PDA

View Full Version : Y.a.m.p.t



Beowulf
11th-May-2009, 08:06 PM
(Yet Another Mobile Phone Thread)

ok.. it's upgrade time again. and (to quote Richard Burton as The Narrator in War of the Worlds) "An insane resolve possessed me"

I fancy an iPhone :what: :really:
or do I? I also fancy one of the G1 Android Phones :grin::clap:

One thing I DO NOT want is another flipping Windows Mobile phone :banghead:

(Ok.. who's replaced Pete with a Pod person grown from an Apple(tm) seed?)

I know.. pigs are flying as I type. The earth has split asunder and the Lions and Lambs are lying down together and having a jolly good snooze (pedant mode.. the lions never lay down with the lambs.. from my god bothering days I remember it's "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb and the leopard shall lie down with the kid and the calf and the young lion and the yearling together" :na:)

Anyway I digress.. As I'm playing devils advocate to myself here I need some advice. Which is WORSE the Android G1 or the Apple iPhone.

I don't want to hear fan boy comments from either side.. what is it about your chosen piece of Tech that .. although you love it dearly.. really grinds your almonds? I know what's good about either of them but I want to hear some users bad points.

I'm currently on O2 so the iPhone is "easier" as I can get it without changing anything too drastically. The G1 however would require a shift to T-Mobile.

I've played with the G1 and I like it but Battery life seems... Meh! however I hear the iPhone battery is doubleplus Meh! is this true? or Anti Apple doublespeak ?

Maxine
11th-May-2009, 09:05 PM
I am also due for an upgrade and also fancied the Iphone, especially as my Ipod is on its last legs and the touch screen for texting as I do a lot of texting. What I don’t like is that you can’t forward messages. I’m on Vodafone so would also have to switch.

I love all the phones with lots of gadgets but basically all I do is text and sometimes phone.

I have had very mixed advice on it:confused::confused::confused:.

What to do????

Miguel
11th-May-2009, 09:17 PM
What to do????

Mobile Phones UK: Reviews & Best Buys (http://www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/index.htm)

Feelingpink
11th-May-2009, 09:31 PM
Am about to buy an iPhone because (a) my current phone is out of contract & pretty much ark technology (b) the iPhone syncs with Daylite, which runs my world and a built-in GPS system would be preferable to forever printing off Multimap directions & still getting lost (this way I would know when I'm walking away from my destination sooner). The only downside I know of (from a friend who has one) is that it took her quite a while to get accurate with typing on it - and that wouldn't be an issue with the G1, since it has a keyboard. If it wasn't for the Daylite syncing, if they cost the same, then I'd probably still get an iPhone because so many of my friends have them and can give me advice on how to get the best out of it (& which apps to get and not get).

Maxine
12th-May-2009, 08:27 AM
Mobile Phones UK: Reviews & Best Buys (http://www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk/index.htm)

Thanks Miguel but now I’m paralysed by choice:confused::confused:

straycat
12th-May-2009, 09:10 AM
OK. You know I'm a rabid iPhone fan, wouldn't give it up for the world, yada di yada di yada, goes without saying.

As requested, some downsides.

Battery. The battery life is fairly miserable. Whereas the my old Nokia that preceded the iPhone could last for a week sometimes on a single charge, my iPhone ... cannot. Although, to be fair, I use the iPhone constantly, whereas the Nokia was just used for texting and occasional phone calls. There are options if you need more battery life though - I have a USB connector cable at work, so I can charge it from my PC - and I have several 3rd party (ie cheap) chargers so I always have options when I travel. There are battery extending options like the Juice Pack (http://macenstein.com/default/archives/1314), which can do a lot to help.

I can't give you any hard and fast figures, but here's some estimates:
Only doing some texting and making a handful of phone calls: 2 days or so.
Listening to music - doesn't seem to use much battery at all. I think they quote 12 hours for this, and I see nothing to dispute that estimate.
Using it as a full-on remote control for iTunes on my Mac - 2-3 hours.
Playing graphically intensive games - about two hours.
Using Google Maps and GPS to track a journey - about an hour (I still use this facility, as it's incredibly useful, but in short bursts)

Mmm. What else. No copy/paste. Apple have no excuse at all for this one. It has been officially announced and demoed for the next major software update though (version 3.0), so it'll be here in the summer... at long last.

Text messaging. The texting app is wonderful, and uses an interface that's so beautiful and blindingly obvious, you wonder why nobody else thought of it. It has drawbacks though. No MMS being one, although this will also be addressed in version 3.0. Version 1 had no facility for sending a text to more than one person. This was addressed in version 2, but you still can't send texts to a predefined group - you have to select the names one at a time. I hope this gets addressed in 3.0.

