It seems that even the best and coolest tech companies DON’T GET IT. I bought a Nokia E61 some time ago to do voice over IP via SIP. What a pain in the butt. The first phone I bought, in the Philippines, had older firmware that was last on the list to be updated by Nokia. Seems that Nokia treats its Philippines products as it does other Asian language products. It updates them last. But, the Philippines is an English speaking country. Seems they are guilty by geography. I traded my phone with the owner of my company for another E61 he bought on the net. He thought it was a UK phone. It did have the latest firmware and had everything in English. But, after I broke the LCD, I found out the phone was destined for the Nigerian market. Nokia USA wouldn’t fix it. Not even for money. I had to pay a shop in Tampa to fix it. Damn. But, I could update this phone to the latest firmware so SIP based VOIP would work. With our PBX and with external services such as Gizmo. While the E61 was being repaired, I purchased the new U.S. version of the N95. Cool concept. 3G support, SIP client, 5MP camera, music player, microSD slot, GPS and maps and much more. But, battery life is bad and the phone OS (Symbian S60) is slow. The browser doesn’t support Ajax well nor does it support Flash.
Now, I’ve wanted an iPhone. But, it’s closed (as I’ve written about.) I can’t easily add 3rd party apps like I would on my Mac. There are hacks that allow those apps now. But, I want to have Apple support. The hacks kill that warranty. But, there’s more. I went to the Apple store this week near my house. The young guy there could have worked for Microsoft. He had none of the rebel, self-analytical personality I expect from Apple users (like me and my friends.) If Apple makes a boneheaded move, I say so! So do most Apple users. Not this guy. I tested the iPhone for its Flash support. NONE. I can’t stream Pandora radio. I can’t look at Flash apps. Also, Ajax support is iffy. Of course, the young guy tried like mad to convince me that IMAP support with the mail client in the iPhone was just fine. BULLCRAP. I tried to show him why, on the Mac, that Firefox was better than Safari. He just pretended the flaws I showed him weren’t there. DUHH. I tried to explain that while I don’t like the evil empire (Microsoft), I prefer Entourage over Apple Mail. He even agreed with me on my analysis but kept on that Apple Mail was better, just because.
OK, I know that just because you’re young doesn’t meet you’re hip. I work in software and am a gadget freak (and a knowledgeable one at that.) But, you’d think the guys at Apple wouldn’t let this stuff slip by. I want a device that allows me to do what the iPhone does PLUS support for Flash, Ajax and the ability to add apps like I do on my Mac. I want Firefox, SIP based VOIP clients, video players. And expandable memory to support my app habit. Oh, and it has to be cool and capable of making traditional mobile calls (for the time being, until we have WiMax or some other ubiquitous wireless IP netwlork.)
So, I’ll continue to whine about there being no big winner in the device market. I though soon plan to buy and try a Nokia N800. It’s a small tablet like device. May be almost there. But, it doesn’t support Flash either. So………………
