I'm looking to change network and get into these new fancy phones. Some of my friends (who are biased because they have iphones) say the iphone is in a league of its own and the other 'inferior' brands cannot compete and have nowhere near as good features blah blah blah.

Anyway, on a £25-£30 per month contract the iphone 4 is approx £300 and the iphone 3GS is approx £200 give or take depending on network offers.

The Samsung Galaxy S is free on the same contract and gets very good reviews on various websites. I went into o2 and orange shops today and both salesmen said that the Galaxy and also the HTC Desire HD are better and the iphone is a rip off!

He says people cannot see past the name and must have an iphone at all costs, refusing to consider the competition

Any thoughts people? LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Don't get a 3GS go for the iPhone4 it's leagues ahead

Whether it's better than the others, I can't help as I think the iPhone is that good I haven't even looked at the others Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

i jus got the iphone 3gs had it a week i changed from a blackberry i am still in the honey moon period but i dont think they are rip off i think they are easier to use on line etc if youlike touch screen i find it easier than the blackberry screen is big etc i personaly think that the sales man has quotas to reach on new phones and as the iphone has been around for a bit perhaps notas much preasure to sell.

i was a iphone sceptic as i did not have one but now it is as good if not better than other smart phones

like i say novelty not worn off for me yet but i like the gadgets access it gives with reletive ease through apps, i have not payed for one yet

i would say personal preferance try and borrow one for a few hours and realy get into it and see what you think

The Doctor
Electronically/IT related her Ladyship is not very quick at adopting to the new technology (but give her HiTech in the Ops Theatre and she's fine). When her old Nokia caved in 14mths ago she was "sold" into a Sony Ericsson by the salesmen who stated that folks couldn't see past the Nokia brand and Nokia was no better than the competition. So the Sony Ericsson arrived.

She cursed so loudly on a daily basis with the SE's obtuse operating system that she dumped it and paid out her contract as soon as the iPhone 4 arrived. The iPhone4 is so intuitive to adopt that I have not heard a squeak out of her since then. Now that speaks volumes and is a very welcomed silence to my ears.

I've used her iPhone4 for a day (whilst she was sleeping after a shift of 9 nights) and I found it so easy to use that I'm thinking of ditching my very good Blackberry as soon as the iPhone5 arrives on the market.

My advice would be to spend as much time as you have "trying/playing" with whatever models are on the UK market and then decide. Do not base you decision on the lowest bid or the coolest brand. Choose whatever mobile device suits you best.

I got an I phone 4 a couple of months ago, as did the wife, and we both love them. I have to have a BB for work and to be fair it is better for work related stuff i.e e-mail, docs etc but other than that the I phone wins hands down for me.
The bit i like most is the number of apps that are genuinely brilliant along with the connectivity at home (we are a MAC household) it makes everything so easy The missus - SD4 HSE - Black - 2012
Me - BMW 330d Saloon - Black - 2011

Everyone I know with a i3 or i4 are impressed by the usability and apps etc. but say as a TELEPHONE it's crap, frequent drop outs and often out of signal resulting in numerous Voice box messages and when I call them I get a disproportionate amount of 'User temporary unavailable' messages.

Just recently upgraded from the Blackberry Bold to the Blackberry 9800 Torch and love it best phone I've had and a big improvement on my old one. I have decided against the iphone as everybody in our house has one and didn't want to be a but the iphone has a better range of aps but I can live without them. The iphone is getting clit status it seems.

I'm a BB user but I want an iPhone!

SWMBO has an iPhone3 and she loves it... When I can get my hands on it I think that its tactility, and ease of use wins hands down against the competition! SWMBO's mum has just got a HTC with Android and personally I don’t rate the phone or the OS. its just not as easy to use and not as slick!

As for the iPhone not being a good phone, I think it depends largely on your network! For example, lot of people I know go Orange cus it is cheap but reception is rubbish where I live. Also, I think you need to compare apples for apples, e.g. a Nokia phone that is just a phone is always going to be a better phone than a smart phone phone but I think that is the price you pay for convergance Freelander 2 TD4 Auto, SE, Narvik Black, Alpaca full leather, Rear Headrest Entertainment System, 6 CD, 18 HSE Wheels, Privicy tints

Last edited by Captain Worm on 29th Dec 2010 10:02 pm. Edited 1 time in total

Thanks for the replies

There does seem to be a trend of the name winning. The Galaxy S is applauded for ease of use and is better than the iphone 4 in some areas and leaves the iphone 3GS for dead. But people refuse to buy and think that the iphone name means it is the best.

hhmm... LL.B (Hons) - University of Derby
LOT (Lord of Time) - University of Gallifrey

Have a look at the HTC Desire Z. Even some of the IT techs i know who own Iphone 4s are looking to change to this. Another tech's iphone 4 dropped of a counter onto a laminate floor. Got a lovely shattered windscreen effect on both sides of it now.

I've had iphones since they first came out and BB at work; BB ends up getting forwarded to iPhone, I'm bought in (the amount I have spent on apps ensures that!) but I can give you a better view re Andoid as a die hard friend tried my iphone4 over Christmas and said that the interface and hardware is so much smoother and responsive. Apparently (geek alert) this is something to do with apple doing this with hardware rather than software as with the HTC; not sure if this is true of the Samsung but looks like a nice phone.

Got one on top up, not a contract, therefore expensive, but yes it's worth it. Wouldn't have anything else. That said a tenner lasts me 4 months roughly. I only use it to call people, not to receive. I have the bell and vibration turned off.

I have had an Iphone 4 for a couple of months and though it was the dogs danglies until Mrs b got a HTC desire HD yesterday. I gotta admit it its a superb phone and would swop her anytime.

I had to pay £220 for my Iphone and £35 a month, hers was free on a £35 a month contract.

I had an iphone 3G and upfrated to an HTC desire in July. Never looked back. Ten times the phone, much better to use, and it actually makes phonecalls no matter how you hold it...

These days, the competition to the iPhone is pretty real and good. However, virtually all the tech mags that do comparison tests put the iPhone out in front - although only just these days. The App Store is what sets it apart now. Although developers write apps for most platforms these days, installing an App is just simplicity itself on the iPhone, and some of those apps are pretty amazing.

I have a friend who has just got himself a Nokia N8. He is very tech savvy, but struggles to get a smooth app installation.

Plus, you can get iPhone accessories just about anywhere.

Yes, Apple dropped a media clanger with the reception issues on the i4, but frankly, this is very over reported (as the media now admit) and I certainly have never had an issue anyway.

The fact that Apple bring out new versions of the OS every year with extra features and enhancements and bug fixes - for FREE - is remarkable. (Does this happen for Android etc?)

Cost maybe an consideration as the competition are doing good deals, but if it was all about cost, then we wouldn't have bought a Freelander, now would we?

I have had the 2G, 3G, 3GS and now the 4, and I havn't looked back. Chris