OK, let the IPad be for a while and talk about phones; I have had many phones, mostly Nokia, but also a Siemens and other obsolete brands. All my phones have one thing in common, you can make telephone calls. Most of them still work, and some of the first ones I still use outdoors. I will definitely not go into discussing what is the best phone, that is not constructive, I look at the functionality, and especially what does it do for me. From that perspective there have been two major breakthroughs, the introduction of free navigation by Nokia, and the second is the introduction of Linux based operating systems. The Nokia N900 has been my favorite for the last two years, as an old Unix man I can go under the hood, and configure it the way I like, not the way Nokia planned it. The operating system Maemo is open software, and is community driven. This community has produced a host of free software for the phone. However, Nokia maps for this phone lacks some of the functionality and therefore I should change to the N9, which has the newer Meego operating system and full function Nokia navigation. Anyway I have also an E7 Nokia, which will do the navigation if I need it. The great thing about the Nokia navigation system is the fact that all maps are downloadable before one travels, and there is no need for continuous 3G connection for data transfer. This saves a lot of money when traveling abroad.
Just to illustrate how convenient pocket held navigation is; just recently I was in Windhoek, Namibia, and had to go by taxi to the residence of the Finnish ambassador. The taxi driver of course could not find the address and wanted to turn back, my phone however insisted to go on for a few blocks, and, voila, there we were. The way back of course was more complicated as no taxi wants to drive in the dark, but that is another story.
For the outdoors I still use an old Nokia 5140, waterproof and very tough phone, it was used by my son during his army time in Lapland as a motorcycle scout. He has broken most phones, but not this one, luck?
For my work I have only one demand, the calendar and email should be synchronized with my desktop computer, most phones do that, also switching between daylight saving time or time zones should be automatic and reliable. I also need a QWERTY keyboard and preferably a good one, as my fingers are too big and clumsy for most smartphones. Another item which has many applications for professional use is the camera, a good camera, with records also the GPS-coordinates can be used to document lots of situations, from car accidents to serial numbers.
So what phone should I buy next? Can’t say, actually there is nothing wrong with my present phone. I will wait till spring and decide between the N9 Meego or the new Lumia Windows phone.
For the outdoors I still use an old Nokia 5140, waterproof and very tough phone, it was used by my son during his army time in Lapland as a motorcycle scout. He has broken most phones, but not this one, luck?
For my work I have only one demand, the calendar and email should be synchronized with my desktop computer, most phones do that, also switching between daylight saving time or time zones should be automatic and reliable. I also need a QWERTY keyboard and preferably a good one, as my fingers are too big and clumsy for most smartphones. Another item which has many applications for professional use is the camera, a good camera, with records also the GPS-coordinates can be used to document lots of situations, from car accidents to serial numbers.
So what phone should I buy next? Can’t say, actually there is nothing wrong with my present phone. I will wait till spring and decide between the N9 Meego or the new Lumia Windows phone.
