iPhone syndrome

Pradeep

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Can't stress this enough, but at the moment I can only dream...

I remember a Wired print article on super milers, those who fly ridiculous amounts of miles in their road warrior jobs.

Those who had millions upon millions of FF miles recognised that in the end, the truly successful stayed at home with their families and sent the young minions out to do the travel slog.
 

LunarMist

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I don't understand most of that article, but holy cow - 1.2 billions phones are sold annally? That equates to everyone on the planet having a new phone every five years or so. Where do all the phones go?
 

mubs

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1.2 billions phones are sold annally? That equates to everyone on the planet having a new phone every five years or so. Where do all the phones go?
To LDCs - Less developed countries - China, etc.

eWaste is becoming a serious problem because they contain toxics like mercury, lead etc. and if not recycled properly, that stuff leaches into the ground and groundwater. More responsible corporates have recycling programs; here in India, Nokia Priority dealers have a bin you can toss your old phone in (any make/model) and it goes off for recycling. I understand you can do the same in the U.S. HP & Dell have recycling programs for old computers, montiors, printers, etc.
 

LunarMist

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To LDCs - Less developed countries - China, etc.

eWaste is becoming a serious problem because they contain toxics like mercury, lead etc. and if not recycled properly, that stuff leaches into the ground and groundwater. More responsible corporates have recycling programs; here in India, Nokia Priority dealers have a bin you can toss your old phone in (any make/model) and it goes off for recycling. I understand you can do the same in the U.S. HP & Dell have recycling programs for old computers, montiors, printers, etc.

That is just awful. Count me among the new cell phone buyers (or rather a XMAS gift) in 2009. However, I only needed a new phone because the battery was shot in the old one. :(
 

LunarMist

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I tried that, but the imitation cells were garbage and did not last very long.
 

mubs

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gotta chime in here, try out the Nokia N900, it has worked like a charm for me, I like it.
I have read the reviews and was interested initially. That is supposed to be a geek phone - guess that makes you one ;-)

With Nokia hitching its wagon to Intel's and merging Maemo with Moblin, the future, IMHO, for Linux-based Nokias is uncertain. I wouldn't want to bet a lot of bucks on what could turn out to be a niche product - as I said earlier, I'd have to pay list price for the phone since no carrier subsidies are available here.
 

Pradeep

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I'm ogling the HTC HD2 with WM 6.5.x over here. It'll cost ~ $800 (none of the carriers here subsidizes handsets).

There are rumors that the HTC HD3 will be out Oct. 2010 with WM 7 and very high-end specs. Maybe I should wait for that.

"STUMBLING PHONE OS VENDOR Microsoft has decided that users of Windows Mobile 6.X devices, including HTC's just-launched HD2, will not be allowed to upgrade to its Windows 7 Phone OS.

This news will miff owners of HTC's highly-praised HD2 touchscreen smartphone, particularly since the HD2 meets many of the criteria laid down in Microsoft's 'Chassis 1' specifications.

After all it has a 1GHz Qualcomm processor, a high-res capacitive touch display, a 5 megapixel camera and 3.5mm headphone jack. However it turns out that the phone has five buttons instead of the three blessed by the Vole's CEO Steve Ballmer."

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1594077/microsoft-shafts-htc-phone-users
 

mubs

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Thanks Pradeep. Now the question is whether to stay with a "proven" OS (WM 6.5) for the next few years or gamble on a new one, WM7. I guess the prudent will wait and see!
 

Pradeep

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Pulled the trigger on two Moto Droids from Verizon, came to $99 plus tax once instant rebates were applied and one phone was due for new every two.

Should be a good step up from a Moto v3m, and Envy 1 for the wife.
 

Stinker

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I was really interested in getting a Droid or a HTC Eris but when I tried them at the Verizon store, it took forever to load up anything via the Web and then it was choppy/laggy at best. Even just regular web pages were super slow. Turned me off to the whole idea...
 

udaman

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I was really interested in getting a Droid or a HTC Eris but when I tried them at the Verizon store, it took forever to load up anything via the Web and then it was choppy/laggy at best. Even just regular web pages were super slow. Turned me off to the whole idea...

potential bad news 4 u :D. Since the ipod/iphone/itouch now comprise nearly 1/2 of all Apple revenues, with a massive $48Bil war chest, Apple can spend ad nauseum on litigation :p. Must be goods news as Apple's stock is currently at an all time high. If you had bought just over a year ago when it was around $80/share, you'd have more than doubled your investment.

http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/03/09/apple.attack.undermines.competitors.efforts/

Rivals have mostly stayed clear of anything that might anger Apple, Reiner claims, thanks in part to a January 2009 statement by Apple COO Tim Cook, saying that Apple would use "whatever weapons we have at our disposal" to fight patent infringement. Multi-touch phones have been mostly absent from the market since then, with the exception of the Palm Pre, which Reiner argues was not seen as a challenge to Apple. Things may have changed with the release of two Android phones, the Motorola Droid and the HTC Eris, prominently multi-touch devices.

