Goodbye iPhone; Hello HTC Desire S

Well, the speed of my 3G iPhone was starting to get pretty damn annoying (ever since the "upgrade" to iOS4, it started going downhill), not to mention the fact that the battery charge is now sucking too. And since I couldn't just replace the battery in the iPhone, to stretch out its life a bit more, I decided to scrap it altogether and get a new phone. Enter the HTC Desire S. Goodbye Apple.

As you may have read in previous posts, I have a love, but mainly hate relationship with Apple products. I just never got comfortable with the closed platform, iTune necessary, built for dummies mobile device. Don't get me wrong, it has some nice usability (see below) features, it IS simple to use, and most of the third-party apps that I used on the iPhone were pretty good. But, I always wanted something more, to bring me back closer to my old days on Nokia Symbian powered phone features. So I thought HTC would get me there.

So far, after having the phone for 4 hours, I'm not impressed. It takes WAY too many clicks to perform basic functions. The freaking apps panel is a bloody mess, and I'm not able to create sub-groups or folders to organize everything. I have TWO email clients (one for Gmail, and one for POP3/IMAP accounts), and frankly both suck. Facebook, as much as I hate it, also sucks on Android compared to iOS (can't upload video, and layout looks cheap). Linkedin on Android sucks compared on iPhone too. In fact, almost every app that I had on iPhone that's on Android sucks. The exception so far being Photobucket.

I didn't do enough research on Android before buying, I thought I'd just go see how it stacks up. And, while it has some cool things about it (wigets are cool and suck at the same time), so far it's a cluttered mess.

Anyway, these are only my first hours impressions, so we'll see how it goes in a week or so. So far, I have like 2-3 weather apps/wigets on the phone, and 2-3 twitter icons or apps that I don't need. And I can't seem to be able to delete them. Arrrrrrrrrrgh!

More soon!

Drinking Apple kool-aid ...

As you can cleary read in some of my previous blog posts, I have a hate/love relationship with Apple products. I HATE that I'm dependant on having a PC with iTunes to activate new Apple devices. I hate that I have to use iTunes to put pictures on my iPod. In short, I hate iTunes. It bricks my devices all the time on my XP box (yeah, I'm still using XP on my work notebook, sue me!). I've bricked my iPhone a few times -- usually going the whole day without a work phone, only to restore it on my home PC (Windows 7). I just want to smash Steve Jobs in the face sometimes.

Not only that, I can't stand how many people drink Apple Kool-Aid. It's annoying to hear them talk about Apple devices, similar to this:

iPhone4 vs HTC Evo

I just purchased a iPad for my wife. I pulled it out of the box. Hooked it up to my notebok (XP!), and bricked it while trying to update the OS. I love that icon that says I should plug it into iTunes, even though it's plugged into iTunes. I guess (I hope!) I will have to restore it on my Vista box when I get home. Love wasting my time! Thanks Steve! (I don't blame Bill -- we all know he builds crap, but Steve should know how to create a work around for this somehow ... it's annoying).

So why do I continue to buy Apple products (at least, sometimes)? They're over-priced, under tech'ed (no camera at all, not least a forward looking camera on the iPad ... I guess nobody uses Skype but me? Hell, can't even iChat on it!), and closed systems. Why do I bother? Simple. Because once you get through all of that crap (and it's crap!), they're sexy devices that work really well, and even idiots can use them. And because idiots can use them, there is actually a selection of apps out there to choose from.

Not only that, Apple does do a good job with integrating their other products (Airport Express controlled by iPhone, AppleTV controlled by iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad, etc...). Other companies just churn out things that seemingly are different worlds from each other. In other words, Apple has created a platform that works. Of course, I'm still on a iPhone 3G ... and thanks to OS 4.X, it's as slow as snails f--king! I am refusing to upgrade to iPhone 4. I think it's too expensive when compared to the Samsung Galaxy S or the HTC Desire HD. Those phones do more for less. But I just can't buy one of them either. They seem real cheap (especially the HTC). Plus, they won't integrate with my AppleTV nor is there anything like an AirPort Express that I can control with it (is there?) I am just gonna stretch out the iPhone 3G as long as I can.

