Android's UK phone sales quadruple

Sales of Android-based phones more than quadrupled in the UK during the most-recent quarter. This news comes to us in a report from GfK Retail and Technology, a self-styled "global knowledge provider" based in Nuremberg, Germany. According to GfK, Android's share of UK smartphone contract sales sales was a mere three per cent …

[JaitcH]

Does this mean the British buyer is more astute?

Americans, seemingly demonstrating they care more about style than the function have continued to buy Version 4 telephones notwithstanding there about 11 known defects with the product.

The figures you include in your piece suggest that the British smart-phone buyer is more concerned with function, inasmuch as Version 4 has defects and RIM fewer 'flashy' features, than style. In other words value for money.

Maybe the different philosophies behind Android and Apple - open and closed - is finally being recognised by the non-technical purchaser and they are voting with their wallets.

It will be interesting to see the sales figures in other countries in August.

[Anonymous Coward]

Or the contrary?

Funny, I thought that, for e moment, the Android platform is much less functional from the user point of view than the iOS. could it be that Iphone 4 has availability issues and others profit of this situation instead?

[Tigra 07]

No fanboy

"Funny, I thought that, for e moment, the Android platform is much less functional from the user point of view than the iOS. could it be that Iphone 4 has availability issues and others profit of this situation instead?"

Nope, it's the opposite.

Multitasking and freedom to download and run anything compatible are just some of the benefits if you use any phone OS other than apple's

And the android use will increase much faster because at xmas people will choose those phones over more expensive apple ones with less functionality.

Android will ease more people into the smartphone market and onto their platform

[Anonymous Coward]

Nope

Android is more functional than iOS. For instance, I've got Spotify playing music while I'm browsing the 'net. If I find something that I want to download to my phone, I can leave it downloading and either open another browser window or leave it running in the background and go play a game.

The iPhone, on the other hand, cannot do that. Which is retarded for an apparently consumer-oriented device.

And "Availability Issues" mean Apple built like 4 of the things before releasing it so they could claim it sold out worldwide in 45 seconds.

[Dave 142]

usual uninformed rubbish.

"For instance, I've got Spotify playing music while I'm browsing the 'net."

you can do that on an iPhone.

"I can leave it downloading and either open another browser window or leave it running in the background and go play a game."

you can do that on an iPhone.

[dogged]

you can do that on an iPhone.

Only if you're stupid enough to buy one.

[DrXym]

Hmm

"Funny, I thought that, for e moment, the Android platform is much less functional from the user point of view than the iOS. could it be that Iphone 4 has availability issues and others profit of this situation instead?"

Well this user you speak of is wrong. Android phones in general are just as usable and functional as an iPhone. More so if you consider the ability to choose a phone that fits your budget, form factor, feature set, network provider etc. And that android by default is a far better designed OS than iOS in most respects.

The fact that sales have quadrupled would seem to be a huge frigging flashing neon sign to that effect.

[Arctic fox]

Weeell, I dunno.

Fact is that 2010 has seen the launch of some of the best kit that HTC, SE or Samsung have so far produced; many of these phones being very stylish as well. Apple's iPhone 3 didn't face particularly strong competition whilst number 4 is actually having to fight its corner. Furthermore the numbers cited in the article predate the "Judasphone" contoversy. It will be interesting to see the next quarter's figures (for example we have recenlt seen the release of HTC's "Wildfire" and SE's Xperia lineup amongst others). It also must be mention that with Android 2.1 and the upcoming v 2.2 the iOS has a really solid and credible competitor. Finally, if Winphone7 turns out to be any good it should all get very interesting, particularly in the first half of 2011.

[Dave 142]

Except...

this is data for the quarter before the iPhone 4 came out

[g e]

This new learning amazes me, Sir Bedevere

Tell me once more how ios (did they do a deal with cisco on that moniker yet?) outperforms android.

[goldcd]

I think it's simply due to people realizing the iphone is not the only smart phone

Early adopters have been buying all manner of smart phones for ages, but it was the iphone that made it mainstream. People (i.e. the vast majority of phone buyers) who had been quite happy with their ever smaller number-pad phones, suddenly found themselves happily coughing up for an iphone, marvelling at 'apps' and banging on to all around them who'd listen.

Gradually more and more people started to realize that maybe they too might want an iphone - and the lo the iphone sold in ridiculous volume and was written about endlessly in the popular media.

