OK, we're right in the middle of exams now, but I need to say something to stop the hype from causing bad decisions. Here are the important truths about the iPhone 3G:

1. Apple have implemented a load of software features which look like more great innovations. Actually Windows Mobile and probably other mobile operating systems have had these features for years.
2. Assisted GPS. I can't believe that got the crowd excited. That's already in loads of other devices (the HTC Touch Diamond is there twice at the moment ).
3. Battery life. Yes, it has improved...but it's still not particularly good.
4. The screen. Loads of people go on for ages about the screen. Yes, it's big, but the device is consequently big. Too big for a lot of people. Other devices have smaller screens with higher resolutions (such as the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 and the HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Pro.
5. Third-party software. Again, years behind other devices.
6. That MobileMe. A bit of an unnecessary middle-man and you're sometimes forced to use the website so it would seem likely that there are already similar services out there, albeit with less integration. Also, Windows Mobile has had the 'cloud-based' contact synchronisation thing for ages through Windows Live Messenger.
7. Other devices now have slicker, shinier and more useful user interfaces (such as TouchFLO 3D on the HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Pro, and the XPERIA X1's panels). The iPhone was always beaten in terms ot the efficiency of its interface - even the old TouchFLO got users to what they wanted faster, on average.
8. The iPhone has been out-handy-featurised by more innovative devices, again, like the HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Pro.
9. The iPhone now has worse specifications than other devices (Touch Diamond, Touch Pro, XPERIA X1).
10. Price. Yes, the iPhone is now cheaper, but that does not make it cheap. Apple didn't let network operators subsidise the cost of the old device, as they usually do for people with contracts. Now, they are letting the networks do that, so you'll end up paying for it through your phone usage anyway.
11. Networks. The iPhone is limited to one network per country in most countries. HTC sell their devices unlocked (as well as through networks - some networks even hand special branded versions), so you can use it on any network.
12. The HTC Touch Diamond has beaten the iPhone 3G to the market, similar to the way its predecessor, the HTC Touch, beat the old iPhone to the market.

So, Apple are late again, with a product that is now comprehensively beaten by a range of other devices. And I only know about HTC's devices (yes, the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X1 was designed and manufactured by HTC) - both Nokia and BlackBerry probably have better devices too. Therefore, I would like to conclude that you should not buy an iPhone 3G.

Anyway, the iPhone is going to be available on Pay & Go with O2 in the UK (but, interestingly, only on Pay Monthly in Ireland) so that may mean that, finally, O2 is introducing mobile internet for Pay & Go customers. I think I'll ask about that now...

I'll be back after the exams are over (last one on the 18th of June).
Tue, 10 Jun 2008 15:58 WEST | Category: Technology
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Comments:

ben
iPhone 3G...
I agree, but you do seem quite angry in this post compared to normal. (is there an normal level of angryness?) points 1-3 i entirely agree with.. infact, if you also include some of the things they included in the WWDC, eg drag+drop webmail... microsoft had that sussed a very long time ago. infact, mobileme is nothing new. Apple have tried to force the .mac service down the throats of anyone who has bought a mac on their first boot, and when you actually looked deeper into what it was... turns out that the same functionality could be done using home-brew WebDAV. While I'll conceed that apple has made some quite nice architectural additions with respect to mobileme+iphone.. you must admit, it really wouldnt be good if they hadn't done it. As for the cloud services themselves, Bill Gates has been touting that line for the past 3 years. Windows live already has (a somewhat, poorly implemented) push/pop mail (hotmail) social network (spaces), calendar, addressbook and even online presence (.net .. am i the only one who doesnt see the parallels to .mac and the Idisk??), but microsoft do it for free and the .net specification is much more superior (in my opinion) than objective-C for the simple fact that it can use any modern high-level programming language. c.f. at a recent Rails conference, microsoft announced native ruby within silverlight.

