Oh no, don’t get me wrong. I have no intention to rival The Oatmeal (if that’ is what you think I am doing), and I am not expecting this to be circulating into a meme either. I’m just doing this to show you my perspective as someone who used to have an iPhone, before I committed myself to Android.
After doing some research on local market I found that these 2 mid-range phones, the cheaper Samsung Galaxy W and the more expensive Motorola RAZR are the most popular ones, being sold by all telcos as well as Courts Mammoth, one of Malaysia’s largest electric/electronic and home appliances store. Yes, Motorola is starting to make their local presence again with good product lineups too, after years of silence and unavailability. These devices are within my budget and come with features I wanted but some deep assessments are needed before I could pick one because the price difference between them is considerably big.
Research were done with 3 steps, where first I went to GSM Arena to look for available models but the problem with GSM Arena is their ‘catalog’ is messy and it’s hard to know what model is available locally as they just dump everything they could find in there. Then I went to localized websites of the smartphone makers and telcos and managed to make my own list of locally available phones. Those websites however seem incomplete that it feels like they don’t show all available phones because I know there are some officially launched models but are not in those websites.
Samsung Galaxy W
This Samsung Galaxy W is newer than the Galaxy Ace I mentioned in my previous post. I could get one with subsidized price from as low as $100 by purchasing it from Celcom, with up to 18 months contract. However the monthly commitment is quite on the high side where I might need to pay around $80 every month. It might not be a problem if I don’t have to pay for my fixed-line broadband though but currently it’s one of the cheapest way to get it.
Motorola RAZR
Next in line is Motorola RAZR that is around $100 pricier than the above Galaxy W. For this the cheapest way to have it is to get it on loan from Courts Mammoth. However after giving it a second thought, for its price it might be better to go for a tablet instead because there are similarly priced tablets out there and they’re the good ones too.
The problem with tablets though is most of them don’t have voice communication capabilities, which is kind of stupid and feels like crippled-down devices considering that the same devices may also support 3G data communication. I was thinking that if a tablet could make calls it might be better to get it instead of buying a phone with similar price. I don’t mind lugging a tablet everywhere as if it’s a cellphone because I could settle with bluetooth headset and wear some bluetooth-enabled watch that could display caller ID and SMS if needs be.
Bluetooth 'watch'. I know they're not cheap.
If you ask me there are 3 tablets I might get for a phone replacement, namely the upcoming Asus Transformer Prime, Lenovo Ideapad K1 and Acer Iconia Tab A500. The problem is Transformer Prime is yet to be launched, Ideapad as I know it has a locked GSM capability (no calls/texting) while Iconia on the other hand is made by Acer, a computer maker I’ve always have issues with due to their reputation of making sub-par quality products.
BTW I’ve heard reviews that Iconia is good and very much UNLIKE Acer’s laptops when it comes to hardware build/quality. However the problem is not over yet as I need those tablets to allow me make/answer calls and send/receive SMS. Oh I forgot to mention about Sony Tablet but I haven’t found them anywhere on local stores yet.
From the article:
“Apple has just made the iPhone 4S official at Let’s Talk iPhone event in Cupertino, CA. It will be the first dual-mode world phone supporting both GSM and CDMA and will have the same design as the iPhone 4.
Other features will include Apple-made A5 Processor with dual core graphics (up to 7 times faster than in the previous iPhone), 8 hours of talk time, 14 hours of 2g talk time, 6 hours of 3g browsing, 9 hours of Wi-Fi browsing, an all new 8MP Camera along with an IR for better colour accuracy, f/2.4 aperture, 1080p HD video recording with image stabilization and noise reduction.”
The above specs is nothing but awesome, only a second (if not first) to the most powerful Androphone available. I’ve heard about the iPhone 4s’ performance, being faster than its predecessor but slower than iPad 2, despite using the same CPU as the latter. This is not much of an issue if you ask me though it’s weird considering the difference in physical size (if the same brain powers a smaller device, the smaller one is supposed to be faster right?)
This “iPhone for ass” comes with Siri, the “voice UI” with advanced AI behind it (“Siri” means “ass” in Japanese thus the “for ass” pun here). It’s great but it’s nothing new and it’s got an alternative too. This is perhaps the No. 1 reason people wanted to get the phone, other than it’s iOS5 ready.
For a very brief moment, I was an owner of an iPhone 4 too. Don’t believe me? Read here. Yes, it was great but in a similar way I pick my default browser, I had issues with the phone and decided to throw it in favor for an Androphone. True, an Androphone does not free from its own issues but it’s more acceptable for its openness and the amount of things I could do on it if compared to the iPhone.