Simply the decline in Apple marketshare isn't so much due to people not wanting to buy an iphone, just the iphone has led the majority of people to consider a smart phone and with their heads around that, they're considering the choice the new market offers them.

Other reasons:

Cost. an iphone over the length of a contract is expensive. I roughly equivalent Android device can be picked up for significantly less.

Iphone is not the only phone. Couple of years back my better half 'wanted' an iphone. Vodafone didn't carry them. In the end she got a decent discount on her new contract and a very pretty little SE candybar. This time she didn't want an Iphone. She looked at it, but ended up asking me if I was happy with my phone (an N1) and then went and bought one of those. I've had various smart phones (P800, few WinMobs etc) that she's never paid any attention to before.

Iphone is no longer 'exclusive'. From the great big Apple on the back to the white earbuds, the iphone was always a little bit 'look at me'. We've now all seen an iphone. It may still be expensive, but it's no longer an aspirational product now half the school bus queue seems to be waving them about.

Other smart phones caught up. Or more specifically made an effort to not just be about the function.

[Pabs]

Can't wait....

Can't wait till my contract ends so I can ditch the iPhone! But got 18mths left to go *cries*

[g e]

Ebay it to a fanboi

</nuff>

[Lionel Baden]

lol

i should feel sorry for you .... but

Serves ya bloody right for trying to bit Hip

[T-Unit]

They hold their value

Sell it on eBay or one of those phone recycling companies and you will easily be able to pick up a decent Android or BB device for the money

[ACcc]

That's not a bad thing

...they might have fixed the antenna by then.

[Pabs]

lol..

Selling on ebay won't cover the contract + new phone :p

[Anonymous Coward]

re: Does this mean the British buyer is more astute

I think it does demonstrate that.

Americans buy whatever crap the TV tells them to buy. Xbox, iPhone, anything else on QVC..

[Anonymous Coward]

Does this mean the British buyer is more astute

The people of the USA mystify me, I can't for the life of me think why a large amount of citizens there continue to buy broken Xboxes and faulty iPhones etc.

The brand loyalty is incredible, although the word loyalty has too much of a positive connotation, maybe brand slavery would be a better phrase.

[Eddy Ito]

It's just like gubbermint

No really, it isn't [brand, party] loyalty that keeps people coming back to the same old crap. It is more of a devil you think you know vs. the devil you're completely clueless about with a bit of flag waving tossed in. It's all about US vs them without really knowing who US or them really are.

Over here, MS == US and Apple == US so it's ok to buy anything they make. Note that the same was true for GM and Ford until that whole quality debacle that ran from the late 70's to about last Friday. By the way, that is why we invited Toyota and Honda to build factories here, so we could adopt them as our own. Compare that with clearly foreign brands like Nokia (sounds too Korean), HTC (Hecho en Taiwan Company) and Motorola (What are they, Canucks or something? well that's not so bad).

[Anonymous Coward]

Buyer's awaiting new model?

Let's face it, most people were aware during Q2 a new iPhone was coming. What will be interesting is to see if Apple claws back their market share with the introduction of iPhone 4.

[Dan 10]

Overload

I'm an iPhone user. I'm out of contract but in light of dodgy antennas and iAds, thought I would check out Android. Surf on over to htc.com, to be confronted by a gazillion similar-looking phones with enticing but completely uninformative names - Wildfire, Desire, Incredible. Some have 'Sense'. No idea what that means. Most are big on social networking (I'm not), but I can't for the life of me tell which one is for me. I hear people going on about the 'Evo', but I can't see that on the UK site. I make a mental note of one that simply looks nice enough (very scientific), and Google it. Apparently it's aimed at the lower end of the market, and teenagers. Stuff that. I want ease of use, powerful, diverse apps, a good display, a good media player, web browser etc etc. Guess what? If I go back over to Apple, I can tell at a glance which phone is going to do that best for me. With a bumper, granted, but hey, I use a cover anyway.

So I'm back where I started.

[Rebajas]

Agree...

HTC does have a crap web site, but great phones.

[Karnka]

The title is required, and must contain letters and/or digits.

Most of the HTC phones aren't available in the UK.

If you want a relatively high end Android phone you've really got two choices.

HTC Desire - Has their 'Sense' skin which is really just a few nice weather/clock widgets etc. Nice, solid phone.