Anyway, its about time apple brought themselves into line, i dont think that anything actually "new" turned up at WWDC, just things that are long over due. However, again, i do conceed that apple have a very nice way of just making it look good. We expect some good/interesting 3rd party software now that a platform is finally there. Open up the flood gates to OSS.

ps. one thing i did learn is that iphone uses ARM processors... an interesting choice, who wants to put gentoo on it?
Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:26 WEST

ben
iPhone 3G...
Oh also, i personally will not be getting this new version. I'm feeling some anti-apple tendencies atm. usually to do with their very poor UNIX compliance, technically they stay within the rules, but its too much of a hack unless you use native APIs :( .

Also, O2 aren't exactly being friendly to me atm, and i dont even have a contract with them.. sorta...
Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:29 WEST

Mark Hogan
iPhone 3G...
I'm not particularly angry - just forceful. At least 90% of the people with iPhones seem to completely ignore (or not be aware of) other similar devices. They think their phone is the best phone ever by far and they they're awesomely cool for having it. Also, the number of bloggers and reviews that, to use Rory's terminology, bone the iPhone, is obscene! Even the BBC is showing bias - there's no mention of Windows Mobile or any companies that make Windows Mobile devices in any of their iPhone 3G articles, but Windows Mobile is the second most popular smartphone operating system and HTC is considered to be one of the IT giants (specifically in the cellular hardware category).

The general ignorance needs to end, so competition and therefore innovation become more fierce. I don't want HTC to end up like Sendo did...

Anyway, in conclusion, yeah, it's amazing how Apple can make catch-up seem like innovation. I hope the Touch Diamond, Touch Pro and XPERIA X1 outsell the iPhone 3G (which they probably will - it's possible that the Touch, Touch Dual and Touch Cruise outsold the old iPhone, but I can't find enough data to say that for sure).
Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:10 WEST

Andy Jones
iPhone 3G...
What a load of biased drivel. I'm no fan of the iPhone and I'd rather have my HTC, but some of that crap was embarrassing. Here's some points:

* You can't go on about what the X1 does or doesn't have - it's not for sale yet.
* On the one hand you trumpet the HTC for being first to market, but then seem to forget that being an issue WRT the X1.
* TF3D isn't perfect and has bugs. And it's still only a skin over a *very* dated UI.
* HTC uses old touch tech, resulting in poo accuracy and no multi-touch (and of course WM6.1 doesn't support multi-touch either).
* "The iPhone has been out-handy-featurised by more innovative devices, again, like the HTC Touch Diamond and Touch Pro" WTF is that supposed to mean?
* "Battery life. Yes, it has improved...but it's still not particularly good". The Diamond's battery life is very poor. How come you don't admit to that?
* "even the old TouchFLO got users to what they wanted faster, on average", Yeah? What stats/research are you referring to here?
* You reckon that the iPhone is "too big" because the screen is too big? Hundreds of thousands of people don't seem to have a problem with the size and many of them would find the smaller screen that HTC generally uses to be crap. So you can hardly call that a benefit!

"important truths about the iPhone 3G", my arse. It's just a bunch of fanboy crap and biased opinion.

