That’s a double-edged sword, though. More than one Android manufacturer has used that release schedule as a way to roll out OS upgrades and fix hardware issues, rather than offering them to existing customers with existing phones. This system is great if you are rich, or don’t mind playing the eBay/Craigslist game to get another device. However, for the general consumer, it really sucks when you lock into a two year contract and get stuck with a phone that has its issues and old OS fixed and upgraded 3-4 months later. Just ask people who got stuck with early LTE models like the Droid Incredible and Photon and the abysmal battery life that they had, or had multi-tasking issues and a locked bootloader with the HTC One X if they will be happy after two years.

The Lumia 920 “might” be a great smartphone, in terms of specs and design. If M$ can finally put out a mobile OS that isn’t playing catch up, and can grow a real, competitive ecosystem, then it will finally fulfill its promise. However, that’s what we all heard at the launch of WP7, and then again for Mango (which was a big letdown. I owned a Focus and waited for that garbage), and then AGAIN at the launch of the 900. Myself and two other writes here gave WP7 a shot around the Mango launch, and we were all incredibly disappointed. It just couldn’t touch the total package that we were already using.

At the end of the day, M$ and Nokia need to quit shooting themselves in the foot (no legacy upgrades, faked photos, lies to the press about faked photos and videos, a phone reveal that doesn’t reveal very much at all just to beat Apple to press) and actually SHIP something that has great design, software, and ecosystem, in one package. If they don’t pull it off this time, Nokia is done. They are losing too much cash too fast to not have the 920 hit big and survive. I’m sure M$ would buy them out, but that would just be a sad end for such a formerly great company.

Don’t get me wrong. I really hope Windows Phone and Nokia ultimately succeed in becoming that strong third player in the smartphone market. I just can’t bring myself to like Android. I’ve tried, but it just isn’t for me, at all. I do like the middle ground approach of WP, though. It’s a very smart approach to try and pull people in from both sides. However, there are still just a lot of “ifs” out there that have to become “yes”s before that can happen.

What’s funny to me is that iPhone users get one new phone option every 1-2 years, meanwhile Droid/WP7 users get new phone option(s) every few months. That, alone, will ensure that I stay with Droid/WP7 for my phone. More options are better than one!

It’s still amazing that 8MP cameras can be crammed into such a small space (both iPhone, Droid and others) – good for on-the-go.

erm… i have seen quite a few iphones lock up, often whilst viewing pdf files. The owners tend to scratch their heads when it happens as there is no “intuitive” way of rebooting a phone that is hanging.

You are right that one of the best parts of the iPhone are that it just consistently works. It’s true the iPhone maybe lacks the bells and whistles of a few other phones but it also lacks many of the freezing, crashes, jerkiness, and other issues that plague many other phones.

Actually some photos were taken with an iPad and yeah you are right that the quality isn’t the best.