Smartphone OSs question

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) General Bar Sport
#1

Hi,
I know the following question is hard to be answered and i really dont want to start fights here, so if anyone here is a faithful believer in one of the options, step back please and make room for those who try to discuss…
As i am about to buy myself a new Cellphone i would love to hear your opinion. When i bought my last one there has only been Windows Mobile for what i need… but nowadays there are other OSs as well. Yet the problem is that i dont find good pages that can help me decide on what to get since 90% of the pages are made by fanatics and i guess that technical freaks lik us here can do a better job… so what would you say about the follwoing:

Windows 6.5
Windows 7
WebOS
Android

I leave Apple out since i dont plan to spend money worth several months of work for a phone ;0)

The topics i would like to ask for being discussed are: Overall impression, GPS functionality (Is there navigation software available? Geocaching? … ), Programmability: is there a way of writing my own stuff?
Lastly: Qhat do you think about privacy and Android? Is there a problem?

Cheers

#2

what would you say about the following

Windows 6.5
Windows 7
WebOS
Android

I would say “Strange list, missing out the predominant smartphone OS” (by a very large margin).

#3

As a developer, I truly believe that WebOS or Android is the way to go.
I chose Andoid because I have worked a lot with Java, and it does not hurt that it is open source.

As for GPS: http://developer.android.com/reference/android/location/package-summary.html
You get geocoding and reverse geocoding served on a silver plate.

You asked for fatihful believers to stay out. I have to admit that I am a believer, but I do not fit in the ‘faithful’ category. When something makes you believe, it is quite different from when you choose to believe.

Android <3 :sunglasses:

#4

If you want gps, I would say that android is the way to go… Haven’t tested gps in it myself, but the video’s of it looks awesome! I only got an old HTC Magic, so i can’t test the new gps either :-[

#5

AWOL: I wouldnt use any other smartphone OSs since those are, from what i know, the most abundant and hence those with the most software?

#6

the most abundant

Not even close.

You missed Symbian.

#7

Symbian is a nogo for me as it is, as far as i know, NOkia exclusive and i would never buy one of theirs.

#8 
NOkia exclusive

:-?

Perhaps you’ve never heard of Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Sony Ericsson, Sharp or Samsung?

#9

As i said: As far as i know.
I thought it was… well… i will have a look at Symbian then as well, thanks.

#10

I’ve never even heard of Symbian before…

I was going to recommend Android, but I guess if that’s a choice I don’t know enough to input :P.

#11

I’ve never even heard of Symbian before

It outsells RIM about 2:1, and Apple better than 3:1

#12

:slight_smile:

#13

Andorid or Symbian.

#14

I would say Android or Symbian too; both are very open and easy to develop for.

I know for Android, if you want to do dev work on the OS itself, you have to either get a dev phone ($$$) or root a regular phone, which causes you to lose certain features on the network until you revert to normal user (or at least, this is the case with my G1; I am not sure about recent stuff - I don’t even play in that arena - my G1 is a phone for me, not a dev environment).

For normal application (java) development, though, a regular Android phone works fine.

I don’t know anything about Symbian, other than it is linux-based and pretty open, both pluses to me!

:slight_smile:

#15

I don’t know anything about Symbian, other than it is linux-based

Even the thing you know is wrong ::slight_smile:
Symbian is based on Psion’s earlier EPOC.

#16