Samsung Galaxy S - Newer / slightly higher specced than the HTC but a little less solid feeling (looks a bit like an iPhone 3G).

Both are about £30/month on a stupidly long contract.

Seriously - wander into a phone shop and have a play with those two.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Overload

Yes, choice is EVIL. There should be a law against it, or something.

[Anonymous Coward]

Uninformative names?

So tell me then would you drive a Ford 'Has 4 wheels, an engine, is cheap, smallish but big enough for a young family' , or would you prefer to buy a Ford Focus?

And surely iPhone implies that it's a phone (a feature that it appears to have issues with :p )

I seem to recall people also compaining when it was the HTX 253gdter3 as it was hard to remember...

I'm also an iPhone 3G user, and when the contract is up I'll be going for either a HTC Desire or a Motorola Driod X as I just don't want to be tied down to Apple a second time, and the new Andoid phones have come of age comapred to the ones availabe when I was looking 14 months ago. How did I managed to avoid the overload? I read the specs and saw which did what I want...

[Anonymous Coward]

Seriously?

You find it hard to research phones from one manufacturer? How do you survive as an IT professional?

The short version is get an HTC Desire, it's the best spec phone they currently do in the UK. The long version is that the specs of each phone are published on the HTC website, so you can easily compare them.

Not sure how to get that information into your head without you reading and comparing. How do you usually do it?

[SkippyBing]

So...

not so good with choice or decision making then are we?

[vegister]

htc

Is cost not also a factor? My HTC Desire makes iphone owners a little bit jealous even before I tell them that my monthly contract price is half of theirs.

FYI: sense is the theme that HTC use on their android phones. generally makes the home screen look nicer and adds some improved apps by default.

[Tom 15]

Yeah, but no...

HTC Desire is what you want, iPhone 3GS killer and still cheaper than an iPhone 3GS is now.

I understand what you mean about it being confusing but it's no more confusing than phones have been for years... as for Apple, they have a "one device suits nobody" policy, if HTC only offered one phone would that make you happier?

[chr0m4t1c]

I think I'd be happy

"If HTC only offered one phone would that make you happier?"

I'd be happy if they offered one name for each model.

They don't half make it difficult to find reviews and comparisons.

I used to own a Touch Cruise. Or a P3650. Or a Polaris. Or a Dopod T4288.

Not that it really mattered, once the next new model came out it was like they had never made the one I had bought a couple of months earlier.

I don't think they ever released the fixed video drivers, either.

Do they still do that stuff? I've kind of ignored them since then, which is a shame since they're the only manufacturer throwing any serious weight behind Android at the moment.

[g e]

Ummmm

Yeah. Apple only give you errr... ONE to choose from.

ADHD ?

[Miek]

Try reading the Reviews on Register

head on over to http://www.theregister.co.uk

[Paul M 1]

Surely...

you start at the most expensive phone and start working backwards until you find one that *doesn't* meet your needs. There you go - the previous phone is the one for you.

Call me cynical though, I somehow doubt you really wanted an alternative at all.

(From a concerned iPhone 4 user).

[Clive Galway]

"If I go back over to Apple, I can tell at a glance which phone is going to do that best for me."

Yeah, should you choose the iPhone with the slide-out QWERTY keyboard or not? Flip or slider? Trackball or touchpad? Capacitive or Resistive? Why with iPhones, there's so much choice!

[Alex Rose]

Title? What title?

That may be because Apple only have 2 phones (soon to be 1 once they sell out of 3GS stock).

If you can't be bothered to research an expensive purchase that's your problem, don't blame the manufacturers.

Do you complain that Ford sell too many types pf car, maybe they should rationalise their lineup and only sell 2 models (large and small?) that way people won't have to exercise their brains when making a choice?

For what it's worth the HTC Desire does everything you outline in your post and it took me 20 minutes to find that out and to find out that lots of people rate it as a phone.

Seriously, there are a hundred sites on the web that will help you find the information you need. Try Which? for starters.

[DrXym]

I have a desire

If you're out of contract I suggest you just unlock what you have and keep using it until it dies. If you absolutely must upgrade, then I don't understand your laziness to do a little research. Of course the HTC site lists all their models, if you want to know what model your provider sells, visit their site.

