Hi again;
Dear FT phone tech-heads, what is your opinion of the Windows mobile 3G touchphones vs. iPhone and v. new Google-OS phones?

I'm just thinking of the Samsung OMNI and wondering if it is worth choosing something googleOS based or sticking with the easy-to-use iPhone option.

I know there are lots of pages on the google phone thread, but can you show where to find decent comparisons (like the GSMareana HTC v Samsung i900 comparison test) between the leading phones of each camp?

Are the (WM or GoogleOS) phones a pleasure to use for occasional wifi FT browsing and posting, in addition to use as a phone (and possibly simple PDA & music/video player).

How badly or well do they compare with iPhone 3G?

Thanks for any links, experiences or advice to wait or where to look for upcoming improved phones.

I've had one Palm and 2 WM PDA/phones. My current WM phone is a Verizon XV6800 (HTC Mogul/Titan). It probably does more than any other phone out there, is highly hackable (mine's hacked), has a ton of software available to run on it (and not just little apps). I generally like mine, although being a WM phone it does tend to lag sometimes, hang up (the computer hangs up) and kind of stalls now and then. Sometimes something seems to run in the background and it makes it hard to answer the phone. You kind of have to work around the quirks on a WM phone, I think, and regularly flush the memory, shut down programs in task manager, etc.. WM 6.1 is pretty good, however, and easier to use than previous versions. The email is very good. The native web browser (pocket IE) is not very good at all. However, I have 2 other ones on my phone: Opera Mini (very good) and Skyfire (awesome!!!). This is part of the beauty of WM---there is so much available for it. Out of the box, however, it is kind of a clunker compared to other systems. You have to be willing to work on it. Then it is probably the most versatile system out there, although not perfectly smooth in daily operation. Just my experience.

Personally, I'm currently more a fan of Android than any other OS.

I like the iPhone, but at the end of the day I just feel that Android is the better OS for getting stuff done.

Of course, as with any phone, it all comes down to the hardware AND the OS.

I've got an HTC Touch pro, but no amount of nifty hardware can help hide the shipwreck that is Windows Mobile.

Of course, it may all be useless because AFAIK Oz still does not have a carrier offering Android

The applications on the iPhone are better, but Android is catching up fairly fast, though I have heard that developing for Android is not as easy, mainly because the SDK is still in its infancy.

I am disappointed in Google though, becuase they seem to have forgotten about Android, and have yet to deliver Google earth, voice command search, Reader or a host of other Google enabled apps to the Android platform.

Even though I still love my Touch Pro, I'd suggest staying away from Windows Mobile for the time being. It is dated, and just really needs a total rewrite.

For ease of use, nothing beats the iPhone.

The browser on WM is a total turd, even when you install Opera. It just doesn't "feel" right. The browser on Android is fantastic, and alsmost as good as on the iPhone (both are built around the Webkit browser).

As a music player, the Android phones are still lacking; the current music player is very basic, and there are only 2 or 3 basic video players, nothing as nice as on the iPhone, and of course you'll also lack the integration into iTunes.

Ive been using WM phones for a while, and I dont think I would disagree with your criticisms of them. But, from what I know, and what I need to do, Android is close to useless to me. I need to get mail from an exchange server and sync my calendar. It can probably do the latter but not the former, at least not well. Im waiting for the Touch Pro on VZW although Im thinking a bit of switching to an iPhone now that they have Exchange functions. I have been a TMobile customer for about 10 years and am thinking of leaving since the G1 is the only 3G smartphone they make. I basically view it as a toy, which is okay, but not as a serious phone for business use.

Maybe I should stick with my basic Nokia a while longer and buy an iPod touch.

Please note - I have no "Android" experience. I have WM 6, S60, iPhone 3G 2.2 and BB experience.

Due to the vicissitudes of Good and MS Exchange, I am device agnostic (apart from BB).

However I don't care any more for great screens, great features, etc etc etc. All I care about is great battery life, stability, excellent RF capability, email, calendar and contacts. WiFi is a bonus (for Fring/Skype).

The iPhone is rubbish - rubbish - for battery life. Most WM6 devices are the same. At the end of the day - please give me a device that is not beeping or flashing for a battery change or charger.

If you need a great smartphone that just works, get a BlackBerry or get a Nokia.

Thanks, that narrows it down somewhat.

I have to say... longtime Windows Mobile user (used Windows CE back on the original HP Jornada PDA if that says anything), but less than a week after getting a Blackberry Bold - I'm a true convert. WM is a steaming pile of carp by comparison.

For those who are supporting Android would you still recommend it if you don't use Gmail as your primary email? Were you already deeply invested in your gmail/google account before you bought the phone? ie Were all your contacts, calenders, etc part of Google's cloud? Would you recommend it from a corporate standpoint?

Does corporate mean you use Microsoft Exchange? If not what do you use?

Bottom line is that Windows Mobile blows. It's an out of date OS, can't (really) multitask, has a horrible browser, and despite the lipstick HTC and Samsung have troweled onto it, it still looks, feels, and works like a bad Windows 3.1 shareware program from 1995.

Dunno about Android.

iPhone OS is stable, sexy, and works very well.

Not true.

It can suck and blow at the same time

Android is VERY stable, and with the exception of a few bad apps, I've yet to ever see it crash. Just like with the iPhone; the only time the device acts weird, is with a poorly written app.

Windows Mobile can suck even with nothing installed (just look at the drop in free memory when you are not even using it).

But I agree; if you don't use Gmail, then Android is gonna disappoint you.

You know, I wrote earlier that WM 6.1 is OK if you take the time to hack it into submission. I wish to retract that opinion. It works, but like others said it works a lot like Windows 3.1 on a computer without enough RAM. Too many times my phone rings and because Windows is tied up doing something (on its own--I didn't start any processes) I can't even get the phone to answer the call.
However, it could be a fantastic operating system for someone on eBay (ha ha--thinking of selling my phone there!).
I would like to know more about Blackberry. Seems like a cross between Palm OS (simple OS that works) and Windows (multi-tasking). What does your email look like on that? Is it all text, or can you get HTML mail? Is there support for Office 2007 documents (that's what chased me from my Palm Treo--Dataviz said they didn't know when they would support 2007 at first)?

You should correct that to say the 3G iPhone is rubbish. I still use the 2G (v2.2) and it has great battery life. That plus it is jailbroken and unlocked. I see no great reason to switch to 3G. Slightly faster email downloads? So what?

I thought that too, until Telefonica offered me a new 3G one for free. The whole thing feels more responsive, and web browsing is vastly better.