Amaranthian

I've seen some stuff about it on various channels. The google piece. There's a couple of people that I know who have them. They seem to be happy enough with them. If you absolutely need that kind of connectivity.

Personally, I don't have a cell phone. Don't have a need for one. if I had one, certain people would probably call me and want to talk to me or even worse tell me to pick something up at the store...bleah...

I really think that there's too many cell phones in this world and being connected 24/7 is something that shouldn't be encouraged. But I digress, this isn't about my hatred on cell phones...:)

I think you should just evaluate the phone based on your needs.

Do you need internet connectivity?
Do you need to access your email/calendar away from your computer?
Will it provide additional features that my current phone does not have and do those features justify the increase in cost?
Will it make me more cool than I already am? :)

Just a few questions that I'd ask myself before I'd drop a chunk of change for one.

Doc

Microsoft sucks. Apple rules.

Phones with Google's Android interface are rumored to be available this fall/winter. Not sure how it compares, but I am excited that a variety of networks will be offering the phones, so none of this locked into AT&T business supposedly.

More productively XD, I've owned an iPhone since a few days after they first came out (h8 waiting in line) and use it every day. Here's my take:

- It's the first phone with a web browser that's actually usable.
- The Edge network is often annoyingly slow for web browsing. (Wi-Fi is quite fast.)
- The mail client is probably pretty decent for light use, but badly needs more features for heavy users. (Although I'm probably on the far end of the user spectrum when it comes to e-mail, typically getting 200+ non-spam non-bulk messages a day.)
- While it obviously depends on your usage, I think the battery life is pretty decent. I charge mine about once a week. For comparison, with my usage pattern I had to charge my previous phone (a later model Razr) every other day.
- Having bluetooth and/or wi-fi turned on all the time makes a significant difference in battery life.
- If you're wiling to jailbreak it (now pretty easy), the range of software it can run is absolutely amazing. Even when not jailbroken, the offerings from the new App Store are pretty impressive.
- The speakerphone is very usable.
- The camera is usable, but not great. This is not a phone for taking pictures.
- Bluetooth connectivity is good, but doesn't deliver as much range as some other phones.
- It has a very accessible physical "silent" switch. (Yay!)
- The recessed headphone jack is very annoying. (1st gen)
- The build quality and durability are both very, very good. (1st gen)

I looked at the 3G, but didn't buy one because I'm concerned about build quality issues. (There have been reports of screens not being exactly flush with the side, and with tiny hairline cracks appearing in some cases.) My 1st gen model has been durable as all hell, looking pretty much brand new after more than a year of heavy use.

It appears that the 3G reception issues that some have reported with the new models may be strictly a software problem:
iPhone 3G and the Curious Swedes
In which case it will likely be patched by Apple with a software update.

Oh, and as to reception: It started out pretty mediocre, but in recent months I've found it to be excellent except in very rural areas, leading me to believe that most of the early issues were more about AT&T's network than the iPhone (or maybe improved by iPhone software upgrades, I guess). I often have more bars than friends with other phones, and can sometimes place or receive calls cleanly where their phones won't work at all. This is on a 1st gen phone, though I'd assume that adding 3G would only improve connectivity.

T-Mobile is rumored to be releasing the first Android phone:

http://htcdream.com/

I can't find the article about it, but I thought I remember that a couple of other companies were also developing phones for Android.

Google isn't doing the hardware, Android is an OS.

It'll be running on various hardware platforms and the link Bef provided above is HTC whose phones you can find at just about every provider in the US and Europe these days. They're usually branded to whoever you're buying service from. IE Cingluar 8250. Etc.

heh...guess I never caught the cell phone bug. But then I tend to be a fairly private person....

of course I could never own an iphone...its made by apple....Steve Jobs is Satan...enticing everyone with slickness and snake oil

:)

Doc

look, i don't have time to read long posts...so I'm just going to say this with out having read ANY Of this thread - BUY MORE IPHONES, KEEP MY HUSBAND IN A JOB =)

I just wanted a phone that calls ppl, takes pics, and evocates food when i'm hungry... ; ;

hehe...i personally couldnt exist with keeping in touch with my sons without a cell phone. They both would love to have an I-phone but they also are watching all the bugs and problems people with them are complaining about before they plunk their money down. Also too, i get this email or text from doc about how evil apple is and he tells my son not to go to the dark side....hehe....competition in the world makes for such good conversation!!!

