[wonderboy416]

ganja, you're right it's all about preference. Mind you, on a display that small, cramming more pixels onto the screen serves almost no purpose
If you look at the Galaxy S screen next to any other display it will blow you away, this much I'm sure of. It's really it's strongest selling feature when compared to the other Android phones. You must have seen engaget's display comparison... at no point in time up until now has any review focussed on pixel density in a device like this, it's a non-factor, so to base a screen comparison on that one factor alone is pretty much insane. There's a lot of really pro Apple sites out there.

As for picard's comment that an extra half inch is nothing to write home about....
half an inch gets you drastically more screen real estate (think in terms of percent, it should be close to maybe 30-35% more?). If you're reading pdf articles, watching movies or surfing the internet it's a HUGE improvement. I've lived with an Iphone, I can't tell you enough how amazing the screen on the Galaxy is. As for issues with the size and lack of expandable memory... yes you can live with the Iphone for sure... BUT it's just downright anti-consumer for Apple NOT to include something that's a standard feature on all but the most basic phones across the entire industry. There's no excuse for not having a micro SD card. They wouldn't be able to sell their higher capacity models (and Ipod touches) for ridiculous amounts of pure profit if they included such a basic feature. Look at the price difference between an 8 and 32gb Ipod touch, then look at the cost of memory... Apple has quite the business model going for them, if you don't buy the 32gb model now you're always going to have to live with the limitations of the 8gb... I have problems giving my hard earned money to such a company.

I really do think the Iphone is a great phone for a lot of people... but I stand behind my previous comment. If you were to put Android 2.2 on an Iphone 4 and then put it on a display rack next to some modern Android phones, no one in their right mind would even consider it unless they were in love with the form factor. If you were to remove the Apple logo I'm sure it wouldn't even sell at all. It's well behind the curve and missing so many basic features that others (ie. Blackberry) have been doing for years... Features that would probably cost Apple a few bucks if they were to include them.

Having played with OS4 (my girlfriend ironically is in love with her Iphone and has upgraded her 3G to the newest OS) I can tell you it's like using a straight jacket compared to Android. Microsoft's OS dominated Apple's in the 90's (and still does to this day) for a reason, this seems like Apple never learned their lesson in terms of having an open, customizable environment. I wish Microsoft and RIM luck, but Android is most likiely going to be the new Windows given the greater emphasis on mobile devices.

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

As for picard's comment that an extra half inch is nothing to write home about....
half an inch gets you drastically more screen real estate (think in terms of percent, it should be close to maybe 30-35% more?). If you're reading pdf articles, watching movies or surfing the internet it's a HUGE improvement. I've lived with an Iphone, I can't tell you enough how amazing the screen on the Galaxy is. As for issues with the size and lack of expandable memory... yes you can live with the Iphone for sure... BUT it's just downright anti-consumer for Apple NOT to include something that's a standard feature on all but the most basic phones across the entire industry. There's no excuse for not having a micro SD card. They wouldn't be able to sell their higher capacity models (and Ipod touches) for ridiculous amounts of pure profit if they included such a basic feature. Look at the price difference between an 8 and 32gb Ipod touch, then look at the cost of memory... Apple has quite the business model going for them, if you don't buy the 32gb model now you're always going to have to live with the limitations of the 8gb... I have problems giving my hard earned money to such a company.

The last two generations of the iPhone have been 16 & 32GB.

 

[wonderboy416]

The last two generations of the iPhone have been 16 & 32GB.

And neither supports expandable memory (the only 2 recent smartphones released that don't!). Neither works as a USB mass storage device out of the box (requiring Itunes). The 32gb also carries an insane premium for just doubling the memory (profit for the win).
For most users that is plenty, but not to give the option of expandability is just downright loopy. Apple wants to control everything on your phone including how you load info to and from it. They even fought hard to make it illegal to jailbreak in the US (thankfully they lost - I couldn't fathom living with a non-jailbroken Iphone).

