A few months ago, I decided to leave the world of Apple and my lovely iPhone 3G and see what life was like on the Google Android side of the street, with the HTC Desire. I liked it from the off but did have some minor gripes and annoyances that some of the apps I liked best on the iPhone didn’t have Android versions. But that passed.

I am now over the iPhone. This weekend I decided to let my girlfriend have my 3G and in the process my love for the HTC Desire grew and grew and here is why.

Setting up my old iPhone 3G for my girlfriend to use.

1) Reset phone and wipe all content.
2) Download and install iTunes and girlfriends netbook – she doesn’t need to listen to music on her netbook, she doesn’t want to listen to music on her netbook, but now has a pointless piece of software taking up space on it)
3) Put girlfriend’s SIM in iPhone
4) Connect iPhone to Netbook
5) Enter unlock code for SIM
6) Unconnect iPhone
7) Re-Connect iPhone
8) Software updates
9) Wait for phone authorisation
10) Phone starts syncing
11) iTunes informs me that software upgrade (4.0) available. Would I like to install.
12) Phone Authorised
13) Download and install 4.0
14) Restart iPhone
15) Unlock SIM
16) Unconnect iPhone
17) Re-Connect iPhone
18) Unlock SIM
19) Wait for phone authorisation
20) Software updates
21) Sync iPhone
22)Phone authorised
23) Set up email
24) Try to remember the work around to set up Google Calendars to sync (use MS Exchange)
25) Download some apps.
26) Turn off needless sounds, set preferences.
27) Finish.

All in all this took around 2hours from start to finish. It was a huge pain in the arse, and serves no purpose other than to try and make sure you can’t do anything without Apple’s say so. I know it has been said before, but WHY do I need to do all this to use a PHONE.

I suddenly found that whilst going through the process of setting things up for my girlfriend that, whilst I had been telling people that I had no regrets moving from the iPhone to the HTC Desire because it was a better Phone, I now genuinely not only believed it but meant it too. Trying to solve the calendar problem was a case in point. I was in Calendars but there was no way to access the calendar settings from where I was on the iPhone. To do that I have to exit the application, click the Settings icon and go through there. On the Desire I hit menu from the application and I get access to the settings and various other things. (Yes, I can access them in the same way as I could on the iPhone too, but unlike the iPhone I can access them when I’m IN any app, right there and then).

I also really like having a couple of REAL buttons on my phone. The optical tracker thing on the Desire is really not needed and totally pointless, but the Menu, Home and back/search buttons are great.

I still think the iPhone is a WONDERFUL thing. I loved having one, I will probably have on again at some point in the future, but at the moment I don’t see a compelling reason to have one – especially not an iPhone 4. Hold the iPhone 4 in your hand and then hold any previous iPhone or the Desire in your hand, and I’ll tell you which will feel better, more natural and more comfortable – and it wont be the iPhone 4. The squaring up of the iPhone 4 looks good, but doesn’t feel good. Even from a software stand point, if you have the 3GS, you can get all the advantages of the new iPhone 4 without the downsides – Unless you want FaceTime, so you can have face-to-face video calls. If you do, you’re weird, but, hey. (I don’t really do this v often on my PC/Mac, so I don’t see need to do so on my phone).

But don’t I still have app envy?

The apps are better on the iPhone people keep telling me. There’s more and they’re better. Now, there are indeed some better apps on the iPhone and some that are still ONLY on the iPhone, but it’s not a one way street, and whilst I would still say that the Facebook and Twitter apps for the iPhone are still better than their Android counterparts, if I look to YouTube (The HTC has flash support. Yes Apple the world maybe moving the HTML5 but in the meantime most video is still using flash, and I own my phone now not 2-5 years from now), LastFM, Spotify and others then Android wins hands down. For lots of other things there is little or no difference. [I do miss the official Guardian app though – Android unofficial app is ok, but not the same]

Making Calls: Both less than dazzling on that front I’d say, and the generic Google Phone is better than the HTC’d version for that due to good noise cancellation – so Android wins at least, if neither phone actually does.

Now, all is not rosey. The Desire does get a little hot under the collar. Not unusual for a smart phone these days but it gets hotter than it should do. The metallic brown paint job is also starting to get scratched – despite the phone living in an HTC pouch. This is fine, but it is likely to look the worse for ware after 18 months, whereas my iPhone 3G, even after 2 years still looks brand new.

I suppose we – as consumers – are now getting lucky. When I got my iPhone there wasn’t really any genuine match for it. Now, there are several things that can match it for some things, beat it for others, and trail behind it for other things. But it is no longer an unchallenged champion. For the moment I think the HTC Desire is at least as good as if not possibly better than the iPhone. In 13 months when I need a new phone will I get another HTC? Maybe. I may get an iPhone4S. I may get a Samsung, or something entirely different again. It is an exciting time to be owning a phone/smart phone.