Thanks, i'll look those up.

I was given an iphone for Christmas by my daughter
I've never done anything with it other than make phone calls so it's probably a bit wasted on me – I'd rather have a smaller phone but I guess I'll have to persevere for a while yet

Smart Phones are very handy if you utilze them. iPhones are great but this is just one phone in a market of smart phones.
I personally wouldn't be without my iPhone now, Not that I couldn't but they are just to damn handy.
Example from last weekend at Mayhem.
– Used the Mapping software to help get be there.
– After a down pour on Saturday I was ablt to then keep abreast of weather reports specific to the area
– I was able to check my emails and surf online which meant I sold the Groupset i've been flogging whilst sat in the sun and picked up a couple of bargains off here
– Using the Paypal app I then withdrew the money into my account so my the time I got home I actually had the money.
– Sunday when I couldn't be arsed to cook I could google the location of a local Pizza place to get takeaway
– Through email was able to check my training plan & work rota so I can arrange the next event with my mates whilst there
– Was able to listen to a selcection of 200+ albums over the weekend through my sound dock and through the car stereo
– Oh and also managed to ring & text a few people whilst there who couldn't find our tents

So could I have done without it? Yes, of course. Having it made the weekend a lot more enjoyable though and thats from someone that doesn't have loads of the available apps as well

After a down pour on Saturday

Are you talking about this year?

I'd rather have a smaller phone but I guess I'll have to persevere for a while yet

You are quite the hero 😉

Yepa, although I meant on Friday!!! Peeded it down at about 5ish for a short time after being nice all day and me putting off a practise lap. I persisted and went out anyway and that 1st wooded section was pretty unrideable on my Nobby Nics. Mud was like poo glue and went down 3 times just tryng to walk it.
It nicely dried out though but that 1st wooded section stayed like an Acme glue spill for the rest of the weekend

I've never done anything with it other than make phone calls so it's probably a bit wasted on me

So don't you even use it for the basic functions (i.e. email, web, calendar, videos, music and GPS)?

If not then yeah I'd definitely ditch it and get something simpler.

Out of idle curiousity: do you do these things on other devices and for some reason you are averse to doing them on a handheld device?
Or are they things that you generally don't do anyway and so of no interest?

An iPhone is a PC, a pocket computer, and as such fulfils the same function as the device you're using to post on here

Are you seriously telling me the iPhone is a substitute for a PC/laptop/Mac? You must be **** joking, or maybe you don't use your PC/laptop/Mac for much?

So don't you even use it for the basic functions (i.e. email, web, calendar, videos, music and GPS)?

If not then yeah I'd definitely ditch it and get something simpler.

er… no

It was a present so can't/don't want to ditch it

So why not, uplink? (I'm not ragging, I'm just interested).
Would, for instance, having instant access to your email and appointments not be useful?

Are you seriously telling me the iPhone is a
substitute for a PC/laptop/Mac? You must be
**** joking, or maybe you don't use your PC/
laptop/Mac for much?

For surfing, email, facebook etc yes it is. As I've mentioned before I frequently find myself posting on here with my phone, despite having a netbook within a few feet of me and a big ass PC in the other room.

Would, for instance, having instant access to your email and appointments not be useful?

not particularly
I have a Blackberry for work emails & I never have so many personal appointments etc. that I can't just remember them
TBH – I rarely have a phone with me outside of work

Yeah I guess if you already have a Blackberry then part of that niche is filled.

I just find it perplexing that with all the genuinely useful things that a smartphone can do that someone can find no use for it except making calls. That's probably one of the least used features on mine 😀

Ah well.

iPhones…Am i missing something?

A signal?

Are you seriously telling me the iPhone is a
substitute for a PC/laptop/Mac? You must be
**** joking, or maybe you don't use your PC/
laptop/Mac for much?

iPhones…Am i missing something?
A signal?

