I recently began to use an iPhone3gs, after being a Nokia E71 loyalist since Oct08. The transition was caused by my joining an IT trial that required me to use the iPhone to give some feedback (I won the place on this trial after proving my geek/techie credentials with a 1 page write up, and competing with 150 such, and emerging among the 10 selected).
On first looks, the iPhone is a beautiful and very simplistic device (a few keys around its sides, volume up/down, silent, power; and three slots, SIM, earphone, dock. The installation and getting started is a breeze. In terms of design (h/w and s/w), the device is extremely versatile and ergonomic. It took me about 20 minutes to complete everything including mail set up location etc etc.. That is definitely impressive. Even during usage, the number of clicks/taps that you have to go through is very minimal and you do not need to delve through levels of Menus to achieve something. The touch interface is a song.... it is extremely engaging, including it keyboard. That does make it a great phone.
But I could not resist comparing it to E71. You have to remember that E71 costs Rs 17,000 (~350 $) today, as against iPhone that costs Rs 41,500 (~850 $).
One of the glaring shortfalls of iPhone is its inability to multitask. You cannot run more that one application at a time. This is a limitation in the OS, and is a serious one. The only multitasking it allows for is receiving phone calls/ listening to music while working in an application. I discovered this when I was trying to get an app (iPhone natively has either vibrate or ring, selected through a hardware switch) to set up a profile manager (silent/meeting/outdoor..) and could not find one. This app has not been made because the underlying backgrounding needs to be there to support this. I also realized this again when I found an app to replace Nokia sports-tracker (which I used to time my walks). I have to dedicatedly run this app (sporty pal) while using it and cant push it to the background.
The second glaring shortfall is the iPhone dependence on the network. Maps is the main causality of this. Maps on iPhone are sourced through goggle maps and are not cached on the phone. Also there is only direction seeking and no voice guidance. Imagine doing this when on international roaming? Nokia has some great maps (free world wide) and voice guidance that I can buy for a day, a week, month or an year.
The third irk is on the inability to browse files on the iphone, create shortcuts etc. On iPhone, there are strict folders , which you cannot rename, move or delete. Even through connecting to PC, you cannot get access to this. Nokia is more open on these. Apple is known to do this though.
The other things like Office (word/excel), wireless presenter, card scanner, file manager, printing support, sports application etc, which are standard/included out of the box and free on the Nokia, can only be fulfilled through purchase of apps (about 50-100 $ in all). This after already paying a premium of over 20,000 (400$) on E71.
All this is disappointing.
This by no means trashes the iPhone (or means that I revert to E71). It is a great phone, but from a value and smartphone perspective, needs to do much better.
PS: If you are aware of apps that are free and with no nags/advts., and does not need network support to fulfill (Office (word/excel), wireless presenter, card scanner, file manager, printing support, sports application etc), please point me to the same.
On first looks, the iPhone is a beautiful and very simplistic device (a few keys around its sides, volume up/down, silent, power; and three slots, SIM, earphone, dock. The installation and getting started is a breeze. In terms of design (h/w and s/w), the device is extremely versatile and ergonomic. It took me about 20 minutes to complete everything including mail set up location etc etc.. That is definitely impressive. Even during usage, the number of clicks/taps that you have to go through is very minimal and you do not need to delve through levels of Menus to achieve something. The touch interface is a song.... it is extremely engaging, including it keyboard. That does make it a great phone.
But I could not resist comparing it to E71. You have to remember that E71 costs Rs 17,000 (~350 $) today, as against iPhone that costs Rs 41,500 (~850 $).
One of the glaring shortfalls of iPhone is its inability to multitask. You cannot run more that one application at a time. This is a limitation in the OS, and is a serious one. The only multitasking it allows for is receiving phone calls/ listening to music while working in an application. I discovered this when I was trying to get an app (iPhone natively has either vibrate or ring, selected through a hardware switch) to set up a profile manager (silent/meeting/outdoor..) and could not find one. This app has not been made because the underlying backgrounding needs to be there to support this. I also realized this again when I found an app to replace Nokia sports-tracker (which I used to time my walks). I have to dedicatedly run this app (sporty pal) while using it and cant push it to the background.
The second glaring shortfall is the iPhone dependence on the network. Maps is the main causality of this. Maps on iPhone are sourced through goggle maps and are not cached on the phone. Also there is only direction seeking and no voice guidance. Imagine doing this when on international roaming? Nokia has some great maps (free world wide) and voice guidance that I can buy for a day, a week, month or an year.
The third irk is on the inability to browse files on the iphone, create shortcuts etc. On iPhone, there are strict folders , which you cannot rename, move or delete. Even through connecting to PC, you cannot get access to this. Nokia is more open on these. Apple is known to do this though.
The other things like Office (word/excel), wireless presenter, card scanner, file manager, printing support, sports application etc, which are standard/included out of the box and free on the Nokia, can only be fulfilled through purchase of apps (about 50-100 $ in all). This after already paying a premium of over 20,000 (400$) on E71.
All this is disappointing.
This by no means trashes the iPhone (or means that I revert to E71). It is a great phone, but from a value and smartphone perspective, needs to do much better.
PS: If you are aware of apps that are free and with no nags/advts., and does not need network support to fulfill (Office (word/excel), wireless presenter, card scanner, file manager, printing support, sports application etc), please point me to the same.
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