As was mentioned in a post a while back Vodafone kindly loaned me a Apple iPhone4 to use whilst at MWC in Barcelona. This was ideal for me as I am already a Vodafone customer and had a contract which gave me 25MB a day to use whilst roaming in Spain.
I was able to tweet from the event and catch up with news and tweets whilst on the metro traveling on the 30 minute trip to and from the hotel and also in the restaurant in the evening for dinner. Although 25MB does not go a massive way it was much better than the old offer of 5MB and was nice to be able to use data whilst roaming and not worry much about the cost.
Due to needing some high quality images for the site I did not use the camera or video recorder for coverage, I did snap a few photos from the hotel though to share with family and friends, here are two of them.
The iPhone for me was all about the apps available and how easy it made using the phone. Not too long ago apps were a rare thing and for things like checking your bank balance on a phone this was a long process if even possible on a lot of devices. However the NatWest app was very handy allowing me to check a payment into my account had cleared whilst sitting in the press area, I was also able to use AudioBoo to record some audio updates for another site I write for and all of the #AYCEonThree AudioBoo updates have been from the iPhone too.
Whilst battery was my main concern due to needing to put the iPhone through heavy use, when i did not need data I found turning off 3G and Location Services was enough to give the battery the extra life needed to get through the day.
For me personally whilst Android has the great widget support which is handy for apps like 3G Watchdog to track data use and is really easy to customise, iOS has better applications on the whole and all in a great looking package.
A massive thank you to Vodafone who loaned me a iPhone 4 for the trip to Barcelona, it was a real joy to use and if anything made my decision on what phone to purchase next a whole lot harder by including the iPhone 4 or iPhone 5 in that list where as before I would have been focussing on Android.
You can purchase an iPhone from Vodafone on both Pay As You Go and Contract by visiting an online store, over the phone, online or direct from Apple
Links: Vodafone iPhone 4 – Apple iPhone 4
I remain unconvinced. The iOS’s Grid UI looks so dated. Widgets are very useful, as is Android openness and choice of form factors.
Well i’m looking forward to seeing what new features apple incorporate in their latest iOS and in the next iPhone. roll on the iPhone 5 🙂 The one think that Android should really of done is made sure all phones are updated at the same time so that everyone has the option to be on the same firmware / os version at the same time. Competition is good.
Apparantly, there is discussions of iOS5 being discussed, and possibly announced 2nd March.
But do not quote me on this…… The OS may not be perfect, but the apps that are out there, and work for me are great. And I have over 20GB now of apps. Total of around 260 in total.
I disagree completely with Bradavon, who seems to have been an iPhone disliker from the start. Like any new breed of Phone and OS, it takes time to develop. Look where Windows Phone is now.
Apple have actually done alot for us Smartphone users – The device that came out in 2007 may have icons but SO WHAT…. you dont buy or dislike a phone because of this…. you buy a Phone or device that suits YOUR needs and your requirements.
Im not convinced about Android, even though sales are brilliant and lots of handsets out there. But remember, Apple have one device, and one flavour of OS, with no fragmentation that Android users are either loathing or enjoying.
I was torn between 2 devices, but after getting to hacked off with WM6.5, I am so pleased I went the iPhone 3GS route, and then this year GOT an iPhone4 for FREE!!!! And I am not complaining.
There is room for all types of Smartphones. Sadly, in my own view, I think WP7 is missing the boat a little bit. With Ballmer laughing at Apple about “reinventing the phone”, look at how things have turned out.
What goes around, comes around.