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:05 WEST

Mark Hogan
iPhone 3G...
1. The only phone mentioned that's actually for sale at the moment is the HTC Touch Diamond, so the comparison is fair.
2. The X1 is a different product with different strengths. Being first to the market is one of the strengths of the Touch Diamond, not the X1.
3. Of course TouchFLO 3D isn't perfect, but it's now fancier than the iPhone's interface and both TouchFLO and TouchFLO 3D are more efficient. And you can hardly call the Windows Mobile UI "*very* dated" - there have been significant improvements in WM 6.1.
4. HTC design phones that can be used with one hand, so multi-touch is completely unnecessary. Also, there is software that can provide virtual multi-touch. HTC use resistive touchscreens because of their accuracy compared to capacitive, so your comment about accuracy is rubbish.
5. The "out-handy-featurised" bit simply means that the Touch Diamond and Touch Pro have more random handy features than the iPhone. For example, they mute their ringtone if you turn them upside-down while ringing, and if you take out the stylus during a call, it starts up the notes application. There are loads more similar features on those devices.
6. The iPhone 3G has a similar battery life, so if you're going to bone the iPhone, the Touch Diamond also has a good battery life. Also, keep in mind that the Touch Diamond was not designed for business people (the Touch Pro is the business equivalent), so it is therefore not designed to be away from plug sockets for a long time. Personally, I'd rather have a very thin phone, with a battery life of about a day, than a thicker phone with a bigger battery life.
7. "Yeah? What stats/research are you referring to here?" - I'll post that here when I find it again (I found it ages ago). Rory can verify the fact that it exists though (which is fair, because he like the iPhone too).
8. "Hundreds of thousands of people don't seem to have a problem with the size and many of them would find the smaller screen that HTC generally uses to be crap." - Millions of people would agree with me. At the end of the day, the iPhone is far too big for one-handed use, and it's not a pocket-friendly as the Touch and Touch Diamond.
9. "It's just a bunch of fanboy crap and biased opinion." - No, it's all fact. I would have referenced it all, but my blog is not a place for Wikipedia articles.

In conclusion, that comment was ignorant rubbish. The HTC Touch has sold a reasonable amount of units (3 million, a few months ago) compared to the iPhone (prediction of 8 million by the end of 2008). When the Touch Dual, Touch Cruise and now the Touch Diamond sales figures are taken into account, I'm fairly sure you'll find that the HTC Touch family has significantly outsold the Apple iPhone family. It would therefore seem that people generally agree with me, and that people who argue that the iPhone is better are just ignorant fans who believe, as a result of Apple's brainwashing marketing, that the iPhone is not only better than any other device, but that it's incomparable to any other device.
Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:22 WEST

Rory
iPhone 3G...
3. It's fancier, but slow, and laggy. Also, like he said, it's on top of the same ui thats been there for 7 years, until they overhaul the whole thing, anything bolted on will be slow-ish
4. You can't type one handed with the diamond, so no it's not meant to be 1 handed. Plus, virtual multi-touch. LMFAO. It can't be done, post a link if it can. lool
5. Out-featurised? Most of those things are copied from the iPhone. Notes in a call? You're always claiming its a personal phone... Who has ever needed to make a note while in a phone call?
6. personal opinion, I charge every night, so all my complaints abt TD battery are irrelevant, but I am slightly sceptical about it.
7.this is true, but at opening programs wm is slower and looks gayer. The comparison wins for wm on stupid things like how many clicks to edit a contact, or to skip to teh next song (not so stupid). But now TF3D with its lagginess is probably slower than TouchFlo to open programs.
8. Anyone intelligent who owns a HTC PocketPC i.e. people who hack them, install extra stuff and crap like that will concur that HTC's screens are crap. You won't be told, you'll say some crap about how I dont know, but seeing as I'm on XDA-Developers most of every day, I should know what the majority of HTC owners who hack their phones think. The Diamond has been criticised because its screen is far too small. You have seen the way realvga makes the screen 4 times bigger. Imagine that on the Diamond. It would be far too small. So yes the screen is too small.
Millions wouldn't agree with you, they wuldn't care. Millions would agree about the iPhone though, Anyone who has it loves the big screen. And, as I've said, if you want a tiny phone, get an 8310, or a Sony Ericsson w880i. And if you don't get one of those, then stop going on about how the Diamond and Touch are tiny, because theyre not... The Diamond is about 4 w880i's in volume.
9. You have not shown any kind of balanced opinion (I'm sure you'll quote something to say yu have, but you so haven't)
c. Touch family will not outsell iPhone family. It won't happen.
How you can claim that the Touch Family has significantly outsold he iPhone is beyond me.
And again, your last line shows no balance at all, basically you've said anyone who owns an iPhone is an apple fanboy. And, no people do not generally agree with you. Ask a million random people in teh street whats better, the new iPhone or the Touch Diamond, and Theyll all either say iPhone, or WTF is the Touch Diamond
Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:53 WEST

Anonymous
iPhone 3G...
BTW, you're no way an expert on HTC devices. You just know all these random fanboy things about the Diamond.
Do you know what an RUU is? Therefore youre not an expert on HTC devices.
Rory
Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:55 WEST

Mark Hogan
iPhone 3G...
3. Technology has moved on in 7 years. If the UI was the same, it should be amazingly fast. And every UI has some lag - maybe, as a computer scientist, I appreciate the problems with making a fast UI too much. Anyway, I'll give my opinion on the speed of the UI when I get a Touch Diamond.
4. I only ever type one-handed with my Touch, and the Touch Diamond has very similar dimensions. Also, there is virtual multi-touch for Windows Mobile - I'm currently looking for the link (I really shouldn't clear out my history - that's two links I'm currently looking for). It works by effectively mirroring your touch. For example, if you wanted to zoom in on a photo, you'd put your finger in the middle of the touchscreen and (for example) move it left. The software would then zoom in as if it was multi-touch and a second finger had moved the same distance from the centre to the right. Once you see the picture on this website, it'll be easy to understand...
5. No, none of those things are copied from the iPhone (the iPhone doesn't have a stylus, for example, so how could the stylus-related things be copied?). I've made notes during calls, and recorded calls, for making notes later, using the notes application.
6. That's my point. Most people charge every night. Having the battery die during long days (like yesterday - 20 hours) is annoying, but those are rare and there's always the bigger battery if you really want it.
7. I don't think TouchFLO 3D is any laggier than TouchFLO. I have my Touch with me now, and there's literally a delay of half a second after every gesture before anything happens, and a similar delay after the animation before the UI is ready again. There is another half-second delay when I try to run things like Comm Manager from TouchFLO. It sounds really laggy, but in reality it's not hugely laggy, and I've got used to it.
8. "the majority of HTC owners who hack their phones think" - Actually, no, the majority of HTC device owners are not incredibly keen on their devices, and they never even install official updates or fixes (which is why HTC decided to delay the release date to install that ROM update). Didn't somebody on XDA-Devs show that only a small percentage of users of devices made by HTC even know of the site's existence? Millions clearly would agree with me, as they've purchased a Touch rather than an iPhone. And, as I've said before, it's all about technology density and having a device of the right size. You must admit that the size of devices in the Touch family is just about as big as you can comfortably use with one hand, and that they have very high technology density.
9. Firstly it's fact, and secondly, I know that it's not balanced fact. I'm trying to balance general opinion because there's a huge difference between Apple's marketing department and HTC's marketing department.
10. The Touch family is probably currently outselling the iPhone family. Don't forget that Apple have raped themselves with country and network restrictions. Anyone who isn't in the right country, or doesn't like the network the iPhone is on, will be inclined to buy a member of the HTC Touch family. At the start of May, the Touch alone had sold 3 million units. At the start of June, the iPhone had sold 5 million units. When you take into account the fact that there have been another three members of the Touch family over the last year, on top of the Touch, I can't see how the iPhone could possibly outsell them all.

Ask a million people in the street what the specs of the iPhone are, and I can gaurantee that the majority of them won't know any significant information. So, therefore, asking a million people on the street is not fair at all. And the fact that they'd pick the iPhone over the Diamond (if they weren't told the specs) shows that they're just being fanboys (or fangirls). They're not making an informed decision - they're just being followers.

And I never claimed to be an expert on the devices. However, you must admit that I do know what I'm talking about.
Have you ever written a remotely significant piece of software? Then you can't talk about Windows Mobile or TouchFLO.
Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:34 WEST

Rory
iPhone 3G...
You seem to think the Touch family are the ebst thing since sliced bread. They aren't.
You keep STATING that people would buy the Touch if they didn't have the iPhone, but the fact is that thay wouldn't. Right now, they have the choice between the two, and the iPhone has outsold the Touch by about 2.5 to 1. And thats even considering that it's only available on certain networks, and in certain countries. So when you factor in that, if the iPhone was sold in all countries and all networks like the Touch is, it would have sold way way more.