3rd party applications don't have access to the whole API. In practical terms, this means, for example, that a 3rd party to-do list manager cannot display alerts and reminders unless you fire it up yourself. Which limits their usefulness in ways that the 3rd party developers cannot get around. I gather this will be addressed in 3.0 as well.

It still can't make a decent cup of coffee. I cannot describe how disappointed I remain at this one.

If you're seriously thinking about getting an iPhone, despite all the above, I would highly recommend it.

However, I'd suggest waiting. The first iPhone was available around end of June 2007, and the 3G was beginning of July 2008, iirc. All the signs are that there will be one or more new models within the next two months. While the older models will still get the 3.0 update, the new ones are likely to sport some serious improvements - for example, if the rumors are correct, it/they will include some pretty decent video facilities.

Plus, the Palm Pre (http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/pre/) should be out by then, and it's possible that Palm will steal a march on Apple and come out with something very special... (Probably not, but you never know. It could happen)

Filthy Monkey
12th-May-2009, 09:31 AM
I've got an iPhone and love it to bits, but I rarely use it as a phone. I keep it for music, video and browsing, with occassional GPS thrown. I think I'd get annoyed with it pretty quickly as a phone, as it lacks certain features, but as devices go, it is the most user friendly piece of kit ever!!

I picked up one of the new HTC Magic phones, with the Android G operating system. So far I like it, but I've only had it for 17hrs and slept for 6 of them, so I'm sure it will start to annoy me fairly soon. I'll let you know what I think of it once I've had a proper chance to play with it :)

Lee Bartholomew
12th-May-2009, 09:52 AM
Im not the biggest fan of Apple :wink: and personally wouldn't touch an Iphone. I have a few friends that have had them and they have either sold them within a few months or they are constantly sending them back.

Also the battery can not be replaced once it has stopped holding charge !!!!!!

On the plus side for the iPhone it does seem well supported with 3rd party gizmos and im told your only cool if you have an Iphone.

I havn't tried a G1 yet. Will have a look next time im down town.

Have you tried an Omnia? I know you said you didn't want another windows OS phone but they are seriously worth a look.

Another phone that might be worth a look is the Blackberry Storm :grin:

I suppose at the end of the day it's all down to what you want to do with it. Any phone nowdays will play MP3's, give you sat nav, web access and the like.:nice:

Terpsichorea
12th-May-2009, 12:28 PM
I'm a fan of the Nokia Series 60 phones. I have an n95 and its been really good so far, will probably get an N96. The major selling point for me was the built-in satnav. You can also run TomTom off it.

Lou
12th-May-2009, 12:48 PM
I'm a fan of the Nokia Series 60 phones. I have an n95 and its been really good so far, will probably get an N96. The major selling point for me was the built-in satnav. You can also run TomTom off it.


I have an N95, and a Nokia 8500 (for when I want to be "trendy"). I'll upgrade to N97 when it's released in June/July. :grin:

Maxine
12th-May-2009, 01:04 PM
I've got an iPhone and love it to bits, but I rarely use it as a phone.

I

I do need it as a phone


Im not the biggest fan of Apple :wink: and personally wouldn't touch an Iphone. I have a few friends that have had them and they have either sold them within a few months or they are constantly sending them back.
charge !!!!!!


Another phone that might be worth a look is the Blackberry Storm :grin:


I quite fancied this but have read bad reports on this :confused:


I have an N95, and a Nokia 8500 (for when I want to be "trendy"). I'll upgrade to N97 when it's released in June/July. :grin:

Think I'll have to look into this but I'm p'd off with my Nokia that shows I have signal but sometimes have to turn the phone off and then pick up texts from 2 days ago

Tiggerbabe
12th-May-2009, 01:09 PM
I do need it as a phone

I've got an iPhone and (apart from all of the other things it does) I use it, oh yes, as a phone :D

straycat
12th-May-2009, 01:45 PM
I've got an iPhone and love it to bits, but I rarely use it as a phone.

I have to say I'm curious - why not? As a pure phone, I love it.

Beowulf
12th-May-2009, 07:41 PM
erm...:blush:




(I'm a proud owner of a new 16gb iPhone)
I feel like such a traitor to the cause :wink: :D

Lee Bartholomew
12th-May-2009, 08:33 PM
You got an iphone then?

frolicols
12th-May-2009, 09:13 PM
I've currently got an N95, and I still maintain it's the best non-iphone alternative. It can do everything the iphone can do, and has freeware you can get for it instead of buying stuff from an app store.

That said, I'm still leaning towards getting an iphone on my next upgrade. Word on the street is there WILL be a new iphone coming out this Summer.

