I’ve spent the last few months trying to decide what to do with my 3-year-old mobile phone and my 7-year-old iPAQ Pocket PC. (You’d think if I’m ldsWebguy techno-geek, I’d have newer gadgets, wouldn’t you?) They are both failing, and I’m tired of carrying two gadgets and trying to keep contacts manually in sync between these two devices, not to mention between my contacts and calendar on my laptop.
I tried a Blackberry for a month, but decided that I didn’t really need (or want) to have e-mail tethered to my hip 24×7. To answer most of my e-mail, I need to access information on my laptop and compose a more thoughtful response than what is convenient with two thumbs on a Blackberry. Besides, I wanted other applications that need Windows Mobile to run.
So I bought a Samsung SCH-i760 with Windows Mobile 6, WiFi, and a large QWERTY keyboard. It’s ok, but I’m not delighted. It has a lot of nice features–but clunky ways to access them. You can only program certain things into the function buttons. You can only get to certain things from the keypad. And for other things, you have to use the stylus and the touch screen. And so many clicks to perform tasks! I wish Microsoft would learn something about user experience from Apple. And I wish Apple would learn something about reliable hardware from the PC world. My 6-month old iPod just died–I used it about 12 times. No one in my family has owned an Apple product that has lasted a full year. Microsoft gets you to buy the latest OS by making new software is not backward compatible. Apple makes sure you buy their latest gadget by building in a chip that self-destructs in your current product just as a new product launches. They make sure you won’t feel too bad about your old gadget dying, by making the next product just flashy enough (with twice the memory) so you’ll want to buy it anyway.
Overall, I’m glad I merged by mobile phone with my PDA. I just wish it were more user-friendly. But hey, that’s an excuse to buy the next product that will be just one tiny step better, right?
Just today’s ramblings…
Wow, sorry to hear about your bad luck with Apple products. I’ve been using the same iPod for almost two years now without a problem. Of course, you’re right about the shiny new ones – since then I’ve bought two more…
Re: iPod
Luckily, since it’s only 6 months old, you should still be under warranty for a replacement, I think.
Condolences on your loss, but it doesn’t seem to be a universal QA problem. For example, I’ve been using the same 3 ipods for 2 years now. I’ve got 6 Macs in my office that have been humming along 24/7 with an uptime of at least a year now.
I had the same problem with a cell phone and a pda. A few weeks ago I purchased the t-mobile wing and I have had great success with it. The best part is that I don’t need a data plan with the phone and I can just use the wireless internet at BYU.
I’ve had 5 generation of PDA phones now and finally happened upon one that meets nearly all my needs. It is the Motorola Q through Verizon. It synchs well, speed dial is convenient, radio strength is excellent, battery life (extended battery) is longer than 24 hours even with heavy use. It is the best of Blackberry and Treo combined. I have not tried the iPhone yet. I was scared away from it by a co-worker with email exchange issues.