Travel Technology - iPhone humbug?

Am I the only person on the face of the earth who doesn't understand all the iPhone hype, and has no particular desire for one?

Surely there have to be others. Unite, my brethren!

Am I the only person on the face of the earth who doesn't understand all the iPhone hype, and has no particular desire for one?

yes.

No, you are not ;)

I admit that I wanted to buy the new 3G, but the SAR value is extremely high (round 1.3). So I decided not to buy the iPhone.

I think I'll buy the new Samsung Omnia (i900 / http://samsungomnia.org) that has nearly the same features as the iPhone, also looks very nice and has only half the SAR value. Unfortunately it's not available yet :(

Greez, Jonathan

No.

I don't understand the hype either. That said, I do hope that all the hype will force companies like Microsoft to fix their stuff. WinMo is in desperate need of a major overhaul.

Don't get me wrong, it's a pretty phone, and it has a nice interface, but it's by no means perfect.

SAR didn't even enter my mind. Normally I'm the first person on the block to get any new gadget. I usually have it hacked to do stuff the manufacturer only half-intended by the time that my neighbors have one. But for some reason, the iPhone (and the original one) haven't done anything for me. I mean, I play with friends' and think "well, this is kinda fun", but the lack of real buttons for the keyboard is annoying. People tell me that you get used to it. But I can touch type on my Blackberry. They can't do that on their iPhones.

The rest of the features are nice, I suppose, but I just don't care about YouTube at all, and I like Blackberry push email. The Safari web browser is cool, but if I want serious web browsing I'll just use my computer. It has a bigger screen anyway. As for Google Maps with GPS - I can do that on my Blackberry.

I dunno. If I could get the iPhone for its current price with a 1 year contract, I might consider it. But the iPhone service plans are also overpriced.

Also, I've become kind of an open-source snob of late. I run Linux everywhere I can. Apple is the antithesis of open source...

Maybe I'm just getting old - I turned 30 last week. :)

If I could get the iPhone for its current price with a 1 year contract, I might consider it. But the iPhone service plans are also overpriced.


As far as I can tell the $30/month iPhone data plan is identical to other ATT 3G plans. Am I missing something?

I don't understand the hype either. That said, I do hope that all the hype will force companies like Microsoft to fix their stuff. WinMo is in desperate need of a major overhaul.


I don't see it happening. As long as they are just an OS OEM to the hardware manufacturers it isn't going to get measurably better. And they are unlikely to go into the hardware market. The time lag they have in developing the software, getting it to the vendors for driver development and then getting it back for certification is just too long of a cycle (http://blog.protonassociates.com/2008/05/windows-mobile-you.html), meaning that any features they try to add are always 6-9 months away. WinMo 7 has supposedly been "out" for the hardware manufacturers for a little while now, but it still isn't on any hardware platforms and won't be for a little while yet. They'll continue to improve the product, but it'll continue to struggle catching up in terms of features/functionality.

And I'm not all that excited by the iPhone either, though I will readily admit that I haven't used one.

Its certainly not perfect, eg the texting is nowhere near as good as a plain old phone with T9. The battery life is poor and will result in a lot of charging on the fly.

But purely for the reason it will stop me travelling with an ipod, PDA and mobile phone and has a simple user interface it meets my needs.

I think sometimes people start believing the Apple hype and expect too much.

Oddly enough, the best blog post I found about all this came from.. um, Nokia (http://conversations.nokia.com/home/2008/07/be-careful-maki.html).

I was tempted. I really was. But I will probably just get a Touch. And keep hoping Blackberry Connect is released for the E71.

Oddly enough, the best blog post I found about all this came from.. um, Nokia (http://conversations.nokia.com/home/2008/07/be-careful-maki.html).

I was tempted. I really was. But I will probably just get a Touch. And keep hoping Blackberry Connect is released for the E71.

The iPhone doesn't work below 0 C? What exactly happens?

Sorta.

I've been finding used iPhones online which keeps me from having to buy the data plan on a 2-year deal.

The 3G speed is very attractive. But I really don't want to do business with The Death Star, and T-Mobile's 3G isn't compatible.

Is/are Google Mobile Maps supported yet? I use it all over Europe on T-Mobileweb GPRS connection. A-GPS makes iPhone marginally more useful than my iPAQ 6510, but I don't need $200 worth.

...Is/are Google Mobile Maps supported yet? I use it all over Europe on T-Mobileweb GPRS connection. A-GPS makes iPhone marginally more useful than my iPAQ 6510, but I don't need $200 worth.

