Mac OSX, iOS & Android Development
Archive for April, 2011
Windows Phone 7
Apr 14th
We love mobile devices. So when Windows Phone 7 sprung onto the scene – we had to have a look! So, we went out and bought a HTC HD7 16GB and built up a nice fresh Windows 7 PC with the Windows Phone 7 SDK installed. Ready. Set…….Go!
But, before any development starts – lets see how it runs as a day-to-day phone. You know, calling, email, Twitter, Facebook, txts, maps….etc. So, we took Marcus’s iPhones and Androids off him and sent him on his way. 2 week later? What did he think?
“I like it. Its fast, everything works. No copy/paste is a bit painful – but that is supposed to be coming soon [edit: it's here now].”
So, if you ask Marcus of all his phones (he has 5) – what is the pecking order – he thinks:
1. iPhone 4 – The kingpin of smartphones.
2. HTC HD7 – Nice hardware, good OS.
3. iPhone 3GS – Still a great phone. Love the form factor. Fast. Reliable.
4. Nexus One – A good Android phone. The OS just doesn’t have the polish.
5. HTC Hero – The first Android phone we bought. Good phone – bit slow now.
All in all Windows Phone 7 is a HUGE leap ahead of the terrible Windows Mobiles before – but it still has a LONG way to go before people look at it seriously again. As soon as you mention “Windows Phone” – people think “Windows Mobile” and say “yuck – I’m all over my iPhone or Android already! Have you seen THIS app?”
Could be a long ride Microsoft….maybe the Nokia deal will boost numbers?
Moving from Vodafone NZ to Telecom XT
Apr 7th
I have been a Vodafone NZ customer since the Bellsouth days – loved the GSM concept, SIM cards, Handset options etc. Since the Launch of XT – I have watched it closely. Watched it fail, then watched it become a great network while my Vodafone service just withered away…
Bit of background… When Vodafone moved to 3G, my service at my homeoffice was flakey. I bought a iPhone 3GS on contract and was fine. Over time (not sure why) my reception from Vodafone became almost non existent. I called their customer service who said “not cool, we will send out a tech to look into it.” The tech called me directly and said “bad news, we can’t get you reception where your house is.” I got a follow up phone call from Vodafone customer service who told me the same thing. I said ” Oh well, how about I send the iPhone back and we cancel the contract then.” Answer was ” No, you signed the contract – sorry.”
Then, after 20 months of utter crap reception at my house, I got an email from Vodafone saying that they could boost the reception at my house if I switched to Vodafone broadband and then paid $400 for a signal booster thingy.
Are you kidding Vodafone? Since when is this “customer service”?
So, I called up Vodafone customer service and asked when my contract we up? They said April 6th. So today (April 7th), I went into a Telecom store with my wife and moved over to a Telecom XT Smartphone 60 plan. $60 per month, 100 minutes, 300 txts, 1GB of Data, Free calling to my wife, ported my 021 number to XT. Done. Saves me $20 per month and I get a ton more data. Happy camper. (I have 2degrees too – on my Android handsets)
For those thinking about it – do it. Best to walk into a Telecom store with the front page of your Vodafone bill, your home Telecom bill and your driver’s license. They should be able to port the number over the same day. Excellent service and the guy said any issues – ring him on his mobile and gave me his business card.
Well done Telecom.