Will I get the new iPhone 4s? Yes and no. Yes if I got unlimited money at my disposal but no if it still carries the same issues from the previous iteration. I admit that iPhone 4s is much better than the older iPhone but that’s it. Some issues still remain. It still doesn’t have a direct USB connectivity and have to rely on proprietary connector. Some people argue that the connector can be purchased easily these days and wouldn’t be a problem if you already have other iDevices that use the same connector. This argument is weak. It’s true that the connector is easy to find if compared to 10 years ago, provided that there’s an Apple store within 10 mile radius from where you live. In this part of the world an Apple store is a scarcity so it’s not an easy task to ind one. I could even say congratulation for those who managed to reach those stores in time whenever they need it.
Then the iPhone 4s still didn’t address the unavailability of memory card slot issue. Again some people argue that this is not a big problem as the iPhone comes in variety of internal storage capacity. But do I need 16GB, the smallest capacity available when I’d need 8GB at most, or I should decide whatever capacity of the memory card I want? A couple of months ago there was a rumor about iPhone 4 is getting a cheaper 8GB model but it might be just a rumor so I can’t put much hope on that. For me it’s better if the iPhone have 2GB internal storage to cut the price and let the buyer decide whether how much they want to expand the capacity by purchasing their own memory card later. For me the unavailability of memory card slot only implies that iOS can’t handle memory card storage properly. Perhaps it can’t even install an app into a memory card because of such limitation.
The new iPhone 4s also didn’t address the user-replaceable battery issue. Once again, some people argue this is unnecessary IF (that’s a big ‘if’ there):
Those are lame arguments. Battery, no matter how good it is always being the first faulty part in any electronic device. The user should have the freedom to be able to replace it on their own just like how you are able to refuel your car at any gas station when it’s running out. I’m sorry but whatever your argument about it you won’t be able to convince me because even Androphone manufacturers like Samsung, that managed to make a phone slimmer than an iPhone still able to offer user-replaceable battery.
There are three, most (over)used, generic, cliche argument by iDevices advocates are:
OK that was a troll but generally it’s what they’ve always touted, the ease of use that some of them even claimed “even my grandma can operate it”. My ass. Why would you get a smartphone for your grandma? As if your grandma is going to go to the Appstore and start installing fun apps to entertain herself? Excuse me but for old folks like your grandma, a dumbphone made by Nokia is good enough. Your grandma doesn’t need to install an app every now and then. For a dumbphone you only need to set it once, give it to your grandma and forget about it. It’s a proven formula for may father who is now in his late 50′s. Despite being the one who introduced a computer in the family more than 10 years ago he never wanted a touchscreen phone. Believe me I showed him my iPhone once and he didn’t like how he always accidentally pushed (touched) the wrong ‘buttons’. He is content with my old Nokia dumbphone that is not only cheap but also “easy to operate”. FYI my father is born in a local tribesman family.
I have an issue with iTunes account to. It’s a requirement to get an app from the Appstore, including the free ones. But to set up an iTunes account means you’d need a credit card even if you most likely would never use it to purchase anything in the Appstore. Apple just want yours “just in case” you decided to buy something later. No, if I wanted to buy something later let me decide it LATER, not now. I kinda understand that Apple don’t want the user to go through hassles several times so they forced us to do it only once but hey, nobody likes to be forced to do something when it comes to money. And I don’t have a credit card to begin with (lucky my girlfriend have it so I registered under her name).
Last but not least, the need to use iTunes to transfer files and stuff. In these days? No matter how crappy a smartphone is it has to support drag and drop file transfer via file browser and not via specialized software like this. This is one of the stupidest decision ever made by Apple for the iPhone. Many people hate iTunes because it’s bloated but if they own an iPhone that means installing iTunes would be compulsory. What the hell? I heard the iPhone supports drag and drop in external drive mode I never got the chance to try and prove this. Even so external drive mode (if it really is available) should be the default method to do file transfer between a computer and the phone. Even the now-hated Nokia doesn’t rely on Ovi Suite to that so why can’t Apple?
There are lots of rooms for improvement in the iPhone in order to make it more appealing to me. Not to mention there are lots of stuff need to be dropped off the phone because I think they’re unnecessary. For example iPhone uses microSIM. MicroSIM is indeed the regular SIM card everybody is using, albeit having smaller size on the plastic plate side. Maybe I could live with that but for a phone that using microSIM, it doesn’t make sense if the phone doesn’t support dual-SIM. As a long time mobile broadband user I know perfectly the most economical strategy is to use different plan for calls and internet.
