Why Did You Quit Using A Iphone

[livinthailandos]

Not sure if this topic has been posted or not. I do realize Iphone 4 is out, but I could never go back to an iphone or iphone apps. I've been iphone free for 5 months now, heres why I gave up my iphone and now enjoy my HTC Desire

1. No free wifi scanners ( that might have changed now though ) back then for me about 6 months ago I looked all over the apple app store there were no free wifi scanners, for me a wifi scanner can tell me the SSID, Signal Strength Percentage, Type of Encryption, Channel, etc, I did find a really good free wifi scanner but had to jailbreak the iphone and even then the application netstumbler did not work with my firmware version of my iphone.

2. Itunes: basically I dislike being stuck with this application, and whats with only being able to sync with one computer at a time, if i want to sync with another computer all my music and photos will be deleted. I never really found a way around Itunes

3. Iphone does not work well with linux at all, other people have had better success than me, but its no where near as easy as my phone though. I've had to many frustrations trying to use a iphone with linux

4. Reading my daily news was a pain on the iphone even though I had RSS and tried using other RSS and tried other ways of putting all my news together I had no success, I basically had to wind up having 6 applications for my phone just to read my news.

5. If I wanted to use my mobile connection on a labtop or netbook forget it unless you want to pay for the application that allows it. On my phone this feature is free of charge. dont know if this has changed or not

6. Flash was a minor reason but I enjoy this feature a little bit now that I've had access to flash on my phone.

Look forward to reading your postings as to why you quit using a iphone

[nikster]

Seems like it still bothers you or why do you feel the need to post your break-up story? If you were over it, you maybe wouldn't need to

RSS reader apps there are lots and lots. I can't imagine how you could possibly be unable to read your daily news. Internet tethering works better than anything else I've seen. Maybe not on Linux. In general - Apple says you need either Windows or Mac. So maybe trying with Linux wasn't such a good idea, even though many Linux people seem to have no trouble with that.

The group of iTunes dislikers is made up of people technically savvy enough to know how to drag a file from here to there, but not technically savvy enough to understand that a database is much more useful and powerful than a hierarchical file system.

Use what you're happy with. Enjoy your 2 hours of battery life when using Flash My problem with Android phones is that most have really poor hardware. Either no battery life, or a huge screen with lower pixel count than the iPhone4, or tons of buttons and keyboards (which I dislike).

The Nexus Two looks pretty nice though... that plus the next Android version could be good.

[thrilled]

Apple isn't as fantastic as people make it out to be.

[pramaprow]

Yes, it is...

[howzat]

Yes, it is...

What about the Nokia N8...big adverts but nobody stocks it in Bangkok. Anybody got experience of it. Its taken me 10 years to understand Nokia technology so changing it i phone or black is a night mare sceario which woud be a project for the twylight years of my life.

[nikster]

Yes, it is...

What about the Nokia N8...big adverts but nobody stocks it in Bangkok.

Maybe because nobody's buying it? It's yet another attempt at Nokia to make their Symbian OS into a modern phone OS but not gonna happen. Ever. You can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig.

The iPhone is pretty simple to operate, far simpler than any Nokia smartphone. My wife's using it. And that's saying something given that she's pretty much technology agnostic. Still she's now using Facebook because there's a Facebook app on the iPhone. I guess it helps that lots of her friends have iPhones and they show her cool apps.

Like for example Pudding Camera. My wife loves Lomo cameras, she used to buy them. There's lots of apps on the iPhone that simulate a Lomo, some better than others. But Pudding Camera - apparently made in Korea - is the end-all-be-all of Lomo simulators. It's better than the real thing. And it's free, which is unbelievable.

Nobody needs 200,000 apps - but the incredible variety of apps out there, and the creativity that goes into some of them means that there's something for everyone.

[cdnvic]

I found it too closed and restrictive, especially about how you're "allowed" to add files to the device. I don't like being enslaved to iTunes, and it didn't suit my needs as well as my Blackberry did. On the plus side, it's a well designed piece of hardware and I can see why people it suits seem to love it.

[Digitalbanana]

Ever.

