iphone vs mytouch

[lefat1]

Two of the phones I have been contemplating when my contract is up. Anyone have any valuable input as to which is a better choice, all things considered.

[TonyPSchaefer]

I can't compare the two since I haven't owned or used both of them. But I have an iPhone. I will attempt to be impartial in describing what I like and what I wish they would enable / improve. Keep in mind that for almost an entire decade my experience with cell phone was exclusively limited to "penny phones." Those phones that are free or cost only a penny when you open an account. For that reason, anything about data service, texting, functionality might be very elemental to more experienced phone users. Also, I have the iPhone 3G and not the 3Gs.

What I like:
- There's an app for that. Seriously. Though there are some really lame apps out there, there are some really neat ones.
- There's an app for that (pt 2). Instead of having the predefined applications, I can add any app I want. The odds that two iPhone users will have the exact same apps is statistically possible, but mind-numbingly improbable. Tailor it and make it your own.
- Integration with Microsoft Outlook data. I can sync it with my Outlook calendar, contacts, and Notes.
- It works. I'm easy to please. When presented with something, I just want it to work as advertised. The iPhone really surprised me in that regards. Not just in that it simply works, but . . .
- Some apps interrelate. When I'm in Contacts and I tap an address, the Maps app pops up showing the location and asking if I want directions from where I am. When I tap a phone number the dialer comes up. Videos linked to YouTube open the YouTube app and play. The list goes on. I like that.
- The transitions are neat. Again, I'm easy to please but for my own work I dwell on the little things, the things most people ignore. I like the zoom out / zoom in affect the iPhone uses. It's a smoother transition that just jumping from screen to screen.
- One handed use. When I'm standing in line somewhere, I can pull the iPhone out of my pocket and do just about anything with my right thumb. I can operate almost all apps with one hand.
- Typing. Thanks to the rotating screen, I can type faster on my iPhone than many of my friends can type on a full-sized keyboard. In landscape mode, the buttons enlarge making them easier to hit. With the key toggle button, I can quickly flip through numbers, special characters and punctuation.
- My mom can work it. I have to explain to my mom how to update Firefox every time she gets the notice and that's pretty easy. The last time I was at my parents' house my mom picked it up and after a brief overview of apps and tapping, she was surfing the web, browsing pictures, zooming in and zooming out. I wasn't about to let her update my Facebook status but it wouldn't have been but a few minutes before she would have figured it out.
- Screen. I'm new to data service so being able to provide navigation when riding in my friend's car was pretty cool to me. What makes it cooler is that the screen is large and clear. This makes apps look better, makes picture viewing easier and nicer, and even watching movies on YouTube better.

What I wish they would enhance / enable:
- Integration with Microsoft Outlook Data. I know that I listed it above but what you will see missing from that is Mail. It's a corporate decision, but I can't sync my mail. My old Dell Axim could sync with my local mailbox without the need for access to the Outlook Exchange server. I don't know why the iPhone couldn't do something similar.
- AutoSync / AutoUpdate. Thinking about my Axim, I miss the AutoSync feature in which items automatically synced when something was changed. The iPhone requires syncing through iTunes and there is no AutoUpdate feature. You can have it sync on connection but if you accept a meeting request thirty seconds later you must force another sync.
- A Main Screen. I miss my Axim and the Home Screen showing my calendar, number of emails in my Inbox, and a ToDo list. The iPhone doesn't have this. I have to open each app separately.
- Backer. Backer is an app that only runs on jailbreaked iPhones. Backer allows the running of background apps. That is, multiple apps running at the same time. You will notice other phone manufacturers touting the ability of their OS to run multiple apps at the same time. That's a direct dig on Apple. The functionality exists as witnessed by anyone who listened to the iPod functionality while doing anything else or talking on the phone wile looking up a contact. Every third-party app is not allowed to tap into the Background functionality. I have to wonder if Apple will open that up due to competition.


That's about it for me. I'm sure I can think of more if I really concentrate.

Make sure you check out C|Net and Retrevo for relatively independent reviews.

[efusco]

Tony's post pretty much mimes what I would say. I'm amazed how quickly the iPhone became something I was dependent upon. And yet it's easy enough to use that my 5 year old can navigate to the "Pocket God" game (she thinks it's a career training tool I think!).

I'm not familiar with all the programs that Tony's talking about, but want to comment a bit where it comes to syncing and e-mail. There are ways, in the sub-menus, to force Pushes at any frequency you wish, you can fetch, or manually update...all customizable. There may be some functions (the ones Tony's talking about?) that can't do that, again, I'm not an expert on those, so I'm not sure. But they do work with my google calendar, which updates the calendar on the phone and vis versa.

Also, I have my e-mails, my wife's e-mail, all synced to my iPhone (aol). While it doesn't tell me how many I have until I open it, it only takes a few seconds.

CONS:
1)Battery life--it's a compromise to keep the size small, but depending upon what features you're using it can be frustratingly short...keep a charge cord with you wherever you go. If you could bring an extra battery and swap it out, that would be fine, but that's not possible either.

