Blackberry Bold, iPhone 3G or Nokia E71
by Volker Weber
Three new phones are promised to appear at vowe's magic flying circus. I wonder which one will be here first.
Comments
Can't wait to hear your take on the E71
Vowe you lucky boy. Sweet stuff. Yea toys!
I don't think that it is a matter of which one shows up first, it will be more interesting to know which one will you not want to return.
Gregg, I know that already. :-)
He who dies with the most toys wins... You're way out front there, Volker!
I keep the boxes and do send them back. You don't get new stuff if you hog the old. But yes, there are about a dozen at any time.
I am really looking forward to these three. I believe they are all top gun in their category,
Where can I buy the Nokia E71??? Now???
Wasnt it supposed to be available at July 11th also?
Anyone sells this device in Darmstadt?
I have the E71 ( http://blog.gonzaguedambricourt.com/2008/07/08/test-nokia-e71/ ) and I love it ;-)
I bet the Blackberry arrives last...
So you see them in different categories? Smartphone, Smartphone and ... Smartphone? ;-)
Do you know when and if BBB (BlackBeryBold - I like the triple b) will be available at Vodafone germany?
No, I don't. They don't seem to have seed units yet, and carrier availability has not been announced. VF and T-M only say "no comment".
FWIW I am wholly unimpressed by the iPhone 3G. I've been using it 2.5 days now, and my impression is that the battery life is extremely poor, bordering on appalling. I seem to be able to manage about 20 hours of 17-18 hours standby and 2-3 hours use on one charge. I am -not- going to be forced into manually turning 3G and wi-fi on and off when I need them.
I refuse to be forced to charge my phone daily, if not twice a day. In addition to that, 3G coverage in the UK is very spotty and unreliable. The other issue is the on board camera is very poor in medium to low light conditions and doesnt even have a flash, which all mobiles have nowaways. It will be going back for a normal media phone that does not need a daily rejuice. I already have an ipod touch so that will take care of the sofa browsing.
For handling email on the move, the Blackberry 8800 with OS 4.5 beats the iPhone hands down. Good battery life in a mobile device is absolutely crucial to its success and it seems that RIM understand this. I look forward to seeing the Blackberry Bold and the Blackberry Thunder. Bye bye iPhone 3G, you were fun while you lasted.
Ugh! Sounds like the morning after.
Andy, what kind of use?
Indeed, the battery has to be charged daily on the original iPhone, and the 3G can only be worse. Not much of a problem here, since I put the phone in the dock, whenever I don't need it.
The iPhone is actually BETTER than most other smartphones, with the notable exception of older Blackberrys and those with the green battery. The yellow battery Blackberrys also need a charge pretty quickly.
It all depends very much on your usage pattern. If you have a new toy, you tend to use it a LOT more than after a week or so. It will be interesting how the Bold performs. They have put a huge battery in there because of the 3G radio.
What i would consider a normal usage level is 18 hours in standby with the screen off, turning screen on every hour or so to check the time, an hour of surfing over wifi and an hour of surfing over 3G and maybe a couple of pictures. That usage pattern runs it down to battery warning levels. I have been busy with other things, so have not had the time to play with it as much as I would have liked.
I've since been told that the battery needs 3 or 4 full discharge/charge cycles before it is at full capacity, and an Iphone out of the box then charged once wont be at full capacity.
If youre travelling a lot of the time, and you dont have access to a dock to put it in each day, this level of battery performance is just annoying.
My Blackberry 8800 with green battery lasts 4-5 days between charges. Far more practical and it allows me to do email on the move without having to worry about where the next juice point is.
Looks like Engadget have come to the same conclusion as me in their Iphone review. The Iphone 3G with 3G and wi-fi on doesnt last anywhere near as long as the Iphone 2G. 5 hours versus 9 hours of video playback.
I can attest to the 8800 performance. Same here with three different devices. I can even see them going for a week.
If the 3G is really so much worse than the original, that is bad news. The original iPhone is good enough, but less performance is not. The Nokia N95 does not survive one day, and the E-series devices should be charged once, but usually survice two days. All WM6 devices I have need one recharge a day in my usage pattern.
The iPhone 3G sounds about right to me: I have a yellow battery Blackberry (8100) and it’s similarly awful when it comes to battery life, with even less of an excuse:
I make 2 - 3 phone calls per day, on average. I check the calendar, send a few SMS. I don’t use Bluetooth, nor do I use web browsing or email. I turn it off every night, so it’s just in standby mode some 11 hours per day. I don’t use it for music, very rarely use the camera.
The handset needs charging every 2 days, without fail. Rubbish!