The iPhone is garnering great success now following on from Nokia's domination a decade earlier. Mass appeal to a mass market. If they don't keep up, if Jobs passes on, who knows? Android has surpassed sales of rivals already this yr.

[cdnvic]

Android is facing a big fragmentation issue if Google doesn't get tough with carriers.

[nikster]

Ever.

The iPhone is garnering great success now following on from Nokia's domination a decade earlier. Mass appeal to a mass market. If they don't keep up, if Jobs passes on, who knows? Android has surpassed sales of rivals already this yr.

^^ My "Ever" quote from above is about how Nokia won't be able to make Symbian into a contender. I stand by that. Symbian is dead, only Nokia keeps flogging it on.

As for sales - who cares, I am not making money either on Android phones or on iPhones. Android has surpassed the iPhone in sales which is a good thing from an iPhone owner's perspective - it will get Apple to open up more and realize that its idiotic exclusive deals are hurting the bottom line. I couldn't be happier about that. The alternative would be a world where manufacturers enter into exclusive relationships with carriers who then sell everything as a bundle and SIM-locked - and that, I do not like at all.

But, luckily, people are not that dumb and the exclusivity model has been voted out! And that's great!!

If Apple sold the iPhone free / on all carriers, I don't think Android would have surpassed iPhone installs by now - at least not yet. Android is huge in the USA because it's the only thing Verizon / Sprint / T-Mobile can sell that comes close to the iPhone. The CDMA carriers in particular only get crappy phones so any semi decent Android headset will really stand out. It's the only way Motorola can sell phones: In the land of the blind, the one eyed is king. Long term Android will provide excellent competition. It's a good OS, and Google know what they're doing.

Blackberry... I have my doubts. I'd not necessarily buy their stock now. They had the chance to impress with an all new OS on their PlayBook tablet (brilliant name by the way) but seems like they blew it. I am not convinced they "get" software and that's what's needed to keep up with the furious pace of innovation at Apple/Google.

[Crushdepth]

I just hated iTunes and the simple fact that putting files on the device and exchanging them is ridiculously cumbersome. I can't live with that. I dislike the iPad for similar reasons (yes, we have one, and the ridiculous USB kit). I guess the positive on this is that it makes the device much harder for the user to bugger up, but for me the pain is not worth it.

My Android phone by comparison - plug in the USB and it just works. Or I can browse and grab files from my home or work machines over the mobile network securely and without drama. It has really made life a lot easier.

[nikster]

I just hated iTunes and the simple fact that putting files on the device and exchanging them is ridiculously cumbersome.

I think you must be doing something wrong as it's not "ridiculously cumbersome" to exchange files?! It's actually really simple. In most cases, much simpler than using the Windows Explorer or Finder.... take music syncing for example. It just works. Even my wife can do it. It's very powerful - with playlists, smart playlists, syncing by artist/genre/album - it's a million times better than trying to manually manage music on the file system.

For example, all the music I've added in the last 2 months is automatically synced to the iPhone / iPod / iPad via a smart playlist. Same for new movies.

How does it work on Android? Does it reveal the entire file system of the device? Or does it show a special "media" folder sort of like Nokia used to do?

[Phatcharanan]

What about the Nokia N8...big adverts but nobody stocks it in Bangkok. Anybody got experience of it.

The Nokia 8 is slow compared to the new kids on the block.

I believe there is going to be an imminent release of a 1.5 Snapdragon. Jeeeez I hope so!

Edited November 23, 2010 by Phatcharanan

[Digitalbanana]

I just hated iTunes and the simple fact that putting files on the device and exchanging them is ridiculously cumbersome.

. take music syncing for example. It just works. Even my wife can do it. It's very powerful - with playlists, smart playlists, syncing by artist/genre/album - it's a million times better than trying to manually manage music on the file system.

For example, all the music I've added in the last 2 months is automatically synced to the iPhone / iPod / iPad via a smart playlist. Same for new movies.

An advertising campaign along lines of "so simple even the wife can do it" might put some people off;-) I think the "ridiculously cumbersome" comment pertains to Apples focus on DRM, phones locked to carriers and multimedia tied to iTunes that put some people off? It did me at least, but I haven't kept up with the latest jailbreak hacks or news on it. I can certainly see how a phone that "just works" will appeal to most tho.