As to your questions:

Sense is the HTC user experience over the top of the default android OS. Basically they swap out some of the default components and replace them with their own - animated backgrounds, different dial pad, keyboard, and some of the apps like alarm clock. Android allows for that and it works pretty well although vanilla android would do well to improve the default apps if manufacturers keep replacing them.

The Desire & Incredible would be most analogous to an iPhone in terms of features, screen size etc. The Incredible is a US Verizon exclusive phone, the Desire is available from lots of providers worldwide and also sim free. The Wildfire is a budget phone which is offers most of the same functionality of the Desire but with a lower res screen & slower cpu for about 3/5 the price.

My experience with the Desire has been generally excellent. Screen is a bit crap in direct sunlight but otherwise its a great phone. I bought my phone from Pixmania but you can get them on contract too. It's definitely not a low end phone and anyone switching from an iPhone should find the experience pretty familiar and in many ways a lot better.

[T-Unit]

Sheep?

You realise what a sheep you sound?

When confronted with choice you basically panicked and went back to Apple as they kindly decide what is best for you without you having to trouble your poor brain?

I realise that's very patronising but that is essentially what you did! Why not read the review on this very site to find out which HTC device is best for you? My initial thought would be the Desire

[Anonymous Coward]

A clue

I think the root cause of your problem may be hinted at in your first sentence. The marketing blurb presented on the manufacturers website is not sufficient information to make an informed decision on a technology purchase, you need to do a bit more digging than that.

Unless of course, as I've suggested, you're a typical iPhone user. In which case it's more than likely you believe everything Apple tells you and you're used to getting all the "information" you need from their PR department.

[Anonymous Coward]

doesnt take you much to get confused then?

You have got to be kidding with this!

You went back to Apple because "I can tell at a glance which phone is going to do that best for me."

Isn't that because essentially Apple have 1 phone in 2 colours? 4, 3 or 3GS

If you really were confused by choice, perhaps NOT buying a smartphone would be more beneficial?

By god!

[Stuart Halliday]

Ignorance is bliss

If you were to ask the average consumer if they've heard of a iphone they'd tell you they have. But ask them what a Android phone is and they'd tell you they've never head of it.

Phone manufacturers just don't sell it as a feature. Just look at the latest Argos catalogue as an example.

[Anonymous Coward]

Average smartphone consumer doesn't buy a phone from the argos catalogue

They get them from their existing provider, or a phone shop, or online. Probably. Main problem I've come across is people just assuming that they'll be getting an android phone and discovering that they've actually got some symbian pos

[Rupert Stubbs]

Availability...

So this would be the sales period when the iPhone 4 came out? Meaning that 3GS sales naturally dropped, and yet there is - even now - not enough iPhone 4 stock to supply demand. I'm not going to argue that Android phones will inevitably overtake the iPhone (but not the iOS, for considerably longer) but next quarter will be more useful to see what's really happening...

[Anonymous Coward]

There is a simple way to grow Android

Make sure that *all* the code can be fully examined, and then ensure it can also work in Arabic.

The whole reason the UAE is acting against RIM is because it hauls all the data back to US locations, which is for them untrusted territory, and the (unconfirmed) suspicion exists the iPhone does the same with location data. From an objective point of view this is actually a totally correct concern, so if Android has a solution it has an opportunity to nuke RIM and iPhone sales and totally conquer a market.

I'm positive, however, that someone will screech "terrorist" and put some unsavory components in Android too, using a principle that would see cars banned because they can possibly used as getaway vehicles.. But I'm just a cynic, what do I know..

[DrXym]

Code for android is open source

It's on android.com. If a government so wished they could roll their own build of the phone OS, sticking whatever apps they felt like on top too just like cyanogen does now.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not entirely open

Many of the core apps people think of as part of Android are closed source, and Google has issues takedown notices for some modified firmware that included their binaries. Many of the drivers for the phone hardware are also closed, not to mention the firmware for wifi, bluetooth and similar. The same goes for customised UIs like HTC's Sense. IIRC cyanogen gets around this by distributing only the open part, and copying in the closed bits from a backup of the original from the phone.

The particularly paranoid can worry about the trend of putting the GPS receiver and the GSM/3G transceiver in the same hardware, controlled by firmware that is very much closed. Qualcomm stick it in the same chip, while Nokia attach the gps ship to the radio chip on the n900 and maybe more. The firmware could be sending location information to a third party without it even being visible to the OS, so an open OS is of no help in this case.

