A Transatlantic Cultural Dichotomy

Posted by on August 5, 2009 in Tech, Travel | Leave a comment

So, I’ve finally lasted out my Vodafone contract and have made the switch over to 02, a move which I assume many continue to make despite Vodafone’s best yet failing efforts to the contrary, simply on the basis of demand for the iPhone. Despite the fact that it clearly looks beautiful and I’m pretty keen to put the abuse I’ve had from certain clients in particular about my clunky Nokia E61i behind me, I’ve run both phones in tandem for a week or so, to ensure that I can go back to old faithful if needs be.

In other words, despite clearly wanting to have one for some time, I’ve tried to remain as aloof and objective as possible once the initial product lust has been slaked, to try and make a decision based on functionality not hype.

Consequently, aside from a worse-than-expected battery life which does concern me given the 18 month contract, I’m actually really pleased with it. Typing remains something of a challenge – I guess I’ve mastered typing on the Nokia that I’ve had for several years as it has raised keys and the touch-screen seems to be slowing things done considerably – but I assume that’s just going to improve with increased usage.

Interestingly, I’ve had several conversations with friends, contacts and clients recently about whether to buy an iPhone case and seem to have stumbled upon an apparently hitherto unnoticed source of transatlantic disagreement. Almost without exception in my experience, the iPhone users that I know in California have theirs loving shielded from the outside world somehow, yet Europeans seem almost enraged at the prospect of covering up their phone. I blithely sent out a tweet which copied across to Facebook and collectively received numerous responses from European friends (UK and Germany) telling me that I was most definitely not to buy a case under any circumstances – and yet recall a recent conversation with a US colleague who couldn’t understand why anyone would want to protect it. Strange. I’m sure there must be a deeper meaning there somewhere.