"Yet"? Not sure I understand. It always did even on the 2G.

And from the iPhone site: http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/maps.html

The iPhone doesn't work below 0 C? What exactly happens?

No idea, I guess it stops working or something until it warms up again.

In typical Nokia fashion, they are making a fool of themeselves.

The N95 (the current Nokia flasgship phone) ALSO has a listed operating temperature of 0c - 35c, just like the iPhone.

Same goes for their newest one, the N96.

They'd better do their homework before trying to find stupid things that make Apple look bad.

And FWIW, the problem is mainly with Li-Ion cells at that temperature. Plus, the LCD slows down a lot at sub-zero temperatures.

In typical Nokia fashion, they are making a fool of themeselves.

But, I must share with you one tongue-in-cheek comparison we have.

:)

[Google Mobile Maps] always did even on the 2G.

"Just like Google Maps on your computer, Maps on iPhone lets you switch between views of Google Map data, Satellite images, and a Hybrid of both."

http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/maps.html

In my lexicon, "just like" isn't the same as the original. I don't know who wrote "Maps on iPhone" - but I'd like to see a side-by-side comparison with GMM.

You're grasping at straws here :)

It's a Google Maps app.

No, it's not like what you see on your computer screen, but it's a way smaller screen.

For that matter, Google maps on any cell phone or PDA is not like on your computer, because it's smaller and if you're on EDGE it's slower.

So if you're saying that Google maps on the iPhone isn't Google maps on a laptop, I'm not sure that anyone would disagree but I'm not sure what you're saying other than a tautalogy. :)

I use GMM on an iPAQ and a Wing. Neither is a laptop. I would like to be confident that GPS Maps on iPhone is the "same" as GMM. But I'm not.

I use GMM on an iPAQ and a Wing. Neither is a laptop.

The quote you referenced said: "Just like Google Maps on your computer...."

Therefore it's not unreasonable to think that's what you were comparing to, is it? Hence the apparent tautalogy of what you said. :)

I would like to be confident that GPS Maps on iPhone is the "same" as GMM. But I'm not.

I'm sure you'll share it with us when you know the answer.

I've used both. On the iPhone, it's better.

I've used both. On the iPhone, it's better.
Why do you say it's better? Have you used GMM on any PPC on a WiFi connection? That works in most cities.

But I don't imagine either will work very well on a bicycle in rural France.

Why do you say it's better? Have you used GMM on any PPC on a WiFi connection? That works in most cities.

But I don't imagine either will work very well on a bicycle in rural France.

It's better because the user interface is much easier to use. Map scrolling is smoother and screen redraws are much faster than any PPC version I've ever tested.

That said; I personally prefer Windows Live Search because it adds things like gas prices and voice recognition.

"Just like Google Maps on your computer, Maps on iPhone lets you switch between views of Google Map data, Satellite images, and a Hybrid of both."

http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/maps.html

In my lexicon, "just like" isn't the same as the original. I don't know who wrote "Maps on iPhone" - but I'd like to see a side-by-side comparison with GMM.

You have a very valid point here - for some reason, Google no longer has their name openly associated with maps on the iPhone (at least not on the Apple site).

It was introduced as a 100% Google app, and they even had the Google CEO on stage to announce it back in 2007.

That said, a 20 second search shows that it still is clearly a Google made app for the iPhone:

http://www.google.com/mobile/apple/maps/

Okay, Mr. Google convinced me there. Funny about that branding, though. Is this a further manifestation of Jobs trying to wrest world control away from Bill G?

Is this a further manifestation of Jobs trying to wrest world control away from Bill G?

Don't worry. Jobs only wants the cool, fun people. :p:p:p:p:p

Don't worry. Jobs only wants the cool, fun people. :p:p:p:p:p

Well, at least the people who are cool and fun by his standards. The people who want to be nonconformists - just like all the other Apple brainwashees. :)

Open source is where it's at!

Am I the only person on the face of the earth who doesn't understand all the iPhone hype, and has no particular desire for one?

Surely there have to be others. Unite, my brethren!
I got to play with one the other day (the new 3G one). It is beautiful, BUT...
battery barely makes it through the day, ATT 3G is extremely (emphasis) limited coverage, can't take a picture and email it to somebody (at least not that we could see), no storage card, no REAL GPS (only a-GPS so cell tower related), limited to Google Maps which does not provide turn-by-turn routing like a real GPS (text only), not so great as an actual phone (poor battery, mainly).
This thing is fantastic as an iPod, but lacks some function as a PDA, in what I've seen. Style over function, to a degree. I have a Win Mob 6 phone that does a lot more, but not as stylish.