If it has a 5mp camera and some decent video I'll leave Vodafone (after being with them for 14 years) and go over to O2.

pmjd
13th-May-2009, 11:03 AM
I've currently got an N95, and I still maintain it's the best non-iphone alternative. It can do everything the iphone can do, and has freeware you can get for it instead of buying stuff from an app store.
The Apple app store is just like symbian apps, some are free and others you pay for.


That said, I'm still leaning towards getting an iphone on my next upgrade. Word on the street is there WILL be a new iphone coming out this Summer.

If it has a 5mp camera and some decent video I'll leave Vodafone (after being with them for 14 years) and go over to O2.
Current rumours put it at getting at least a 3.2mp camera with autofocus. Be wary of getting caught up in the pixel wars, just cause it has more mps doesn't make it a better camera, it's more to do with the quality of the lens. Video capabilities seem to be present in the current beta versions of the iphone's next OS, version 3.

I was thinking of getting an iphone but it still lacks a few things, so I was going to wait until the next version to see if it's improved enough for me.

Terpsichorea
13th-May-2009, 11:19 AM
I do need it as a phone



I quite fancied this but have read bad reports on this :confused:



Think I'll have to look into this but I'm p'd off with my Nokia that shows I have signal but sometimes have to turn the phone off and then pick up texts from 2 days ago

Reflash your Nokia so it's not operator specific - it allows you to install the very latest firmware rather than waiting for the operator to allow you to install it (NB this can brick your phone, so be careful!)

pmjd
13th-May-2009, 11:25 AM
Reflash your Nokia so it's not operator specific - it allows you to install the very latest firmware rather than waiting for the operator to allow you to install it (NB this can brick your phone, so be careful!)

This simple website (http://hunajatehdas.net/nokia/firmware/en/) will tell you how to find out what firmware version you have on your Nokia and what the latest firmware released for your phone is.

Filthy Monkey
13th-May-2009, 12:14 PM
I have to say I'm curious - why not? As a pure phone, I love it.


Well, one reason is that it's on O2, and I have a load of accounts with Vodafone, so wanted to keep my main number with them. I bought the iPhone on PAYT, as I didn't want a contract with O2 and occassionaly use it for calls, but not very often. The things that bother me the most about it are the lack of MMS, not having a video camera and the inability to select multiple items in text / email lists. It's really the first two that stop me using it as an everyday phone, although the fact that it is not on Vodafone is a biggie.

If I'm honest, I bought it just because I didn't have one, but as a multi-functional device, it is brilliant. It's not a perfect phone, but it does everything else so well that as an all round gadget it is pretty much unbeatable. I wanted all of the functionality of the iTouch, but also wanted access to GPS maps, as well as the ability to go online without WiFi. It's nice being able to download from iTunes wherever I am. The PAYT version came with 1 year of unlimited online access, so it made sense to me. I use it primarily as an iPod and video player and can go online whenever I want. It's great to be able to download dance videos from You Tube and then pinch moves to use as part of a routine...

Maxine
13th-May-2009, 12:51 PM
Reflash your Nokia so it's not operator specific - it allows you to install the very latest firmware rather than waiting for the operator to allow you to install it (NB this can brick your phone, so be careful!)

I did an IQ test at work yesterday and was feeling really pleased with the results until I read this now I feel thick and stupid – I don’t understand:tears::tears:

Beowulf
13th-May-2009, 12:54 PM
Yes I have purchased an iPhone.. No more jokes from me about being a traitor to the cause :wink:

I have to say it's nice! I've never really been an "Apple Hater" more of a "Windows praiser" .. but my last Windows mobile device while it "worked" sometimes it wasn't as intuitive or as user friendly as I would have liked.

I wanted something that would just do what I asked. A button to check email.. a button to surf the web, a button to play music ,a button to watch videos and a button to make the molecules in women's undergarments leap simultaneously one foot to the left, in accordance to the theory of indeterminacy. Unfortunately that last button doesn't work as my Bambelweeny 57 Sub-Meson Brain isn't Apple compliant and my atomic vector plotter has run out of batteries.

However, finite improbability aside it does what I want it to.

I don't use my phone to take pictures.. I have a camera for that. at the most I use it as a visual note pad.. and for that se the iPhone camera is adequate! I don't send MMS. I have email.. why would I use MMS?

the cut and paste.. ok granted that's a pain but I can live with that.

and the set up.. egads!! have been used to just inserting my sim card to a freshly charged new phone and playing straight away. Nope.. I needed to plug my iPhone into the PC... and download iTunes.. and Register the phone THEN and only then could I play. But all that aside I'm impressed. It's a nice phone. Already downloaded a few apps. Namely facebook, skype, last Fm and shazam (which is really cool.. tested it on the end credits of "Judge dredd" last night.. and it correctly identified the song playing as "Dredd song" by the cure!!)

