Nokia E90 FTW, Apple iPod Touch struggle

I am keeping my Mocca E90 Communicator and taking it off the market, and it feels oh so very good! As much as I love using my E71-2 device, there is no denying the unique presence that this phone has even amongst the current offerings of today's smartphone manufacturers. Despite its lack of support for AT&T 3G, I am still intrigued by so many positive benefits that override the negatives. It is no surprise to many smartphone addicts out there that compromise is definitely the name of the game when going from one form factor or operating system to another. But what makes the E90 special to me is that it makes the necessary compromises so worthwhile by way of its innate ability to successfully converge the great aspects of a PDA, phone and multimedia device...which reminds me of the Keynote of some Apple phone released last year. The wide stance of the qwerty is commanding along with a breathtaking display that simply renders other competitors worthless, and this is all supported by enveloping stereo audio and amazing call quality! Something tells me that this Nokia brick will be an iconic part of my aging gadget collection for years to come, and I would be an idiot to sell it off to a new buyer. Between this and my E71-2 (and my Treo 750 in my backpack) I have a very reliable Symbian team to use day to day. Windows Mobile is increasingly becoming a lackluster entity in my eyes as more predictable models are introduced into the market, and the HTC HD appears to be the only interesting option worth looking at in comparison to the Touch Pro, Treo Pro and Xperia. Nonetheless, I don't think the HD will be able to measure up to the multimedia prowess of Nokia, but we shall see. In the meantime I will be content with switching between both my E90 and E71-2.

No longer having the privilege of instant gratification from using my card was much harder to deal with than I expected, and my first test came with the release of the new iPod Touch from Apple. Of course, as with any Apple product release, the previous generation models are suddenly obsolete in an instant and shunned by a majority so fixated by the new versions. This initially happened to me with my 32GB iPod Touch that I had purchased months ago at $500, and it was a harsh (but beneficial) learning experience. I was faced with the new 2nd generation Touch which was not only better than my current model in some respects but also $100 cheaper!! Instantly I grouped myself with the multitudes of other people who unfortunately realized they had paid more money for a gadget model with less features. But this is only the natural progression of technological advancement where manufacturers learn to make better machines more efficiently, so at this point I no longer felt disheartened from owning my 1st generation Touch. What still provided a challenge for me was the temptation of wanting the new model and its feature of the built-in Nike+ Sport Kit. Right now I run with 2 iPods, a nano for Nike+ and a Touch for all of my music, and having the new 32GB model would allow me to be rid of my nano and have my whole music library with me. Believe it or not, the urge to get this new toy became so strong that I began to conspire different methods to make it possible. Everything from using profits from selling my old stuff to even reissuing old credit cards came across my mind as I obsessed over this one item! I eventually contacted my best friend who was able to listen to me express my feelings, and I was able to wake up and really see how pathetic I was acting. Since then, even after visiting the Apple store in my city, I can proudly say that I am not dominated by the urge to buy this new item anymore and am still thankful to have my current model!

I actually took the energy of my previous obsession and refocused it into a more worthwhile situation regarding my own iPod Touch. I assumed that since same 2.1 version software for the new Touch was available as a free upgrade for my old Touch, I would then be able to have the same Nike+ Sport capability as well. I was wrong, for the Nike+ app worked on the model due to its hardware and not the software. At first I was EXTREMELY enraged, but who could I be angry at besides myself? Once again, this was the natural progression of technology and I had no right to be bitter. But that didn't mean that I couldn't express my concern in a professional and calm manner to both Apple and Nike, so that's exactly what I did. All I could do was provide feedback as a consumer and hope that someday a software update would be created to enable my own Touch to use the Nike+ Sport application. Whether this happens or not is not left up to me, so in the meantime I am going on with life and being happy to still use both iPods on my runs! Many people out there don't even have ONE iPod, so I am certainly very thankful in this respect.

TRENT
Sent from my Nokia E90 Communicator.