This post may sound like I’m an Apple hater. Apologies. Just so you know, There is no such thing as Apple haters. It is Apple that hates those people (me included). Apple doesn’t care about what I wanted although they have the chance to make me love them if they ever listened to my demand. No, I’m not trying to get in their way (of doing business) but I wanted them to do business with me, hence I pointed out those issues above.
I’ve seen the initiative for a built-to-order Androphone like the Synapse Phone (pictured above). It’s interesting but too bad the Synapse Phone initiative seems dead or at least inactive right now (they were expected to start shipping in Q1 this year but now it’s Q2 already, still no news about it and their main website is down at the time of writing. Alternate website here).
If it’s me I’d like these specs for my ultimate smartphone:
Operating System:
It has to be either Android 2.3+ or MeeGo (or even dual-boot to those) because of their open ecosystem. For Android I want it to be the plain stock version (no customization by the phone maker) and rooted too. If it’s MeeGo I want it to have access to both Nokia and Intel app stores instead of just one of them.
Processor:
1Ghz would do. Dual-core CPU may be better but for me they’re a little overkill. Let multi-core CPU be exclusive for tablets for now.
Display:
Just like dual-core CPU, a 4.0-inch SuperAMOLED capacitive touchscreen with 480×800 WVGA resolution is also a little overkill to me. I’d prefer say, a 3.5-inch, which is not too bulky like 4.0-inch and not too small like 3.2-inch. For resolution a 2:3 aspect ratio would do, with resolution not exceeding 720×480. I’d rather get a tablet if it has to be bigger. An oleophobic Gorilla glass display would be a welcomed bonus too.
Speaker:
Wide stereo with micro subwoofer and virtual surround. I love to treat my phone as though it’s a miniature boombox.
Ambient light sensor:
To adjust the screen brightness automatically.
Accelerometer sensor:
If it’s not for making the UI/apps orientation auto-rotate.
Compass & GPS+ AGPS:
Helps finding the way.
System buttons:
It has to be the combo of these PHYSICAL buttons!: 2 programmable menu softkeys, answer key, end call key and a 4-way navpad (a.k.a. D-pad, ‘D’ for directional). I don’t accept capacitive keys because I need the tactile feedback to make me feel that I’ve actually pressed a key (and that feeling of a keypress is registered to the system). Besides I can ‘rest’ my fingers on those keys without actually activating it, as opposed to a capacitive key where every touch is treated as a keypress. And D-pad is also crucial for gaming. I prefer 4-way D-pad over the more common 5-way because it’s more gaming friendly and we won’t make mistake of wrongly pressed the OK button in the center.
Dedicated camera and music button:
I hate to navigate through the icons and menus just to activate these functions so it would be very helpful to have physical shortcut keys for them. After all these are the most used instant functions on any smartphone.
FM tuner:
I seldom use this as it’s only useful to me in certain seasons but having it would not hurt and I think for a device with music playback ability, it would be pointless without FM-tuner.
Camera with flash:
For me a 5.0MP AF camera with at least dual-flash LED would do for a smartphone (anything more would be overkill). LED flash can be used as a better flashlight than xenon flash because xenon flash would be too bright, almost blinding when looking for something in the dark.
Expansion Slot:
External, hot-swappable microSD memory card with support to at least 32GB. Yes it has to be external because I hate to have to open the chassis just to remove the card.
User Memory:
Should be at least 2GB available, no less. I mean there are just too many apps need to stay in the phone memory instead of microSD card. Although making apps transferable to microSD card is relatively easy sometimes an app running from a microSD card may cause the system to go haywire.
MicroUSB connectivity:
This has to be available for transferring stuff directly from/to the PC. And it needs to double as a charging port too. A separate charging port is a redundancy.
Wireless connectivity:
Bluetooth is for data exchange between devices as well as for car kits/earphone. Mobile hotspot should be made available too.
User changeable battery:
Everybody knows battery is always be the first part to face a failure in any device. Besides not everybody has the chance to get near a power socket while traveling. And yeah I do travel a lot and often lasts for a couple of days without electricity. That’s the situation where a spare battery would come in handy instead of having another phone.
Dual-SIM support:
I’d love to have 2 different telco plans in one phone. For instance I may use a prepaid plan for calls and a postpaid plan for data. Having them in one phone would make me drop the need to get a secondary phone. For me a smartphone is not smart enough if it only support 1 SIM card.
3G/3.5G + Tethering:
Having 3G capabilities without tethering would be pointless.
