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1. Video Codec Support. Apple is particularly bad about supported video codecs. It’s clear why they restrict video codec playback: to encourage purchases from their iTunes store and protect their digital rights management (DRM). You can obviously use a program like Handbrake to manually convert videos (or even automate the process), but it’s a hassle that can easily be avoided. I would like really like a VLC-like app on my mobile device and not have my phone manufacturer pull it from their app store.
2. iTunes. Being forced to use iTunes was my biggest hesitation purchasing my iPhone in the first place; unfortunately, the issues with iTunes are still an unsolved. iTunes is slow, it can’t monitor folders, updates are a hassle with Apple trying to include added junk software, the distinction between Artist and Album Artist tag is nonsense. When I mention my gripe with iTunes to others, they don’t understand; however, most of them never used anything besides iTunes. I firmly believe Mp3 organization should exist at the file-level, independent from any software.
3. Better Technology on the Market. Let’s face it: the phone market has become simply too large for the other two software giants (Microsoft, Google) to sit idle. These are companies driven to succeed in one of the fastest growing markets, with the dollars to back their commitment. In a little over a year’s time, they developed an extremely competitive software platform and partnered with some of the biggest (and most dedicated) consumer electronics manufacturers. They’ve given the consumer something Apple has not: “choice.” I find my iPhone 3GS painfully slow running the newest iOS 4, and the most recent apps. In order to get 2-years out of my next phone, I want it to have the latest and greatest hardware. Let’s compare the specifications between Apple’s best offering and the competition:
   

   	Apple	Android	Windows Phone
   Phone	iPhone 4	LG Optimus 2X	HTC HD2
   Processor	Apple A4, 1000 Mhz	Dual-core, 1000 MHz	1000 Mhz
   Graphics	PowerVR SGX535	Tegra 2
   Display Resolution	640 x 960, 3.5″	480 x 800 pixels, 4″	480 x 800 pixels, 4.3″
   Battery	1420 mAh, 7 hours talk-time, 300 hours standby	1500 mAh, 7.83 hours talk-time, 400 hours standby	1230 mAh, 5.3 hours talk-time, 320 hours standby
   Storage	32 GB internal	8 GB internal, 32 GB expansion	16 GB internal
   Front-facing Camera	Yes	Yes	No
   Notable features	Face-time	HDMI output	Kickstand

   The best Windows Phone offering doesn’t hold up to the best Android and Apple phones. While the iPhone has the highest resolution screen of any phone available, I would still prefer a larger area to take advantage of those pixel, despite what Steve Jobs may say. The LG Optimus 2x undoubtedly “out-specs” the iPhone 4.

4. The App Store. I think the App Store is probably one of iPhone’s greatest innovations. It’s been duplicated on every other phone platform, and soon on our computers. My issue is with the App Store’s review process and iPhone’s restriction to a single software source. No one has the right to tell me what I can and cannot do with my hardware. I shouldn’t have to jailbreak my device to make it do what I need it to (though I did it anyway). Of course, every time I update or sync with iTunes, I lose all my unapproved apps. While other platform’s official app stores have a review process, they support multiple app stores, which opens the doors for all apps.
5. Slow Design Cycles; Slow to Adopt New Technology. How many times have you heard, “I’m waiting for the new iPhone to come out before upgrading?” Everyone knows June is that magical time of year when the latest and greatest iPhone gets announced. With the exception of the iPhone 4, the changes to the iPhone have been too incremental, even when vastly superior components existed on the market. This point is probably the most arguable, but new hardware once a year is simply not enough.

This year should bring some interesting changes in the phone market. I certainly hope Apple will open up to developers, app stores, codec support, and make a major overhaul to iTunes; if they do not, my next phone won’t be an iPhone.

A second cause of failure is the pad on the rubber button. On poorly designed remotes the conductive coating can flake off. Some online vendors sell remote repair kits that let you reapply a conductive coating. The kit may cost more than the remote after you factor in shipping. The following shows how to fix a remote using household items.

