Comments on: Chasing the perfect smartphone http://www.stephenfry.com/2008/01/04/chasing-the-perfect-smartphone/ Blessays, blogs and blisquisitions Wed, 21 Sep 2011 17:18:53 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.4 By: jeff http://www.stephenfry.com/2008/01/04/chasing-the-perfect-smartphone/comment-page-1/#comment-3649 jeff Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:16:41 +0000 http://stephenfry.com/blog/?p=33#comment-3649 No WiFi, clunky and kind of old, I just can't find anything that does as much as my Treo. I have a 650, and avoid the Windows version like the plague. (The Palm OS may be creaky and have its quirks, but it works and you can figure it out!) I love the iPhone, but I can't do half the stuff I want with it! Alas, the Treo Bulge stays with me. No WiFi, clunky and kind of old, I just can’t find anything that does as much as my Treo. I have a 650, and avoid the Windows version like the plague. (The Palm OS may be creaky and have its quirks, but it works and you can figure it out!) I love the iPhone, but I can’t do half the stuff I want with it! Alas, the Treo Bulge stays with me.

]]> By: breadbox http://www.stephenfry.com/2008/01/04/chasing-the-perfect-smartphone/comment-page-1/#comment-3619 breadbox Sun, 10 Feb 2008 04:43:35 +0000 http://stephenfry.com/blog/?p=33#comment-3619 At some point (as Richard Stallman would say, "in the fullness of time") a linux phone will appear on the market: it is described at openmoko.com, and while many recent accounts say that time is not yet as fullnessy as it might be, I gather that fullnessytime may be arriving soon. N. At some point (as Richard Stallman would say, “in the fullness of time”) a linux phone will appear on the market: it is described at openmoko.com, and while many recent accounts say that time is not yet as fullnessy as it might be, I gather that fullnessytime may be arriving soon.

N.

]]> By: BelgianAtheist http://www.stephenfry.com/2008/01/04/chasing-the-perfect-smartphone/comment-page-1/#comment-3239 BelgianAtheist Thu, 31 Jan 2008 08:18:27 +0000 http://stephenfry.com/blog/?p=33#comment-3239 You can soon add another phone to the list of possible perfect phones: The Garmin nüvifone http://www.garmin.com/nuvifone/ I have the HTC Touch for about a year now and kinda like it but when it comes out the nüvifone will be mine. You can soon add another phone to the list of possible perfect phones:
The Garmin nüvifone
http://www.garmin.com/nuvifone/

I have the HTC Touch for about a year now and kinda like it but when it comes out the nüvifone will be mine.

]]> By: Matt Radford http://www.stephenfry.com/2008/01/04/chasing-the-perfect-smartphone/comment-page-1/#comment-2876 Matt Radford Thu, 17 Jan 2008 10:07:19 +0000 http://stephenfry.com/blog/?p=33#comment-2876 Apologies for skipping over the hetero/homo kissing scandal and going right back on-topic, but smartphones suffer from a major problem in my opinion, which is: trying to be all things to all men (whether gay or straight or somewhere in between). As Richard Madeley* said above, save us from acronymitus. The joys of the TLA may be obvious to geeks, but it does nothing but drive a wedge between those in the know and those who just want to get on and do something with the powerful gadget in their hand . We can’t get rid of the acronyms because they succinctly describe the technologies that drive these wonderful advances. What we can do is sufficiently subsume them within straightforward user interfaces, making ease of use paramount. I’ve been thinking for a while that phones perhaps need two interfaces – a basic mode and an advanced mode, so that regular users can simply get on with what they want to do, and users who expect their phone to do far more can flip the switch and experience a much more capable device. I’ve tried a few Windows Mobile phones, and I find the desktop metaphor simply doesn’t translate very well for me (and I consider myself fairly technically adept), and it certainly doesn’t pass the “Mum test”. Apologies to any gadget-obsessed Mums out there, but you’re not the norm. Perhaps even two modes are too many. Perhaps phone user interfaces need to be re-thought, making the basic functions more accessible. This is where the iPhone, whatever features it is missing, succeeds so well. I can hand this device to my mother and she’ll be making calls and surfing the web immediately, which I regard as a near-miraculous event. Cheers Matt *The link does go through to a Richard Madeleyeque site but is it really Richard or has he gained his own “Fake Steve”? Or is it a double-bluff? Time, I’m sure, won’t tell… Apologies for skipping over the hetero/homo kissing scandal and going right back on-topic, but smartphones suffer from a major problem in my opinion, which is: trying to be all things to all men (whether gay or straight or somewhere in between). As Richard Madeley* said above, save us from acronymitus. The joys of the TLA may be obvious to geeks, but it does nothing but drive a wedge between those in the know and those who just want to get on and do something with the powerful gadget in their hand .

