I upgraded my mobile phone, i did not get the Samsung Armani, i did not get the SE C905. I got, the Apple IPhone. I have to say, it is GOOOOOD!

To The non believers, potential problems such as the touchscreen, size etc.

I was not a fan of the iPhone for 2 main reasons. The size and the lack of buttons, i.e. the touchscreen. I would love to have a touchscreen computer, however this would have a nice big screen, not a small one as found on a mobile. The biggest potential problem is texting. The touchscreen does take a little bit of getting used to. But, i am happy to say it works well. On the occasions you hit the wrong button it will auto correct it which works quite well, it is not like the T9 dictionary you find on most phones, it doesnt guess your word, but it corrects it if it thinks you have made a mistake, for example wruting would be changed to writing after you hit spacebar. If you want to keep it the same you press on the screen. The biggest and only problem of this is it works too well for texting, it corrects your puntuation, so using words such as dont, cant and so on adds an apostrophe, making the words don’t and can’t. This is a problem of course because it uses more characters. Swearing and other words also arent dealt with well, “arsed” is now spelled as “added” according to the iphone

The size is not much of an issue. The other phones on the market such as the C905, various nokias and Samsungs are very thick. This makes them feel like a brick. And the length and width is only slightly less or the same as the iphone. The iphone is thinner, more streamlined, so in your pocket it will feel smaller than one of the other handsets.

Size differences
iphone 3g – 115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3 mm @ 133g
SE C905 – 104 x 49 x 18-19.5 mm @ 136g
Nokia N95 – 99 x 53 x 21 mm @ 120g
Nokia N96 – 103 x 55 x 18 mm @ 125g
Samsung M8000Pixon – 107.9 x 54.6 x 13.8 mm @ 121g

As you can see it is longer and wider than all the phones, but it isnt by too much. However it is also the thinnest one of the lot, and each mm you will notice the difference.I included my old contract phone which i never use, the Nokia N95, which felt like a brick in my pocket more than my iphone does, so check out the comparison above.

OK The Good bits

The features on the phone are just amazing. Even if you dont like it as a phone, as a gadget it is great. If you like having a fashion or slim phone for going out, calls etc. like i do then use this as a 2nd phone, PDA or whatever. With 16GB it can store some tunes and vids, you have google maps with GPS, special modules for Facebook and youtube making them work well on the iphone.

Texting comes up as a conversation with conversation style bubbles, so you can keep track of the text messages with ease. Push Email is also available, Blackberry eat your heart out. You also get so much more with WiFi and free Wifi access from O2 with a contract, out of range? dont worry. The newer iphone comes with 3g and unlimited 3g access from o2, so you can be on the internet wherever you are. Lets not forget there is a camera. This is only 2MP so it isnt going to rival even the older Sony Ericssons, Samsungs or Nokias. But to be honest, the other features make up for it. If you want more than 2MP, then take a camera! With your 2MP “camera” you may not be able to take the best pics, but you can snap and instantly upload to myspace, facebook, your blog or wherever. Show me a 10MP camera which does this!

Battery life can be an issue with devices such as this one. Apple quote plenty of battery life, and i know from the days of my Nokia N95 that the battery was probably the biggest technical letdown. I have not used my iphone enough to be able to make a proper comment, however it has been going a long time on its first charge, and i have been using everything from the GPS to WiFI to 3G, listening to music and watching vids, email and texting. When i have finished playing around with it and have it for everyday use i am sure it will last like most mobiles do, apple quote 300 hours on standby.

Verdict

I think i have covered everything with the iphone. Its a phone, a communicator, a gadget, a cool handheld device. Like a said previously, if you want a phone for a phones sake, get a 2nd mobile and use this as a PDA/IPod/Communicator/whatever. If you want to use it as a mobile it does that too.

Here are some of my purchases and presents from over xmas. I am loving my union jack T-Shirt, this is by Illustrated People.

New Fragrances are:

Zenga, Vera Wang, Zenga Intenso, Prada, Juicy Corture, Narciso Rodriguez, YSL Pour Homme, Bvlgari Soir, Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue, Armani Diamonds, Paco Rabanne 1 Million, Kenzo Tokyo.

T-Shirts

Hugo Boss, FCUK, Diesel, Local Celebrity, Illistrated People.

