Cool. I didn’t know. My present cell is an old Audiovox CDM-8600, which my company pays for. Out of their generosity and unconditional live for me. I’ve had it for maybe 5 years. I am getting a new phone in a couple weeks, but it won’t be that Nokia, or the iPhone.
Yeah, I got mine off eBay, and I didn’t pay no $750 either. It totaled under $700 shipped.
The GPS in the N95 will get a signal lock outside with no problem, and usually inside provided there’s a window nearby with a clear view of the sky – but that’s normal for GPS receivers. Text is indeed entered using the keypad, similar to most phones. It might seem irritating, but you get used to it. At this point (6 or so years of phone typing), I can text without looking most of the time. The screen is fine in direct sunlight, and I’d rather have plastic than glass over the screen anyway.
For a swirly overview, click here.
Also, I forgot to mention above – that weird key picture I took with the phone I uploaded directly to Flickr from the phone over wireless internet from the parking lot at work on my way into the building. Stuff like that is what excites me. After you take the picture, you hit Send, then select Web Upload, then my photostream and hit Send again. Intuitive and straightforward, but not as pretty as the iPhone.
You know those HP “The Computer Is Personal Again” commercials that show celebrities using their hand gestures to interact with all their stuff “inside” the computer in an object oriented way… but using an actual HP computer isn’t anything like that experience in the literal.
Well, that’s how it feels using the iPhone. Seriously. Like I said before, it’s not the features that are the breakthrough, it’s how they’re implemented and how you interact with them. I strongly recommend playing with one in your hands before you write it off.
Right, but there are certain features I require on a device that are not currently present on the iPhone. No MMS and proprietary file management are total deal-breakers for me. Also, I will not be subsidy-locked to a carrier – especially not Cingular / AT&T. The interface is completely irrelevant to me if it is an interface to a device that doesn’t meet my needs.
Just sayin’ is all.
Moderately so, but they had like a 100 iPhone demo models for people to play with. The screens were covered with fingerprints, but I didn’t have any problem getting the phone to work once I figured out exactly how to do everything. (It will not respond to finger nails, only skin works.) You couldn’t make a call using one, but web browsing was simple. Amazingly enough, the phone was highly responsive. You touched an icon and it launched the application immediately. No delay while it loaded the app, and no lag as you poked around and put the phone through it’s paces. It was smaller in all dimensions than I expected, and while “weighty” it didn’t feel ponderously heavy, just solid. It would be interesting to see what happens if you slap an AT&T non-iPhone SIM into it. (My friend was too chickenshit to let me play with his.) It doesn’t feel (and based on the video that cmyk linked to, I’d say that this is correct) the least bit fragile. You could probably kill a puma with the thing.
On one of Leo Laporte’s podcasts, someone gave out figures for what an unlocked iPhone would cost and it was $900 and $1K.
To the naysayers, I suggest you check out the podcasts here. Yes, they’re fan boys, but as they discuss on the Mac Break Weekly podcast linked to on that page they’re not afraid to point out the phones shortcomings. Leo Laporte has a Nokia N95 (IIRC, IAC it’s a Nokia you can’t buy in the US for some reason.) and he’d said on podcasts before this that he didn’t think the iPhone would be better, but he was greatly impressed with the iPhone. One thing that I really liked was that while surfing the web, there was a “.com” button. You typed in the first part of the url, and then hit the .com button and it filled out the last part for you.
The phone certainly could use some improvements to it, but the things that it get’s right it does so absolutely perfectly. So much so, that when you compare the features it has, with the identical features on a different smartphone, you realize that the features on the smartphone are pretty much a kludge. The next versions of the phone are going to be tough to beat.
Another blurb about the iPhone’s amazing display from Consumer Reports. More to come, they say. 
I think some people don’t understand the advantage of the glass face over plastic, and why Apple switched to that from the original plastic.
You cam already buy tons of cases for this thing. In fact, they were out there even before the release. Or should I say “The Release”. 
Anyway, I’m a little jumpy that some felon might snag the very attractive iPhone off my belt. Has this been a problem with other high-end phones? It wouldn’t be hard for an accomplished pickpocket.
Anyone who has an iPod Video (or 1st gen Nano) should understand very well why they made the switch. I baby the hell out of my iPod – never dropped, never wiped with anything more coarse than a soft cloth – and it still has fine skate marks on the front bezel that you can see if you look at it in reflected light.
My iPod Nano looks like someone took a belt sander to the face of it. Still plays music just fine though, so I don’t care. 
When I read the article about Apple’s switch from plastic I was wishing my iPod video had the glass face.
Hmmm. I wonder if anyone’s doing an aftermarket mod?
I dunno, but if you go to gizwiz.biz and poke around, they did a profile of company that makes a clear protective cover for the display that’s made out of the same material they use to protect military helicopter blades.
A couple weeks ago I saw a girl wearing her nano with a neck srtap. Looks handy, especially for a phone. She said she liked it a lot.
Any opinions?
That’s fine for a Nano. It’s small and light. The iPhone (or iPod Video or other bulkier device), not so much. You’d be in danger of smacking it against something when you bend over or fall unless you keep it under your shirt/jacket/coat. I use belt clips and leather cases. Keeps my phone and iPod handy and protects them from bumps and scrapes. (I don’t use both at once. I damn near lost my phone while listening to my iPod because it came off whilst I was tying my shoe and I neither felt nor heard it fall. Fortunately it was right outside the door to my building, and a good samaritan found it and called my home to tell me so, so I went and picked it up after work. Now I never wear anything around my waist if I can’t hear it fall.)
Let’s say someone does steal the phone. I’m curious as how they’d go about activating it for themselves? Since it can’t be used on any other network, what options do they have for actually using it once stolen? Won’t that phone be flagged as stolen in AT&T’s system somehow?
Although, anyone stupid enough to steal, probably won’t care about these finer points, and if they can’t get it working, bummer, but no skin of their back.
You need to take a note of your IMEI number, which is device specific, and can be used by the phone company to block the phone on any network. You won’t get your phone back, but no arsehole thief is using it either.
I hear that people who steal regular cell phones use them until they no longer work, making long distance calls which the real owner is responsible for.
I did think about the bulk issue, but it would be handy and hard to lose. I doubt banging it around would be a problem for me. Of course is the fashion thing to consider.
I foubd an old duffle strap I can modify just to try it out.
I did think about the bulk issue, but it would be handy and hard to lose. I doubt banging it around would be a problem for me. I’ll glue a piece of lamb’s wool on the back of the case and wear it inside my shirt. 
Of course there is the fashion thing to consider.
I found an old duffle shoulder strap I can modify just to try it out. Upside-down, I figure.
If you haven’t seen today’s Opus you should take a moment and read it. 
I want DTT on my phone!