At the end of 2008, with my mobile handset due for upgrade, I made the decision to use a smartphone for the first time.
A smartphone is an advanced type of handset, more like a miniature computer with phone capability built in. For business users like myself, the option to use a handset as a personal organiser offers many benefits (like an electronic version of the old paper Filofax).
Software (often referred to as ‘applications’ or ‘widgets’) can be installed to enhance the capability of the phone. Common features include touch screens, email and internet access, contact management, media players and the ability to read Microsoft Office and PDF documents. Just as personal computers require an operating system such as Microsoft Windows or Linux, smartphones require one too.
Apple iPhones in North Norfolk
One of the most popular smartphones, the Apple iPhone uses it’s own operating system called iPhone OS, derived from the Mac operating system. You may have seen it demonstrated in their TV adverts. The Apple iPhone is certainly one of the most attractive smartphones available today.
In the UK, Apple have an exclusivity agreement with the O2 service provider, meaning you can only obtain an iPhone on an O2 contract. You could purchase an Apple iPhone handset from Play.com (into which you can insert any sim card from any service provider) but this will currently cost you in the region of £600 (for the 16Gb version).
So here in North Norfolk you’re not likely to encounter many iPhones simply on the basis that nearly everybody up here is a Vodaphone user. Vodaphone offers the best network coverage for North Norfolk whilst the coverage offered by O2 is extremely poor.
My own case study – the Samsung Omnia running on Windows Mobile
I would probably have chosen an Apple iPhone if the O2 network coverage issue didn’t exist. A Blackberry was another attractive option but I wasn’t impressed with the handset itself. I felt it was quite ‘plasticy’ and fiddly to use. So instead, I chose to stay with Vodaphone and purchased a Samsung Omnia, in my view, a great alternative to the Apple iPhone. This runs on Microsoft Windows Mobile.
So far, the phone has been a great success, although I have found the Microsoft Windows Mobile interface quite unfriendly. This has since been overcome by the recent installation of SPB Mobile Shell which has transformed my Windows Mobile phone into a handset I am now very proud of. Check out my next blog post discussing this invaluable software.
If you’re looking to purchase a new handset, I highly recommend reading the excellent mobile handset reviews at www.mobile-phones-uk.org.uk.
2 Comments
Just searched for mobile coverage in North Norfolk and found your comments. Thanks, very useful – I will stick with Vodaphone then!
Do you think the iPhone (which Vodaphone are releasing in January in theory) will work in NN? I saw this Ofcom map which suggests there may be problems.
Have a happy Christmas.
Pat A.
Thanks for your comment, Pat.
We might be talking at slightly cross purposes. Firstly, there is the issue of standard mobile phone coverage in North Norfolk. Vodaphone have always had the best reputation for coverage but there are still many black spots. These seem to be in the more desolate parts and in those with a raised topography.
Contrary to popular opinion (see the second paragraph of this post at The Register), North Norfolk is not entirely flat, due to the Holt-Cromer Ridge, a line of terminal moraine left over by the glaciers. Mobile signals in many North Norfolk coastal villages suffer because of this (and the resulting cliffs).
As for 3G coverage (which offers high speed internet services), this is another matter altogether and has an obvious impact on the use of smartphones such as the iPhone. These handsets are designed to make use of the fast internet service provided by 3G. But in North Norfolk 3G hardly exists. Has anybody found it up here I wonder?
As for me personally, I’m quite attracted to the usability of the iPhone handset in it’s own right. But yes, without a 3G supply it might be somewhat frustrating for internet use.