What Cell Phone you use???

[morituri]

I've been using an iPhone 3GS since late last year. Before that, I used the original iPhone for a couple of years. Love the phone!

 

[wise]

Nokia - nice and reliable : )

 

[gallonoffuel]

I just got a Motorola Barrage last night. I needed something waterproof for kayak fishing and the Samsung Convoy got bad reviews, and the G'z One Rock seemed cheap compared to the original G'z One. So far I am happy with it.

 

[stienke]

HTC Hero Android! :thumbsup:

 

[Tim B]

Android mobile phones RULE BABY!

DROIIIIID!

 

[acruxksa]

Nokia E71
Nice size, Reasonable software options, microSD slot and user replaceable battery.

Oh ya, unlocked so I can run JoikuSpot and don't have a contract.

 

[Norm]

I just purchased a
Samsung i8910 Omnia HD

Display Type AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
LED display yay
Norm

 

[JHM]

iPhone, works like it should. The thing that made me giggle the most is an app for a bubble level. It reads out the inclination angle, and I calibrated it against a good (levels aircraft) digital level, guess what, iPhone matches digital level all the way to 80 degrees (1/10 degree resolution)

My phone can level an airplane

 

[joshconsulting]

iPhone, works like it should. The thing that made me giggle the most is an app for a bubble level. It reads out the inclination angle, and I calibrated it against a good (levels aircraft) digital level, guess what, iPhone matches digital level all the way to 80 degrees (1/10 degree resolution)

My phone can level an airplane

Sadly, it's too short to be an effective level. As an experienced woodcrafter, I can tell you that you'll want a ratio of at least 4 to 1, possibly 3 to 1, for length of level vs. surface. A 4 foot level works fairly precisely up to 16-20 feet, and an 8 footer can handle 30-35 feet, but I wouldn't rely on anything under 1' for any sort of precision work - it's just too prone to error. That 4.5" iphone is only good for rough-guessing a surface of a foot or two at the most.

And yes, I have the same app. I have no idea why, but I felt compelled to post that it only fills the niche between 'this needs to be pretty close to level' and 'anything that doesn't look like a ramp works'. And don't get me started on the calibration issue

Anyway, yes, iPhone is awesome. It just works. And jailbroken, it will meet or beat the features of any other phone. Great for road trips when paired with a netbook, and makes a nice web\torrent server if you don't want to buy another computer

 

[ackbar]

iPhone is awesome. It just works. And jailbroken, it will meet or beat the features of any other phone.

There's only so little features left between iPhone and a smartphone:

SOFTWARE:

Web:
No multi-tab browsing
No text reflow
No real web experience, most sites identify it as a phone
No saving web pages for offline viewing (missing apps? buy them!)
No streaming audio/video support (missing apps? buy them!)
No Flash
Slow JavaScript interpreter
No disabling of JavaScript
No instant messaging (missing apps? buy them!)
No real push e-mail (it syncs from time to time draining a lot of power)
HTML attachment issues

File management:
No downloading content for offline playback except through iTunes
No accessing iPhone's folders by any means
No Flash or Java native application support
No DivX, XviD, FLV native video support (missing apps? buy them!)
No ZIP or RAR support (missing apps? buy them!)
No real office suite (missing apps? buy them!)
Clumsy searching for both files and in-text (missing apps? buy them!)

Connectivity:
No videocall
No VoIP support for Wi-Fi
No tethering support/must pay extra to the carrier
MMS shows the wrong sender number http://www.engadget.com/2009/10/14/i...r-number-poll/
A2DP (BT stereo) lags on videos (power-hungry cpu, useless!)
AVRCP Bluetooth Profile - only some headsets work
No supported services when pairing with MacBook
No BT file sharing (BT almost useless!)

Misc:
No TO-DO app (missing apps? buy them!)
No true multitasking support (power-hungry cpu, useless!)
No video recording above VGA (power-hungry cpu, useless!)
No apps developed for 3GS power-hungry HW, you might aswell use 3G (power-hungry cpu, useless!)
iTunes treats free applications like purchases + FairPlay DRM wrapping


HARDWARE:

Screen:
No precision at all on the touchscreen
No adjusting for parallax (finger/screen offset)
No feedback whatsoever
163 pixels per inch (decent monitors today have at least 200ppi & you're not holding them as close as a phone)
Small resolution (320x480), stretched too much (3.5"), sometimes looks pixelized
Dim in sunlight: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3171/...f404979442.jpg

Power:
Not enough (~1200MAX) mAh - smallest battery from it's cpu range/estimated value might be less
No full day coverage with one charge
No OS power optimization
No USB charging without adapter
No safety garment for the battery (swelling and cracking the screen from the inside reported) http://www.betanews.com/article/Appl...lem/1251474518
No warranty for the above

Connectivity:
No DLNA
No HSCSD
Slow HSDPA speed
Strong frequency interference - poor audio - poor GSM/GPS signal
Very high SAR value 1.4W/kg (above 1.6 subjects to risk of cancer)
Non-standard headset jack (although it looks like one)
Non-standard connectivity forces you to use overpriced accessories
No IR

Storage:
No Micro-SD slot
Not addressable as USB storage
256 SDRAM; why Intel? it's slow & they are far from other flash memory manufacturers.

