I bought a new phone today

[Steve]

I was going to wait and see what Windows Phone 7 is like before buying a new phone, but after playing about with a decent Android-based phone, I decided to get one of these: -

 

 

I've not had much chance to play with it, but from what I've seen so far it's fucking amazing. Can anyone recommend any useful Android apps?

[doppelkorn]

The only android app you need is the game jewels.

 

Seriously though get opera mini, advanced app killer, the rodney dangerfield quotes app, xkcd viewer...I actually have a ton more but I wouldn't recommend them particularly.

 

I'm still on the lookout for a really decent media player/library tool

 

Out of interest what network and deal did you go for?

[Jon]

Looks purdy.

 

Saw this today and it made me giggle:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qQhfo3CC-k

[Steve]

Out of interest what network and deal did you go for?

The deal is with T-Mobile through a third party. The phone was free (and came with a proper HTC car charger) and I get 600 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited Internet access for £25 a month. I could probably have got a bit better deal than that, but the place I got the phone from sells them unlocked and unbranded, so I don't mind paying a little more for that as I can get updates faster and I hate phone branding in general (especially Orange's branding - cunts!).

[Jon]

Out of interest what network and deal did you go for?

The deal is with T-Mobile through a third party. The phone was free (and came with a proper HTC car charger) and I get 600 minutes, unlimited texts and unlimited Internet access for £25 a month. I could probably have got a bit better deal than that, but the place I got the phone from sells them unlocked and unbranded, so I don't mind paying a little more for that as I can get updates faster and I hate phone branding in general (especially Orange's branding - cunts!).

 

Buh, I pay just under that for a sim only deal on a shite phone with the same 600 mins + unlimited texts deal. Gotta link bro?

[doppelkorn]

It really really kicks ass. Really.

 

Was that an internet deal? I ended up badgering 02 to give me a sim only deal for £15 which is 300 mins and unlimited (literally) data and texts. Had to buy the phone though at a discounted £280.

[Steve]

Sure do: -

 

http://www.mobilephonesdirect.co.uk/Brands/HTC/b509/n447/p31043.aspx

 

It's actually 500 texts a month, not unlimited. D'oh. I misread that when I ordered, but 500 is plenty for me. If you go for it, you can remove the 3 months free insurance before placing the order, then you won't have to cancel it to avoid being charged once the 3 months is up. Be aware though, that Mobile Phones Direct gets shit reviews because a lot of people ordered the Desire from them when it came out and they kept them waiting for weeks, saying they were getting stock in when they weren't. That said, I ordered the phone on Sunday and it arrived today which is when they said it would arrive, so I'm happy.

 

Oh, and if you have a free Quidco account, you get £30 cashback for buying a contract phone from them, so don't forget to do that! If you don't have a Quidco account, sign up for one.

 

If you're not arsed about the phone, you can get a SIM only deal from T-Mobile offering the same allowance I get for £15 a month, so even if you don't go for the Desire, I would do that to save yourself a tenner a month on what you currently pay. If you're not with T-Mobile already, you can port your current number over to them.

[Jon]

It really really kicks ass. Really.

 

 

[Jon]

Sure do: -

 

http://www.mobilephonesdirect.co.uk/Brands/HTC/b509/n447/p31043.aspx

 

It's actually 500 texts a month, not unlimited. D'oh. I misread that when I ordered, but 500 is plenty for me. If you go for it, you can remove the 3 months free insurance before placing the order, then you won't have to cancel it to avoid being charged once the 3 months is up. Be aware though, that Mobile Phones Direct gets shit reviews because a lot of people ordered the Desire from them when it came out and they kept them waiting for weeks, saying they were getting stock in when they weren't. That said, I ordered the phone on Sunday and it arrived today which is when they said it would arrive, so I'm happy.

 

Oh, and if you have a free Quidco account, you get £30 cashback for buying a contract phone from them, so don't forget to do that! If you don't have a Quidco account, sign up for one.

 

If you're not arsed about the phone, you can get a SIM only deal from T-Mobile offering the same allowance I get for £15 a month, so even if you don't go for the Desire, I would do that to save yourself a tenner a month on what you currently pay. If you're not with T-Mobile already, you can port your current number over to them.

 

Thanks Steve! They have an unlimited texts option too but it doesnt have free internets. £30 for that too.

[Steve]

Do you have the same phone then, dopp? Do you use a case or screen protectors at all? I'm looking for recommendations. The official HTC case is a slip case, so you can't use the phone when it's in it, which I don't like.

[doppelkorn]

Yeah just got some cheapy screen protectors off the bay, something like 99p for 6, dunno the mrs got em. Don't use a silicone case but I think I should for droppages.

 

It's a top top phone, only let down by 02's slightly shit coverage

[Steve]

I've played around with the phone a fair bit now and I love it. The text messaging is the best I've ever used. I like how it doesn't matter if you hit the odd wrong key - it still knows which word you're trying to type. The phone is so customisable. The way you can have multiple scenes and literally put anything wherever you want across the multiple screens of each scene is just superb. The browser is excellent as well.

 

I tried a few apps out. Google Earth is just amazing. I never expected it to work so smoothly on a phone. I zoomed in from outer space to my house and it was virtually seamless. The turn by turn navigation with Google Maps works really well too. I can't believe that they give that away for free. I also downloaded the ShopSavvy app where you can scan a barcode and it'll find the best prices both locally and on the web, but it seemed hit and miss. I tried it with a Karl Pilkington book and the box for my MP3 player and it worked fine, but then I tried it with a loaf of bread and a packet of biscuits and it came up with completely different products.