[DrXym]

No they're not

"Many of the core apps people think of as part of Android are closed source"

No they're not. The core apps would be things that make the phone work. Maps is not a core app, marketplace is not a core app etc. Not things you want on a secure phone anyway. As for drivers, any government tender for a secure phone would probably make it a precondition to be able to review the drivers or use open source ones.

[Anonymous Coward]

Oops, not a good place to go.

"The core apps would be things that make the phone work. "

That would be things like the Radio Interface Layer (proprietary, added by the manufacturer), the GPS interface (proprietary, added by the manufacturer), the Wi-Fi interface (proprietary, added by the manufacturer), Lights interface - for things like backlight and alert LEDs (proprietary, added by the manufacturer).

Anyway, I'm sure you get the picture because the same thing applies for the camera interface, sensors (e.g. gyroscope, accelerometer) and audio.

About the only core stuff that's actually part of the Android source code is power management and Bluetooth.

I'm pretty sure most of that stuff is needed to make a working phone, though.

Android phones? Not as open source as we like to think, I think that was what the original poster was trying to get at.

Meanwhile this post will be down-voted by the hard of thinking as at first glance it appears to attack their precious Android.

I am not saying that this is better or worse than any other smartphone system, fruity or otherwise, I am trying to point out that the landscape is not as black and white as the frothing commentards might lead you to think.

[fandom]

really?

Do you really think that the arab people care about that kind of thing more that western types? I don't mean goverments, which may or may not care, I mean the people that go into a shop to actually buy a phone.

I mean, if they did Linux would have cornered that market years ago.

[Chris Elvidge]

The whole reason the UAE is acting against RIM?

It couldn't be anything to do with Blackberry Messaging? You know that free SMS-alike that etisalat and du get no revenue from.

[DB2k]

good data to market

ah the quarter before iPhone 4 was released. Of course there will be a decline in 3GS sales when everyone knows the 4 is coming. I bet that even with 4 versions of android OS being sold across many manufacruters, all with different SKUs, the next quarters figures will show the iPhone regaining ground again.

[Radio]

Advanced OS?

"are able to run independent compatible applications" - er, wouldn't that also include the multitude of phones able to run Java apps, which would be most of the ones released over the last 4 years or more?

And Dan10, you want a Desire. Simply claiming Android is inferior because there is more choice is a poor argument.

The only reason you can tell at a glance which phone is best with Apple, is because they only have one current phone, and one old phone they're selling off cheaply.

[Metz]

No contest...

What really facinates me here is this absolute *need* that people have to force a contest where one isn't needed. It's taken me a while, but I've finally come to understand the iPhone buyer and what makes them tick (or atleast, hand over their cash). And it's all thank to AC up there.

You seem to be a descerning buyer, someone who actually considers what they purchase, identifies their actual need and wishes, and they acts upon them. But it such a shame that are a simply too lazy to take that any further....

... and I think that's the secret of the iPhone. Infact, I'd go so far as to suggest that it's Apple overall strategy. Corral the lazy people and feed them. Easy, captive audience... who just keep coming back because Apple have convinced them that there be dragons out there in the rest of the handset market.

Oddly, I don't really have a problem with that... except when people start saying that Apple are the 'leaders', and worshiping them as some sort of diety. Much like the Microsoft of old. The problem with this thinking is that the truth is the complete opposite. Companies like HTC, SE etc are the real innovators, pushing the boundaries and moving out of safe waters to find new solutions.

Android has come along and filled a gap in the market, showing that what iOS can do, anyone can do, whilst still enabling competition of the 'good kind' to force manufactures to better their game and step up.... not sit on their laurels (remind me how the iPhone 4 is different from the iPhone 3....really?).

Ultimately, there is a fundamental difference in the thinking of an Android buyer than that of an iPhone buyer. Wether a good thing or bad, it's a pointless competition as never the twain shall meet.

[Anonymous Coward]

Now that you mention it ....

... every iPhone owner I know with one exception is middle aged and overweight (about 20 people). Maybe your theory of Apple selling to the tired and lazy is worth something.

[M Gale]

Dragons?

Where? I want one! A dragonphone. With built-in flamethrower for those annoying people in your life. Could even ride the thing to work. Seeya later, traffic jams!

Dragonphone would be awesome. And probably run Android. 9001 hours of talktime per virgin, too!

[Timothy Slade]

@dan 10

So you're too lazy or stupid to make an informed decision about what you should buy, too unimaginative to think that you could look up specifications or reviews of available models on sites other then the manufacturers own (cos, lets face it, it's always going to be a load of marketing guff on manufacturers own sites), so you rely on Apple to make the decision for you.

Try this:

decide your budget

list the features you want in a phone

use google to find review sites, to determine which phones have those features, within your budget

buy phone

It's not really that difficult.

[Alastair Dodd 1]

Android is a very capable OS

now I personally think feature wise and usability it is easier and more featured than iOS4. Just needs some decent marketing and its only going to increase it's market share.

The desire is the best phone on the market right now bar none. If you just want to not even use your head at all then the iphone will be your choice but if you want a bit more out of a phone that has pretty much no restrictions you'll do teh sensible thing and shop around most likey ending with an Android device.

[Monty Burns]

Corrected that bit for you

"The desire is the best phone on the market right now bar none if you don't want a big screen (4" plus) or keyboard."

Oh ... and it also needs an "in my opinion" in fronts of it as well.

In fact, apart from the OS, which is very very personal choice, where is this magical Desire better than my HD2?

Why do people (most of which probably never even owned one) love the Desire?

[bennett_1357]

Take it from someone who has owned both the Desire and the HD2

that the Desire if far superior in many, many ways. My HD2 fell to it's death around a month ago. When I made an insurance claim I was told I could choose between a Desire dispatched immediately or could wait 4 weeks on more stock of the HD2. I opted for the Desire and looking back I have NEVER been so pleased to have broken a mobile phone.

Paris because she knows a thing or two about desire.........

[Dazed and Confused]

75%

> Apple, conversely, saw its UK market share decline from 75 per cent to 64 per cent during the same period.

Sorry I can not believe that Apple had 75% on the UK market share. No matter how popular they are that figure doesn't make sense.

Just how do they define this market segment. What phones are included in it?

[gjw]

You are right

I had a look at the original article. It mentions these figures but only as total market share figures, i.e. from all phones the market share of smart phones has grown from 55% to 66.7% and is likely to become 73.5% of the contract market. Smart phone is broadly defined as phone with an advanced OS and an Advanced OS is defined as all Operating Systems which are able to run independent compatible applications (to keep RIM on board, no doubt).

Not that it would stop a journo hack from selling any article, but there aren't actually no figures for Apple mentioned.

[Chris O'Shea]

What the numbers mean .... I think :-)

AdMob sell ads on mobile websites, and the figures are for which devices they can identify from the ad requests ... so if you use your smartphone for apps, making phone calls, sending texts etc. then you won't show up in their stats.

Conversely, if your phone web browser has a home page that always takes you to an ad-enabled mobile site, then your phone will show up in the stats.

I'm certain that iPhone owners do a lot of web browsing, certainly it's the phone *I* use in preference to surf the web. But then it's my only big screen touch-screen phone. I use my Nokia e72 for phone calls, texting, IM and email, which means only my iPhone will show up in the AdMob stats, and not my Nokia which I use a lot more.

So Apple has 75% of the UK market for people visiting certain ad-enabled websites.

I'm guessing that if the Ovi pages used AdMob ads, then Nokia would have a much higher profile!

[Lottie]

Price points

It's worth noting that Android phones are cheaper than Apple phones. Because it can be installed on any smart-ish phone, the carriers can offer the mid range ones on more of their contracts than they can with the iPhone.

I must say though that having used both an iPhone 3GS and a Nexus 1, I preferred the Nexus.

Currently I have an Xperia X-10 Mini and love it. The reason I chose it? Price point and contract terms but even so I'd have it over an iPhone for the same price any day.

[Minophis]

My contract expires today :-D

In less than two hours I will be the very happy owner of an HTC Desire and will thankfully stop using my bloody iPhone (the first and last Apple product I will ever own).

Now what to do with the iPhone

Mazuma

Claw hammer

Mazuma

Claw hammer

Hmmmm I just can't decide

[T-Unit]

Both?

Claw hammer, then send the remains to Mizuma as a non-working phone. Less money but more satisfaction :)

[Avatar of They]

Has to be

Claw Hammer

[Anonymous Coward]

Really?