This is not a progressive, forward-thinking, consumer oriented company.
It's the complete opposite of what Google's Android stands for which requires the above features to be included or one cannot issue a handset using Android.
Google also freely allows apps that directly compete with Google's own offerings... in fact they encourage it. Apple took how long to approve Firefox? They have denied how many apps now?

 

[dt_toronto_geek]

And neither supports expandable memory (the only 2 recent smartphones released that don't!). Neither works as a USB mass storage device out of the box (requiring Itunes). The 32gb also carries an insane premium for just doubling the memory (profit for the win).
For most users that is plenty, but not to give the option of expandability is just downright loopy. Apple wants to control everything on your phone including how you load info to and from it. They even fought hard to make it illegal to jailbreak in the US (thankfully they lost - I couldn't fathom living with a non-jailbroken Iphone).

This is not a progressive, forward-thinking, consumer oriented company.
It's the complete opposite of what Google's Android stands for which requires the above features to be included or one cannot issue a handset using Android.
Google also freely allows apps that directly compete with Google's own offerings... in fact they encourage it. Apple took how long to approve Firefox? They have denied how many apps now?

I couldn't agree more re: Apple & your iPhone comments, but I'm a convert and jailbreaking for additional Cydia apps. is easy enough.

 

[Dan416]

iPhone is a great choice for anyone in my opinion. Especially if your music is all through iTunes (as mine is). Android really doesn't interest me. Although to be honest I've never seen an Android phone in real life.

Sadly, I now have to use a BlackBerry 9700 as WIND's AWS spectrum (1700) isn't supported by my iPhone 3G (or the later 3GS and 4). Here's hoping the 4G or 5 or whatever they call the next one has AWS support. I would switch back to iPhone in an instant.

As for WIND's network, it's all right. I'm not sure if I should attribute my phone's slowness at internet related stuff to BlackBerry or to WIND or both. That said, I mostly do texting and BBM and I have a great plan and save ~ $40 a month on my cell phone plan. (Old plan was $25 unlimited incoming plan, plus $15 Value Pack, $30 for 6 GB data, plus 911 and SAF and taxes, $87.80 before any overages, e.g. US texting; New plan is $25 unlimited calling Canada/unlimited texting US/Canada; $20 500 MB data; $50.85 after taxes).

 

[GraphicMatt]

There are definitely many valid criticisms of Apple's policies when it comes to controlling the user experience, but they're still the only company currently in the mobile space that can design software well.

Android's big challenge is fragmentation - that the carriers have to provide OS updates means that users end up on different versions. I know Rogers sells devices with Android 1.5, Android 2.1, Android 2.2, etc.

That said, they're likely to take a plurality of market share in the near future, especially as Android gets used with cheapy $0 with contract phones.

 

[syn]

Blackberry is unveiling their 9800 Slider on Tuesday (tomorrow) with their new OS. That might be something to consider.

 

[ganjavih]

Yeah, the slide-out keyboard is a very cool idea... gives you a larger screen without sacrificing a real keyboard, which is always better than a virtual one. I used to have the Palm Tungsten C, and having that keyboard really helps.

Reviews for recent Blackberrys haven't been spectacular... let's see what happens with this one.

 

[wonderboy416]

I'm excited to see what comes out of the 9800 as well (in just a few hours).
The form factor seems great. BB still has a gem that no one else can touch in the BB Messenger and its enterprise and email solutions are still tops in the industry.
A solid offering should help them keep their bleeding marketshare to a minimum in the corporate sector at least.

I still wonder what the phone has to offer for the casual user.

The camera doesn't appear to be anything special, the web kit browser should hopefully bring it up to speed with other offerings but the weaklink is the app store.
Android, Iphone, WEB OS and even Winmo will have a huge leg up if something drastic hasn't been done on RIM's part. That alone could mean no significant gains in the non-corporate world.

I loved my BB, more so than my Iphone. But I'd never trade my Galaxy S in for that experience in this day and age. I really hope that RIM has upped their game and that the new OS is slick and has some killer apps built-in that no one else has, otherwise it's just a me-too effort far too late.

