I must be in an iPhone bashing mood today. Or maybe it’s just the news. Anyway, The 10 dumbest iPhone apps is hilarious. iNap@Work could get you fired. FatBurner2k won’t burn fat. Cow Toss (pictured) will get you in hot water with PETA. And FlickABooger … no comment.
Editorial: Taking the iPhone 3GS off the job market recounts one techie’s futile effort to get work done on his iPhone 3GS while waiting in his doctor’s waiting room. The main culprit is the lack of multitasking. But not the only culprit.
The story confirms my brief experience with my wife’s iPhone (before she lost it). The iPhone is a fun device, not a business device.
Why Windows Mobile Rules – iPhone vs Windows Mobile Part 2 (the source of the “comparison table”) is interesting reading, whichever side of the Windows Mobile vs. iPhone debate you’re on. I’m a Stone guy myself; cheaper data plans.
James Kendrick of jkOnTheRun extensively compares his iPhone and his Storm in What I like and dislike about the iPhone 3G and BlackBerry Storm. His comparison is comprehensive and unbiased. Excellent reading for anyone trying to choose between these two phones, or even considering just one of them.
BoyGeniusReport recently posted The top 10 things we hate about the iPhone. Perhaps to avoid claims of bias, BGR now has posted The top 10 things we hate about the BlackBerry. But no list for Windows Mobile? Where’s the love hate?
[Rosa (pictured) is not even 30 yet but has worked with me for over 10 years. Here are her unedited thoughts on the iPhone 3G she got over the holidays.]
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I do not consider myself a gadget freak, or even gadget savvy. But I can’t help but be frustrated with my new iPhone 3G.
The iPhone is cute and fun! I can play games, surf the web, watch YouTube, read my mail, take notes, take pictures, check traffic, etc! It seems endless! Key word: “seems.”
It is not the great micro machine I thought it would be.
First of all, anything running on flash is not compatible with the iPhone. That means all those web sites with live streaming, video demos, animation bits, TV show episodes, movies, etc. You will NOT be able to access. FORGET IT! NO WAY AROUND IT! To watch anything in full you will have to go through iTunes. Prepare to have your wallet handy.
Also, surfing the web will just bring you wipe-outs! It is difficult to impossible to run multiple searches. Patience is necessary. One search at a time!
Lastly, iPhone specificity. You will come across web sites who will prompt you to choose the iPhone version of their site. That translates to, limited access.
Overall a cute little machine (with capabilities) lacking the killer instinct! Make sense?
[For another take, see The top 10 things we hate about the iPhone]
I’ve been pretty quiet here lately so I thought I’d give you an update. As usual, I’m musing and dithering over mobile devices. Here’s the run-down:
BlackBerry – I’m still trying to decide between the Bold and the Storm. The The Bold is a traditional BB, and will be supported by my carrier, AT&T. The Storm is a very different BB, with a touch screen and no hardware keyboard, and may only be offered in the U.S. by Verizon, who I fired as my carrier some years ago. There is a lot of information on the Bold, which indeed already is being sold in Canada and elsewhere. By contrast, information on the Storm remains inconclusive and sometimes contradictory. Fortunately for me, I can wait until better information on the Storm is available without feeling the pangs of going without the Bold. The reason is that the Bold, which was supposed to be available long before now, still is not available, and may not be until next month, right before the Storm, whose current ETA is early November. This gives me more time to dither consider these two very different Berries. I can’t see buying both … well, I don’t think so. For now, I’m limping along with my 8700c, which I resurrected from a sink full of water and is remarkably not much the worse for wear. It only needs to last another couple of months before it gets relegated to my device drawer as a back-up device.
Apple – My iPhone 3G definitely will be going to my wife soon. I am weary of the iPhone’s limitations and locked-down nature. My wife doesn’t care about all that. Remarkably, Devvie just wants a phone that is easy to use and has an easy to read screen for phone and web use. The iPhone’s screen is large and clear, and its capacitive and multi-touch make it very easy to use. So it’s ideal for her. I like the screen, but not the rest, and now another large screen device is available …
Windows Mobile – I have my sights on the HTC Touch HD. It has a 3.8″ WVGA 800 x 480 screen, far better specs than the iPhone. Alas, the HD screen is not capacitive touch; if it was I’d marry it. The international version’s ETA is November, but that version will not have U.S. 3G or perhaps some other U.S. bands. Still, the U.S. version can’t be far behind. After seeing the HD, I stopped thinking of the Touch Diamond, Touch Pro and Sony Ericsson Xperia X1. However, there is the Asus Galaxy 7, with a 3.5″ WVGA 800 x 480 screen. And who knows what else may be available by the time of the U.S. version of the HD?
MIDs – I was looking at Mobile Internet Devices. But I’m not sure I am anymore. With devices like the HTC Touch HD available with a 3.8″ WVGA 800 x 480 screen, I’m not sure a 4″ – 5″ MID has much of a point. IN the meantime, my HTC Advantage x7500 does just fine. Courtesy of xda-developers, I change ROMs on my x7500 as often as I change underwear … eeeewwww … sorry about that.
