Sling my iPhone, Baby.

Hello everybody! Welcome to the first of quite probably one blog entries. I have tried a few of these things before, but this Google one makes as much sense as any, because it will be a lot easier to post from any device I'm browsing on. I suppose there will be an iPhone version once the SDK has been released at MacWorld.

Incidentally, the one thing I am waiting with baited breath for is the first Slingbox software to be released for the iPhone (if it is released at all). This device is a marvellous invention, but is severely hampered for me at the moment, as I can only play content within my home network. I have a Nokia as well as my iPhone that can play content on it via 'port forwarding', but I haven't tried it yet and can only suppose that it would be a disappointment, due to the tiny screen. 

Indeed, the only drawback I can foresee for the software on the iPhone is the bandwidth available on the EDGE network. Some natty compression will have to be used to get decent playback there. That said, I tried a webpage-loading comparison yesterday, with my Nokia 6120 on HSDPA versus my iPhone on EDGE and you might be surprised at the outcome. The difference in time loading various pages on the BBC, Facebook (with the iPhone WebApp) and suchlike, was minimal; six seconds at most. If this sounds unlikely, then try it yourself: the Nokia seems to take ages formatting the page, and there is a definite delay while it decides whether there is an HSDPA signal before attaching to it. It also takes a while opening the internet explorer program (and this is one of the quicker Nokias). While the speed of the connection is vastly superior, it is the device itself that lets the side down. Don't even ask me about my O2 XDA Exec (3G) as this device was slower than both with Internet Explorer and barely comparable with Opera (although this was ruined by the excessive time it takes for Opera Mobile or Mini to load). It's not all yet about sheer signal horsepower.

This, however, means that a 3G or HSDPA iPhone will be quicker than any of these devices, but for now I am more than happy with the best 'phone I have ever owned.

Well there, I've done it. My first Google blog post. A bit geeky, I suppose, but there you go. I am interested in all kinds of stuff, but I must admit that technology seems to be taking up most of my time lately.

See you soon!