[Crushdepth]

The annoying thing is that the iPhone *is* so simple that it works, except for iTunes which (ok, just my opinion) is horrible although it is clearly not in the same league of world-class awfulness as Nokia's PC Suite. It's not just the DRM, although that is certainly the worst aspect of it.

Android does indeed expose the full file system. When you plug it into your computer via USB it will ask if you want to turn USB file sharing on. If you do, it basically becomes a flash drive and displays the content of the flash card by default. Any music or photos you copy onto it will be automatically discovered by the music player/gallery apps regardless of where you put them, although the latter seems to take a while. Hopefully that will improve with time.

[MJo]

Yes, it is...

What about the Nokia N8...big adverts but nobody stocks it in Bangkok. Anybody got experience of it. Its taken me 10 years to understand Nokia technology so changing it i phone or black is a night mare sceario which woud be a project for the twylight years of my life.

N8 is good phone, nikster is apple salesman, runs a cult or something so for him there is only one option. Anyways N8 has the best camera second to none at the moment. HDMI out and decent battery life. Not to mention free voice navigation without the need of data connection. All of the issues OP had with iPhone just works out of the box in Nokia phones. No need to download or pay for any applications. If apps are your thing you have them available as apple and google.

Reason why N8 is difficult to find is that they sold out in couple of days. Even in europe people are still waiting new batch to hit the stores.

Also use bit common sense when reading and comparing specs. People are fast to repeat that N8 has slower processor than new androids etc. But fail to mention that N8 has two processors. Also remember that N8 and iPhone 4 are totally different price range. N8 should be compared to same price range androids.

[lomatopo]

The N8 has an odd market focus? High quality camera, HD video, HDMI, etc. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrXHXin9Iio

Locally available and ~ 16,000 baht. HTC Desire and Samsung Galaxy S (8 GB) are ~ 17,000.

[lennois]

Yes, it is...

What about the Nokia N8...big adverts but nobody stocks it in Bangkok. Anybody got experience of it. Its taken me 10 years to understand Nokia technology so changing it i phone or black is a night mare sceario which woud be a project for the twylight years of my life.

N8 is good phone, nikster is apple salesman, runs a cult or something so for him there is only one option. Anyways N8 has the best camera second to none at the moment. HDMI out and decent battery life. Not to mention free voice navigation without the need of data connection. All of the issues OP had with iPhone just works out of the box in Nokia phones. No need to download or pay for any applications. If apps are your thing you have them available as apple and google.

Reason why N8 is difficult to find is that they sold out in couple of days. Even in europe people are still waiting new batch to hit the stores.

Also use bit common sense when reading and comparing specs. People are fast to repeat that N8 has slower processor than new androids etc. But fail to mention that N8 has two processors. Also remember that N8 and iPhone 4 are totally different price range. N8 should be compared to same price range androids.

+1. Never gets old when my mates whip out there iphone at night to take some crap grainy pic, then boom out comes the real phone to take a real photo. And when we were driving around aus recently guess who was using maps for navigation...

Symbian is a very powerful, full featured OS so dunno what nikster is going on about - certainly has more functionality than iOS. I think when people talk about the OS they actually mean the UI which is getting a full overhaul next year.Which will be more like putting lipstick on an attractive woman - HAWT.

Edited December 22, 2010 by lennois

[nikster]

Ok guys the next time I am in the mall I am going to take a peek at the N8 - let's see. I don't have much hope.

I come from a Software background and to me Symbian just looks hopelessly broken and Nokia shows all the symptoms of a company that doesn't understand software. The Nokia PC Suite? It looks like it was programmed by an army of monkeys. I've had a very unpleasant yet short lived run in with that when I had my last Symbian phone, which, by the way, was by far the worst phone I have ever seen (SE 990i).

The reason I haven't even bothered looking in years is that *every single review* on ever gadget blog out there has been saying the same thing for years: Symbian simply can't compete with the new world of iPhones. Android *can*.

There'll always be some people who don't mind their phone OS looking like it's 10 years old - good for them, I expect better. It's 2010.