2)No memory expansion slot--annoying IMO. I'd love to be able to pop in an SD card with extra music, pictures, whatever, or transfer my stuff to said card from the phone.

I suppose I don't know what I'm missing by not being able to run multiple apps at once...but it hasn't been a problem for me...maybe just b/c I can't hold more than one thing in my head at a time!

[burritos]

Historically, have any products that have tried to emulate an apple product ever surpassed it?

[ggood]

Originally Posted by TonyPSchaefer

What I wish they would enhance / enable:
- Integration with Microsoft Outlook Data. I know that I listed it above but what you will see missing from that is Mail. It's a corporate decision, but I can't sync my mail. My old Dell Axim could sync with my local mailbox without the need for access to the Outlook Exchange server. I don't know why the iPhone couldn't do something similar.

I agree with most of your comments and have nothing to add. However, this particular issue is all on your company's IT department, and whatever stupid policies they have in place. My company's Outlook, including mail, syncs just fine with my iphone.

I love having the internet and other apps in my pocket, and so far, I haven't read of anyone doing it better, although the android phones are starting to catch up. Can't find any good objective reviews of the my touch.

[mojo]

Im on Sprint and cant justify paying Atts higher monthly rate .You can get unlimited data and 450 voice minutes for as low as $50.
A lot of people highly review the new HTC Touch pro 2 because of its huge slide out keyboard.

HTC - Products - HTC Touch Pro2 - Overview

Im also considering this new Omnia II but its on Verizon.They recently lowered their price on on unlimited data plans.
Bigger Amoled screen and bigger processor than Iphone.
SAMSUNG OMNIA II

[ggood]

Forgot to mention, OP needs to take local provider coverage into account, since the my touch is a T-mobile phone. Verizon's upcoming droid is getting a lot of play since they just started advertising it. Mossberg just reviewed the mortorola cliq (also t-mobile):

Smart Phone Review: Motorola CLIQ and RIM Storm2 | Walt Mossberg | Personal Technology | AllThingsD

[TonyPSchaefer]

Originally Posted by efusco

There are ways, in the sub-menus, to force Pushes at any frequency you wish, you can fetch, or manually update...all customizable. There may be some functions (the ones Tony's talking about?) that can't do that, again, I'm not an expert on those, so I'm not sure.

Also, I have my e-mails, my wife's e-mail, all synced to my iPhone (aol). While it doesn't tell me how many I have until I open it, it only takes a few seconds.

The AutoUpdate I refer to was part of Microsoft ActiveSync. It sits in the Windows System Tray. As soon as I made a change in my calendar, for example, I would see the ActiveSync icon spin and the Axim would have that addition.

And yeah, I have five email accounts that I track on my iPhone. Evan, there's a number on my icon when I have unread email. Yours doesn't?

Originally Posted by ggood

I agree with most of your comments and have nothing to add. However, this particular issue is all on your company's IT department, and whatever stupid policies they have in place. My company's Outlook, including mail, syncs just fine with my iphone.

Did you have to enter your corporate Exchange server address in the iPhone when setting this up or does it pull only what's on your desktop? With my Axim, I could do either but since I didn't know my Exchange Server's address, I just synced the mail I had local.


Another thing I forgot to mention was Data storage. It's a rather trivial thing perhaps, but I would like to be able to treat my iPhone as an external hard drive. I realize that it's not built for that, but sometimes it would be mighty handy. On the other hand, remember what I said about "there's an app for that"? Though I haven't found one I like and in doing research I found that if you jailbreak an iPhone you can use Windows Explorer on it but you didn't hear that form me.

Another thing I like is that I can have multiple calendars all tracking on the same time line. I can either choose to show them all and see where overlaps exist or I can view them one at a time. I find this very handy when there are professional and personal things and I don't want to have to populate my work calender with personal things.

[ggood]

Originally Posted by TonyPSchaefer

Did you have to enter your corporate Exchange server address in the iPhone when setting this up or does it pull only what's on your desktop? With my Axim, I could do either but since I didn't know my Exchange Server's address, I just synced the mail I had local.

It's easier if you know your firm's incoming and outgoing mail server domains, but I think it will also try to do an auto discovery. If your firm has web access set up, the incoming mail server will be the same domain that you enter for web access. Have you tried just asking your IT person or persons? Here's an apple support article:

iPhone 2.1 software: Exchange ActiveSync Account Quick Setup Guide

Do you know if your firm allows iphone access to your exchange server? It's possible your firm doesn't have your server set up to allow access, in which case you'll need to talk to your IT guy or dept. It should be easy, as long as you company doesn't have any silly limitations in place.

[radioprius1]

Originally Posted by burritos

Historically, have any products that have tried to emulate an apple product ever surpassed it?

An Apple exec said the other day (and I agree 100% with him) that the other phone companies are still trying to compete with the iPhone that was released two years ago (the first generation iPhone.) It's pretty great Apple nailed it on their first try and it's only gotten better.

Originally Posted by TonyPSchaefer

The odds that two iPhone users will have the exact same apps is statistically possible, but mind-numbingly improbable. Tailor it and make it your own.

Douglas Adams would be rolling over in his grave if he read how poorly you ripped off his line and tried to use it