Need some help making a decision

[Gustav]

Hello, just joined the forums but I've been around reading things for a few days now. I was hoping I could get some help with a rather frustrating dilemma...

I recently got a Behold II and I think I'm starting to regret it. There's just way too many software bugs, there is currently no ROM support, and the touchscreen responsiveness is HORRIBLE. Sometimes the responsiveness is fine but other times it seems like its decalibrated... Text input when this happens is literally impossible. I'll press one letter and it inputs a different letter thats like 3 keys away from where I pressed. I'll try to delete a character with the delete key, and it ends up hitting the return key or the key above delete - its just way too unpredictable. The hardware is awesome but the software just kills the phone...

SO... After looking at the other android phones tmo has to offer (not too great...) I am considering switching for a MyTouch which felt WAY better in terms of responsiveness and stability. The only problem is I just read that the MyTouch only has 192MB of RAM whereas the HTC Magic has 288 RAM.

If anybody can help me with the following, I would greatly appreciate it.

I'm a power user, so I'm pretty much using my phone all day for games, news, web surfing, email etc. This means I need a good battery which I heard the MyTouch has, compared to the G1.

If you had a Behold II and you are with tmo, would you switch to a myTouch or wait for Samsung's software updates? if they ever come.. I would love to get an HTC Magic instead of the myTouch, but I can't afford to buy an unlocked factory direct phone unless someone knows where I can get the best deals on it (checked pricegrabber, craigslist, ebay.. not much)

The other option, if I were to find a good deal, would be to get an unlocked HTC Hero but I'm unsure if it will work well on tmo's 3G network. Either way, I don't have my hopes up too high for the Hero considering its 500+ price tag. Sorry for the long post but I want to make sure I get the best out of my Android experience and I don't want to start off on the wrong foot by getting a phone that will just be outdated in a year or so. I have about 8 days left on my 14-day trial.

Can anyone help me out? Thanks in advance.

 

[Gustav]

Anyone...?

 

[mjschmidt]

Gustav, it's a pretty specific question you are asking about gonig from a Behold II to a MyTouch, and I'm not sure if you will get an answer. You might want to ask the mods to move this thread to the T-Mobile sub-forum, or the Behold II sub-forum (if there is one).

I have the HTC Magic (with Rogers) and I can tell you that based on your description of usage, even with the Magic you would be charging every night (if you make it a full 12 hours of use during a typical "day")

I am using some of the various task managers and settings switchers to be able to switch back and forth between having things on and off (like WiFi and Blue tooth) and apps in the BG, and I don't have my email or Gmail running constantly to check for email, nor do I keep my IM program running.

You can see my phone settings to ensure battery power here: http://androidforums.com/android-lounge/6423-power-saver-modes-android-battery-life.html

On an average day for me, I end the day with between 50% and 75%, but I wouldn't characterize myself as a power user.

Hope this helps some. For what it's worth, I love my Magic.

 

[Gustav]

Thanks for the reply schmidt,

Charging once a night is not too bad, thats how it is with my samsung now. Then again I guess I could always carry an extra battery. Thanks for the battery settings advice, I'll definitely look into it if I switch.

If anyone else knows of good places/websites that sell an HTC Magic for the best price I'd appreciate it. Like I said, I've checked craigslist (still do), pricegrabber, but I guess ebay will be my best bet..

 

[nateo200]

Thanks for the reply schmidt,

Charging once a night is not too bad, thats how it is with my samsung now. Then again I guess I could always carry an extra battery. Thanks for the battery settings advice, I'll definitely look into it if I switch.

If anyone else knows of good places/websites that sell an HTC Magic for the best price I'd appreciate it. Like I said, I've checked craigslist (still do), pricegrabber, but I guess ebay will be my best bet..

Well I understand this because I had concerns my battery was bad but I let it break in. Anyway's smartphones have about 4x as much crap running than a dumb phone, your GOING to have to charge it every night, preforably run it dry before you charge it Ive noticed it gets a better charge. Pretty much all modern high end electronics that have rechargable batterys have this its pretty much common sense these days. Extra batterys are a good idea and I'm considering it myself actually since I will pretty soon be having a 14 hour day and while keeping my screen dimmed all the way down, 3G, wifi off, not using it when I am bored, etc might work I like to use my phone allot.