I've been sporting a Sony Ericsson M600i for the past 3+ years. My wife purchased it for me when we were in Hong Kong for vacation. If you ever saw the James Bond movie, Casino Royale, the M600 is the white colored phone that Vesper used frequently. And 'no' I did not get the M600 in white, I got the 'black' one (see pic below).
The M600 has treated me well over the years...and it should have as my wife paid full retail price for it ($400+). I used it for Internet browsing, MP3 player, personal email, work email (via Exchange ActiveSync), phone calls, Chinese dictionary, etc. Unfortunately, it's seen better days. The phone hardware is painfully slow (206Mhz) and it no longer has enough RAM to run the latest mobile browser from Opera (although Opera Mini does just fine) and other UIQ software.
Another sore point with the phone is the utter lack of firmware updates from Sony Ericsson. SE basically stopped updating the firmware within a year of the M600i's release. Quite pathetic, if you ask me when Nokia supports their phones for well over 3 years after release and Apple just made its latest 3.0 firmware available to the original iPhone that was released 2 years ago. (Feel free to do a search on the Sony Ericsson Developers website to read the outcry from SE users when SE stopped supporting the M600i.)
As I pondered what my next cell phone should be, I looked at the G1, the Palm Pre and the Apple iPhone. While I loved the various smartphones from Samsung, HTC, Nokia, etc., I do not like Windows Mobile or Symbian and did not consider them.
After much deliberation, I decided on......(drumroll please).....
The Apple iPhone 3GS
Another sore point with the phone is the utter lack of firmware updates from Sony Ericsson. SE basically stopped updating the firmware within a year of the M600i's release. Quite pathetic, if you ask me when Nokia supports their phones for well over 3 years after release and Apple just made its latest 3.0 firmware available to the original iPhone that was released 2 years ago. (Feel free to do a search on the Sony Ericsson Developers website to read the outcry from SE users when SE stopped supporting the M600i.)
As I pondered what my next cell phone should be, I looked at the G1, the Palm Pre and the Apple iPhone. While I loved the various smartphones from Samsung, HTC, Nokia, etc., I do not like Windows Mobile or Symbian and did not consider them.
After much deliberation, I decided on......(drumroll please).....
The Apple iPhone 3GS
I liked the Palm Pre and am impressed by its OS, but I tend to stay away from 1st generation items (e.g., the initial release of any item). I like that the G1 has a physical keyboard, but did not like the feel and looks of the G1.
Although the iPhone lacks a physical keyboard, the iPhone OS is simply amazing. I cannot believe how smooth and slick it is. Whereas I had to dig and dig to find the settings menu on the M600i, all the iPhone settings are just a mere few flicks of the finger away from the main screen. The iPhone build quality is top notch (it better be for how much Apple charges you for one sans contract) and it fits wonderfully in the hand. I just have to get used to typing on the virtual keyboard.
Like anything Apple-related, they maintain a tight lock on the iPhone, the OS and its eco-system. I enjoyed hacking the M600i and hope to do the same with the iPhone. The tools are out there and I can't wait to get started. I also can't wait to get started on developing some applications for the iPhone. I have a few ideas I'd love to explore and maybe make some money off those ideas.
Stay tuned!
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