I made that statement in a previous blogpost and most certainly meant what I said without a shadow of a doubt. As a current Android user, I did realize that all was not satisfactory in the land of Google and its range of GSM hardware. I felt I was not really in a position to do anything about it, and thus became tolerant as other features tickled my fancy. Even though items like a large SuperAMOLED display, revamped TouchWiz interface, flawless Google data syncing, and native social network support seemed great at face value, they were only distractions to hide the truth. That ultimate truth was that I was growing bored of Android. However, as if addicted to the pros of what Android offered in its touch-only models, I was more willing to set my issues aside and be content with not writing any more blogposts or using GPS tracking for cardio. I had decided to bend like a reed to the will of my Captivate's limitations, and I did not realize the scope of this until I began using the E72 for my Exchange experiment.
Being introduced to Exchange granted me a revelation that Android did not have to be the one and only OS if I wanted Google syncing on a phone. I was aware of other sync alternatives and even tested some, but discrepancies turned me off from wanting to use them again. Exchange was the first syncing engine to flawlessly measure up to the prowess of Android itself in regards to keeping my PIM data in check. To see this as proof positive for myself on the E72 (in addition to having a hardware qwerty again) really opened my eyes.
I was fully aware of the E72 no longer being a desired offer despite its pros, so the next best thing seemed to be the upcoming E7, Desire Z, or even the Galaxy S Pro. After initial comparison of these three prospects in my mind, the E7 naturally won out. The Galaxy S Pro was thought to be an obvious choice, but it was only available for CDMA and I was still cautious of Samsung's horrible GPS problem. HTC appeared to have done something right with the Desire Z, but I still wanted to have a 4inch display. I would be lying if I said that I did not miss Symbian, so that could have been a factor in my choice to focus on the E7. Even though the touch OS on the N97 and mini model was not the most hospitable, I still wanted to hope that S^3 would bring some worthwhile improvement. The skeptical realist from within wondered if S^3 would only be 5th edition in sheep's clothing, but the optimist welcomed the chance to see the E7 and its new features. A non-removable battery and lack of microSD card slot also seemed to be potential downfalls, but I still wanted to give it a fair try. For not having a card slot, I figured the USB-on-the-go feature could suffice to connect the E7 to my 32GB thumb drive for multimedia! I was also drawn by the silver aluminum build paired with black, tactile qwerty keys, for it instantly reminded me of my MacBook Aluminum model. Reading about ClearBlack technology being introduced on its 4inch screen suddenly began to take some thunder away from Samsung's SuperAMOLED, but only time would tell with reviews and inevitable comparisons. A part of me was willing to bet money that GPS performance would be stellar on the E7 just like the E72. With the Captivate, I would probably have more luck following a homing pigeon to reach a destination!
I had to admit that much excitement was getting generated for the E7 as I continued writing about it, and I then stopped with a sudden thought. Was this the same trap that I had set myself up for with the N97? Not really. With the N97, I was under the impression it would be perfect from misleading commercials in addition to my fanboy anticipation. I had probably worried about possible cons, but in no way did I expect such a different result in real world usage from those promos. Typical phone issues occurred with that model, but no device is immune to them...not even my Captivate. I believe that what bothered me the most was feeling as if Nokia had overpromised and underdelivered. I felt tricked and cheated when swiping those home screens or opening apps did not happen as fast as they did in those commercials. That was a hard lesson worth learning in being able to openly question a device even when it has pristine marketing. I felt more prepared than ever before to expect (and possibly accept) flaws in a new device, for there was no such thing as complete perfection over general satisfaction. That could be the only viable explanation as to how I tolerated the Captivate for so long. The E7 would turn out to be unsatisfactory or otherwise upon my review of it in the future, but being able to say hello to a new Symbian and new E-Series gadget could make it worthwhile.
Trent Smith
Sent from my Nokia E72
No comments:
Post a Comment