Why I might ditch the iPhone for Android...

Zascar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGbYVvU0Z5s

About to get an iPhone 4 - but after watching this I'm considering an Android phone. Not knowing anything about Android phones really, any suggestions as to which ones I should be looking at??

Abelloid

HTC Desire is generally considered to be best of the bunch today, closely followed by the Samsung Galaxy S. Pop into the Android forum for the full story.

Oafley Jones

Zascar wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGbYVvU0Z5s

About to get an iPhone 4 - but after watching this I'm considering an Android phone. Not knowing anything about Android phones really, any suggestions as to which ones I should be looking at??

Be aware that google voice hasn't been rolled out in ireland yet. It's worth leaving ios for the notification system alone.

cojomo2

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Be aware that google voice hasn't been rolled out in ireland yet. It's worth leaving ios for the notification system alone.

well its available in the market place, just downloaded it now...although I haven't tried it yet.

Oafley Jones

cojomo2 wrote: »

well its available in the market place, just downloaded it now...although I haven't tried it yet.

You didn't read the description that said "currently US only" then.

Zascar

Why would essentially what is a voice recognition app be restricted to US only?

Why does the iPhone not have the same abilities??

gleep

Why I might ditch the iPhone for Android...


because it's cool not to like iphones. I ain't no sheep!:P

cojomo2

Oafley Jones wrote: »

You didn't read the description that said "currently US only" then.

no, you didn't read the description. It says''voice actoins is only available in US English for now''
:P

should work fine..

super_furry

Recently replaced my 3GS with a Samsung Galaxy S and I'm really glad I did. It's just a much nicer machine, with so many minor improvements over the iPhone that it made it worth it for me. It's a much better internet device too and while I was tempted by the Desire and spent some time playing about with it, I'd recommend the Galaxy S.

evolutionqy7

cojomo2 wrote: »

no, you didn't read the description. It says''voice actoins is only available in US English for now''
:P

should work fine..

the voice recognition is out...ive been using it for quite a while now...

Zascar

gleep wrote: »

Why I might ditch the iPhone for Android...

because it's cool not to like iphones. I ain't no sheep!:P

No not at all actually - if the iPhone could do the same thing I'd be much happier. The iPhone is not perfect but I like it. I'm intrigued by the other abilities of the Android phones but don't know much about them...

cojomo2

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

the voice recognition is out...ive been using it for quite a while now...

Does it work well? Even with a Roscommon accent!?:D

evolutionqy7

cojomo2 wrote: »

Does it work well? Even with a Roscommon accent!?:D

well not really it does a grand job on a few words but if i try a sentence it mocks it up

Zascar wrote: »

No not at all actually - if the iPhone could do the same thing I'd be much happier. The iPhone is not perfect but I like it. I'm intrigued by the other abilities of the Android phones but don't know much about them...

well the reason android picked up so much in the US cause of carrier advertisements of what android could do...theres million of people that dont know what android could do...hence why they all run to steve jobs arms thinking its the only decent phone

Oafley Jones

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

the voice recognition is out...ive been using it for quite a while now...

Ah apologies. I'm confused. What can you use it to do so? Last time I tried using it it refused to do anything.

Tom Dunne

Impressive, damn impressive.

/Apple fanboy

evolutionqy7

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Ah apologies. I'm confused. What can you use it to do so? Last time I tried using it it refused to do anything.

well i hate texting so i speak slowly into the phone for it to write the message for me

though its annoying that you have to have data connection to use it...wish they could make a compromise to download their voice recognition software onto your phone so you wouldnt have to need data

cojomo2

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Ah apologies. I'm confused.

No problem.
:cool:

Abelloid

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

well i hate texting so i speak slowly into the phone for it to write the message for me

though its annoying that you have to have data connection to use it...wish they could make a compromise to download their voice recognition software onto your phone so you wouldnt have to need data

Yeah, that would be a handy option and would speed it up a little.. I wonder how large a download/install it would be though...

28064212

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Be aware that google voice hasn't been rolled out in ireland yet. It's worth leaving ios for the notification system alone.

cojomo2 wrote: »

well its available in the market place, just downloaded it now...although I haven't tried it yet.

