For many years I have been a die hard Windows Mobile fan. Sure the iPhone has a flash interface and some of the Nokia phones look real pretty but WM just did what I wanted. A phone first that played nice with my companies Exchange server.
So Blackberry also does all of this and if I were to ask for one, my company would give me one is a flash but whilst the Blackberry is a great messaging device, as a phone, it falls a long way short.
So over the years I have had an iMate JamIn, a HTC S710 and a HTC S740. All of which I have been really happy with but it is time for a change.
So the iPhone is still ruled out. Whilst the interface is nice, it is a closed system. By this I mean that I can’t just install a bit of software as I please. I have to go via the iTunes store which only contains software “approved” by Apple. Hence the stories in the news around them not allowing Google Talk, Adobe Flash and so on. On top of this, whilst it will sync with Exchange, it does not honour the security settings (indeed there are reports of it actually lying to Exchange on the security front just to get a connection) and the encryption and security on the device are poor at best.
Of course for many users, none of this matters and lets be fair, the iPhone is not being sold as a business phone so maybe I am being over critical.
Windows Mobile on the other hand has none of the above problems.
BUT
It is starting to get long in the tooth and there is a new version out later this year. To their credit HTC have done a great job with their HTC Sense overlay which makes Windows Mobile soooo much better plus there is no guarantee that then Windows Mobile 7 comes out, it will not have the same problems as the iPhone.
So this brings me onto Android. The infamous Google operating system.
When I have looked at this in the past, the MS Exchange support has been bad. Really really bad. The Android forums are full or people complaining how it simply does not play. But with the recent 2.1 build, the reports have changed. Indeed at least one review said that the Exchange experience was even better than Windows Mobile!
So after a lot of checking, testing, reading and so on, Android seemed to fit the bill. And this happened at the same time HTC launched their new HTC Desire handset. The temptation was strong.
And then last week when I was teetering on the edge of ordering, somebody came into the office who actually had a Desire in their hands raving about how nice it was. Add to this that he had an iPhone before hand, this was praise indeed.
So I had a play, tested it with various things (including the bluetooth in my Car) and I was sold.
So having had the phone a few days, and remembering this is my primary business phone, is it any good?
With Microsoft Exchange over ActiveSync, it just works. Push email, Calendar, Contacts all behave exactly how they should. It also obeys all the Exchange security policies including remote wipe.
With my BMW Bluetooth setup (which can be fussy at the best of times) again everything works.
With Google Apps, as you would expect on a Google phone, faultless however there is one gotcha on this one.
As Google users will know, with Google Apps, you end up with 2 Google accounts. Your Apps account that gives you email, docs, calendar etc and a second account for things like Google Maps, Reader, News, Photos and other Google services. Now Google have said that they will allow you to use your Apps login for all of these services later in the year but for now you need 2.
So when you set up your Android phone, it will take the first Google account you enter as the primary account and use it for maps, reader and so on. You cannot change this even when you add your second Google account details. So whatever you do, add your none Google Apps account details FIRST and then add your Google Apps details. Fail to do this and you will have to wipe your phone and start again.
So beyond this, what is the phone like?
The screen is fantastic and with a 1Ghz CPU the phone is very very quick even with loads of stuff going on. It is also very clever with WiFi, connecting whenever a signal is available. Oddly however where on my old phone, leaving WiFi on would kill the battery in a couple of hours, this is not the case and I can leave this turned on 24×7.
I am still getting into the concept of Apps and can see there are thousands in the market place but so far, this thing is very impressive. Just like the phones I have had before hand, IT JUST WORKS.
So give me a week or so to use this thing in anger but so far I cannot think or a reason not to recommend it and even the iPhone users think so. High praise indeed
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