I guess at the outset this could sound like it has potential to talk about mobile phones in our society - their pros, their cons, and some of the problems they are responsible today. Well (sorry Lucy!), it isn't. I love mobile phones, and think that there would be a lot fewer negative connotations made with them if it wasn't for the fact that there are some utterly inconsiderate smacktards out there that happen to own them.
No, instead what this is about is some of the mobile phones out there at the moment, and some related aspects of technological convergance. This is all made somewhat relevant as I'm looking to replace my [Nokia 8310] at the moment, and it's been quite a long wait in order to find something that actually seems worth replacing it with.
There is one main problem with the concept of convergance technology. Well, maybe more than one. The fact is, that miniturisation suits some things better than others - combine that with the fact that different people use different things in what could be defined as a "typical day", and creating successful convergance becomes something of a hit and miss affair. The one thing that has surprised me so far with this convergance is that the mix of mobile phones and MP3 players has been so slow to catch on.
To start off, I'm a big user of MP3 technology. Not in the sense that I've destroyed Metallica's life by STEALING millions of dollars worth of their *cough* hard earned money *cough*, but in the sense that I love being able to make my music collection mobile, I love being able to make music compliations for wherever I am or whatever I'm doing, and I like the ability to sample other types of music that I wouldn't normally buy via the Internet. The point is not the morality behind the use of MP3s, or the large, popular, but quite overdone debate that it has become, but the importance of MP3 technology in mobile devices to myself.
Nokia started down the road of mobile music with the 8310, by including a radio player. But that instantly cuts out a lot of commuters, who have to use underground transportation systems to get to work, as well as anyone living in London, AS LONDON RADIO IS TOTAL SHITE! (Sorry, just had to get that out.) There was another problem with the 8310's implementation, and that was the fact that you couldn't replace their headphones, they were hardwired into the adaptor, which is a major deterrant for anyone who spent £40 on a nice pair of Sonys and can't use them. As a result, my mobile has a radio player in it which I have never used, apart from to test that it actually works.
The next and most expensive device I tried to use as a mobile music solution was the [Compaq iPaq]. The iPaq has some good things going for it, but in the end was just too large to be practical as a "take anywhere" solution. [
] Part of this was due to my early adoption of course - anyone who clicked the link above will realise that yes, that is indeed the older 32mb model of the iPaq (actually my iPaq is even older than the one displayed, but it's listed as discontinued almost everywhere I've looked!). Yes, [this model] has 64mb onboard, as well as an integrated slot for SD memory, which somewhat fixes these problems, as you get a little more internal memory (remember that 64mb is to be used for BOTH running applications as well as internal storage) and can add SD memory if you need more space (you will), which removes the need for the additional CF cards, and more importantly, removes the need for the bulky CF sleeve. For my iPaq, I used a CF Sleeve called the [Silver Slider], which is much smaller and more compact than the standard Compaq sleeve, and the thing was still too bulky to carry around all the time. There are a few "hack" options out there that look to address some of the memory issues, such as [this] sort of memory expansion which would again reduce the size a little, but still not to the level where you could comfortably carry it in either a jeans pocket or a suit pocket wherever you went. I gave it a fairly long time as a trial run, but in the end its size, combined with poor battery life (I was using it in conjunction with an early revision 340mb Microdrive, and those things were notoriously bad at draining too much power - I hear this was somewhat addressed with the 1gb version of the Microdrives) meant that it just didn't do what I wanted it to do.
