Apple, I never thought I’d say it …

by Jonathan Jensen on 13th July 2009

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I never thought I’d say it but I much prefer my iPhone to my Nokia E63. I’ve played with the iPhone on a number of occasions and always been impressed by the user experience but felt it was lacking in a number of areas, for example the ability to customise it in the way you can with a S60 device and the lack of a ‘proper’ keypad.

iphone

Oh so many applications!

I also resented the ‘Apple tax’ and the closed nature of the way Apple operates, for example offering the device through one UK operator (who incidentally has the weakest 3G coverage, we learned this week) on expensive tariffs.

However all that changed when I received an iPhone (not the 3GS sadly) for business purposes. Using the iPhone every day made me realise just what a game changer it is.

Much as I love the qwerty keypad on my E63, the iPhone makes Nokia’s S60 interface seem so dated by comparison. The App Store ecosystem changed the mobile marketplace forever and when compared to the Ovi Store … well let’s not even go there.

From a business perspective, the Exchange integration for mail, contacts and calendar is excellent and very easy to set up.

I’ve been a staunch Nokia user, supporter and campaigner since 1994 when Orange launched in the UK and Nokia still produces some great devices in the E and N Series.

However the user experience is in drastic need of an overhaul. Although I’ve yet to try the N97, Nokia’s latest flagship device, nothing I’ve read so far leads me to believe I’d change my mind about Nokia.

Where the iPhone really scores is in simplicity for the user. I’ve already mentioned the App Store with its wealth of compelling applications but other areas like WiFi with pre-configured hotspot coverage, SMS message threading, hardware switch to silence the device, to name a few, just make it easy for users. Not everyone is a mobile geek!

The iPhone certainly has some drawbacks. The battery life is rubbish - I don’t even get a day with a bit of use but maybe that will improve in the next firmware release. The inability to remove and replace the battery is ridiculous, unless you’re Apple who makes money out of it! The camera resolution, even on the 3GS, is low, although the photos are surprisingly good for the resolution. No option to expand the memory via a memory card is a limitation for some users. But on balance I can work round these issues.

Everyone has their own personal preferences but for me the iPhone has changed the way I see my handset. Over to you Nokia – surprise me!

—

Jonathan is @sevendotzero on Twitter and is also at Sevendotzero.

Tagged as: apple, applications, business, E63, iphone

  • Name

    It may be easy to set up and easy to use, but I’m not prepared to accept any mobile phone - especially one for business - that (according to Jonathan’s comments) is incapable of making or receiving calls at the end of the day… and I’m surprised that he’s able to work with that.

  • Mike42

    Try using an N95 the way iPhones get used. You’ll be in the same sinking boat. Don’t blame the hardware for letting users use it for a multitude of things. Although Apple could do more to let people manage things better - like smart profiles that start to wind back updates / disables Wifi / turns off 3G etc when battery runs low. Or a hardware WiFi on-off switch. I cannot believe there isn’t an App Store app for this, like there used to be for jailbroken devices.

    /m

  • http://www.sevendotzero.com sevendotzero

    Battery life is an issue that dogs many smartphones. The iPhone seems to have a particular issue but I just top it up during the day if necessary. I’ve been carrying a Proporta mobile device charger around for a couple of years anyway, so no real hardship.

  • Name

    It may be easy to set up and easy to use, but I'm not prepared to accept any mobile phone - especially one for business - that (according to Jonathan's comments) is incapable of making or receiving calls at the end of the day… and I'm surprised that he's able to work with that.

  • Name

    It may be easy to set up and easy to use, but I'm not prepared to accept any mobile phone - especially one for business - that (according to Jonathan's comments) is incapable of making or receiving calls at the end of the day… and I'm surprised that he's able to work with that.

