Getting a new phone soon. Android vs. WP7?

[joshszman09]

So, my contract is up next month and I am thinking about switching to Sprint(from a regional carrier, U.S. Cellular). Sprint has the Arrive and will also be getting the HTC Evo 3D in early June. I am currently using the HTC touch pro2, which I love(hardware wise), but WM6.5 is a nightmare and I can't wait to switch. Just to be clear, both of these phones can meet my needs just fine, that isn't the problem, the problem that I am having is that I prefer the WP7 OS, but am worried that the lower specs will leave me wanting more. With the Evo 3D, it has a bigger, higher quality screen, faster processor(which doesn't really matter, I know), front facing camera, and the 3D screen(which is mostly just a neat trick). I prefer the WP7 OS over Android because of the Xbox live integration, zune services, UI, and many other things, but I think it might be worth putting up with Android(which is certainly an inferior OS, but still very usable) with all of the bells and whistles you get with the Evo 3D. For me, this is a very close call, and I just can't decide. I guess I am just looking for something that could tip the scales in either direction. So, I guess it all boils down to the question, is WP7 really THAT much better than Android where it would be worth sacrificing a few things I want(larger screen, thinner device) to get a WP7 device? And will it get me through a two year contract without feeling a need to switch (especially since the Arrive is last gen hardware)? Thanks for your input!

 

[Luisraul924]

so, my contract is up next month and i am thinking about switching to sprint(from a regional carrier, u.s. Cellular). Sprint has the arrive and will also be getting the htc evo 3d in early june. I am currently using the htc touch pro2, which i love(hardware wise), but wm6.5 is a nightmare and i can't wait to switch. Just to be clear, both of these phones can meet my needs just fine, that isn't the problem, the problem that i am having is that i prefer the wp7 os, but am worried that the lower specs will leave me wanting more. With the evo 3d, it has a bigger, higher quality screen, faster processor(which doesn't really matter, i know), front facing camera, and the 3d screen(which is mostly just a neat trick). I prefer the wp7 os over android because of the xbox live integration, zune services, ui, and many other things, but i think it might be worth putting up with android(which is certainly an inferior os, but still very usable) with all of the bells and whistles you get with the evo 3d. For me, this is a very close call, and i just can't decide. I guess i am just looking for something that could tip the scales in either direction. So, i guess it all boils down to the question, is wp7 really that much better than android where it would be worth sacrificing a few things i want(larger screen, thinner device) to get a wp7 device? And will it get me through a two year contract without feeling a need to switch (especially since the arrive is last gen hardware)? Thanks for your input!

wp7.

 

[dtboos]

WP7. It really is worth it. There are 4 & 4.3" wp7 phones if you want them, just not on Sprint at the moment. The Mango Update (basically windows phone 7.5) is being announced for release on the 24th, and once that update is out its no contest to me.

wp7 has a drastically better UI than anything else, and the features is lacking are almost all coming in the Mango update. If you can wait, I would wait till the new phase of phones are released, which will most likely coincide with Mango's availability.

 

[joshszman09]

WP7. It really is worth it. There are 4 & 4.3" wp7 phones if you want them, just not on Sprint at the moment. The Mango Update (basically windows phone 7.5) is being announced for release on the 24th, and once that update is out its no contest to me.

wp7 has a drastically better UI than anything else, and the features is lacking are almost all coming in the Mango update. If you can wait, I would wait till the new phase of phones are released, which will most likely coincide with Mango's availability.

I know there are big screen phones, but Sprint is the only carrier with decent coverage besides Verizon. And I am aware of all the Mango features, which makes WP7 that much more tempting because Mango looks really awesome. So you think the WP7 user experience is drastically better than Android? Have you used Android as a daily driver? Just curious.

 

[Luisraul924]

I know there are big screen phones, but Sprint is the only carrier with decent coverage besides Verizon. And I am aware of all the Mango features, which makes WP7 that much more tempting because Mango looks really awesome. So you think the WP7 user experience is drastically better than Android? Have you used Android as a daily driver? Just curious.

