Ion iType Bluetooth Keyboard (IONITD02)

So my desire to not lug my laptop around anymore sprung up the issue of having to type A LOT on my Galaxy’s OnScreenKeyboard- something I’d rather shoot myself than do on regular bases, but a savior device was found:

The little guy sports small, yet extremely comfortable size and next to no weight at all, rubberized soft squishy keys, lots of secondary functions for almost every key, a carrying case, a portable device stand, and a micro-usb cable.

Everything feels pretty good and is very easy to carry in any pocket as opposed to a whole backpack of a laptop bag. Nice.

To boot, this guy can be used with most bluetooth devices like PCs, Sony PS3, you name it really (and I wonder if this would work with the new PS Vita, because if so, this is definitely the gadget of the month!). And price point? You can find these online ranging from $35 to as little as $17 plus shipping!

Are Smartphones Today Really That Smart?

Now that the new craze seemed to have fully set in all over the world, I’m sure the new generation is starting to forget how good the older counterparts not only were, but still are today. I want to compare the new to the old and highlight some key differences between the two based on my daily driving of both phones and their practicality with respect to my daily life.

So, the contenders: Nokia E6 and Samsung Galaxy S2.

I’ll begin with MY needs for a mobile phone-like device- quick and comfortably typing ability for both sms messages as well as web browsing/forum posting/etc; solid and reliable battery life, since I often and easily can end up without the ability to charge for 2-3 days; solid and reliable GPS, preferably with downloadable maps to avoid having to rely on mobile data usage; a good or decent camera to avoid having to carry extra gadgets; lastly, good overall connectivity as far as wifi/gprs/bluetooth goes.

With the above said, it is pretty clear why I prefer and use my Nokia as my daily driver even though it does have its flaws- iffy camera (on E6 anyway); not a portable laptop as far as processing power goes; rather small screen when it comes to looking at anything. In retrospect, Galaxy S2 lacks the exact opposite things like comfortable and quick typing; there’s a battery life in this one? where?; no phone strap slot (in the AT&T USA version anyway), so it gets to be a pain to fish it out and keep it in hands when in bumpy situations.

I notice that almost everyone today is obsessed with these Apps (and why not call them, programs or progs, like we all used to back in the day?) and having something useless always connected to the mobile net ALL the time. Are they really necessary though? Constant data usage tanks the battery life to a point where, you may not even be able to use your phone as a phone because it’s always about to die and you wouldn’t want to be completely stranded. Now, the first biggest flaw that these Android phones have-  they cannot turn the data on and off per need to use it. Here is where I love my nokia- when anything, be it browser, email sync, or MMS message needs to use the net, the phone will turn the net on for the duration of its use and then turn it off, going back to “idle” kind of mode. Saves battery? Like you wouldn’t believe. On the actual App note, they’re really nothing more than silly games or shortcuts to websites, and given the sheer fact that you have java-enabled mobile net, you can’t just open up the browser and check a particular website itself? Is wifi N and HSDPA+ really that slow today that we need “mobile optimized” shortcut apps?

Next up, and I didn’t realize how much I used this feature until I was stranded without it (with the same level of comfort) is the GPS program with downloadable maps. In case of Nokia, unlike various Android apps out there, FREE GPS program with downloadable maps. And maps don’t even weigh that much, North America is only 1.5GB that easily fits on phone’s internal memory. As with everything today, you can sync your saved places to a cloud account and download them in case something happens to your current phone or you upgrade to a new one. Very simple feature, but the key is having reliability vs simple presence of it. Now, no need for data AND a small screen? On an older E72, that meant being able to gps about 10 hours (turning the screen off until you need to look at it) and using the phone on a single charge for a whole weekend. Lets see any Android device top this one. Last point that could have gone without saying, is having downloaded maps doubles your phone as an interactive map no matter where you are instead of being stranded simply due to a lack of internet.

Physical qwerty keyboard would only really matter to heavy typists like me, but there is a rather large lack of qwerty Android handsets on the market with decent overall specs. I don’t know how you guys and gals get used to typing on a touch-screen, but I just cannot let go of the battle-proven tactile keys.

Call me old fashioned, but I really don’t see much of a productive purpose to all these new toys until the manufacturers seriously take some basics into their accounts, like they used to back in the day. If I have a device that has WiFi a/b/g/n, bluetooth 3.0, HSDPA+ with all 5 possible bands, good gps, and most importantly battery life to support all of that properly, I think I can go without some pretty screen sliding animations, beer glass apps, and super-robust CPU speeds that are virtually never used in your pocket.