  • http://twitter.com/rikkles Henri Asseily

    As @Mike42 says, the problem is that people USE their iphone throughout the day. Check email, surf web, what about the weather? look up someone’s .tel contact info. :) … read a book, use Facebook, play a game.
    I used to have a Nokia N83. When using Wi-Fi just for a bit, the battery would die literally mid-day. It was horrible. So let’s compare apples to apples: take an iPhone and some other handset, use them for exactly the same things, and see where it gets you. I’m pretty sure the iPhone will win by a bit, simply because it’s faster to do many tasks on the iPhone, and therefore you’ll use it less.

    Anyway, to reduce battery drain just kill the 3G. It makes a huge difference in battery life, and very little difference in real use.

  • Mike42

    Try using an N95 the way iPhones get used. You'll be in the same sinking boat. Don't blame the hardware for letting users use it for a multitude of things. Although Apple could do more to let people manage things better - like smart profiles that start to wind back updates etc when battery runs low. Or a hardware WiFi on-off switch. I cannot believe there isn't an App Store ap for this, like there used to be for jailbroken devices.

  • Mike42

    Try using an N95 the way iPhones get used. You'll be in the same sinking boat. Don't blame the hardware for letting users use it for a multitude of things. Although Apple could do more to let people manage things better - like smart profiles that start to wind back updates etc when battery runs low. Or a hardware WiFi on-off switch. I cannot believe there isn't an App Store ap for this, like there used to be for jailbroken devices.

  • http://www.sevendotzero.com sevendotzero

    Battery life is an issue that dogs many smartphones. The iPhone seems to have a particular issue but I just top it up during the day if necessary. I've been carrying a Proporta mobile device charger around for a couple of years anyway, so no real hardship.

  • http://www.sevendotzero.com sevendotzero

    Battery life is an issue that dogs many smartphones. The iPhone seems to have a particular issue but I just top it up during the day if necessary. I've been carrying a Proporta mobile device charger around for a couple of years anyway, so no real hardship.

  • http://twitter.com/rikkles Henri Asseily

    As @Mike42 says, the problem is that people USE their iphone throughout the day. Check email, surf web, what about the weather? look up someone's .tel contact info. :) … read a book, use Facebook, play a game.I used to have a Nokia N83. When using Wi-Fi just for a bit, the battery would die literally mid-day. It was horrible. So let's compare apples to apples: take an iPhone and some other handset, use them for exactly the same things, and see where it gets you. I'm pretty sure the iPhone will win by a bit, simply because it's faster to do many tasks on the iPhone, and therefore you'll use it less.Anyway, to reduce battery drain just kill the 3G. It makes a huge difference in battery life, and very little difference in real use.

  • http://twitter.com/rikkles Henri Asseily

    As @Mike42 says, the problem is that people USE their iphone throughout the day. Check email, surf web, what about the weather? look up someone's .tel contact info. :) … read a book, use Facebook, play a game.
    I used to have a Nokia N83. When using Wi-Fi just for a bit, the battery would die literally mid-day. It was horrible. So let's compare apples to apples: take an iPhone and some other handset, use them for exactly the same things, and see where it gets you. I'm pretty sure the iPhone will win by a bit, simply because it's faster to do many tasks on the iPhone, and therefore you'll use it less.

    Anyway, to reduce battery drain just kill the 3G. It makes a huge difference in battery life, and very little difference in real use.

  • http://www.TheProdigalGuide.com TheProdigalFool

    I couldn’t agree more.

    I picked up an original iPhone and was initially blown away. The OS delivered a fantastic user experience. But soon, once the limitations (particularly the camera, lack of cut and paste, no 3rd party apps) become clear, I moved on. I craved more customisation and better hardware.

    I’ve been a Nokia fan since - owning the E90, E71 and E75.

    But my last two Nokias - though very feature rich - were a let down in the end. I had hardware problems (dust under the screens, buttons not working) and lots of software ‘issues’. I won’t call them bugs but the fact is that S60 simply doesn’t hold up against modern OSs. The browsing, email and PIM experiences are all sub-standard.

