Swap iPhone for..

cormie

Hi,
I may be just about to move to VodaFone from o2 and would be getting an iPhone while I'm at it as I'd be going to the First Choice Active Plus 500 plan.

One issue is that the iPhone won't let me tether (get online with laptop) with the 2GB included Data and I'd have to purchase a tether add on, which I'm not prepared to do.

I could either jailbreak it and as far as I know, this would allow me use the 2GB with my laptop, or I could swap it for another phone.

I've heard a lot of buzz about the Nexus One but I want to make sure I have the best phone for my needs.

I'm looking for something that:

• Can hold over 1,000 contacts, limited only by phone memory
• Would like to be able to search through contacts by just typing part of their name so instead of looking for say Kevin Rozenburg from the 50 Kevins I might have in my phone book, I could just type Roz and he'd pop up and the same with part of a phone number so I could just type in what I know to be a few sequential numbers in a phone number and any contacts with that sequence of numbers will show up.
• Push email
• Route calculation map with VIA point calculation, the iPhone default Google map can only calculate directions/distance between two points and not a VIA point (actual navigation isn't required as I use a standalone GPS).
• Capability to sync with Google calendar and export contacts into a CSV file for use in spreadsheets etc.
• Wifi
• MSN?
• Decent camera that can record video
• Voice recognition would be handy. I don't know if the technology is there but if it's possible to write a text by speaking, this would be handy.
• Other things I like about my current phone, SE G900; the recent call list is huge, it uses the flash as a torch really well, easy to save numbers you've just gotten a call off that you don't have in your phonebook.
• I also like the shortcut buttons for phonebook, messaging, volume, calls and calendar but with all the latest phones being touch screen, I don't know if this is asking to much as well as all of the above

So with the above in mind, would anyone know what phone would suit me best? Capacity, music, radio aren't really important as I've a standalone MP3 too. Would the iPhone or Nexus One come out on top for me, or perhaps something different altogether?

Would appreciate any feedback

Professey Chin

The Nokia E-75 would cover a lot of that id think

http://europe.nokia.com/find-products/devices/nokia-e75/specifications

partyatmygaff

Sounds like you want a Nokia N900 as the Nexus One also has a limitation on tethering unless you root it (The equivalent of jail breaking). The N900 comes with root access by default meaning there are no limitations to what you can do.

cormie

Thanks for the suggestions. I never even considered Nokia, I kinda went off Nokia along time ago for Sony Ericsson, just found the layout and way it did things much better but I would be open to reconsidering a Nokia.

I would probably end up "rooting" a nexus in the end anyway so I don't think that would really hold me back.

Would anyone know off hand, from the list above, what could either Nokia do that a Nexus can't and vice versa?

Contact management, maps, Google Synching and Wifi would be among the most important things I require.

I didn't mention Aps, I'd like to be able to use aps such as the pumps.ie one to find cheapest fuel in locality and a texter app (I know there's one for the iphone) to allow me to use my webtexts direct from the phone.

I'm not so sure about a slider phone either as I'd need to do a lot of 1 handed texting. I know this wont be easy with a touchscreen, but I imagine it would be twice as hard with a querty keyboard and the phone horizontal

MrParanoid

http://info.vodafone360.com/en/phones/360h1

Samsung H1, have this one at the moment.
1 handed texting is perfect
all contacts online, can export to spreadsheet
google/gmail integration possible
720p video recording
16gb of memory
contact list search function like you want it.
wifi
tethering
large app store

etc.

would actually like an iphone :P so hit me up if you want to arrange something, or you can order it new from vodafone ofc

cormie

I'm not sure if I'd feel too confident getting a phone I haven't heard much about. I may still just go for the Nexus One and hope to root it.

Would you know what yours could do that the Nexus One definitely can't? What about Maps on the one you have yourself? Can the google Synching be done without the need to hook it up to the computer? Just connects with data for a second and updates the calendars etc like the iPhone does?

AlmightyCushion

cormie wrote: »

One issue is that the iPhone won't let me tether (get online with laptop) with the 2GB included Data and I'd have to purchase a tether add on, which I'm not prepared to do.

What the hell sort of horseshít is this. The more I hear about the iPhone the more I'm glad I never got one. The n900 will allow tethering. The problem is you're looking for apps and while the n900 does have plenty it wouldn't have anywhere near as much as the iPhone and android. It does have a webtexter app (which is really good, even puts a copy of the message into your conversations folder which is sweet). As for the pump.ie app I don't believe there is anything like that on it but I'm not the most reliable on things like this as I only tend to use the nerdier apps like vnc viewer, wizard mounter etc.

You can kinda use the qwerty keyboard on the n900 with one hand but I can't recommend it. It has an on screen keyboard but I'm not sure what it's like to use as I never bother with it.

