iPhone Alternatives?
Discussion
Ok, with all that talk about iPhones, I really do want one. Especially as I've just got an iPod touch which is frankly brilliant - I love the user interface and now want a phone like it!
However, a couple of points on the iPhone still bug me; no camera, and no mms messaging. I've sent/received 80 mms messages in 9 months so not a massive thing, but I do like having the camera with me as I travel lots and it's nice to have.
So, I thought what are the alternatives?
Well, LG Viewty and LG Prada look like the similar ones (big touch screen, nice interface and stylish)...are there any others I should be looking at?
What are your thoughts on the Viewty/Prada - how do they rate?
I've read some reviews and they both seem to come quite well regarded!
Thanks all
Tony
PS: probably a few months before I can upgrade (will check later) however wanted to investigate now.
However, a couple of points on the iPhone still bug me; no camera, and no mms messaging. I've sent/received 80 mms messages in 9 months so not a massive thing, but I do like having the camera with me as I travel lots and it's nice to have.
So, I thought what are the alternatives?
Well, LG Viewty and LG Prada look like the similar ones (big touch screen, nice interface and stylish)...are there any others I should be looking at?
What are your thoughts on the Viewty/Prada - how do they rate?
I've read some reviews and they both seem to come quite well regarded!
Thanks all
Tony
PS: probably a few months before I can upgrade (will check later) however wanted to investigate now.
IMO the iPhone is a humoungous triumph of style over substance.
It does lots of stuff you may or may not want - but the thing you absolutely but positively want is mobile internet - and it doesn't do it. Oh sure - its got WiFi - but then you have to be in a hotspot. The LG device has 3G which means you can use it in a much wider area. GPRS (which they both have) is frankly shit.
And the data tariffs! My word - what a total rip!
Out of choice I think I'd get a BlackBerry. Not so cute. Lots more functionality...although the data tariffs for that are shit too.
It does lots of stuff you may or may not want - but the thing you absolutely but positively want is mobile internet - and it doesn't do it. Oh sure - its got WiFi - but then you have to be in a hotspot. The LG device has 3G which means you can use it in a much wider area. GPRS (which they both have) is frankly shit.
And the data tariffs! My word - what a total rip!
Out of choice I think I'd get a BlackBerry. Not so cute. Lots more functionality...although the data tariffs for that are shit too.
Oh...the reason I'm interested is we're getting into "the mobile platform" for our web-based applications. Letting people use their systems on their phones instead of having to carry a laptop...
I'm sure the iPhone is a perfectly good phone and its certainly tactile and cute. Personally I wouldn't pay for that but there you go...
I'm sure the iPhone is a perfectly good phone and its certainly tactile and cute. Personally I wouldn't pay for that but there you go...
TonyHetherington said:
However, a couple of points on the iPhone still bug me; no camera, and no mms messaging. I've sent/received 80 mms messages in 9 months so not a massive thing, but I do like having the camera with me as I travel lots and it's nice to have.
Well, LG Viewty and LG Prada look like the similar ones (big touch screen, nice interface and stylish)...are there any others I should be looking at?
Not sure about the 'no camera' bit? It's definitely got a camera - not a great one, but for me it's good enough as a phone camera.Well, LG Viewty and LG Prada look like the similar ones (big touch screen, nice interface and stylish)...are there any others I should be looking at?
I had the LG Prada directly before the iPhone, and there's really no comparison. I played with the Prada in the shop for ten minutes or so and liked it enough to buy it, but after about a month of actually using it in real life I was utterly frustrated by it. The touch technology is so far behind the iPhone, simple stuff like selecting alternate words when you're texting are tortuous in comparison. It's also pretty cheaply made, and once the novelty wore off I wished I hadn't bought it.
Not sure if the Viewty is the same or if it's more advanced, but I'd definitely avoid the Prada.
Agree completely on the data thing, especially when browsing PH on the go.
T-Mobile do a very good data package, which is worth a look.
As far as phones go, I am persisting with Windows Mobile. Windows Mobile 8 is coming reasonably soon, and will feature a fair few updates to the whole thing, including gestures (no guarantees on multitouch screens, which rules out the pinch thing). Might be worth having a look around then, as that will give you camera, MMS, as nice a look as you can design yourself, and some sleek hardware(yes, there are clangers out there, but HTC are trying quite hard)
T-Mobile do a very good data package, which is worth a look.
As far as phones go, I am persisting with Windows Mobile. Windows Mobile 8 is coming reasonably soon, and will feature a fair few updates to the whole thing, including gestures (no guarantees on multitouch screens, which rules out the pinch thing). Might be worth having a look around then, as that will give you camera, MMS, as nice a look as you can design yourself, and some sleek hardware(yes, there are clangers out there, but HTC are trying quite hard)
TonyHetherington said:
Ok, with all that talk about iPhones, I really do want one. Especially as I've just got an iPod touch which is frankly brilliant - I love the user interface and now want a phone like it!
I'm in the same boat - love my iPod Touch and wish my phone was half as usable.If you can get hold of a Windows Mobile phone with WiFi and 3G, you can 'tether' the iPod to the phone using the WiFi side, and use the phone as a conduit to access the internet via 3G. That'll give you 3G speeds using the best mobile web browser available, and it's something I'm seriously considering doing come upgrade time.
It should be possible with a Nokia S60 3G/WiFi phone like the one I have at the moment, but nobody's written the software to do the job yet (I've been tempted, but Symbian is an utter c
t to write software on).Don said:
IMO the iPhone is a humoungous triumph of style over substance.