I got to play with one the other day (the new 3G one). It is beautiful, BUT...
battery barely makes it through the day, ATT 3G is extremely (emphasis) limited coverage, can't take a picture and email it to somebody (at least not that we could see), no storage card, no REAL GPS (only a-GPS so cell tower related), limited to Google Maps which does not provide turn-by-turn routing like a real GPS (text only), not so great as an actual phone (poor battery, mainly).
This thing is fantastic as an iPod, but lacks some function as a PDA, in what I've seen. Style over function, to a degree. I have a Win Mob 6 phone that does a lot more, but not as stylish.

You can email photos, it's pretty easy to do...
The GPS IS "real", in fact, it's more real than most units. A-GPS is assisted GPS, which combines satellite GPS with additional information from cell towers.
The app store only just opened, so at the moment there is indeed only one GPS app, but Apple have already announced that more are coming.

I agree with the rest, and battery life is something that's going to come back and haunt them for a long time.

What amazes me most is that all their arguments for not releasing the first iPhone with 3G turned out to be bogus. They are using a 3G chip that was available last year, it's almost like they scammed everyone into buying the EDGE version knowing that they'd all want the 3G version after a year, essentially making them buy 2 phones :D

Am I the only person on the face of the earth who doesn't understand all the iPhone hypeNo. Although, one Mr. P. Barnum did offer some pertinent insight :)

...and has no particular desire for one?I'd rather gargle with used, rusty razor blazes than own any product put out by the Clandestine Cupertino Cabal ;)

I've recently recieved my 3G iphone. I came from a palm 680... So far web browsing is ok- I had fairly speedy EDGE browsing (WAP/mini-html) on my 680 so it's comparable on the 3g iphone (on 3G/Wifi) but it's full sized and I actuallyu prefer the smaller form web (easier to read). Battery life I think has been great- I've always been data heavy on my PDA (Chatter-email/web on the Palm) so I guess a full day has been about what I am used to (even less than a full day sometime). Having Wifi has been great... The best app so far- Pandora radio- I love it on my desktop and now I love it on my iphone. works great over 3G I used it for about 2 hours this AM and still have pretty good battery left (80%)

Am I the only person on the face of the earth who doesn't understand all the iPhone hype, and has no particular desire for one?

Surely there have to be others. Unite, my brethren!

I'm sure you aren't the only one.

I'd love to have one, but I don't want to pay $50 - $60 a month to the cell phone company. So, I'm very happy with my unlocked GSM razr using t-mobile to go as my provider which ends up costing me less that $10 a month with my light usage. (Plus the one-time cost of an unlocked GSM phone, you buy 1000 minutes for less than $100 -- discounted a bit online from 3rd parties -- which have a 1 year expiration date. Calls are 10 cents a minute, text messages are 5 cents with the 1000 pre-paid minutes.) My phone is an unlocked quad band GSM phone, so it pretty much works anywhere in the world.

Yes, I am the master of using 4 year old cell phone technology on the cheap, I guess. I also don't think I'm in the iphone target market.

IMO, the iphone service plan means it isn't for everybody. If you are already paying $40 a month for your cell phone plan, then I guess the extra $20 a month for the unlimited data plan isn't that huge of a difference. (It is, and it isn't.)

-David

Fair enough - but I already spend $90/month for my service. The extra $30 is annoying but not insurmountable.

On the other hand, with T-mo now I get 1500 anytime minutes, free nights & weekends, 1000 text/mms messages, and unlimited blackberry data. The iPhone plans don't come close to that. :)

Am I the only person on the face of the earth who doesn't understand all the iPhone hype, and has no particular desire for one?

Surely there have to be others. Unite, my brethren!

I'm with you. I have no interest in paying that much for a phone or the service. Call me a troglodyte, but all I want from my phone is to be a phone.

SAR didn't even enter my mind.
Isn't that a paradox - that's exactly where a high-SAR phone's radiation enters first :D .

But I agree, I couldn't care less than about the SAR.

The reason why I abstain at this time - the iPhone is a bandwidth hog. If you use it abroad, you will be ruined in no time.
..The N95 (the current Nokia flasgship phone) ALSO has a listed operating temperature of 0c - 35c, just like the iPhone..
I have yet to find a temperature at which my N95 actually does work. It never reads a GPS signal and finds wireless networks within about 2' distance from the transmitter. The N95 will be my last Nokia phone ever.