We can’t get rid of the acronyms because they succinctly describe the technologies that drive these wonderful advances. What we can do is sufficiently subsume them within straightforward user interfaces, making ease of use paramount. I’ve been thinking for a while that phones perhaps need two interfaces – a basic mode and an advanced mode, so that regular users can simply get on with what they want to do, and users who expect their phone to do far more can flip the switch and experience a much more capable device. I’ve tried a few Windows Mobile phones, and I find the desktop metaphor simply doesn’t translate very well for me (and I consider myself fairly technically adept), and it certainly doesn’t pass the “Mum test”. Apologies to any gadget-obsessed Mums out there, but you’re not the norm.

Perhaps even two modes are too many. Perhaps phone user interfaces need to be re-thought, making the basic functions more accessible. This is where the iPhone, whatever features it is missing, succeeds so well. I can hand this device to my mother and she’ll be making calls and surfing the web immediately, which I regard as a near-miraculous event.

Cheers
Matt

*The link does go through to a Richard Madeleyeque site but is it really Richard or has he gained his own “Fake Steve”? Or is it a double-bluff? Time, I’m sure, won’t tell…

]]> By: ruthie http://www.stephenfry.com/2008/01/04/chasing-the-perfect-smartphone/comment-page-1/#comment-2719 ruthie Fri, 11 Jan 2008 21:24:18 +0000 http://stephenfry.com/blog/?p=33#comment-2719 I just found this. Seriously? You have a BLOG? So how do you feel about "Ask Jeeves"? Or are you past that? I just found this. Seriously? You have a BLOG?

So how do you feel about “Ask Jeeves”? Or are you past that?

]]> By: Richard Madeley http://www.stephenfry.com/2008/01/04/chasing-the-perfect-smartphone/comment-page-1/#comment-2710 Richard Madeley Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:28:01 +0000 http://stephenfry.com/blog/?p=33#comment-2710 Oh dear. Technobabble. HTC, WM5, WM6, 3.5G, HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS, GMS, 2MP, VGA, WiFi, GPS, SMS, HTC Tytn II, SGH-G800, 5MP, 3G, WAP 2.0, OLED, LCD? Would it be inappropriate of me to ask WTF? Perhaps it’s just me but isn’t this the problem with mobile technology? Until we have a company like Nintendo at work within the mobile phone industry, ridding us of this acronymitus, the technology will remain the stuff of geeks. The best technologies are transparent to the user. The is far from the case with the majority of mobile phones out there where one thumb is not enough to get through a few hundred menus. TTFN. Oh dear. Technobabble. HTC, WM5, WM6, 3.5G, HSDPA, UMTS, EDGE, GPRS, GMS, 2MP, VGA, WiFi, GPS, SMS, HTC Tytn II, SGH-G800, 5MP, 3G, WAP 2.0, OLED, LCD? Would it be inappropriate of me to ask WTF?

Perhaps it’s just me but isn’t this the problem with mobile technology? Until we have a company like Nintendo at work within the mobile phone industry, ridding us of this acronymitus, the technology will remain the stuff of geeks. The best technologies are transparent to the user. The is far from the case with the majority of mobile phones out there where one thumb is not enough to get through a few hundred menus.

TTFN.

]]> By: ginge http://www.stephenfry.com/2008/01/04/chasing-the-perfect-smartphone/comment-page-1/#comment-2709 ginge Fri, 11 Jan 2008 09:42:37 +0000 http://stephenfry.com/blog/?p=33#comment-2709 I wonder if this will be the ultimate smartphone? Due out in the next month (if you believe i-mate!) http://www.imate.com/product.aspx?product=ultimate9502 Certainly appears to be so on paper. VGA screen, decent amount of ROM/RAM, slide out qwerty, GPS, 3.5G, wifi etc etc... Lets just hope they have proper video drivers for it, unlike HTC's effort with the Tytn II!! I wonder if this will be the ultimate smartphone? Due out in the next month (if you believe i-mate!)

http://www.imate.com/product.aspx?product=ultimate9502

Certainly appears to be so on paper. VGA screen, decent amount of ROM/RAM, slide out qwerty, GPS, 3.5G, wifi etc etc…

Lets just hope they have proper video drivers for it, unlike HTC’s effort with the Tytn II!!

