From Nokia to Iphone 3G and Back

It's suffice to say that 1.5 weeks is enough time to determine if the device you have is in fact the device you want.  In that amount of time I have come to the conclusion that I have purchased a new phone number attached to an over priced iPod. 

In going through day to day activities with the iPhone in regards to the same patterns as I do with my Nokia's, it just couldn't cut it.  Reason number 1... battery life. 

Since I'm at home mostly it's a bit more noticeable timing the battery drainage, especially if its just sitting idle and not being used.  But on a given day I find myself having to charge it at least twice a day.  Last weekend I took a 3 hour drive to my family reunion and it was fully charged when I left.  Of course when I got to my destination it was hungry for power so I ended up shutting it off for the rest of the day.

Now my favorite part of the iPhone is in fact the App store and some of the apps available.  Currently, my 3 favorite are

PageOnce - Personal Digital Assistant

Truphone - Truphone VoIP app for iPhone 3G

Facebook - Facebook client

I've mentioned in the past that iTunes was the devil.  Only because of the DRM thing and not being able to transfer purchased music to my Nokia's, but the iPhone (and a Powerbook G4 filled with tons of my favorite music) has taught me to have a love for iTunes.  Of course there have been proven methods of syncing iTunes to devices as in this post but I just wish they would all play along more nicely.

The one thing that I was looking forward to was the availability of my email being (ahem) pushed... which of course is a term that Apple is no longer using to describe their MobileMe service and since there have been many many many (have I mentioned many) issues with the service since it's launch I don't feel bad to have experienced the worst in such an early stage.  Eh, things can go wrong at any stage... but thank goodness for other alternatives... ie. Nokia phone running Nokia Mail Client and Mail for Exchange.

The iPhone 3G is a great phone in it's own right, BUT it will not be my everyday phone.  It will however be my everyday iPod and application explorer... but I have to revert back to what I'm used to.  Lol, this is actually the longest that I've used another device other than a Nokia!!! 

I'm sure there will be some cool updates and revolutionary somethings that will come out to make me appreciate it for more than what it is, but until then... with my N78 in one hand and my E71 in the other and the N95-4 on standby and the N82 camera ready.... well, you get the point. ;)

Comments

[James Burland]

What chance did the iPhone stand against a Nokia N78, E71, N95 and N82!!? :)

The battery life sure is a problem... But then, it's certainly better than my laptop and it does a good 60% of what my laptop can do.

I'm gutted about your poor MobileMe experience. When it works it's a great solution and very fast.

[berkorich]

I haven't experienced the iPhone 3G personally but tend to agree with you - the shortcomings of the iPhone (no MMS, no video, poor camera, etc......) have shied me away from it.

So, I kept the N95 and got an iPod Touch. Great bit of kit. All the best bits of the iPhone (interface, App Store, browser) without the drawbacks. Voila, an iPod without an overpriced phone number...

[almateos]

I was thinking about buying an iPhone. But I own a N95-8GB, and I knew that using an iPhone as the main phone would be a step back for me. I´m not a Two-phones man either, because I don´t want to pay two plans one for each sim card.

I Knew about the battery isue too.

So, what did I do?

I bought an iPod Touch which has the same functionality of the iPhone (for calls, sms and GPS I have the N95). For outdoors, I use Joikuspot on the N95 to create a WLAN spot so I can share the smartphone 3G data connection with the iPod Touch. It takes only a few seconds to have the iTouch connected to the Internet.

Greetings

[EL Cartel]

Yeah I have a N958G and a Ipod touch. Like I said in an earlier post. the iphone is a overpriced glorified ipod. I still don't understand why At&t is charging more for 3G then they do for other phones.

[Serko]

I'm glad to hear that you've actually given it a fair chance so far Darla.

Being an N95-4 owner myself I know for a fact that it usually requires 2 charges to get through the day too when it's in Dual (3G) mode.

For the record AT&T also charges $30/month for Unlimited Data on BlackBerrys (even if they are EDGE only).

Looking forward to reading more of your take on being an iPhone 3G owner especially after Cut/Copy/Paste and some of the bugs with the 2.0 OS (it's supposed to last 12.5 days in standby mode) are rectified!

[Kyle]

Welcome back :)