Media/camera:
No stereo speakers /weak speakerphone and voicemail playback
No radio
No FM transmitter
No hi-res camera sensor (less DPI than other 3mp phones); focus distance limited; no exposure control
No ability to use 3RD party OCR on taken pictures
No front camera
No light sensor
No flash

Design:
No sim ejecting without special key
No removable battery (hard reset required if it gets stuck and you have to be a service engineer to reach the battery http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone-3GS/817/2%29)
No typing on a table; it wobbles
No kick-stand/standing on it's own for timed/group photo
No hot swappable or expandable memory
Not built by apple themselves

As you can see iPhone is only missing some unnecessary features that only the haters would complain of!


Yes! Well done Apple! Well done Steve Jobs!

 

[joshconsulting]

Minor problems, generally easily solved and also associated with every other smartphone:

No real web experience, most sites identify it as a phone

Gee, really? I had no idea my phone was identified as a phone! Thankfully, jailbroken browsers allow you to bypass that with the press of a button through user agent ID spoofing, though I don't really see the point when most sites with a 'mobile' version also offer a link for the full version.

No feedback whatsoever

No adjusting for parallax (finger/screen offset)

Same old, same old. The few phones that have tried feedback went the way of the dodo, and manual parallax adjustment died with Windows Mobile 6.

Not enough (~1200MAX) mAh - smallest battery from it's cpu range/estimated value might be less

No full day coverage with one charge

No OS power optimization

5 hours usage\300 standby is standard for the current crop of smartphones.

Slow HSDPA speed

The iphone fully supports the latest 7.2 HSPDA spec

No USB charging without adapter

All other phones require at least a micro or mini USB adapter, jailbroken iphone allows compatibility with non-apple adapters.

No IR

Another spec that's gone the way of the dodo and is rarely included or used on modern phones.

No stereo speakers /weak speakerphone and voicemail playback

Very few smartphones have stereo speakers, jailbroken iphone allows for up to 3x volume boost

No FM transmitter

Very few current phones have FM transmitters. Many have receivers, but transmitters are almost always added externally due to the size, weight, and battery consumption.

No hi-res camera sensor (less DPI than other 3mp phones); focus distance limited; no exposure control

DPI simply means it produces a larger image for the same resolution, and has little to do with quality. The iphone's 3MP camera is very similar in both specs and image quality to most other smartphones.

No kick-stand/standing on it's own for timed/group photo

No smartphone that I'm aware of has a kickstand for the camera, a few have flat enough edges to stand sideways, most simply lean it against an object.

163 pixels per inch (decent monitors today have at least 200ppi & you're not holding them as close as a phone)

Most phones range from 100-200 DPI, a few go over 250 but it is generally agreed that the resolving power of the human eye means few benefits are seen over 200 DPI. In reviews, the iphone screen is generally regarded as highly readable, losing only slightly to the few higher DPI competitors.

No HSCSD

A decades-old standard, almost entirely replaced by EDGE.

No hot swappable or expandable memory

Aside from an SD card (covered later), very few phones allow the replacement of internal components by the consumer, much less hot swappable ones.

Dim in sunlight

Screen is average to good for non OLED screens in sunlight, considerably better then many competitors such as the Zune HD.

Not built by apple themselves

Not sure what part of this is a downside, but the fact that apple has a standardized production means that unlike competing OSes such as Android and Windows Mobile, app writers use a standardized platform. Incidentally, neither Google nor Microsoft build their own phones.

Problems solved by jailbreaking:

No multi-tab browsing
No text reflow
No real web experience, most sites identify it as a phone
No saving web pages for offline viewing (missing apps? buy them!)
No streaming audio/video support (missing apps? buy them!)
No Flash
No disabling of JavaScript
No downloading content for offline playback except through iTunes
No accessing iPhone's folders by any means
No Flash or Java native application support
No DivX, XviD, FLV native video support (missing apps? buy them!)
No ZIP or RAR support (missing apps? buy them!)
No real office suite (missing apps? buy them!)
Clumsy searching for both files and in-text (missing apps? buy them!)
No videocall
No VoIP support for Wi-Fi
No tethering support/must pay extra to the carrier
No supported services when pairing with MacBook
No BT file sharing (BT almost useless!)
No TO-DO app (missing apps? buy them!)
No true multitasking support (power-hungry cpu, useless!)
No USB charging without adapter
Non-standard connectivity forces you to use overpriced accessories
Not addressable as USB storage
No stereo speakers /weak speakerphone and voicemail playback

Minor issues (the only real items on the list):

No Micro-SD slot

Annoying if you want to expand memory at a later date. Not widely used but an issue for some.

No flash

Starting to become rare on smartphones, but still common - puts the iphone at a disadvantage in low light shooting.

No sim ejecting without special key

In other words, a procedure done once or twice by a small fraction of customers and never by a large majority takes a couple of seconds longer. Talk about nitpicking.