Don't be a childish, daft git?

World's resources slowly being chewed up and people insist on destroying pieces of technology for the fun off it. I don't get it. These muppets who buy XBOX's and iPhones on release day, straight out to the car park and smash them up? Then we all stand about and wonder why the third-world are getting off their arses and making serious attempts at kicking ours.

When I buy gadgets, I am in the for long haul. My last phone, an LG lasted me 6 years, before the battery would only hold a 10 hour charge. My MP3 player is a cacky little 4GB Phillips, I've had it for 3 years now and the battery is just starting to go on it. I was brought up to respect what I own and look after it, making it last until I really need to change.

Sell your old kit off on eBay or a mobile scrappage company, surely the handful beer tokens you'll get back will be worth the effort?

[Anonymous Coward]

Er, it was a joke?

Are you American?

[Minophis]

@AC 12:18

/SIGH/

I was joking

I will obviously be recycling it.

I have never destroyed a piece of technology. I give my old PC's, cameras and mp3 players to friends and family, I recycle everything that I can, I get my electricity from a 100% wind power company, I don't drive but use public transport instead and I support fair trade products.

The difference between us is that I am not a dick about it.

Now climb of the high horse, wind your neck back in a stop such a twat.

[DrXym]

Why destroy it?

Much though I strongly dislike iPhones, if I owned one which was out of contract I wouldn't see the point of junking it unless it is decrepit. Get the unlock code from the provider and then give it to someone else to use.

[Brangdon]

@DB2k

"Of course there will be a decline in 3GS sales when everyone knows the 4 is coming." True. However, that may explain the Apple decline, but not the Android growth, which remains impressive.

[Dave 142]

a

The Android growth is indeed high, but it's probably at the expense of Nokia & Win Mob rather than Apple.

[gjw]

Maybe

But I wouldn't bet on it, not as far as Nokia's concerned. Other than popular believe and the journalistic narrative has it, their smartphone market share is up. iPhone market share has been going down for several Qs now http://tiny.cc/7gox7 .

So it's not the waiting for the iPhone 4 either.

[Jamchal]

Desire is excellent.

Some interesting discussion here. To the gentleman who couldn't be bothered researching HTC devices, you really should, it would pay off to find that you could pay £15.00 less per month for almost the same features as an iphone.

I've recently damaged beyond repair my iPhone 3G. What a phone it was, i felt a real sense of loss when I didn't have it.

I thought, hey, iphone 4 sounds good i'll wait. But then as I waited I did some research and found that an HTC phone might be a better route. After playing with a desire i eventually decided to get one.

After a few months of use, heres my thoughts.

Desire

£25.00/Month

600Min Ultd Txts 1Gb Data 24 months.

Android device has significantly better customization options to the interface and shows greater functionality, takes a bit of playing with but once you know what your doing, you're sorted. Apps are more functional and not so 'look good' games arent great.

Browsing - Fantastic, superfast

iPhone 3G (Previous)

£35.00/Month

600Min 500Txts 1Gb Data 24 months

iPhone 3G was slower, however this is not the case with iPhone 4. Functionality of home screens, not so great compared to current day droids. Media consumption / Media player = Excellent compared to the android. Applications are functional and look really nice, games are thoroughly enjoyable.

Browsing - Non full screen browsing, not particularly fast. Scrolling is far smoother though, so this is a plus.

Bottom Line. Desire = Cheaper, more functional for every day use, faster to access essential data.

I am going to buy the new iPod touch in a few months as the apps on iOS are superior to those on android.

[Anonymous Coward]

Honest critcism from Desire fanboi

To all those planning to upgrade to an HTC desire: Great choice! I am more than happy to have made the same decision. However nothing in this life is perfect so you should be aware of the following, based on my experience with a desire sourced by Orange France.

1. The HTC mail client appears to have a memory leak and will use several tens of Megabytes of internal non-volatile memory even if you delete all your emails. I also couldn't access .tar.gz attachments with that client. I installed k9mail (free) and so far I have no memory issues and can access my attachments.

2. Ignore the advice above and the first sign of problems you will probably notice is that when you download or upgrade an Application the Android Market application will display 'starting download' and go no further. Since doing a factory reset and changing mail client I have not seen this problem.

