iPhone 3G thoughts from a Nokia/SE fan
After the first couple weeks of having the new iPhone 3G in my grubby little mitts (thanks to this phone, I’ve discovered just how clean/unclean my hands really are), I have put together my first impressions. I’ve willingly given up some highly-used handset features (high-end camera with Xenon flash, high-res video recording) for some features I’ve always wanted to have on my handset, and my current Nokia /Sony Ericsson at the time, had just never been able to deliver (usable mobile web browsing, GPS mapping… Nokia maps doesn’t cut it for me).
To me, this is a divergence device… I had to by myself a tiny little gay camera (with widescreen video that’s pretty damn nice, FYI) so I can take photos in crumby photo conditions… ie, bars. And since I opted for the tiniest baby camera that ever was, so far I’ve had little annoyance with carrying it along when I know the iPhone cam will fail to all measures of failure.
I mean, this camera takes me back to somewhere between the Nokia 7610 and the Sony Ericsson K750i… so 3 to 3.5 YEARS back in the grand timeline of top-of-the-line camera phones. One can only hope that Apple finds some sneaky way to monetize photography on the iPhone, so it’s worthwhile for them to spend the time cramming the features in the 3rd round of hardware. All that griping aside, I’ve managed to play with the camera a good deal, and it works for the candid little snaps here and there… but coming from someone who didn’t need a separate digital camera for vacation photos, let’s just say I won’t rely on the iPhone to capture the good times like I have with phones in the past.
So what’s the friggin’ tradeoff for this miserable, painful, self-sucker-punch to the face?
Connectivity.
I no longer will take a laptop on vacation, to have in the hotel to look up places and stay connected online. And time in the airports (I just got back a seven-flight, two week trip, I can speak plenty for airport time right now) is much more pleasurable when you have a usable Internet experience in your pocket. And when I’m not traveling for business, I’ll ditch the laptop altogether. But of course, will have to carry along that aforementioned tiny gay camera.
And to be able to play tunes, some pretty fun games, and watch movies on the plane, all from one device… isn’t something that came as a great experiences on my previous handsets.
I like white phones. Apparently, at least as much as tilting head slightly to the right.
Since I’m relatively new to this area of Canada, having mapping software that’s quick and easy to use, is great. And Mark would give kudos to any device that makes it easier for me to have a better clue as to how to get places around here.
I nabbed an iPhone a few weeks before the launch of the 3G, and had a realization… the touch-screen, for text input… wasn’t the big challenge for me…. it was the qwerty altogether. I flew through messages with predictive text like nobody’s business. I’m starting to get used to a qwerty, but luckily I haven’t found the touch element of the text input to be as big of a deal as I had considered I might.
Comparing it in the hand to the first iPhone I borrowed from a friend, it’s much less slippery, even though the previous version’s metal back was a much classier look. The bonus is that the white version, which I typically spring for, doesn’t show fingerprints at all like the black model. Hardware-wise, this thing is rock solid and feels great in the hand. But those stingy Apple bitches should have put a standing dock in the case. Stingy.
And while I’ve "sold out" in the eyes of many of my readers… my response is… it’s Nokia’s/SE’s fault. But you’re a little bit right.
I’ve been quite loyal fans of their handsets over the years, and still am. And the first version of the iPhone, didn’t have enough connectivity advantages to make toss my phone aside. And a whole 18 months later, SE is hurting, and Nokia’s next generation touch interface makes me watch to hit them, hold them tight, and then hit them again. A stylus?
In fact, my bet is on RIM to show Nokia up on the front of a powerful/usable touch interface. Symbian needs to be rewritten, not made slightly bigger, for touch. Looking at it’s current state, Symbian has barely changed since it’s beginnings, and has gotten bloated, sloppy, and sad. At least SE has made steps over the years to keep it’s phone UI powerful, quick, and more usable for it’s purposes.
And if you think I’m the only Nokia-lubbin’ blogger that’s bought an iPhone 3G, you’re wrong… I’m close to those much more in the web spotlight than myself, and I’m just the only one not hiding it from my readers :)
So, for now, I’m really loving the 3G. We’ll see how I feel after a bit more time, as who knows what I might feel as time goes on. And no, I haven’t owned my last Nokia or Sony Ericsson phone. But if they’re just gonna sit this one out, I’ll dance with with the iPhone 3G for the time being.
