Phone replacement

[bellinghman]

My mobile phone went off for repair sometime late February, after I decided that the damned thing wasn't getting any better and had, in fact, become totally unusable.

(This was at a point far worse than any new user would have tolerated - all I can plead is the frog-boiling analogy: because it got worse tiny bit by tiny bit over months, I never really clocked just how bad it had become.)

Well, the repair place came to much the same conclusion that I had, and tried to call me on the 10th.

That was the day I was riding a Eurostar beneath the English Channel.

So they tried calling me again on the 17th.

That was the day I was riding a Eurostar beneath the English Channel, in the opposite direction.

Neither time did they get through to me - mostly because I'd not thought to give them my mobile number, not expecting them to take till the 10th in the first place.

I finally got in contact today, and they tried to offer me a replacement. For a Google Nexus One, a machine that was discontinued (with Google at the time apparently dropping out of making their own-name phones) some months ago. Oops.

Well, they offered as replacements a HTC Trophy (Windows 7), a Nokia N8 (Symbian), and two Blackberries (BB's OS, whatever that is).

They're now trying to work out whether they can actually find me an Android phone, and will (I hope) call me back in the next day or two with a better offer. I've told them that the HTC Desire is probably the closest they'll find of current phones, but who knows what they'll actually come up with.

Comments

[timill]

You know the Nexus One was the first phone HTC put Gingerbread on here in the USA, and that was last month? They may no longer be being made, but they don't seem to be end-of-life yet.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

I wasn't aware of that, no, though it does make sense, since it was meant to be as much the reference platform for Android as anyone was going to get.

The impression I get is that it's basically no longer in production, but it has a nice userbase out there without third party skins over the top of the underlying Android, and is thus the best platform for checking out newer releases before making them more widely available.

[pir.livejournal.com]

HTC didn't put Gingerbread on the N1, it was manufactured by HTC but the software push and decisions relating to it is all Google.

Also, the Nexus S was the first phone available with Gingerbread in the US, not the N1. The OTA update for the N1 was relatively recent.

[timill]

Not /all/ Google - HTC took over support for the N1 from Google last year, so it's still a joint effort. Also, I said it was the first HTC phone with 2.3, not the first /phone/ with 2.3, which, as you say, was the NS.

[pir.livejournal.com]

HTC took over support for the N1 from Google last year

HTC are doing customer phone support for the N1. This has nothing to do with software releases which are still Google produced and only Google produced/released. HTC had nothing to do with putting Gingerbread on it, it's still a Google phone.

[vatine]

I believe the Nexus One is identical to the HTC Desire (and the Nexus S being identical to the Samsung Galaxy).

[pir.livejournal.com]

They're not identical.

The Desire has hardware buttons where the N1 has soft buttons, the trackball thing is different, the case is different, the Desire shipped with HTC Sense, not core Android and there are a few other minor differences.

The Nexus S is also not identical to the Galaxy. Similar, yes, but not identical hardware wise let alone software wise.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

I just looked inside the back of bellinghwoman's Galaxy, and indeed, that does have a storage slot, so if the Nexus S is missing that (and the indications are that it is), then that is a definite (and odd) difference.

[nwhyte]

You're obviously less despairing of Android phones than I am!

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

I think everyone is less despairing than you. Your reported experience showed me that there is (as yet) no device perfect for everyone.

[pir.livejournal.com]

The Desire is probably the closest hardware wise but if you want something with similar user experience and same software version as is currently available for the Nexus One then it would need to be a Nexus S. The Desire is still on HTC Sense over Froyo/2.2.x.

There are various hardware differences between the Nexus One and the Nexus S, however, including only internal storage on the S (16Gb, non-removable) so it depends on your usage if it's a reasonable replacement.

[bellinghman.livejournal.com]

Having seen a Desire side by side with my Nexus One, yes, they are pretty similar, but the differences noted are there.

The only-internal storage on the S is a bit odd.

[happydisciple.livejournal.com]

I'm amused by the similarities in the publicity materials. Computer rendering, much?