The only good argument for the N8 up there seems to be the price. But I'd argue get an Android phone in that case

[lomatopo]

[MJo]

Ok guys the next time I am in the mall I am going to take a peek at the N8 - let's see. I don't have much hope.

I come from a Software background and to me Symbian just looks hopelessly broken and Nokia shows all the symptoms of a company that doesn't understand software. The Nokia PC Suite? It looks like it was programmed by an army of monkeys. I've had a very unpleasant yet short lived run in with that when I had my last Symbian phone, which, by the way, was by far the worst phone I have ever seen (SE 990i).

The reason I haven't even bothered looking in years is that *every single review* on ever gadget blog out there has been saying the same thing for years: Symbian simply can't compete with the new world of iPhones. Android *can*.

There'll always be some people who don't mind their phone OS looking like it's 10 years old - good for them, I expect better. It's 2010.

The only good argument for the N8 up there seems to be the price. But I'd argue get an Android phone in that case

Looks like your opinions are from few years back.

PC suite has been replaced by Ovi Suite which is much better. The reviews in the net are usually just looking at the UI, did try out android couple of days ago and although i liked it a lot i found out some issues like the home screen not tilting when turning the phone (HTC new one with slide qwerty) or the screen tilting "upside down" in sms etc when the keyboard was not out. Symbian 3 UI is more logical and very easy to customize. You can define your own widgets on the home screens pretty much as you like them to be etc.

For me it is just down to marketing hype with Apple. They nailed the market in USA where the customers transferred from old Motorola black and white screens. Lot of hype and world followed. Well done and one of the best success stories in marketing. But if you take a close look on the UI's they are not that different. Mainly matter of personal or acquired preference. Personally i prefer the symbian widgets seeing sms's, emails, news, facebook etc in my home screen and the easy way to run several apps in the background and switching between them.

[nikster]

Looks like your opinions are from few years back.

PC suite has been replaced by Ovi Suite which is much better. The reviews in the net are usually just looking at the UI, did try out android couple of days ago and although i liked it a lot i found out some issues like the home screen not tilting when turning the phone (HTC new one with slide qwerty) or the screen tilting "upside down" in sms etc when the keyboard was not out. Symbian 3 UI is more logical and very easy to customize. You can define your own widgets on the home screens pretty much as you like them to be etc.

For me it is just down to marketing hype with Apple. They nailed the market in USA where the customers transferred from old Motorola black and white screens. Lot of hype and world followed. Well done and one of the best success stories in marketing. But if you take a close look on the UI's they are not that different. Mainly matter of personal or acquired preference. Personally i prefer the symbian widgets seeing sms's, emails, news, facebook etc in my home screen and the easy way to run several apps in the background and switching between them.

Hype isn't enough to build the most successful mobile phone in the business - though some people refuse to see that. Hype can get you through a few months - maybe a year. Same with marketing - you can do good marketing but you can't make a bad product good, definitely not in the long run. By the way, Nokia's marketing has always been top notch - they still make really cool ads. It's the products that are lacking.

As the iPhone was introduced / previewed, Android looked nothing like it. That only came later - not saying it's a bad thing, clearly it's good to have competition, but as for inventing a whole new mobile phone the credit goes to the iPhone. It blew everything away in 2007.

The funny thing is if you look closely at the UI , it gets more and more different - Apple does things that most people don't know about. Take for example how one screen slides in when another slides out - analyze it more deeply and you see that 100 years of animation experience have gone into it - this is straight out of Walt Disney animation school: http://watchingapple.com/2009/11/a-closer-look-at-iphone-transition-animations/

To me it's this obsession with detail that makes the iPhone stand out. It's not just the animations, it's in everything they do. They don't always succeed, but they always try, and they very often succeed.

No other tech company goes through the trouble, or is even aware of these things, though now of course more and more are copying.

BTW I have never tried Ovi but good for them if they finally fixed up the PC Suite - it certainly needed it...

[JimmyTheMook]

The touch screen keypad , I think it is retarded and find a blackberry so much quicker and more efficient to reply to emails with.

Wife got the old iPhone and is terribly pleased with it , one of those accessories I guess like a name brand handbag.