Before the HD7 that I'm using right now I used the OG Droid and it was awesome... At first then when I rooted it and saw all the "customizability" that Android "offered" I was never... Ever ever ever ever ever... Satisfied. I always had to be flashing this rom that rom this kernel that kernel this theme and that theme but all to no avail, the UI is abhorrent. I hate that un-optimized non-hardware accelerated lag with so much passion that every time i use any Android device including the 100000 core 5^10 THz (yes terahertz) processors with quad channel memory and 10 TB of flash memory, i cringe at the lag the swiping and pinch zooming offers and the browser oh jeez forget about it.

Windows Phone FTW.

 

[cdook]

You don't have to worry about WP7 hardware underperforming. The OS is one of the most responsive OSes I've used. I wish Windows 7 on my laptop was as smooth as WP7.

Apps for WP7 are surprisingly stable. I can't say the same with Android or even iOS.

Xbox Live, Zune and SkyDrive are big advantages that WP7 has. Pick WP7

 

[Rhody#WP]

I had an Evo. It really depends on how you use your phone. At first I was impressed with the Evo and Android. After a while I wanted to unload it. I wanted something smaller with less bloat. But like I said, it depends on how you use it. I don't use all of the features of the Evo. I prefer battery life to huge screen size. I prefer a simple interface to pages and pages of widgets. Which do you prefer?

 

[Winterfang]

WP7 if on AT&T. On sprint? eeeeeeh I don't know, The Evo 3D looks beast.

 

[Goodeye]

I was actually with WP7 (at launch for two weeks) and ditched it for Android. Stuck with that for a few months, and couldn't stand it any longer. I'm now back with WP7. So yeah. I could spend all day talking about why I didn't care for Android in the end but yeah. IMHO WP7>Android but to each their own.

 

[foosball]

Sprint gives you 30 days to test drive a phone so you can take advantage of that.

It only took about 48 hours to realize that WP7 was the best choice for me and that my HTC Arrive was in no danger of getting returned for any other device.

 

[jimski]

I Agree with WPDiddy. Only you can decide what's best for "you" cause everyone has different wants and needs. I would suggest starting with the Arrive though as I think there is a better chance it will be a keeper. The UI grows on you pretty quick. Only other option might be the Trophy, if it really, really gets released next week. Slightly bigger and better screen, unless you have to have that physical keyboard. I had a Fuze/Tilt2 for nearly 3 years and thought I would really miss the kb with my Surround. But after a few days the soft kb became my best friend. No regrets.

Sent from my HTC Surround using Board Express

 

[Duvi]

on a wp7 site, you know what most (if not all) your answers are going to be...

i have and use all the major platforms, including android (motorola atrix). the iphone? i use it in months (aside from a few pics). getting the first dual-core device on at&t (and probably the u.s.) was awesome, but man, all these Ghz and procs does not give you a fluid UI like wp7. the only thing i care for is the google navigation. if/when bing navigation comes, i may finally end up with using one primary phone. right now the focus is my daily driver, but times i'm going on interviews or to places i have never been, i drag the atrix along for the navigation.

it's really about what you want and need, but IMHO, wp7 is the freshest and best OS out w/o Mango. when Mango hits, it's GAME OVER.

 

[Rhody#WP]

I think the TeleNav app that Sprint puts on all smartphones is a great navigation app. It's better than the navigation system in my car. It sucks battery life though.

 

[wolfman-fu]

Well I have been using a samsung captivate for almost a year now as a daily driver, I also have been using a LG Quantum for about a month now. So I am very familiar with both UIs. I would not say that android is inferior, though it does have a certain amount of a learning curve to be a truely useful OS. The wp7 UI on the other hand I really like and is very usable and does not leave me feeling like I am on the shortbus like iOS does.

With all that said I will most likely get a wp7 phone once they are shipping with mango on them as this will give me the ability to run apps like slacker or iheartradio in the background while I check emails or respond to texts.

 

[dtboos]

I know there are big screen phones, but Sprint is the only carrier with decent coverage besides Verizon. And I am aware of all the Mango features, which makes WP7 that much more tempting because Mango looks really awesome. So you think the WP7 user experience is drastically better than Android? Have you used Android as a daily driver? Just curious.

