Phone retirement and the dawn of touchscreen
I finally got around to replacing my old phone, which had an interesting habit of cutting out and turning off during phone calls.
The casing was also cracked and the battery life diminishing. It was time.
I wanted to let it go out with dignity, not keep it working well into retirement.
For a while, I considered the iPhone 3GS, but I just couldn't justify spending over a grand on a phone. I still think that the iPhone's price is in part due to its "trendy" status.
I had a good look around at similar sorts of phones and finally decided on an LG KM900 Arena - full specs are here if you are interested. It's pretty much an iPhone clone. I like that.
It's my first touch-screen phone and at first I wasn't too sure what to expect.
After gleefully unboxing and charging it I was all over it, as were my fingerprints. Touch-screen control is an interesting experience, but does take some getting used to. It doesn't help that my fingers are obviously too big for most of the buttons, requiring a delicate touch with the tips of fingers.
The phone, however, is great. It's got a huge bunch of features and good connectivity, the camera quality is especially good (5MP) and the screen is a whopping 800x480 pixels - great for watching videos on, although the file formats it supports are a little limited. Nothing a little conversion won't fix.
I was initially a little unsure of whether I wanted a touch-screen, I sort of thought it would be easier to damage, although I'm usually fairly delicate with electronics. Seems to be holding up well, threw a silicon case on it from day one, and the screen protector is still in place - let's hope it stays there.
Although, it sure is satisfying to peel that protector off when it gets tatty. So fresh and clean.
Texting is a new experience too - using the touch-screen takes all the clicky-clicky out of texting, but also seems to take some of the speed away. Of course, turn the phone sideways and you've got the full QWERTY keyboard but it's difficult to use quickly, as the letters are small.
This particular phone isn't designed to use with a stylus, so it's fingers only (or toes if you're a weirdo).
You might have seen a story yesterday about a guy who says his iPhone and the apps on it helped him survive in earthquake-stricken Haiti. I like to think that if I was in an earthquake, or any unfortunate situation, having a multimedia cellphone would help me survive.
Google maps could be all that stands between me and starvation. Or, on the converse, it could lead me down a dark alley to my death. Either way, it makes things interesting.
So my verdict so far is that touch phones are pretty easy to get used to, and a lot of fun to play with. Apart from greasy fingerprints, it's my favourite toy at the moment.
It's especially good to know I have a 5MP camera in my pocket, because I don't want to haul my DSLR around with me everywhere I go. They say the best kind of camera is the one you have on you.
Have you thought about a touchscreen device? Do you own one? How do you find the control interface? Responsive? Fiddly? Amazing?
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i have and iPhone 3gs and i love it i think its do much faster and easier to text with and its is great for using the internet and the apps are the best but a downside is not having zoom on the camera (but theres an app for that)and that the phone is always covered in fingerprints. i think iPhone is worth the extra cost and its also a big fashion and status symbol
Where were you buying this 3GS, that it was going to cost you over a grand?? ... I recently upgraded from 3G to 3GS and it cost me round $300 for the 16gig ... thought VERY seriously bout the 32gig for $599, but couldn't justify making the kids live off bread for a week just so I could have more storage ;)
Anyway - well less than a $K if you sign on a plan (which I think wouldn't have bothered you Luke, considering it appears you have had your last phone for round 90 years?). Anyway, Im with @David #1 ... iPhone all the way (and im actually a Windows user, not Mac)
Wish I had 5MP camera though ... but loving being able to shoot / edit video.
I agree that you are shelling out lots of money for the iPhone because of its name only......if you are going to spend that much on a phone, have a look at the Sony Ericsson U1i.
Its superior in every way to the iPhone...and it has a 12megapixel camera in it.
I picked one up last week and its an amazing phone....the camera on it is better than most peoples digital cameras.
I think most people get iPhones because everyone else has them so now I must have one!......theres better options out there!
My iPhone 3GS is absolutely amazing. I would strongly recommend buying one over the competition, not only for obvious, beautiful and user friendly reasons, but also for the apps..... Just think of the potential for these apps. I doubt mindblowing future apps will be universal, so it pays to follow the crowd occassionally. :)
I got an iPhone 3GS recently, in terms of the functionality and availability of apps they are unbeatable. As for cost, JB Hifi has been doing some great deals on them lately. The only real downside is the camera in them is not great - other than that I don't think any other phone is even in the ballpark.
The iPhone is quite simply the best smart phone available which is why it's more expensive than most of its competitors. But agreed, why are you paying a grand for it? Getting it through a plan makes far more sense if you are actually going to use it the way it's designed to be used.
I got my iPhone 3G on launch night in 2008 and it's utterly brilliant. Never looked back.
I've got an HTC Magic with the Android OS. Totally cool!
I was never a big cellphone user until I got my iPhone 3GS last year. In fact, the phone would be constantly mislaid/forgotten/flat. I never thought I needed a phone that would do everything under the sun.
No more, the phone is always charged and within arm's reach. If I misplace it for an hour, it's like that arm has been cut off, metaphorically speaking.
Love the interface, the apps and the maps, though I do find the camera quality a bit disappointing, it's one area Apple could have done better. Easier to carry than my DSLR though.
The price was way less than $1000 as well, and typically costs me only $40 a month on a plan.
The maps were fantastic when I was overseas late last year, saved me wandering around lost, or poring over maps for ages to work out where I was in relation to where I wanted to go (global roaming charges still suck though!).
Ultimately, I have maps, games, music, calendar and calculator, notepad, world clock, web browser, email and a whole lot more in one easy to use package. Hooking into locally available wireless networks also cuts down on plan bandwith usage. And if I need to, I can even make a phone call!!!
It's my favourite thing ever, pushing my 4G 60gig iPod down to second place... :)
iPhone is superior because of one reason. apps
I don't have a flash phone (still got my trusty Motorola Razr v3X), but I'm not a big mobile user anyway.
However, I do own an iPod Touch (which as I'm sure you're well aware is pretty much an iPhone without the phone and camera), and I absolutely love it. The way the touch UI has been integrated throughout the device is well thought out and very intuitive. For instance, being able to zoom in to web pages by using expanding the gap between two fingers, or scrolling quickly through a list of entries with a quick swipe and stopping the scrolling with a tap on the screen.
I do concede that typing on the device can still be a challenge, with it being quite easy to accidentally hit the wrong key. But to help counter this, there is excellent auto-correction built in. I find it to be accurate and, more importantly, very easy to dismiss if the the suggestion is not what you intended.
So while you may have a point about paying a premium for the iPhone brand, don't underestimate how well thought out and intuitive to use it is. It is not the brand alone that makes it so popular.