{"id":4495,"date":"2011-05-21T13:02:23","date_gmt":"2011-05-21T03:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ayton.id.au\/wp02\/?p=4495"},"modified":"2011-05-25T01:11:23","modified_gmt":"2011-05-24T15:11:23","slug":"android-mobile-phone-considerations-for-australians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.ayton.id.au\/wp02\/?p=4495","title":{"rendered":"Android mobile smart phone considerations for Australians"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As much as I like my <strong>Apple iPhone 4<\/strong>, there are a number of really annoying limitations:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>no SD card expansion capability &#8211; optional SD card reader only allows import of photos.<\/li>\n<li>requirement for iTunes sync to add music files &#8211; if you are away from your home computer with the dedicated iTunes, the only option is to buy songs from iTunes via the phone.<\/li>\n<li>no Flash web support<\/li>\n<li>doesn&#8217;t play saved flv YouTube videos (no support in iTunes or on the phone)<\/li>\n<li>requires internet for GPS maps &#8211; this is perhaps the most annoying feature &#8211; if I get lost it is normally in places where there is no internet access!<\/li>\n<li>no default voice navigation<\/li>\n<li>annoying segregated file system structure<\/li>\n<li>a Safari web browser which doesn&#8217;t let you save documents or images from the web<\/li>\n<li>no FM radio<\/li>\n<li>non-removable battery &#8211; when your battery konks out, you have to return the phone for a refurbished one<\/li>\n<li>the 2 or more hrs it takes iTunes to download a new version of iTunes or iOS<\/li>\n<li>the potential many hours to run a backup on iTunes if you have a faulty app<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The iPhone 4 is 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3 mm and has a single core chip &#8211; 1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 CPU and PowerVR GPU with 512Mb RAM and its beautiful 3.5&#8243; Retina display. It has a 5-megapixel camera with autofocus and LED flash that also  captures video at 720p resolution.<\/p>\n<p>I can&#8217;t see Apple addressing these issues any time soon, so it is now time to consider Android phones with <strong>v.2.3 Android Gingerbread<\/strong> installed, although perhaps we need to await v3.0 Honeycomb until the web browser is not so clunky, but at least it does do Flash, and it does multitask well.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What would I miss on the iPhone4?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>security of knowing that if stolen, all data will be automatically deleted on failed PIN access<\/li>\n<li>potential ability for Apple to locate my lost iPhone<\/li>\n<li>many places such as some hotels are now geared for iPhone and have iPhone docking stations to charge your phone or use them as a music device<\/li>\n<li>compatibility on any network including NextG, Vodafone&#8217;s new 850 3G service, and Vodafone\/Optus regional 3G 900 networks (but this is available on the Galaxy II)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As a traveler, my preference is to buy phones <strong>unlocked<\/strong> so one can buy a pre-paid SIM in another country and get cheaper data and phone rates while there.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Living in Australia in 2011 creates a couple of other uncertainties and considerations including:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Telstra&#8217;s wonderful 3G mobile and data services (<strong>NextG<\/strong>) runs on <strong>HSPA+ on 850MHz. <\/strong>Most current Android phones are not compatible! Thus a phone that is not compatible using a Telstra SIM card will use Telstra&#8217;s 3G 2100Mhz GSM network but this will <strong>cease in Jan 2011<\/strong> &#8211; you have been warned! See<a href=\"http:\/\/www.telstra.com.au\/mobile\/networks\/coverage\/maximise.html\"> the links on this Telstra web page<\/a> for list of compatible NextG phones.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Phones which are NextG compatible are usually not compatible with Vodafone\/Optus regional 3G 900 data service and vice versa<\/strong> &#8211; if you need both, then you need to consider a <strong>Samsung Galaxy II i9100<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Vodafone are rolling out a 850MHz 3G service thus most existing phones will not be compatible.<br \/>\n<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Telstra will be bringing out a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.telstra.com.au\/abouttelstra\/media-centre\/announcements\/telstra-to-launch-4g-mobile-broadband-network-by-end-2011.xml\"><strong>4G data service<\/strong><\/a> for CBD&#8217;s by end of 2011 which will run on Long Term Evolution (LTE) on its 1800MHz band, and none of the current phone will be compatible. Presumably the iPhone 5 will have this capability.