iphone advice

[Mr Anderson]

  owning a phone isn't the same as being in a competition, but as you've brought it up -

Nige, I'd hate that keyboard as I'd find it hard to hold the phone while using it and would likely get frustrated with it very easily. What's good for one person isn't necessarily for another. Go with what works best for you.

And Dom, all phones have flaws (as does anything that relies on technology), but keep reassuring yourself otherwise

[Dom]

And Dom, all phones have flaws

Sure, I just don't like paying through the nose for those flaws. I also don't like companies releasing new things when they know full well that there are still major problems to be ironed out. I'm sure a lot of companies do it, but that doesn't make it right. And the more hype you build beforehand, the more people are likely to buy said product and experience the problems. Which isn't good for their PR. Unless you're Apple, of course.

[slaughteredlamb]

True multitasking though is now supported on the iPhone 3Gs and iPhone 4 with OS4.

Is it now? Multikludging is closer. You could probably say it's just about multitasking enough to get away with it.

Ahh-Haaa!! My phone multitasks effortlessly.

Question 2

How big and easy to use is the keyboard? Is it as good as my phone:



Well? Well?  

How big is the iPhone's keyboard? It's as long as the phone is in either orientation. Is it as good as your phone? No. It's way better. Seriously. Many years ago I used to have a Psion 5 which boasted a full QWERTY keyboard that it was suggested you could touch type on. In reality it was just like your phone, you could only touch type by using two fingers. Before buying the iPhone I was seriously dubious about it's keyboard and just couldn't see how you could type quickly or accurately. But not only can you but it is faster and more accurate than any phone I've ever used or even my old Psion 5. I can even type on my iPhone without looking at the screen with a very respectable deal of accuracy.

So, I'll see your  and raise you   

[Mr Anderson]

And Dom, all phones have flaws

Sure, I just don't like paying through the nose for those flaws. I also don't like companies releasing new things when they know full well that there are still major problems to be ironed out. I'm sure a lot of companies do it, but that doesn't make it right. And the more hype you build beforehand, the more people are likely to buy said product and experience the problems. Which isn't good for their PR. Unless you're Apple, of course.

So you don't own a phone at all then? Fair enough, in that case I admire your stance.

[net-curtains]

I also don't like companies releasing new things when they know full well that there are still major problems to be ironed out.

Then don't buy the latest model as soon as it's released, get the previous tried, tested and bug fixed version.

The 3gs doesn't have 'major problems'.  I'm the Worlds most critical/tight fisted consumer so if it did I would have sent it back. It hasn't, it's a lovely bit of kit.

[Matt]

At the end of the day, everyone likes their phone, thats why they got it. As has already been said, different phones suit different people. I do think that your hating the iphone because its an iphone Dom, and that actually its flaws (and there are some clearly) are probably not far off similar flaws in other phones, but because its 'the iphone' and you dont want to be 'a sheep' your anti it.

It seems if you like something popular these days then your a fanboy, and that its cool not to like something popular.

Actually, I like it because its a good phone - just the same as Nige likes his HTC because its the one he likes. Isnt that the important thing?!

[Dom]

So you don't own a phone at all then? Fair enough, in that case I admire your stance.

There's paying, and then there's paying through the nose. As you say, nothing is perfect, but some problems can and should be avoided, like.. oh, I don't know... releasing a phone that doesn't work as a phone. That seemed like a pretty big deal really, considering the iPhone must have gone through pretty extensive testing before release (at least, I hope it did). Throwing a faulty product out there just to meet deadlines and please shareholders is a right slap in the face to everyone who supports Apple and buys their products.

Their products have got some unique selling points, for sure, but as I've been saying, it's my opinion that those selling points simply don't justify the high price and numerous faults/bugs/inconveniences. That's why I haven't bought one. I like using iPhones, but not for that price.

Then don't buy the latest model as soon as it's released, get the previous tried, tested and bug fixed version.

The 3gs doesn't have 'major problems'.  I'm the Worlds most critical/tight fisted consumer so if it did I would have sent it back. It hasn't, it's a lovely bit of kit.

So are you saying it's OK that companies release untried, untested, and bug-ridden products, because it's up to the consumer to know that the product fails? Keeping your wits about you as a buyer is always a good thing, but short of designing and building your own phone, you have to trust that the companies wouldn't release products with such obvious flaws. There are limits as to what's acceptable, and this, in my opinion, isn't acceptable. Other people who own an iPhone 4 might think differently, but I haven't bought one because I don't think it's right.

