Going Android
I've been weighing up switching over to Android for some months now. I really like my iPhone 3G (running 3.1.3; iOS4 was soooo terrible on it I had to downgrade firmware), but after playing with my brother's iPhone 4 I didn't feel it offered anything significantly different from what I already had (or at least new features I was really interested in).
So, I've opted for a HTC Desire Z. I was initially swayed by the HTC Desire HD due to its larger RAM and faster processor, but in the end opted for the Z for the following reasons:
- Size of screen (less power consumption, useable in one hand unlike the larger HD where you can't use one hand/thumb to press all the icons)
- Screen has better contrast than the slightly washed-out HD
- With a keyboard you're regaining a lot of screen real estate (due to lack of needing an onscreen keyboard)
- QWERTY backlit keyboard and Microsoft Office on the phone (don't think the HD comes with Office)
- More pocketable than the HD
- Larger capacity battery than the HD (along with the slightly slower processor it should mean better battery life)
- Browser tests I've viewed on YouTube show it at least as fast as the HD
- If it feels slow (which is unlikely given tests and videos I've watched) I can always root it and overclock the processor
- The camera on the HD didn't impress me whereas the Z one did a bit more with its videos and photos (think the 8MP on the HD is too much for the size of device)
- Will be able to develop Flash and native Android apps which test against a range of touchscreen and physical keyboard inputs
Roll on Monday 1st...