The Alchemist on 16/1/2007 at 21:40
(
http://www.slipperybrick.com/2007/01/t-mobile-releases-white-blackberry-pearl/) Blackberry iPhone competition.
This thing is prettier than the other blackberries I've seen, although I'm still not fond of that mini-keyboard. The camera isnt as good, the screen is smaller, etc, but shit it has AIM. :P That's one thing I wished the iPhone had (I do a lot of texting on my phone and aim support is all the better since most people get charged to receive or send SMS). I still don't think it competes with the iPhone insofar as a cool gadget that plays mp3s and movies plus happens to make my phone calls too, but this is more practical since it's a fraction of the cost of the iPhone.
Fixed ob
Rug Burn Junky on 16/1/2007 at 21:43
Google maps is available as a download for any Blackberry. I use it almost daily.
shadow rodent on 17/1/2007 at 09:40
True that.. DOUBLE TRUE.
cabellero on 17/1/2007 at 18:35
Any phone with access to the internet can use MSN / AIM etc. My MDA has MSN as a program, really nifty. What with iPhone being a Apple product, I doubt you'll be able to get a MSN port though,although I hope I'm wrong.
I wish Google would bring out more mobile apps as the gmail one is really useful. Google maps would be excellent, providing it had GPS support. For now I'll stick with my TomTom program, although that's aimed at drivers so isn't perfect for giving you good walking/public transport directions.
I've never been a fan of the Blackberry keyboards - for a start I think they look ugly, but practically they're slower to use than other methods (transcriber / letter recognizer etc). If if must include a phsical keyboard, the XDA's hav the right idea with the sliding keyboard:
Inline Image:
http://www.davespda.com/images/hardware/imate/kjam.jpgdoctorfrog on 17/1/2007 at 20:51
I got to ask: to all those that use the heck out of their phones (internet, apps, etc.), how much does it cost you per month, and which country are you in? I'm curious because I know that U.S. prices are downright evil.
jay pettitt on 17/1/2007 at 23:54
Hell yes, phone Internet is slow and expensive - my phone doesn't do wifi without an expansion card (which I don't have). I mostly surf the interweb in text only mode - that way I've never gone over the 4mb gprs monthly allowance I've got on the phone contract. Given that the screen is only 320 pixels across, text only mode is no great hardship.
My phone came with a pretty nifty office app. The rest are mostly (
http://www.palmopensource.com/) open source, except the (
http://www.fiftycycle.com/pppos.html) guitar tuner which cost a fiver.
--edit--
(
http://ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=j_han&flashEnabled=1) Video of a Multi Touch interface looking pretty cool as a desktop scale app/interface thingy.
NamelessPlayer on 18/1/2007 at 23:37
Stylish, but a few things dissuade me:
-500 US$ for a phone? Hell no. It may even be a smartphone, but...no. I just can't pull money out of my ass whenever I feel like it, but all the tech corporations still charge exorbitant prices for their goods. Can't they drop it down to around 300 US$?
-Once again, us CDMA2000 users miss out on another phone. Then again, my particular carrier has the Treo 700p, and unlimited high-speed data access for only 15 US$! I don't think I'm missing much. (Now if I was allowed to have the damn thing and the data subscription...)
-No hard buttons. I actually prefer mini-keyboards for typing messages as opposed to virtual keyboards or handwriting recognition because of haptic feedback and reliability(that latter part being mostly due to touchscreens on my Palms either not calibrating or developing dead spots). That, and you can't play too many games without any hard buttons.
doctorfrog on 20/1/2007 at 08:02
Quote Posted by NamelessPlayer
Stylish, but a few things dissuade me:
-500 US$ for a phone? Hell no. It may even be a smartphone, but...no. I just can't pull money out of my ass whenever I feel like it, but all the tech corporations still charge exorbitant prices for their goods. Can't they drop it down to around 300 US$?
As has probably been mentioned before, the price point for any new consumer electronic gizmo never goes up, and always goes down. The first iPod was 5 gigabytes in size, Mac-only, and was also $500. You can pick up a vastly improved version today with 4 gigs for less than half that, even less if you go non-Apple. Apple isn't expecting --and doesn't need-- everyone to pay the 'early adopter fee' that comes with their new toys.
For me, the most exciting thing about this phone is that all the whiz-bang features raises expectations of new devices. Market competition will refine the features and drive down the prices, if you don't mind waiting about five years. I'm also optimistic about how Apple was able to leverage their clout to drive Cingular to make changes to their service, as pointed out by David Pogue of the Wall Street Journal. Cellphone providers have way too much power in the United States, and if a company like Apple can push them around, keeping their fingerprints off of their interface, that puts a little grin on my face.
Still, though, I mainly just want a cheap, reliable phone with decent cheap service. Can't wait for someone to finally deliver on that.
NamelessPlayer on 22/1/2007 at 23:01
Another reason why I'd rather get a Treo: (
http://www.watercoolergames.org/archives/000723.shtml) The iPhone is a closed platform.
While this could mean no buggy third-party applications ruining the device, part of the reason that I like PDAs and PDA phones so much is that they can do just about anything you want with the right app. PIM? Obviously. Music? Check. Video? Check. Games? Check. Internet terminal? Check. IR remote? Check. Computer input device? Check. Dictionary? Check. Word processor? Check. Spreadsheet maker? Check. Slideshow presentation maker? Check. I think you get the point by now.
Who knows, though? Maybe they'll open up the platform later on, or people will find hacks to install new apps. Either way, though, the lack of hard buttons on the device still turns me away because of all the gaming I do.
BEAR on 23/1/2007 at 05:11
Oh my god, its like any other techno-shit yet its made by money hating freedom loving hippies (apple).
Im sure its 500 dollars so that they can give the money to orphans or somthing, shame on microsoft trying to make money though.
If you're spending 500 dollars on a phone you deserve a boot the fucking nuts.
