vB Easy Archive - The all-in-one device - how well does it really work for you?

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The all-in-one device - how well does it really work for you?
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Posted by: CocheseUGA

How's the functionality?

Aside from possibly the N95 and a handful of others, the iPhone is really the only GSM all-in-wonder product that ever appealed to me. I knew this version was coming, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the price.

I have an 8525, and it does the job as far as the phone and internet are concerned. I'm always carrying around the iPod or Zune with me as well, because listening to the 8525 isn't a real treat.

Is it really a good all-in-one device? Does it eliminate the need for those other devices?

It's almost counter-productive for me - I'd be afraid of losing my one device that did everything. At least if I lose my 8525, I still have my DMPs and can easily get another phone.

What say you?

Posted by: T_Webb

I wouldn't consider the iPhone an all in one device.

Posted by: CocheseUGA

Quote:

Originally Posted by T_Webb

I wouldn't consider the iPhone an all in one device.

All-in-one being phone, internet, music, movies.

That's the definition for this thread.

Posted by: THETRUTH#34

FOR YOUR categories it may well suffice. The only thing i really think it may lack in, is phone, wasnt a great communication device, not great sound quality or rf and lousy speaker quality for call and media but with the new 3g only time will tell. Some people can complain not enough storage but to me 16 gb AND 8 gb is more than enough. TO answer yourr question yes it can be an all in one to many.

Posted by: XanderMac

Voice quality is shite, the browser is extremely buggy and podcast/playlist metadata doesn't sync back to iTunes reliably. A reset per day helps.

Having said that, I haven't touched my iPod in almost a year and when the phone is working well it works well.

I would like it to act as a portable drive but for now I'll still carry my thumbdrive.

Posted by: raulbe

At the moment the only thing iPhone is lacking is some additional bluetooth functions and a hi-res cam with video. Maybe like Nokia's drip strategy over the years Apple is saving that for future versions or their new strategy to make it mass market has interfered with their ability to either engineer a hi-res cam into the body or the cost limitations of a good camera.

If you have used iPhone video recorder it takes some time after recording the clip to encode it to h264 format which iPhone uses. H264 encoding even on a normal dual core PC is processor intensive and takes time so maybe that's the reason Apple is not proving video functionality, because the processor in the iPhone is just not powerful enough to encode H264 in real-time. They will need a new more powerful processor and battery for video functionality which again increases costs.

The bluetooth is a mystery because the chipset definitely supports these additional functions which I honestly don't use but many people need and I really don't understand why Apple has crippled it intentionally.

For the rest of the features in my opinion you will be hard pressed to find another phone that does internet, music and video in full h264 glory as well in this form factor and the screen apart from the size is absolutely fantastic in clarity for general use and when playing movies especially.

Now for the phone the contact and sms management could be more robust and hopefully a software upgrade will address it and audio quality which presumably they have addressed as Jobs specifically mentioned it.

Posted by: THETRUTH#34

Quote:

Originally Posted by raulbe

At the moment the only thing iPhone is lacking is some additional bluetooth functions and a hi-res cam with video. Maybe like Nokia's drip strategy over the years Apple is saving that for future versions or their new strategy to make it mass market has interfered with their ability to either engineer a hi-res cam into the body or the cost limitations of a good camera.

If you have used iPhone video recorder it takes some time after recording the clip to encode it to h264 format which iPhone uses. H264 encoding even on a normal dual core PC is processor intensive and takes time so maybe that's the reason Apple is not proving video functionality, because the processor in the iPhone is just not powerful enough to encode H264 in real-time. They will need a new more powerful processor and battery for video functionality which again increases costs.

The bluetooth is a mystery because the chipset definitely supports these additional functions which I honestly don't use but many people need and I really don't understand why Apple has crippled it intentionally.

For the rest of the features in my opinion you will be hard pressed to find another phone that does internet, music and video in full h264 glory as well in this form factor and the screen apart from the size is absolutely fantastic in clarity for general use and when playing movies especially.

Now for the phone the contact and sms management could be more robust and hopefully a software upgrade will address it and audio quality which presumably they have addressed as Jobs specifically mentioned it.

correctme if im wrong but doesnt the n95 playback h.264 also.

Posted by: T_Webb

If those fart knockers would support different video formats they wouldn't have to worry about encoding to h.264 on the fly. Just record it as is and play it as is. They're making it overly complicated.

Posted by: THETRUTH#34

Quote:

Originally Posted by T_Webb

If those fart knockers would support different video formats they wouldn't have to worry about encoding to h.264 on the fly. Just record it as is and play it as is. They're making it overly complicated.

well hopefully with the sdk they will have video players that can play avi files and such.