Christmas is now over! it was good but christmas time seems to go over quicker and quicker as the years pass. I got the usual things, clothes, money and more fragrances. I got Paco Rabbane One Million, Juicy Corture for Men, Prada, Narciso Rodriguez and more. I got lots of tops, t-shirts and hoodies, to keep me going for the rest of the winter. Pics to come

I will buy some more clothes in the sales next week, a few pair of jeans and some tops probably.

Michael Owen has announced he will be going nowhere in January…Good news? Not if you want him to stay, as he hasnt agreed to sign a new contract. He has decided to wait until the end of the season to decide his future…Which means, i have 6 months to find a better team to play for, if no-one will have me, i will sign a big fat deal with the Toon.

2008 is not even over, and we are already close to £1 = €1. This is bad news for the british ecconomy, and you could feel it more than you think if you go on your summer holiday in Europe.

The majority of Europe now uses the Euro, with Turkey probably the only destination which doesnt. But as you probably know, it isnt that the Euro is strong, it is that the pound is very weak, and has been constantly loosing ground on the Euro for quite a while.

This is just the official rate, not the rate you actually get. If by the summer it goes under €1 you can see how expensive your holiday could be.

Alcopops such as Smirnoff Ice UK Price around £3 (in a bar) Euro Price €5 (equilv. £5)
Pint of Beer £3 Euro Price €3 (equilv. £3)
McDonalds meal £3 Euro Price €6-7 (equilv. £6-7)

People used to find it ‘cheaper’ than in the UK for these things, or at worst the same which people defined as “expensive” even it was the same as back at home.

It certainly isnt going to be cheap to go abroad, and we havent even spoken about the cost of the holiday itself or getting there. It can only get worse.

Today i watched everyones favorite music channel, Clubland TV

For the first time i saw Kate Ryans latest video, for the single “I Surrender”. Kate always makes good videos, and this is no different.

Well Done Kate Shame you arent very famous over here in the UK.

So i decided to buy some more fragrences for myself, and was going to get them from John Lewis online like i did earlier in the week. However when i tried to buy some i was told they wouldnt be able to be delivered until after xmas. I made this order (or didnt make it) on 21st December, so could have easily been sent out today (Monday 22nd December) and sent next day just as my previous order was.

John Lewis, you have now lost a sale, and maybe future sales from me at least

I have been looking at getting this phone for a while now, another mobile with a fashion sticker on it. But it does look good, its the second time Armani has teamed up with Samsung on a mobile.

The Samsung Armani M7500 lights up like a christmas tree It looks stylish and cool, has a 3MP camera, and is a nice size. All i would want in a mobile. However, it is let down by the technology it has, or has not. It’s not much of an advance from my current mobile, the SE T650i

Will i get this one or the Sony Ericsson C905 i blogged about earlier? Who know, maybe neither

Since my current mobile, the SE T650i keeps dying, i.e the battery always dies i am going to get a new one. My contract is up for renewal next month, so i can get a free upgrade. However these days the minimum contract term is 18 months usually, most providers have done away with the old standard 12 month deals which is a shame. All this means is you now have to wait 6 months longer to get your (free?) upgrade.

I could get the C905 as a free upgrade, but i may get the Apple IPhone instead. I am not the biggest fan of the IPhone, but if i have to get an upgrade for 18 months, thats probably the best phone to get. This does not come free. The 16GB IPhone is £155 on a £35/month contract which i am currently on, which is not good. I had a manager of O2 contact my company for some shirts after we were closed, i told her i could get her some if she could get me the 16GB IPhone for free, but she said she couldnt even get one for herself for free

Good Points

• 8.1MP Camera
• Lots of features such as WiFi, GPS, 3G, MP3 etc.
• Easy to use, i love SE phones so this is a good choice for me.
• Good build quality, as i expect from SE
• Simple menus
• 2.4 Inch screen
• Picture Blogging, Google maps and more.

Bad Points

• Battery life could be low because of all the features as in my crappy Nokia N95
• Interface is old, SE need to get with the program and upgrade their software
• Almost 20mm thick, which is quite thick
• Slide form factor – Not my favorite, I would have prefered a clamshell or bar.

SIM Free this mobile will cost around £370, on a contract i will be stuck with it for 18 months @ £35/month which is £630. And since you really need a contract for an IPhone (for things such as free 3g internet etc.) i may get that on contract and the C905 SIM free