In Depth: Complete guide to buying an Android handset
Have you been wondering whether to buy an Android handset? Now's the time to go for it. Android handsets remain dominated by HTC, but this is rapidly changing, with Motorola and Samsung among those getting in on the act and more phones on the way from Sony Ericsson, Acer and more.
And with Android 2.0 (Eclair) around the corner, the OS is certainly starting to gain traction - especially as Windows Mobile still lags way behind and not everybody wants to pay £35-a-month for an iPhone.
So, in no particular order, here's our guide to buying an Android handset. When looking for deals, make sure you have at least some form of "unlimited" internet included in your tariff. As with the iPhone, it's a must-have for Android.
Motorola Dext
One company for whom Android is make or break is Motorola. Its first offering is the Dext, a slide-out QWERTY with a 3.1-inch capacitive touchscreen in landscape format (like the HTC Touch Pro 2). Like many manufacturers do with Windows Mobile, Motorola has also supercharged Android with its own customised overlay, called MotoBlur.
It's available free on Orange for £35 a month, while if you pay £80 up front you can save cash on a £25-per-month tariff.
Moto will also be sneaking in the first handset with Android 2.0, the Milestone (also known as the Droid). It was rumoured to be coming to O2 and Vodafone - though O2 has denied it will stock either Moto handset.
Read: Motorola DEXT review
Browse the best Motorola DEXT deals in the UK
HTC Hero (Orange Graphite, T-Mobile G2)
The Hero is a superb handset - certainly HTC's best so far, running HTC's Sense UI. It's fast and has a great, responsive 3.2-inch touchscreen.
We think the Hero is a big improvement over the Magic, but you do pay a slight premium for it over Voda's Android offering - it's free on various £35-a-month Orange tariffs. We also found a £30-a-month deal on Orange (with 500MB of internet per-month) although it was a 24-month deal unlike the former, which is an 18-month deal.
You can have the G2 Touch for free on T-Mobile paying £30 a month - it's a £25-per-month deal with £5 for unlimited internet.
The Hero is a superb handset and isn't that expensive. The only negative is the 5-megapixel camera which gives disappointing results for both images and video.
Read: HTC Hero review
Browse the best HTC Hero deals in the UK
HTC Magic
The second Android phone to be released might not be at the head of the pack any longer, but that means you can pick it up at a good price on Vodafone. It's a very light phone at 119g with a 2.8-inch touchscreen and while some might view the casing as looking a bit cheap, we don't agree.
You can get it for free from £25 a month with unlimited internet - though this only comes with 75 minutes of calls, so you'll probably want the £30 plan.
Read: HTC Magic review
Browse the best HTC Magic deals in the UK
Samsung Galaxy i7500
Samsung wanted to put the cat among the Android pigeons with the feature-rich and O2 exclusive Galaxy, but as you'll see the network has rather priced this handset out of the game.
The handset is extremely slim at just 11.9mm thick and also packs an extremely bright OLED screen - even under bright lights the screen still stands out. It's also extremely lightweight at 116g.
Unfortunately O2 is offering the handset for premium prices - you'll need the iPhone-esque £35 tariff with 600 minutes and unlimited web, but you'll still have to pay £97 for the handset. You have to hike up to the £44 tariff before you can even get it for free. The phone is great, but the prices aren't.
Read: Samsung Galaxy i7500 review
Browse the best Samsung Galaxy i7500 deals in the UK
HTC Tattoo review
With a 2.8-inch touchscreen and 3.2-megapixel camera, the Android 1.6-sporting Tattoo is designed to be the first real budget Android offering. But because it's new, it's not always cheaper than other Android handsets that have already been on the market.
However, while we praised the design and battery life, we're not so keen on the screen and camera.
Like the Magic (which it certainly looks smarter than), you can get it on Vodafone for free from £25 a month with unlimited internet - once again this only comes with 75 minutes of calls, so you'll probably want the £30 plan.
Orange offer a nicer deal, still getting the phone free but with 200 minutes and 300 texts for £18 a month. You will need to put £5 on that for 500MB of internet, though.
Read: HTC Tattoo review
Browse the best HTC Tattoo deals in the UK
T-Mobile Pulse
Another handset designed for the lower end of the market, the Pulse is free from T-Mobile on the Combi 35 tariff with 1,000 minutes on a 24-month deal. It's £25 a month with the phone for free, though you'll need to boost this by £5 for unlimited internet, so it's not super-cheap.
The handset itself has a disappointing camera and battery life, but it's the first handset from Chinese company Huawei and it has an impressive array of features behind the 3.5-inch touchscreen.
Read: T-Mobile Pulse review
Browse the best T-Mobile Pulse deals in the UK
And what else is coming?
As you might expect, there are plenty of Android handsets on the horizon, too. Acer is steaming in with the Liquid soon but it appears the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor (also found in the Toshiba TG01 Windows Phone) will be underclocked.
Yesterday Sony Ericsson unveiled its new Android handset, the Xperia X10, which also sports the 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and a 4-inch high resolution screen. Like the Liquid, it will run Android 1.6 Donut.
The aforementioned 3.7-inch widescreen Motorola Milestone will be the first handset to run Android 2.0. And then there's the Samsung Galaxy Lite - otherwise known as the Spica - though it's not yet confirmed for the UK.
Read: Our hands on Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 review and our hands on: Acer Android Liquid review
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