It’s a pretty exciting time for Android in Australia at the moment, with a sudden influx of some pretty awesome Google-powered handsets. I’ve got three of those phones sitting on my desk at the moment, and I want to know what you want to know about them.
I’ve got my initial impressions about all three: The HTC Desire, the Motorola Dext and the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. But before I dole out my judgements, I want you guys to tell me what you want to know, whether it be about the handsets themselves, Android integration, apps, UI… anything and everything. I’ll do my best to answer questions posted in comments throughout the day.
Vuki
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 11:51 AMRe: Android version — if a phone launches with 1.5 or 1.6, *why* did they do this, and can you force an update to 2.1 or are you at the whim of the handset manufacturer/network?
Flame
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:35 PM+1 The version upgrade stuff confuses me.
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:10 PMThat all depends – if you’re adventurous, you can flash the device and install a more recent OS on it, but if the idea scares you you’ll be at the mercy of the manufacturers and/or carriers.
As to why – well, Sony Ericsson told me that their custom software introduced most of the features that changed between 1.6 and 2.1, so they didn’t see the need.
I missed the Motorola launch event, but in her notes to me Elly said that Motorola’s comment on firmware was: “There is “no guarantee” that it will upgrade to 2.1 because they want to “always guarantee the best experience”. Whatever that means.”
Or in other words, the Dext could be stuck on 1.5 for a while…
gill bates
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 11:55 AM1. Do the UIs feel cohesive or are they as if they’ve been pulled from all over the place? (as opposed to the polished apple presentation)
2. Does any one custom skinned UI feel any better than the others? Why?
3. HTC build quality?
Tony
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:44 PMHTC has better build quality than either motorola or sony. They’ve been building smartphones for longer than almost anyone. Only minor issue may be that its cameras are likely not as good as the SonyEricsson.
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:13 PMThis one’s a bit subjective, but I love HTC Sense, find the Xperia UI both good and bad, and am not overly fond of Motoblur.
I think the Sense UI just takes advantage of the Snapdragon processor and offers an extra level of customisation over the others. Plus, it’s running Android 2.1, which just feels a bit snappier…
HTC build quality is stellar.
Adz
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 11:57 AM1. Assuming you are using SIM cards from the same provider, do they all give similar readings for mobile reception?
2. Having used the Sense UI, how does the Sony Ericsson UI compare?
Brad
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:55 PM+1
Also how often you think HTC, SonyEricsson and Motorola will be rolling out updates.
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:24 PMSony Ericsson have confirmed they’ll upgrade the software this calendar year. They’ll upgrade the Android OS alongside their own custom software.
Other than that, I have no idea.
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:22 PMAt the moment, The Desire is Telstra only and the Dext is Optus only, so I’m using the SIMs provided.
The SE UI has some really nice features, but it just doesn’t seem to be as flexible as Sense. There are only 3 home pages, for example, as opposed to seven.
Ryan Dawson
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 11:58 AMGood use of crowd sourcing.
I’ve never used an android phone and am stuck on the iPhone. For a non-tech user.
What’s the browser like? How does it play media and what’s syncing like?
Thanks..
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:25 PMIt’s different on each phone. The Desire’s browser runs Flash, which kind of makes it stand out. The others are standard Android fare.
Overall, I think I still prefer Safari on the iPhone, but that’s a subjective thing…
Thepengwin
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:31 PMWhy didn’t they release the milestone in Australia? The Moto phones don’t look that great to me (Compared to the Milestone) and ive heard bad things about the xperia X10 and multitouch. Haven’t heard anything about HTC’s Desire though. I would like to know what a difference the HTC UI makes to the OS.
Id aslo really like to know in depth what the deal is with the touch on the SE. if multitouch’s absence makes android harder to use.
Aaron Holesgrove
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:01 PMAndroid OS – which version on each handset?
Also, can Android sync with Gmail/Google Apps in realtime without using ActiveSync, or is that the only way?
Battery life for each?
Jason Wigg
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:31 PMActiveSync is on windows mobile, not android. And yes, google mail/calendar/etc can sync in real time.
James C
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 1:00 PMiPhone, WinMo, Palm & Android all have ActiveSync support behind the scenes for push updates to contacts, calendar and mail. Sure it’s a MS-developed technology, but they all license it for use.
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:27 PMThe Dext has 1.5, the Xperia has 1.6 and the Desire has 2.1
I haven’t had enough time with them to realistically judge battery life. Yesterday I used the Desire pretty hard and it died by this time. Today I’ve hardly touched it and it’s still full…
Matthew
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:04 PMobviously the motorola one is crap as its an almost identical version of the nokia n97
Edward Jackson
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 1:47 PMHuh? You’re basing this opinion solely on the fact that both handsets are QWERTY side-sliders?
Jay
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:07 PMBeing a little new to Android, what sort of application options are there for users?, does it work similarly to the iphone where they have an app store or do people get more of a choice where to buy?
dcash
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:33 PMHey Jay,
You have the Android App Market on the phone, but you also have the ability to install apps from unknown sources and anywhere on the web the app sits…so your not restricted to JUST the app market.
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:30 PMdcash pretty much answered this one, but I wanted to add that the app store is growing pretty well at the moment, although the game selection is nowhere near the iPhone’s.
However, some of the Google apps like Goggles, translate and Sky map are AMAZING.
Jay
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 3:09 PMNick and dcash thanks for clarifying that, my dad recently got an iphone and i thought it was allright im thinking i might get a phone in the next 3 months or so, so trying to decide what to get but i don’t really wanna get something that everyones got maybe something a little different, plus if android lets you use other unknown apps that sounds even better! You’re not just stuck to the same old boring app store i spose. what about the quality of the apps would you say they are atleast as good as those produced by apple or inferior? (ive not yet actually seen the android properly only seen a couple of reviews here and there).
Alex
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:11 PMRelease dates and available carriers?
There has been a long drought in Australia with no decent Android phones available on a good carrier (I can’t afford to buy outright so carrier is important). Locking a phone into a carrier (or in the case of the Hero – a retailer) is so annoying.
Justin
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:28 PM+1
After the 3mth exclusive period for the desire is anyone saying that they will pick it up yet?
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:31 PMNot that I’ve heard, but it wouldn’t surprise me – it’s a great phone building a lot of buzz at the moment.
Nic Healey
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:22 PMI’m with Vuki – I’m finding it really frustrating to get a straight answer from HTC locally about when 2.1 will head down the pipes… Is the love affair with ma]e and HTC finally over?!
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:32 PMYou should have held out for the Desire, and maybe not made so many absurd comments about the Hero being able to bring Patrick Swayze back to life…
I’m pretty sure you can hack it to 2.1 on your own if you’re brave enough… :)
Nic Healey
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 4:04 PMThe thing is, I shouldn’t HAVE to hack it. It’s a free OS and the latest version should ALWAYS be an option. It’s extremely frustrating. The reason I’m *still* not using the Hero is it’s 1.5 when the Magic is 1.6 – that makes NO sense to me. I genuinely feel like HTC are letting us down a little in Australia.
Adam
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 4:27 PMif it’s free, what difference does it make if XDA give it to you, or if HTC give it to you?
Your Mate Alex
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:24 PMA lot of comparisons between Android and iPhone consist of a side by side table listing features. I would really like a completely subjective list of things the 3 Android phones do compared to each other and the iPhone. I think a lot of iPhone users would be interested in changing over but are not convinced of Android (or is it just me?). Having 3 Android handsets would make it a great comparo.
Ie –
1) General Navigation – Phone X feels the best because…
2) Speed -
3) Music/Media –
4) Handset Quality -
5) Email and Messaging – Phone X has more options but I prefer Phone Y…
6) Browsing –
7) Overall favorite for you and an explanation of what tipped you in that direction.
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:33 PMGood idea. A lot of work though, so maybe in a week or two :)
Your Mate Alex
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 3:02 PMNah, I just meant a quick 1 liner for each assuming you’ve played with all of them. If nothing else, just the last point. Given the 3 Android phones and an iPhone, which would you personally choose?
Cameron
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:27 PMWhat the App store is like Vs iPhone and Nokia.
What the battery life is like Vs iPhone / Nokia / Dumbphones.
Responsiveness/speed/general usability.
Hardware size, is it possible to fit in your pocket or do you need a backpack?
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:40 PMCompared to on the phone, Android marketplace is pretty similar to iPhone, but without the same massive selection. You’ll want to use search a lot more.
