This June I wrote about getting a new smartphone. I was about to buy an HTC Desire, when I (fortunately) decided to wait and see what Steve Jobs had to present on the Apple event that was taking place later that week (June 2010) . It happened to be the launch of the infamous new iPhone 4. I really got stoked about the iPhone 4 and so I decided to wait for it before I would buy an Android phone: I wanted an iPhone 4 badly!
However: a few days after the official launch of the phone, reports started to pop up that the iPhone 4 had (and still has) a major design flaw: the reception of the pone is diminished if you hold it in a certain way (actually: hold the antenna).
The problem sparked a huge debate under Apple lovers (and haters) and became known as “Antennagate” and “The iPhone Grip of Death”. Initially, Apple – and even Steve Jobs – downplayed the problem, in a now classic phrase: “You’re holding your iPhone wrong”.
But as the iPhone 4 controversy hit a boiling point, it forced Apple – in an unprecedented move – to come up with a statement about “Antennagate” and Steve Jobs reluctantly took the stage. Again Jobs started to play down the problem and even sparked more controversy by stating that the iPhone isn’t the only smartphone with this problem. Now, I have already expressed my opinion on this matter, so I won’t repeat myself here, but needless to say my initial enthusiasm faded away quickly.
To clarify: I still want an iPhone 4, but I want the white iPhone 4. But ironically – as you might know – the white iPhone 4 is as elusive as an albino elephant! Again problems for Apple producing it (something to do with the glass they use). And by now the rumors about the iPhone 5 are already hitting the blogosphere! So by the time I can get an iPhone 4 it might be obsolete again!
So, what is a guy to do? Well, my trusty HTC (T-Mobile branded) Diamond Pro phone with Windows Mobile 6 was getting crappier by the day: It started to reboot on it’s own and lock-up at the weirdest times. Usually problems that can be corrected “easily” by just “resetting and re-installing” the phone (just like Windows on your PC). However, I just didn’t feel like doing that anymore: it’s annoying and time-consuming to install all the stuff you have on your phone (over and over) again.
Now, about the same time the iPhone 4 came out (June 2010), Samsung launched it’s new flagship Android smartphone: the Samsung i9000 Galaxy S (or “SGS” for short) in Europe. Based on the specs of that phone (1ghz processor and a separate video processor) I was getting more interested in it. And after two (now ex-)colleagues of mine bought this phone and I saw it in action, I was getting even more enthusiastic about it.
Now, the Samsung Galaxy S comes in two versions: a 8gb version and a 16gb version. A brand new 8gb version would cost about € 443,- , and the 16gb version € 499,-. Way too expensive for me.
Also, as my service renewal with T-Mobile isn’t until February 0f 2011, getting it now (cheap) wasn’t an option either (although you can renew 4 months earlier online and 3 months earlier at a T-Mobile store). In short: I felt a bit between a rock and a hard place (given the fact I want an iPhone somewhere in 2011).
So I needed to get myself one on the 2nd hand market – a tricky step to take.
In the USA you have Craigslist to find second hand items such as mobile phones, but in Holland we have the infamous Marktplaats. Infamous, because you wouldn’t be the first one to be ripped off and receive a brick in the mail.
So I started to search for the 16gb version and soon I found one for € 350,-. Still a lot, but “do-able” for me.
The first buy didn’t go through. Some 18-year old kid figured he could get more than € 350,- and blew off the deal last minute. But then I lucked out and found a brand new one for that price. It turned out that the guy was doing business with another daughter company of the company I work for, so that was great.
And now I am the proud owner of a SGS 16gb Android phone and I have been enjoying it so far.
Of all the smartphones I owned, the SGS gives me the best online experience I have had so far. And after I updated it with Adroid 2.2 Froyo, all the quirks the SGS had when it still had 2.1 installed, (mainly the “lag” problem with the internal 16gb SD-card) were gone. Sweet!
I took my SGS on some trips already, even flying around Holland and it hasn’t disappointed me yet.
Now, if only I could get my hand on the elusive i9000 Cradle (see below)!
Anyway: I will write a story about my in-depth user-experiences and apps I use, soon. Until then, as always: be careful out there!