N95 vs. iPhone – Connectivity
Alright, this is the last of my rambling comparisons of the N95 and the iPhone. Now connectivity. There are different levels of connectivity.
First, how do they connect you to the people you want to call – in other words, are they good phones. It’s a draw. Some people may have cited difficulties with AT&T’s service, but that isn’t my experience. When I call my mom, my friends, my family – they all sound as good as they did on my old land line (remember those things?)
Second, how do these devices connect with other devices? When I buy an electronic device these days, it can’t stand alone. It has to fit into the universe of all the other devices I own. A device must match my mobile media milieu. The iPhone plays well with one device – my primary computer. The hard-wire cradle that comes with the iPhone allows it to sync with one of the computers I own. When it is synched, iTunes passes along audio and even pictures in the format that iTunes likes best. And getting my pictures off the iPhone requires the use of a certain piece of software, iPhoto. Feels a little restrictive, right. The Nokia N95 is much more flexible. I take a picture, then send it via BlueTooth. Now for those of you who don’t know what BlueTooth is, you are missing out. It is a short-range and fairly high-speed wireless technology. When I attempt to send the picture with BlueTooth, the N95 starts looking for other Bluetooth devices in the area. My home computer, my office computer, and my laptop all have BlueTooth capability so the N95 can send the picture in all its original resolution, size, and colors to the computer I choose. That computer asks if I want to accept the file. In just a few seconds, the file is transferred with no translation. And this will work with audio files as well. It is estimated that there are over one billion Bluetooth enabled devices out there – not just cell phones but cameras, mice, keyboards, cars (yeah, my Prius has it). It is a great way to transfer data. Now here is the weird thing – the iPhone has Bluetooth, but it is crippled. It can only be used to connect with hands-free devices like those Borg-esque earpieces and certain car phone systems (like my Prius). What really makes this restriction surprising is how Apple has embraced Bluetooth in the past. The reason I fell in love with Bluetooth is that it worked so well with my Apple computers. So why pull back with it comes to the iPhone? Hard to say, but there are a lot of people who say it is to stop peer-2-peer Bluetooth song swapping. But that doesn’t really jive with Apple’s latest agreement to sell music without its FairPlay digital rights management system. In essence, those songs can be swapped easily. I think the iPhone is less attractive without this capability. The N95 plays better with my other devices.
Finally, there is connecting with data. How well do they work with the internet? Here is where the iPhone really stands out. Just like the commercial says, this isn’t some scaled down internet – it is the internet. Within minutes, my son (Scoop) had the iPhone on the WiFi in our house. We connected to WiFi in my office. I tried to call Scoop the other day and I got a busy signal – he was facebooking (yeah, it’s a verb) at the pool. And the kicker came at the lake last weekend. I deliberately have not put any type of internet at the lake house. I have to disconnect sometimes, right? But on Friday just as I left the office, I sent an email to a colleague in California. I knew that she was going to be emailing me back an important answer. At 6:58PM EST I borrowed Scoop’s iPhone while we sat on the dock. It found an AT&T EDGE signal and I could read the email through UGA’s web email interface. Easy, quick, great! Now this is something that the N95 can’t do. I am an early adopter on the N95, but I am still having trouble connecting it to my WiFi (there are some bugs with the software). On this front, the iPhone’s desire to be more computer than cell-phone makes it a better web device. No contest.
OK, enough analysis. What am I carrying in my pocket? When I gird up for the day, I walk out of the house carrying the Nokia N95. I love having the high quality camera that allows me to transfer pictures via robust Bluetooth. It is just too convenient. Yeah, there are times I miss the great web experience that the iPhone provides. But until Apple develops a way to work with universities and corporations on group accounts, I just can’t afford an iPhone for myself. Instead, my son has the iPhone. When you are 16 being cool is important, at my age money matters more.
First, how do they connect you to the people you want to call – in other words, are they good phones. It’s a draw. Some people may have cited difficulties with AT&T’s service, but that isn’t my experience. When I call my mom, my friends, my family – they all sound as good as they did on my old land line (remember those things?)
Second, how do these devices connect with other devices? When I buy an electronic device these days, it can’t stand alone. It has to fit into the universe of all the other devices I own. A device must match my mobile media milieu. The iPhone plays well with one device – my primary computer. The hard-wire cradle that comes with the iPhone allows it to sync with one of the computers I own. When it is synched, iTunes passes along audio and even pictures in the format that iTunes likes best. And getting my pictures off the iPhone requires the use of a certain piece of software, iPhoto. Feels a little restrictive, right. The Nokia N95 is much more flexible. I take a picture, then send it via BlueTooth. Now for those of you who don’t know what BlueTooth is, you are missing out. It is a short-range and fairly high-speed wireless technology. When I attempt to send the picture with BlueTooth, the N95 starts looking for other Bluetooth devices in the area. My home computer, my office computer, and my laptop all have BlueTooth capability so the N95 can send the picture in all its original resolution, size, and colors to the computer I choose. That computer asks if I want to accept the file. In just a few seconds, the file is transferred with no translation. And this will work with audio files as well. It is estimated that there are over one billion Bluetooth enabled devices out there – not just cell phones but cameras, mice, keyboards, cars (yeah, my Prius has it). It is a great way to transfer data. Now here is the weird thing – the iPhone has Bluetooth, but it is crippled. It can only be used to connect with hands-free devices like those Borg-esque earpieces and certain car phone systems (like my Prius). What really makes this restriction surprising is how Apple has embraced Bluetooth in the past. The reason I fell in love with Bluetooth is that it worked so well with my Apple computers. So why pull back with it comes to the iPhone? Hard to say, but there are a lot of people who say it is to stop peer-2-peer Bluetooth song swapping. But that doesn’t really jive with Apple’s latest agreement to sell music without its FairPlay digital rights management system. In essence, those songs can be swapped easily. I think the iPhone is less attractive without this capability. The N95 plays better with my other devices.
Finally, there is connecting with data. How well do they work with the internet? Here is where the iPhone really stands out. Just like the commercial says, this isn’t some scaled down internet – it is the internet. Within minutes, my son (Scoop) had the iPhone on the WiFi in our house. We connected to WiFi in my office. I tried to call Scoop the other day and I got a busy signal – he was facebooking (yeah, it’s a verb) at the pool. And the kicker came at the lake last weekend. I deliberately have not put any type of internet at the lake house. I have to disconnect sometimes, right? But on Friday just as I left the office, I sent an email to a colleague in California. I knew that she was going to be emailing me back an important answer. At 6:58PM EST I borrowed Scoop’s iPhone while we sat on the dock. It found an AT&T EDGE signal and I could read the email through UGA’s web email interface. Easy, quick, great! Now this is something that the N95 can’t do. I am an early adopter on the N95, but I am still having trouble connecting it to my WiFi (there are some bugs with the software). On this front, the iPhone’s desire to be more computer than cell-phone makes it a better web device. No contest.
OK, enough analysis. What am I carrying in my pocket? When I gird up for the day, I walk out of the house carrying the Nokia N95. I love having the high quality camera that allows me to transfer pictures via robust Bluetooth. It is just too convenient. Yeah, there are times I miss the great web experience that the iPhone provides. But until Apple develops a way to work with universities and corporations on group accounts, I just can’t afford an iPhone for myself. Instead, my son has the iPhone. When you are 16 being cool is important, at my age money matters more.
posted by Grady College /University of Georgia at
2:42 PM
1 Comments:
Dr. Shamp, don't you know, being cool matters at every age? Ditch your N95 and get an iPhone.
You deserve to sit on the dock and read an email with a little edge.
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