Quick W7 and Android phone questions

[ChimpBoy]

Finally decided to take the plunge and upgrade from XP to W7 - I have 4gb in my machine currently (not fully utilised by XP 32bit).  Is it worth upgrading to W7 64 bit?  I did the compatability checker and my hardware is no problem, but I get a little worried about software, especially the more obscure stuff like MAME emulators and other little things I play around with.  What are people's experience with 64 bit?  Any probs that may put me off?

Also, thinking of investing in an unlocked Nexus One or a HTC Desire.  Do they both run flash on their browsers?  Anyone got a particular preference for the Nexus One over the Desire or vice versa?

Cheers for any help y'all

[delanvital]

Win7 64bit - I use it at work and home and have no problems. Even 32bit print drivers work, although our print server needed a special treatment to start working. We also run some dos applications and some very old win applications (which ooze of crap programming and old days) and it all works fine. My 2c. N1 vs. Desire - take the latter, imho.

[smilodon]

Go 64bit. The worst I found was that one or two programs need to turn off the translucent part of the Aero theme while they run. No biggy as it gets restored as soon as you leave the application.

As to Nexus v Desire there are a few things to consider.

The Nexus One runs stock Android so as soon as Google/Android release an update (Froyo 2.2 coming soon) you can install it without a problem.  It also has voice search, which I personally think is a gimmick. People look odd enough chatting into Blue-tooth earphones but to hear then shouting " Access phone book......find......Wife.....ring wife" is even odder. It doesn't run Sense UI which a few people don't like. Finally it looks a bit ugly IMHO.

For the Desire, it runs Sense UI which lots of people like. It has better hardware keys. It has some very nice built in apps which link together much better than stock Android. It has an improved camera with things like 'face recognition' built in. However it cannot be updated to the latest version of Android by the user without being rooted. You will have to wait for HTC to release their own 2.2 update. So far HTC's record on updating it's Android phones is "it doesn't". Although it's promised to do so, HTC Hero users are still stuck with Android 1.5. Frankly the difference between 1.5 and 2.1 isn't huge but there are an ever growing list of apps that will not run on less than Android 2.1. Personally I don't worry about this as I don't run HTC's ROM's on my Desire, so I'll have Android 2.2 within a few days of it being launched. Finally it looks a bit gorgeous IMHO.

So in summary I think the benefits of owning a Desire over a Nexus One win out.

[T-Bag]

The only version of Windows in 64bit I'd avoid is XP. Both vista and windows 7 in x64 work fine with most stuff. And those they don't work generally don't run on the 32bit version. it's just a change in the OS not the fact it's 64bit.

As far as Desire vs Nexus, I'd go for the desire. I used my dads and it's a nice phone and the reviews say it is nicer in many respects to the nexus. Considering they are both similar and made by the same company, later phones in the same target range are generally better and the Desire is the most recent.