Have you ever flashed a ROM? No? Have you only owned one Windows Mobile device? Yes. Have I owned 6? Yes. Does that mean I'm more informed to form an opinion on windows mobile generally? Yes. Does you only owning one device mean youre one of the masses who like iphone users think their phone is the best when it isnt? Yes
Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:35 WEST

Mark Hogan
iPhone 3G...
I don't think sliced bread is good at all - I never slice my bread. Your data is rubbish. Where have you got "2.5 to 1" from? Obviously the iPhone would have sold more if it was everywhere on all networks, but the whole point is that it isn't - one of its features is visual voicemail, which requires the network to make some changes to their systems.

Have I seen and experienced more Windows Mobile devices that I don't own than you have? Yes. It has been scientiically proved that owning something significantly changes our opinion on it, thus making it unfair and irrelevant to people who don't own a any of the devices (see a recent edition of New Scientist). I have never said that the Touch is the best device. In fact, we've agreed that it isn't (look at your Athena, for example - much better spec). However, I have said that I think the Touch is the best device for me, for a number of reasons (which are too long to explain). I think my criteria better reflect the general public's criteria than yours, Rory. You're much more of a business person than me in general, and we've seen that you use your devices in a more business-like way (for example, putting every lesson in your calendar).
Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:48 WEST

Andy Turner
computer scientist?
WTF is that supposed to mean?!

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:51 WEST

Anonymous
iPhone 3G...
"Technology has moved on in 7 years. If the UI was the same, it should be amazingly fast"

WM UI still has loads of aspects that they inherited from the desktop which actually should never be seen on a finger-friendly device like a phone. I'm talking about combo boxes, little X in the corner, radio buttons that need a stylus or the corner of your nail to accurately press. All very poor and all very obvious once you get past the touch UI in order to do something. The standard IE in WM is absolutely dire.

"Anyway, I'll give my opinion on the speed of the UI when I get a Touch Diamond"
LOL? So you're championing this device and you don't actually have one? HTC fanboy...


Fri, 20 Jun 2008 10:56 WEST

Mark Hogan
iPhone 3G...
"WTF is that supposed to mean?!" - You're retarded. Read this.
"So you're championing this device and you don't actually have one?" - This is getting a bit stupid. Read the original post. I compared the specification of the iPhone 3G with the HTC Touch Diamond, Touch Pro and XPERIA X1, because Apple have a habit of making technologies that many other devices have, look like innovations. I wouldn't think I'm a HTC fanboy - I personally hate the Touch Dual, Touch Pro, and XPERIA X1, for example (mainly because they have far too many physical buttons), but there's no denying that they have good specifications.

Anyway, now I have a Touch Diamond, and I can say that anyone who says the UI is laggy is expecting the impossible. Everything's fast and the animations are nice and fluid - it's much better than the old TouchFLO. Obviously there is some lag (you can't expect the device to defy the laws of physics), but it's barely noticeable. Also, having such a high resolution packed into the screen makes everything look amazing.

In terms of the battery problems, I can certainly say that it isn't the best phone I've had for battery life, but I haven't seen any evidence of the awful battery life that some people have claimed it has. For example (my only example so far), I was using it last night for about 2 hours with GPS and wifi on (also, the backlight was on all of the time, as I was actually using the device), and the battery went down to 80%. That didn't seem too unreasonable. Anyway, I'll do another post once I've had time to really test out the features.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:21 WEST

Anonymous
computer scientist
Yeah sure, but who apart from the most ridiculously overblown pompus people actually calls themselves a "Computer Scientist"?!! By the rationale of the Wikipedia article, pretty much anyone who works with computers could call themselves a "Computer Scientist", but very rarely do they.

So what do you do in computers to warrant such a grandoise title? Write software? Design hardware?