Bonus round question, so why do I own both of these? To use each one per its intended usage, with Galaxy being my super-thin camera and tablet rather than a shot all-in-one device. It also covers up Nokia’s only real weaknesses- small screen when it comes to viewing something comfortably or showing it to others, and a decent camera (and god only knows why nokia essentially downgraded it from the previous models).

My Mobile History

It all began with a Motorola V400 (first phone that Ted uses in How I Met Your Mother by the way), but at that time I didn’t much care about cellphones so I don’t really want to include into the lineup of my choice when the techie in me woke up. Software modding and tweaking brought me into various great communities and brought me some great friends I have today.

Then followed a Motorola RAZR V3i, this guy supported MicroSD cards unlike the other models of its family ( second phone that Ted uses in How I Met Your Mother).

Next up was a RAZR V3X, one of the 1st Motorolas to have a Macro lens on the camera. Only upsetting factor was a tri-band frequency that didn’t get hacked into a quad years after I sold the poor guy due to not getting much reception anywhere in my area.

After this, I dabbled into smartphones with Motoming A1200. It was a stylus/touch screen phone with some very neat features for its time. It had a photo editor on board that made for some very cool on-the-go photoshop-esque pictures.

I took a break from smartphones to try the Rizr Z3. Solid battery life, very comfortable form factor, and it could play mp4 movies right off the bat.

Then came the Rokr E6- an alternative to Ming with a bigger battery, the most comfortable form factor to this day, and same cool little features and perks. This guy also had a macro lens with a manual switch.

After E6, I’ve made the mistake of trying an older Palm Treo 750. This phone was, for lack of a better word, utter crap across the board.

And following it, prototype Rokr Z6- Moto’s attempt at a linux-based OS. This phone wasn’t all that great, but having a prototype unit felt pretty nice.

Then I dabbled into HTC with its first Tilt, and sold it 3 days after getting it because of how horrible it was. The battery was utter trash even with an extended one and the camera made drilling noises every time it focused to take a blurry picture.

I returned to Moto side with Motorola Q9h- one of the first smart/phones that ATT bundled with an extended battery and a door besides that standard ones. This phone sported windows mobile, dual speakers, and was a pretty solid device save its horrible camera.

Rokr E8 concluded my Motorola adventures due to poor battery life and just not enough of that cool factor for its price. It did have a morphing touch keypad that only lit up when the phone wasn’t locked and the controls changed depending on the app you were using. It sported an auto-macro mode and took pretty solid pictures.

After this, I got a free Krzr K1 and it became my backup phone in the future. Also the first Moto I truly bricked, unbricked, completely unlocked myself, and changed the housing of.

Now, I discovered my current standard for mobile phones- Nokia E series.

My first one was E71, the phone I owned the longest to-date (a year and a half) and that gave me absolutely no grief and a complete satisfaction and sense of security due to its slim, but monstrous battery life.

E72 (used as main for 2 years, still own) was a worthy next step due to the hardware updates and same great old feel.

Then I experimented a little with touch-screen phones once again- Samsung OMNIA HD (because it had Nokia OS) and I thought it would provide decent battery life, that it did not. GPS was great, camera was stellar, stereo speakers were a welcome returning feature, but it just didn’t live up to my daily needs.

I also experimented with Android for the first time via HTC Glacier (T-mobile MyTouch4G). Rooted it, unlocked, but touch-only interface and relatively poor battery life didn’t seal the deal for me.

And this brings us to this day.

After all my experiments I came to the conclusion that no single device will ever be truly perfect, but owning 2 can bring that electronic harmony into anyone’s pocket; so, here are my weapons of communication and entertainment today:

Nokia E6 and Samsung Galaxy S II

And what else did I learn throughout this journey? How to disassemble any phone; how to sim unlock a good deal of the phones; how to flash firmware/roms onto almost all phones; and where to seek help when I need it.

I would also like to give a shout out to all/most forums that helped with this long and ongoing adventure:

ModMyMobile (used to me ModMyMoto or M3)

XDA Developers

Symbian Guru

Ipmart-Forum

And countless model-specific forums for phones like Q9h and OMNIA HD

Lastly, it took me nearly 2 hours to find all these pictures in the mess of my computer, hahaha.