Mobile Device Dilemma part IV

I finally upgraded my mobile device from a Blackberry Bold to an HTC Inspire. Many of the trade-off issues are documented in parts I-III. The four Blackberries below are my last four mobile devices (photo courtesy of HTC Inspire).

My AT&T contract for the Bold was due to expire this April and that is the trigger for me to upgrade. In the process of getting the Inspire I considered a few other options. Below are my factors in deciding to go with the Inspire.

Atrix - This device was available at the same time as the Inspire and while I liked the screen resolution, I was not attracted to the screen size. However, the main reason for not going with the Atrix was I would not take advantage of the peripheral  options like the laptop and multi-media dock.

Infuse - This was a close second for me in my decision process. However, I did not want to wait until May/June to get the device and the Samsung build quality and Android update frequency had turned me off. I was attracted to the Super AMOLED + display with Gorilla Glass but not enough to wait.

Samsung S2 - While announced for Europe at the Mobile World Congress, this device was probably in the late summer for AT&T. Not sure I would get that big a boost from the dual core. I was intrigued by the Near Field Communication Chip but I think that will be something I latch onto in my next phone two years from now.

Thunderbolt - The "4G" from AT&T is a joke out of the box. If I was willing to take my family plan over to Verizon, I could have jumped on LTE. However, I decided that where I live in Raliegh would not light up until mid summer and did not want to wait.

Given all the above options, I chose the Inspire because of HTC build quality, and the fact that in a few weeks I will root the phone to get much faster network data speeds. Stay tuned for my adventures in rootville.

Twenty-four hours later:

• I am still getting used to the on-screen keyboard but can see myself going up the learning curve.
• The battery life was a concern before purchase, but is not really an issue for me now. I have the power saver enabled and have not run low yet. With my typical use, I got a full fifteen hours.
• I have been downloading some apps and widgets from the HTC Sense Hub and the Android Market. Very easy. Instead of using one of the six alternative screens beyond Home, I find myself opening up the all apps and scrolling around. Figuring out a better way to get to a specific app is something I need to work on.
• I saw a post on malware from Android Apps and decided to purchase an anti-virus app (Anti-Virus Pro)
• Finally, I am disappointed that there is not a tighter integration with my Google Apps account. Gmail, Calendar, and Contacts are well integrated, but others like Docs are based on a web interface and you have to manually create a bookmark or shortcut to quickly access.