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Well, finally after months of vacillitating put in a pre-order for the Xperia Z which should arrive at the end of this month.
Was sorely tempted with the Nokia 920 but the tariffs are too expensive on Vodafone, although the RRP is the same as the Sony for the same monthly tariff the 920 is £69 while the Xperia is free.
Still, got my wife a Nokia 820 yesterday so I might still get the option to swap if I really don't like the Sony (I hope).
Oh nice one, I hope it lives up to your expectations. If not I think there is usually a 7 day cooling off period where you can change if you wish. I know Carphone Warehouse allow this. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Malbec
A female friend of mine should have upgraded about 5 months ago and has an older Sony Xperia. She asked me what a good phone to upgrade to was and I've recommended the Samsung S3. I didn't know about the Xperia Z but she did mention she didn't mind a change. She's happy with the interface on her existing phone so I figured she'd like the Samsung. I know the S4 is due out in the next few months but she's not really bothered about having the latest and greatest. She's going to try a few phones out over the weekend anyway and will probably get something random lol.
I thought I'd share this here for anyone with an iPhone and who may be interested. There is an app called 'Mailbox' that looks like a great alternative to the existing built in push email system on iPhone. I've just downloaded it myself and although the app is not live, you can join the waiting list. I remember being on the waiting list to beta test Gmail back in 2004 (think it was?), and this looks like a nice way of handling email whilst on the go. I can see influence from elsewhere in its development and hopefully it won't be too long until release. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CICMxwgm274
Mailbox for iPhone Is Finally in the App Store, Along With Its 250,000+ Waiting List | Gizmodo UK
I'm always suspicious about "waiting lists" for simple services like that, it reminds me of Cartman's "you can't come in here" fairground from South Park. :p
There's good reason in this case. The demand has been overwhelming so they have done it to save their servers. It's annoying to wait but seems like a lovely alternative to push email. Hopefully I won't be waiting too many weeks lol.
Great thread
I haven't noticed it being mentioned over the last couple of pages, so I thought I'd ask if anybody is jazzed up about the new BlackBerry Z10 or the BB10 OS? Being that it doesn't seem to be getting much positive press after the launch, do you think it's going to land with the same giant thud that the Playbook did?
Not sure about the Z10 as I prefer the X10 which has a physical keyboard and that for me is essential and one of the reasons why I will stay with BB, the other reason being excellent data package price when roaming outside of Europe.
Its getting quite positive press in the UK and reports have stated that a significant number of CW stores have sold out of the Z10. Good news for Blackberry but they have now entered the same market space as iOS, Android, and WP8 by producing a touchscreen device. As ioan said he prefers a physical keyboard and a lot of present Blackberry users are of that mindset in my experience. Its what set Blackberry apart from the competition but now they have changed direction I think only time will tell whether they will be successful. At present the Z10 has been applauded but hype always does this shortly after launch and Blackberry have certainly not held back with their advertising here in the UK. Its had more coverage than many Android devices get (apart from the S3) and Blackberry are lucky they are still relatively popular amongst teens. With the increasing popularity of iMessage and free messengers like Whatsapp, I can't see BBM remaining as the selling point amongst teens solely. I hope they do well as it just adds to the already competitive market, so fingers crossed they push it further and so far so good.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior
Battery life alone looks impressive, which was always one of the strong points of the original colour Blackberry handsets. If the app level is good and the battery life is as good as stated, it has a good chance. The picture editing feature, peak and flow are nice, as is the swipe up feature for predictive words on the virtual keyboard.Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
The BES 10 software (which will allow a free upgrade of your (soon to be) legacy BES 4.1.x/5.x) licence keys is nice too. Plus BES 10 can manage IOs and Android devices too. Looks like they are heading in the right direction.....
Indeed. Apps will be the key for any manufacturer and Blackberry need to attract more developers onto their platform.
Just as well as I've just cancelled the order and will be popping down to my local Vodafone store to get the Nokia 920 ASAP!Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
I've upgraded purchase project to a new status.Quote:
Originally Posted by janneppi
I'm now considering getting a new smartphone. :D
Sony Xperia V seems to be on top at the moment, I really wanted to like the Lumia 820, but it's just too closed system, I'm nerd enough to need real third party multitasking and open Bluetooth. And sadly only Androids do that well.
I do like some features on it, it has some weatherproofing and a replaceable battery. And It looks a lot better than the Nexus 4.
I either need to get drunk and order the damn phone or somehow justify myself that I's a good idea to spend 500 Eur on it.
what do you think of the lumia 920 Malbec?
Just to clarify my wife has an 820, I have a 920 and my officemate has two 620s, one for him and one for his wife so I've had a good play with them all.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
My 920 is utterly fantastic. Very smooth, fast and handy. Windows is excellent, I don't think it lacks for anything although I've had the usual difficulties adjusting to a completely new OS. So far the battery doesn't last quite as long as I expected but I've only put it through a few cycles so that might improve.
Put it this way, I pre-ordered the Xperia Z which would have come with a £300 set of headphones as a special offer. Obviously cancelling that order means I won't get those headphones, but the Nokia 920 is good enough that I don't care.
I do think that Windows sells itself best by people having a good go on the phones to see it in action. The staff in the Vodafone shop I went to knew next to nothing either about the OS or the phones running it.
Exactly. The big problem is that you'll never walk into a store and be sold a windows phone without asking. Perhaps there's a stigma attaches to them? I've owned 3 different windows phones and have liked them all. Should get number 4 soonish.
I think there is a certain stigma attached to them but for reasons I can't explain. Just reading the tech articles on various sites you get the impression they are given a hard time. Just reading today Blackberry are very much the phone company of the month with a lot of effort going in to their marketing on British TV at the moment. They are officially still the third most popular platform after Android and iOS according to articles this morning despite not really pushing any of their flagship products for the last 12 months. I have heard mumblings that manufacturers are complaining that WP8 is too complex to work with and Microsoft are very much helping Nokia out more than the rest. The lack of apps is the key issue I think, or should I say the lack of well known apps that you find across other platforms. I think this needs to be tackled in order for them to be a serious contender within the already competitive market.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
Everybody I have spoken to lately who owns a WP8 device has been very happy with it in my experience. I didn't used to know anybody with one but a couple of friends and colleagues have moved across to it and think its brilliant. I know someone with the 920 and its got a lovely screen on it with plenty of saturation on the colours. My only gripe from an aesthetics point of view is its weight and size. If you can put up with that then fantastic. Hope you continue to enjoy your purchase Malbec, you've obviously thought long and hard about it. :)
Why the quick turnover? They must have been crappy if you want to get rid of them that fast.
Me? First phone was an omnia 7 which I gave to Caroline when I got a lumia 800 which I couldn't get unlocked and I picked up an hd7 very cheap. All good phones, though the screen is a bit ordinary on the hd7
Well, there was a time when Windows such a popular thing to dump on. Back in the ME and early XP days at least. I guess this still persists. I'm temping somewhere at the moment doing admin work and we were talking about phones and the IT manager has an iPhone, i showed him my windows phone and he asked how many times a day I have to reboot it :p Thankfully it was just a lighthearted bit of banter :pQuote:
Originally Posted by henners88
I imagine that if Apple had called the iPhone a Macintosh phone then it wouldn't have done so well.
I guess I'm just not a typical user, I don't find myself using apps all that much really. I use the web version of facebook on my phone unless I'm uploading and tagging photos in which case I use the built in facebook. I use last.fm when I'm in the shower to play music and I use a couple of weather apps. Perhaps I don't know what I'm missing, but I just don't feel the need to move because of apps.
We're both looking at upgrading at the moment, Caroline quite likes the Ativ S which is a dual core Galaxy S3 running WP8 and I quite like the Lumia 920, though the Ativ S does also appeal to me as well.....
Lumia 920 has a fantastic camera, has 4g (probably not really much of a factor tbh), does wireless charging and the Ativ S is slimmer, has a bigger screen, is lighter and the screen was a bit more vibrant I thought.
Looks like my PC found out I'm thinking of upgrading electronics and decided to get in on the action by crapping the graphics card or power unit. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by janneppi
Not sure it's worth getting new components for a 6 year old PC so I might have to start building a new one. Estimated cost for a good package without a monitor is about 700-800 eur. Jolly good fun.
Do real normal people really use that many apps? At the moment I look for apps that improve the utility of my phone but after that I suspect I won't visit the store for months on end, just as with my android phones. I've often found this idea that the huge number of apps on one OS or another will swing things to be a bit of a geeky misrepresentation of things.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
The camera on the 920 really is fantastic but on the other hand wireless charging seems like little more than a gimmick. Also the battery life really isn't that great on the 920.Quote:
Originally Posted by Daniel
Another thing you need to think about is that there is little performance difference between the 620 through to the 920 for the casual user, personally I think the 820 offers by far the best value for money.
I think there are more than enough apps for just about any phone or device these days. Once the novelty wears off and the device becomes more than just a toy, the majority of people I know don't end up using all that many apps really. I don't have many at all, and don't even use my phone for music.
Around the area where I live, I can't think of a single person I know that has a Windows phone. People just don't seem to buy them.