<\/li>\n<li>Samsung is yet to release a v.2.3 Gingerbread upgrade for its Galaxy S phones to Australia &#8211; Europe is being rolled out this month.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>High end dual-core Android phones:<\/h2>\n<p>These phones are faster, and more powerful with their dual chips but much more expensive than 2010 technology single chip phones.<\/p>\n<p>Retail price unlocked is ~A849-899.<\/p>\n<h3>HTC Sensation:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>126.1&#215;65.4&#215;11.3mm, 148g aluminium premium look body<\/li>\n<li>1.2GHz dual core CPU, 768MB RAM<\/li>\n<li>4.3&#8243; 540&#215;960 pixels LCD display better than the HTC Desire but no where as good as the iPhone 4 or Samasung Galaxy S&#8217;s AMOLED display except perhaps outdoors in the sun.<\/li>\n<li>Sense UI v 3.0<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;the most visually pleasing, powerful  Android smartphone around&#8221; but only 1Gb internal memory, and is not compatible with Telstra NextG<\/li>\n<li>8-megapixel camera which  captures video at  1080p and also boasts touch-focus, image  stabilisation, face-detection  &amp; instant capture.<\/li>\n<li>dual LED flash<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>HTC EVO 3D:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>126 x 65 x 12.1 mm, 170g.<\/li>\n<li>1.2GHz, Adreno 220 GPU and 1GB RAM<\/li>\n<li>4.3-inch 3D Super-LCD screen<\/li>\n<li>5-Megapixel dual lens 3D camera with auto-focus and dual-LED  flash, 1080p video<\/li>\n<li>not compatible with Telstra NextG unless you get the Telstra version?<\/li>\n<li>NB. a HTC EVO 4G model is the world&#8217;s first mobile phone able to take advantage of Sprint&#8217;s 4G\/WiMAX network in certain cities of the US.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Samsung Galaxy S II i9100:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>125.3 mm x 66.1 mm x 8.5 mm;116g;<\/li>\n<li>Dual-core 1.2GHz ARM Cortex-A9 proccessor, Mali-400MP GPU, Orion chipset. 1Gb RAM; 16Gb internal storage + up to 32Gb micro SD card;<\/li>\n<li>4.3&#8243; Super AMOLED Plus screen<\/li>\n<li>&#8216;TouchWiz&#8217; v 4.0 significantly improves the user interface over the Galaxy S<\/li>\n<li>Swype text input<\/li>\n<li>one of the few Android smartphones compatible with both NextG and Vodafone\/Optus regional 3G 900.<\/li>\n<li>8mp camera, 1080 video, GPS tagging, smile capture,<\/li>\n<li>front camera<\/li>\n<li>FM radio<\/li>\n<li>in addition to USB tethering, it has wi-fi hot spot function so your computer, iPad, etc can access internet via your phone&#8217;s internet connection via wi-fi.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Single chip Android phones:<\/h2>\n<p>These are 2010 technology and certainly adequate for most people, and give similar performance and functionality as an iPhone 4.<\/p>\n<p>Where possible, these should be upgraded to Android v2.3 to address some issues including security, but also to give better performance and features.<\/p>\n<p>These are generally ~$A450-700 new unlocked without a contract.<\/p>\n<h3>Samsung Galaxy S:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9 mm, 119 g, lighter, plastic build than the HTC<\/li>\n<li>stunning 4&#8243; 480 x 800 pixel Super AMOLED display<\/li>\n<li>1GHz ARM Cortex-A8 CPU with PowerVR GPU (Hummingbird chipset), 512MB RAM<\/li>\n<li>8GB or 16GB internal memory models with microUSB card option for extra 32Gb<\/li>\n<li>&#8216;TouchWiz&#8217; user interface not as good as the HTC Sense UI &#8211; great for social networking, customisation, navigation and widgets but lacks the same overall level of quality that is found on HTC\u2019s Sense UI.<\/li>\n<li>Swype, a slide-to-type, on-screen keyboard system.<\/li>\n<li>5-megapixel camera with 720p movie capture, touch-focus, auto-focus and smile detection<\/li>\n<li>no secondary camera for video calls.<\/li>\n<li>no LED flash so indoor photos in dark rooms are not possible<\/li>\n<li><strong>there are various versions of the Galaxy S but none work on all Australian networks:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>i9000<\/strong> &#8211; the normal OEM version and has a smooth, iPhone 3GS-like shape, two soft-touch buttons and one physical home button, no NextG; 8Gb version $A499; 16Gb version $A549;<\/li>\n<li><strong>i9000M or i9000 NextG<\/strong> &#8211; compatible with NextG but excludes Vodafone\/Optus regional 3G 900 band. 16Gb with secondary camera. Vibrant written on the box! Retails $A599 unlocked.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Captivate i897<\/strong> &#8211; similar to i9000M but more square, 4 soft touch buttons only, no front camera, AT&amp;T branding.