The other device that had possibilities was the [Nokia 7650]. I like Nokia stuff. Their phones have always been good in my opinion, and I've always liked the way they handle their menu system, and their predictive texting. [
] It just makes sense. The best example of Nokias predictive text input at work I've ever seen, was when 2 deaf guys sat down next to myself and a friend in the pub one night. They ended up showing us how they used their mobiles to type messages to people who couldn't talk sign, or understand what they were saying - these guys could type a text message faster than I can type, and I type a 100+wpm (on good days!). It was pretty impressive. Of course predictive input will never be a replacement to standard input methods, but for word only communication (ie, no need for punctuation, emoticons, etc) it's ideal - also, it cuts out all of that "HW R U I M FINE M8" garbage that so many people seem to want to actively promote at the moment. Anyway, the 7650 had potential, and has been let down by one major factor - its lack of room for expansion. 4mb onboard, thats it. This was something that occured in their 92xx range as well, until it seems to have been recently addressed with the [9210i], which now has an SD memory slow inbuilt. For a device the size of the 7650 (and don't let the pictures you might see fool you - it's a pretty large phone when you actually have it in your hands), the 7650 just doesn't have enough in it. It doesn't actually mention anything about MP3 playback (probably due to the lack of memory), but as it has multimedia capability then it must be capable of playing audio. You have to wonder just how much extra it costs, or how much room it takes to add room for memory expansion into these types of devices (and I'm genuinely wondering here).
This brings me to the [Sony Ericsson P800]. From the initial specs, and initial reviews, this phone looks good. Coming in at a weight of 158g with flip (148g without flip), and a size of 117 x 59 x 27 mm its much larger and heavier than the 8310, but is packed with much more. [
] It flips open to reveal a decent sized screen, it offers memory expansion via Sony (duo) Memory Sticks, it has an inbuilt camera for MMS messaging, it has inbuilt games (more can be added via the Symbian OS), and finally it supports MP3 playback (and video playback as well!). At the moment, I'd be quite happy to lose all the MMS functionality if it made the thing a little smaller, but that comment probably comes through the fact that MMS is in its infancy at the moment. Theres very little operator support for it, and only a few other handsets out at this time (in the UK anyway) that are coming equipped with MMS cameras. Even those handsets come with caveats, as network operators haven't quite ironed out the intricacies of charging for sending MMS between themselves. Other than that, the P800 looks like a nice, if a slightly large, device, packed with a large amount of features and likely to keep technoheads like myself happy playing for at least a day or two.
The one wildcard here is Symbian OS. It sounds like it has some good features, and a lot going for it, but I have yet to play with it. An early T3 review, that was done based on an early prototype model did mention that some of the software needs some polishing, which is a bit of a worry - a phone with as much crammed into it will be made or broken depending on its software, simple fact. There's also no mention as to whether or not the PDA functionality will support syncing with Lotus Notes (something Nokia has now as standard - their PC Suite that can be downloaded for use with all new model phones is an excellent piece of software), which is obviously a big deal for myself. Promos have also talked about the OS, and how it "provides support for mobile Java applications " and that "one can download applications, such as games, based on Java and C++", but I've yet to read any good examples of software available for it, and where any of this software might come from. I suspect, and somewhat hope, that it might spawn something of a developers group not unlike the Palm platform, being as one of Symbians strong points is its Open-ness, then hopefully that will be the case. Finally, a personal hate - it has a stylus, and I quote "incorporates the recently announced UIQ pen-based user interface". This is great for people who are only now trying to integrate technology in their lives, people who use a pen every day and want to extend this into their computing lives, but there are some of us for whom a pen does not represent a good thing. I cannot write with a pen. If I have to fill out a form of any size or length, my hand is cramped at the end of it, and the writing on the paper is illegible. I have no real signature (shopkeepers laugh), and in general I dislike the concept of writing and the concept of stylus / pen based input being "the way of the future". Again, it is somewhat dependant on the software as to what exactly they mean - they may be referring to a method of using the stylus for point and click operations in the same manner as the iPaq, but unfortunately I get the feeling there will be some kind of handwriting recognition in there to tell me "Sorry, the word: bcurb849830vni4b 4j is not listed in my dictionary. Do you wish to add it?".
The future of convergance is looking up all the time. Unfortunately for me, I think I've just talked myself out of buying a new phone for a little while..
Nokia 8310:
Weight: 84 g; Dimensions: 97 x 43 x 17
Nokia 7650:
Weight: 154 g; Dimensions: 114 x 56 x 26 mm
Nokia 9210i
Weight: 244 g; Dimensions: 158 x 56 x 27 mm
Sony Ericsson P800:
Weight: 158 g; Dimensions: 117 x 59 x 27 mm