I used a Nexus 1 for a year before switching. I loved things about it since I'm very tech oriented, but the experience is lacking polish, and feels like it is a bunch of half baked products just thrown together. Google products usually feel like they are in the beta stage as far as the overall design (not features), and as fun as it is to customize, and flash ROM's ect, I felt I was missing something. That something ended up being a drastic new take on the mobile UI which is very intuitive, easy to use, fast & responsive, and polished with great integration. iOS had this to some extend, but I didn't like the Apple platform, ecosystem, nor lack of hardware choice (never really cared much for their 'toy-like' UI look either). wp7 has been the most satisfying platform by far, with the best designed UI, and I've used BB, WebOS, iPhone, Android, Symbian, Palm.

Are there features I miss? Yup. But I knew they were missing, and I know they are coming. The future of Windows Phone is very bright. I suggest going and playing with one for a little bit....best if you have a friend with one you can take a gander at.

 

[gibbyhome]

OK,
I am a huge Sprint fan and customer, when WP7 came out I moved myself to ATT and kept the family on Sprint, I loved the focus it is an awsome phone, but my God ATT service is expensive, did not reolize how sprints any mobile to any mobile made such a difference in min's, so the dell came out on T-mobile I got the dell becaue of the cost of ATT and Sprint sitll did not have a WP7 yet, changed the SD Card and its a really good phone but my problem is its way to heavy for me, with the focus I sometimes did not know it was even in my shirt pocket it was so light. now the arrive is on sprint , my wife and kids have been killing me for a WP7 so I got them both the arive and they love it but with me at 40 something I need reading glasses and dont really want to put them on when looking at my phone LOL the screen with the arrive is just to small for me and the 4 in super amloid screen on the focus and dell I don't need my glasses to read anything on it, So Again I need to wait for a 4 inch screen on Spirnt, I don't think I will see one until Mango but I will wait for a front facing camera and 4 in screen. as for Windows PHone over android. I'm an IT Director and support alot of peoople and I can't tell you how many people call in because they just got an android and have no Idea how to use it. So I got and androd phone to see if I could help. I think its a copy of windows mobile style but with ablolutiy no direction. The phone I had was a motorola i1 and It was running android 1.6 i could not do active synce and all the other phones had 2.1, I had no idea that I was not going to get an upgrade to 2.1 and they wanted me to buy a new phone, I did not like the os and I am very happy taking that phone back ..

 

[PhilR8]

This is a great response - I feel the same way. I loved the Evo but there was, as you say, a lack of polish evident not only in the stock sense ROM, but every custom ROM I tried. Warm, Cyanogen... all had their obvious and glaring caveats.

I used a Nexus 1 for a year before switching. I loved things about it since I'm very tech oriented, but the experience is lacking polish, and feels like it is a bunch of half baked products just thrown together. Google products usually feel like they are in the beta stage as far as the overall design (not features), and as fun as it is to customize, and flash ROM's ect, I felt I was missing something. That something ended up being a drastic new take on the mobile UI which is very intuitive, easy to use, fast & responsive, and polished with great integration. iOS had this to some extend, but I didn't like the Apple platform, ecosystem, nor lack of hardware choice (never really cared much for their 'toy-like' UI look either). wp7 has been the most satisfying platform by far, with the best designed UI, and I've used BB, WebOS, iPhone, Android, Symbian, Palm.

Are there features I miss? Yup. But I knew they were missing, and I know they are coming. The future of Windows Phone is very bright. I suggest going and playing with one for a little bit....best if you have a friend with one you can take a gander at.

 

[1jaxstate1]

I've used both. Wp7 blows Androidout the water performance wise. Buy I was using a Craptivate. Android has good push implementation. I'd like to try a newer Android phone so I can get a better comparison.

Sent from my Samsung Focus using Board Express

 

[jalb]

For some reason, I thought the Captivate and the Focus had the same internals.

Sent from my SGH-i917 using Board Express

 

[doublebullout]

WP7 is a more elegant and pleasant mobile OS to use than Android. Between those two options, I'd definitely choose WP7 without any reservation.


Sent from my greenpois0ned iPhone 4 using Tapatalk