On a side note, since I am not an integration freak when it comes to hardware for my wife, she is getting a new Nokia C7-00 for her birthday from me (she doesn't read my blog, so I can tell you now :P). It has a 8mpix camera and does HD video. It has awesome integrated FB (social media) functionality. Wi-Fi, BT, cool navigation, etc... Far superior to the iPhone, and it costs 3-4 times less. Nokia Symbian phones have ALWAYS been bad ass technically (far ahead of iPhones), but Nokia's marketing team had alwasy been more interested in having models holding their phones, than actually showing what the phones could do (sytle over substance didn't work for them for some reason). This approach failed for Nokia, but is working for Apple. I guess Hollywood isn't the only influence on the rest of the world. You can add Apple to that list too, even if they're at least a half-decade behind others in actual functionality.

No SMS vCards on iPhone?

Unless I haven't figured something out, it seems you cannot send a vCard via SMS from say, a Nokia (in this case my wife) to an iPhone (in this case, me). WTF? I remember being able to do this back in the old skool days with my Siemens C35i phone, but I can't get a .vcf (vCard) file sent to my iPhone via SMS? Please somebody tell me that I am just doing something wrong?

Apple "3G" iPhone arrives in Prague ...

Well, it has been a bit more than a week since the Apple "3G" iPhone hit the market here in Prague. People with who had very little idea of what an iPhone was 1 month ago, are now pounding their greasy fingers on the iPhones screen, thanks to the relatively low cost no thanks to carrier subsidies. Nobody quite knows what to do with it, however. With a touch of humor, my own carrier, Vodafone, has called friends offering the "3G" iPhone (these friends already having the initial version of iPhone) and that it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. My friend's conversation went something like this:

Vodafone: Hello! We now sell the Apple 3G iPhone, it's the greatest phone on the planet, don't you want to sign up for a contract and get it?

Friend: Why would I want the 3G iPhone, you guys don't offer 3G in the CZ.

Vodafone: Hmmm, but it has GPS now too!

Friend: Can you download the maps locally onto your iPhone?

Vodafone: Yes

Friend: Have you ever played with an iPhone?

Vodafone: Yes, we have one here.

Friend: Go play with it again and call me back when you know the answer to th question.

Obviously, not all customers have a clue. Most will just say "ok, let's do it" -- the marketing is silly. Signs for the iPhone are everywhere, but nobody really knows why it's so good (functionality wise) ... it's call comical really. I have been lectured by another colleague that I should get it becaues it has GPS. When I state I've had GPS functionality for more than a year with my stale Nokia N95, they're really not sure what to say after that (besides I can listen to music on it -- which I guess I can, but I can on my N95 too ... but I prefer my iPod Nano).

At any rate -- I noticed that previous iPhone users were mostly happy about the fact that they can configure their iPhones to access the companies Exchange environment -- this feature alone seems to be the only reason most previous iPhone users are bragging about the new iPhone. This definately has been a change agent -- those folks who have iPhones and had to carry Blackberries for corporate email have finally "converged" -- which is something that Apple has been good at doing, and if they can continue, they're going to give Blackberry hell.

Now where is the Nokia N96 so I can say I have HD TV abilities (but of course, my carrier won't support that, just like it doesn't support 3G) on my phone. I need a "notch up" in the cool department. :P

3G iPhone Puzzle

Well, more and more chatter is starting to pick up on the Blogosphere and tech head sites about the pending release of the Apple iPhone II or 3G iPhone. What we do know is that many industry folks with "inside" knowledged, coupled with the statements from carrier CEOs, have pretty much "proven" that a 3G iPhone is soon-to-be on the shelves for purchase.

However, aside from "3G" (ie... a faster connection), what else is a likely "3G" iPhone going to bring? Well, it's really anybody's guess. Naturally, a plethora of folks have demanded, myself included, that integrated GPS be added for once thing, and a more open or friendly Bluetooth environment. Additionally, the ability to code apps and install them (via iTunes AND Bluetooth) is a must (yeah, yeah, I know that the platform is opening, but thus far, it's still a pretty closed one).

I have stated in previous posts what I'd like to see in a "super" iPhone -- basically, the same features that the Nokia N95 has had for more than 1 year. These technical features and abilities, coupled with Apple's great eye for usability, would make it a staple phone in my thirst for phone gadgetry! Let's go Apple! Woot, woot