iPhone: some questions...

[Helevitia]

The iphone OS is hands down the greatest mobile OS on the planet. I wouldn't trade my 1st gen iphone for anything. If you think WM is any good (fyi - I think WM is horrible and I can't believe people put up with it) you'll love the iphone OS. also, I don't think anybody will disagree that the intuitive-ness and tight integration kills the competition. Nobody comes close to the web browser, even the new phones like the G1, Storm, etc... The iphone has the biggest apps install base and it is built like a tank. I have dropped mine many times and I have no problems at all.

Yes, it has some things missing that other phones have such as MMS, video recording. That would be nice, but I've trained my wife to email photos and the OS is so good, I don't care abou the rest. The biggest thing it's missing IMHO is flash support on the browser and Adobe finally said (yesterday I believe) they are making a special version just for the iphone, but no ETA Every one a in a while I curse the phone for not having cut and paste as well.

Seriously, go into all of the mobile stores and pick up each phone and play with it. I did that and as soon as I played with the iPhone for 10 minutes I bought it.

I use it for everything. And I mean everything. I use telnet, SSH, VPN, keeping track of my finances (check out mint.com), etc.. My buddy uses his also to pan, tilt, zoom his camera at home. Pretty soon I'll be using it to get on conf calls while using web collaboration (meaning sharing slides, apps, etc...while on the call at the same time).

Sure, Blackberry's email is currently better, but that is a small price to pay for a superior UI imho.

The one big downside that you may want to consider is that the 3G chipset had problems early on and my buddy gets dropped calls constantly. So much so, that he hates his phone because of it. As soon as he is out of his contract, he will get a different phone. If you can hold out until Juen, the 3rd gen iPhone will be out.

[Marshmallowman]

I think the iphone and nokia n95 have similar issues with regards to 3G, and have similar fixs.

If you are in a marginal recption for 3G you should disable the 3G network access so it falls back to 2G , this will reduce dropouts and save battery life. Apparently scaning for networks in marginal areas is very ower intensive.

I am looking a 3G/3.5G phone myself, tempted by the nokia n95 simply becasue it is supposed to have very good receptions in rural marginal zones, but the other n95 problems will convince me to get somthing else.

The N85 seems interesting, also considering the samsung inov8.

I would have considered the iphone if it had a sd card slot, but with that missing and its other shortfalls I have ruled it out.

I am currently chasing up a g1 phone, I might try my luck at some android development.

[VJ]

If you can hold out until Juen, the 3rd gen iPhone will be out.

Yeah, I saw such rumours, and am thinking about playing the waiting game... Any thoughts on how solid these rumours are?
It does pose a small problem now, as I need to swap SIM cards for internet access (and lose phone at that time).

The N85 seems interesting, also considering the samsung inov8.

The Symbian OS is IMO a very solid operating system, and is actually my main reason for still considering these Nokias. It is well thought out (features, ...) and there are lots of free softwares available (lack of an appstore makes it a bit harder to find them though).
Dunno what the Samsung runs...

My main problem with the S60 3ed. is that with the upcoming touchscreen devices, I fear it may be nearing its end (in a time frame of 2-3 years)...


Jörg

[Marshmallowman]

samsung inov8 runs symbian

[Helevitia]

Yeah, I saw such rumours, and am thinking about playing the waiting game... Any thoughts on how solid these rumours are?
It does pose a small problem now, as I need to swap SIM cards for internet access (and lose phone at that time).

Jörg

The rumours are just rumours at this point, but given the track record and Apple's reliability on releasing products at the same time (think iPod and now iPhone), I'd say it's a pretty safe bet. on top of that, they know the folks who initially got one, will be ending their 2 yr contracts soon and will be itching for a new phone. If there isn't another Iphone, they may sway.

[VJ]

samsung inov8 runs symbian

Nice!
(I had it confused with the Omnia)

on top of that, they know the folks who initially got one, will be ending their 2 yr contracts soon and will be itching for a new phone. If there isn't another Iphone, they may sway.

Ah yes... it is because we don't have that contract-phone system here, I didn't think of it. But it is a good point!

[Fluff]

I'm hoping the next version will be. THE iPhone.

I think one of apple's success points is that they only have 1 style of current phone....leaving out the hassle of did I get the right Nokia / Sonyericsson. ( they have a stupid amount of different products).

I really hope that they can keep to this.

[VJ]

Interesting: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles...iphone_21.html

[Elie]

The iPhone has the best and smoothest OS ever, though it lacks a few features, but overall its a good phone.
I have the Blackberry Storm, and I am thoroughly enjoying it, I only wish it was as smooth as the iPhone, scrolling and stuff, hopefully with an OS upgrade it will eventually be just as smooth.

I like the Storms screen, it is so bright and clear, video playback is awesome and pictures look great.
The email, corporate messaging and calendar system absolutely rocks. Oh and the battery only lasts me a day, that for sure sux.

Cheers,
Elie

[lowlifecat]

The iPhone has the best and smoothest OS ever, though it lacks a few features, but overall its a good phone.
I have the Blackberry Storm, and I am thoroughly enjoying it, I only wish it was as smooth as the iPhone, scrolling and stuff, hopefully with an OS upgrade it will eventually be just as smooth.

I like the Storms screen, it is so bright and clear, video playback is awesome and pictures look great.
The email, corporate messaging and calendar system absolutely rocks. Oh and the battery only lasts me a day, that for sure sux.

Cheers,
Elie

:jealous:

i'm waiting for the GSM Storm to come to Rogers. The Storm has a lot of the same issues my Bold had initially. Most of these where resolved with updates to the OS.

IIRC the current beta OS available (leaked) for the storm is 4.7.0.99, some of the things added are a Qwerty keyboard in Portrait mode.

[Elie]

I'm really affraid of upgrading the OS, I went to crackberry and read the steps to upgrade and the risks, and I'm like... woaah, can't afford to brick my new Storm at this point. So when Bell officially releases a new OS, I will install just so I can be supported if something happens.

[VJ]

Yeah... upgrading such devices is always scary...

I upgraded my HTC TyTN to the official Windows Mobile 6 (released by HTC), but wasn't very comfortable during the upgrade (which was said to can take up to 45 minutes). I did have all the precautions: used a PC with UPS, did NOTHING else on that PC, ...

Always a relief to see it booting again...

[lowlifecat]

I'm really affraid of upgrading the OS, I went to crackberry and read the steps to upgrade and the risks, and I'm like... woaah, can't afford to brick my new Storm at this point. So when Bell officially releases a new OS, I will install just so I can be supported if something happens.

It's impossible to brick a blackberry (except if you physically damage it).

Any corruption to the OS/Firmware can be corrected within 30 to 45 minutes.

You should not update the OS if you have less than 30% battery. You should not interrupt he upgrade in mid process...

but if you do; 8 out of 10 times the upgrade will resume after you reconnect the BB. otherwise you just use javaloader or javacmdr to wipe the device and start upgrading again.

Always make a backup of your data and you'll be fine.

oh and Crackberry is a fantastic and very helpful site.