Google Voice is not the same as Voice Actions for Android. Google Voice is a telecommunications service, allowing you to make and receive calls, nothing to do with Android. Voice Actions is an app for Android phones, allowing you to control the phone. Completely different

donkey balls

28064212 wrote: »

Google Voice is not the same as Voice Actions for Android. Google Voice is a telecommunications service, allowing you to make and receive calls, nothing to do with Android. Voice Actions is an app for Android phones, allowing you to control the phone. Completely different

i have voice activation/commands on my N97 have to say it's handy

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Random

moved to android forum.

evolutionqy7

Random wrote: »

moved to android forum.

you should move it to iPhone forum haha would be funny

Inquitus

evolutionqy7 wrote: »

you should move it to iPhone forum haha would be funny

You should move it to the Win Mo forum.......oh wait

evolutionqy7

Inquitus wrote: »

You should move it to the Win Mo forum.......oh wait

dont get cheeky with me...its not like iPhone has its own forum? "Apple Media Devices LMAO

and lmao im running android and win mo? so forum for that please?

jimmycrackcorm

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

In some instances it does but try telling it to navigate to anywhere that doesn't have an American sounding name and it cannot figure it out.
We'd better rename Dun laoighre back to its former colonial name

joanofarc

hi there, i've got a non rooted htc desire on 2.1 can i get this voice option? what do i need to look for in market?

gbee

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Impressive, damn impressive.

/Apple fanboy

Have you tried the free Vlingo App?

gbee

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

As were the Ads for Dragon Dictate, I bought that for my laptop but it never worked like the in the ad.

Two reasons for that, one needs to teach the device what your sounds mean, and in practice the human voice changes a lot even throughout a day and so forth.

Secondly the ads are all in the studio, probably a sound studio, so no other noise is being interpreted by the device ~ this is a major stumbling block and it's probably the main reason we don't talk to computers.

Technology to overcome all these issues is available, but it's very expensive and heavy on hardware. Not saying one, with the correct accent can't get good results form apps like that in the video, in general terms the device will pick up background sounds and run with that.

jeromeof

It a cool demo, I tried it on a Desire and can be a great demo for people to show people what Android can do especially the fact that other applications can add their own commands to it. But in reality doesn't work as seamless as it should to use it everyday, you need to start talking like a "computer".:D

It should be pointed out in the interests of fairness, that this type of capability is already available on the iPhone. Voice control has been available since the 3GS: http://atmac.org/iphone-voice-commands, the Google App has voice activated search and the dragon dictation app while not fully integrate allows voice messages to be sent as sms, email, tweet and even onto facebook.

But the Android implementation is better given it is a single interface and the openness to allow third party commands will ultimately give it the edge.

Goodshape

I've got a rooted Desire and a custom ROM that came with Google Voice Actions (most of them do), so I'm not sure what the availability is on an out-of-the-box phone.

If you have it, go into settings and make sure you're set to English (Generic) or English (US). Voice actions should start to work then... but I suspect it does still prefer a US accent. Short commands work well, in my experience. I use it all the time for quick web searches or to bring up a contact or something. It's not as fantastic as it looks it that video (with our accents, anyway) but it's still super useful for what it does do.

Other things that would keep me firmly on Android (I switched from 3GS):

- Notification system. iOS basically just doesn't have one.

- Background apps. iOS4 has this but they've been around forever on Android and *just work*.

- WiFi hotspot on Android 2.2. Just brilliant. I'm actually, honestly, sat right now in a café with my phone in my pocket serving up a personal wifi network to my MacBook in front of me. No wires, no hacks, no extra software... just a wifi network. BRILLIANT.

- Widgets. Using iOS you might wonder what the fuss is about. Use a few widgets for a week and you won't want to go back. I can see and interact with a whole load of information without having to open an app.

- Apps like 'Tasker'. Lets you automate actions (pretty much anything you could imagine the phone could do) based on any number of rules, like where you are, the time of day, state of the phone (battery maybe), actions you perform (turn on GPS when I open maps, turn off when you exit)... possibilities are pretty endless.

- Openness. There's not the same restrictions in the system or the APIs as there is with iOS. Any of my apps can talk to any others. I can replace the built in mail app, or the sms app, or the browser or indeed the phone app if I want to.

- Syncing. Don't think I've plugged my phone into a computer for anything other than charging in over a month. Everything syncs over the air, usually with Google services. And setting up an FTP server on the phone for wirelessly transferring music or other media is possible too.

- Hacking / modding. Not for everyone but if you've got half a mind to, it's really not difficult to "root" the phone and install custom roms. World of possibilities.

- It feels like a computer in your pocket. Looking back, iPhone felt like a phone with (often quite fancy) "apps". Android feels like a powerful little computer with a phone built-in.


