1 would be noise cancelling, quicker updates, because it's googles phone you get updates faster and HTC need to spend time changing the updates to sense when they come out, and maybe all the google features out of the box (but thats not a biggy because you can set up the desire to do all of them). I might be wrong, and I'm sure somebody will correct me if I am, but I think that the live wallpapers (moving wallpapers that react to touch) that you were referring to are just on the N1.
On the other hand, the desire is cheaper, it has more memory, and some people prefer HTC sense.

drunkmonkey

cormie wrote: »

Sorry, I meant to mention that I have a 2GB allowance with my package, the iPhone doesn't allow the 2GB to be used to tether

you mean Vodafone don't allow you to use your phone to tether, the iPhone is more than capable of it! I don't see what there problem is in allowing you to use you 2gb any way you want, what difference does it make to them.

cormie

New.White.Socks wrote: »

Calling the desire 'much newer' is a misleading. They're essentially the same age, same generation, with slight differences. Remember technically the Nexus hasn't even been released in Ireland, so a discussion about which is newer just doesn't make any sense.
A lot of people feel strongly about which they prefer for one reason or another, but really the differences are small.
N1 has 4 touch sensitive buttons on the bottom, desire has real ones.
N1 has noise cancelling mics for phone calls (which do work well)
Desire has more memory so it can handle multitasking a bit better, but both phones are fast with the 1ghz snapdragon processor.
Other than that it's just the software they're running. HTC change android to their 'Sense' which some people prefer, which have different widgets etc, but basically anything that one does, the other can do if you set it up that way.

The main reasons to go for the N1 would be noise cancelling, quicker updates, because it's googles phone you get updates faster and HTC need to spend time changing the updates to sense when they come out, and maybe all the google features out of the box (but thats not a biggy because you can set up the desire to do all of them). I might be wrong, and I'm sure somebody will correct me if I am, but I think that the live wallpapers (moving wallpapers that react to touch) that you were referring to are just on the N1.
On the other hand, the desire is cheaper, it has more memory, and some people prefer HTC sense.

HTC sense would probably annoy me, as I said, I like things to be as they are and not customised for any type of phone. So if the Desire can be as the Nexus one is, without the sense, I'd probably prefer that. I know I'd prefer the "real" buttons on the desire and although the noise cancelling is probably good, if it's of no use while using it as a handsfree, or while driving, then I guess I wont know any better as none of my previous phones have had noise cancelling anyway and I've gotten along just fine.

I'm a file tree view man myself, I don't like any fancy graphics or any fancy presentations getting in the way of core functionality, I like to be able to go in and out of what I'm doing and be done with it so if the sense ads fancy things and features, I'd prefer not to have it and just do the basic thing as quickly as possible with as little fuss as possible.

So when you install the voice menus on the desire, does it ad the voice tab to the map system and all that too? I hear also that the nexus one can do street view navigation (not here yet). Can the desire do this too?

drunkmonkey wrote: »

you mean Vodafone don't allow you to use your phone to tether, the iPhone is more than capable of it! I don't see what there problem is in allowing you to use you 2gb any way you want, what difference does it make to them.

Yeah there's a bit of a ruckuss in that thread over it. The iPhone gives the network the option to restrict it and Vodafone have done so and I think o2 followed them aswell. The VF plan I went with suits me much better than anything else on offer at the time of signing up, the 1gb tether thing put a spanner in the works but learning that I could tether on another phone made me go with the plan and I had it in my head from the get go I'd be swapping the iphone

partyatmygaff

cormie wrote: »

HTC sense would probably annoy me, as I said, I like things to be as they are and not customised for any type of phone. So if the Desire can be as the Nexus one is, without the sense, I'd probably prefer that. I know I'd prefer the "real" buttons on the desire and although the noise cancelling is probably good, if it's of no use while using it as a handsfree, or while driving, then I guess I wont know any better as none of my previous phones have had noise cancelling anyway and I've gotten along just fine.

I'm a file tree view man myself, I don't like any fancy graphics or any fancy presentations getting in the way of core functionality, I like to be able to go in and out of what I'm doing and be done with it so if the sense ads fancy things and features, I'd prefer not to have it and just do the basic thing as quickly as possible with as little fuss as possible.

So when you install the voice menus on the desire, does it ad the voice tab to the map system and all that too? I hear also that the nexus one can do street view navigation (not here yet). Can the desire do this too?



Yeah there's a bit of a ruckuss in that thread over it. The iPhone gives the network the option to restrict it and Vodafone have done so and I think o2 followed them aswell. The VF plan I went with suits me much better than anything else on offer at the time of signing up, the 1gb tether thing put a spanner in the works but learning that I could tether on another phone made me go with the plan and I had it in my head from the get go I'd be swapping the iphone

HTC Sense isn't what you think it is. The whole point of Android is that it has a completely customizable UI. It isn't a cheap annoying gimmick with flashy graphics and not much functionality. Most manufacturers have their own UI that they can implement over the stock Android UI. Motorola have MOTOBLUR, Sony Ericsson have Media/Timescape and HTC have Sense which at the moment is the most popular UI. You can turn off HTC Sense fairly easily and just use the Stock Android UI but you really have to try Sense first. It adds a lot more functionality to the OS and if you turn off sense you lose all the HTC Widgets like friendstream and their contacts app and the HTC keyboad.