No telco-lock/contract:
I consider this as the most important feature. I don’t want to be bound to a commitment that would resulting me being penalized should I breached the contract.
Features I don’t need:
Front-facing camera:
I don’t do video call, and I don’t see the need to do so.
HDMI output:
I’m not that stupid to store HDMI contents in my phone. I have a dedicated external HDD for that.
“Glassless” 3D display:
3D display that doesn’t need a 3D eyeglasses is a cool tech but I use smartphone for apps and not just contents so having it would be totally pointless.
Biometric fingerprint scanner:
I heard some phone makers are considering this. I know it’s good for added security but in most cases, AFAIK a lost phone is a lost phone and most criminals don’t really mind what’s inside the phone unless they’re really after the phone for that purpose. It’s not that I’m saying it’s useless but I don’t keep much personal stuff in my phone, and even the phonebook also contain only names and numbers but no pictures, not even addresses.
Voice/Facial recognition:
This is also useful for added security but as I’ve stated before I am not an important person that people would want to use the data in my phone to kill my reputation. Ain’t got money anyways if that’s what they’re after.
Features worth considering:
Sliding QWERTY keypad:
Heavy texting is always better with physical keypad, though having them would make the phone bulkier.
Dedicated numeric keypad:
Still a better substitute for QWERTY keypad, and dialing on a physical keypad is considerably faster than touchscreen UI.
Dedicated gaming buttons:
Having extra buttons for gaming would be nice too, if the games support them.
4G/WiMAX capability:
They’re just around the corner and WiMAX has been around here for a couple of years already.
Exchangeable chassis:
While this has a tradeoff for a unibody design, it was fun to change the chassis with different colors/patterns/prints.
How about you?
Samsung and LG should stop making feature phone. It will only cause a mess and confusion in the cellphone market. Although the purpose was to bridge the functionality between smartphones and dumbphones, the outcome has never been good. Most people would only see feature phone shamelessly creating its own category that sits between a dumbphone and a smartphone. Of course a featurephone, while sharing many of a smartphone features, is having more features than a dumbphone. It has advanced extensive services that can never be brought into a dumbphone.
It may have supports and integrations of many online services such as facebook, twitter, google, yahoo, youtube, wikipedia (you name it) but that’s all there is to it. Most of this services rely on their respective unique API, which means should they change their API in the future, those service will not be usable in those featurephones, unless the phone’s firmware is updated to meet the new API requirement. Furthermore, the ‘client’ in those featurephones are also static, and the user have no choice over third-party clients. Like earlier, if the service provider changed to a more modern, more feature UI, those featurephones will be out of luck but to stick with the ‘classic’ UI.
Somehow it’s pointless to get a featurephone when it’s priced similarly to many lower-end Androphone. One might think that even the cheapest Androphone is overkill for a user who would not use all the features but why would anybody pay for a device that do less if they can get an alternative that can do more with the similar price? Anyways it’s a good thing that Sony Ericsson has long departed from making featurephone since their large-scale adoption of Android. At least Nokia is better for never making a featurephone, and they managed to draw a clear line between a dumbphone and a smarphone.
Does hating iPhone/iPad/iPod automatically makes me an Android fan? No, that kind of logic is FAIL. In fact I’d still hate iXXX even if Android wasn’t there. The truth is I have issues with Android too like it’s not fit to carry the Linux label and incapable of running Linux apps (despite the much bragged point of being based on Linux, open source, etc), as well as some other stuff. However I have greater issues with iXXX. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not just Apple but also all other elite brands that claim to be the best, keep talking big and refused to admit/recognize/acknowledge it when ‘cheaper’ brands surpassed them (in a better way) in many terms.
So what would I do if there was no Android? Of course I’d root for Symbian. No, I won’t go for WinMobile (or WP7 for that matter) as I have similar issues with WinMobile as I do with iXXX. If there was no Android and people don’t like iXXX of course Symbian would be the king as those people would go for it, boosting its development and sales, unlike the current situation.
So if I care so much about Symbian then why do I hypocritically root for Android today? No, it’s not about being hypocrite, it’s about which one has a brighter future. I’m a practical person. I know iXXX has a bright future too but for it to force its users into a closed ecosystem is not something that I can live with. At least BlackBerry doesn’t have similar ecosystem, which is why I’m more compatible with BB than iXXX.
