Apple Iphone

[topcat2006]

Hi,

I currently have a Blackberry Bold and have used Blackberry for 4 years now and been well please. More and mor eof my colleagues and friends have Iphones now. Am I missing on something here?

How robust are the touchscreens? The bugbear of the Blackberry is the trackball - unless you keep crud away it "sticks". 02 are usually very good and every time this has happened I have been givena replacement phone but its a pain as you have to transfer all your settings etc.

How come there are loads on the market on ebay etc? Does that mean people don't like them or like them so much they don't use the new upgrades and flog them instead?

Thanks for any replies and opinions.

TC

[Royston]

I have an Iphone 3GS for personal use, and a Blackberry Bold from work. I find the Blackberry fiddly and the 3G connection is very slow. The menu system is incomprehensible and I spend a lot of my time trying to find documents, applications and settings. It is good for multitasking and for connecting to the systems we use at work, but I'd never buy one with my own money.

The Iphone is very intuitive and a lot quicker, I guess that's down to only running one app at a time, but it doesn't really cause me too many problems. I use it at work when the Blackberry has a mind fart and clogs up. It's quite hard wearing and the touchscreen and multi touch is the best system about.

[vRS Carl]

^^^^ What he said.

I had a play with my fiancee's cousins blackberry and I thought my old Sony Ericcson Xperia X1 was miles ahead of it.

The iPhone IMHO is the best smart phone there is and hopefully Apple will update the OS again so that the user can make it more customiseable rather than having to JailBreak

But with all the games, apps etc available I can't see me changing my 3GS anytime soon

Carl

Edited 31 January, 2010 by vRSCarl

[domhnall]

^^^^ What he said.

I had a play with my fiancee's cousins blackberry and I thought my old Sony Ericcson Xperia X1 was miles ahead of it.

The iPhone IMHO is the best smart phone there is and hopefully Apple will update the OS again so that the user can make it more customiseable rather than having to JailBreak

But with all the games, apps etc available I can't see me changing my 3GS anytime soon

Carl

they are totally different devices. I use a blackberry for work and have the ipod touch which is like the phone but without the, erm.. phone :-)

Anyways I can use the Apple on wi fi at work to send and receive emails etc but I don't as it's so much faster to type with a proper keyboard. On the other hand, the Apple has so much more entertainment stuff on it.

So for work and text based comms, Blackberry all the way. For entertainment and all round fun and if I wasn't doing too much email, Apple wins.

Simples

[gadgetman]

Try an Android phone Like Samsungs Galaxy (which SWMBO's just got).

Been playing with it all weeked, and as a nokia user for 14 years, and a windows mobile user (work) it's the first time I've seriously been tempted away from Nokia. Have played with friends and families iphone, and not that impressed. SWMBO's galaxy though has me seriously considering a Nexus when my contracts up for upgrade in March!

[SnailUK]

The iPhone is far from perfect, the camera is rubbish, i need to reboot mine about once a week (although i think its the apps causing the problem, not the OS), the browser missing stuff like flash is annoying, the battery life is appalling.

I could list things that annoy me about it for ages.

But.....its the best phone i've ever owned, its stupidly easy to fall in love with it. Usually a couple of months after getting a new phone, im looking around at others. Not with the iPhone. Im quite happy with my phone, after 6 months of ownership.

[bandit1]

I was in the same situation as you, been a Blackberry user for 4+years, totally at home with them & their quirks.

I just changed to an IPhone 3GS 32GB & all is not plain sailing.

The phone just does not receive signals anywhere near as successfully as a BB, with both devices switched on the BB will be at full strength, whereas the Iphone can be at 2 bars & struggling. Vodafone are aware of this (check out the VF forums) & are trying to resolve it.

To sum up, the BB is a pretty capable phone with a few extras, Email etc. The IPhone is a good gadget with a (poor) phone built in.

The Apps are great, but what about that battery life.................

With a full charge, you will get a day & you are lucky, I am constantly looking for somewhere to plug it in

[Phil-E]

The phone just does not receive signals anywhere near as successfully as a BB, with both devices switched on the BB will be at full strength, whereas the Iphone can be at 2 bars & struggling. Vodafone are aware of this (check out the VF forums) & are trying to resolve it.