    I got sick of making excuses for Nokia and when Apple announced the iPhone 3GS and version 3.0 of the OS, I was ready to give the iPhone another try. I was in line on launch day and can honestly say I haven’t looked back since. The camera is now decent, the video recorder outstanding, they’ve plugged all the other functionality holes but - most importantly, the power of the hardware combined with the App Store and ease of use make it the best mobile platform on sale today.

    I long to see whether Nokia will ever deliver a real challenger. The N97 sure as hell wasn’t up to the job.

  • http://www.TheProdigalGuide.com TheProdigalFool

    I couldn't agree more.I picked up an original iPhone and was initially blown away. The OS delivered a fantastic user experience. But soon, once the limitations (particularly the camera, lack of cut and paste, no 3rd party apps) become clear, I moved on. I craved more customisation and better hardware.I've been a Nokia fan since - owning the E90, E71 and E75. But my last two Nokias - though very feature rich - were a let down in the end. I had hardware problems (dust under the screens, buttons not working) and lots of software 'issues'. I won't call them bugs but the fact is that S60 simply doesn't hold up against modern OSs. The browsing, email and PIM experiences are all sub-standard.I got sick of making excuses for Nokia and when Apple announced the iPhone 3GS and version 3.0 of the OS, I was ready to give the iPhone another try. I was in line on launch day and can honestly say I haven't looked back since. The camera is now decent, the video recorder outstanding, they've plugged all the other functionality holes but - most importantly, the power of the hardware combined with the App Store and ease of use make it the best mobile platform on sale today.I long to see whether Nokia will ever deliver a real challenger. The N97 sure as hell wasn't up to the job.

  • http://www.TheProdigalGuide.com TheProdigalFool

    I couldn't agree more.

    I picked up an original iPhone and was initially blown away. The OS delivered a fantastic user experience. But soon, once the limitations (particularly the camera, lack of cut and paste, no 3rd party apps) become clear, I moved on. I craved more customisation and better hardware.

    I've been a Nokia fan since - owning the E90, E71 and E75.

    But my last two Nokias - though very feature rich - were a let down in the end. I had hardware problems (dust under the screens, buttons not working) and lots of software 'issues'. I won't call them bugs but the fact is that S60 simply doesn't hold up against modern OSs. The browsing, email and PIM experiences are all sub-standard.

    I got sick of making excuses for Nokia and when Apple announced the iPhone 3GS and version 3.0 of the OS, I was ready to give the iPhone another try. I was in line on launch day and can honestly say I haven't looked back since. The camera is now decent, the video recorder outstanding, they've plugged all the other functionality holes but - most importantly, the power of the hardware combined with the App Store and ease of use make it the best mobile platform on sale today.

    I long to see whether Nokia will ever deliver a real challenger. The N97 sure as hell wasn't up to the job.

  • pieter13

    Dito

  • pieter13

    Dito

  • pieter13

    Dito

  • Anonymous

    I too have just recieved an iPhone for work, but in my case it’s partnering my personal Bold 9000. I like the iPhone but I can’t see what the fuss is about. Mail, messaging and facebook are all much better with a hard keyboard. The short-cuts to move between messages much quicker. I seem to be endlessly scrolling to find things on the iPhone.

    I described the Blackberry as being like a Transit and the iPhone a 911. I think I’ll stick with that.

    Simon

  • simonrockman

    I too have just recieved an iPhone for work, but in my case it's partnering my personal Bold 9000. I like the iPhone but I can't see what the fuss is about. Mail, messaging and facebook are all much better with a hard keyboard. The short-cuts to move between messages much quicker. I seem to be endlessly scrolling to find things on the iPhone.I described the Blackberry as being like a Transit and the iPhone a 911. I think I'll stick with that.Simon

  • simonrockman

    I too have just recieved an iPhone for work, but in my case it's partnering my personal Bold 9000. I like the iPhone but I can't see what the fuss is about. Mail, messaging and facebook are all much better with a hard keyboard. The short-cuts to move between messages much quicker. I seem to be endlessly scrolling to find things on the iPhone.

    I described the Blackberry as being like a Transit and the iPhone a 911. I think I'll stick with that.

    Simon

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