3. Last time I looked I was unable to find a browser or browser add-on which would enable me to connect to a Windows web server using Windows authentication (sharepoint in this case). This bothers me not at all but I am curious to know if anyone has had the same experience / found a workaround

[Buzzby]

What I Want

I want a phone. I want to text. I want to take 5Mb pictures at least. Oh yes I like touchscreens.

I currently back up to external memory then to my PC. For net & e-mail I use a PC. Anything else is a waste, I don't use it. Specifically I do not use the net or e-mail.

Where I live, a block of flats, there is an orange cell on the roof, great signal strength. However since 2007 - 8 I could not get service on 3G. My old sim died in Malta and the new replacement sim was 3G. Anywhere in europe 3G worked fine except at home. Incomimg calls failed and went to voicemail and my greatest No of call setup failures was about 50. I sent back 3 LG viewty's and an LG750. I now have a Renoir 910.

O2 my provider were useless. I eventually had to make ongoing multiple fusses on their web site, contact us, before anyone eventually contacted me.

I never managed to talk to a techie but the woman I eventually spoke to suggested that I revert to 2G as I did not use 3G. Not easy to find on a 910, but eventually Success!!! but every time I tried 3G no go.

I have spoken to other people round here who have 3G trouble telling them to try 2G. I am again now trying 3G again. We shall see!

I stay with O2 because I have a staff contract going back to BT Cellnet.

[Mandarin]

No surprises here, Android will dominate

The HTC Desire was made available around the end of March and demand has been so high that most UK networks have struggled to service it. You can be fairly sure that the Desire is driving the main thrust of Android uptake in these Q2 figures.

Android 2.1 offers an experience pretty close to iPhone in terms of UI smoothness and better in terms of customisation. Skins like HTC Sense make the user experience even better.

Of course the expanding multiplicity of manufacturers/retailers offering Android that the OS has far more channel access overall is increasing. The launch of Froyo (2.2 - main functionality addition here being Flash 10) and Gingerbread (3.0) will mean thatAndroid is pulling ahead of iOS technically in some significant ways.

For those looking for iPHone 4 alternatives, the Motorola Milestone XT720 (8MP with Xenon flash), the Samsung Galaxy S and aforementioned HTC Desire are already available.

The run up to Xmas should see the addition of , amongst others, HTC Ace (8MP, HD video capture), some rather more pocktable alternatives to the Streak from Dell and some fancy stuff from LG & Samsung.

But what will really drive mass uptake of Android are not the Android superphones but rather the lower-tier Android phones. You can already buy a pretty decent Android experience on a lower budget (~£100 PAYG) with the likes of the Vodafone845, T-Mobile Pulse Mini and ZTE Racer on 3. Yeah these phones are a bit plasticky, have rubbish cameras, resistive screens etc but they offer the full fat Google experience in terms of mail, earch, maps etc as well Android Market for Facebook, Twitter, etc. There are mid-tier offerings (~ £200) from the likes of HTC, SEMC and Samsung available too.

This is just the beginning. The next few quarters will see the price/functionality index change significantly as the likes of Huawei and ZTE increase the polish of their offerings and the established manufacturers offer more bang for buck too.

The main problem with Android (from a consumer perspective) will ironically be too much choice and fragmentation presenting itself in the apps to some extent.

The iPhone hype-hoopla has peaked with iPhone 4

Apple will remain where it has been - niche products for the more a affluent budget.

Next year, Android will become mainstream alongside, to a lesser extent, RIM.

I should add that I really like my iPhone 4 but it's not leaps and bounds ahead of the competition like previous iPhones. However there's no alternative available yet that will cause me to ditch it.

I have no death grip, proximity sensor, etc problems. I find the phone very pleasant to use.

However, I will most likely ditch it for an HTC Ace in the next quarter or possibly something like the Samsung Galaxy S (but only if has an LED flash - inexplicably not included on the Galaxy S).

[Anonymous Coward]

What about the android keyboard?

A question for all the desire lovers out there... Have you ever actually used one? If so, how do you manage to use it with the thin and long keys? I take it you all have super thin figners?

Paris, because she is as confused as I am.

[David Paul Morgan]

don't use qwerty in Portrait

... use T9 for portrait and when you switch to landscape, it becomes qwerty.

If you like, you can also use the 'blackberry' style in portrait mode. I don't get on with that one.

Or use swipe? loads of options.