Given all the above I'd say the n900 isn't for you. Maybe a HTC phone running android would be best for you. Something like the legend maybe? No idea what it's like to use one handed or it if allows tethering. Worth looking into.

partyatmygaff

The N900 can run a massive amount of maps, it can in theory at least run anything that runs on Debian Linux compatible with ARM which is a hell of a lot of apps.

In any case, it really is more of an internet tablet/mobile computer with phone features than a phone that has mobile computer features so things like one handed texting aren't really catered for.

I think something like a Nokia E72 would suit you down to the ground and one handed texting on it should be very easy thanks to the physical keyboard. It's blazing fast too unlike some other Symbian based phones *cough* N97

boarder777

Hi, blackberry 9700 can do all the things that you need. Wifi gps full google sync app, msn google talk. Wireless sync and loads of other features.

edanto

:eek: The N900 is €369 for me from O2 and that's with a Gold upgrade. Even if I were a business customer eligible for the top level platinum upgrade it would still cost €349. Not much of a surprise really, given how highly it's recommended here!

I'm in the same position as Cormie and this thread is full of useful advice. Having a pocket computer is much more useful to me than a camera phone.

The tethering situation is a real pain with the iphone. From another thread we're on it seems like the only reason that iphones are charged extra for tethering is because Apple give that option to the network, whereas with other phones the network don't know if you're using the allowance for tethering or browsing. What a pain!

It's a bit of a bind, there are some things I'm very attached to on the iphone e.g the touchscreen typing and browsing, and the fact that any set of headphones plug into it instead of having to have some crappy nokia headphones. And there are somethings I hate about it, it's very slow and also now that I've changed my laptop to Ubuntu, I don't have itunes any more. So, I'd rather a phone that would let me tether and transfer music on to it, no matter that I'm not running itunes.

AlmightyCushion

edanto wrote: »

It's a bit of a bind, there are some things I'm very attached to on the iphone e.g the touchscreen typing and browsing, and the fact that any set of headphones plug into it instead of having to have some crappy nokia headphones. And there are somethings I hate about it, it's very slow and also now that I've changed my laptop to Ubuntu, I don't have itunes any more. So, I'd rather a phone that would let me tether and transfer music on to it, no matter that I'm not running itunes.

The n900 may do for you. Great screen, great browser, great keyboard, does tethering, has a standard 3.5mm jack for headphones and it gets picked us as a mass storage device so you just copy and paste whatever the hell you like onto it.

partyatmygaff

edanto wrote: »

:eek: The N900 is €369 for me from O2 and that's with a Gold upgrade. Even if I were a business customer eligible for the top level platinum upgrade it would still cost €349. Not much of a surprise really, given how highly it's recommended here!

I'm in the same position as Cormie and this thread is full of useful advice. Having a pocket computer is much more useful to me than a camera phone.

The tethering situation is a real pain with the iphone. From another thread we're on it seems like the only reason that iphones are charged extra for tethering is because Apple give that option to the network, whereas with other phones the network don't know if you're using the allowance for tethering or browsing. What a pain!

It's a bit of a bind, there are some things I'm very attached to on the iphone e.g the touchscreen typing and browsing, and the fact that any set of headphones plug into it instead of having to have some crappy nokia headphones. And there are somethings I hate about it, it's very slow and also now that I've changed my laptop to Ubuntu, I don't have itunes any more. So, I'd rather a phone that would let me tether and transfer music on to it, no matter that I'm not running itunes.

The N900 is really worth every penny imo, it's a one of a kind phone. You can tether with the nokia straight out of the box with your regular data. The touchscreen on the n900 has a far far far higher resolution meaning you have a lot more detail on any web page. You can use any pair of headphones as it has a standard 3.5MM jack and even at that the headphones Nokia give with their high end phones aren't all too horrible anymore :pac:. Even better that you're now running linux on your laptop as the N900 runs linux aswell. Ubuntu is based on debian and maemo 5 is also based on debian so they will be very similar in how they work.

edanto

Thanks guys, I think I've made my mind up now. I'll probably get a few quid for the iphone, so that might help with the cost.

Appreciate the advice!

partyatmygaff

edanto wrote: »

Thanks guys, I think I've made my mind up now. I'll probably get a few quid for the iphone, so that might help with the cost.

Appreciate the advice!

So what are you going for?

edanto

The N900 is gonna be my mobile office!!

cormie

What happened here, edanto is decided and I'm still up in the air?

I think I'm gonna have to get the iphone deal in anyways and then look at unlocking it and maybe swapping then. The N900 is VERY pricey on VF compared to the iPhone.

Anyone know how the Nexus One matches up for all the points in my first post at all?

edanto

There was me with my mind all made up and someone showed me the Sony x10. I think I'll look into it, it's 200 cheaper!

partyatmygaff

edanto wrote: »

There was me with my mind all made up and someone showed me the Sony x10. I think I'll look into it, it's 200 cheaper!

