Sure, you’re welcome. People like you and I – you know, tech savvy – seem to demand more and more from our devices. And, when we don’t get one that meets our expectations, we are quick to get rid of it and move on to something else.

As for the iPhone, I’ve been interested in it, as well, as it seems to be a nice multimedia device. However, Apple’s restrictive policies toward it have put me off, so far. I’m not one to let a vendor lock me into anything. And, if I can’t hack my devices to my heart’s content, they don’t stay with me long.

Kind regards

Mike

One thing I feel is very important for the manufacturers to do further work on is battery life. Right now it’s terrible, as the average smartphone can suck a battery dry in about 2.5 hours, when using the GPS function.

We see some really innovative stuff that the Japanese and Koreans are doing with their phones – electronic id/wallets, high end, high resolution cameras, super resolution screens, mobile digital TV – and some of that stuff is now bleeding into the worldwide market.

Nokia, Google, and others, seem to be pushing location based and social networking services lately. I’m not too sure how I feel about those though, seeing as I’m not a big social “networker”. However, I can see teens and 20-somethings just loving it.

3G Video Calling, and any other data intensive service that 3G can facilitate, has been an utter failure, from what I can tell so far. I know of no one that uses it down here in New Zealand. That could be because of the outrageous prices our carriers charge for data blocks though. (We have a duopoly down here. That’s how come our carriers can get away with it.) I, personally, avoid using any carrier routed data services simply because of that. And, I’ll tap into a Wifi network, either at home or some free hot-spot in the city, as an alternative.

In terms of what means the most to me, I’m into multimedia. So, I like multitasking smartphones with large screens, good cameras, extendable storage and excellent sound output.

Right now I have a Samsung G810 that handles multimedia quite well. It could do with a larger screen. However, 2.6″ isn’t bad for a phone of it’s class and price. And, I’ll be grabbing a Samsung OminaHD in about six months time (the firmware will be sured up by then and the price will have dropped some) as that phone is heavily geared toward multimedia.