Server Upgrade and Smartphone Advice
On Monday I asked Prominic.NET if they'd upgrade codestore.net to Domino 8.5. The next day I woke up and it was done!
Hi Jake,
Dinu applied 8.5 and the latest fixpack last night around 2:20 CT and the total downtime was about 10 minutes.
Let us know when you get your BlackBerry.
Thank you,
Justin Hill
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Prominic.NET, Inc. Support
You just can't beat Prominic for service! Now I have no excuses not to talk about XPages on this site.
The bit in the email about Blackberries follows another request -- that they add Blackberry support, which they kindly said they would.
To Buy a Blackberry or Not?
I'm in the market for a smartphone and my mind is all but set on getting a Blackberry (in particular the Storm 9500). Although I'm not completely sold on them/it yet. I'm feeling very tempted by the HTC Magic and having to resist the urge to just get an iPhone?
Despite "going full circle" last year and buying the most basic phone I could, having owned a P910i and then a Nokia N73, I finally think I'm ready for a smartphone. Or rather smartphones are ready for me. From what I've seen smarthphones are actually really good nowadays and something I could use on a regular basis. What's prompted me has been the increasing number of times recently where I've thought to myself "If only I had an 'iPhone'". Normally because I'm a bit lost or need a phone number or something.
As well as web access on the move I could really do with keeping in touch with my email and hence my customers while I'm OoO. Hence the lean towards a Blackberry.
So what I'm looking for is:
- Internet access on the move
- Email access on the move
- Touchscreen device
- Gears support
- GPS
The one thing that puts me off the Storm is lack of Wi-Fi support. But then, if it has support for HDSPA, 3G and GPRS, so should I even need Wi-Fi? Especially as the Vodafone price plans I'll move to all have unlimited internet use. If I'm in a place with Wi-Fi then it follows that I'd also have "3G" coverage or some kind?
Any help and advice gratefully received!
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You can subscribe to an individual
Can recommend Wifi at Home when transferring files to home network or for using the phone as a wireless hotspot via eg Joikuspot.
I'd wait for new Iphone probably arriving this summer or early autumn.
Email access on the move can be done with Lotus Traveler for most devices.
But Internet access and email access require good battery management and so fas most devices fail on this
There are companies out there, such as 'Adam Phones' (nothing to do with me) who hire blackberries on a short term basis - as short as a single day. You'd be able to try before you buy- although I am not sure if they offer all models?
Get a blackberry curve ! - got one here and it has wifi. great screen. decent software - yep not 100% bug free but what is...
Well I'm somewhat biased in my opinion. (Get a BlackBerry).
However at the behest of getting a large slap from my work colleagues, do not go for a Storm. At least not this side of July/Aug.
My personal device is a Javelin (aka Curve 8900) on Vodafone. And I love it. My work device is a Javelin (running unreleased code) and I love it even more.
Whilst the built in browser is excellent for normal stuff, I prefer the functionality of Opera so that was the first App I installed. Not having used Gears, I cannot really say on how it performs on either browser.
My only question to you is why "touchscreen"? Only go with a touchscreen on *any* phone if you are sure of your typing on such a device. I know of many people who are to "thick fingered" to be able to use them properly.
Thanks chaps.
Dragon. I was going to email you about this, but guessed you'd reply here anyway. Are you saying I should wait for the Odin?
The only reason I'd prefer touchscreen is that the keypad can move out of the way and leave more space for browsing/viewing. I don't think I'll actually do that much typing (apart from sending short email replies of course) so it would seem like half the "real estate" of the browser were wasted.
Jake
Yes, I would wait if I were you. It will be well worth it. :)
"The only reason I'd prefer touchscreen is that the keypad can move out of the way and leave more space for browsing/viewing. I don't think I'll actually do that much typing (apart from sending short email replies of course) so it would seem like half the "real estate" of the browser were wasted."
In that case, the new Nokia N97 (out June) sounds ideal for you.... huge iPhone-size touch screen with full qwerty slide out keyboard, full Notes email support now that Traveller is available on Symbian, plus all the other top-spec features of previous N range phones (i.e. 5mp camera with flash + excellent video recording capabilities, wifi, sat-nav, webkit based browser, etc).
This is the phone I am waiting to upgrade to.
If you are about to wait you could well wait for the next iPhone that promises to have a decent battery life and faster Internet access coming this year. Of course having a direct line to Blackberry can be of advantage too (for a developer like you). At the end smartphones became all too good to have only one winner.
Waiting isn't really my strong point. Never has been.
Trouble is, there's always something better about to come out.
I'm also looking for a new phone, but decided to wait until after WWDC (the 8th). I think I'll go for a HTC Magic or an Iphone 3.0 (if announced at WWDC that is).
HTC Magic with Android seems like nice device (esp now after the Google Wave announcement).
If you can drop the touch screen, I would recommend a Nokia E71 or a Nokia E75.
Both have GPS, 3G, Wireless LAN, etc. onboard. For Browsing you can use the built-in browser (based on Safari afaik) or install Opera Mini (great browser for mobiles !).
And if you use Domino 8.5, you could sync your email via Traveler.
I haven't seen the above mentioned Nokia N97. That could be another possibility.
Am I the only Palm fan out here? :)
I ran the Palm 680 forever before upgrading to the 750. It doesn't have wifi, but it is my favorite so far.
I really like the Blackberry Bold. The display is awesome and it comes with a gig of memory from the factory. But when making my final choice it didn't give me the warm fuzzy that the Palm did.
If you don't mind the HTC products you could always try the Touch HD too - the screen is larger than an iPhone, it's HDSPA, GPS (use google maps for free sat nav) and being WM it's got the usual software.
A colleague has the Magic - and it's very good - Google Night Sky is an interesting fun app to look for if you get one of those. It also has a barcode scanner, which might prove handy for development purposes.
iPhone.
It just seems your style. I side-by-sided iPhone and BB several times. The simple sophistication won hands down. I use mine for 30% work and 70% rest of life so that was a big factor in my decision.
I am also a Palm fan, but whenever I feel I want an app, I can't find one for Palm - it seems they are only making them for the iPhone these days, and maybe Blackberry too, but not sure since I don't have one. I love my palm treo - no wi-fi though, but haven't needed it with 3g coverage where I live. Palm seems to be going away, but there is talk the new Palm Pre might change that. Not sure - I think I'd like an iPhone though, mostly for the reason above - most apps are designed for it now. Blackberry plan too expensive if not through a company. I used to have a touchscreen, where the phone buttons where on the screen, and hated it, decided I liked real buttons. So I'm not sure I'd like the iPhone or any touchscreen for that reason.
I can't stand the big monthly bills. I use a cheap Nokia on TracPhone for $100/year. $600 to $1,000 per year just seems like too much.
I'm considering buying an iPod Touch for everything else. I think I'm in WiFi hot-spots often enough for it to work for me and ... no month bill.
I'm hoping you go for a Blackberry ... and look forward for your articles on Blackberry (or Blackberry with Domino) development.
The only devices with "real" browsers (if not mistaken, im sure i probably will be...LOL) are the iphone, the android-based phones and the palm pre i think? The thing I like about the iphone is that most 'web 2.0' technology works, something I haven't been able to say about the Blackberry browser. I think there is always the option of Opera, but I havent kept up to date with it in over a year.
@Gerry S
That is just plain wrong. All smartphones these days offer a browser which works. The minimum requirement for "web 2.0" as you put it, is Javascript. I don't know of a phone released in that past 2 years which hasn't had this capability. Please keep your totally incorrect thoughts to yourself until you are sure of your facts.
Want to test the browser to the limits? Point it at an XPages based website. Nokia passes. Sony/Ericsson passes. BlackBerry passes. Palm passes. iPhone? Now how stupid do you feel?
I just got a BlackBerry 8900 and love it. Small, unobtrusive and powerful. iNotes seems to render/work OK and the media player seems to fill in some gaps of my available time.
Domino integration with BlackBerry is also impressive (BES 5).
John
@Dragon
I have an iPhone and think it's an excellent device. I feel the UI is unrivalled (apart from copy & paste, although that should be rectified with the 3.0 update) and overall Apple have done a good job, I can't recommend it enough.
In terms of web browsing, I've not had many issues although I hear others have. However I'd like to see what happens when I visit an xpages based site. Could you provide a link to one so I can take a look?
Cheers, Lee.
P.s. Slightly harsh reply to Gerry I feel.
Harsh? Yes.
But don't insult the development teams who work on ground breaking applications. Browsers (and email) are the mainstay of smart phones. To imply the no other company than the ones mentioned is a complete slap in the face.
The new Nokia phones are superbly put together and work really well. You can't beat Sony/Ericsson for cameras. And of course BlackBerry devices lead the way in email.
They are all real browsers, even the iPhone.
(Submitted from his 8900)
@Dragon
I'm not sure why you feel so offended by Gerry's pretty throwaway comment, I don't think his intention was to insult or slap anyone in the face. Anyway, you've put him straight now, so here you go, take these toys back into your cot ;-)
Do you have a link to an xpages based site for me to take a look at on my (apparently sub-standard) iphone browser? I'm genuinely interested to see what happens.
(Submitted from his iPhone!)
I don't have an opinion on any of the BlackBerry devices but being a recent iPhone convert (my last 5 devices have been Windows Mobile) I can't recommend it highly enough.
My phones before this were an HTC Diamond, HTC Touch Dual, HTC Touch, HTC S710 and an Orange C600.
The iPhone does the basic and really important stuff really well, the phone, email and web 'just works' and it's hard to describe but coming from Windows Mobile it feel light years ahead. The UI is responsive and fast and the overall package and experience of using the phone is great.
The App Store suddenly opens up a whole new level of tools and uses - one that you'll probably want to start developing for if you get one!
If you do go for an iPhone, I don’t think you'd be disappointed.
Hi Mitul,
Wish you told me that before the weekend as I only went and ordered a HTC Snap with Windows Mobile. Doh.
Oh well, I'll see how I get on with it and might end up getting an iPhone when my contract is up for renewal later this year and the next version of it is out. As it is I had to actually pay for the device, so the iphone was a bit pricey.
Jake