Don't! If you want an Android phone go for something like the HTC Desire which is a much better phone when it comes to Android but you will not have the same degree of openess as with the the N900.

cormie

what do you mean by openness? I thought Android was opensource? And that with the Nexus One, you can't get much more open? I don't know much about it so could be completely off, but that along with Nokia suites for synching and nokia only cables, I would have thought a Nokia would be a lot less open?

*please not all info stated above is just what I know of each and could be way, way off

partyatmygaff

Well you are a good bit off... :pac:

Android is open source but the device has to be rooted before you can actually enjoy any of that openness as a user and doing that means you lose updates and you may lose your warranty. Nokia will honour the warranty no matter what you do software wise, hell you could even install Android onto your N900 and they would still honour the warranty. They give you root access by default and you can do anything that can be done a regular desktop install of linux. Nokia aren't like Apple, using the PC suite is optional and nokia stopped using propertiary cables a long long time ago. They connect using a standard USB cable now.

Here are a few videos showcasing the N900's sheer openness (And power too )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSgjjt2TCqM

The N900 playing a Quake 3 Linux port

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJghBapvnC0

The N900 running debian linux

cormie

Hi, I ended up getting an iPhone today, so now I just have to decide to keep it or unlock it and swap it for something esle. So another contender has come on the scene now, The Sony Xperia, thread and details here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=65337677&posted=1#post65337677

I wonder how it would match up to the N900/Nexus One Seems to have a lot of google features on it anyway!

cormie

I've decided I'm going to go with the Nexus One, it ticks pretty much all boxes in my wishlist of features. Have a few questions in a new thread here and perhaps anyone interested in the iPhone could have a look too http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=65458082#post65458082

edanto

Well cormie, we went in different directions! I hope things work out well for us both, I'll be glad to read about you and the Nexus One.

I went for the N900. Some things are frustrating, others are great!

Frustrations
I miss the ease of use of the iphone, the clever design and the pretty aesthetics. The N900 is a bit clunky.

The interplay between the apps isn't great. e.g, looking at a Contact with an address, there's a little map icon beside the address, but clicking on the icon doesn't do anything and I would have expected it to open the map.

The Ovi map app is a bit sh1t, only slightly worse than google maps on the iphone, but I was expecting a lot more from the promo on the Nokia site.

The email client on it is a bit sh1t, worse than the one on the iphone. Each time I click into it, it reloads the inbox which takes time and also means that without a data connection I can't see my recent emails. Forwarding an email on to someone's iphone resulted in a message they couldn't open, which is unacceptable.
Fortunately, this annoying problem leads neatly on to the best feature of this phone.

Great
I can change anything I want on this phone, with the only limit being how little I know. Currently, I know very little, but I'm learning quickly!
For example, the email client problem is annoying me. I did a quick google and someone has ported an email client called claws to the N900, which is a mini thunderbird. I've installed it now and I'll know soon if it's an improvement.

Contacts and Calendar are syncing well with my Google Apps account, that's a big improvement. Previously on the iphone, I had great Calendar sync, but nothing on the Contacts. That's all sorted now! http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Mobile/thread?tid=5f92340e8dea5ed7&hl=en

Tethering is working great too - took a bit of research to get it to work, but that's alright. I have a 3GB allowance as the free add-on to my O2 contract, so over the 18 months that's going to save me the cost of the mobile broadband dongle I would have bought. It was frustrating me that the iphone contract wouldn't allow that, but it's sorted now.

There are a great group of developers working on apps - open source model, so they won't ever be as slick as the apple ones. A few weeks ago, someone just made a new facebook app, which is developing quickly, it's still in Beta.

There is a forum over on http://forums.internettablettalk.com/ about development of the maemo platform, and I'm learning a lot there. For me, I like that side of things, but it's something that I didn't know about before I bought the phone, and having had the iphone for about 2 years, I'm used to things being slick, easy but locked down. I like the new freedom to do anything I want on the OS, but I'm not sure how quick I'm going to learn it!

On the whole, the N900 is a more work than I expected, and it wouldn't be for everyone. I'm glad I have it, it makes my mobile office better.

cormie

Thanks for the input Glad you're getting on well with that. I just want something I don't have to worry about out of the package and the Nexus One seems to fit that. I don't want to be waiting for it to be able to do things and as it is now, it does everything I need a phone to do which is why I'm going for it The N900 sounds good alright but I think the Nexus is more suited to me and hopefully the N900 to you!

AlmightyCushion

edanto wrote: »

Great
I can change anything I want on this phone, with the only limit being how little I know. Currently, I know very little, but I'm learning quickly!
For example, the email client problem is annoying me. I did a quick google and someone has ported an email client called claws to the N900, which is a mini thunderbird. I've installed it now and I'll know soon if it's an improvement.

Link please.

With regards the maps. I think they've released new maps for it that have to updated manually or something like that. Check out the big n900 thread, there were people talking about it in there.