 

[lead82]

I don't have much hope for the new OS. It is an improvement over the previous versions but it is not revolutionary. It simply catches up with Apple and Google. The new OS does nit cone with any new super apps. RIM's weakness is the lack of apps for consumers due to the complexity to wrote them compared to the other platforms. The one savior for RIM could be if they figure out how to create apps for the enterprise, which surprisingly has not yet been exploited yet.

 

[wonderboy416]

While the OS is a huge step up, it's still built on top of layers and layers of ancient code leftover from previous BB's. I was hoping for a fresh start.

App developers are also going to have to choose between designing for OS6 (a phone with no user base), designing for OS5 (will run on OS6 but can't take advantage of any new features) or designing 1 app for each, not well played I think.

Still the phone should hit the sweet spot if you're a BB lover. Sucks nothing for the Canadian market anytime soon. Nothing particularly new or innovative here either... *hugs Galaxy*.

 

[Promagstyle]

I'm with Fido under the Rogers branding, their phones are absolutely cheap but what they charge for services is a fraction of the cost that Rogers is charging. I had three phones with the Fido brand and two out of three still work perfectly fine up to this date. I like the fact that you can purchase new cellphones with you're Fido Dollars.

Sony Ericcson T237
Motorola W510
LG Gossip (GW300FD) - Current cellphone

I am very drawn into buying "no name" brand cellphones at Pacific Mall ( Kennedy and Steeles ), but just don't have the time or patience to go and negotiate a price with the private resellers there. Has anyone bought a "no name" brand cellphone at Pacific Mall or else where in Toronto and has their phone lasted long enough through you're contract or agreement with you're cellphone service provider?

 

[wonderboy416]

I am very drawn into buying "no name" brand cellphones at Pacific Mall ( Kennedy and Steeles ), but just don't have the time or patience to go and negotiate a price with the private resellers there. Has anyone bought a "no name" brand cellphone at Pacific Mall or else where in Toronto and has their phone lasted long enough through you're contract or agreement with you're cellphone service provider?

These things often emit unlawfully high amounts of radiation and are made on the cheap.
I had a few, one was a flip that lasted a year and was half decent.. the other was an Iphone knockoff that was pretty damn good (able to surf the web through having unlimited WAP with rogers at the time haha), until it died a month later.

 

[ganjavih]

So after much contemplating, I decided to choose the iPhone 4 over the Samsung Galaxy S. The better camera, retina display, and my laziness and willingness to let the good people at Apple make all my decisions for me clinched it. Unfortunately, iPhone 4s are nowhere to be found. I went to my local Bell the other day to see if maybe they got a new shipment, but alas, they all sold. The lady said, we just got these, why don't you take a look? And she pulled out the Samsung Galaxy S. I asked if I could play with it for a bit, and I sat in the store and played with it for about half an hour. Just before the store closed, I decided to buy it. They had one left in an unopened box.

Damn, that display... it's stunning! Definitely more vibrant and obviously larger than the iPhone 4. I love this puppy, and now that I've gotten used to the Android system, I'm really happy that I chose something that is customizable and flexible. The only thing I miss is the ultra-high resolution of the iPhone 4 which does make reading small text easier on the eyes. But surfing and reading pdfs on that large Galaxy S screen is a joy. No regrets, I'm glad the iPhone 4 has been sold out... I chose the right phone for me.

 

[wonderboy416]

ganja, welcome to the club!!!

The screen is truly remarkable and by far the best on the market.

I'm curious, did your phone come with two batteries?
Does Bell use sim cards for getting on their network? I know that's mostly a GSM thing but here in Korea-Japan land they use sim cards in their CDMA phones.

Have you played with the camera? I love the 720p videos it takes!

Anyway, can't wait to hear more of your impressions and welcome to club android!

btw... install advanced task killer ASAP. That lil puppy will free up all the memory in case it gets bogged with too much apps running around in the background (since some apps are always on) - install it as a widget.