I’m about to take the plunge into smartphones after resisting for ages. I had a crappy htc wildfire for a while but that was useless! With the iphone 4s now relatively cheap is that a good standard or are there any better spec android devices out there? My gut says i’d prefer android as i like the idea of more flexibility over the iphone folders etc. I’m aware that past and parcel of having a smartphone will be becoming a strava junkie so any user experiences for biking apps across the 2 formats would be handy! All help appreciated!

Looked at iPhone 4 myself but plumped for the Samsung galaxy mini s111 (s3) it brilliant latest android os and have had a good look at the iPhone 5 it would certainly give that a run for its money def worth consideration and as brand new out on a very good dealt at moment with carphone warehouse.

I’ve got a 4s and think its a great bit of kit. Does everything an iPhone 5 will but a fraction slower and with a slightly smaller screen.

Personally I’m not a fan of some of the new Samsung galaxy phones and others where they’ve started making them bigger for video playback etc. if I want a bigger screen I’ll use a tablet/laptop or desktop.

HTC one X+?

The mini s3 exactly same size as an iPhone it was bought out as a competitor as kris toff is right the original s3 is massive and you wouldn’t carry it around with you. Nephew has the note which is big and hates it.

Trevh….changing my phone in January and the S3-mini caught my eye.
I want to go smaller than my current HTC One-S which has a 4.3 inch screen (not massive by any means but screen sizes are now ridiculous), the main thing I’m concerned about is battery life….the HTC is great in this respect, how do you find the S3-mini?
Reviews suggest battery life is good but I’d like to know from somebody who actually uses the phone day in day out.

Also, had a play with one in a shop and on one of the home screens there was Samsung’s media player of some kind set up as a widget….I tried to delete this from the screen by holding down on it and dragging it to the dustbin icon that appears on screen but it wouldn’t let me delete it?!….the appeal of Android for me is total customisation, I don’t like the cluttered look as on Apple’s products….if I can’t delete certain pre installed widgets then I’d have to look elsewhere.
Can the home screens be cleared up as I prefer or would I be stuck with widgets all over the place that can’t be hidden?

Cheers!

If you’re thinking about Strava etc then think about how you’d mount it on your bike.
I use a waterproof handlebar case/mount for my iPhone 4 but not sure I’d want one of the bigger screen droids (like HTC One, Note etc) mounted like that.

Got to admit if your constantly on it then you will drain the battery in a day but once the play value has gone then 3 days has been the norm. In what I would call normal use. The widgets I haven’t tried to delete but I will have a good look to see how it can be done. Overall impressed. Very easy to use and the per installed sat nave very good to . I’m not disappointed with it so I’d recommend only critic of it is if u like using the keyboard in portrait for texting does take getting used to but if you turn it on its side keyboard bigger an easier to use. Il report back later on the widgets

In terms of reasonable value and high spec, the Nexus 4 is a very nice bit of kit. Sim free from Google – go on giffgaff or similar and it works out as a good deal.

I’ve had mine a couple of weeks after looking at the S3 mini, One S etc.

Possible downsides – Max 16gb storage, availability (sells out fast when shipments do arrive), large screen (not a problem for me, easily fits in jeans pocket, camelbak etc).

GPS excellent for Strava etc as it also uses russian satellites too and panoramic camera (Google streetview) will be cool for rides. Always on the latest version of Android as updates are released direct.

Big screen does drain battery but mine was at 68% battery left after 15 hours yesterday, mostly idle but a couple of texts and mails, a quick call and some maps. Impressive but a big screen will drain a battery fast.

(Sent from my Nexus 4 😉 )

Very happy with my 4S – superb bit of gear IMO. Like all Apple stuff you get the most out of it if you fully buy into their way of doing things though.

I’m throughly annoyed, want desperately to replace mine & my partners iPhone 3G/3GS (been great but tired now, & new ones are silly money) but when the **** will google ever have anymore stock in of Nexus 4?

Go and have a play with one of the new Windows 8 phones and see if you like it. The operating system is (imho) much better than iOS (iPhone) and Android. I design apps and have plenty of apple and android gear in my house, so I have a vague idea of what I am talking about.

Downside is that the app store isn’t as burgeoning as the other players at the moment, but if you have a play with a Lumia and HTC 8x you will see that it’s not the end of the world. The phone hardware and overall experience is spot on.

However, Strava isn’t out there yet, apart from this third party app so that might rule it out straight away.

Within 12 months time it will have eaten into android and iOS share quite nicely and developers will be churning out apps.

GrahamS – Member
If you’re thinking about Strava etc then think about how you’d mount it on your bike.

In your camelbak? Never even considered bar-mounting my phone, don’t consider the current breed robust enough for a good spill

Deviant apps easy to remove on the mini as just do it within settings and go to applications it gives you the choice. Widgets are straight forward to remove. Hold your finger on the widget you want to remov longer than 2 seconds it gets a litte larger and a dustbin appears top right drag it over the bin an dump it. Try it out in one of the shops. I’ve just got rid of the crap ones of mine. Easy it doeswork

We have iphones at work. They are useless. THe most unreliable we have (always ‘forgetting’ settings) not robust, slightest knock will break them, expensive to buy and run (data-hungry compared to alternatives) and the aerial is rubbish so they don’t work anyway.
Look nice though, one for the fashion brigade.

Trevh, cheers for that, very helpful.
Smaller 4 inch screen here I come!

In your camelbak? Never even considered bar-mounting my phone

Lose half the point if you stick it in your pack though (e.g. gps route mapping + speed/pace etc)

I run mine on a bar mount all the time on a muddy towpath commute. No issues.
Though obviously if you’re hucking 30ft cliff drops then it may not be suitable.

Which mount do you use Graham

This Ultimate AddOns one:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0057FJ41Y

Lots of similar designs available from BikeConsole, Wahoo etc

(Important Note: not my bike in photo!!)

If you’ve got insurance and you want to mount it on your handlebars the iPhone is the obvious choice – much as I hate to say it, when it comes to accessories the iPhone is the clear winner, for anything else you’re usually stuck with “generic” one-size-fits-all solutions, nothing like as tidy.

If that’s not really an issue, go Android or WinPhone. They’ll be cheaper, just as reliable, and equally polished (or quite possibly more in the case of a WinPhone…) Your phone will be a lot safer in your Camelbak, and will work equally well for post-ride downloading to Strava.

Cheers folks, might look at the galaxy s3 mini. When out riding it will never ever be bar mounted! Seems like quite a lot of healthy choice out there.

Just got a Nokia 820 windows8 phone. So far I’m loving it, much easier to use than my old android wildfire and very intuitive. The 820 will take a 64Gb micro SD card so storing vids etc isn’t a problem.

Samsung s2 mate…STRAVA in jacket chest pocket….no time for messing about looking at screen while smoking everyones segments!!… view after (fast) ride!?..

There’s no doubt that Apple have been very clever with their marketing. And they’ve got some great products. Their success seems to have started with the iPod.

But the competition has either caught up and/or surpassed … and also cheaper.

Most of the folk I know with Wildfire’s have had problems. My DesireHD has been clattered, dropped, bashed & crashed for almost 2 1/2 years now, & never skipped a beat. My wife has an iPhone, but it seems really “basic” to me. About to order a new phone, & its either the Galaxy Note 2 or HTC OneX+.

I’m in love with my iphone5 coming from a htc on windows.

I beat it to death, the most satisfying thing i’ve done all year.