SmartPhone OS thoughts?

[alexxkay]

My current phone is getting battered enough that I am thinking about replacing it. I've been a Palm OS user for many years, but Palm OS is going away soon, so it seems like I should probably figure out what OS I'm moving to next. The major contenders seem to be Windows Mobile, Android, Blackberry, and WebOS. (A keyboard is an absolute must, which is why no iPhone.) Anyone out there want to evangelize (or demonize) any of these?

Comments

[russkay.livejournal.com]

I had the opportunity to use and test a bunch of phones last December. For overall usability, I put the iPhone at the top of the list, though I understand that if you need a keyboard it won't do.

I also tried the T-Mobile G-1 (Android-based) and the BlackBerry Storm. The Storm had this odd touch-screen interface that included physical clicking of the entire screen, and I never quite got used to it or got it to work the way I wanted it to when I wanted it to. Sometimes it was fine, other times it seemed to have a mind of its own. The G-1 wasn't too bad, it did have a nice keyboard when you slid the screen aside, but it had relatively few apps available for it. I actually still have that G-1 phone here -- they never sent me return instructions -- if you want to try it out.

The last phone I tried for that article was a Windows Mobile iPaq Business Messenger from HP. I found I didn't like the tiny (by comparison with the others) screen, and the keyboard felt awfully cramped for my fingers. If you're used to a Treo, you may not have that problem. And FWIW, I used to like Windows Mobile a fair amount, but I like it less and less as time goes by.