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 12:24 WEST

Mark Hogan
iPhone 3G...
I am doing a degree in computer science. That means that I can call myself a computer scientist, in the same way that Rory can call himself an automotive engineer.

According to Wikipedia, "Computer science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems." Therefore, most people who use computers are not computer scientists. Also, Computer Science is not IT. "Confusing a Computer Scientist with an IT guy is like confusing an architect and a builder, or a car designer and a car mechanic."

The automotive industry is very similar (people generally appreciate the differences better in that industry too). A computer scientist is like an automotive engineer - they're responsible for all of the creativity, while still designing and developing working cars/computers. Mechanics and IT people are similar - they're responsible for, and fix problems with, real cars/computers. And people who use computers are as unrelated to computer scientists and IT people as drivers are to mechanics and automotive engineers.

You clearly didn't read that article very carefully.
Fri, 20 Jun 2008 17:11 WEST

Andy Jones
Computer Scientist
If you're doing a degree in computer science then you're not a computer scientist since you haven't completed/passed the course. I wouldn't call myself a pilot after embarking on a flying course.

When/if you go on to get a proper job in the industry (when trust me, you'll quickly realise how much of your degree work means jot in the real world), then you'll soon figure out how overblown and pretentious a "computer scientist" title actually is.

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 09:47 WEST

Mark Hogan
Computer Science...
Anyone who has common sense would agree that "Computer Scientist" is the best description for my skill set at the moment. What you do defines what you are - not what you're qualified in (I can give many examples, if you want them). Also, surely the main point of a degree is learning, rather than working? Companies employ graduates for their skills and/or knowledge - that's what a degree is meant to develop.
Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:36 WEST

Andy Jones
Computer Scientist
"Companies employ graduates for their skills and/or knowledge - that's what a degree is meant to develop"

Trust me, as a guy who's employed a number of post-grads and seen many more - the degree generally only displays the aptitude for learning and understanding within something approaching the right topic. However, most of the stuff will be out-of-date or too theoretical to be of much use. Join a real firm doing software and you'll suddenly find there's loads you don't know that Uni will never teach you. Stuff like dealing with customers and their requirements, specs, dealing with timescales, development methodologies, source collaboration, documentation standards, dealing with meetings, being properly answerable to others, investigation and bug fixing in millions of lines of code and making sure you don't break anything etc.. etc.. etc..

That's not a problem as such since your employer
Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:22 WEST

Mark Hogan
Computer Science...
"out-of-date or too theoretical" - Only if the degree is from a poor university. The good universities are on the cutting edge of the subject.
"dealing with customers and their requirements, specs" - I'm already used to that.
"dealing with timescales" - Degrees require a lot of work which has to be done is a limited amount of time.
"source collaboration" - Some universities have group projects, which owuld involve that.
"bug fixing in millions of lines of code and making sure you don't break anything" - lol. Fair enough. The largest amount of code I've had to do that for is 996 lines...
Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:56 WEST

Mark Hogan
Computer Science...
Well, actually, those 996 lines were just for one component. The total number of lines of code was probably around 3000...
Tue, 24 Jun 2008 15:05 WEST

Andy Jones
CS
Most courses are 3 years long and AFAIK are 'designed' at the start. Therefore in your final year, you're working with stuff at least 2 years old for that reason alone. Added to that there's also the lead time between a technology coming out, to it becoming popular, to the Uni being able to educate tutors, develop courses, materials, exams. I'd be surprised if Uni courses are teaching Linq, WPF, WCF. I suppose it's important to teach more abstract concepts that don't really lose value over time rather than specific technologies, but that's what I mean by suggesting that you'll still have lots to learn when you get into a proper company that has to get working production code out of the door. But it's not a problem, when a company takes on a post-grad, they know that they won't hit the ground running and will need time and help. Good luck with it all though.

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:54 WEST

Mark Hogan
Computer Science...
Thanks.
But don't forget that many new technologies are developed at universities, because the lack of a need for the financial success of projects leads to more creativity and innovation than there is in the business world.
Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:31 WEST

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