Am I expecting too much or being wisely patient?

[sleemie]

I've been wanting to get a touchscreen phone for about a year now and I can't seem to pull the trigger on any of them. For about 6 months I followed the Pre and had myself convinced that would be the one, but then when it finally came out I found the screen to be way too small and the keyboard felt crappy. Then I was thinking of an Android phone and briefly considered the mytouch, but it just didn't seem polished enough for me. Then along comes the Hero..I went so far as to pre order one from Best Buy, but when I went in to the store the Saturday before it was released to play with one it just didn't grab me enough. I realize the demo models are pretty much crippled in terms of performance, so it really wasn't a fair judging.

One of the main things I've been hoping for is a phone with a decent sized screen. When I say decent, I mean iphone sized. My only real experience with touchscreens has been playing with a couple of friends' iphones, and I have to say that to me it set the standard for what I want in a phone. The size of the screen, which I guess I can compromise on, but also the feel of utilizing the touch screen and its smoothness of operation. I don't want a phone that just out-does the iphone at what the iphone doesn't do well, or at all, such as multi-tasking. I want a phone to do what the iphone DOES do well just AS GOOD as the iphone. The feel, the polish, the smoothness of operation, etc. Touch screens have been around long enough now that I don't buy the old excuse that the iphone had such a big head start any more. The phone manufacturers and OS developers have had plenty time to catch up.

So, since I keep waiting for the latest and greatest, now I'm looking to see what happens with the Acer, Xperia, MAYBE the sholes, and all the other hot android phones coming out. I've even been eye balling the HD2, but that might be TOO big, and prob out of my price range. Yeah, I know, WinMo. I don't wanna pay more than 200 with a new contract.

And maybe I'm being unrealistic about my expectations and the Hero is the best I'm gonna get for my price range anytime within the next few months.

So, I guess the point of my post is if I'm patient enough to wait til the first of the year do you think I'd end up with a much better phone in the same price range in terms of what I'm looking for, or would I just continue chasing a ghost and I'd be better of just getting the Hero now and a year or 18 months from now see what Sprint has to upgrade to?

 

[quentinfisher]

In terms of cell phones coming out this year, the only other touch screen smartphones coming out for Sprint would be the Palm Pixi sometime this month, supposedly an smoother WebOS experience if you liked it on the Palm Pre I would look into that, and the Samsung Moment, essentially a HTC Hero with a keyboard I believe. Im positive both will be available in your price range, and they each look like solid devices for those who like hardware keyboards. However the Hero is the best bet your gonna get in regards of a full touchscreen. I'd give it another try if I were you, the OS is quite stable in my experience and while it can get sluggish, its not enough to affect usability of the phone if you ask me. This is my first android phone and coming from a WinMo device I will NEVER go back to it lol. With updates to performance and functionality on the horizon I'd say this phone is a steal at under 200 bucks. Worst comes to worst you try for the 30 days(really 28 or 29) and if you don't like take it back and get yourself into a new device.

 

[sleemie]

Well, I'm not restricted to Sprint, and I'm also willing to wait until the beginning of next year, so that opens the door for a lot of options. I guess the main thing I'm trying to prevent is getting a Hero and then find out the Acer or Xperia are coming out in the next few months and they're in the same price range and they end up being as hot as everyone expects.

 

[quentinfisher]

From what I know those brands are generally only available unlocked, meaning prepare to pay full price for one, which tends to be 300+ on any phone really, and even higher in smartphones. As far as the Iphone "experience" I would say a android device would give you the closest feel to this without actually paying the Iphone price. If you have the funds, i would just get an Iphone as it seems thats what your after, and its been out longer, has more support, and of course a bigger app store.

 

[Edaze55]

From what I know those brands are generally only available unlocked, meaning prepare to pay full price for one, which tends to be 300+ on any phone really, and even higher in smartphones. As far as the Iphone "experience" I would say a android device would give you the closest feel to this without actually paying the Iphone price. If you have the funds, i would just get an Iphone as it seems thats what your after, and its been out longer, has more support, and of course a bigger app store.

I have to agree. I dont believe he would be happy with anything less at this point, as everything seems to hinge on how it stacks up against the iPhone.

Right down to the screen. Which is 3.5" whereas the Hero has 3.2". Which is to say that the iPhone does have a larger screen, but its not massively larger by any means as the OP seemed to hint at in his original post.

The other interesting thing is he doesnt want to buy the Hero, but hes still considering other Droids, which... for the most part, will all fucntion the same way. Sure, the Hero has Sense. The Sholes might have Blur. Ultimately, its still going to be Android, so the differences will be largely cosmetic.

 

[Fake Name]

Yeah man, if you dont want phones that are stacked against iphone...might as well get iphone 3GS, cuz thats how every phone company is, they stack against other phone companies. (its a vicious cycle)

And it doesnt matter what you wait for...a newer and better phone will come out one after the other, so it doesnt benefit you in any way, the second you lay your sights on some phone, a newer one will come out a bit later.

 

[sleemie]

I knew I forgot something in my long ramble, and that is I DO NOT want an iphone. For one thing, it's just not sexy enough looking, then there's the lack of multi-tasking, then the price of the service. What I want is something that offers the same size screen and something that pretty much does everything the iphone does as well as the iphone. I realize there a lot of iphone haters out there, but you can't deny the things that it does well.

I guess what it really comes down to is that if you put android in a sexier package with a screen the size of the iphone you'd have what I want. Pretty much if you put android in the HD2 that would be the answer for me as long as it wasn't TOO big. I saw a pic of one next to an iphone and it was like 1/2 inch taller, which in a phone in that size range can make a big diff.

So, someone said the Acer and Xperia are more than likely going to be non-subsidized phones??

 

[Edaze55]

So, someone said the Acer and Xperia are more than likely going to be non-subsidized phones??

Does anyone even know where the Acer and Xperia will land yet?