Google’s Android platform has provided the ailing, old school phone manufacturers with an operating system that is a true rival to the iPhone. Android really is the closest alternative to the iPhone – it’s easy to use, reliable, it gives you most of the benefits of an iPhone-style touchscreen phone but with the big bonus of a range of cracking looking devices with bigger displays or higher resolution cameras.
So what are the best options? Here’s a handful of suggestions:
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and X10 Mini Pro
The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10, and it’s baby sister, the lovely dinky new Xperia Mini X10 Pro, offer two of the best options in the market.
With a great 8 megapixel camera, huge 4 inch touchscreen, and a slick, if a touch large, design, the Xperia X10 is one of the most popular Android phones to date. With Twitter and Facebook built-in, swift access to internet and email via its very fast 3G connection and Timescape which merges all your contacts, networking, emails in one easy application it’s great for those you just have to be ‘connected’ at all times. The 1GB of memory and the battery life are impressive on paper and feedback I’ve heard suggest that it at least outlasts the iPhone.
The Xperia X10 Mini Pro is the smallest Android phone around. It has many of the features of the X10 – Wi-Fi, GPS, headphone jack, MP3 player, a slide out QWERTY keyboard, FM Radio and a slightly reduced but still great 5 megapixel camera in a very compact and cute design. Sony Ericsson are apparently targeting the female market but I’ve played with one and think it would pass the pub test for most blokes!
HTC Desire
The HTC Desire is arguably the main rival to the X10 or the Desire. The camera resolution is lower at 5 megapixels, but it does have auto focus and face detection so shouldn’t be too far off the results you get from the X10. The styling is undramatic but the size is a bit more practical.
The problematic processor of the HTC Hero has been resolved in the Desire, which makes using the Desire a lot less frustrating. The touchscreen is very responsive – almost too responsive at times.
Google Nexus One
HTC built the hardware for the Nexus One and it’s very similar to the Desire, and the basic spec is the same but it uses touch sensitive buttons instead of physical buttons. It also lacks HTC’s Sense user interface. On the plus side it includes Google’s Car Sat Nav App and a suite of smaller products bundled into a Car Home App designed for use whilst driving.
It includes many of the features of the usual Android phones – syncing of contacts, Wi-Fi, bluetooth, a 3.7 AMOLED touchscreen. It also has Active Noise Cancellation, so making calls with the Nexus One is very clear, and also makes voice activation a lot less frustrating.
Dell Streak
Ok, so the Dell Streak is starting to move into another genre, but maybe it represents where the phones and manufacturers of the above are heading. As Dell describe it, the Streak is a hybrid device that lives in the space between a smartphone and other larger tablets or netbooks that you might be using right now.
So how does it rate compared to the other phones we’ve featured. Well first off its 5 inch screen is certainly larger than anything we’ve seen. It runs Android 1.6 and will be upgrading to 2.2 shortly. It has a 5 megapixel camera and when the planned 2.2 update happens, it will also run flash videos, which its closest competitor the iPad may never do. Otherwise the spec is fairly close to the other Androids, for example, Wi-Fi, 512mb internal memory with micro SD card, touchscreen – only the radio is missing and the talk and standby time is to be confirmed.
Summary
So it’s horses for courses. The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 stands out mainly for it’s high resolution camera whilst the Xperia Mini X10 Pro is the smallest Android phone around and has a QWERTY keyboard for the text and email addicts amongst you. The Dell Streak is more of an iPad rival and it has a very large screen for a mobile phone. The HTC Desire is a good iPhone imitator whilst the Nexus One has a little bit extra for drivers who fancy a bit of Sat Nav in their life – some of the Sat Nav iPhone Apps cost £50 or more!
What would I buy? An iPhone 4 of course! 
Have you got an Android phone or do you think there’s a better alternative out there? Let me know by adding a comment below!
Related posts:
