Apple iPhone 4
Normally I wouldn't talk about mobile phones in this blog. But with little exciting in the news this last week, the sheer power of modern mobiles and their growing importance for internet access (and my own N95 8GB being eligible for an upgrade!), I’m taking a little more interest than normal in the mobile market.
Hot on the heels of the Apple iPad is the iPhone 4. It is the "iPhone 4" not the "iPhone 4G", communicating at most using 3G. (4G, whether it is LTE being trialed by O2, or full IMTA, won't be available commercially in the UK for some time). The iPhone 4 is available from Thursday June 24th from all five UK mobile networks (O2, Orange, T-Mobile, Three & Vodafone, plus resellers such as Carphone Warehouse & Phones-4-U). Only O2 appear to have announced their tariffs, which unlike the iPad includes an iPhone 4 in the monthly contracts.
The original iPhone took the world by storm three years ago. The iPhone 4 is a distinct improvement on the previous models, such as by providing multi-tasking and a 5MP camera. But many are saying that other manufacturers’ phones, many using the “Android” operating system may be a better bet, especially the HTC Desire, Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 and the Blackberrys.
The iPhone 4 offers significant functionality, including better resolution display, and HD-quality videoing.
To a certain extent the choice between the iPhone and other smartphones is what “apps” (applications) are available for the “platforms”. It's also the age-old battle between the Mac OS available only for "lovable" Apple products (in this case the iPhone) and an operating system available usually more cheaply on a variety of manufacturers’ devices (in this case “Android”).
It may be a matter of choosing between heart and head.
Apple iPad Update
The iPad is still very difficult to get hold of in the UK. There were some of the iPad models without the 3G micro-SIM slot available directly from Apple shops over this last weekend. Currys and PCWorld seemed to be sold out around the south east at least, but both now offer a stock availability checker (click on the links above, then your region, then model at bottom of page then "Click here to check the availability in your area"). For the 3G models, which allow connection to the 3G mobile data network for an extra subscription, it should hopefully only be a matter of days before new stock is available.
But which model? Check for yourself, but unless you are going to be loading a lot of videos onto the iPad, the entry-level 16GB should be sufficient. Instead of bigger storage, why not save your money and buy a decent case and other accessories instead? The choice is yours.
For 3G services, there's a big disparity in tariffs among the operators, none of which include an iPad, which has to be bought separately as above. So which operator?
Here are the Apps available for iPad and previous articles on the iPad:
PowerPoint – Presentation or Persuasion?
You'll find this an interesting take on the role of PowerPoint from Graham, Jones, the “Internet Phychologist”.
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