Why the O2 iPhone 3GS is going to have to wait.
Cards on the table, I love the iPhone 3G. I held out on the first generation due to existing phone contract, money and limited functionality (no Apps, no MMS, small capacity).
As soon as the 3G came out I jumped on the bandwagon and have been amazed ever since with what it can do, and what I find myself being able to do with it.
The iPhone has changed how I use technology on a day to day basis in a number of ways.
I rarely if ever use my Mac to check or write emails at home, the iPhone lets me do this when and where I please. Indeed I only tend to fire up Mail once every couple of weeks to run Mailtags which I find invaluable to tag and sort mail.
Likewise, I use Remember the Milk as a simply but effective task management system. It has a simple web interface which means I can use it on my windows PC at work and my Mac at home without any hitches, but again I mostly use the iPhone app to create and tick of tasks.
Evernote is a life saver. Every snippet of info, hint or guide and other interesting fact gets stored here. This has a Mac and an a PC desktop application but everything is held in the ‘cloud’ which means the iPhone app is invaluable.
Ever been in a supermarket wanting to buy the ingredients for a particular recipe, but cant remember what all the ingredients are? Save your favourite recipes to Evernote and bingo!
The list goes on. The eBay app means I never miss an auction, Shazam identifies those songs you hear in the pub but nobody knows what it is. Tweetie and Feeds means I’m never without friends or news (virtual or otherwise).
That's just the useful stuff. Gaming is great, Flight Control and Drop7 demand an inordinate number of five minutes here and there whilst Rolando, HoldEm and Field Runners can virtually wipe out an evening (if not my battery!)
You almost forget that you still have a phone and an iPod built in.
So what's missing so far.
- MMS. Whilst not a deal breaker but being able to quickly and easily snap a shot of a shirt whilst out and send it to my wife (Nokia 6300) for comment/approval is one of those things that if you’ve had previously you miss.Both my XDA Exec and Sony Ericsson K810i prior to the iPhone could do this.
- Sat Nav. The Maps application is good, but it is no substitute for proper turn by turn Sat Nav. I used to have Tom Tom on my XDA Exec and look forward to running it on the iPhone, price allowing.
- Cut’Copy’Paste. I have been surprised with how few times I have needed, and therefore missed this functionality. On the handful of occasions I have needed it however, I can assure you expletives were most vocally used!
- Video. Not missed this at all. Even though I had video on other phones, it tends to be jerky, grainy and with terrible audio.
- Camera. The iPhone 3G camera is surprisingly good. But only if you are in good light. I can imagine on a sunny day in California the images you get are particularly pleasing. A Wednesday evening in Leeds is another prospect altogether.
So what's wrong with the new iPhone?
Nothing in itself.
The extra storage is welcomed as always, the new camera whilst not a huge improvement will benefit from autofocus.
As always and without knowing the ins and outs of the hardware, any reported speed bumps which help things chug along a little quicker and smoother are always nice.
Voice Control look like fun, but I can live without it, and have done thus far.(besides you would probably look slightly deranged barking orders at your phone!)
No, the two stumbling blocks are OS3 and Price
As an existing iPhone user from June 17th I’ll be able to download OS 3 and use nearly all of the functionality on my existing phone. So say hello to MMS, tethering (although personally I have never needed this), Cut’Copy’Paste and with additional software, Sat Nav.
I’m also looking forward to seeing what new applications will spring up now apps can talk to hardware.
Price. We are resigned to things in the UK costing silly amounts more than in the US, and I know all the arguments about currency fluctuations and that in the States individual states will add on varying sales tax to the listed price, but at today's currency exchange rates $299 equals £185.
O2 are charging £274.23 for the £35p/m tariff over 18 months for the iPhone 3GS with no early upgrade path. I understand that when I bought the iPhone 3G with an 18 month contract I was signing up for 18 months, but with the previous years upgrade, expectations were high of a repeat.
If I wanted to buy my way out of my present contract which expires in February 2010 I would need to pay in the region of £200 pounds on top of the purchase price.
That’s a lot of expense just to be able to shoot video (no great desire) or use a better camera (I already have a 14mp compact). Indeed the only two points of interest to me are the increased storage and the faster hardware.
So I’ll just wait till my contract ends in February.
Here lies the rub, on 24th February 2010 when my 18 months are up will I be rushing to buy the iPhone 3GS. I think not. The hardware will be six months old and in all probability the iPhone 4G will be announced in June 2010.
So that's why I will be skipping the iPhone 3GS. Roll on June 2010!!
ITunes links to software I use and wouldn't be without.
- Evernote – iPhone app that lets you create/view/edit text/audio/picture notes and then sync them to and from your Mac/PC or web
- Shazam – Point your iPhone microphone at the speaker and let it identify the music that's playing
- Beejive IM - pricey, but by far the best IM application in my experience. Good interface, solid performance and works with a wide range of IM networks (currently on Sale until OS3 release)
- RTM – Native application that interfaces with Remember the Milk PRO task management web service.
- eBay - eBay application for searching/bidding/watching on your auctions.
- 1Password - securely collect and sync your web passwords and forms with the (paid for) Mac application. Allows you to easily use secure and unique passwords for website.
- Tweetie – by far the best Twitter client I have used on the iPhone and now also available for your Mac (www.atebites.com)
- Feeds – an RSS reader that has the added attraction of being able to sync with your Google Reader feeds.
- Convertbot – great looking convertor that seems to cover every particular form of conversion I have heard of, and many I haven’t. The ability to switch on/off measurements you have no need of is particularly useful.
- App Sniper – a useful little app that lists new applications and price changes. You can create a hit list of apps you would like and the app will flag them when they drop to your desired price. Great way of catching those bargains.
- Flixster – provides synopsis and trailers for current and upcoming movies, will also list show times and details of cinemas in your area.
- Radio Times – UK centric TV listings guide
- Speed Test – network speed test tool to check your overall broadband connection speed. Logs the time and date and IP address when run, and has proved helpful to me in proving my broadband modem was on the blink to my ISP.
- File Magnet – allows you to send files of various formats to your iPhone. Requires the free Mac/PC client to send the files over Wi-Fi. I tend to user Evernote more nowadays and if you are a MobileMe subscriber the soon to be released update might make this redundant.
- Cocktails+ – if like me, you need to settle that argument as whether or not a Dry Martini is 3 or 4 shots of Gin, then this is the app for you.
- Rolando – an eagerly awaited game that lives up to all the hype. Cute and devious at the same time.
- Drop7 - Tetris on steroids!!
- Flight Control – proof that a simple game with simple but well designed graphics can create addictive game play.
- Hold EM – The first game I bought and one I still dip into if I want to pretend I’m playing a few hands late at night.
- Field Runners – Tower games were a genre that must have passed me by, but glad to have been acquainted with this.