]]> By: Flookwit http://www.stephenfry.com/2008/01/04/chasing-the-perfect-smartphone/comment-page-1/#comment-2706 Flookwit Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:08:34 +0000 http://stephenfry.com/blog/?p=33#comment-2706 Any thoughts about Amazon.com's e-book reader, <b>Kindle</b>, that uses <i>Whispernet</i> (claiming to be faster than WiFi)? US biased, (can download New York Times bestseller list books, rather than UK preferences; Newsprint - not that you'd want to read it - is from a selection of Irish, French, German and US) and sold through Amazon.com. Those who have one seem to love it (maybe because it cost them so much); those who slate it appear to be the lovelies who poked and prodded, but kept their wallet safely tucked away near cheeks or chest. It's a gadget/gizmo, so wondered if you had played with it and kept it, or played with it and dropped it into the nearest Atlantic or Pacific aquarium again. Any thoughts about Amazon.com’s e-book reader, Kindle, that uses Whispernet (claiming to be faster than WiFi)?

US biased, (can download New York Times bestseller list books, rather than UK preferences; Newsprint – not that you’d want to read it – is from a selection of Irish, French, German and US) and sold through Amazon.com.

Those who have one seem to love it (maybe because it cost them so much); those who slate it appear to be the lovelies who poked and prodded, but kept their wallet safely tucked away near cheeks or chest.

It’s a gadget/gizmo, so wondered if you had played with it and kept it, or played with it and dropped it into the nearest Atlantic or Pacific aquarium again.

]]> By: sharonjackson http://www.stephenfry.com/2008/01/04/chasing-the-perfect-smartphone/comment-page-1/#comment-2701 sharonjackson Fri, 11 Jan 2008 01:20:14 +0000 http://stephenfry.com/blog/?p=33#comment-2701 Rasika, how charming. Jeeves at the Taj Mahal, Wooster at the Lal Quila. I am Canadian, so that would be like tea at 4 in the log cabin in the woods by the lake. Kind of like doing Shakespeare in 1930's gangster clothes. I love it!! Rasika, how charming. Jeeves at the Taj Mahal, Wooster at the Lal Quila. I am Canadian, so that would be like tea at 4 in the log cabin in the woods by the lake. Kind of like doing Shakespeare in 1930′s gangster clothes. I love it!!

]]> By: Rasika http://www.stephenfry.com/2008/01/04/chasing-the-perfect-smartphone/comment-page-1/#comment-2696 Rasika Thu, 10 Jan 2008 19:37:25 +0000 http://stephenfry.com/blog/?p=33#comment-2696 Hi Stephen, I am currently watching Jeeves and Wooster. I already had read P.G.Wodehouse... I love him. I loved the TV Series too. When I read his books I had my own imagination of Bertie and Jeeves... Jeeves is the most mysterious character. I am planning to read the books again as now I can imagine you in the role of Jeeves... You suit the character so well and also have portrayed it really well. The funny part is being born and brought up in India I imagined indian houses while reading books :)... Now I know how it looks. I wonder why they stopped after season 4... The not so good part about the series is that there are no subtitles recorded for it, so it becomes a little difficult to understand the british accent. Thanks for reading, Rasika Hi Stephen,

I am currently watching Jeeves and Wooster. I already had read P.G.Wodehouse… I love him. I loved the TV Series too. When I read his books I had my own imagination of Bertie and Jeeves… Jeeves is the most mysterious character. I am planning to read the books again as now I can imagine you in the role of Jeeves… You suit the character so well and also have portrayed it really well. The funny part is being born and brought up in India I imagined indian houses while reading books :) … Now I know how it looks. I wonder why they stopped after season 4… The not so good part about the series is that there are no subtitles recorded for it, so it becomes a little difficult to understand the british accent.

Thanks for reading,
Rasika

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