Well, I just have to do a blog posting using this topic – I really have to. Joern started it, and even the Grützekraftwerk had some musings to add to this topic. So this is my official coming out. I’ve bought expensive shit, too. Not only that I’ve switched to a 4GB Ipod Nano as an Mp3-Player, but I also couldn’t resist in buying an Iphone, when I was on holiday in the states. Well, to my defense I want to add, that it was a bargain – 500 USD for 16GB Iphone is even cheaper, than the cheapest Ipod touch 16GB I would get here in Germany.

After toying around with the Wifi-capabilities for the first weeks, I’ve now been using the Iphone for about 3 weeks as a replacement for my S/O/N/Y P1i (I switched after I got subscribed to a data rate, which gives me 200MB of traffic a month using GPRS/EDGE or UMTS). The much I was impressed by the great mobile web-browser and other data application the more I’m now disappointed by the native phone features.

My impressions can be summarized quite simple: Apple just is no phone manufacturer. Therefore the Iphone is no capable replacement for my P1i. There is a bunch of feature I love on my P1i which I can’t get with the Iphone:

• Bluetooth communication. Apple doesn’t need to work with standards – they just set their own. Instead of equipping the Iphone with a capable Bluetooth stack, like other phone manufacturers do – enabling a fast possibility of exchange functions, Apple just implements their own rudimentary version of Bluetooth. Therefore
  • My expensive AVRCP and AD2P headset is able to get calls transferred, but that’s everything. No access of the phonebook to dial using the headset, no music transfer, no remote control of the phone.
  • You need that contact? You want that picture? You want that song? Phone content can be exchanged really easy using my P1i – Apple won’t give you that option.
  • My car is compatible with AVRCP, it works perfect using the P1i – but I can’t get it working properly with the Iphone. Judging from message boards, I would have to exchange the Bluetooth module in my car to get the Iphone working. Thx BMW, thx Apple…
  • There is no compatibility with Bluetooth GPS receivers. I’m using TomTom on my P1i with a Nokia LD3W GPS mouse – I would have loved to see a navigation software on that big Iphone screen…
• Dialing via voice recognition. I don’t even demand such a complicated service like the new Nokia phones come with (you don’t need to save speech patterns for contacts), just a simple pattern based dialing mode, where you set the contacts voice code personally would suite me well.
• MMS. Not that I would have used that feature too often during the last year – at least not phone to phone. But I’ve set up my o2 communication center to forward certain important E-Mail via MMS + I can send MMS to E-Mail for free, and use this for mobile blogging. No native support on the Iphone. I’ve tried Swirly-MMS a third party application, but it doesn’t work properly.
• Video capabilities. With 3G phones it is a native phone feature – just record little video clips to send them via MMS or as UMTS video calling. With those great internet and Web 2.0 features the Iphone is aimed to, it would be just too great, to get videos directly to Youtube…
• FM Radio. Well, no native phone feature, and why FM, if you can have Internet Radio over Edge? This is probably Apple’s argument – but I really love this feature.

There is just one feature I would really really need, which is the car compatibility – but the other missing things are annoying, too. So I’m currently waiting for an o2 multicard to use the two phones simultaneously.

Posted by Jürgen Hösch in Daily Life, Media, mobile at 18:15 | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (0)

This skiing holiday, I discovered some flaws using my S/O/N/Y P1i combined with an AD2P Bluetooth headset as mp3 player. First of all my headset’s batteries won’t last longer than four hours playing music. Not a problem if you want to listen to a song occasional while you are busy anyway – but if you want to listen continuously for a longer time it is just not enough. Switching to a cable headset I then had had the problems, that I couldn’t influence the played songs as much as I liked to. I first had to get the phone and then even use the touch screen to make adjustments.. To get a cable headset with remote control would cost another 30-40 Euros

Add another 20 Euros and you can get a full fetched mp3 player! But then there is the problem which one to chose. For sure it shouldn’t be too big. The BT Headset weighs about 30gr and it would be nice if the mp3 player would not be too much heavier – but then you only get those pretty “cheap” looking ones, or pretty basic ones. But it should be at least as nice and sexy as my BT headset.. Well, not to easy to find something. But I already had seen a nice and sex player with some of my friends – an Ipod Nano.

The touch wheel fascinates me since I first got to use a friends first generation Ipod some years ago. Now I couldn’t resist in paying a hug extra amount for an mp3 player just to get one. How can men like me be so obsessed with gadgets? Anyway – at least I will be able to scrobble music, to which I’m listening on the road. But at least there is no use to get a Napster to go subscription now, since it won’t work with that Ipod. Should you be interested in getting an Ipod Nano, you can do it here.

Posted by Jürgen Hösch in Daily Life at 22:42 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)