ITEMS
Aluminum Foil
Gorilla Glue
Hobby Knife
Isopropyl Alcohol

1. Take appart the remote and clean both the pad the contact areas of the problem button with isopropyl alcohol.

2. Cut a small piece of aluminum foil with the hobby knife. The foil should just fit over the damaged pad.

3. Apply a small amount of glue to the damaged pad and carefully place foil on it. The foil should mold its shape to the contour of the button. Make sure the glue does not spill over to the area that would touch the PCB – otherwise it will not work.

Temporary Server Rack

PitelSPOT server will shutdown on December 31st 2009 and will not become active again until Janurary 6th 2010 (at earliest).  We are moving from Illinois to New Jersey and are taking the server with us. We are also changing services from DSL to Cable. We are keeping out fingers crossed that cable upload speeds are faster than out current DSL speed.  Comcast does not guarentee bandwidth like DSL does.

1. Peanut butter

The jump from low-fat peanut butter to the organic version is the most noticeable. To make peanut butter “low fat,” it is essentially diluted with corn or soy products. Organic or all-natural peanut butter actually tastes like peanuts and is generally not as sweet, if it contains sugar at all.  Organic, no-stir peanut butter is about twice as expensive as regular peanut butter.

2. Yogurt

I started buying organic yogurt for myself  and continued to buy Grant cheap stuff because he said he “couldn’t tell the difference.” Well, I definitely could. Once I started eating organic yogurt, anything else tasted like corn starch. Not surprising, because corn starch is high on the  ingredient list. Eventually I caught Grant stealing my yogurt and he admitted he prefers the organic version.  Now it’s all we buy. The bad news is that it costs about twice as much as “regular” grocery store yogurt.

3. Maple syrup

We bought “real” maple syrup when there happened to be an enormous container of it at Sam’s Club. Everything is different. It tastes totally different, has a viscosity closer to water, and requires refrigeration. Typical grocery store call maple syrup is generally corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup with coloring, flavoring, and preservatives added. Real maple syrup easily costs two to four times corn syrup-based products and (aside from what you might find at Sam’s Club or Costco) comes in much smaller containers.

Camera: Still Photos

The N85′s camera has become a substitute for our relatively bulky “real” digital camera. It performs well in high (bright sun) to adequate light. As previously stated, the photography style in which this phone shines is macro. Its optics will auto-focus at a very short distance, allowing photos such as the bug-and-flower picture below.

The primary weakness I have found is the quality of photographs in low light. The dual LED flash supplements dim ambient indoor light, but is not sufficient for a dark area. The resulting images are off-color and grainy. I am not sure whether the xenon flash on the Nokia N82 is significantly better in these situations. I don’t find this a major drawback, as available lighting is adequate most of the time I want a photograph taken. Below I have provided a few examples of lower-light photos.

Camera: Video

Video capabilities of the N85 are on par with our “real” 5 MP digital camera. Similar to still photograph performance, the camera does well in adequate light, but videos in poorly lit rooms are grainy. With the 8 GB of space standard on this phone, I don’t have to worry about keeping the videos short. The N85 allows me to capture candid moments with sufficient quality to post a video on YouTube. I doubt any other phone does it better, though you could certainly find newer digital cameras and obviously digital camcorders with better performance.

Other Features

Somewhat odd perhaps, but I will classify making phone calls under this category. I appreciate the N85 as a camera. As a phone it is sufficient but not exemplary. This may be remedied by eventually reading the instruction manual, but so far I have found no way to reach certain features, such as call logs or profiles (e.g. silent, airplane mode), without a number of click-throughs. It also has a tendency to not alert me to missed calls until far after the fact.

Second caveat is the screen. It is impressive indoors, but almost unusable outside in bright sun. This can make it difficult to take pictures outside, as it’s hard to verify they are in focus.

Final Thoughts

The N85 obviously does have weaknessess–lack of a touchscreen or full keyboard, internet browsing is difficult, plus those two mentioned above–but overall I am very happy with the phone. My primary motivation was to use it as a more convenient substitute for our traditional digital camera, and in this capacity I think it has exceeded my expectations.  However, if  texting, e-mail, or web browsing are important, the N85 may not be the best choice.