I get the impression you think that google supply them with Android and they just add some tacky branding over it and call it HTC Sense just like some carriers do. It's not like that at all. The fancy graphics and animations doesn't hinder functionality at all, it only compliments it and makes it more efficient.

The voice keyboard is placed everywhere where the keyboard is present so yes it should work in Maps. But unless you have a perfectly neutral or american english accent it won't be accurate enough to be realistically useful. The HTC Desire can do street view navigation (When it comes of course) aswell as the Nexus One.

Watch a few videos of sense and the stock UI and see for yourself what it's like.

cormie

Thanks again for that. Ok so it sounds like the Desire may be more the better option for me if it can do pretty much everything the nexus one can, but just without the dual mic, but yet it has more RAM.

When you say the contacts app, I don't really want anything fancy, I've way too many contacts to be concerned about pictures coming up and custom ringtones and searching by tagged photos or whatever other ideas may have been come up with. I just need simple First name, surname number and as long as I can export them 3 fields into a CSV file to be used with spreadsheets then that's all I need, anything else I'd consider bloatware.

Can you also just confirm what I was asking about searching for "partyatmygaf" in my contacts and knowing I can find you by just typing in "myg" to bring up "partyatmygaf" and it would also bring up "myguel" etc

If the desire can do tethering out of the box and doesn't need to be rooted (voiding warranty) to allow it, then that's another plus.

Can you just confirm if cabbage lite can also be used on the desire to send texts from my webtext allowance using my data allowance? The nexus can use this so it would mean international texts would be free pretty much

If all the above have positive responses, then I think the desire may be for me and if so, would you be able to advise on where is the best place to purchase one, also taking into account that I'm VAT registered I wonder would anyone be interested in a swap actually with the iPhone

alex73

Sell your new iphone... You must be crazy, its hands down the best phone on the market.

cormie

what is?

cormie

cormie wrote: »

Thanks again for that. Ok so it sounds like the Desire may be more the better option for me if it can do pretty much everything the nexus one can, but just without the dual mic, but yet it has more RAM.

When you say the contacts app, I don't really want anything fancy, I've way too many contacts to be concerned about pictures coming up and custom ringtones and searching by tagged photos or whatever other ideas may have been come up with. I just need simple First name, surname number and as long as I can export them 3 fields into a CSV file to be used with spreadsheets then that's all I need, anything else I'd consider bloatware.

Can you also just confirm what I was asking about searching for "partyatmygaf" in my contacts and knowing I can find you by just typing in "myg" to bring up "partyatmygaf" and it would also bring up "myguel" etc

If the desire can do tethering out of the box and doesn't need to be rooted (voiding warranty) to allow it, then that's another plus.

Can you just confirm if cabbage lite can also be used on the desire to send texts from my webtext allowance using my data allowance? The nexus can use this so it would mean international texts would be free pretty much

If all the above have positive responses, then I think the desire may be for me and if so, would you be able to advise on where is the best place to purchase one, also taking into account that I'm VAT registered I wonder would anyone be interested in a swap actually with the iPhone

Have seen confirmation that cabbage works on the Desire which is great

If somebody could just clear up the rest, I'm ready to buy immediately and would appreciate any recommendations on where to buy. I've read that Meteor Desires come unlocked, is this true? If I was to get a Meteor Desire, would it still be under warranty if not used with Meteor I wonder?

Should I expect to PAY money, or to BE paid money if I was to do a swap for my iPhone 3Gs 16gb and should a "used/as new" one be worth the saving over a new one (especially considering I can claim VAT back on a new one).

If I can get any advice on the above, and then the few questions in the above quote, I'd be grateful and would be ready to buy the desire today

cormie

So my iPhone definitely appears to be locked to Vodafone IRL for the time being anyway, either until a Jailbreak is released or maybe 6 or 18 months down the line when VF are able to unlock it. I guess I can just try and sell it saying it will be unlockable via jailbreak soon, or hope to get a VF IRL buyer. Haven't a clue what asking price I should put on it though Have tried o2 IRL sim and even a UK VF sim but no luck on either

johnny_adidas

cormie wrote: »

Have seen confirmation that cabbage works on the Desire which is great

If somebody could just clear up the rest, I'm ready to buy immediately and would appreciate any recommendations on where to buy. I've read that Meteor Desires come unlocked, is this true? If I was to get a Meteor Desire, would it still be under warranty if not used with Meteor I wonder?

Should I expect to PAY money, or to BE paid money if I was to do a swap for my iPhone 3Gs 16gb and should a "used/as new" one be worth the saving over a new one (especially considering I can claim VAT back on a new one).