The Dext is kinda chunky thanks to the slideout keyboard, and the other two are pretty big, but they have gorgeous screens. You can fit them all in a pocket though…
The Desire is super responsive, the Xperia too. The Dext is superior to many smartphone’s I’ve used, but isn’t quite as quick. Although it doesn’t have a snapdragon either…
N@
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:30 PMI’d like to know how long the manufacturers will support their phones for. I bought the Xperia X1 thinking that they would upgrade it to WM 6.5, but alas, paying $1100 for a phone doesn’t appear to be enough to get an upgrade like that. It is now a very expensive completely outdated phone that I will have to replace after only a year!
Also, what sort of accessories will the manufacturers supply for their phones? Will there be a car holder for the Desire that will charge the phone as well, for instance?
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:35 PMI feel for you, but you really picked up a Winmo phone? Dude!?
SE have said that they’ll upgrade the X10 to Android 2.0 or 2.1 this calendar year, but after that, who knows. Also, it probably won’t happen anytime soon…
Flame
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:41 PMHow easy is it to switch audio profiles? e.g. Full ringtone to silent/vibrate.
The IPhone offers a simple hardware switch to toggle ringtone/silent. My old Moto had customisable profiles but to quickly switch between them I had to customise the arrow buttons myself rather than fiddling through the menus each time.
Adam
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 1:16 PMWith the Desire, you just turn it face down on a desk and it turns the ringer off.
Jason Wigg
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 7:46 PMThat’s kinda neat, but I can see it being awkward if it’s too sensitive. How does it determine it’s face down on a desk? If I put it in my front pocket with the screen facing my leg and then sit down, will it turn its ringer off? Or if you hold it face down in mid air?
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:43 PMThe Dext has a switch on the side.
You can add a shortcut to the home screen that lets you switch to silent in a couple of button presses. Or you can just use the volume control on the side of the phone to drag it down to silent…
Tony
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 12:50 PM1. To what extent has each manufacturer added its own input into the OS. In my experience, the less Motorola does, the better. If Nexus One is the “pure” Android, how do the OS’s in these phones compare?
2. How do the phones feel in your hands compared to iPhone? Some reviewers have suggested the weight distribution of the HTC Desire is such that if you hold the botton half of the phone with just 1 hand, the heavy camera will tip the phone over. (Similar to how newborns should not be carried with just 1 arm due to their surprisingly heavy head.)
3. Have heard that battery life on Desire is only 6 hours on full usage. True??
MDolley
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 1:07 PMThat picture clearly illustrates my diminishing love for Android. You have three brand new devices and yet there is a mix of not only screen resolutions but all so Android versions. Also the different 3rd party skins make it confusing for consumers to know what an “Android Device” actually is. Then there is the issue of updates
So my question is – Having used all three devices, do you see fragmentation of the Android problem to be a serious problem?
I really think by the time of next refresh I will ditch Android for either a WP7 device or an iPhone
MDolley
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 1:10 PMLet me try again
——–
Having used all three devices, do you see fragmentation of the Android platform to be a serious problem?
Nick Broughall
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:49 PMI’ve always felt – with Android’s “open source” philosophy – that its potential lied not in the fact it was Android, but in the fact that it will bring incredible smartphone features to a variety of phones for all types of users.
That said, as a tech geek, I only want the best when I pick up a new product, so the fact that the SE and the Moto run older versions of Android bugs me to no end.
So, to answer your question – no. I don’t see it as a serious problem. It may mean that some of the lesser specced phones don’t appeal to most Gizmodians, but at the same time, I never understood the Hiptop, and it was a huge success…
Henry
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 1:11 PMEarly reports on the Xperia X10 said the custom elements of the OS were not yet ready for prime time, with lots of bugs.
Have these been ironed out in the AU version (which I’m assuming is the final retail version).
And which carriers have which phones?
Jason Wigg
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 7:59 PMI’ve also heard bad things about the X10s touchscreen which make me not want it. And it’s going to be significantly more expensive (outright) than the Desire and the Nexus One. Plus not Android 2.1 is a dealbreaker. They may claim they’ve implemented all the features that 2.1 implemented themselves, but I highly doubt they’ve done it as well, and it’d have to be more resource intensive to run that functionality on top of the outdated OS.