For the record, I'm not tight-fisted. I love to splash the cash on occasion.

[Dom]

At the end of the day, everyone likes their phone, thats why they got it. As has already been said, different phones suit different people. I do think that your hating the iphone because its an iphone Dom, and that actually its flaws (and there are some clearly) are probably not far off similar flaws in other phones, but because its 'the iphone' and you dont want to be 'a sheep' your anti it.

It seems if you like something popular these days then your a fanboy, and that its cool not to like something popular.

Actually, I like it because its a good phone - just the same as Nige likes his HTC because its the one he likes. Isnt that the important thing?!

Yeah, to each their own. I don't hate the iPhone simply because it's an iPhone. In fact, I don't hate the iPhone full stop. As I've said, I actually like using it. The UI and ease of use are the two redeeming features in my opinion. I just don't think the problems that they've had, coupled with a multitude of other things (sub-par hardware, no Flash support, tie-in to iTunes, etc) justify me buying one. I think people deserve a little more than just a pretty UI and touchscreen interface for their money.

It's true that I'm not an Apple fan, but mostly because of their general work ethic. The iPhone 4 isn't the first supposedly "revolutionary" product they've released. I don't think any product they've released is revolutionary (except maybe the iPod) yet they advertise them as such. Sure, that's what advertising is for, but as I've said before, I don't like the amount of advertising we see these days either.

[Dom]

Oh, and I don't really like my current phone either, which is why I was looking into what others were around. I'm still tempted by the HTC Desire.

[Mr Anderson]

There's paying, and then there's paying through the nose.

I'm really not sure what point you're trying to make here? Sarah and I have a joint iPhone contract with more minutes than we had combined on our previous separate contracts. These minutes are shared between us in a way that means if I use none Sarah can use all of them if she needs to, and not just half. So that saves on one going over the limit while the other doesn't, which used to happen quite often. We also have a data package that saves us on web use, whereas we didn't before. Considering we're much more intensive users of the data accessing features of these phones than we were with previous ones we're actually paying over £40 a month less than we were before. And while I had a fairly decent phone (shite in comparison to the iPhone though) Sarah didn't and felt that she was very limited by it.

So - who is paying through the nose?

I haven't bothered reading anything more than the first line of your post, there's no point.

[Dom]

I'm really not sure what point you're trying to make here?

Just that, as you say, we all buy things that might not be perfect, but in the case of the iPhone, people pay rather a lot.

I haven't bothered reading anything more than the first line of your post, there's no point.

Ditto.

[Dom]

Actually, that's not true, I did read your whole post. Sharing minutes seems like a good idea, but I wouldn't be doing that if I got a new phone, so it wouldn't affect my decision to buy one.

I don't know why people are getting shirty. The OP wanted people's opinions on the iPhone, and mine is that I don't think they're worth it. If you're happy with your iPhone, great. I wouldn't be happy with one for the reasons mentioned, so I'm not buying one. Simple as.

[Tony]

So, is there a fair comparison between the contenders - as I asked a while ago?

Not biased one way or the other, but objective.

Ta

[Dom]

Well when I looked it seemed to me that anyone writing the review had a massive bias in one direction or another, so if you do actually come across a fair comparison, post it here! I'd love to read it.

[Mr Anderson]

so I'm not buying one. Simple as.

Which is why I said there was no point. I'm not trying to sell you one  

[yawner]

I haven't bothered reading anything more than the first line of your post, there's no point.

Dave! You're back! Thats a relief. You'd best know that there's been some softy using your member name posting stuff such as

in that case I admire your stance

..unless thats just a bit of married contentment creeping in 

[Dom]

so I'm not buying one. Simple as.

Which is why I said there was no point.

Oh good. For a minute there I thought you meant there was no point in reading my posts because my opinions don't matter.

[yawner]

so I'm not buying one. Simple as.

Which is why I said there was no point.

Oh good. For a minute there I thought you meant there was no point in reading my posts because my opinions don't matter.

Oh dont mind Dave - he's a big cuddly pussycat really.

[Dom]

Haha, I wasn't being serious.

And on that note, have a

[net-curtains]

So are you saying it's OK that companies release untried, untested, and bug-ridden products, because it's up to the consumer to know that the product fails?

No I'm not saying it's ok to do that, nowhere in my post have I said that.

Unfortunately though that's how things work these days, whether it's an HTC with dodgy sound and battery, an iPhone with a suspect antenna design, a car with brakes that don't work or a laptop that goes into meltdown. As I said, personally I prefer (at the risk of being thought of as an old fart) to buy stuff that's been around a while and has had all the bugs ironed out.

You can't always do this of course, software's one particular area where I still have to suffer bug fixing someone's unfinished opus whilst paying for the privilege, but at least with the iPhone you have the option to buy the 3gs which works perfectly.

In this instance, you have a choice.

[Charisma Bypass]

Don't get stuck on price.  One mans cheap is another mans expensive.  

Can you come up with a better argument than price.

Forget the BS about being tied to itunes - you're not. Unless you want to be.

And no flash?  So what?  I have always hated flash websites.  

Sub par hardware?  Well I don't know about that - it turns on when I want it on, and off when I want it off - unlike other hardware, namely scanners.

[Mr Anderson]

So, is there a fair comparison between the contenders - as I asked a while ago?

Not biased one way or the other, but objective.

Ta

Anyone that owns one is likely to be accused of being biased. Anyone that doesn't like them is going to make up reasons why no one should have one. You're going to have to pick through the pieces to get what you need.

FWIW - I've had one for just on 5 months. It's far better than my N95 8GB was. It does more straight out of the box. It can do more after customising too - I trawled the Ovi store for what passed for apps on there, which took 2 minutes and I found about half a dozen sub-standard apps that added a little to the features of my phone. The Apple store has millions (?) and there are more being developed constantly.

Phone features:

Reception: I've only had one dropped call in 5 months. That could be down to the network just like the hundreds of dropped calls over 18 months on my previous phone were. Network coverage isn't the phone's fault, and there are several providers to choose from now.

Contacts: this is far better than the clunky system on the N95. The only thing I preferred on the N95 was the way to contacts users to groups and to assign ring tones per group to identify them.

Edit: oh, and on the N95 I could synch the phone and then edit the contacts 'live' via my PC instead of having to use the phone's setup. But the iphone allows similar by synching between Outlook or similar - it doesn't synch with Thunderbird's contacts though (nor did the N95), which is a big omission IMO (as I use it), so I've had to export those, import to Outlook and then synch them which is a bit of a faff, but at least it meant not having to re-enter them all directly on the phone when setting it up.

Mail: Before the OS update it was fairly basic, it's now much improved. However even the more basic earlier version was easier to use than on the N95 as to do some tasks on that phone required changing the default mail account (eg. sending mail), and you would have to go into and out of each mail account in turn to download for that account, which you don't have to do with the iphone.

Camera: on the 3G S it's 'only' a 3MP camera. To be honest I don't particularly like the idea of too many more on a camera with such a small sensor. It's fairly basic in function, you point and click (but can change the focus point). However I don't use the camera 'nude' and prefer to use one of the camera apps with it, I have about half a dozen but prefer Hipstamatic over them all. The iphone 4's camera is from all accounts much improved over the 3G S's, and also includes a flash which the 3G S doesn't have. FWIW the image quality of the default camera is on par with that from my old N95.

Browser: you get Safari built in, but can add Opera Mini for free if you prefer (or one of the many other browser apps, some paid some free).

MP3 player: you get full ipod functionality. I would like to be able to increase the volume a bit further than it allows when not using headphones though, as I use it when I'm in the shower and it's not as easy to hear under those circumstances than my N95 was. With headphones in it's plenty loud though (I haven't tried it in a speaker dock).

Calendar: you can have multiple calendars, I have mine synched with Google calendar and Sunbird.

SMS: you get a list of messagers, and when accessing one you then get threaded messages which are displayed as a series of speech bubble type boxes. It's easier to keep track compared to the way the N95 did it.

Notes: the default notes app is easier to access than for the N95, it has copy/paste functionality and you can email them, but it's a bit poo to look at. There are plenty of note taking apps available, such as Evernote, if you don't like how it looks or need more features.

Calculator: does calculations
Clock: does clock stuff, has an alarm, can be set to repeat easier than the N95's; you can add additional clocks for other countries by searching for those countries, it has a top watch and timer too.

Maps/Navigation: it comes with Google maps same as the N95 did (the N95 also had Nokia maps). On the N95 I used the Nokia maps as the implementation of Google maps wasn't great, it's far better on the iphone. You also get a compass.

Extending: you get itunes and app store apps installed by default. The itunes app allows you to buy music, films, tv programs etc for download straight to the phone without having to have it installed on your PC. The app store gives you access to all of the apps, again without needing to have itunes installed on your pc. If you do have itunes on your pc you can synch your purchases between the two.