Nothing's totally perfect though... some things which might annoy you....

- Phone storage. Desire comes with 512mb onboard and usually a 2 or 4gb SD card. Storing any apps on the SD card is a new feature on 2.2 and not a lot of apps support it yet... you will at some stage be cursing the thing for its "low space" warning. You can beat this though, if you root the phone there are methods for installing any and all apps to the card. And it should become less of an issue as more developers update for 2.2.

- Battery life. Some people have a hard time with this, I find it alright tbh. Probably similar to iPhone... rule of thumb: plug it in every night.

- Touchscreen. It's not *quite* as lovely and smooth as iPhone's. But it is completely fit for purpose and you get over it in no time.

- Apps. I'm honestly not sure if this is a plus or a negative. iPhone has more apps, and has fancier apps. It's easier to shove an iPhone in someones face and impress them with the latest amazingly designed app interface... but I don't actually miss any of them. And Android apps, in my experience, tend to be more *functional*, even if they don't look quite as shiny.

- App market. Separate to above, not only are there less apps to begin with... the app market is also restricted in Ireland. It's not possible to browse or buy paid apps. This and the phone storage issue are the two biggest negatives with Android. Again though... not difficult to get past this with a rooted phone if you want to.


Taking everything into account, best phone I've owned by a country mile.

TheDoc

Would have come in this topic sooner but been away for the last few days and will be for some more.

But to update, been using voice actions now since release, and ive pretty much stopped using normal method of text and tapping for when im on the bus maybe or in a crowded area.

Everywhere else im using this and its great, recognises my voice fine and its so quikc and handy.

dvdfan

Sorry to slightly Hijack, i got my desire HTC today and i literally spent 12 hours trying to root it so i could use market enable. It wouldnt root on 2 different PCs due to different problems but eventually worked on the 3rd PC.

Anyway i want to try this google voice app but you need 2.2 and i only have 2.1 so i understand i need to install a rom, i dont really mind which one it is as long as its simple to do, anyone got any links.

I have a HTC desire
Hboot 0.83.0001

Ive rooted following this method
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=748618
and i downloaded and ran market enable

It looks so easy but that honestly took me 12 hours to find the correct one as theres so many versions around but anyway if anyone has a link to a simple way to upgrade from 2.1 to 2.2 so i can try out that app id really appreciate it

Im on an 02 phone if that makes a difference

Chet T16

I'd flash MCR r8 with A2SD+ from here (r8 ROM with default MoDaCo additions and A2SD+)

Install rom manager first to partition your sd card (backup to pc first) then flash the rom using rom manager, you don't need to wipe but it may be more reliable if you do. If wiping use titanium backup first

The modaco roms are the most stable i've found and essentially tweaked stock htc 2.2 roms.

Ask if you have questions, like you say, theres so much information its hard to find the answers you want

Chet T16

Goodshape wrote: »

- Apps like 'Tasker'. Lets you automate actions (pretty much anything you could imagine the phone could do) based on any number of rules, like where you are, the time of day, state of the phone (battery maybe), actions you perform (turn on GPS when I open maps, turn off when you exit)... possibilities are pretty endless.

I got Tasker after reading this post, absolutely fantastric app and i haven't even scratched the surface of what it can do so far!

dvdfan

Ok thanks for the help, much appreciated but im running into some problems.

1) First i downloaded titanium backup just to be sure if anything went wrong. Heres the error i get each time

sorry i could not acquire root priveliges. This application will *not* work. Please verify that your rom is rooted and includes BusyBox and try again.

Now it is rooted as i can access paid apps and there is a superuser app on it. I dont have BusyBox so i went to download it and it said that it doesnt work for the desire?

So since this isnt essential i followed your next bit of advice to download ROM manager and partition the SD. After completing that i went into the app, lots of things i didnt understand but i seen the option to "Partition" SD card and clicked on that and i get this message.

Flash ClockworkMod Recovery. You must have ClockworkMod Recovery installed before continuing. Install the recovery through ROM Manager first.

When i click that it doesnt seem to do anything but i can see a refresh icon working away in the top right corner. If i come back to it in a while i get this message

The application ROM Manager (process com.kushikdutta.rommanager) has stopped unexpectedly. please try again and there is a force close button.

This happens again and again.

Start of ramble

---

Its a pity you have to go to this length to get the phone working as you would like. Im good with computers but having never used an android or Iphone until yesterday its a lot to figure out, i would have gladly paid someone to do this if that service was available as ive wasted over 12 hours now. I would imagine non techy people wouldnt have a hope in hell of figuring this out. It wasnt the solution was difficult but there is just so many variations of the instructions out there and because i had HBoot 0.83 i needed a specific set of instructions.

I also had some issues with the adb driver, wouldnt recognise it on any of my PCs, i eventually found a driver online, it worked on 2 pcs but wouldnt work on a 3rd and my main PC although it installed the driver correctly eventually it wouldnt let me root it with that PC because when i went into boot mode (power+back when turning on) it didnt pickup the USB connection so i couldnt install the android driver to root it. I probably just got unlucky but its quite a difficult process but should be worth it in the end!!!

---

end of ramble

Anyway sorry to ramble on, when i get through the partition problem i have one more question. Heres a quote from the link you gave me

http://android.modaco.com/content/htc-desire-desire-modaco-com/316565/24-aug-r8-modaco-custom-rom-for-htc-desire-with-online-kitchen-2-2-froyo/

Requirements

In order to use this ROM on your device, you must be rooted and be able to launch the custom recovery image using the supplied scripts in the root package. You can read more about how to root and launch the CRI on your device in this topic.

I have rooted but i dont understand about launching the recovery images in the rootpackage, i presume it means something to do with this in the rooting instructions i followed:

9. Go to File > Custom Recovery and select the ClockworkMod v2.5.0.1 SLCD recovery image.

I also guess that has something to do with the problem im having with ROM manager? Any help is very much appreciated

Chet T16

dvdfan wrote: »

Ok thanks for the help, much appreciated but im running into some problems.

1) First i downloaded titanium backup just to be sure if anything went wrong. Heres the error i get each time

sorry i could not acquire root priveliges. This application will *not* work. Please verify that your rom is rooted and includes BusyBox and try again.

Now it is rooted as i can access paid apps and there is a superuser app on it. I dont have BusyBox so i went to download it and it said that it doesnt work for the desire?

Firstly make sure titanium has root permission by checking in your superuser app. Then within titanium click 'problems', from there it will download the correct busybox

So since this isnt essential i followed your next bit of advice to download ROM manager and partition the SD. After completing that i went into the app, lots of things i didnt understand but i seen the option to "Partition" SD card and clicked on that and i get this message.

Flash ClockworkMod Recovery. You must have ClockworkMod Recovery installed before continuing. Install the recovery through ROM Manager first.

When i click that it doesnt seem to do anything but i can see a refresh icon working away in the top right corner. If i come back to it in a while i get this message

The application ROM Manager (process com.kushikdutta.rommanager) has stopped unexpectedly. please try again and there is a force close button.

This happens again and again.

Its strange that it should say that as part of the rooting instructions involve flashing clockworkmod recovery

When you click on 'Flash ClockworkMod Recovery' it should popup asking you to confirm your model. Is it getting that far? You could try a reinstall of rom manager if its still FCing otherwise i'd go with a factory reset.

Start of ramble

---

Its a pity you have to go to this length to get the phone working as you would like. Im good with computers but having never used an android or Iphone until yesterday its a lot to figure out, i would have gladly paid someone to do this if that service was available as ive wasted over 12 hours now. I would imagine non techy people wouldnt have a hope in hell of figuring this out. It wasnt the solution was difficult but there is just so many variations of the instructions out there and because i had HBoot 0.83 i needed a specific set of instructions.

I also had some issues with the adb driver, wouldnt recognise it on any of my PCs, i eventually found a driver online, it worked on 2 pcs but wouldnt work on a 3rd and my main PC although it installed the driver correctly eventually it wouldnt let me root it with that PC because when i went into boot mode (power+back when turning on) it didnt pickup the USB connection so i couldnt install the android driver to root it. I probably just got unlucky but its quite a difficult process but should be worth it in the end!!!

---

end of ramble

I couldn't get the driver working yesterday even tho it had been working, very annoying and i have no idea why it stopped.

Anyway sorry to ramble on, when i get through the partition problem i have one more question. Heres a quote from the link you gave me

http://android.modaco.com/content/htc-desire-desire-modaco-com/316565/24-aug-r8-modaco-custom-rom-for-htc-desire-with-online-kitchen-2-2-froyo/



I have rooted but i dont understand about launching the recovery images in the rootpackage, i presume it means something to do with this in the rooting instructions i followed:

9. Go to File > Custom Recovery and select the ClockworkMod v2.5.0.1 SLCD recovery image.

I also guess that has something to do with the problem im having with ROM manager? Any help is very much appreciated

Once you have rom manager working you can use that to flash whatever you like.