I have also had a lot of family and friends telling me of issues with signal strength/quality on their iPhones. And not just Vodafone either.

Phil

[SnailUK]

The IPhone is a good gadget with a (poor) phone built in.

Cant say i've ever noticed any issues with the phone side of the iPhone. 3G coverage is a bit rubbish, but that seems to be an O2 problem, rather than specifically the iPhone.

[SkoDave]

Cant say i've ever noticed any issues with the phone side of the iPhone. 3G coverage is a bit rubbish, but that seems to be an O2 problem, rather than specifically the iPhone.

Agreed, I've had no problems with coverage (Vodafone) and as for battery life, I was a bit worried about this but I can easily stretch 2 days and occasionally 3 after a full charge with moderate use. I just make sure I follow recommendations of turning off the various settings I'm not using at any given time and only switch them on (location/push services) when I want to use them. Works for me. I've had mine since Vodafone offered them and so far no problems at all. I had an iPod touch before that and after getting the hang of that, I decided to take the plunge and I have to say after some reservations I'm very pleased with it.

[Captain Sisko]

A few people I work with have iPhones and my cousin has a Brickberry Storm2

People rant and rave about the iPhone.

I personally want the HTC Touch Pro 2 although I have played with the iPod Touch and its quite funky.

I just wouldn't buy one

[XLBaconDoubleCheese]

I`m on my second iPhone, since i upgraded from a 3G to a 3Gs. I spend a week in between without one, and it was like i lost my arm!

As already said, there are some issues with it, its not perfect, the camera is not any good for much more than the odd point and shoot, and the battery isnt amazing BUT i disagree that its rubbish. I text thru out the day make a fair few (all be it short) phone calls, and i use the net in my breaks (around 2 hours). I use app`s for a bit too and also listen to the iPod for a few hours if im bored. Even doing all that, its still above 20% when im home 12 hours later. I dont need 7 days battery life when my house has sockets to charge it!

Plus points, you`ll never be bored again, apps for everything, using the net on it, while missing flash is very good, and to top it off, there is no other phone that rivals it for the best touch screen to use, its just so smooth and just works.

Matt

[vRS Carl]

If you are experiencing battery life problems with an iPhone you must have something wrong or are not following advice.

For example when I'm in an Area where there is no 3G signal i turn off the 3G so that the phone isn't constantly searching for 3G ( it does this all the time even when it has a 2G signal)

Your Nokia phone may last a week on full charge but look at the size of your screen and how little it does compared to the iPhone. A couple of my friends have N95's and N97's and their batteries don't last much longer,if at all, than my iPhone one.

It really annoys me when people say "oh the camera is rubbish". Why buy a phone because the camera is good?? Name me a camera phone that will produce pictures as good as a £100 digital camera. I guarantee you can't find one and that includes all these 8 & 12 megapixel phones. i read all sorts of tests and even the new sony ericsson satio (12 MP camera) can't equal a decent £100 camera. Remember the camera is only as good as the Lens in front of it. If you want a decent camera buy a fuc*ing camera.

My battery lasts with moderate phone calls, lots of texts Lots of emails as my work account is linked to it listening to music and watching the odd video when bored waiting for some reason or other about 3-4 days.

The iPhone will always have its fans and its haters. The haters are usually just apple haters full stop. I am certainly no fanboi of apple but as a Smartphone the iPhone (even against phones with the new android OS) is way way ahead of anything imho and also the opinion of a lot of gadget magazines/reviewers.

Carl

Edited 2 February, 2010 by vRSCarl

[john999boy]

I am certainly no fanboi of apple but as a Smartphone the iPhone (even with the new android OS) is way way ahead of anything imho and also the opinion of a lot of gadget magazines/reviewers.

Have I missed something - is the iphone now running Android

[vRS Carl]

Oops I meant in comparison to the new android OS

Carl

[Guest]

the Gadget Show got it right when they voted it "Gadget of the Decade"

IMHO it is an awesome bit of kit. The camera is ok for snaps. Thats all most people ever use their phone for anyway. I fiddle with mine loads and usually have to charge it every night. But when you consider all the things that it does and with such a great interface i really don't see it as a problem having to plug it in on an evening.