There’s some other stuff potentially going on, but it’s still premature for me to talk about it. Maybe soon.
BlackBerry Maximus was inspired by the CrackBerry article BlackBerrious Maximus, which focused on how much you really can do with a BlackBerry. My comment at the time: “Try doing this stuff with a pretty but locked-down iPhone; no way.”
CrackBerry must have heard me (virtually). It now has published the sequel BlackBerrius Maximus – part II – The Airport. The thrust of this article is how the writer, while waiting in an airport lounge, dismantled the pride of an iPhone user with a BlackBerry vs. iPhone comparison. The battery — both removability and life — was only one of the issues. Interesting reading, though the iPhone was not well represented in the comparison. For example, nary a mention of that large, superbly readable screen.
In the meantime, while I do have an iPhone, I still don’t have a Bold, which may have been delayed again in the U.S. Perhaps I’ll wait for the Thunder, or Storm, or whatever they’ll call it.
I haven’t been writing much lately because everything I want to write about is still incomplete a work in progress. So let me tell you about some of this work in progress.
iPhone 4Me told you about my purchase of an iPhone 3G. I’m still learning this new device. My initial focus is dealing with its limited battery life, since, let’s face it, battery power is kind of important to be able to use a device, since you can’t always be tethered to a wall outlet or computer USB port. A spare battery isn’t an option since the iPhone’s battery is !@#$%^&* (censored) not removable. Kawasaki’s excellent blog post The Art of iPhone Battery Life has helped me substantially improve the standby time of the battery. However, sometimes my iPhone is not in standby mode (because I’m actually using it), so I’m currently researching external battery options. When I feel I know enough and have enough to write about, the iPhone 3G will be the subject of another post.
In the poorly named (in retrospect) No iPhone For Me, I discussed several exciting Windows Mobile devices which are about to become available in the USA; HTC Touch Diamond, HTC Touch Pro, Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 and Samsung Omnia. I’m wading through a lot of information to attempt to evaluate which is the “best” device. Then there’s the HTC Dream, the world’s first Android handset.
BlackBerry Bold and Thunder Update discussed the continuing saga on two upcoming Berries, the Bold and the Thunder. I’m hopefully about to receive my Bold, and there is new news on the Thunder.
Do the MIDs have an advantage over the Advantage? told you about the MID, or Mobile Internet Device. Several MIDs were featured at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) that just took place from August 19-21, 2008 in San Francisco. More MIDs are being introduced in the aftermath of the IDF. I’m still trying to synthesize all this information before I post.
There’s more, but that’s enough for now. Unless of course, you intrepid readers want me to write about something. If so, please post a comment.
In No iPhone For Me I told you why I wasn’t going to jump on the bandwagon and buy an iPhone 3G. But a few days ago I went and did it. I bought an iPhone 3G.
You’re probably used to politicians going back on their word, but may be thinking “If I can’t trust a mobile barbarian, who can I trust?” Well, permit me to justify explain. Two things happened.
First, my BlackBerry 8700c fell into a sink full of water. Don’t ask how. Let’s just say I’m coordinationally challenged. And while berries benefit from water, BlackBerries (and other mobile devices) do not. So I needed another device.
I didn’t want to buy another 8700c since the BlackBerry Bold is right around the corner. However, the Bold isn’t available just yet either. Yet, I might have resisted the siren song of the iPhone 3G except …
The same weekend as my 8700c entered its watery grave, I was consoling myself by reading my feeds on Google Reader using my Dell Latitude XT. The XT’s screen is beautifully readable, and I love its capacitive touch and the multi-touch. The screen (protected by a screen protector of course) is very responsive to finger scrolling, and multi-touch enables me to zoom in and out by flicking my fingers. Of course, the iPhone also has capacitive touch and the multi-touch, as well as that beautifully readable 3.5″ screen.
I also rationalized reasoned that (1) I would be trying this phone out for my wife and (2) the iPhone 3G is a hot mobile device topic and having it would make it easier for me to write about it. So bright and early 7:30 am Monday morning, I arrived at the local Apple store, expecting a large line. I was the second person. By 8:00 am when the doors opened, there only were 5 people in line. There were more salespersons than customers. So I bought the iPhone 3G, a sleeve case and a screen protector, and I was out the door within 30 minutes.
I’ve only played with the iPhone 3G for a few days. Here are my initial reactions:
Pros
- The 3.5″ screen is wonderfully readable.
- Capacitive and multi-touch makes navigation and zooming a piece of cake. Indeed, I can use it one-handed like a BlackBerry.
- The device is very responsive.
Cons
- Battery life is poor, a circumstance aggravating by the battery not being removable.
- I can sync email, contacts and calendar with my Exchange Server, but not tasks! What’s up with that?
- Apple’s locking down of the device is frustrating. Even installing a custom ringtone not bought through the iTunes store requires gyrations.
As I said, these are my initial reactions. I will write more when I have more time to play with the iPhone. For as long as I am able too; my wife already is eyeing it enviously. Yes, I could tell her no, but there is the ancient Chinese adage: “Never anger someone who can kill you in your sleep.”