Other default apps:
You get a Youtube app, which does Youtube stuff. A basic weather app that can be set to your region and gives the week ahead's details including whether it's going to be sunny/cloudy/rainy etc, plus current temp and low and high. You can have multiple weather pages for different areas. There are more fully featured apps available to download.
Stocks: POS that they should allow you to remove, but don't (you're stuck with the default apps being on the phone, but can file any you don't use in a separate folder or stick them on another page).
Voice memos: quite useful.
Games: there are no default games, but loads to download both free and paid for.

Other apps: there are millions, and this for me is one of the biggest pluses as it allows you to fully customise the features you have available, and many of the paid for apps have a free version so that you can try before you buy (or just stick with the free version if you prefer).

Physical features and ergonomics: it's lighter than my N95, and although it's wider it's also less bulky in my pocket as the N95 was a fat mofo. It sits comfortably in the hand in use too. I would add a protective case to it as the casing can be a little slippy, I have a gel skin on mine which combats that and also makes handling in use even easier. The only draw back I find with the gel skin on it is that it sometimes comes off when I put it into/remove from my pocket.

Edit: Backups - these are done via iTunes when synching and so are restorations. I'm not entirely sure but as far as I can see mine has only saved 2 backups - one from the setup day (Jan 31) and the most recent (yesterday). So subsequent synchs overwrite the recent backup with a new one. This isn't ideal IMO and you should have some control over this, which is the one area where the N95 pees all over the iphone as I could control what was backed up and where to, and give each backup a unique name so that they didn't overwrite each other.

[Mr Anderson]

I haven't bothered reading anything more than the first line of your post, there's no point.

Dave! You're back! Thats a relief. You'd best know that there's been some softy using your member name posting stuff such as

in that case I admire your stance

..unless thats just a bit of married contentment creeping in  

 

so I'm not buying one. Simple as.

Which is why I said there was no point.

Oh good. For a minute there I thought you meant there was no point in reading my posts because my opinions don't matter.

Not at all. There's no point trying to convince someone when their mind is made up and they have no intention of budging.

[Mr Anderson]

And no flash?  So what?  I have always hated flash websites.  

Ditto, the lack of flash is one of the features I like.

unlike other hardware, namely scanners.

  

[net-curtains]

I would add a protective case to it as the casing can be a little slippy, I have a gel skin on mine which combats that and also makes handling in use even easier. The only draw back I find with the gel skin on it is that it sometimes comes off when I put it into/remove from my pocket.

I bought one of these which does the job well: http://custom.case-mate.com/mixandmatch/iphone-3g-3gs-custom-cases/iphone-3g-3gs-hybrid-tough-custom-cases/ - it's got a rubbery inside skin for general indoors use, and you can add the tough shell for when you take it outdoors, so if you drop the phone the outer shell takes the knock and the inside skin acts as protective padding. It also comes with a screen protection kit but I didn't bother with that.

[Mr Anderson]

They look pretty good. How much more bulky does it feel with them on?

[Charisma Bypass]

They look great, I dropped mine badly and now the back is cracked so I need something to protect it.  Only problem;

Delivery Method   Estimated
Shipping Fee
USPS First Class Intl. (3-4 Weeks)   $8.42
FedEx Expedited Intl. (8-14 Days)   $32.20

!

[Charisma Bypass]

Also, just as an aside, did you know you can take a screenshot on the iPhone by pressing the home button and the sleep button at the same time?  Bet you can't do that on a non-iphone 

[net-curtains]

They look pretty good. How much more bulky does it feel with them on?

The rubber and outer casing are both about a millimetre thick so just a couple of mm around the whole phone. The casings have a front bevel as well which gives a bit of protection to the front. The top and bottom also provide a recess which protects the sockets, and the rubber case covers the volume control. The back of the case is textured so it won't slip out of your hand.

It took me a bit of practice to work out the best way of putting the outer shell on (line up the volume controls in the hole first) and then taking it off, but I'd definitely recommend one.

[net-curtains]

They look great, I dropped mine badly and now the back is cracked so I need something to protect it.  Only problem;

Delivery Method   Estimated
Shipping Fee
USPS First Class Intl. (3-4 Weeks)   $8.42
FedEx Expedited Intl. (8-14 Days)   $32.20

!

I got mine for a tenner when I bought the phone (though I think I got 50% off). They stock them in the Orange stores, so might be worth checking there first.