[dj_mocok]

I've read quite a few reviews but still not quite decided yet. I can get a new phone when my contract expires in June.
So strictly phone-speaking (not carrier as I'm in Australia), which one do you think it's more suitable for me if my main usage are for:
- phone call of course, but all phones can do this (battery life is not a main concern since I can just plug it in at my work PC everyday)
- browsing is a main reason why I want a new phone as I spend 2 hours in total everyday to commute.
- has to be fast without lag or bug and very responsive. I hate sluggish devices
- secure browsing
- pic taking but not really on top of list as I have a camera already
- MP3, again, not on top of list as I have mp3 player and no problem with carrying it
 
 
 
So far my take on:
 
iPhone 4:
- antenna issue? But I read that if you put a cover, issue is fixed (although not sure how it actually works)
- I don't like the fact that you can't customise and you have to use iTunes for everything.
- On paper it looks like HTC has better camera but from what I see from sample pics, iPhone pics look better.
- I like drag and drop MP3/mov, and iPhone doesn't allow this unless I jailbreak it
 
HTC:
- I am not sure how easy it is to navigate/browse the web, but with iPhone at least it's a proven device for browsing. By the way, is browsing the net from HTC is the same as from iPhone? Any major differences?
- Display is bigger but iPhone's display is nicer.
- Android doesn't have that many apps compared to iPhone but then again, both probably have all the apps that I may need anyway
- Better for multimedia viewing? Mp3/movies/etc because it can play all format without forcing me to use proprietary stuff like iphone?
- User friendliness I think iPhone wins
 
Price is really not an issue because with 24mth contract I can get the either phone cheap.
 
What do you guys think of either phone? Is there anything that iPhone can do but HTC can't, and vice versa?
Or are there any must have apps that only exclusive for iPhone?
I am really undecided on this one. Thanks
 

 

[Kirosia]

The iphone 4 will probably have better audio quality, so if you plan on using decent headphones. It also suffers (last I checked) from white balance issues for indoor shots. HTC will probably be able to run flash content in the browser, though I'm not a personal fan of how Android reflows text. The IPS retina display on the iphone makes reading/watching videos a joy, even with the relatively small screen. (The current Desires use SLCD I believe, which may be slightly inferior) Also I've heard people having trouble with the iphone and bluetooth headsets. 
 
Reviews:
 
http://pocketnow.com/android/htc-desire-hd-review
 
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3794/the-iphone-4-review

 

[robm321]

I spent a month owning the Samsung Captivate which was one of the top droids. I took it back for the iPhone 4, and without a doubt made the right decision. Surfing is much easier on the eyes with the retina display. 

 

[Uncle Erik]

I haven't used the HTC, but have been extremely happy with the iPhone4. I preordered and got it the first day it was available. Zero problems, love the Retina Display, and it "feels" plenty fast. I'm sure iPhone5 will have the A5 and more storage, but I'm keepin this one another year or two. It meets all my needs very well and I couldn't be happier with it.

On the other hand, I would not be surprised if the HTC is also a good phone. I had been thinking about switching to Android, but the iPhone4 was so good I stuck with Apple.

Also, I never had a problem with the antenna. Mine has the free case on it, which is nice, but I didn't find it necessary.

 

[3six5]

Anything android > iphone.

 

[dirkpitt45]

+1 for android. 
 
Though if you don't care for tinkering with things, just get the iphone4 and don't look back. 

 

[Currawong]

With the iPhone, the antenna is better in the iPhone 4 than 3GS.  Other than that, drag and drop in iTunes.  I can understand not liking iTunes if you use Windows, but not if you have a Mac. I know at least on a Mac the audio conversion software I use can dump converted music straight into iTunes into new playlists as appropriate. I get quite a bit of music from places such as HDTracks so this makes life a lot easier.

 

[dj_mocok]

I just learned that it doesn't have flash, so sort of web browsing that I can't do if I use iPhone and it doesn't have flash?