I also usually get bored of any new phone i get fairly quickly but not this one. As for the durability of the screen, i find that it is pretty tough. I have it in my pocket with loose change and the screen is scratch free after 6 months. The back of the case does have a few small scratches but nothing too serious.

Also it is the apps that help make the phone what it is. There are far more than any other phone. Not all are good admittedly but for pure choice it is unrivaled. Just got Co-Piot sat nav for mine and it is very good. So much so that i binned my old Garmin sat nav.

[countryboyhaha]

I went from bb to apple. The iPhone is a good bit of kit. Rim badly need the redo the os as been left miles behind. I'm a regular on a bb site, pinstack , which was mainly a bb site but most of us now have iPhones.

Battery life sucks but apart from that all good.

[dstev2000]

I was a Nokia fanboy for donkeys, had the 5110, 7650, the old 6600, the N81, N82, N95, N95 8GB and countless others.

Then I had the Samsung Tocco - crap. Flogged it and got the N95 8GB.

Then I decided to go for the Blackberry Storm. In hindsight I would have been better cutting off an essential part of my anatomy, it would have been more fun

Sold that off and went for an iPhone 3GS and haven't looked back, My old 2007 1st gen iPod touch is still going strong - even the battery.

The screen has a nice scratch down to the plain glass thanks to sharing a pocket with my Titanium clad Leatherman

[jlwah]

It really annoys me when people say "oh the camera is rubbish". Why buy a phone because the camera is good?? Name me a camera phone that will produce pictures as good as a £100 digital camera. I guarantee you can't find one and that includes all these 8 & 12 megapixel phones. i read all sorts of tests and even the new sony ericsson satio (12 MP camera) can't equal a decent £100 camera. Remember the camera is only as good as the Lens in front of it. If you want a decent camera buy a fuc*ing camera.

Well said Carl, my thoughts exactly

[Mort]

It really annoys me when people say "oh the camera is rubbish". Why buy a phone because the camera is good??

'Good' being relative. I love my iPhone, but the camera is crap. Not just a 'bad camera' but 'bad for a phone camera'. If I want a good pic, I'll take my 4k's worth of Canon gear out. But if I want to snap something for a laugh, or play with any phone apps that revolve around photosharing (PhotoSwap, Facebook, Flickr etc.) it would be 'nice' to have a camera that can produce a usable image at times when it's not outside in the heat of summer with no clouds in the sky. Hell, my Nokia 6600 could take better low light photos than the iPhone. It's not so much about detail or megapixels, but actually creating usable images. For some moments a low quality photo is better than no photo. But often with the iPhone I find that unless I carry a torch around with me I cant actually get an exposure at all.

That said, it produces good photos in the 'right' conditions, and I can't name another camera with pseudo-spot metering. A camera's not a deal breaker for a phone, as you say. But if you're giving ther feature then it could at least work properly.

Edited 5 February, 2010 by Mort

[Decron]

Iphone for show, Blackberry for a pro.

The Iphone isn't all that and although it will win hands down on useability the Blackberry is far more capable that people realise and with some minor fettling is a very stable, useful piece of kit which is why the company I work for runs about 1000 of them in the field with it's branch managers, area managers and technical agents. Being the largest Blackberry and Iphone retailer in the UK this should stand for something.

[vRSLen]

Decron, that should be iphone for show and go (and fun), BB for the serious

business user

[R1chard]

My contract is up for renewal now and as much as I love my iphone 3G I am tempted to change for something else, I don't know why though as it's a fantastic phone ! weird I know lol

No doubt apple will release another version this year so I might just hang on and see if they do.....

[Guest]

The sheer amount of apps for the iPhone should tell you something.

[gadgetman]

There are only that many as the developers get a cut for every sale. Apple authorise very few free apps - usually only from big corps like Fedex, banks etc.

But as, IIRC, Apple have chnaged their temps and % they take most of the apps are now appearing cheaper, or for free, on Android Market and Ovi Store