BTW I might have liked iPhone if it was a classic-iPodish looking phone rather than the touchscreen one. I understand Apple want to make it more than just a phone, hence the smartphone moniker but I think it was overkill on that time. I hope the rumor about Apple making a budget iPhone is true, and I hope it will have physical keypad just like a normal phone. After all I have a hard time to call a phone without keypad as a phone, even if it’s Android/Symbian.
The good thing about iPhone is it has only 2,3 form factor that 3rd party manufacturers have no problem in designing complementary devices/accessories for it. Well, it can be a good or bad thing, just like how the availability of different models/specs of Android phone becomes a good thing for different target groups. Anyways, I think for Linux (the real one, not Android) to conquer tablets as well, the software (apps) need to be touch optimized too. In other words, Linux needs to be less dependent on CLI and improve the GUI into touch interface.
So the question is not about what I love when I hate another.
Actually it depends on the situation/setting. In my place here, texting is more economical as it's cheaper than talking over the phone. Not only that, with virtually everybody here possess at least one cellphone per person, everybody is able to text or receive texts. It's been a popular choice over here ever since cellphone services started booming nationwide in the late 90's. I can say it's probably the preferred method of communication by most cellphone owners here.
For me I prefer texting. It's not that I don't like to talk over the phone but like I said earlier, texting is cheaper. If you look it from a certain perspective, having a hi-tech cellphone/smartphone is pointless if you only use it for talking (it's not a fixed-line phone with less features to begin with so why not use its texting capabilities to its fullest because it can?). Well, you can say that I'm a person who only talks when I'm in a face-to-face setting. After all, texting allows me to construct proper words because with talking, although I can talk spontaneously, sometimes unplanned words may resulting me screwed up unknowingly, and I'd want to avoid that as much as I could.
My other reason is I'm so used with texting. My first experience with texting was with some early IM services during the dotcom boom. I'm also a person who writes more than I talk. Yes, writing gives me the flexibility to edit my words before relaying it to the people I'm communicating to. Besides writing (as well as reading) is what makes us different from illiterate people.
With the current mobile technologies today, most websites are ‘browse-able’ on smartphones, so it should not be an issue to browse the websites in the same way as in desktop, even if the website utilize Flash, which means it doesn’t make sense to drop Flash support for smartphones to make way for HTML5. Not to mention HTML5 does not really solve the problems with Flash as both of them are bandwidth-hungry when it comes to embedded media. With awesome hardware like the 1GHz CPU, the only bottleneck to the web browsing experience is the mobile internet connection.
Image via Wikipedia
I have this one ‘genius’ friend. Among my friends he is one of the earlier adopters when it comes to technology since he got money although most of the time he never use his tech toys to their fullest because he’s too dumb to play around with them.
He’s now using the iPhone 3GS and thanks to him I got to have a taste of that Apple fruit too and able to experience myself what’s great and what’s bad about it. Now he’s about to get the iPhone4 and he offered to sell his current iPhone 3GS to me half of the original price. Not bad but I think I’ll pass.
I remember before he acquire that iPhone 3GS he was using Nokia N97. N97 IS a good smartphone no matter what (at least to me) but since this ‘genius’ friend of mine believe everything that Saint Jobs told him, he was deceived into buying that iPhone 3GS when his Nokia N97 has not even reached 1-year-old in his possession.
Before he bought the iPhone 3GS he started to make up stories about how bad his Nokia N97 when compared to iPhone, although he never complained about it before. In fact he used to brag about having a N97 and I remember how annoying he was.
So what did he complained about N97? First he said there’s no multi-touch. Then I asked him why didn’t he make research about it before he bought it before? He could have asked me too because I’m willing to give tech advises for free and that’s what I always do. Oh well, he’s a ‘genius’.
Actually he never use the multi-touch interface even after he got himself the iPhone 3GS. The point is NEVER BITCH ABOUT SOMETHING YOU WILL NEVER USE YOU GENIUS! Now he’s complaining about the lack front-facing camera on iPhone 3GS and making it as an excuse to get the iPhone4.
Man, how long you’re going to throw money at your personal preferences? Do you still remember your old Nokia N97 has this front-facing camera but as far as I know you never use it not even once and in fact you don’t even know (or bother to know) how to use video-call because you DID told me “I don’t need that”.
Me: Why d’you want to grab that iPhone4? That 3GS still works great for you, y’know?
Mr. Chump Change: Oh, because it’s the new toy from Saint Jobs.
(When I said ‘genius’ here I really meant the opposite, which makes me think how stupid people can be?)
Don’t you think the new look of Windows Media Player in Win7 looks very much like a touchscreen smartphone? If I’m to get a new smartphone, I’d like to have one that looks like this.
