Thomas S. Nielsen's blog

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A few tips to consider when you buy your next cellphone.

1. Smartphone or cellphone?

Are you going to use your phone for more than texting and calling? Then you want a smartphone. With a smartphone you can surf the web, watch videos, run apps and more. If you are just going to use your phone mainly for calling and texting, you can go for a normal cheap cellphone.

2. a) Cellphone

When you are getting a normal cellphone, your choice is both easier and more difficult. It is easier because almost any phone works, but more difficult because you have more to choose from.

I would recommend that you check what menu system and features you like the best first, then choose a phone with that system based on price and design. That way you get a phone you like to use, in your price range. Remember to check the cell plan when you look at the price! A “free” phone is not free if you pay $70/month for two years.

2. b) Smartphone

Now this is where it gets interesting. Personally I got very strong opinions on this market. First of all you must consider that you are going to have this phone for at least a year, most likely two years or more. That means you should put a lot of consideration into what platform you choose.

Unless you are using your phone mainly for work, I would stay far away from Windows Mobile devices. I would also recommend iPhone and Android devices ahead of Symbian and Blackberry. To make a possibly long answer short: If you like the iPhone and are comfortable with the restrictions it comes with (no backgrounding apps except IMs and other simple tools, no porn apps, etc), go for it. If not, check out the different Android devices.

Android is Google’s entry into the smartphone market. It has a good user interface and lots of apps (second only to iPhone). Being supported by Google means that you most likely will get lots of free updates to your software, adding new functionality. If I wasn’t already on the iPhone platform, my next phone would very likely be a Google Nexus One or the Motorola Milestone (Droid in the US).

Google Nexus One

3. General tips

Above are my opinions, and they should be good guidelines for most of you. But the most important is that you do the following before making the final decision:

• Try different phones! They vary greatly.
• Pay attention to ease of use. If it is difficult, chances are that you are only going to use it when you absolutely have to.
• Check out the availability of apps (smartphone). You might miss just that one important feature, and find out that all other smartphones has it but yours.
• Consider the monthly fee when buying. It is most likely more than half of the total price that you end up paying.

Feel free to ask questions in the comment section.

Happy shopping!

Yes, all the statements above are now facts. My iPhone app is happily waiting to be reviewed by the Apple fairies, my homemade inventory system is now working hard remembering all the hardware serial numbers at work, and just about an hour ago, a pack of pigs flew by my window. An awesome day, in other words.

Okay, one of the above might be a little questionable. But whatever. Let’s celebrate this great day in history by watching a great movie.

You’ve probably heard a lot of myths about Apple over the years, knowingly or not. Here are the most common ones, and why they aren’t true.

Macs have only one mouse button

No they don’t. Previously they did, then Apple added support for two-button mice, and now their own mice have many buttons.

The Apple Magic Mouse can even be configured with as many buttons and gestures you can imagine using third party software, like MagicPrefs.

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iPhone doesn’t do (insert feature here)

Most likely it does. MMS? Yes. Tethering? Yes. Multitasking? Yes. It is just a question of how far you want to go with your iPhone.

With the 3.0 software update, Apple implemented almost everything people complained about: Cut and paste, MMS, tethering and more. It also does partial multitasking, but if you want you can get full multitasking with doing a jailbreak.

I would advice not to jailbreak because of warranty and battery life, but go ahead if you feel adventurous. That said, I believe the next iPhone and the iSlate will have full multitasking.

Steve Jobs is dying

No he is not. He was ill last year, but he is healthy now. He wouldn’t be announcing products if Apple was getting ready to live without him.

If you don’t believe me, check this awesome site: http://www.isstevejobsdead.com/

Macs are more expensive than PCs

Sometimes. But if you buy a Mac at release, they are most likely similarly priced to their PC equivalents. And that is not even considering all the Mac-only features, like MagSafe, OS X, multitouch trackpad, better battery, and more.

Apple are control freaks

Apple's 1984 ad

Sort of. But they want control because they think they can make better selling products that way. For example the iPhone is still immune to viruses, unlike Windows Mobile and Symbian OS. If you think Apple want to own you, you are wrong. I would be more afraid of Microsoft’s lock-in tactics or Google’s privacy invading operations. You can always export your content from Apple’s software quite easily, unlike much of Microsoft’s software.

Steve Jobs can walk on water

No he can’t. At least not as far as we know.