No removable battery (hard reset required if it gets stuck and you have to be a service engineer to reach the battery http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iPhone-3GS/817/2))

Partially true. Hard reset easy if it gets stuck, but battery is difficult to replace and requires a professional, driving the cost up to $30 more then most other phones. Inconvenient.

A2DP (BT stereo) lags on videos (power-hungry cpu, useless!)

Only overly-high bit rate encodings, standard encoding has no issues; essentially a moot point, as there are very few BT stero headsests and fewer still are used for streaming video.

MMS shows the wrong sender number

An ATT problem, never happens when you use the iphone on Verizon\tmobile. Rare but rumored to be fixed in the latest baseband update.

Just plain wrong:

Very high SAR value 1.4W/kg (above 1.6 subjects to risk of cancer)

Not only is that completely wrong (the iPhone 3GS SAR value is .79, not 1.4), it is below the current smartphone average (http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6602_7-6258775-11.html?tag=nav)

Slow JavaScript interpreter

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/06/24...ile-g1-and-palm-pre-in-javascript-benchmarks/

No light sensor

The ambient light sensor in iPhone automatically brightens the display when you're in sunlight or a bright room and dims it in darker places.

256 SDRAM; why Intel? it's slow & they are far from other flash memory manufacturers.

256 MB RAM standard for smartphones. Intel is widely regarded as the foremost manufacture of SLC and MLC chips as well as various other internal mobile components such as ARM processors (http://gizmodo.com/5477353/manufacturing-complicated-chips-for-phones-is-real-expensive+like)

No typing on a table; it wobbles

I'm guessing the creator of this list never tried typing, there's no issues whatsoever. Yes, you can make it wobble by pressing back and forth on various sides, but it doesn't happen while typing. It also slides while typing on an 80 degree incline.

Strong frequency interference - poor audio - poor GSM/GPS signal

Baseband update fixed interference issues shortly after launch, audio quality regarded as standard or better then average, Infineon Hammerhead II GPS chip equal to most smartphones.

No safety garment for the battery (swelling and cracking the screen from the inside reported) http://www.betanews.com/article/Appl...lem/1251474518
No warranty for the above

Quoted article describes issue as affecting 'a number of consumers in the single digits', out of nearly 70 million iphone\ipod touches.

There's an app for that:

No TO-DO app
No instant messaging
No real push e-mail (it syncs from time to time draining a lot of power)

missing apps? buy them!

All of the above are available as free apps, easy to download and install in seconds.

 

[Brigadier]

My family is a Nokia family:

Me: Nokia E71 & E63
Wife: Nokia E72
2 sons: E63's.

All unlocked on AT&T.

All very happy with our phones.

 

[burgessdi]

iPhone, I like it. Works like a charm with my Mac.

I've heard good things about it. One of my computers is Mac mini. I would love an iPhone to sync with the mini but US Cellular is CDMA.

Anyway, very nice. You lucky dog!!

 

[FredericoFreire]

Nokias are the best. Had an iPhone 3G, sold it and got an E71.

 

[joshconsulting]

Nokias are the best. Had an iPhone 3G, sold it and got an E71.

Out of curiosity, why did you switch? I promise I won't argue or try to talk you out of your decision

 

[burgessdi]

I'm very curious as well. You're the first person I've known of to switch from iPhone to something else.

 

[joshconsulting]

I'm very curious as well. You're the first person I've known of to switch from iPhone to something else.

I've seen it happen before, but only to those who don't know the power of the jailbreak

 

[FredericoFreire]

I have jailbroken it, firstly on version 2.2.1 and than 3.0.1 (not really sure). It is so boring hunting for new apps, beside that, it is soooo dificult to make a call: you first press the center button, slide the unlock button at the screen, press the phone icon, switch to the keypad or recent calls (what ever you neeed), and than you're good to go. When I use the Nokia, you just unlock the keypad by pressing left key and than *, than press send (green key) and choose which recent call you want to call again.

I other words, the iPhone is the best computer, the best internet tablet, the best mp3 player, and at last a cellphone (the worst cellphone). The Nokias are bests cellphones at first, and than does something else.

P.S.: I was tired of apps that kept closing without a reason while I was using it. Jailbroken iPhone aren't supposed to work well.

 

[joshconsulting]

The old OS 2 had issues with jailbroken programs, but 3.1.2 (and now 3.1.3) works much better. Some of the more esoteric jailbroken programs can cause problems, but I've never had issues with the more popular and better-written ones. Just install tap to unlock, and it's two button presses to the phone (or 2 presses to a call, if you make a speed dial icon).

But some people prefer buttons to a touch screen and many don't need to extra fancy features, so I don't blame you for switching if you were looking for more of a cell phone and less of a fancy gizmo that does everything. Plus, those huge screens crack easily and are expensive to replace.

But if you want the features and don't mind babying it, a smartphone is the right call

 

[burgessdi]

I other words, the iPhone is the best computer, the best internet tablet, the best mp3 player, and at last a cellphone (the worst cellphone). The Nokias are bests cellphones at first, and than does something else.

Ohhh interesting! Well I'm glad you're happy with the Nokia! :wave: