Re: OT: Test, please disregard

In article <1ijvgqt.11ne3yc1n90mc6N%me18@xxxxxxxxxxx>,
me18@xxxxxxxxxxx (zoara) wrote:

Tim Streater <tim.streater@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[snip]

I'm largely with T i m on this one.

You agree with him that you and he don't have a use for it, or that for
many people they are 'posing pouches'? (I'm not quite sure what that
means, it's conjuring up some unpleasant imagery).

That it has lots of features I wouldn't use. I haven't actually seen one
in the flesh, so to speak, so I don't know its size, but it in any case
needs to fit *unobtrusively* in my pocket, or its a non starter. This
was almost a show stopper for the Psion 3a and 5, but I'd had a Series 3
before that and found that, crappy screen and all, it was invaluable for
me in 1993 when I had six weeks to wind up my life in California and
move back to the UK (sell house, car, etc).

I'm also not convinced by the notion of using the finger to manipulate
it (although, as I say, I've never tried). My instinct would be to get
one of the styluses that Peter C referred to a week or so ago.

I would look at one once I could get it for £150 or less with PAYG (i.e.
no cost at all if I make no calls).

I agree that, for someone who has no use for one, an iPhone is not any
use; but that's self-evident. I'm not sure whether his argument is
against mobile phones in general, or the iPhone in particular, or the
proliferation of non-call features of a modern phone; that's not clear
from what he wrote, but regardless I believe he has made judgements on
others based on his own needs.

Well, that's as may be; I didn't see his original post.

I agree that there is a proportion of the population who buy things
because they're flashy, not because they have any use for them. But to
claim *most* people buy phones simply to be flashy seems disingenuous.
Some do, but I don't think most do - people certainly seem to make a lot
of calls on their mobiles, particularly the yougsters; so they aren't
just 'posing pouches' - they're a tool.

Many - possibly 'most' - people choose between different *models* of
phone based on looks alone, but it doesn't negate the fact that these
people make good use of the phone, even if their choice of model is
based on appearance. Does that make their gadget a 'posing pouch'?

As for choosing on features, if that is what T i m is talking about,
then I agree that there will be people who buy phones for the feature
sets and never use those features; my two counterpoints are
a) I don't believe that 'most' people do this - some do, some don't
b) The intention may be to use the features but the execution is so weak
that the reward is outweighed by the effort; I *could* just [whatever]
on my phone, but it's bloody fiddly.

OK.

I think that the iPhone lowers the effort barrier; just check out the
figures relating to percentage of iPhone users who browse the web versus
percentage of smartphone users as a whole. So if that is T i m's
argument then I think that he should welcome the iPhone as it allows
people to actually do what they bought the gadget for in the first
place.

This strikes me as a non-feature. The screen is too small.

My £49.95 PAYG from tesco in
2004 is ample. I might even send more than one or two texts a year, but
every time I try it, I'm defeated by the oik-oriented predictive
completion that I can't figure out how to disable permanently.

What does "oik-oriented" mean?

It means I can't make it work :-) Look - it was a slow day at the
office, OK? Now I'm retiring in a month I've got nothing to do other
than polish a few PHP scripts.

If I want to take a picture I'll use a proper camera, not the
low-res-with-crap-optics rubbish you get in a mobile.

Having had a camera phone for a while now, I've discovered that there
are two massively different 'types' of photos, one of which I wasn't
even aware of until I got a camphone (until then, and for some time
afterwards, I was as dismissive as you). The first is the usual thing
that we think of as a photo; a scene or portrait; something nice to look
at. The second is actually more like a note or a sketch; if you are
shopping around for something, you might take a photo of similar items
(and their prices) in different shops. The idea is not to capture an
artistic moment, but to trigger a memory - "Oh yeah, that bed had those
funny curly things on the headrest, which did look nicer than the
squarey bits on this one... but it's a hundred quid more...". Or you can
take a photo of where you parked if - like me - you always forget when
faced with huge car parks. Or a "I'm trying to find something to match
this" photo to show to shop assistants. You get the idea...

Yes, I know what you mean. Once when looking for bathroom tiles at
Ridgeons I took the small Sony point-n-shoot with me for just this
reason, so I could report back more fully.

The Tungsten does all I need although if it had a mobile phone built in
that would be great - reduces the device count by one.

This may change once my Tungsten E2 gives up the ghost, as it no doubt
will due to screen failure (just like the other Palms I've owned).

I heart Palm of old. But talk about shooting yourself in the foot.
Repeatedly.

:-) What was the alternative? I refused to get a win-based device, and
I wanted to keep and re-use the address and diary information I already
had.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: OT: Test, please disregard
    ... place but for many they are simply unnecessary posing pouches, ... I agree that, for someone who has no use for one, an iPhone is not any ... As for choosing on features, if that is what T i m is talking about, ... that we think of as a photo; a scene or portrait; something nice to look ...
    (uk.comp.sys.mac)
  • Re: Strong Sales for iPhone in Europe -
    ... mobile phones in Europe, ... The iPhone makes that easier than my ... do have cameras but don't like other features or lack of features so ... not something the iPhone camera is supposed to good at ...
    (uk.comp.sys.mac)
  • Re: NO!! Oxford is FULL of crap - as ALWAYS
    ... It's also a very nice device, with many excellent features. ... All the iPhone reviewers say it ... no internal memory, just a microSD slot ... E90, until I tried one, and haven't so far gone for an iPhone. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
  • Re: E6B for iPhone? (long reply)
    ... you're rather easy to satisfy (well, you're rather behind, technology ... The iPhone is GSM, just like European phones. ... I might point out that additional "features" come at the cost of size, weight, and shorter battery life. ...
    (rec.aviation.piloting)
  • Re: The iPhone cant do what ?
    ... The iPhone is the future of Smart Phones. ... factor, and added features incrementally, like more memory, 3G, etc. ...
    (alt.cellular.cingular)