iPhone, Blackberry or Android?

[Justin]

Thinking about getting one of the above. I'm a big fan of the iPod touch so the iPhone really does appeal. We don't get 3G in Shetland on Vodafone which is preffered network (it's the only one that works at least some of the time!) but T-Mobile claims some coverage here.

Mainly for email which leans me towards the Blackberry which I do like.

Appreciate some advice on which way to go.

[accdave]

If you haven't got nimble fingers the blackberry is a nightmare

[jennywren]

That counts me out, not nimbled fingered i'm fraid

[Kaz]

I've got the HTC Desire, as does my 19 year old and my OH and we all love it

My mates got an iphone 4g and whenever it does updates, it stops working for him, and he needs to go back to the shop to get them to fix it for him, he's for bouncing it out the window.

My mum has a blackberry, and it took her ages to get used to it due to the small footery buttons on it, now she swears by it.

If you can, get into a shop and try them all out before you make a decision

[Justin]

Short stubby fingers that work ok with the blackberry keyboard. May be a bit of a non-starte this, no 3G signal worth talking about so emails would probably be ok (used BB for this before with some success)

I have heard the HTC is very good and I'm still concerned that there are issues with the latest iPhone.

[JSR]

If you have an iPod Touch, why would you get an iPhone? You may as well go for one of the others and benefit from both platforms.

I have an iPod Touch but my recent new phone is an Android (Samsung Galaxy Portal).

Just be wary about Android. I initially went to Android because of all the reports that it's open-source and that the iPhone won't and will never do Flash. There was plenty of promise around that Android will get Flash.

But if the manufacturer of your phone doesn't update it, you're left out in the cold.

My phone was new in May and it came with Android 2.1. I thought this was good because other Android phones (and the same phone on other networks) were stuck on the older Android 1.6. The only version of Android that supports Flash is Android 2.2, but there's no sign of my phone getting Android 2.2, even though I've only had it for a couple of months.

So don't believe all those stories about Apple being the only tight-wad with restrictions on what the phone can do. Android's no better.

My brother has a blackberry and swears by it. I went for the Samsung Galaxy Portal because it was the cheapest smartphone I could find with an affordable monthly contract. I like the phone and two friends got the same one after seeing mine - but the lack of any upgrade to a newer version of the OS means I'm stuck with an outdated phone that will never be updated for the next two years. If you can put up with that, go for it. If not, look elsewhere.

[bms]

I've got the iPhone 4 - never had an iPhone before but have to say it works perfectly. No problems so far and all positive. One of the downsides when compared to other 'smart phones' though is the iPhone is more expensive for what you get (in terms of minutes/ txt/ download etc).

[tmp55]

Just be wary about Android. I initially went to Android because of all the reports that it's open-source and that the iPhone won't and will never do Flash. There was plenty of promise around that Android will get Flash

I'm presently on a web design course and apparently flash is being phased out. In the world of web design it is considered past its sell by date and its use frowned upon. The new kid on the block appears to be HTML5 for its media handling capabilities. So if your phone doesn't do flash I wouldn't worry too much about it.

[JSR]

Just be wary about Android. I initially went to Android because of all the reports that it's open-source and that the iPhone won't and will never do Flash. There was plenty of promise around that Android will get Flash

I'm presently on a web design course and apparently flash is being phased out. In the world of web design it is considered past its sell by date and its use frowned upon. The new kid on the block appears to be HTML5 for its media handling capabilities. So if your phone doesn't do flash I wouldn't worry too much about it.

While that's true, it'll be a long time in coming. Apple advocates are pushing the HTML5 argument to justify Apple's dislike of Adobe but, back in the real world, Flash will be with us for some time to come yet.

For example, the BBC waited to develop an iPlayer app for Android until Flash was available on the Android platform. Try to watch it on an earlier Android without Flash and you can forget it. Why would the BBC support Flash if HTML5 was the future? Android can do HTML5 just fine - that's why you can watch YouTube on non-Flash smartphones. But the BBC clearly didn't want to go down that route.

The irony is that there is a BBC iPlayer app for the iPhone/iPod Touch so they clearly make non-Flash concessions for Apple. For the rest of the world we have to use Flash and no amount of wishful thinking on the part of HTML5 will change that.

[Justin]

Anyone using T-Mobile PAYG Blackberry?