Posted by: raulbe

Yup N95 supports h264 playback but doesn't use that format for video capture. iPhone only supports h264 so for the guys making video recorder apps it becomes a bit of a problem capturing the stream and encoding at the same time due to processor limitations.

But that's exactly what iPhone Video Recorder does so after every capture there is a 20 second plus delay depending on time captured to encode and playback. You can understand why this would not appeal to Apple, though they could always support another less demanding format or integrate a hardware encoder but that would impact costs.

I think I read somewhere of a VLC player release for iPhone.

Posted by: THETRUTH#34

Quote:

Originally Posted by raulbe

Yup N95 supports h264 playback but doesn't use that format for video capture. iPhone only supports h264 so for the guys making video recorder apps it becomes a bit of a problem capturing the stream and encoding at the same time due to processor limitations.

But that's exactly what iPhone Video Recorder does so after every capture there is a 20 second plus delay depending on time captured to encode and playback. You can understand why this would not appeal to Apple, though they could always support another less demanding format or integrate a hardware encoder but that would impact costs.

I think I read somewhere of a VLC player release for iPhone.

cool thanks for the info raulbe

Posted by: mongoos150

Before jailbreaking/unlocking, it was a good phone. After I unlocked it - and jailbroke it, it's become a million times the device it was originally when purchased.

Seriously, my iPhone has become a wonder device - Twinkle, which allows me to send (and receive) twitter updates with geotagging and photo attachment - is just one of the many 3rd party applications (not web apps) that have made my iPhone a truly awesome (and indispensable) tool in my daily life.

Posted by: JerryNY

Quote:

Originally Posted by THETRUTH#34

well hopefully with the sdk they will have video players that can play avi files and such.

There are a few reasons Apple sticks primarily with H.264. It is a pretty decent codec to begin with and they have very optimized hardware assist that gets the most video on the least amount of battery. Some sites have tested the old iPhone doing 10+ hours of H.264, the new 3g probably can even beat that most likely. They use it exclusively in the iTunes store as well. It isn't all that hard to transcode stuff you already have but considering how miserly the iPhone is WRT power usage while using H.264 it's probably worth the effort. That said VLC is always welcome as it can play pretty much anything there is out there.

Posted by: djdownhill

Quote:

Originally Posted by T_Webb

I wouldn't consider the iPhone an all in one device.

I concur.

Great device = yes

All In One device = Nope.

Posted by: THETRUTH#34

Quote:

Originally Posted by JerryNY

Thats all use my self is the h.264 plaback for the n95, i actually am glad the ipods an iphones use it it makes it much easier for me .

Posted by: canadian studen

i believe based on your needs, you can call it a all in one. For me it is with an astrics, if it had an office app (which i dont understand why no one has made one yet) cut/copy/paste, and a native MMS app. Swirly is good but something native will be even better. If it had thise IMO this would be the ideal phone. Even without it IMO it's still a great phone which i will continue to use.

Posted by: RF9

Geez, after reading this thread I don't know if I want that iPhone 3G anymore.

Posted by: SpyderMan

I just cant beleive they have not addressed the camera, MMS, bluetooth crippling... a 2Mp cam in this sort of device in this day and age is poor, lack of MMS and the fact the bluetooth is crippled is beyond belief. That said I will probablby go and get one tho.. I have been a Nokia fanboy for years but cannot see anything on the horizon with these boys to make me wait around.. not even the N96

Posted by: CocheseUGA

Thanks. Aside for 1 or 2 responses, these were just the kind of responses I was looking for.

MMS - don't care. I've never once used it, either sending or receiving. I can understand why some would be upset, but it's certainly not a dealbreaker.

I too am confused about BT. I can only assume it would be because Apple does not have the capacity or want to license such devices. When in doubt, follow the money. I can only assume the other various BT kits for Nano, et al do not work? Those aren't A2DP, are they.

I understand that no 'all-in-one' device really does any one thing outstandingly well, but I'm willing to make a few sacrifices. I'll either be working for a physician or a hospital, so I really don't have a need for Exchange access. I'm hoping call quality will be improved, and it would be nice to have just one device in the car, and in the pocket.

I just wish the Nike+ adapter worked, I could sell my new Nano and almost break even.

Posted by: Aiku1337

Quote:

Originally Posted by djdownhill

I concur.

Great device = yes

All In One device = Nope.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CocheseUGA

All-in-one being phone, internet, music, movies.

That's the definition for this thread.

Thanks for reading the thread!