 

The only 2 minor negatives so far, are that the weather app is hit and miss and sometimes it crashes Sense. It detects that I'm in Stafford only it says that the data is unavailable, but if I type Stafford in manually as a second location it works fine. Also, a minor gripe is that it won't read the genre part of the tags for MP3s unless you use an old tagging method, but that's only an issue if you want to browse your music by genre and it's fixable by re-tagging the files. I'm sure both of these will be fixed as there are enough posts on those 2 topics across various forums and sites. Oh, and there's no way to disable the start up sound which seems pretty fucking loud, so I guess that's 3 minor gripes.

 

I got a bonus from T-Mobile as well. I was having a bit of a problem so I had to call their tech support - I could call numbers, but other people couldn't call me and I couldn't send texts, so I phoned T-Mobile up and got it sorted (it was an account activation issue) and just as the call was about to end, the tech support girl said "oh, I can see on the screen that you're new to the T-Mobile family, so we can offer you a gift of free evening calls throughout your contract", so if I call someone between 8 PM and 5 AM any day of the week, it doesn't come out of my 600 monthly minutes.

 

I've bought a silicone case and screen protector off Amazon for £4. Out of 11 reviews it has 4.5/5, but I'll let you know what it's like when it arrives, dopp.

[Jon]

Ordered me one

[Steve]

I'm loving mine. I was showing it to a mate the other day and he was blown away. He said "what's it like for texting?" so I showed him the on-screen keyboard with the phone up the normal way and he said "meh, the keys are too small", but then I gave him the phone so he could try typing a text and he soon realised that the size of the keys doesn't really matter. The phone has XT9 predictive text so it knows if you hit the odd wrong key and still gets the words right. Obviously, in landscape mode the keyboard is much bigger anyway.

 

Which contract/supplier did you go for Jon?

[Jon]

I went for the 300 mins, infinite texts and infiinite internet option through the link you provided. I forgot to uncheck the insurance bit, so i guess will have to give them a call in 3 months time to cancel it. Now I have the long task of trying to cancel my 02 monthly contract for my old phone. I've heard it's a bit of a ballache!

[Steve]

I just bought a Case-Mate Barely There case for my Desire: -

 

Back: -

 

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/9183/cm1t.jpg

 

Front: -

 

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/1358/cm2m.jpg

 

It looks the part, is easy to fit as the phone just clips into it, it has cut-outs in all the right places, and it adds very little extra size/weight to the phone. It also comes with a couple of screen protectors and a cleaning cloth. The downsides are that this particular chrome one is quite slippery compared to the back of the phone itself, plus it doesn't offer as much protection as some other cases on the market.

[muzzell]

looks well good but is it better than an iphone? Do you get free sat nav software?

[Steve]

looks well good but is it better than an iphone?

I'm not really in a position to comment mate. Techradar has a feature on their top 25 smartphones in the world today and they have the Desire at number 1, with the iPhone 4 at number 2 and the 3GS at number 8. That's a matter of opinion still, but I'd say there's not much between the Desire and any of the top smartphones on the market at the moment. Having used a 3GS, I wouldn't swap the Desire for one, because the 3GS is a less powerful phone that's not as customisable and is more locked down.

 

The other thing to consider is the ongoing costs: -

 

Here's my contract details, and I pay £25 a month: -

 

Phone = Free (plus free car charger)

Minutes = 600 (plus free evenings and weekends)

Texts = Unlimited

Data = 3 GB

 

The closest iPhone 4 contract to that one from the Carphone Warehouse is this one at £35 a month: -

 

Phone = £119/£219 (depending on whether you go for the 16 GB or 32 GB phone)

Minutes = 600

Texts = Unlimited

Data = 512 MB

 

Do you get free sat nav software?

Yep. Google Maps/Navigation gives you free turn by turn navigation and it allows you to add layers such as satellite view and so on. I used it yesterday when I had to go to a hospital in Stoke and while I couldn't look at the screen because I don't have a car mount yet, the spoken turn by turn directions were spot on.

 

If you like the look of it, have a look at other Android phones on the market because there's quite a few options when it comes to high end Android-based smartphones. The Samsung Galaxy S is supposed to be very good and some people rate it as better than the Desire.

[muzzell]

thanks. just spent an hour looking at reviews and videos of that desire. very nice.

 

I was thinking about getting a sat nav this weekend but its not worth it if smart phones can run the software.

[Steve]

I was thinking about getting a sat nav this weekend but its not worth it if smart phones can run the software.

Yeah, that was one of my reasons for getting a new phone. There's various sat navs apps available for Android and iPhone, but the Google one does the trick for free. It's also coming to the iPhone (maps are available already, but not the navigation) where it'll also be free. A lot of Nokia phones also have free sat nav that you can download from Nokia's site too, so you're spoiled for choice.

 

Here's a page showing some of the features of the sat nav with some pics: -

 

http://www.google.com/mobile/navigation/

 

It's pretty impressive and might not totally match up with what dedicated sat navs offer, but it's good enough for me.

[muzzell]

hey thanks steve

[muzzell]

So... my desire is coming Tuesday. Nice

[Jon]

Loving mine!

[muzzell]

why would you not go for insurance on such a nice phone Steve. what if you sit on it or drop it down the bog?

[Steve]

Yeah, you have a point mate. I guess because I've never had reason to make a claim in the past, I thought I'd be paying out for something I probably wouldn't use. I didn't mean to imply in my earlier post that cancelling the insurance was necessarily a good idea!

 

If you bank with Lloyds TSB, their Silver current account (£7.95 a month) gives you mobile phone insurance, car breakdown cover from the AA, travel insurance (within Europe only though), air miles and a couple of other bits and pieces. I was tempted to go for that, because it's less than 2 quid more than the phone insurance on its own. Maybe other banks also offer things like this? It's worth looking into, cos you might end up with a better deal.