moloko's Profile

Interesting read, having upgraded my contract to a Moto RAZR V3x late Dec ("just couldn't hold out on the long-rumored&awaited iPhone any longer" *sigh*) – this is a more refined/higher capacity model than earlier RAZR's, and a joy to receive & play with, a bit less so to actually use daily... Yep, it has audio & video players, 2MP still & QCIF video camera's, video calling via 3G networks, WAP browser & e-mail etc. etc... Also, being a relatively open platform capable of running 3rd party Java applets, I've added GoogleMaps (OK, the really great J2meMap sure ain't iPhone-touch-tastic but does the trick rather well), Reporo chat (which connects to AIM/MSN/Yahoo/etc., allowing text chat & messaging at data rates - @less than a cent a message), Opera mini (which is wayyy better than the built-in WAP client - allowing a scaled-down access to full HTML pages), various games, Salling Clicker as an iTunes/Frontrow remote for my Macs (this really is genius, giving great feedback with track info & album art on the Moto display – allowing one to browse the library & select track/playlists from a different room from the media Mac)... and I am seriously looking forward to the full release of iSkoot which promises Skype-powered VOIP over GPRS at a fraction of cell-network calls... So, the Moto is Jack of many trades, even more than the IPhone promises - a converged Cell phone/Media Player/Internet client/Camera AND an open platform capable of running 3rd Party apps. BUT I still can't wait to replace my month-old V3x with an iPhone, when it eventually reaches my distant (from Cupertino) shores... Why? The glorious Apple interface, the clarity and seamless ease-of-use the iPhone promises. While packed with functions & potential, the Moto only ever half-delivers in terms of user experience ie: ease of use, fluidity. The Digital Audio Player is more than passable (like a 1G iPod but with the ability to actually build playlists) but gives no feedback when the clamshell is closed... one can get around this by using the Sounds player, but this is *horrible* for actually managing music... I do actually use the V3x as my current mobile music player tho (last iPod died October, still waiting for that fullscreen/multitouch/100GB VideoPod with PVR, Apple!)... while the 5-way navigation 'joystick' is OK for browsing the limited 1GB per MMC card library, it'd be ghastly for a larger music collection... Similar complaints can be levelled at just about everything else on the phone... Sync is pretty darn good, but not seemlessly integrated with OS X AddressBook (can't maintain field info, splits contacts with more than 5 numbers/e-mails into multiple entries...) And this is where Apple has really nailed it: beyond having much better capacity storage capacity (I really like the idea of having 4/8GB on the phone – rather than a collection of itty-bitty MMC cards to lose...) & a screen that is twice the size/no. of pixels (320x480 over 240x320) & the revolution that is multi-touch – these technologies promise to deliver an interface that is as compelling as functional... that will be a pleasure to use... and, offers SEAMLESS integration with the OS X environment... *If* Motorola had the same experience with/attention to human interface design Apple has (but that's like expecting Moto to *be* Apple, right? or to have been at the same party these past 30 years...), they could make the RAZR a winner – not what feels to me like my stop-gap solution... Final thought, tho: my recent V3x upgrade will at least let me hold out on my iPhone lust long enough to see what Apple does deliver/allow in terms of extra/3rd party software. VOIP anyone? High-end Apple TV/Mac media remote? Just how long will the Cingular deal take to cool off before iChat AV & a front camera appears on a future iPhone?! My $599 (which'll undoubtedly translate into an even more scary sum in my local currency *groan*) is waiting, Apple... :)