Posted by: mongoos150

With the customization of jailbroken apps, the iPhone really can be an all-in-one device, as it is for me. Apps for MMS exist, which was the only thing that really burned me on the first iPhone. Apart from the few hardware limitations (no A2DP, no flush headset jack, mediocre camera), the iPhone can become anything any user wants it to be.

Posted by: Aiku1337

I had a T-Mobile MDA a few years ago. It was the predecessor to the 8525. I could do some pretty cool things like load SCUMM VM emulators so I could play old Monkey Island games, watch movies, play music, browse the internet, connect to FTP servers, control my PC through VNC and uh... make calls. The fact is that thing sucked for any of those things... even making calls. I could theoretically DO a lot, but I rarely ever used any of those exotic features (like VNC, or FTP). If I want to do those things I need to be at a computer, not on a PHONE.

There would be times where I'd be writing an e-mail or browsing the internet and I couldn't answer the phone. What the heck is the point of having an all-in-one PHONE if it can't perform its primary function!

Not only that, but any of the video or music players just weren't up to the quality that the iPhone has. I mean if you've used an iPod you're pretty familiar with how good it is. The movie playback is excellent also.

What the iPhone does, it does well. No it doesn't have a lot of standard features like MMS, many of the Bluetooth profiles, video recording, or whatever else people are complaining about. They're valid complaints because I'm sure people would love to be able to own the iPhone, but it doesn't meet their needs. I think for most people though, it works, and it works well.

I really do wish Apple would figure out a way to get these features in, and soon. Just so that the comparisons between other phones will stop. The one thing people can't seem to understand is that comparing features on paper isn't a good representation of the experience between phones. The 8525 has a web browser (many to choose from in fact) and the iPhone has a web browser. One could argue that one isn't any better than the other. In fact, one could argue that the 8525 would be a better phone because it offers you a choice of browser. However I'm sure you know that scrolling around a web page on an 8525, whether its IE or Opera, can't compare to how the iPhone performs this function.

My favorite example is being in an unfamiliar area and trying to find some places to eat. I fire up google maps, click the button to find my location, type in restaurants a number of stores are displayed. I click the closest one and it gives me a buttons that allow me to call the store up, get directions or go to their web page. It's easy.

The integration between their applications are unparalleled. That's what makes this phone light years ahead of everyone else.

Sorry to sound like a shill for Apple. I've just been very unhappy with the phones I've had for a long time. This is truly the first phone that performs the functions that I need most with simple and quick execution.

Posted by: JonnyBruha

The iPhone comes very close for your needs, but if anything, I'd say the browser is going to the furthest off. It looks great, but it lacks a lot of the functionality you may miss from a WM device.

On my all-in-one list, the camera on the iPhone doesn't even come close to a replacement.

Posted by: VCI_Cell

Quote:

Originally Posted by JonnyBruha

The iPhone comes very close for your needs, but if anything, I'd say the browser is going to the furthest off. It looks great, but it lacks a lot of the functionality you may miss from a WM device.

I'm thinking of making the leap from WM6 to the iPhone as well, and I'd be interested in hearing some specifics about this. What is it that iPhone-Safari lacks that Pocket Internet Explorer incorporates (other than copy/paste)? The browser is one of the most oft-referred-to "must have" features of the iPhone, so I'm surprised to hear you say that it lacks functionality.

Posted by: coolcellmunda

Quote:

Originally Posted by CocheseUGA

How's the functionality?

Aside from possibly the N95 and a handful of others, the iPhone is really the only GSM all-in-wonder product that ever appealed to me. I knew this version was coming, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the price.

I have an 8525, and it does the job as far as the phone and internet are concerned. I'm always carrying around the iPod or Zune with me as well, because listening to the 8525 isn't a real treat.

Is it really a good all-in-one device? Does it eliminate the need for those other devices?

It's almost counter-productive for me - I'd be afraid of losing my one device that did everything. At least if I lose my 8525, I still have my DMPs and can easily get another phone.

What say you?

If you really consider iPhone all in one device then i guess you dont belong here ........

Posted by: CocheseUGA

Way to read just the first post!

Posted by: JonnyBruha

Quote:

Originally Posted by VCI_Cell

The bigger ones are the ability to save images (although this is supposed to be coming), copy and paste (as you mentioned, which is actually available through a tedious hack), and the ability to download or upload any files. Since the iPhone does not allow direct access to the file system, it does not respond to any links to a file and since it doesn't have Flash, you can't use any sites like Mega Upload or anything like that. Not necessarily a deal breaker for most, but for people that use those features, it is something to consider.