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Fascinate T959D<\/strong> &#8211; similar to Captivate; retails at ~$A649 unlocked.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Vibrant T959<\/strong> &#8211; i9000 shape but with the 4 soft-touch buttons; No NextG; No regional 3G 900 band; 16Gb, front camera;<\/li>\n<li><strong>SL i9003<\/strong> &#8211; SuperLCD screen not AMOLED. Vodafone\/Optus regional 3G 900 band but no NextG; 4Gb,\u00a0 front camera;\u00a0 ~$389 unlocked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Google\/Samsung Nexus S:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>marketed by Google but manufactured by Samsung<\/li>\n<li>similar to the Galaxy S but:\n<ul>\n<li>123.9 x 63 x 10.9mm (129g) with softer profile than the more angular, smaller but marginally thicker Galaxy S<\/li>\n<li>16Gb internal memory but no micro SD card support<\/li>\n<li>\u201cContour Display\u201d (curved glass) 235ppi display but not much different to Galaxy S 233ppi display<\/li>\n<li>support for Google&#8217;s SIP voice-over-IP technology which may free one from Skype eventually.<\/li>\n<li>no FM radio<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;\">Near Field  Communication (NFC) technology which allows you to read information off  of everyday objects like stickers and posters that are embedded with NFC  chip<\/span><\/li>\n<li>no need to rely on Samsungs KIES PC sync\/updating software?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>various versions:\n<ul>\n<li>i9020 &#8211; original OEM Super AMOLED version; 3G 900 band but not NextG;<\/li>\n<li>i9020T &#8211; as for i9020 but front camera;<\/li>\n<li>i9020TA &#8211; NextG compatible; no regional Vodafone\/Optus 3G 900 band; SLCD screen not the Samsung AMOLED screen.<\/li>\n<li>i9023T &#8211; SLCD screen; 3G 900 band but not NextG;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>HTC Desire:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>115&#215;59.8&#215;11.6mm, 130g<\/li>\n<li>480&#215;800 pixels display but no where as good as the iPhone 4 or Samasung Galaxy S&#8217;s AMOLED display.<\/li>\n<li>Sense UI v2?<\/li>\n<li>1GHz Scorpion CPU, 768MB RAM<\/li>\n<li>its LED flash apparently overexposes faces in photographs<\/li>\n<li>no secondary camera for video calls, Skype, etc.<\/li>\n<li>minimal internal memory 1.1Gb.<\/li>\n<li>not compatible with Telstra NextG unless you get the NextG compatible version eg HTC Desire HD for NextG of which there are 2 versions &#8211; <strong>A9192 Telus<\/strong> and the AT&amp;T branded 4Gb memory version, the <strong>Inspire 4G<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>NB. the HTC Desire Z adds a pop open physical keyboard which may suit many people,and there is a NextG compatible version.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>HTC Incredible S:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>120 x 64 x 11.7 mm, 135.5g<\/li>\n<li>4-inch Sony-made S-LCD capacitive touchscreen at 480 x 800<\/li>\n<li>HTC Sense 3.0 user interface<\/li>\n<li>Qualcomm MSM8255 Snapdragon chipset and featuring an Adreno 205 GPU. 768Mb RAM<\/li>\n<li>microSD card to 32Gb.<\/li>\n<li>8-megapixel camera and 720p video, with autofocus, dual LED  flash, touch focus, geo-tagging and image stabilisation.<\/li>\n<li>better camera than the Desire S<\/li>\n<li>not compatible with Telstra NextG?<\/li>\n<li>minimal internal memory 1.1Gb<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As much as I like my Apple iPhone 4, there are a number of really annoying limitations: no SD card expansion capability &#8211; optional SD card reader only allows import of photos. requirement for iTunes sync to add music files &#8211; if you are away from your home computer with the dedicated iTunes, the only [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[215],"tags":[216,217,504],"class_list":["post-4495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mobile-phones","tag-android","tag-iphone","tag-mobile-phones"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ayton.id.au\/wp02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ayton.id.au\/wp02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ayton.id.au\/wp02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ayton.id.au\/wp02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ayton.id.au\/wp02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.ayton.id.au\/wp02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4495\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.ayton.id.au\/wp02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ayton.id.au\/wp02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.ayton.id.au\/wp02\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}