I have yet to find a temperature at which my N95 actually does work. It never reads a GPS signal and finds wireless networks within about 2' distance from the transmitter. The N95 will be my last Nokia phone ever.

Your N95 is broken.

Your N95 is broken.
:)
Sure ... only that I swapped it twice already .. and it's not that these functions are missing .. they are just messed up.

:)
Sure ... only that I swapped it twice already .. and it's not that these functions are missing .. they are just messed up.

Then it's just bizarre :) I've played with N95s, though I don't own one, and (particularly with the latest firmware) they're quick to lock onto GPS, and fine for wifi across a room.

I have yet to find a temperature at which my N95 actually does work. It never reads a GPS signal and finds wireless networks within about 2' distance from the transmitter. The N95 will be my last Nokia phone ever.

Funny, Nokias have always been my favorite phones (until I got a Blackberry). I've always experienced them as intuitive to use and capable of holding on to the weakest of signals.

You can email photos, it's pretty easy to do...
The GPS IS "real", in fact, it's more real than most units. A-GPS is assisted GPS, which combines satellite GPS with additional information from cell towers.
:D
a-GPS requires your cell service. True GPS does not. My HTC Mogul has a-GPS, too, and only works in the Verizon CDMA network (or so they have told me. Verizon is my carrier). I have a bluetooth GPS that I use with Tom Tom Navigator 6 that runs on that phone.

a-GPS requires your cell service. True GPS does not. My HTC Mogul has a-GPS, too, and only works in the Verizon CDMA network (or so they have told me. Verizon is my carrier). I have a bluetooth GPS that I use with Tom Tom Navigator 6 that runs on that phone.

If a phone with A-GPS cannot get location data from the cell network, it will resort to working as a normal GPS unit, searching for satellites just like a "true GPS", as you call it.

A phone with A-GPS does not need network data to work as a GPS unit unless the phone developers f*cked up.
A-GPS units use the info from the cell network to speed up the location fix and increase the accuracy compared to "true GPS" units.
Without the cell network data, an A-GPS unit becomes a "true GPS".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS

the iphone hasn't done much for me, due largely to the lack of a physical qwerty keyboard. i'm waiting for the htc touch pro to come out so i can buy it unlocked. i'm probably in the minority, but winmo doesn't bother me at all. i've been running my tmobile mda overclocked for about a year now. it will burn through the battery faster, but i love being able to say i overclocked my phone. :D

what i'd like to find is winmo software for uma so that i'm not tied to just the devices tmobile offers for the hotspot at home. so far i've not been able to locate anything.

No, you are not ;)

I admit that I wanted to buy the new 3G, but the SAR value is extremely high (round 1.3). So I decided not to buy the iPhone.

I think I'll buy the new Samsung Omnia (i900 / http://samsungomnia.org) that has nearly the same features as the iPhone, also looks very nice and has only half the SAR value. Unfortunately it's not available yet :(

Greez, Jonathan

You can get it sim free on eBay as its been released on Asia. As a bonus, Microsoft have a 25% off offer on their live search for this phone, so the total cost will be 75% of $800..

Funny, Nokias have always been my favorite phones (until I got a Blackberry). I've always experienced them as intuitive to use and capable of holding on to the weakest of signals.
Same with me.

This is why I want another one. Just never a N95 again.

Then it's just bizarre :) I've played with N95s, though I don't own one, and (particularly with the latest firmware) they're quick to lock onto GPS, and fine for wifi across a room.
My GPS takes at least 5 minutes of open skies to compute a location. And while in Buenos Aires, it then planted me in the Mediterranean.

That is the new, replaced version. The first one did not see satellites at all.

The new one see a whole flock of satellites but cannot generate a coordinate from that :( .

Interested, yes. But not at the expense of having to deal with AT&T.

Now that the BB Thunder will release soon, I have an excellent alternative.

Add me to the list of people who doesn't care for the iphone. Non-replaceable battery and the ergonomics of the thing are absolute dealbreakers for me. Blackberry 8830 here does everything the iphone can do with the exception of streaming. RIM says that's coming with OS 4.5, whenever they actually get that shipped out. Otherwise, I have an 8GB card in the phone, 2+ seasons of TV shows and ~300+ songs on there with plenty of room to go. Sound quality out of this phone has been amazing for both phone calls and media. The interface is usable without me having to look at it and I'm up to ~60 wpm touch typing away on its little keyboard.

Oh yes, and unlike the iphone, I have full EVDO + tethering for my laptop right out of the box. Also has a full GPS receiver that works while driving. Google Maps for the BB currently includes Streetview as well.

The only thing the iphone has that my little BB doesn't have is the hard drive. Considering how fragile iPod hard drives are, I can do without the extra storage for now.

True the iPhone is not perfect but there are manay wep apps being developed for it since the Cbase native apps require a lot of $$$. Check out 2go.travel or 2go.travel/iphone to see what is coming down the pike for serious travelers.

Also it may not be the phone, but the carrier. That's where I have issues.

I'll have had mine 3 months on Saturday so good time to take stock.

Overall, I think its a fantastic device and some real quality apps are starting to come through (development lead time meant most of the early ones were poor or gimmicky).

Battery life is just about acceptable, I certainly travel more frequently with re-charging capability than previously.

The browser is they key selling point for me. 3g speeds are good where I am and its a joy to use.

Biggest negative is the email. Its just a clunky interface and the touchscreen keyboard isn't great for those with chunky fingers. I suspect if I was using it for a lot of work emailing on the go I'd go for a Blackberry.

But as a personal entertainment & communications device, its unrivalled and way ahead of the competition IMHO.

Add me to the list of people who doesn't care for the iphone. Non-replaceable battery and the ergonomics of the thing are absolute dealbreakers for me.

it's interesting how many people comment about the non-replacable battery. most people only have one battery and generally trade in their phone for a new one in 2-3 years. they never actually get a second battery. the last time i carried a spare battery was when i used an analog phone some fifteen years ago.

Blackberry 8830 here does everything the iphone can do with the exception of streaming.

are there over 4000 apps available for the blackberry?

Oh yes, and unlike the iphone, I have full EVDO + tethering for my laptop right out of the box. Also has a full GPS receiver that works while driving. Google Maps for the BB currently includes Streetview as well.

the iphone can tether but it requires jailbreaking. there was also a tethering app available on the apps store for a brief time and it still works, for those who downloaded it.

the iphone 3g has a gps receiver that works anywhere, even while driving, and what's even more interesting is that the original iphone that doesn't have a gps will actually track movement based on cellular tower location. it's obviously not as good as the real gps in the iphone 3g, but it's better than nothing. also, google streetview is coming in the next release of the iphone firmware.

The only thing the iphone has that my little BB doesn't have is the hard drive. Considering how fragile iPod hard drives are, I can do without the extra storage for now.

the iphone uses flash memory. it does not have a hard drive.

it's interesting how many people comment about the non-replacable battery. most people only have one battery and generally trade in their phone for a new one in 2-3 years. they never actually get a second battery. the last time i carried a spare battery was when i used an analog phone some fifteen years ago.


True, but it is nice to have the option. Given how many spare batteries are sold on Ebay and Amazon, there is clearly a market for them.


are there over 4000 apps available for the blackberry?


There are 1700 on Handango alone, and since Blackberry users are not tied to just one App source, I'd estimate that there are well over 4000 apps for it.

But numbers mean nothing, how many iPhone apps are actually useful? My experience is that there are just a handful of really GOOD apps, the rest is just plain junk.



the iphone 3g has a gps receiver that works anywhere, even while driving, and what's even more interesting is that the original iphone that doesn't have a gps will actually track movement based on cellular tower location. it's obviously not as good as the real gps in the iphone 3g, but it's better than nothing. also, google streetview is coming in the next release of the iphone firmware.



Tower based GPS fixes have been out on other phones since 2003, it isn't something the iPhone invented. In fact, most of the data the iPhone uses for tower locating, is based off data provided by people using a Windows Mobile phone :D

Of course, the iPhone still lacks turn by turn directions...

True, but it is nice to have the option. Given how many spare batteries are sold on Ebay and Amazon, there is clearly a market for them.

how many are sold? then compare that to how many phones there are (billions).

the reality is, most people *don't* have a second battery, and when it comes time to buy a replacement battery, they upgrade their phone instead. while it may be nice to be able to swap batteries, not very many people actually do it.

But numbers mean nothing, how many iPhone apps are actually useful? My experience is that there are just a handful of really GOOD apps, the rest is just plain junk.

there's a lot of junk for every platform. the good-to-junk ratio on the iphone is probably not significantly different than anything else. also, the 4000 apps only took three months.

Of course, the iPhone still lacks turn by turn directions...

two companies have announced forthcoming products.