Titanium not working shows a problem somewhere, when we have that working hopefully the rest will fall into place

dvdfan

Thanks once again, once i used the problem button and it installed the program the backup worked.

Then the partition seemed to work (not sure how to know if it worked or not but it restarted so i presume it did)

So i downloaded one of those zip files. I went into the install rom from SD card option and chose the zip file and it restarted again but it seems froze at the O2 bubbles screen. Its like that for the last 10 mins, i guess it didnt work?

Thats not the exact instructions from that link but i presume rom manager makes that easy for me, when it freezes like that is it possibly loading the new Rom or should it go into another screen?

Chet T16

Did you wipe?

dvdfan

No it gave me 2 options, to backup current rom and wipe i believe was the other, i had such problems getting it rooted that i didnt really want to wipe. Am i right in saying that if i wipe i have to root again and install rom manager etc all over again?

If not im happy to wipe, dont mind losing any apps etc.

edit////

Just left it running for a while there and now a picture of some guy with modaco.com is appearing so i guess i just thought it was froze but i just needed to be patient, how long does this usually take, any ideas what happens when that screen disapears?

Chet T16

It shouldn't take that long. First boot can take a while tho. Maybe a flash to Modaco r5 (2.1 based) first would have been a good idea but it shouldn't matter

dvdfan

uh oh, it just stuck on that screens for ages, tried rebooting and got stuck again, tried removing the sd card and same thing it just gets to the screen with HTC quietly brilliant and it also has the modaco.com logo and it wont go past that. Is there any way to do a factory reset or something? Am i fcuked?

If i hold back and power on and choose recovery it just goes blank every time but doesnt give me any recovery options or do anything so right now i can only just reboot and get stuck:(

Chet T16

You're rarely beyond hope with them. Can you reflash the recovery using unrevoked?

dvdfan

thanks for staying with me, right now i have only 1 option which is loading into the boot menu via Power+back button.

In there there is a recovery option, when i select this the screen i get the 02 welcome screen and it just sticks on that. When i click on recovery should i get some other options? So as i see it i can only do 2 things

1) Boot normally via power which freezes at the HTC screen
2) Boot via Power+back button which gives me an option to choose recovery, fastboot etc but choosing recovery just freezes as the 02 welcome screen

any ideas? you mention reflashing, how is that done considering my options are limited?

Chet T16

Is going into recovery giving a blank screen or the one with the red exclamation?

dvdfan

Havent seen any red exclamation marks, it just went blank (think it restarted) and the welcome screen came up but it didnt pass by that

Now it wont turn on but that might be because the battery ran out so im trying to charge it now

dvdfan

Is this the reason recovery wasnt working for me?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=748580

And if so following post no 3 and using that image will work?
I done a factory reset for now so i would at least have a phone and i might try from scratch tomorrow

dvdfan

This is really weird, after doing the factory reset i have 2.2. I noticed some new apps i didnt have like the flashlight etc and a new superuser, went to the app store and was able to download voice search no problem.

Very strange but hey if it works......
It has potential voice search, but its quite buggy, the send to text doesnt work unless i switch to english US, it opens the text and usually gets what i said wrong and crashes if i try and say anything more, maybe it just doesnt want to listen to me which is understandable:D

Chet T16

dvdfan wrote: »

Is this the reason recovery wasnt working for me?
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=748580

And if so following post no 3 and using that image will work?
I done a factory reset for now so i would at least have a phone and i might try from scratch tomorrow

A blank screen in recovery would suggest you weren't using the correct clockworkmod recovery. The rooting guide did specify the right one but rom manager may have overwritten it

dvdfan wrote: »

This is really weird, after doing the factory reset i have 2.2. I noticed some new apps i didnt have like the flashlight etc and a new superuser, went to the app store and was able to download voice search no problem.

How did you get in to wipe? Did titanium restore ok?

If you download quick system info from the market it will tell you if your a2sd partition is there and how much is being used

dvdfan

Im not sure, what i did was just to click back+power on and instead of choosing recovery there is a CLEAR STORAGE option, when you choose that it gives you the option to do a factory reset, i presumed it would have reset to how i originally got the phone but although all my settings were gone like email settings, location, wifi etc it had 2.2 installed and was rooted.

Im happy enough now as thats all i wanted in the end so no need to rock the boat now

Chet T16

Glad you got it sorted