1/ What smartphone are you using at the moment and which ones have you owned in the past?
At the moment I’m a two-device guy – iPod Touch and a Nokia N79. I guess I’m still into using a PDA but if funds allowed would be an iPhone user for sure. I entirely take Joel’s point regarding a communication device being just that, first & foremost, and a PDA second but I guess my take on my needs is somewhat different. I use my mobile phone as a communication device as and when neccessary but, in all honesty, the N79 could just as easily be a feature phone for all that I use its smartphone capabilities.
I started off with a Sony CLie SL10 – bought because I couldn’t afford a laptop and Sony said they were producing a keyboard for the SL10, their mono sub-£100 PDA. The keyboard never happened and boy am I glad! It was almost impossible to see the screen except in the brightest daylight (which we don’t get up here in the north). I quickly sold it and got a b-grade M515 which was fab for about 6 months until I bought a Tungsten T2, the best dedicated PDA I ever had (well, until the iPod Touch).
When the T2 suffered screen issues, I bought my first smartphone and my first Pocket PC phone, an iMate Jam. Loved it. Later had an SPV M600 (a Jamin in disguise) which might go down as my favourite smartphone to date.
Alojng the way I’ve also had a Treo 600, a Treo 750, an SPV E650 (loved it) and, for a couple of days, a Samsung i600 and MWg 503g (appalling device). I’ve also had a Nokia 6120 Classic, a base-model smartphone.
2. Which smartphone is the best you have ever owned?
I think it might be a tie between the M600 and the E650. I was quite dubious of the E650 form-factor before buying it but it won me over and I never had any issues with it. Loved Windows Mobile smartphone edition, too. Only got rid of it because I went over to 3 Mobile and needed a 3G device for that network.
I loved the form-factor and performance of the M600, too. Maybe the lack of a keyboard let it down but otherwise it was great.
But my fave device of all is the iPod Touch. For a while I would have said it’s because of the software options (i.e. the apps) but I guess that needs a hardware base to ride on, so kudos to Apple. Like I said, my smartphone of choice would be an iPhone. Please, someone – anyone – make them cheaper. Please.
3/ Which smartphone is the worst you have ever owned?
Without doubt the MWg 503g – too big, too unfinished, too buggy, too heavy. Choose any negative you like, it probably fits the bill for that device. Ugly and without a reason for exisiting in the smartphone universe. Kept it for less than a week before returning it. A perfect mismatch of screen, OS and….well, everything else really.
4/ Could you survive without your phone for a month? If not, why not?
Left my iPod Touch at home for our summer holiday this year and just used the N79. The holiday was 2 weeks, not a month, though and I did miss it a lot. I love using it for RSS, Bible reading, ebooks, productivity apps and so on. The screen is just perfect for that kind of thing and I think a month without it would be a challenge. But I’d be happy to accept the challenge in exchange for an iPhone 3GS at the end. Any takers?
5/ How would you describe your smartphone usage, and do you consider yourself to be ‘addicted’?
Daily usage for RSS and a host of other stuff – email (iPod Touch) and texts (N79) etc. I don’t think I’m an addict but the family disagree. They say I’m on my device first thing in the morning and last thing at night and at a myriad of other points in-between. Well, their observation of the facts is sound but not their assessment of them. I use it a lot; I’m not an addict. Anyone who says otherwise is just wrong and has no sense of humour whatsoever. It is entirely coincidental that my hand shakes when eating my porridge if I haven’t had my iPod fix in the morning.
6/ What does PDA-247 mean to you?
OK, in all honesty, it means a great deal. I visit every day and most days a number of times, often via Google Reader and Safari on the iPod (a great experience). I love the articles and the comments people make. It’s a straightforward, un-selfconscious, witty site that gives what it says it will give and with the minimum of fuss. Dialogue is grown-up, rather than childish – honest opinions are treated as just that. It’s a bit like a good time with good friends over a few drinks. About as good as ‘online’ gets, in my opinion. Not obtrusive but entirely accessible. Perfect.
