… has left me with the firm belief that this is the best toy I’ve bought in the last six years. It’s certainly the best phone; previously I had an HTC Kaiser running Windows Mobile 6, which was frankly laughable by comparison, and irritated me most foul since the first week of my owning it (seriously, did the WM team ever actually use their own software?!).

Anyhow; I love it. I like:

  • the fact that AppBrain exists, which gives me a nice website for browsing the Android Market from a real browser, and not through frigging iTunes (I have an iPod Touch, and, well, being tied to iTunes is a bit annoying).
  • the integration with Google accounts, including Google Apps. I have a few of these and it was a breeze to sync them up and use them (though I did have to turn off email sync, since a) I prefer to actively go fetch email rather than be interrupted on someone else’s schedule, and b) it drained the battery noticeably when it was turned on).
  • Google Maps - finally I have a smartphone that can tell me where I am, with a decent interface! The previous phone’s app was barely alright for finding myself, let alone finding my way around.
  • the possibility of actually writing some software for it - I’ve got a couple of reasonably achievable-sounding ideas that, if I ever get around to, aren’t going to be subject to Apple’s draconian protocols.
  • the idea that the Android OS will get upgraded and the upgrade be pushed to my phone independent of the damn carrier. T-Mobile UK sucked at keeping up with Windows Mobile updates; it took them 2 years to make a ROM for 6.1 for my phone with their poxy crapware branding on it…
  • the apps; CardioTrainer for tracking exercise; KeepassDroid + DropBox for syncing my password database; NewsRob for being an awesome offline feed reader; Twidroid for getting me into Twitter properly; Subsonic for streaming my home music on the move (though T-Mobile’s spotty 3G coverage doesn’t help…); Evernote; TripIt… I was childishly amused at the spirit level I found, and I’ve found the WiFi analyser useful in every friend’s house I’ve gone to, advising them to change to a less contested WiFi channel for better signal.

So, yeah. Heartily recommended - except not, of course, since the problem with Android is that manufacturers are releasing newer better handsets at such a prodigious rate that 2 months later there are already better handsets just about to come out. That said, I don’t regret the purchase the tiniest bit.

Battery life could be better (but at least it’s a changeable battery, so I could get a spare if it’s really a problem, and it hasn’t been yet), and I’m peeved at T-Mobile’s aforementioned crappy coverage from time to time, but, well… I’ve been seen using my phone to browse the web while idly sitting in front of my turned-on computer (with, obviously, a full, proper screen and so on), and then mildly ridiculed by my girlfriend for not noticing the computer in front of me.

It’s a really nice phone to use!