Anyone who read my recent rant blog on the shoddy treatment I received from UK Mobile network T-Mobile, or has been following my frustrations via Twitter on how Talkmobile couldn’t even take my order successfully will realise that I’m a little bit frustrated on the mobile ‘phone front lately.
My beloved and reliable HTC HD2 has reached the end of it’s life and is so no longer beloved or reliable, and with Microsoft having retired Windows Mobile 6.5 I’ve therefore decided not to simply swap like for like.
But when it comes to choosing a new mobile phone – there are dozens of options. In fact, if you ask a dozen different people for their mobile ‘phone recommendations, you’ll get a dozen different answers on why their preferred ‘phone is best. Even if you don’t ask for recommendations, you’ll have them volunteered to you! It’s fair to say that people are very loyal to their preferred platform – reminiscent of the “format wars” of Atari –vs- Commodore in the 1980’s (and for the record, everybody knows Atari was better).
So I’m going to try an experiment.
I’ve acquired a SIM Only deal from Three and over the next few weeks will, in turn, grab an unlocked iPhone, an Android device and a Windows Phone and use each of them as my only mobile phone for a few weeks at a time.
As for my requirements, the line between a Consumer device and Business device has blurred so much in recent months that it is now barely distinguishable. Three years ago I used to have separate mobile ‘phones for day-to-day business work and out-on-the-town with friends. Now, one device allows me to do everything I want – do business, and have fun.
So what am I looking for in a device? Here’s a rough guide:-
- The ability to connect to Microsoft Exchange and have a good client experience for e-mail, calendar, contacts, and especially tasks and notes.
- To install and run the Open Source software KeePass or equivalent, granting me access to all my logons and passwords wherever I might be.
- The ability to conditionally Call Forwarding (i.e. on “Busy”, on “Unavailable”, etc)
- A decent camera – with ability to quickly and easily upload pictures to both Twitter and Facebook.
- To be able to connect to Google Mail and use “Send As” functionality for the various personal accounts I use.
- Strong Bluetooth Connectivity to my Bury CC9060 Hands-Free Car Kit
- One-Touch Bluetooth On/Off for when I’m in/out of the car
- Excellent apps for Twitter, Facebook, eBay, LinkedIn, Barcode Scanner/Price Comparison, Google Latitude and Amazon Kindle
- The ability to purchase a Brodit Pro-Mount Car Holder kit for using the ‘phone when driving.
- The device must run Alk CoPilot Live or another equally good turn-by-turn off-line Sat-Nav app
- The ability to create favourite contacts, and to send Group SMS messages
- Nice to have – Micro USB connectivity (to match my Kindle and other gadgets)
- Also Nice to have – A Skype client, and Windows Live Mesh and/or Dropbox app
There are other features that are a “given” (good call quality, HSDPA, etc) and no doubt I’ll fall in love with other features as I begin my experiment.
I’m starting off the experiment by turning off my HTC HD2 and dropping it in the drawer to gather dust, whilst I use an iPhone 3GS for the next fortnight or so.
Let the experiment begin! 