If I can get any advice on the above, and then the few questions in the above quote, I'd be grateful and would be ready to buy the desire today

cabbage lite works great for me.
If you partially type a name, it will search the beginning of first or second name (ro brings roisin & xxxx rouse for example) hope this helps

cormie

johnny_adidas wrote: »

cabbage lite works great for me.
If you partially type a name, it will search the beginning of first or second name (ro brings roisin & xxxx rouse for example) hope this helps

Thanks for the response so would typing "ny_a" not bring up "johnny_adidas" then?

100gSoma

google voice was left off the Desire because the Desire is not sold in the USA. The google voice is not very reliable with "non-American english" accents at all. This has been treied and tested in UK reviews of the Nexus one.

The Nexus one also has an extra noise canceling microphone so that voice to text can better analyze your voice. i.e. distinguish it from background noise as you talk into it.

I would not "write off" HTC sense by saying "nah not interested, I would have no use for it" unless you have actually used it. It is one of the top plus marks for the Desire over the Nexus one and is very popular with users and reviewers.

johnny_adidas

cormie wrote: »

Thanks for the response so would typing "ny_a" not bring up "johnny_adidas" then?

Just checked and typing ia brings up Ian or Brian so I guess it does

johnny_adidas

Actually it only works for text message recipient contacts with the start of names or surname but cabbage and phone call contacts search through the whole name. very strange .....

New.White.Socks

Just to complicate things again! You don't need to root the nexus one to use it for tethering.

If you are buying another locked phone you should be making money by selling the iphone and buying another. If you're buying an unlocked phone you'll probably end up paying a bit, but probably not much considering the iphone is actually a more expensive phone than both HTC phones of this generation.

cormie

100gSoma wrote: »

google voice was left off the Desire because the Desire is not sold in the USA. The google voice is not very reliable with "non-American english" accents at all. This has been treied and tested in UK reviews of the Nexus one.

The Nexus one also has an extra noise canceling microphone so that voice to text can better analyze your voice. i.e. distinguish it from background noise as you talk into it.

I would not "write off" HTC sense by saying "nah not interested, I would have no use for it" unless you have actually used it. It is one of the top plus marks for the Desire over the Nexus one and is very popular with users and reviewers.

Thanks for that, I wonder how much of a difference the extra mic makes to voice to text for Irish accents so? I could just adapt an American accent :P

From what I've seen of sense, it looks ok from what I've seen but I could probably do without knowing what silly group or what somebody had for breakfast on the go

johnny_adidas wrote: »

Just checked and typing ia brings up Ian or Brian so I guess it does

Great, thanks a lot for that!

johnny_adidas wrote: »

Actually it only works for text message recipient contacts with the start of names or surname but cabbage and phone call contacts search through the whole name. very strange .....

That's weird alright, especially since it works in Cabbage too! Usually not in such a rush to send texts anyway and I'd be looking up number mainly in the phone call contacts search anyway so that's the important part which is great!

New.White.Socks wrote: »

Just to complicate things again! You don't need to root the nexus one to use it for tethering.

If you are buying another locked phone you should be making money by selling the iphone and buying another. If you're buying an unlocked phone you'll probably end up paying a bit, but probably not much considering the iphone is actually a more expensive phone than both HTC phones of this generation.

Thanks. I think at this stage I'm leaning towards the desire, if the mic won't make too much of a difference and everything else is the same with more ram and are also seemingly a lot more "available" here than the Nexus, I think I'll stick with the Desire.

That's good to know I wont be spending too much money anyway!


Looks like I'm ready to buy it anyway, now it's just a case of finding one, then I'll be back to ask more questions about putting voice and all that on it :P

Thanks for all the help everyone!

Loggie

The Desire will supposedly be available on vodafone and o2. I read sometime in may for o2 not sure about vodafone. Maybe someone else can confirm this.

cormie

Thanks for that, I think I've been patient enough though and my G900 is acting up a bit so I need it asap

Loggie

Desire is sim free for about €500 inc vat.
Maybe someone could confirm this, but I don't think it can be network locked.
Meteor have it and there are threads here about it and coverage.
Something to consider since you do alot of driving.

cormie

Thanks, hopefully it comes unlocked, that would make finding one easier for sure! When you say about coverage, you mean just using a meteor sim in it, right? There are no coverage issues with the Desire itself if I'm using a VF sim in it? I'm tied to VF for 18 months anyway in a pretty suitable plan for my usage and the coverage was definitely a deciding factor in choosing them over meteor due to the back roads and everything I find myself on a lot.

Loggie

Yeah from what I've read just meteor.

cormie

That's good, was getting worried for a second there

I've put my iPhone up on adverts.ie anyway, I'm not sure if my asking price is a bit optimistic but I'll see anyway

http://www.adverts.ie/showproduct.php?product=212511&cat=500

djgaillimh

It's launching on Vodafone late this week, or possibly next week... if the rumour mill is to be believed.

Maybe wait and see if they'll give you a deal.

cormie

Hmm, a deal? I doubt they would, would they? Take back an iPhone and give me a desire? ...

cormie

Interesting, the HTC Desire is only 464 (474 inc shipping?) from Pixmania.ie which includes VAT too. I would have thought Pixmania would be on the more expensive side of things but seems to be the cheapest I've found so far. That's only €390 or so ex vat!