Thoughts like these are especially prevalent when it comes to the devoted owners of BlackBerrys and iPhones. All too often, the people carrying these smart phones are curious about what one device has that the other lacks. This week, I’m going to save you the trouble and outline some of the personal usage ups and downs to each device.

Because I regularly use both gadgets and am accustomed to their different features, I have included fresh observations from five people who recently switched from BlackBerrys to iPhones. At my request, these people kept track of their impressions, noting the things they missed on their BlackBerrys along with things they preferred on the iPhones. This column isn’t meant to promote one device over the other; rather, it is a summary of some people’s sentiments, combined with my own observations in hopes of enlightening readers. I inevitably left out some differences.

The most outstanding observation from my switch group in favor of the iPhone was an appreciation for its applications, or apps.

They used things like driving directions for the first time because these apps looked and worked better on the iPhone than on the BlackBerry. And they went through a downloading frenzy during which time they found all sorts of apps for the iPhone, such as games, entertainment and those that enhanced business-travel productivity. “Browsing for games. Probably should leave the office now,” said one person’s notes.

Though Research in Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerrys also run apps (including some of the same ones as for the iPhone), BlackBerry’s App World offers only a little better than 2,000 apps. Apple’s (AAPL) App Store boasts more than 65,000. A shortcut to the App Store ships preloaded on iPhones. BlackBerry App World is preloaded or virtually preloaded by carriers at their discretion, so a shortcut to App World may not be visible.

My switchers were frustrated by the iPhone’s battery life and complained of running low on battery. One person said, “I need to charge my iPhone a couple of times throughout the day which can be inconvenient, especially when traveling. With my BlackBerry I just charged it while I slept and it was good to go for the day.”

Granted, these people were all using the iPhone 3GS and had previously used various models of BlackBerrys that ran on slower networks and had smaller screens—two features that require less battery. Still, worrying about running out of juice is a hassle. One person said his iPhone’s weak battery was a tribute to the fact that he used it more often and for more things than he did the BlackBerry.

The most obvious difference between iPhones and BlackBerrys are the keyboards. The iPhone uses an on-screen keyboard, while the BlackBerry (except the touch-screen Storm model) uses a tactile QWERTY keyboard. As expected, the switchers had trouble using the iPhone keyboard–especially for the first few days. But after about a week, most people in the group had adjusted well to the on-screen keys and the iPhone’s auto-correct feature that fixes mistakes as long as you keep typing rather than stopping to fix an error. One person said, “I was a skeptic, and didn’t think the typing would work for me at all, but it actually hasn’t been too bad.”

Another said typing can be a real challenge at first, but that this could be overcome with a bit of practice.

Several people said they were still able to use their thumbs for iPhone typing as they did on the BlackBerry, though most preferred turning the screen horizontally to do this with slightly larger keys. Some said that they weren’t typing quite as fast as with the BlackBerry’s QWERTY keys but that they weren’t too far off.

The BlackBerry keyboard’s static position below its screen means all letters, numbers and symbols must come solely from pressing those keys; this is done by pressing ALT or Shift keys for numbers and symbols. Some switchers noted that pressing a button to change the iPhone’s on-screen keyboard from letters to capital letters or numbers took a bit longer than on the BlackBerry.

My switchers were ecstatic about using the iPhone’s Safari Web browser. They enthusiastically said searching, browsing and reading were all made much better and more visually pleasing compared with their experiences on the BlackBerry browser.

If you are a BlackBerry user, you know that all received and sent emails are listed on the same screen. The iPhone behaves more like a computer, storing sent emails in a special folder you must back up to open. This takes a little while to get used to.

Some switchers said they wished the iPhone had something like BlackBerry Messenger, the always-on messaging system that works to allow communication between all BlackBerrys.

The iPhone automatically changes its time when you enter a new time zone. BlackBerrys remain set to their home time zone for time stamping all emails with that time–unless you change the time in settings.

RIM prides itself on being able to run multiple applications at once; the iPhone allows this with its own preloaded programs like Mail and Safari, but not with other apps.

One switcher, for example, was frustrated that Pandora, a radio-like app that plays music according to user likes and dislikes, turned off when he opened Mail to read emails while listening to songs.

The BlackBerry’s AC adaptor takes up two power outlet spots, while the small, square iPhone plug occupies only one outlet, making it more versatile and able to charge in more locations.

The iPhone only works on one cellular service: AT&T (T). The BlackBerry is available from Verizon (VZ), AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint (S) and other carriers. My group used T-Mobile before changing to the iPhone’s AT&T service.

There will always be something on someone else’s device that looks more appealing than the one in your hand.

But the experience of using apps on the iPhone–and the huge selection of apps in the App Store–significantly enhance Apple’s device.

RIM is continually improving its own store, but it needs to move quickly to keep its loyal users contented.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

Write to Katherine Boehret at mossbergsolution@wsj.com

Notifier’s home screen condenses quick snapshots of data from various sources into: “New,” “My Update” and “My Stream.”

For the past week, I’ve been testing an application called Notifier by iSkoot Inc. (iSkoot.com), which is designed to give basic cellphones a smart-phone-like shot in the arm. Notifier aggregates updates from various sources and social communities — including email, Facebook, Twitter, news feeds and instant messaging — into one application made for no-frills phones.

I tried Notifier on a Samsung Propel that costs $50 with a two-year contract and rebate. I appreciated the app’s way of keeping so much content in one spot, which saved me from checking various places for information. And Notifier is designed so you should need to sign into an account only once. But I found serious drawbacks in the experience.

Unlike on a BlackBerry or an iPhone, on which you can place programs you use frequently on the very first screen, Notifier is buried on the phone in a section called “My Stuff,” under a section called “Games and Apps,” which takes 10 clicks to reach. That’s a tremendous pain when you just want to quickly check Facebook. There aren’t any shortcuts or hard keys on phones that will open Notifier more quickly.

Second, Notifier’s user interface can be awkward. Posting updates to my social networks through Notifier was a clumsy process that was riddled with extra steps. My phone even had a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, but I preferred to use Notifier for its namesake purpose: It “notified” me of news like friends’ status updates, new messages (tweets) on Twitter and RSS news feeds.

Notifier costs $3 monthly and is exclusively available on roughly 30 AT&T (T) phones, 21 of which don’t have QWERTY keyboards. AT&T advises people who use it to do so with a data plan; these start at $15 monthly for unlimited data without text messaging. You must buy Notifier in AT&T’s online store, MEdia Mall.

Smart phones are flush with apps that aggregate content from several social networks into one spot, including Xumii for the BlackBerry or iPhone and a feature called Pulse in Yahoo’s (YHOO) oneConnect for the iPhone. There’s even a fun — though not too functional — iPhone app called Ziibii that floats social-network tidbits down an on-screen river.

Whether they’re on smart phones or basic cellphones, apps that display a lot of data in one condensed place need to do so clearly. Notifier does this by displaying a ribbon of icons at the top of the phone’s screen that it calls the carousel, and you can move the phone’s directional arrows left or right to switch from one program to the next. Whatever icon is highlighted in the carousel is the program that appears on the rest of the screen.

A tiny house icon represents the home screen, where three categories of boxes show quick snapshots of data: “New,” “My Update” and “My Stream.” The top box, labeled New, shows names of programs with numbers to show how many new items, or updates, were submitted to that program. For example, “Inbox: 3″ means that three new emails were received; “Feeds: 54″ represents 54 newly received snippets of news from an easy-to-use RSS reader built into Notifier.

Below this data are the My Update and My Stream sections, with left and right arrows to let you scan through various subcategories within each section. My Update shows your status on the various social networking sites.

I found My Stream to be a little confusing. It lets you arrow left or right to see what’s going on in your social network — if you received a new email, for instance, or someone sent you an instant message. But because you’re arrowing left or right, not up and down in a list, it’s hard to find the beginning of this stream. And Facebook notifications are a little too vague; one might say, “Barbie Roberts updated her Facebook profile,” without telling you what she did to update it.

Another Facebook glitch that I ran into was that I had to sign in more than once. This could be a hassle if you’re on the road and nowhere near a computer. In one instance, I was signed in and typed out a status update, but had to sign into Facebook yet again to post my new status. ISkoot says this and other Facebook navigation issues will be fixed within a week.

I flicked through My Stream while standing in line to board a plane and minimized the Notifier screen to get back to the phone’s functionality. Notifier can alert you of new messages even when it’s minimized. This works because the app stays connected to the network, so when you get a new message on Facebook, an email or an instant message, an indicator pops up asking if you’d like to open up the Notifier screen.

The trouble with this indicator is that it doesn’t specify what kind of message you received. I care a lot more about email and instant messages than I do about Facebook messages and would rather not be notified about Facebook. And messages received in the Facebook inbox won’t display in Notifier’s “New” inbox; instead users must take an extra step out to the browser. The company says it’s working on fixing this.

I liked the Notifier news feeds, which were easy to set up. A technology category offered content from 11 sources, and the entertainment category’s seven sources ranged from Rolling Stone to the Onion to Perez Hilton. These feeds are mixed into My Stream, like email or any other news from your network.

Instant messaging, however, required too many steps. It took a while for buddy lists to load. When I selected a person’s name to start an IM conversation, a white screen appeared that looked like a place where I could type my message, but I had to select a “Write” option to skip to another screen and start composing. Likewise, emails couldn’t be typed on the screen of the message itself; rather, you have to open a separate screen for text entry. You might get used to this after a while, but it felt clumsy to me.

Notifier’s extra $18 monthly cost (not including a voice plan) might be worthwhile if you just need a way to stay plugged in and notified of the latest goings-on with friends and email. And compared with the cost of a smart phone, it might be an economical alternative. But its awkward interface and poor placement on the cellphone leave a lot of room for improvement.

Edited By Walter S. Mossberg

• Email us at mossbergsolution@wsj.com. Find this and other columns and videos online free at the All Things Digital Web site: http://solution.allthingsd.com

Some companies have tried to soothe backup concerns with gadgets like the $50 Backup-Pal from Advanced Wireless Solutions LLC, or wireless services like Skydeck. But for many for people, it’s just as easy to ignore the risk.

Cellphone carriers caught on to this problem, and all of them now offer solutions that make it a cinch for you to automatically back up your cellphone contacts. It doesn’t hurt these companies to know that if your contacts are saved with one of them, you might be deterred from switching to another. Indeed, whenever a customer replaces his or her cellphone with one from the same carrier, a backed-up address book can be wirelessly loaded onto it in minutes.

But the details on how each carrier handles or transfers contacts can be a little dicey. This week I spoke to Verizon Wireless (VZ), T-Mobile, AT&T (T) and Sprint (S) to get the lowdown on how these cellphone backup services work. Is a phone’s address book backed up free of charge, or do users pay a monthly fee? Can people access and edit their stored contacts, and can they transfer these contacts to new cellphones or different carriers, entirely? Will carriers charge users to move contacts to a new phone? How often is the cellphone’s address book synchronized, and can someone specifically set what time this occurs? The responses yielded some interesting information that customers may not know.

Each carrier has a different name for its service, though they all do roughly the same thing: wirelessly tap into the phone’s address book on a regularly set schedule to back up its contents. This backed-up data can be accessed online via each carrier’s Web site, and there, content can be typed in at a PC and pushed to the phone, a much easier option than using numeric keypads to enter names.

Verizon uses Backup Assistant, a free service as long as users are registered online at My Verizon (MyVerizon.com); otherwise it costs $1.99 a month. T-Mobile’s service (my.t-mobile.com) is also free, and works on the majority of phones currently sold by the company, but not all older models. Its service was originally called T-Mobile Address Book, but is now called Mobile Backup, the same name used by AT&T for its service (mobilebackup.att.com).

AT&T charges customers $2 a month for backup. Sprint’s backup offering (sprint.com/services) is a bit more confusing in that it has three types of service depending on your phone type: Wireless Backup is the name of its $2 monthly service that applies to a majority of the carrier’s phones; for six of its newest phones, Sprint Mobile Sync, a free service, will work; for Nextel phones, MyNextel Address Book is available, and it costs $5 a month.

Wireless synchronization occurs according to a set schedule that users can determine. Verizon backs up data daily and lets people choose between the morning, afternoon, evening or late night. AT&T lets its customers set Mobile Backup to work daily or once a week, and they can set the specific syncing time down to the minute. T-Mobile’s Mobile Backup and Sprint’s three backup services work automatically: Every time a phone’s address book changes, a sync is initiated.

These syncs occur unobtrusively, and don’t require any action on the part of the user after the initial setup, nor do syncs incur any extra fees like text-messaging charges.

However, if you’re planning to switch from one carrier to another and you’d like to take your contacts with you, these carriers — unsurprisingly — don’t make it easy. Verizon suggests printing out contacts prior to disconnecting your line with them. T-Mobile says its service is exclusive to its users and doesn’t give people a way to export their data. Sprint allows users of Sprint Mobile Sync and MyNextel Address Book to export their contacts into a common type of format called a .CSV data file, which allows the data to be imported into an application like Microsoft Outlook. AT&T doesn’t currently allow exporting of contacts, but says it will enable exports to .CSV sometime this summer.

All carriers will help you synchronize your old phone’s saved address book onto a new phone — as long as you’re buying the new phone from them and your old phone was from the same carrier. Verizon will help you with this free if you use Backup Assistant; if not, they’ll charge $10 to move your contacts over from an old phone. T-Mobile and AT&T say they will move a customer’s contacts from one phone to another for free, even using older phones that weren’t originally synced to Mobile Backup. Sprint says it supports migration between phones using Wireless Backup and Sprint Mobile Sync at no additional cost.

So instead of keeping your fingers crossed that you never lose your cellphone and all the numbers stored on it, talk to your carrier about what it offers in the way of backup services. You might be pleasantly surprised to learn about a free or low-cost service that works automatically and will pay you back in spades should you need to replace your cellphone. But, if you want to make your data portable across carriers, you may be out of luck.

Edited By Walter S. Mossberg

• Email us at mossbergsolution@wsj.com. Find this and other columns and videos online free at the All Things Digital Web site: http://walt.allthingsd.com

]]> http://solution.allthingsd.com/20090224/lost-cellphone-your-carrier-has-your-backup/feed/ 5 http://solution.allthingsd.com/20090210/loud-and-clear-mobile-calls-for-seniors/ http://solution.allthingsd.com/20090210/loud-and-clear-mobile-calls-for-seniors/#comments Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:44:06 +0000 Katherine Boehret http://solution.allthingsd.com/20090210/loud-and-clear-mobile-calls-for-seniors/ My grandmother, a college graduate and former reference librarian, recently walked out of an electronics store in frustration. She compared the techie conversations that were going on around her with people speaking in a different language. And she isn’t alone.

Though it isn’t always obvious, the technology industry sees senior citizens as a target demographic — especially where cellphones are concerned. Mobile phones could act as valuable lifelines in health-related situations and, at the very least, provide an easier way for relatives to keep in touch. Major cellphone carriers offer models that they say are easier for seniors to use thanks to big buttons and large screen fonts. But some companies go a step further. GreatCall Inc., for example, designed its Jitterbug cellphone specifically to appeal to non-techies, including — but not limited to — senior citizens. It shirks phone extras like Internet access for simplicity and includes a concierge service that does things like remotely adding numbers to the phone so users don’t have to do it.

This week, I took a look at a cellphone that was designed specifically for senior citizens: the ClarityLife C900. It’s the first cellphone from Clarity (clarityproducts.com), a division of Plantronics Inc. (PLT) that specializes in telephony (landlines and other products) for people with hearing loss. The cellphone incorporates features that are useful for someone who may be hard of hearing or using a hearing aid.

The C900 is a bulky slider phone with a top half that slides up, revealing a number keypad below; number keys each measure a half-inch square. This might be a deterrent for seniors who want their phone to look hip or slip easily into a pocket. But Clarity says the phone’s deliberately large size makes it easier to hold and use, and accommodates a roomy 2.5-inch screen.

I found the C900 relatively easy to navigate with sensible on-screen commands, though there were a few times when I couldn’t back out of a screen and had to close the slider to start over. Friends’ voices sounded loud and full when heard through this cellphone, though it lacks a speakerphone, which my grandparents could use for calling relatives and singing “Happy Birthday” together.

The $270 ClarityLife C900 has oversized buttons and a red emergency button on the back that, when pressed, calls five contacts.

The C900 costs $270 — a steep price because it’s “unlocked,” or not tied to any one carrier, but according to Clarity’s research, senior citizens don’t like to get into long-term contracts like two-year deals. This unlocked model will work on any GSM network, like T-Mobile or AT&T (T), but buyers must take the phone to a carrier’s store to get it set up and working. The phone also could be added as one of the lines in an existing family plan.

People who would rather save money than avoid contracts can get the ClarityLife for $185 tied into a one-year service deal with T-Mobile. These monthly service prices range from $19 pay-as-you-go (20 cents a minute) to $99 for unlimited calling.

The hearing-related features on this cellphone include a 20-decibel speaker and a way to notify people of incoming calls using simultaneous ringing, vibrating and a flashing green light. All the buttons on the device make loud noises, including those that control volume. The C900 is also hearing-aid-compliant, meaning it won’t cause static interference when held up to an ear with a hearing aid.

The C900 has a large, red button on its back side that, when enabled and pressed, automatically calls and/or sends text messages to a list of five emergency contacts until it reaches someone. These contacts are notified via an automatic dialing system and must press “0″ when they answer to accept the emergency call so the system knows that a real person picked up, instead of a voicemail or answering machine. Five postcards with instructions come with this phone, and can be mailed to emergency contacts so they know what to do if they receive an emergency call from the C900 phone. Users could potentially add “911″ to their list of emergency callers.

Most people will likely use the C900 in its closed slider position, revealing just four buttons at a time. These oversized buttons can scroll through contacts, call friends and end calls. A feature called “Top 10″ lets users add their 10 most frequently called numbers in the order they prefer, which is a refreshing change from the alphabetical listing that most phones use.

The C900 accepts and sends SMS, or text messages, and comes loaded with nine canned text messages including the ominous, “I don’t have much time.” An extremely loud chime sounds when messages are received or sent.

Other helpful features include a hard button on the phone’s top edge that opens an alarm-clock function, and a button for an ultra-bright, built-in flashlight. This could come in handy, though it must be held down to stay on.

Clarity says that the C900’s battery life lasts for three hours of talk time or 150 hours in standby, and that it takes one hour to fully charge after the phone’s first-time-use four-hour charge. I left my fully charged C900 powered off for a couple weeks and it still had a full charge when I turned it back on again. This could be really helpful for people who forget to charge their phone, but want to grab it to take along on a trip.

A phonebook entry titled “Customer Care” comes preprogrammed on all ClarityLife C900s. This number is answered by Clarity’s customer-service team, people who are trained to consider a caller’s specific issues, such as hearing or memory loss. The representatives speak slowly, avoid tech jargon, and can use an amplifier to make their voices louder and easier to hear.

The ClarityLife C900 is expensive, but this phone’s hearing-targeted features will be appreciated by many seniors, as will its oversized buttons and easy-to-hold size and shape.

Write to Katherine Boehret at mossbergsolution@wsj.com

]]> http://solution.allthingsd.com/20090210/loud-and-clear-mobile-calls-for-seniors/feed/ 2 http://solution.allthingsd.com/20081104/blackberry-bold-is-big-bulky-and-beautiful/ http://solution.allthingsd.com/20081104/blackberry-bold-is-big-bulky-and-beautiful/#comments Wed, 05 Nov 2008 02:18:03 +0000 Katherine Boehret http://solution.allthingsd.com/20081104/blackberry-bold-is-big-bulky-and-beautiful/ Change is a familiar concept in the mobile-phone industry. Most recently, Apple and Google introduced mobile devices with two vital innovations: They run on fast 3G networks and use touch screens. Yesterday Research In Motion (RIMM), maker of the BlackBerry, brought out a device that goes halfway: the BlackBerry Bold, which runs on AT&T’s 3G network, but doesn’t have a touch screen.

The $300 (with two-year contract) Bold doesn’t pose as RIM’s real iPhone competitor; that distinction will fall to the touch-screen BlackBerry Storm due out later this month. Instead, the Bold serves as an upgraded version of the company’s BlackBerry 8800 series devices. These models are popular with corporations because they focus most on functionality over style. As a result, they tend to be a bit on the large side — especially compared with the BlackBerry Curve or BlackBerry Pearl.

I’ve been using the Bold for the past couple of weeks, both in New York City and in Washington, D.C., and had almost no trouble doing email and Web browsing with its 3G network connection and Wi-Fi capability. I admit that I didn’t use it much as a phone, mostly because its bulky size made it awkward to hold to my ear while chatting.

On the plus side, the BlackBerry Bold has a bright, beautiful screen and one of the most comfortable keyboards I’ve used on a mobile device. Behind the scenes, it has a speedy processor that handles email, Web browsing and video playback with ease. The Bold’s 2.66-inch screen is the largest yet on a BlackBerry.

But the Bold reminded me of my grandparents’ new Buick: handsomely polished and luxuriously comfortable, with plenty of extra bells and whistles. As much as I like the plush feel of this ride, it can feel as big as a boat when I need to park or navigate narrow city streets. Likewise, the Bold’s large size affords mobile extravagances like a keyboard I could use without looking down and a leatherette-covered back panel. But when tossed in a bag or even held in my hand, the BlackBerry Bold simply feels too heavy and too big.

Blackberry Bold

Short Memory

Furthermore, this device’s $300 price is steep considering it comes with only one gigabyte of memory, and a memory-card slot for expanding that should you choose to do so. By comparison, Apple’s (AAPL) smallest $199 iPhone comes with eight gigabytes of memory.

The Bold’s battery lasted for me just over a day after being fully charged. RIM says a full charge will last for four and a half hours of talk time and about 13.5 days of standby. The BlackBerry 8820, by comparison, lasts a bit longer: five hours of talk time and 22 days of standby.

But the Bold’s brighter screen and faster network allow it to do things that were slow and stuttering in previous models, such as quickly loading and watching YouTube clips on the device’s browser.

Icons on the Bold’s main menu look like pale white versions of the colorful, cartoon-like icons found on previous BlackBerrys; perhaps these more-staid icons were added to make the device look more sophisticated. The Bold’s edges are distinguished with silver chrome, and buttons abound on all sides: a volume rocker on the right edge, customizable convenience keys on the right and left sides, a microSD card slot on the left, a mute button on the top edge and a one-touch button on the bottom that releases the entire back panel.

The Bold’s leatherette-covered back panel gave the device a richer feel — a far cry from the flimsy plastic back on my BlackBerry Curve that falls off if I drop it. This black leatherette back can be swapped out for other colors like blue, red, slate and brown, which can be bought at ShopBlackBerry.com.

This BlackBerry’s Web browser uses an on-screen magnifying-glass icon to remind users that they can zoom in to more easily read Web pages. Google’s G1 device uses a similar magnifying glass. The Bold’s Menu button (to the left of the trackball) offers a helpful way to browse using the Go To command. This command opens a screen with a blank address bar; a search box that can be set to use Google (GOOG), Wikipedia or Dictionary.com; and a list of bookmarks and recent history.

Roomy Keyboard

Emailing on the BlackBerry Bold was a breeze. I grew so fond of its keyboard design — made with flat, roomy keys and silver “frets,” or dividing lines, that separate each row — that I found myself touch typing without looking down after only three days of use.

RIM says that each key has a subtle high point on it that makes typing more comfortable, and I agreed, rarely typing an incorrect keystroke. Attachments opened in a blink, and DataViz Inc.’s Word To Go, Sheet To Go and Slideshow To Go make it simple to open and edit Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents.

As the presidential election approached, friends often emailed links to videos or Web sites with information about the latest news. On my BlackBerry Curve, I rarely even bother trying to open these links because that device’s EDGE connection is so slow. But the Bold opened Web addresses and videos with no problem, whether I was on AT&T’s 3G network or Wi-Fi in my home or office.

A pre-installed AT&T (T) application called CV, which stands for Cellular Video, holds a selection of clips from sources like CNN, ESPN and ABC as well as full episodes of TV shows (I watched a good portion of “30 Rock”). Categories at the bottom of the CV menu screen combine videos into groups like Most Watched, Entertainment and HBO Mobile, which costs $5 a month extra.

Driving Directions

While you’re driving, AT&T Navigator, by TeleNav, makes use of the Bold’s big, bright screen by flashing clear turn-by-turn directions on the device as you go.

I found the BlackBerry Bold to be a huge asset for on-the-go productivity, and some users won’t mind this mobile device’s large build and higher price because of its luxuriously comfortable features.

If you’re thinking of upgrading your BlackBerry to get a faster experience, and don’t want to wait to try the BlackBerry Storm’s touch screen later this month, the Bold is definitely worth a look.

– Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

• Email us at mossbergsolution@wsj.com. Find this and other columns and videos online free at the All Things Digital Web site: http://walt.allthingsd.com

]]> http://solution.allthingsd.com/20081104/blackberry-bold-is-big-bulky-and-beautiful/feed/ 0 http://solution.allthingsd.com/20080903/htc-cant-disguise-windows-mobile-flaws/ http://solution.allthingsd.com/20080903/htc-cant-disguise-windows-mobile-flaws/#comments Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:20:02 +0000 Katherine Boehret http://solution.allthingsd.com/20080903/htc-cant-disguise-windows-mobile-flaws/ New iPhone competitors continue to crop up, though most are mobile devices from companies that simply slap on a touch screen in hopes of fooling consumers. The real key to the iPhone’s success is its software, and finally, signs indicate that other companies are starting to pay more attention to making good software to go along with their hardware.

One welcome sign is an effort by companies trying to improve Microsoft Corp.’s (MSFT) Windows Mobile operating system, which has a reputation for confusing navigation and hasn’t had a major update recently. Kinoma Inc., for example, recently released an application called Kinoma Play that runs on Windows Mobile devices and gives users a markedly better way of handling photos, videos, music and Web browsing.

The HTC Touch Diamond, due out this month from Sprint, tries to hide Windows Mobile software.

This week, I tried yet another software program that is designed to run on top of Windows Mobile software. But this time, the software is at the heart of a device designed by the same company: HTC Inc. I tested the HTC Touch Diamond, due out from Sprint (S) sometime this month for $250 (after a $100 mail-in rebate) with a two-year contract.

Taiwan-based HTC started out in 1998 as a maker and designer of mobile devices for other companies. A year ago, HTC launched the first device under its own name in the U.S., and now, Sprint, AT&T (T) and T-Mobile (DT) sell HTC-branded devices. The Diamond incorporates HTC software, as well as software from Sprint, MobiTV, TeleNav and others. But it isn’t a stretch to imagine HTC trying to create a fully end-to-end model (hardware and all software) in the future.

The Diamond has a touch screen, but it’s smaller than Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone — 2.8 versus 3.5 inches. This screen lacks the iPhone’s multitouch functionality, and its smaller size robs space used for touch gestures like flicking or scrolling with a finger. Yet like the iPhone, it relies solely on an on-screen keyboard for all text entries. Even with the Diamond’s stylus, the keyboard felt small and cramped. Using just your fingertips was next to impossible.

After using the Diamond for a week, I can say that despite its handsome TouchFLO 3D software and animated icons like photos that flip from one to the next with a flick of finger, this device failed to disguise the frustrating interface of Windows Mobile often enough for my taste.

It reminded me of the brown paper bag book covers my Dad helped me make for schoolbooks when I was a kid: They looked great on the outside, felt sturdy and clean and created a blank canvas for homemade doodles that were often more interesting to me than the books they covered. But my book covers couldn’t change what was underneath; pages of frustrating algebra were just a flip away.

HTC’s sleek software tries to hide Windows Mobile, but menus from the Microsoft operating system are constantly popping up. HTC’s email program, for example, is represented by an animated envelope icon that, when selected, cleverly flips twice before sliding an email message half-way out and giving you a three-line peek at what’s inside. If only reading and responding to email were half as entertaining. Selecting the animated envelope opens the old, cumbersome Windows Mobile email program.

Also, the touch capabilities of the Diamond’s screen didn’t work as well as they should. Finger flicks that should have scrolled through lists instead seemed to select individual items in a list, as if they were sticky.

The Diamond isn’t all bad, of course. Plenty of people will like its smaller size because the iPhone and RIM’s (RIM) BlackBerrys seem too large and brick-like to hold up to an ear for phone calls. Next to my BlackBerry Curve, the Diamond was of comparable thickness but measured smaller in width and length.

Despite its size, the Diamond is packed with features. It has a 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus that doubles as a camcorder, and comes with four gigabytes of internal memory and a removable battery. I taped short videos — something the iPhone can’t do — and found the sound and video footage to be adequate.

HTC touts the Diamond’s browser, which is based on the Opera browsing engine but is designed for HTC. It opens Web pages in views that fit the screen and text is automatically resized as users zoom in or out, though this resizing was sometimes slow.

Unlike the iPhone, Web sites that are opened on the Diamond’s browser don’t resemble the actual site as you would see it on your computer. I opened CNN.com (TWX) and WSJ.com (NWS), two sites that are packed with text and graphics on a regular browser. On the Diamond, they quickly were rendered in list format with mostly text-only. I easily touched the screen to follow links to full stories.

Like the iPhone, the Diamond has an accelerometer, though it’s called the “G-Sensor.” When it worked, this feature flipped the screen to match the horizontal or vertical direction in which the device was being held. Photos flipped instantly, but the Diamond’s G-Sensor took almost three full seconds to respond as I flipped from vertical to horizontal while using the browser. And some Web sites didn’t respond to the G-Sensor flips at all.

A special YouTube application developed by HTC was easy to find on the device and worked quickly. My videos were organized into categories for All, History, Bookmarks and Search, though this last category required using the finger-fumbling keyboard. In one step, I emailed a link from a YouTube video to a friend using the device, with a still shot from the video included in the message.

Overall navigation on the Diamond isn’t as intuitive as on the iPhone or iPod Touch, nor was it as easy as on a touch-screen Windows Mobile device running the Kinoma Play application. The iPhone and iPod Touch use quick double-taps on touch screens to zoom in or out, and multitouch capabilities resize images with pinching gestures; Kinoma Play uses a long touch to zoom in. The Diamond used double tapping on some screens, but not enough for me to grow comfortably reliant on it. A small, circular pad beneath the device’s touch screen provided a more dependable method for zooming in or out of screens: tracing the perimeter of this circle clockwise with a finger zoomed in; counterclockwise zoomed out.

The HTC’s software animation is put to good use on its Weather screen. Here, animated illustrations of each day’s weather appear on the screen: suns spin, clouds move in, rain appears to fall. Even moons appear on the device at night to accurately reflect the weather in a city at a specific time.

It is exciting to think about other mobile-phone companies giving better software a real try, especially those that attempt to improve Windows Mobile. But HTC’s Touch Diamond doesn’t hide the outdated operating system well enough or often enough for a user to want to buy a whole new mobile device.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

• Email us at mossbergsolution@wsj.com. Find this and other columns and videos online free at the All Things Digital Web site: http://walt.allthingsd.com

]]> http://solution.allthingsd.com/20080903/htc-cant-disguise-windows-mobile-flaws/feed/ 11 http://solution.allthingsd.com/20080123/apples-updates-for-the-iphone-and-ipod-touch/ http://solution.allthingsd.com/20080123/apples-updates-for-the-iphone-and-ipod-touch/#comments Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:59:00 +0000 Katherine Boehret http://solution.allthingsd.com/20080123/apples-updates-for-the-iphone-and-ipod-touch/ Next month Apple Inc. will officially unlock its famed iPhone, allowing outsiders to create software programs for this gadget and the similar iPod touch. But last week the company gave its own software developers another shot before handing over the keys, announcing updates for both the iPhone and iPod touch. These updates outfit each device with a handful of new features, enable more customization and nudge the iPod touch a little closer to the iPhone.

Owners of the $399 iPhone can get a free update, but those with the $299 (8 gigabyte) or $399 (16 gigabyte) iPod touch must pay $20 for their update because Apple tracks revenues differently for iPhones compared with its iPods.

Updates for the iPhone and iPod touch add Web bookmarks to the home screen and a redesigned Maps application that displays a user’s current location.

This week, I’ve been using an iPhone and iPod touch with these updates, and I must say that both devices are much more useful and fun with these improvements. Web clips, or browser bookmarks that take the form of icons on the home screen, give these gadgets a new sense of instant gratification because they direct users to specific Web pages seconds after the device turns on. These little icons can be labeled and moved around, letting you group favorite Web sites on one screen, games on another screen, saved Web research on a third screen and so on.

Getting Synched

Both devices can be updated by synching with iTunes; the iPhone does so automatically and the iPod touch updates only if the owner buys this upgrade through the iTunes Store. New iPod touches include the updated software free.

New to both devices is a redesigned Maps application that, at the touch of a button, displays a user’s current location in an on-screen map — without using Global Positioning Systems. Other non-GPS devices currently do this, but they depend solely on cellphone towers to determine your spot. The iPhone uses both cellphone towers and nearby Wi-Fi hot spots to find your location; the touch uses only the Wi-Fi method.

The iPod touch also now has the same stellar Mail program that is found in the iPhone, a real plus for owners who have been curious about mobile email but weren’t necessarily ready to plunge into a BlackBerry or iPhone, or don’t want to pay for a monthly data plan.

Both devices can store numerous Web clips on up to nine different home screens, each of which has room for 16 icons. A handful of permanent applications appear by default on the main home screen, but these can be shuffled around. Along with Maps and Mail, applications for Stocks, Weather and Notes were also added to the iPod touch.

Multi-touch technology only improves these new features. For example, home screens are easily navigated by flicking a finger horizontally to get from one to the next. Holding a finger on any Web clip causes all of them to jiggle like tiny pieces of digital Jell-O, waiting for you to either delete or drag them around wherever you would like them to stay. Pressing the Home key cements the icons in place.

Trouble Finding Home

But these updates left room for improvement. Maps had trouble on both my iPod touch and iPhone when I asked it to find me in my home in Washington, D.C., and in my office near the White House — the former test circled a 30-block radius while the latter marked me four blocks away. Tests in other locations worked well, and clever “Drop Pin” tools helped me mark and label specific places. But I wouldn’t rely on this feature if I was completely lost and hoping the iPhone or iPod would tell me where I was.

And though I was excited to have email on my iPod touch, this device lacks a speaker and vibrating capabilities, so it can’t chime or buzz to signal newly received email. Because of this, the touch wouldn’t work for me as a serious, everyday tool like the BlackBerry and iPhone.

The free update for the iPhone lets you text message multiple people simultaneously, something the most basic cellphones have been doing for years. But individual responses to these mass texts can’t be seen in the same thread of conversation as that which you started; instead, they generate new text message threads.

On the iPhone and iPod touch, the Maps application now shows hybrid views that combine satellite maps with labeled street names, which are helpful.

The iPod touch is a testament to what can be done on a mobile device without a cellphone carrier’s help. By tapping into Wi-Fi hot spots, which are almost everywhere, I easily checked email, stocks and weather. I had a little more trouble using the Maps application with Wi-Fi because I was more often checking my location while on-the-go in a car or walking.

Collecting Web Clips

I had fun populating the many screens of my iPod touch and iPhone with new Web clips. These are easily added by hitting a “+” symbol at the bottom of any Web page, naming the Web clip and watching it appear on a home screen, often with a colorful accompanying icon like that for AllThingsD.com.

Snapshots of a Web page can be captured and saved in a Web clip by zooming in on a certain section of a page and saving that specific view. This proved helpful when I needed to quickly glance at the Georgetown basketball schedule a few times in one day.

Web applications can be found at www.apple.com/webapps. A game called Ditto involves repeating a pattern on blue, yellow, red and green squares using the touch screen — a digital version of the Simon handheld game. Memory, the old card game, is updated with animated animals on cards. FlyTunes lets users listen to customizable channels from Internet radio, while an app called Floort presents an opinionated topic and asks people to vote on whether they agree or disagree. Even simple Web apps were useful, such as one that turns the screen into a virtual ruler with inches on one side and centimeters on the other.

But it’s good to keep in mind that these are Web applications, and are useless without the Web and/or an AT&T connection.

All in all, Apple’s software updates for the iPhone and iPod touch are exciting, especially because they make home screens much more useful and individualistic. These tiny devices continue to become truly mobile computers.

• Email mossbergsolution@wsj.com.

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