It would be pretty stupid of The Gadget Monkey to dismiss out of hand the success of the iPhone, and the impact that the device has made - not least on this site’s audience figures.

However regardless of the enforced hype/early launch (they’re not exactly short on stock in the UK at the moment, although that might be less to do with Apple and more to do with people tightening their belts) the last coupld of months has proved to demonstrate exactly what tis site was set up for.

On our About page, you can see:

…an independently-run portable hardware (gadget) review blog, intended for use both as a buyer’s guide and a record of attitudes and opinions to various products. In time, these attitudes and opinions will provide a unique reflection of prevailing attitudes to technology in the early 21st century.

We’ve already - as a gadget-centric society - gone bananas for the Apple iPhone 3G.  What is next?

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A slick new advertising campaign on UK television can only draw attention to the fact that not only was the iPhone 3G launch the worst organised event since Olaf the Hairy ordered 6000 viking helmets with the horns on the inside, the actual hardware itself isn’t up to scratch.

There are reports across the web of devices freezing, being remarkably delicate compared to the 2G predecessor on top of all the launch day blues with crashing networks and the like.  Better still are the vast array of failings in the device, such as the lack of a video camera and the persistent presence of a 2mp camera - not to mention the jaw dropping lack of a cut and paste function (a technology championed by Apple and ever more vital today).

To add insult to injury for Apple and their iPhone customers, the device has been compared to Microsoft’s Vista operating system amid claims that the device was rush-released.

Independent analyst Rob Enderle says. “A star product like the iPhone does a lot of great things for Apple, but when things go wrong, it can bring down the entire image of a company.”

What’s more, I’m sick to death of hearing about it.  I just want my busted Vario II back home.

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Tuesday’s list from o2

The shortage doesn’t seem to show any signs of being alleviated in the near future.

Store Name Address Opening Time Closing Time
Aberdeen - 98 Union Street 98 Union Street, ABERDEEN, Scotland, AB11 6BD 10:00 17:30
Ballymena Unit 71, Tower Centre, BALLYMENA, Northern Ireland, BT43 6AH 09:00 17:30
Barnet Unit 18, The Spires Shopping Centre, BARNET, Greater London, EN5 5XY 09:30 17:30
Belfast - Castle Lane 14-16 Castle Lane, BELFAST, Northern Ireland, BT1 5DA 09:00 17:30
Belfast - Castlecourt Unit 21, Castlecourt Shopping Centre, BELFAST, Northern Ireland, BT1 1DD 09:00 19:00 (more…)

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General opinion certainly seems to be swaying in the direction that the new iPhone will do for portable gaming what the iPod did for portable music.

All in one mp3, video, phone and likely games  console the iPhone 3G has long since been touted as a possible catalyst for the portable gaming industry, with at least one recent article pointing out that:

Thing is, the iPhone can conceivably do anything the DS can, bar of course the dual-screen display. The iPhone offers full touch- screen operability, network connectivity, the ability to send and receive voice and video, plus it has the Wii-like trick of tracking the tilt and pitch of the device in your hands. Most of the games being developed for the iPhone now are based on this simple functionality, substituting a joystick for balance sensors.

Happy days!  It doesn’t matter how big or small the device is, or whether it has 3G - if I can play games on the new iPhone, Apple have got my dollar.

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I’ve been playing around with the Skype application on my PDA lately, and found that it gets a little bit tied up with other running apps – the usual Windows Mobile resource allocation issue!

So I started to have a look at the 3 Skypephone, which is a neat and compact mobile on the 3 network.  It runs mainly on the 3G band, while allowing roaming and standard phonecalls to be made.

Of course, while using Skype for your calls, your call charges start to come down.

A Skype to Skype call is free, whether you’re talking to another Skypephone user or a Skype PC/Mac user.  Calling other mobiles and landlines is chargeable, as you might expect, while incoming calls are charged based on the callers network tariffs.

It really is a low cost option to mobile phone charges, and one that should be seriously considered if you’re on a budget. 

The handset is installed with the full Skype client, and as such allows the use of the instant messaging feature as well as the chat feature.  Plus the device comes with a web browser too.

What’s more, you can use the same Skype account that you use on your computer, allowing for ease of contact management.  Depending on signal strength, video calls are also available, utilising the 2mp camera. 

UK Tariffs range from just £12 to £24!  Bargain!

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…in Germany, anyway.  Yes it seems that too many iPhones are in stock in Germany, with prices cut to $129 – that’s 99 Euros and little over £70.

That represents a 75% discount…

For iPhone wannabes like me stranded in the UK, this is an astonishing and frustrating piece of news, and raises serious questions of O2, their price structure and the usual general issues of charging consumers too much that we see here on a day to day basis.

I mean come on!  Cheap iPhones!

These price cuts are expected to continue through to June, at which point the 3G incarnation of the iPhone is expected to be available, in the USA at least.

I wouldn’t expect it to be long before these low price handsets appear unlocked on eBay, however…

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You can’t get more mobile or portable than having a high speed internet connection to your phone or laptop, and now the big providers are supplying broadband across the 3G network.

I currently hold a contract with T-mobile, and find their web’n’walk package to be invaluable in 3G coverage area should I be on the road with my laptop.

While both the German provider and Vodafone have unveiled new packages, the T-mobile package in particular interests me.

As the current owner of a T Mobile Vario II (HTC TyTn), I would be required to pay £20 a month to utilise this new service and receive a download speed of upto 1.8 mbps. I would then be able to use either a datacard or a compact USB wireless modem.

However as the owner of a Vario II with a short USB cable and a Dell laptop, I can achieve the same effect as part of my current package.

So exactly what are T-Mobile playing at here? No special discounts for long-standing customers?

Certainly if you’re an existing customer, this is one to avoid; more attractive packages will no doubt materialise over the coming months.

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