IPhone

My basic Nokia mobile phone has served me for many years. I have a Blackberry Bold for work so only use it for personal use. It has now fallen apart but I can upgrade and get a new phone, the trouble is what?

I like Nokia because I understand the features and can pick up and run with it. My sister has an I Phone and says I should get that, but my son who has one too and loves it feels I will find it too complicated!!

Getting older by the second so don't like small difficult to see/use buttons, screen icons etc.

In addition I see that the 2nd generation 3G Iphone is due out in the summer, so if the Iphone is the best option should I wait? [?]

I'm hoping there are some V flyer mobile phone gurus who will be able to advise me.

Many thanks

[Darren Wheeler]

The trouble is that there is always something new just around the corner.

The new Google Magic phone looks interesting

[mitchja]

The iPhone still has the best touchscreen of any handset. In reviews many other touchscreen handsets just don't come close to the iPhone.

Just to add to the complications, the new version 3.0 of the iPhone O/S is due out in June/July sometime which looks even better than previous versions (copy/paste, MMS, text forwarding & proper bluetooth are just a few of the things coming in version 3.0) which will be available for all original 2G and 3G iPhone users although Apple have said MMS wont work on 2G handsets for some reason.

There are rumors of a compeltely new iPhone handset but at the moment no-one really knows for sure when it's due out.

My guess is though it will be sometime later this year. This will also probably mean existing iPhone 3G stocks could be reduced in price to clear the shelves/stocks.

O2 have also recently started offering 24 month contracts which means an initial lower handset cost (they still offer 18 month contracts too)

My only issue with my iPhone 3G is O2's pathetic 3G/Edge coverage here where I live and work. Edge and 3G are still non-existant [:(!] so you might want to check O2's coverage first.

Regards

[Decker]

Love my Nokia E71....

Thank you very much for all your suggests - off to Brent Cross to visit O2 and will let you know how I get on![y]

I am such a noddy with phones but find the iphone very simple to use and its a breeze to set up.

You are all a mine of information and thank you again for the feedback.

Just to complete the thread, I have been to Brent Cross and much to my surprise the assistant at 02 was amazingly patient and seemed to know his stuff. I loved the look and feel of the Iphone but after felt I really wanted something less IT dependent. In the end it was a choice between the Nokia N76 or Sony Ericsson C905 and as they wanted an extra 225 for the Nokia I went for the SE.

Time will tell if it was the right decision but looking forward to spending the afternoon going through the blurb.

If you are looking at an iPhone, wait till sometime in June when the new iPhone will be released.

You'll also have the added benefit of having the N96 available for a little while too, so you can see how that fares.

I have an N95 8GB, and have been holding out on an iPhone since it's release. Copy+Paste is almost there in the new software release to come out, and hopefully if the new phone has a decent quality 3.2mpx camera also, I'll get it. I love the App Store on my iPod Touch - Apple came from no where and blitzed all the mobile manufacturers with online store who were floundering due to lack of any real effort/competition.

Nokia plan to have a revamp with their N96 launch for online apps, though no idea how successful it'll be.

Hi there

In the current issue of Stuff magazine , it has been announced that Apple is about to release version 3 of the Iphone software. This allows for picture messaging , mms forwarding etc to Apple top notch stuff but it is something most other phones have already provided for ages. Hopefully this will nicely bring the iphones weak spots up to a decent standard.

Cloudscudder

[Pete]

No need to wait for v3 - that's just a software release which will be free, and automatic - for all current users.

The rumoured new model is touted to be an iPhone 'Nano' - ie, a slimed down version; cut down a bit on the features to get it mass-market (ie, cheap enough for the phone companies to give it away with practically all tariffs). You'll want the current model if you want all the whistles and bells.

Wow it's come a long way since everyone just had a trim phone on the hall table!

[Darren Wheeler]

How posh is that... I had to walk half a mile down the road and join a queue!!

quote:Originally posted by Darren Wheeler
How posh is that... I had to walk half a mile down the road and join a queue!!


Had to join that queue many a time if I was arranging anything I didn't want my parents to hear - that or send the butler! [:D]

I believe, that while there will probably be a Nano version released, there will also be a refresh and upgrade of the larger (standard) iPhone hardware too.

My vote is for the iPhone.

I have messed about with several Nokia Communicators over the years, and more recently the N95. I have also had quite a lot of experience of Windows CE based smartphones, which were, until I got my mits on the iPhone 3G, the best I'd tried so far.

The best aspect of the iPhone is not that it is jam packed full of features (obvious shortcomings are that it lacks modem teathering and copy/paste), but that what it does it does very, very well in comparison to other devices. I used to have to reboot my Windows CE based phones regularly.

The iPhone now tends to be much more stable, although the first 3G release at 2.0 had flakey POP3 email operation that meant I had to reboot on a daily basis. Now it's relatively rare, maybe once a month. Still frustrating. Thus, caveat emptor on V3.0!

One common irritating trate I've found among all smartphones is that the GUI can become totally unresponsive when you're trying to do those most basic of things - make or answer a call. The iPhone does hang sometimes, although far less than my old HTC Windows phone.

The iPhone screen is the best - I believe it's the most expensive component of the device. It's double the resolution of most other smartphones at half VGA. This, together with its strethchy two finger operations (whatever that's called) and anti-aliasing makes browsing the web on a small screen a delight. The browser is also very full featured, with the one exception being the current lack of Flash plug-in (Apple won't accept anything less than full Flash functionality). The only frustrating feature of browsing is that rendering pages, even under 3G, can be irritatingly slow. WiFi web rendering is much better. Must be some interraction between the browser and the higher latency of the 3G netowrk I suppose.

Watching stored movies and iPlayer on the iPhone screen really is very do-able, albeit the images are of course small but super quality. Using it as a music source is a delight.

The best accessory I've found so far is the ZAGG Invisible Shield that protects the phone. Other cases increase the size of the phone too much. The Invisible Shield is a transparent film that protects the phone both from scratches and from inadvertant drops. Once applied, it provides a thin rubberised protective skin. Scratches to the skin magically disappear too. A pain to put on properly, but once applied it does what it says on the tin.

In short, while there are some drawbacks in the functionality department compared to other offerings, what the iPhone does do, it does very well, far better than any of the competitors I've used previously. I can't help but feel if I'd purchased anything else I'd have felt I'd bought second best.

H

[Pete]

..plus, I'm writing an iPhone application at this very moment, so what other reason do you need than to run my handiwork on it [;)]

quote:Originally posted by Pete
..plus, I'm writing an iPhone application at this very moment, so what other reason do you need than to run my handiwork on it [;)]


That's seriously impressive [oo]

Final update, as said have a Blackberry for work, bought the Sony E C905 which seems uncomplicated and ideal for my use. After reading all your posts I didn't want to miss out on the Iphone completely so am now the proud owner of an IPod touch. The phone may well come later!

Thank goodness for the Power Monkey!

Thank you once again, I don't know anywhere else that offers such instant, friendly and sensible advice.

[Scrooge]

Just one thing to remember with all these nice big screen phones, if you are even slightly clumsy life will get expensive, I am on screen number 3 for my Iphone, at $200 a pop it can stay broken.

quote:Originally posted by Scrooge
Just one thing to remember with all these nice big screen phones, if you are even slightly clumsy life will get expensive, I am on screen number 3 for my Iphone, at $200 a pop it can stay broken.


My son is on Iphone number 6 but luckily took out insurance. His last one was replaced after he admitted dropping it into a pint of beer![V] Must be nice to him though, he is currently downloading a selection of goodies onto my Touch for my next flight![^]