I download the odd app to try out new things. I quite like discovering new things and ways to use devices. I hope I'm normal lol. I do find the app store for iOS is a lot more appealing than the Play Store in terms of bringing useful apps to your attention. I use an app called 'App Gratis' and it notifies you daily of a free app that has been made available for 24 hours only. Some have been complete rubbish but I've also had some great apps and saved money by not having to buy them. Apps are not for everyone but they are the major pull for any operating system at the moment.Quote:
Originally Posted by Malbec
From what I have heard the camera is one of the best out there. Having said that the camera's have always been pretty good on the Nokia's I've owned because of the Carl Zeiss influence. Many phone manufacturers boast 12, 13, 14 megapixel camera's but if the lens is crap, you aren't going to get a picture worthy of the hype. Nokia teamed up with a good lens manufacturer early on. The iPhone camara is very good, but it'll never be better than a purpose built compact or DSLR. Its always going to be a basic handy point and shoot feature. Having a fairly good camera on your phone is better than having a rubbish one of course lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by Malbec
Wireless charging is only ever going to be a gimmick IMO. Having a charging mat that is plugged in rather than plugging the end of the cable in to your phone is just an alternative rather than solving a problem. Its cool, but its not a unique selling point for everybody.
I'd be interested in seeing figures for app usage, as opposed to downloads. I suspect that many people do indeed download apps and ignore them once the novelty wears off. I've got about 100 apps on my phone, about a quarter of which I use regularly, about half of which I use occasionally, and the other quarter of which I'm too lazy to uninstall.Quote:
Originally Posted by airshifter
(edit: I've just looked and it's 131)
I'm not so sure. It should be so easy to standardise that before long I think we'll see wireless charging pads in cars and on public transport. And don't forget that docking stations are starting to appear that play music via NFC while simultaneously charging the handset. I can see a time where we laugh at the olden days when we still plugged things in.Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
That's why I've never had any issues with my windows phone and the comparative lack of apps.
I use it as a phone and to browse the net and post on forums and such.
The only thing which I would really like is iPlayer support.
I understand the point about wireless charging on the move but right now I'd rather have a thin cable than a charging mat to pack in my case.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave B
My brother in law got the deal of the century on eBay last week when he picked up a brand new Microsoft Surface tablet 32GB for 200 quid! The guy who put it on spelt Surface with an 'i' ('Sirface') and only two others were bidding on the item. Its a nice tablet indeed, but a lot closer to a laptop than an actual tablet. Its also a lot thinner than I expected it to be. I would have had one for 200 quid.
personally I wouldn't have a surface rt
It is already standardised. It just won't catch on until you slab an i in the front of the device name. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave B
Qi (inductive power standard) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Power sockets and chargers are in theory standardised, in the EU at least, but there's still one company which refuses to play ball. But yes, iCharge will probably be a game-changer and the beginning of another round of lawsuits.Quote:
Originally Posted by janneppi
If Apple wanted to make money from this situation they could sell the rights to their lightning connector design for standard use. We know they wouldn't do that but it's by far the best connector in use in terms of design and application IMO. They obviously want to set themselves apart and it works in certain areas. If you have one or the other I can't see why it would be an issue though? Nowadays you either have micro USB connectors or Apples version. It wasn't so long ago every phone manufacturer on the market had its own type of connector and we didn't seem to mind that too much.
Yes, but Apple don't do that. They feel they've got the best OS, do they go and charge a licence fee for it? Nope.......Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
But why would you pack a charging mat? Imagine they're standardised and so commonplace that all your mates have one, there's one on your desk, one on your train table, in your hotel room... See the possibilities? And it needn't be restricted to mere charging. Chuck your phone into your car and it'll not only charge but seamlessly play music through your ICE. None of this is fantasy talk, it's all currently possible and just waiting for mass-market adoption.Quote:
Originally Posted by henners88
If it comes I will use it like any other feature. I'm not against it but at the moment I don't have an issue with the current method, just saying that's all. I'm not against innovation. It sounds like it would make things easier if standardised so let's wait and see how quickly it's adopted by all. :)
Thing is, it's one of those things you're not forced to use, it's an additional feature which a lot will find useful. The fact that Apple haven't adopted NFC is just silly. When they eventually bring out itouch or whatever and make it incompatible with other phones, then people are going to wonder why everyone else can tap to share and they can'tQuote:
Originally Posted by henners88
I'm sure Apple will bring in NFC in the future but it made little sense to invest when it's in it's infancy IMO. Is my phone worse off for not having it? Not as far as I can tell. :)
The missus and I just renewed our family plan contract with our local mobile carrier, with shiney new iPhones on order :D .
In other news, I was just told that I'm being issued a new Nokia Windows phone as a company device :mark:
We can't even get agreement on wired charging anyway! Or rather we can but then Apple agrees then goes off and does it's own thing anyway.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave B