Looking to get a new portable media player thingy soon as my new job has either 1 or 2 hour-long breaks a day and I don’t always want to read a book. I’m looking for something I can use as an mp3 player, watch films/tv, browse the internet, play games etc. Was just gonna get an iPod touch but am looking into Android alternatives.

I’ve seen the Samsung Galaxy S 4 which seems like it would do everything I want. Plus it has GPS for endomondo, microSD slot etc. Anyone used one and are they any good for what I’m after? Can’t seem to find many reviews. Anything else I should take a look at?

New type of product i think.

Thought about a 7″ tablet? Or wont your phone do it?

I was gonna get a smartphone but either the sim-free handsets to use with giffgaff are ridiculously priced (Galaxy S2 is about £360) or the contracts are way too expensive. Would rather just have a cheap O2 Simplicity rolling contract at about £10 a month.

Thought about a tablet but would be awkward for use as an mp3 player and also wouldnt be able to use it as a gps for riding.

I’ve got a Samsung Galaxy Tab, 7″ screen, and I’m not sure I’d get another Samsung product TBH – the quality’s fine, but they’ve preloaded it with a whole load of crap software I really don’t want, and you can’t delete.

Personally I’d go with a smartphone, there are loads cheaper than 360gbp! Try here for example: http://www.expansys.com/mobile-phones/sim-free-phones/

Lotsa cheap android phones, see orange san francisco.

Are the cheap ones any good though? I’ll have a look around and read some reviews.

The cheaper ones run fine, not quite as slick as the top end models (or indeed an iPhone) but more than good enough.

Get a HTC HD2 off eBay, you can load android or Windows Phone 7 on it… shouldn’t cost you more than £150, and that’s one very nice, incredibly versatile piece of kit.

Really anything android, won’t be outdated unless of course the hardware requirements with subsequent updates get more demanding, and I can’t see that happening to the extent where a HD2 couldn’t cope with it! Besides google will try to keep the hardware requirements as low as possible so as not to completely alienate the growing “budget- smartphone” market… in any case, that Samsung would be ok too!

I bought an iTouch 2 years ago, is now completely outdated, and I’m £150 in apps out of pocket (never mind the cost of the damn thing) [though most of those I also used on my phone 😳 ] but anyhow, Apple have denied me the privilege of updating past iOS 4.3. Go for something android is my call…

I’m not sure I’d get another Samsung product TBH – the quality’s fine, but they’ve preloaded it with a whole load of crap software I really don’t want, and you can’t delete.

What sort of software is it and can you not customise the screens so all the crap stuff is on its own page rather than the “main” one, to effectively just hide it from view? Also how is the Kies software to use? I’ve heard mixed reviews.

I have an Ipod Touch I bought in the summer to take out here to site. Didn’t want to lug a laptop about. All my browsing is done on it and all my Skype calls. Carries all my music and is really portable. Interface is ace. Everything just works well. I don’t know what else you’d want from a device really. Actually I want GPS, which I can’t get for this gen….
chrisjnr, what have you spent all that on?! I’ve only downloaded free apps and have everything I need.

Really anything android, won’t be outdated unless of course the hardware requirements with subsequent updates get more demanding

Just like your ipod touch then?
My G1 ipod touch is still going strong, though it can’t be updated to iOS5 & hasn’t got things like BT & a camera. Everything on it works as well as it did 4 years ago.

What sort of software is it and can you not customise the screens so all the crap stuff is on its own page rather than the “main” one, to effectively just hide it from view?

It’s not that it gets in the way, it’s that it’s consuming system resources (there’re a couple of apps that fire up with the phone, kill them and they start up again automatically), and they take up space on the internal memory. Neither’s a show-stopper, but it’s a bit, well, rude…

chrisjnr, what have you spent all that on?! I’ve only downloaded free apps and have everything I need.

Haha, I was quite surprised too when I looked at the iTunes account the other day! Whenever there was a sale I would buy to try just about any app that was about, and I felt I needed! Looking through the iTunes history there’s about 200 paid apps on there, and interestingly the cheapest of which still remain… (on both iDevices for that matter! :P)

Just like your ipod touch then?

Perhaps, but I think that will happen far less rapidly than with the iTouch/iPhone… the trouble is also, Apple do it explicitly to sell hardware, so “If you want the latest software, you need to buy the latest device”.

