My Treo 650 has been retired for a month. I finally bought, or rather subscribed to, an iPhone (16Gb 3G, 18 months at £35/month).
Not having the Internet on tap anywhere and everywhere, with an unlimited data plan, is now even more inconceivable than I expected; 3G makes all the difference. I’ll just write off the subscription if we leave London; i.e., donate it to a worthy cause.
This article in the latest New York Times suggests that the iPhone is a consumer device.
That’s exactly what one my MBA classmates who works for RIM (Blackberry co.) said the other day over dinner*. I didn’t disagree, having found answering email on the iPhone was a bit of a bore. I detest its on-screen keyboard. However, the nearest Blackberry device doesn’t have 3G, and that’s not a mere consumer feature at all, it’s required.
Here in London we have none of the AT&T coverage problems that plaque iPhone users in the US. Overall, the iPhone has been a pleasant surprise, with some useful applications available for free and some very good ones for $1 (59 pence). The process of acquiring a new application is so nearly frictionless that it’s no surprise that Apple has delivered over a billion applications to iPhone users.
*I found my way to the restaurant by using the built-in “GPS” (cell tower triangulation) and street map. Between this and Google maps there’s not much need for a London A-Z any more.
So far I have bought
- Tweetie (Twitter client; haven’t got around to this yet)
- Tube Deluxe (London Underground application — map, journey planner and departure timetable, by station!)
- Tempo (a digital metronome)
- If Found Plus (creates custom logon screenwith contact details)
Free applications I’ve installed include
- NetNewsWire (RSS application)
- LinkedIn client (might as well)
- Facebook client (might as well
- Skype
- WiFi Remote (turns iPhone into remote control for Windows Media Centre PC)
- Quick Voice Recorder (a pocket digital voice memo device)
- Fring (instant messenger application that interoperates with Skype, MSN, Yahoo, AOL etc.)
- New York Times (top stories reader)
- Shazam (identifies music — facilitates buying via iTunes; genius this, it works surprisingly well)
- StepTrakLite (a digital pedometer)
- Last.FM client (might as well; not used yet. No free Radio app offers BBC Radio 4, annoyingl, but the BBC iPlayer site streams via the web)
- Remember The Milk (a to do list application, to be tried, the pro version @ $25/year syncs to the web)
- iFirstAid Lite (emergency first aid instructions)
- Discover (use iPhone as a wireless storage and file sharing device)
And I shouldn’t forget Shotgun. This was the first application I attempted to demonstrate to the person whose role in life it is to endure my technology demonstrations.
Shotgun is a very simple application. When the phone is jerked up and down like a shotgun being reloaded it makes shotgun-being-reloaded noises. When the phone is then lifted upwards suddenly it makes a shotgun-being-fired noise. It’s clever and mildly amusing, but in my hands it reduced the demonstratee to tears of helpless laughter. My inexperience with firearms was such that I couldn’t quite get it to work. It’s alleged that I said
Buggerrrr!
and this was imitated later with an action reply on the tears of laughter when the children were entertained with a
You should have seen your father
story.
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£35 a month! I have to pay that for an hour on a bog standard nokia. When I had a moan about the difference in (internet 504kb/£35) pricing between France and the UK was told that it was EU anti-competition rules that prevent them from lowering their prices! If it were’nt for the rain, and the small matter of the Grouch’s job…
It could have been 30/month but I paid a little extra for a larger number of minutes (600 rather than 75) and texts (500 rather than 125) to ensure that I never went over the monthly bill. Unlimited web browsing, email and 20 mins of voice per day for less than the cost of a newspaper isn’t bad, or wouldn’t be if the device had any of the convenience of a newspaper! The latest tariff is a free 8Gb iPhone a with a two year contract–too long for me.
Don’t believe that guff about the EU. It’s a regular whipping boy. The EU has just forced telcos to cut their international roaming charges in the teeth of their opposition. More needs to be done. Much, much more. Meanwhile, Skype (now on the iPhone as well as on Nokias) has to be pushing them to move toward better data tariffs.
However, I’ll be the first to admit that in practice I am now paying a huge premium for convenience. Previously I got by on a Pay-As-You-Go SIM and my mobile expenditures were very modest.
A friend who is a diplomat is unwilling to sign a contract of any duration since he may be posted at any time. He is looking for a 2nd hand unlocked iPhone into which he can put his existing SIM. The other option is a “Turbo” SIM, a little device that fools a locked phone into thinking it’s on the right network. BTW the iPhone is available unlocked in France, presumably at a hefty cost. However, the beauty of a subscription is that you get to hand back the phone and get a new one every so often (annually so far), albeit resetting the subscription. It looks like there will be a nice update in June — better camera, video capabilities, unlocked Bluetooth etc.
New phone every year – you’ve got to be joking – a free replacement if it breaks – of its own accord – within 3 months – after that it still costs £70 for the most basic model – £1 if taking out a 2 year subscription at the same time. French companies view their clients as hostages, and unfortunately the population haven’t yet risen up à la Watchdog.
PS I type fine on my laptop, though miss the numberpad, however the hernia is coming on nicely – c.5 kilos!
PS Did get offered a cheaper deal on the phone if willing to switch solely to hotspots – glitch was there’s only one within 30 miles!
Can the French really be so backward? There must be a business opportunity…
The wireless access points can be more trouble than they’re worth. The iPhone tries to use one and if it’s not open by default it doesn’t fail over gracefully to cellular. I have had to switch wireless off in order to get on the web several times. Presumably this will be fixed. The next version is said to have 100+ improvements.
The iPhone is now free here (8Gb model) on a 2 year contract. It’s quite sensible to upgrade you and reset the contract.