…thanks for the review, andrew…
I’d hoped (somehow) that the camera-aspect of the 3G would be a lil’ bit more advanced, too. (It’s a pity that you have to lug around that “gay” camera of yours.)
Yet…somehow you still manage to look good in your iPhone self-portrait, above!
If you ever take a photo of yourself that isn’t pretty, let me know!!!
;-)
[…] Credit: iPhone 3G thoughts from a Nokia/SE fan […]
Anyone else pick up on the fact that he tilts his head to the left and not the right?
Those shots are in mirrors. :)
So you’re not holding the phone with your left hand then?
Nope, it’s reversed since someone else didn’t take the photo of me, it was in a mirror. Notice the Apple logo is reversed as well?
How long til YOUR iPhone is on crack? http://www.engadget.com/2008/07/30/are-iphone-3gs-cracking/
Eh. When you have the dirty habit of buying imported handsets at a premium they day they ship, you immediately learn the skill of not dropping your phone. By the looks of all my friends’ phones they’ve had only months, this is a rare skill.
If it actually becomes an issue, at least it’s covered. Having to sell a N95 with a jiggly slider that Nokia refuses to repair/hear about, isn’t fun.
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I am still waiting for mine to arrive! You looking hot as always man ! :)
Was just down in your city, Alex…. man, I wanna move there!
i’ll move with you, andrew…just lemme’ know when :)
Glad to hear you are enjoying your iPhone 3G.
I think the the connectivity and the interface (as with most Apple products) is the big winner.
Even though the camera has no flash and is only 2MPixels I don’t see any porblems - it use it far more often then I did on my Nokia N73 (which kept crashing every time I switched the camera on).
With future upgrades (and services developing video capabilites on this model), I am sure the iPhone 3G will go from strength to srength.
Have had my iPhone 3G for 2 weeks, and can hardly put it down! I now receive 3 different emails on my phone and I love the conectivity.
The camera, however, isn’t nearly as good as my old LG - which had video. I miss the video aspect of my old phone…le sigh…
New reader to your blog…. Tired of hearing my friend Jay talk about your blog….
Paul in USA. Just got my sister’s hand me down first generation iphone when she got the new iphone 3G. Waiting for my contract to expire with Alltel on the 21st of Sept so I can switch. At&T provides service for the iphone. Will need to take the phone to the AT&T store so they can replace the sim card. For $69.99 per month I will get 450 anytime minutes 5000 Night & weekend Minutes unlimited Data (Email/Web) Visual Voicemail Rollover minutes and unlimited Mobile to Mobile. This is the cheapest plan they have for the iphone. For Texting you have to pick a plan otherwise you pay per use of .20 cents per text. Unlimited text is $20.00 per month or you can choose 1500 messages for $15.00 per month or 200 messages for $5.00 per month. I think the camera is quite good on this original iphone. I’ll have to talk to my sister to see how the camera on her new iphone compares to the old one. She got her new iphone 3G the day before she was flying to England to stay with friends in the Cotswolds. She tends to take alot of pictures with her phone. So I will be interested to see how the new one compares. Found the link to your blog from your bigmuscle profile. I agree with what Bruce said: “If you ever take a photo of yourself that isn’t pretty, let me know!!!”. Some people are just so photogenic.
Ok, so it’s been a month. How is it now? I’m thinking of holding out until the memory of an iPhone goes up to about 20GB. I got an iTouch last year for Xmas, so it means that I have to carry a camera, a phone, a pager and an iTouch (it used to be all that plus an iPod) right now. I’d like to shrink that down to an iPhone, and a pager, but I suspect that I’ll have to buy a gay camera…
Hey Andrew, my boyfriend (who coincidentally lives in Ottawa as well!) has a 2G iPhone, but Rogers has the shittiest plans (limited data, specifically)! Are you with Rogers or are you using another provider? I can’t even imagine using an iPhone without EDGE or 3G data access…
the ’tilting my head slightly to the right’ quip made me laugh aloud - because i do that too! lol
just wanted to stop by and give your blog some love - really like it, LOVE the tunes and mixes, great stuff.
i’m going to add your blog to my ‘dirty blogz’ list on mine - hope that’s ok.
respectfully,
fang x
I got an iPhone 3G as a gift from my best friend. This phone is the best phone that i ever had, great style and great features. I luv my iPhone 3G.
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