Re: the top quote, my seven year old PowerBook spends most of it's life in a case on top of my DVD player. It only gets used for the occasional Photoshop job or printing off of a photo, or loading stuff into iTunes for copying onto my phone or iPod, or updating software. I don't play games, so for everything else I need a computer for the iPhone serves perfectly well. I'm standing by a laser printer keeping it fed at the moment while I write this, which I couldn't do with a 17" laptop, and I have no access to the computers here at work. Signal? I've got three bars of 3G inside a steel and brick industrial unit, but it does get patchy, but that's 'cos the steel walls block the signal. All phones suffer if you cup the antenna at the base in your hand. Including Android Nexus One's.

Re: the top quote, my seven year old PowerBook spends most of it's life in a case on top of my DVD player. It only gets used for the occasional Photoshop job or printing off of a photo, or loading stuff into iTunes for copying onto my phone or iPod, or updating software. I don't play games, so for everything else I need a computer for the iPhone serves perfectly well. I'm standing by a laser printer keeping it fed at the moment while I write this, which I couldn't do with a 17" laptop, and I have no access to the computers here at work.

Like you say, it depends on what you use your computer for. I think the iPhone and many other smart phones can be good for doing a few tasks here n there plus accessing info on the go, e.g. email, downloading/viewing attachments, Dropbox, RTM, Evernote, etc. But IMO they're pretty pants for creating most of these "things." It also depends on which apps/widgets are available for your phone. In the case of my PC, I run far too much software that no smartphone could emulate, so for me, the iPhone is nowhere near a PC substitute.

Signal? I've got three bars of 3G inside a steel and brick industrial unit, but it does get patchy, but that's 'cos the steel walls block the signal. All phones suffer if you cup the antenna at the base in your hand. Including Android Nexus One's.

Not true for my HD2, old Nokia E71 and the gf's Hero. Have just tested them and the signal remains constant.

Signal? I've got three bars of 3G inside a steel and brick industrial unit, but it does get patchy, but that's 'cos the steel walls block the signal. All phones suffer if you cup the antenna at the base in your hand. Including Android Nexus One's.

Not true for my HD2, old Nokia E71 and the gf's Hero. Have just tested them and the signal remains constant.

Also not true of my Nexus One really either. yes, if you wrap you hand around the whole bottom of the phone the signal drops one bar on the indicator, but not if you hold it normally as you would when using it.

One more thing: I don't know anyone who uses their PC to do a lot of typing, e.g email, Word, Excel, who would even contemplate doing the same on an iPhone/smartphone given the choice. You cannot type or navigate anywhere nearly as effectively.

I've got an iPhone 4 and I ride my bike loads.

they're pretty pants for creating most of these "things"

Agreed, but I'd say most of us spen the majority of our PC leisure time consuming content, rather than producing it. (Apart from simple text content like forums, blogs and Facebook).

I still have a PC for processing photos and editing video – but my phone does the bulk of my idle surfing, email, forums, reading RSS, podcasts, organising needs. And most of my casual gaming too.

All phones suffer if you cup the antenna at the base in your hand. Including Android Nexus One's.

This is bollocks, and it is depressing that people will believe this kind of thing, just because panicking marketing people at Apple tell them, wanting to avoid a product recall or having to give out free cases.

Some phones will drop a bar or two, if you completely cover them where the antenna is (typically at the top, where you wouldn't typically hold them during a call, or when using them to browse etc. – certainly is there in my HTC desire). It isn't a major problem, and never has been, which is why there has never been a big hoo hah about any other phone in the past.

That (things being in the way of the signal) is a completely different thing to dropping loads of bars because the user is physically touching the aerial. Which is presumably a bugger up because they failed to put some kind of non-conductive coating or something onto the first batch of the iPhone 4, assuming that apple aren't completely stupid (they have some quite clever people working for them after all).

You can tell that it is a completely different thing, because the issue in all other phones is never going to be solved by putting a case on it, whereas with the iPhone, they are officially saying that using a case fixes it, thus implying it is actually physically touching the phone that is the problem.

Joe

Ditto GrahamS's last post