 

[Currawong]

Video sites will all have iPhone compatible video. Other than that, it's rarely an issue.  Most flash stuff on the web consists of ads. Other than that, sites such as movie sites and online games which you can't play using a phone interface anyway. I honestly don't recall hitting a site from my iPhone that required flash.

 

[shigzeo]

Both are nice devices, but each have drawbacks.
 
HTC:

• may or may not be able to quickly grab Android updates.
• not as high quality sound output

 
iPhone:

• smaller screen
• no Flash

 
For people who don't care about music playback, HTC's 2nd problem is pretty moot. 1 depends on the technical willpower of the user. For iPhone, however, I count 1 as a positive as some of these devices are simply huge - too huge. Flash also isn't a problem for me. I run into Flash sometimes for video, but I'll be damned if that is how I'm going to spend my battery. And, as mentioned, a lot of Flash is just adverts. 
 
Certainly, Flash is a rallying cry, but I'll admit, that after years of mildly ignoring it, I don't get the problem. Without a mouse, Flash games are impossible. Without a mains outlet, Flash eats battery. Without proper coding, it doesn't even run right. 
 
Flash isn't ready for mobiles anyway and not a single phone has proper flash support yet. When it does, fine, that is cool. But, the world may be better off moving on, anyway. This isn't 1999 anymore.

 

[marvin]

The mobile phone world is going to be different by summer, so there's not much sense in asking now. The iPhone 5 will be out and the latest and greatest Android devices will all be running Android 2.4 with dual core ARM processors and qHD (960x540) screens.

 

[robm321]

Quote:

I just learned that it doesn't have flash, so sort of web browsing that I can't do if I use iPhone and it doesn't have flash?

for $2.99 you can download a browser that will do flash. So, kind of a moot point. 
 
 

 

[Palantiri7]

Umm, if a good camera is important then the Nokia N8 is worth a look. I bought it and it is a superb phone. However, the Symbian OS isn't everybody's cup of tea although you can tweak it quite a bit if you're into that. The Ovi Store is shamed by Apple's App Store experience though. Last but not least is that Nokia will adopt Windows Phone 7 OS so Symbian's days are numbered. Just my 2p. Oh, here's my first shot out of the N8 camera:
 

 

[Varley]

I had the iPhone 4 from day one, then gave it my girlfriend and bought a Desire HD - A few things I've learnt -
 
I felt for my money I got more from an iPhone, design wise, looks, weight, overall package (but then aren't all apple products)
The iPhone was smooth, noob friendly and very easy to navigate - Hard to mess anything up really
I never had a problem with signal tbh, was always very good
The reason I gave it to my girlfriend, was because I just got bored of it, it became tedious to use, It's not very customizable, e.g themes, etc. You HAVE to have all the icons on the screen all the time...
 
Desire HD -
Feels cheaper and looks cheaper than the iPhone, when it's actually not much cheaper
It sometimes freezes if you overload it and don't soft reset it every few days (apps running etc)
It's harder to use, still pretty easy, but coming from an iPhone it took some getting used to - Sub menus etc
The reason I like this phone as an overall 'phone' better is because it just does more things, it's customizable, themes, colours, live wallpapers, different clocks, you can change menu's around etc, it doesn't feel restricted at all in comparison
The battery life is not as good as the iPhone...at all
 
This all put into play, If my gf wanted to swap phones tomorrow, I'd happily go back to the iPhone 4, I like both phones for different reasons, and they're pretty on par with 'which ones best' - It just depends if you want looks/ease of use - Or a more dense/functionality purchase
 

 

[dj_mocok]

I don't actually care so much about MP3 player/music capability TBH, it's just a nice to have feature as I don't mind using my actual MP3 to play music.
So for web browsing, which one do you think it's better? I guess HTC is better because it's bigger? But now I am kinda worried about the battery life...