"Top-tier handset makers continued to avoid implementing multi-touch," says Reiner, "but Apple could safely assume that they were hanging back to gauge Apple's response to Motorola and HTC. If there wasn't one, the OEMs would likely read the silence as a green light, especially after Google also moved to enable multi-touch on its Nexus One phone."

It's speculated that HTC was chosen to endure a lawsuit because of its favoring Apple's real target, Google, the creator of Android. Reiner's checks also suggest however that the case has had a chilling effect on the development of smartphones, wrecking roadmaps as companies decide to look for software and hardware workarounds, and prepare offensive and defensive legal strategies. Some phone makers may have even been frightened into switching from Android to Windows Phone 7.

"Our checks," Reiner notes, "indicate that Microsoft has been quick to sniff out this burgeoning opportunity and has begun to aggressively promote the strength of its own IP portfolio, as well as its willingness to join battle with customers that come under IP attack." Google has also expressed support for HTC in its defense against Apple. The move could put Google in an awkward position, as it continues to have deals for search and Maps on the iPhone.
 

time

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Apple has a history of claiming inventions as their own and then attempting to use vexatious litigation to turn the claims into reality.

Multi-touch was invented in 1982 and not by Apple.

The grounds for their suit against HTC appear to be spurious patents, that as usual, should never have been awarded, eg. using a multi-touch gesture to unlock a multi-touch screen. The US patent system is a travesty.

The only real question is whether or not HTC has deep enough pockets - and the will - to resist the anti-competitive behaviour.
 

LunarMist

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Apple has a history of claiming inventions as their own and then attempting to use vexatious litigation to turn the claims into reality.


Soon they will claim to be the inventor of the apple.
 

Mercutio

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HTC Evo 4G:

4.3" 800x480 display
1GHz CPU
512MB RAM + MicroSD slot (ships with 8GB card)
8MP digital camera, capable of 720p video recording, and a 1.3MP front facing camera as well
Capable of simultaneous 3/4G + CDMA Voice
Android 2.1
Headphone and HDMI outputs
Kickstand
Very slightly larger than an iPhone (I think the iPhone is still thicker, though)
 

timwhit

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That phone looks nice. I'd rather have a physical keyboard, but it seems that physical keyboards are being phased out in a lot of phones. I have another year on my contract though.
 

Mercutio

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Sounds nice. Are you going to get it when it comes out?

Somewhere between probably and maybe. I have some misgivings about Android (No software on your storage card, for instance). I'll be interested in seeing how Sprint addresses the SERO account I'm absolutely not going to give up.

Also, hard keyboards are a waste of space.
 

mubs

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The HTC Evo 4G is basically supposed to be the HTC HD2 running Android instead of WM 6.5 along with minor hw changes.

Incidentally, the HD2 is available at T-Mobile; $200 with a 2-year contract, $450 without a contract. That's an attractive price.
 

Mercutio

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WiMax, bigger battery, HDMI and camera(s) capability are all pretty major improvements.
I wouldn't mind WM6.5 on that hardware, but I want Sprint's network and Sprint apparently isn't getting the HD2.
 

Pradeep

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Let us know how you like them after some use.

So after some time with the Droids here's my mini review:

Pros:

Great display (tho in full sunlight it could be better)
Fast and responsive (I can scroll on a pretty large web page, and it will continue to scroll for several seconds. This is with 2.0, 2.1 should improve things even further.
Google Maps and navigation. Just fantastic.
Keyboard - feels soft and vague at first but with practice it becomes second nature.

Cons:

Battery life is devastated by browsing etc. Mostly by the display actually. Coming from a charge every 4 days Moto razr it was a bit of a shock. But understandable. Might end up going with a spare battery for all day use.

Summary:

I have no hesitation in recommending the Droid at the $99 pricepoint. Only exception would be if you have large hands, you may have to zoom in one step more to avoid fat fingering links etc.
 

Will Rickards

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As long as the plans with 4G aren't crazy more expensive and the phone itself isn't, that EVO looks like my next phone. I don't even think Sprint has 4G in philadelphia suburbs yet anyway. So no 4G for me.
 

LunarMist

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Does 4G sound any better? It is annoying that the sound quality of cell phones becomes increasingly awful as signal decreases and is never quite right. After ten minutes I have a headache from listening to them.
 

Sol

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4G won't inherently sound better, what you need is wideband codec support (AMR, also known as G.722.2). It's in the 3G spec but isn't yet deployed by carriers. As far as I know (From Wikipedia) T-Mobile Germany have done tests, Orange UK will be deploying it in 2010 and no one else has made any announcements.

It'll still degrade as bandwidth drops nut it should be better than what we all have at the moment.

Once deployed it should presumably work just as well on 3g or 4g phones.
 

ddrueding

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Does 4G sound any better? It is annoying that the sound quality of cell phones becomes increasingly awful as signal decreases and is never quite right. After ten minutes I have a headache from listening to them.

Wait, you want improvements in phone technology to result in a better phone? You must be crazy...;)
 
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