It does lots of stuff you may or may not want - but the thing you absolutely but positively want is mobile internet - and it doesn't do it. Oh sure - its got WiFi - but then you have to be in a hotspot. The LG device has 3G which means you can use it in a much wider area. GPRS (which they both have) is frankly shit.
And the data tariffs! My word - what a total rip!
Out of choice I think I'd get a BlackBerry. Not so cute. Lots more functionality...although the data tariffs for that are shit too.
Internet performance is a bit of a lottery. Round here we get decent EDGE coverage so it's not often mine has to resort to plain old GPRS.It does lots of stuff you may or may not want - but the thing you absolutely but positively want is mobile internet - and it doesn't do it. Oh sure - its got WiFi - but then you have to be in a hotspot. The LG device has 3G which means you can use it in a much wider area. GPRS (which they both have) is frankly shit.
And the data tariffs! My word - what a total rip!
Out of choice I think I'd get a BlackBerry. Not so cute. Lots more functionality...although the data tariffs for that are shit too.
As a business device, Don, I'd agree with you - there are better devices out there.
I love mine though - best phone I've ever had by far.
Oh whoops, has the iPhone got a camera then? Didn't realise that!
As for the internet browsing; interesting, thanks! O2 (who I'm with) do a data bundle; £7.50/month for unlimited. Connected using 3G which the LG Viewty has I beleieve could be more than ok. Is that right?
I must say though, the browser in my iPod touch (through my home wifi) is frankly perfect.
Up until now I've had 6210/6230/6230i/6300 type phones, (and currently have a 6300)...so long as they sync with my outlook contacts I'm a happy bunny (and as you can see, I've been Nokia for so long I'm thinking of changing).
Having seen the reviews, the Viewty is very different to the PRada; much more spec than substance. Will definitely try to have a play with one in a shop.
As for the internet browsing; interesting, thanks! O2 (who I'm with) do a data bundle; £7.50/month for unlimited. Connected using 3G which the LG Viewty has I beleieve could be more than ok. Is that right?
I must say though, the browser in my iPod touch (through my home wifi) is frankly perfect.
Up until now I've had 6210/6230/6230i/6300 type phones, (and currently have a 6300)...so long as they sync with my outlook contacts I'm a happy bunny (and as you can see, I've been Nokia for so long I'm thinking of changing).
Having seen the reviews, the Viewty is very different to the PRada; much more spec than substance. Will definitely try to have a play with one in a shop.
TonyHetherington said:
Oh whoops, has the iPhone got a camera then? Didn't realise that!
As for the internet browsing; interesting, thanks! O2 (who I'm with) do a data bundle; £7.50/month for unlimited. Connected using 3G which the LG Viewty has I beleieve could be more than ok. Is that right?
I must say though, the browser in my iPod touch (through my home wifi) is frankly perfect.
Up until now I've had 6210/6230/6230i/6300 type phones, (and currently have a 6300)...so long as they sync with my outlook contacts I'm a happy bunny (and as you can see, I've been Nokia for so long I'm thinking of changing).
Having seen the reviews, the Viewty is very different to the PRada; much more spec than substance. Will definitely try to have a play with one in a shop.
iPhone: you might want to check about outlook contact sync, mine has never been near a PC (Mac user) so I don't know how good that side of things work.As for the internet browsing; interesting, thanks! O2 (who I'm with) do a data bundle; £7.50/month for unlimited. Connected using 3G which the LG Viewty has I beleieve could be more than ok. Is that right?
I must say though, the browser in my iPod touch (through my home wifi) is frankly perfect.
Up until now I've had 6210/6230/6230i/6300 type phones, (and currently have a 6300)...so long as they sync with my outlook contacts I'm a happy bunny (and as you can see, I've been Nokia for so long I'm thinking of changing).
Having seen the reviews, the Viewty is very different to the PRada; much more spec than substance. Will definitely try to have a play with one in a shop.
Fidgits said:
the Nokia N95 looks pretty good - probably does everything you need, but no where as stylish as the iphone..
the ordinary one is let down by shockingly poor battery life. The new black 8GB version is fantastic. The battery lasts for days rather than hours and the satnav gets a lock in a minute or so, instead of fifteen minutes.TonyHetherington said:
As for the internet browsing; interesting, thanks! O2 (who I'm with) do a data bundle; £7.50/month for unlimited. Connected using 3G which the LG Viewty has I beleieve could be more than ok. Is that right?
Unlimited perhaps by volume, but not by method. No VOIP, No video streaming, no tethering ...The Touch is quite nice, and with Opera Mini is a decent internet browser, but not in the Safari league. For PIM stuff it is perhaps better than the iPhone at the moment, if you are an Outlook user. The camera is still crap. But does at least do video of a sort.
Plotloss said:
HTC Touch?
Similar interface control to the iPhone, not quite as sexy admittedly but it runs Windows Mobile so for syncing, email etc is superior.
Quite like those - had a play with a friend's at the weekend (after she saw my phone and said "Oh, you've got one of those...." - turns out both devices are fairly similar in features/price, despite her regurgitating the usual rubbish about iPhones...)Similar interface control to the iPhone, not quite as sexy admittedly but it runs Windows Mobile so for syncing, email etc is superior.
I think if the iPhone didn't integrate so well in the Mac environment (and I wasn't a Mac user), I'd probably go for the HTC...
Zod said:
Fidgits said:
the Nokia N95 looks pretty good - probably does everything you need, but no where as stylish as the iphone..
the ordinary one is let down by shockingly poor battery life. The new black 8GB version is fantastic. The battery lasts for days rather than hours and the satnav gets a lock in a minute or so, instead of fifteen minutes.Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff