Mac-friendly alternatives to Apple's 1G iPhone

Bruce — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:04:28 +0000

The iPhone has arrived in the US. Even if it were available in New Zealand I still wouldn't buy one. I'm happy to wait for the large beta-test program (i.e. 1 in 5 US adults) to refine the product first. That said, I've been looking for a way to converge my mobile devices (phone, PDA, iPod) for some time. Sadly the 1st generation iPhone does not look like the device to fill this need. Relative to other Mac-friendly alternatives it comes up uniquely short in a number of areas on my feature wish-list. But of course I haven't seen or held it in the "flesh", and it is only a 1G device—so I can't be overly critical. Or can I? Most of the pre-launch focus has been on iPhone's interface (not unimportant), but what about comparative features? It's clear that while the iPhone offers few unique features (iTMS DRM playback, bookmark syncing) it's also immediately apparent that, relative to comparable products, the iPhone has the most limitations. I've been a Palm user since 1999, owning a Palm V, an m505, and (currently) a Tungsten T3: I also use an ageing Sony Ericsson T610 and an iPod (1G deceased; currently an iPod Photo). It would be nice to carry around one device instead of three (ditto on the chargers); I had hoped that device might be the iPhone: So the iPhone has arrived. I posted on the perfect PDA + phone back in 2005—it still hasn't arrived. With Palm OS so obviously stagnating ...

SkypeOut + Cyberphone K VoIP phone

Bruce — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 07:18:46 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

After a recent run of rants, it's about time I found something to rave about. Enter "a low cost way to make calls from Skype to friends who still use those traditional landlines or mobile phones. That means calling anyone, anywhere in the world at local rates" (q.v. SkypeOut). Add to this a USB phone that does VoIP (voice over IP) and integrates with Skype (q.v. VoIPVoice Cyberphone K). We have family and friends in Germany and New Zealand and international calls contribute to most of our £80-90 per quarter phone bill. If you're serious about reducing BT's profit margin, you might want to check out this pairing. SkypeOut I've looked at Skype before, here. Until recently I used it for Mac to PC Internet telephony, but have been disappointed with the call quality (especially to my parents in NZ who use a dial-up modem, but also to family in Germany who are on broadband like us). Such calls are routed from computer to computer over the Internet, and thus require the remote end to be online (shame Skype's online status indicator seems a bit flakey). SkypeOut means you can use your computer (with or without accessories) to call someone on their landline or mobile phone. This time the call is routed over the Internet for some of the time, then gets passed on to the public telephone or mobile network. The most important implication of doing this is that you aren't paying for an international call, but for a local one! Calling ...

bioneural.net » voip

Mac-friendly alternatives to Apple's 1G iPhone

SkypeOut + Cyberphone K VoIP phone