The Desire is a Telstra exclusive, the Dext is an Optus exclusive. I have no idea about the X10 though. I believe unlocked versions of all of them should happily run on all the major carriers networks.
Nick Broughall
Friday, April 16, 2010 at 8:17 AMThere are two versions of teh X10 – one works on 850 (NextG), one works on 900 (Optus/Voda). In other words, I’m pretty sure it’s all carriers.
Adam
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 1:13 PMAs a Nokia e51 user, i have been very happy not having a smart phone. My phone before this was the HTC JasJam, and it was very average and very thick. I have passionately avoided everything Apple, despite my want for a PMP and a vague plan to get a smart phone.
So with this in mind, i would like to nkow which of the current Android phones will be powerful enough to not need to get my Laptop out when i want full internet, but still be easy enough to just use as a phone when i pine for something simple like the e51.
I’m sure that the app market will grow to be as big, or bigger than Apple’s and that in most ways the hardware is better then almsot any other phone on the market.
Thanks,
Adam
Nick Broughall
Friday, April 16, 2010 at 8:21 AMThe Desire is the fastest phone I’ve ever used. The browser plays flash. But I’m not planning on ditching the MBP any time soon…
Adam
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 1:20 PMAlso, how do they compare to the HTC Incredible? I assume that this would be the best android phone out there..?
Nick Broughall
Friday, April 16, 2010 at 8:18 AMI haven’t played with the Incredible, so can’t pass judgement.
Tai Johnsen
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 1:59 PMI’m interested in the screens…
What is your opinion on the AMOLED’s vs the LCD’s?
It seems like there are no more LCD’s coming out and the AMOLED’s seem to have some pretty big problems as far as pixels arrangement and colors / greyscale go… :S
Jahn
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:02 PMFirst off, excellent work Giz on doing this kind of article.
Ok, my q’s are.
1.) How do they connect in Ubuntu, Windows and other OS’s?
2.) is there propriety software for transferring media (Itunes)?
3.) Are they all USB mini?
Steve
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 4:30 PM+1 iTunes eats my a55
Nick Broughall
Friday, April 16, 2010 at 8:24 AMThey all connect with micro USB. In terms of software most of the syncing is done directly on the device. For music/videos etc, I’ve been using Doubletwist on the Mac.
I’m pretty sure HTC has some software for PC, as does Sony Ericsson, but as I’m a Mac user, they’re no good to me…
Ash
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:04 PMI would like to know what plan you can get these on if you know these details.
Jason Wigg
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:29 PMHow good is the GPS performance on each of them? ie. accuracy, delay to update, time to get an initial fix?
I like to geocache with my phone so the performance of the GPS is important to me, but it’s something that very rarely gets reviewed.
Jason Wigg
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 3:24 PMOh yeah, as Greg mentions a comparison to the Nexus One would be appreciated too.
brad
Monday, April 19, 2010 at 6:35 PM+1 from me too
I’m also interested in which phone would be good for in car navigation.
Jason Wigg
Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 10:26 PMSo I took the plunge and bought myself a Desire. The GPS has been very good to me so far for geocaching, so the hardware will definitely be fine for in car navigation. Google’s turn-by-turn directions haven’t made it over here yet, so you’ll have to look elsewhere for software.
Jason Wigg
Thursday, April 29, 2010 at 6:56 AMTo clarify: You can still use google maps and get directions that way, but it won’t give you voice directions or display like the usual in car navigation fare.
Greg
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 2:36 PMNo mention of the Nexus One? It should definitely be included because it started the whole superphone thing.
dcash
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 3:11 PM…pretty sure Gizmodo are reporting on Android phones currently available locally.
I have a Nexus running a custom ROM and can say it blows the PANTS OFF my HTC Hero and IMO my 3GS.
Good to see consumers having so much choice now!
Nick Broughall
Friday, April 16, 2010 at 8:26 AMI don’t have a Nexus One.
Justice March
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 3:05 PMHow does the limitation of no multitouch (through hardware afaik) for the Xperia affect the UI and experience?
Specially coming from a phone such as the iphone?
dayo
Thursday, April 15, 2010 at 3:10 PMThe Nexus one is extremely similar to the Desire, that’s probably why it is not mentioned. Also these 3 phones are available or confirmed for Aus.