Google, make practically no money out of hardware (bar the old Nexus S which was a Samsung anyhow :P) as they are paid by phone manufacturers to use their software, and obviously off the Android Market through this! methinks they’ll want to keep as many companies under their belt as possible, which will mean having to cater for the smaller/cheaper companies and devices, hence much lower hardware requirements. While they still continue to pump out the more demanding software for the giants that are Samsung and HTC etc… 8)

I bought an iTouch 2 years ago, is now completely outdated, and I’m £150 in apps out of pocket (never mind the cost of the damn thing) [though most of those I also used on my phone ] but anyhow, Apple have denied me the privilege of updating past iOS 4.3. Go for something android is my call…

Perhaps, but I think that will happen far less rapidly than with the iTouch/iPhone… the trouble is also, Apple do it explicitly to sell hardware, so “If you want the latest software, you need to buy the latest device”.

Oh please, you’re just making excuses. You are talking about comparing a sophisticated music player with a few other functions with smartphones; pocket PC’s with cellular telephony. The demands on such things are much higher. Just exactly what do you think an upgrade to iOS5 would achieve on a Touch? Very little that would improve the underlying function of a Touch. It has no GPS, no cellular capability, only wifi.
Google have little or no interest in creating updates of their OS for older devices, there’s nothing in it for them. Their customers are looking to sell the latest whizzy handset and encourage consumers to upgrade as often as possible. If you think Google are being all altruistic, unlike nasty Apple, then you’re seriously deluded.
There are no specific music players running Android. There are a number of Pad devices running Android, but they are not designed to be used as music players.
Be honest, and admit that you didn’t want a Touch in the first place, but couldn’t spring for an iPhone, and now you’re a bit fed up with its limitations you’re just trying to justify a cheaper replacement that, gosh, just happens to work as a phone as well.

I bought an iTouch 2 years ago, is now completely outdated, and I’m £150 in apps out of pocket (never mind the cost of the damn thing) [though most of those I also used on my phone ] but anyhow, Apple have denied me the privilege of updating past iOS 4.3. Go for something android is my call…

If you buy into Android with the expectation of longer software support, you’re in for a big disappointment. Apple lead the way in that regard, most Android vendors are too busy churning out the next shiny thing to bother releasing updates for their older stuff.

It’s not that it gets in the way, it’s that it’s consuming system resources (there’re a couple of apps that fire up with the phone, kill them and they start up again automatically), and they take up space on the internal memory. Neither’s a show-stopper, but it’s a bit, well, rude…

Ah I get you. So long as they don’t make it run really badly I don’t know whether I’d have a problem with it, so I suppose I’ll have to find one in store to have a play around with!

Oh please, you’re just making excuses. You
are talking about comparing a sophisticated
music player with a few other functions with
smartphones; pocket PC’s with cellular
telephony. The demands on such things are
much higher. Just exactly what do you think an upgrade to iOS5 would achieve on a Touch?
Very little that would improve the underlying
function of a Touch. It has no GPS, no cellular
capability, only wifi.
Google have little or no interest in creating
updates of their OS for older devices, there’s nothing in it for them. Their customers are
looking to sell the latest whizzy handset and
encourage consumers to upgrade as often as
possible. If you think Google are being all
altruistic, unlike nasty Apple, then you’re
seriously deluded. There are no specific music players running
Android. There are a number of Pad devices
running Android, but they are not designed to
be used as music players.
Be honest, and admit that you didn’t want a
Touch in the first place, but couldn’t spring for an iPhone, and now you’re a bit fed up with its
limitations you’re just trying to justify a cheaper
replacement that, gosh, just happens to work
as a phone as well.

Haha, very amusing read…

As a matter of fact I bought the iTouch as a replacement for my iPod classic as I wanted somethng more up-to date. I also have an iPhone 3GS as I mentioned in my post, but I bought the iTouch as a music player which I ended using for apps also. I have been a huge fan of Apple for several years, owning an iPad 2 and a Macbook Pro so please do not bring the issue of money into it…
I actully bought an iPhone 3G before the iTouch which was replaced by a HTC Desire HD the battery life of which was so bad I went and bought a 3GS… my point was that an Android device is a viable- a alternative to iDevices for usablility and will be device for device in the future.

My point of hardware requirements for software not exceeding the capabilities of ‘lower’ devices still stands.

Google, make practically no money out of hardware (bar the old Nexus S which was a Samsung anyhow :P) as they are paid by phone manufacturers to use their software

Surely android is free for the oem’s to use. That’s why so many Android handsets are cheap / low budget affairs. And yes, the legacy support for Android phones is worse than apple (who aren’t perfect either – iPhone4 not getting siri for instance)