I'll not be rushing out to buy an Apple mac .. I'm still a Windows guy and a windows developer. But for the iPhone I'm sold !!

straycat
13th-May-2009, 01:25 PM
There's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep trying until you run out of cake. - GLaDOS

I've only just noticed your signature.... :clap:

GLaDOS phone, anyone?

Terpsichorea
13th-May-2009, 01:27 PM
I did an IQ test at work yesterday and was feeling really pleased with the results until I read this now I feel thick and stupid – I don’t understand:tears::tears:

My fault for not explaining. Basically, there are firmware updates for most mobile phones, in this instance, the N95. With the series 60 phones, you update this firmware by using the Nokia software updater. However, your phone operator will have you locked into an operator specific code for your handset, which means it will only allow you to update to certain versions of the firmware - often this won't be the very latest firmware.

To access the latest firmware (check which version you are currently using by typing *#0000# into your handset) you need to debrand your phone. I am currently running V30.0.015 for the N95, for example.

Debranding your phone is quite easy - just follow the instructions here (http://clear-nokia.blogspot.com/2007/05/nokia-n95-debranding-guide.html). Why debrand? The latest firmware versions usually have some the most annoying bugs ironed out of them, and its worth doing IMO. Also, I don't like Orange telling me what version of firmware I can or can't have on my phone!

Word of warning, if you reflash, you can't revert to an older version of your firmware, otherwise you'll brick your phone.

straycat
13th-May-2009, 01:31 PM
,,,and a button to make the molecules in women's undergarments leap simultaneously one foot to the left, in accordance to the theory of indeterminacy. ...

An application to do that was in the App store for a while, but then Apple's censorship police got wise, and they removed it (it was using undocumented calls in the Quantum Physics & Sock Theory API, iirc) Very unfair.

Beowulf
13th-May-2009, 07:08 PM
GLaDOS phone, anyone?

a good idea... right up to the point where it uses it's sat nav to navigate you into a burning fire pit !!

"Ok send text"
"THANK you FOR TAKING PART IN AN APERture SCIENCE enrichMENT CENTRE COMmunicATIONS PROJECT. PLEASE NOTE THAT PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO THE APERTURE SCIENCE ENRICHMENT CENTRE communICATION DEVICE MAY CAUSE BLEEDING FROM THE GUMS, IRREVERSIBLE SERIALISATION AND PREMATURE COMBustion"
"ah.. a windows device !!"

Maxine
13th-May-2009, 08:10 PM
My fault for not explaining. Basically, there are firmware updates for most mobile phones, in this instance, the N95. With the series 60 phones, you update this firmware by using the Nokia software updater. However, your phone operator will have you locked into an operator specific code for your handset, which means it will only allow you to update to certain versions of the firmware - often this won't be the very latest firmware.


Debranding your phone is quite easy - just follow the instructions here (http://clear-nokia.blogspot.com/2007/05/nokia-n95-debranding-guide.html). Why debrand? The latest firmware versions usually have some the most annoying bugs ironed out of them, and its worth doing IMO. Also, I don't like Orange telling me what version of firmware I can or can't have on my phone!

Word of warning, if you reflash, you can't revert to an older version of your firmware, otherwise you'll brick your phone.

Thanks and think I may just have a go at this (truth let me son have a go at this) and then I can hang on until the summer and see what the new IPhone has to offer and then make my mind up

BobbyA
18th-May-2009, 01:10 AM
I've been a fan of nokia for ages. When iPhone 3G came out I thought i'd make the switch (yes i did wait in line at stupid oclock for some reason).. Well it's one phone i won't be changing from for a long time. It's just such a great device. It does all the things I need and you get all the apps.

Now if only I could get my head round Objective C to develop apps on it.

Some of the issues rasied above are a bit annoying tho. I've made do with them. I miss delivery reports (altho this can be fixed by prefixing *0# infront of each message, still a bit annoying that it's not a default feature which could be turned on or off).

I think the abilty to configure the phone to some degree is lacking. Whilst it's nice to have a minimalistic and uncluttered interface it's a bit annoying that not all text messages have a timestamp on them. Also it would be nice if you could configure whether or not you wanted SMSs to pop up and remind you twice.

Other simple features are missing but they will be addressed in the coming update like forwarding text messages, sending contact details between phones (vCards).


Also if you intend on using this whilst driving as an iPod the controls can be a lil fiddley if you want to be able to navigate through songs.


Despite these minor set backs which are standard on most phones it just is an amazing peace of kit. You can have a good experience when browsing websites, altho not if it has a lot of flash content. Yes that does mean those new Ceroc sites that are springing up everywhere.. they really aren't iphone friendly! lol