For just over a year, I’ve had my current phone which runs that poor stepchild of smart phone OS’s, Windows Mobile (Pro 6.5 in my case–maybe W7 is better). My biggest complaint with WM is that most of the “apps for that”–aren’t for that, if you catch my drift. If you have an Apple, Android, or even Blackberry device, you’re rocking. If you have Windows you might be able to find apps for certain things, but often that’s not the case, particularly when you browse to your favorite radio station’s website and it touts its app for smart phones–but not the kind you have.
When it comes to streaming media, I’m not terribly interested in something like Pandora or Sirius, or even Shoutcast, if that’s ever going to work work again on WM devices. The people who offer these services believe–and probably correctly–that a choice of musical genres is the be-all and end-all of what most people want in mobile media. I’m really more interested in streaming brick and mortar radio broadcasters, or occasionally TV. This is because I enjoy being tuned into content which is in some way local, whether it’s where I live, or someplace far away that I happen to be interested in. I also like a lot of non-musical content in addition to music. To stream brick-and-mortar stations, I either find an .asx playlist file, which will play in Windows Media Player, or a .pls file, which will play in a third-party app I have downloaded. Not once have I ever been able to listen to a station on my mobile by simply browsing to the website and clicking on the “Live” or “Listen” link. You need Flash for that, and Windows Mobile doesn’t run Flash.
Since I may be making a change in the coming months, I’m doing a bit of window shopping/research beforehand. What’s the best OS for my needs? And my needs are pretty much as follows: a little bit of talking on the phone, more email and texting, still more general web browsing including Google Maps–and, most of all, streaming broadcast media, including easy access to podcasts. And, it has to be in a device which can be handled and carried like a mobile phone, as opposed to an iPad or similar device.
First question (only because…well…no one else asked one before…)
Is a physical keyboard a must have, or is it option? The iPhone doesn’t have one. This isn’t an issue for tons of people. If it matters to you, though, it would be an easy way to remove one option.
The iPhone and Android both are good at what you are talking about. Blackberry OS 7 is supposed to handle that well too, and is announced to be available in your time frame.
ETA: I don’t recall if my Android or my Blackberry handles Flash. I’ll check when I get a chance. I know my Playbook does, but it doesn’t fit your needs.
-D/a
I’m having trouble finding a public statement about Blackberry’s support for Flash.
If it makes it easier to stream, then maybe looking at Androids makes the most sense.
Then again, there are dedicated apps for radio stations these days that work really well for friends of mine. iheartradio is one off the top of my head.
-D/a
All current smart phones will do your standard stuff very well. With regards to everything else, you might as well be where the energy is development-wise, with iOS and Android.
I stream a lot of media, including local radio content, using my iPhone (and iPad) with apps like Wunder Radio and ABC News. They can deliver local content based on your GPS coordinates or zip code. The aforementioned iheartradio is a free alternative that also has many individual station feeds. In addition, plenty of local stations have their own dedicated apps.
Now, a lot of these apps are available for both iOS and Android, but Android also runs Flash. However, in the mobile space, you don’t need Flash. You’ve got apps. Also, the iPhone has iTunes integration so you can download any podcast you want when you want it. If you want to streamline the process, there are aggregators that will store the feeds you want. If your tastes aren’t super niche, you’ll be able to save the feed by name instead of hunting for the url. It’s all very easy. Looking at my list, I regularly listen to 96 different podcasts. Again, if it’s a very popular app or service, it’s probably available on Android as well, but as someone who is familiar with both platforms, Apple’s is the better experience for both quality and quantity.
That’s silly. Flash is still how 90% of the web pushes out it’s videos. If you plan on watching actual TV on the thing, you will need Flash.
And apps don’t make up for Flash when you have to either pay for them or see ads. That’s the real reason Apple did what they did–to make you pay for things other people provide for free. If the interface is worth it to you, fine. But to argue that the iPhone is superior when they intentionally left off features–features the OP specifically states he needs, is just silly.
They’ve been advertising the Playbook pretty heavily, specifically touting its ability to run Flash. This implies–apparently incorrectly–that no other mobile device does.
I do like Google’s stuff generally. If I understand correctly, they have a free turn-by-turn nav app that works (obviously) on their OS. On my Windows phone, Google Maps, GPS, and listed driving directions do work fine, but the turn-by-turn app doesn’t.
Does that do Windows Mobile? I’ll have to check it out.
Hey, a thread actually relevant to my (vague) expertise!
You don’t want a Blackberry. They’re email devices, every other feature is way behind the curve. The next versions will be an improvement, but there’s no compelling reason unless email is 99% of your concern.
WP7 is cool, but the most limiting. It DOES handle podcasts well thanks to the Zune integration, but AFAIK they need to be locally-synced and support for streaming is weak.
The iPhone’s strengths are ease-of-use and lots of apps. For somebody coming from WM, you might find it annoyingly limiting. Alternately, you might find it a breath of fresh, easy-to-use air.
Android is extremely flexible, has a great app ecosystem, and has some very cool out-of-box features like Google Maps Navigation. There’s excellent apps available to handle streaming audio, and the flash-supporting browser can be handy for some content. There’s an excellent app called “TuneIn” which handles streaming radio stations exceedingly well. And Google Listen is a very good podcast manager.
Based on your stated needs, Android is probably going to be your best bet.
I have a Playbook sitting next to me right now. It was a gift from work, along with my blackberry.
It (the Playbook) is a very impressive device, and does do flash well. But it’s not in the phone product line, so it doesn’t really fit what you are looking for.
