Sun Oct 07, 2007 12:37 pm

Anonymous wrote:

I have used both devices, and I have to say, even though I have an iPhone, I wish I had waited for the N95 to come out in the US. It's only $100 more than I paid for the iPhone and its feature set is far superior to the iPhone (GPS, high speed data, records video!) and for the shared features it is far superior to the iPhone (5 MP camera!). As the review says about the user interface, the iPhone is slightly better in my opinion, but how you interact with a device is a lot of personal preference, so to win hands down is really just for how that one person like to use a phone, plus as they say, the N95 has a fantastic web browser. In terms of user interface, shooting pictures with the 5 MP camera on the N95 is much easier and more natural than the iPhone which insists on doing everything with the touchscreen even when buttons make more sense. If the N9 drops just a little in price, I have a feeling you'll be seeing my iPhone on ebay. Outside of it being a better phone (albeit more expensive) it is also open, and I'm just sick of Apple's closed environment after just a few months of dealing with it.

Not having ever used a the Nokia can you tell me how you synch it with your Mac, or PC? How do you get photos off of the phone and on to the computer. How do you synch your address book, calendar, and stuff. Is there something akin to iTunes for the Nokia?

Mon Oct 08, 2007 2:00 pm

	Anonymous wrote:
	Excuse me, I certainly do not want to appear obtuse but, everyone wants the iPhone to be unlocked. What is the difference between the T-Mobile system/service and AT&Ts? If you need high speed data transfers why not use the Wi-Fi? Shooting video with a phone????? What exactly makes you sick about the apple 'closed' environment? Your broad brush strokes do not really say anything specific....

1. Not "everyone" wants the iPhone to be unlocked. (FWIW, the iPhone is not the first cell phone to be locked. The first Treos were.) Most iPhone buyers are apparently using ATT.

The guest pointed to something important. Even if one unlocks an iPhone in the US, the only other major nationwide carrier that one could use would be T-Mobile. ATT & T-Mobile use GSM; Sprint, Verizon, and Cricket, among others, use CDMA. (Cellular One, which also uses GSM, is being acquired by ATT. There are also regional GSM networks.) Unlocked iPhones are probably of most value in Europe.

There can be several reasons that someone might want to continue using T-Mobile, rather than ATT. Often, there are hefty fees to get out of multiyear contracts. In some areas, ATT is not available or may not have as good reception/service as T-Mobile.

2. One can use WiFi only when one is within range of an accessible WiFi network. While those are common in some large cities, they are not common everywhere. Some networks require fees.

More to the point, though, there are faster cell phone data services; even ATT has them. However, they are not available everywhere and can have their own problems, including (according to what I've read) significantly shorter battery life for the phones. Apple could have gone with the "3G" system, but chose not to, perhaps for battery life reasons and hardware constraints (e.g., fitting everything into the iPhone case).

3. Video with a phone? Some phones that are cheaper than the iPhone do have that capability, so some folks want it. It's not unusual for people to want "everything" in an appliance, car, computer, phone. I wouldn't even use the camera. I don't take casual pictures, but several of the teens and 'tweens I work with in 4-H do. (Cell phone cameras have created new privacy concerns, as well, as they are ubiquitous and not as obvious as conventional cameras.)

4. As for the "closed environment," the concern there comes, I think, from people who are used to using a "smartphone" or PDA with the Palm OS, Windows Mobile, etc., where one can get third-party software to fill various needs/wants. For instance, on my Palm TX, I have Documents to Go. It allows me to store, view, edit and create word processing and spreadsheet documents (translated from Word, Excel, or AppleWorks) on the TX. Besides a couple of games, the only other third-party applications I use are Password Plus (stores passwords in a password-protected document) and PowerOne, a more potent calculator. However, there are many applications for Palm OS, Windows Mobile, BlackBerry OS, Symbian, Linux, etc.