I personally like the I-phones and what all it offers, but i dont even use all the kewl stuff my phone can do now and I am even still learning on gagdets i have that i never knew. Maybe one of these days i will get one and I do plan on corrupting doc one of these days also.....he will have a cell phone in his future, I can see!!!! Muahahahaha!!!

Though I personally don't own an Iphone (I'm working with BB 8310), I do work with them on practically a daily basis for my work.

Not surprisingly the Iphone is amazingly built well for durability. To this date I have had Iphones survive a flight of stairs, an ocean, and a toilet.

Aside from the durability , it's one of the first phones that has what I would define as a reasonable way to browse the web. Too many times the BB and other phones have timed out or had an ugly version that is barely readable.

The best part, the software gadgets

Now for some downsides.

Reception: It's great in the urban living, but in more rural areas you're lucky to get 2 bars . Also the Iphone has HUGE issues (these are based on employee testominal) in England, France, Dubai, China, Ireland, Japan, and probably other areas as well leaving it to be nothing more than a paper weight. Even though it has an international plan it operates off a different channel from the standard one (found on the BB and different products) leaving you with spotty coverage at best.

Data: The edge network sucks for web browsing. Peak hours of the day you will suffer from time out issues especially in areas like Dallas, New York, and Miami. Even though you may have an unlimited data plan , you will get charged after 5gigs of down . This is AT&T policy as of 1/1/2008.

Price: Domestic 10 dollars more then Bb, 15 Dollars more internationally. Texting plans are the same.

Battery Life: As long as you train the battery it usually has a pretty average battery life. Of course if you use this for web browsing , games, itunes, and phone, you will be charging this every single day.

Camera: Sucks just as bad as any BB model. So between the two it's a wash.

Email: If you plan to connect using LDAP or Exchange (which I guess can be still declared LDAP) you must use IMAP . IMAP is a pretty primitive way to connect when given the options of auto syncing through SMTP.

Now for other options I would recommend waiting till September and at least looking at the Blackberry bold. They have designed (Aka stolen) a very usable web browser, smoother naviagtion, and the reception domestic and internationally are great. Not to mention the battery life in any BB product I have owned is amazing.

If you want me to go into details about the BB Bold (aka 9000) I can upon request (my company is on the test program , so we are in possession of two currently) .

http://android-developers.blogspot.com/

Could you expound on this a little? I've never heard of auto-syncing through SMTP. (Or, for that matter, a mail client using SMTP to receive mail in any manner.)

Technically it's not our mail client, it's the BES (Blackberry Entriprise Server) that handles the syncing between mail boxes and the handhelds. The way it's done is mail is stored upon an LDAP directory . Upon creation of a new email address/user a small script is ran to determine if newly created address ends in @examplecompany.com . If so it will then create a BES user account (which requires over priced licensing for each one). When I'm ready I create a temporarily password that is uses to auto sync the BB to our BES. The way this is done is upon request of the handheld with appropriate credentials the BES will push out the service books through SMTP.

After service books are pushed onto the handheld, the BES now serves as a pass-through (I know there is a better word, but its not coming to me) from the LDAP to BB by replicated all incoming and outgoing SMTP (since that's the way mail is sent) traffic. Maybe auto syncing isn't the best word since it doesn't happen simultaneously from the second it hits the LDAP server, but it's a much shorter wait compared to going through IMAP to download your messages (Especially since any smart company will be using it over SSL )

I'm actually quite foreign to the cell phone, not having one myself. I've heard that the iphone (or newer versions) can be hacked quite easily unless you download a work around that disables some of your apps, or set your phone to ipod. Outside of that I'm completely in the dark. o.o