My friends are very afraid of me as I carry something in my pocket all the time. Yes, my mobile phone, which is a very decent aim and shoot camera too.

While many of my friends are averse to the idea of impromptu photography. I personally take pride in it. Here’s why:

In the world we live, there are so many instances that happen around us, which are so very unique. Forget taking pictures of yourself or your friends, but if you look around there are so many things that you might just see once.

Now you don’t have to be an avid photographer or an enthusiastic traveller to think this way, but just have an open eye to what happens around.

Sometimes nature throws something at you that you would love to see and cherish over and over again.

If you have kids I don’t have to tell you how important this becomes. Unpredictable kids, provide umpteen opportunities to click those magic moments. Manier times, many of us just wish there were more memories of our childhood. It was difficult perhaps at that time to have so many pictures taken.

Thanks to technology advancement, we are having this at our disposal and I think we should make enough effort to save all those memories.

Here I present a fantastic view, when I witnessed a full double rainbow on River Thames, London. I saw a rainbow in full for the first time in my life. If it was not for my Nokia N95, it would have only been in my memory.

Recommended Aim and Shoot Cameras/Phones:
Nokia N73,N95,N96
Sony K700i, Xperia
Samsung Tocco, Pixon, Omnia
LG Viewty
Sony DSC – W120, W130, W170 (fantastic picture quality even in night)

Popularity: 15%

Image credit: shapeshift

Like all good things in India, the iPhone will end up having its own niche market. There always have been and will be people who will buy it because of its iconic status.

The question is – is it really worth it?

At a minimum of Rs.31000, you can proudly sport a device that has been priced a little above the current price of vegetables. For a device that has sold millions, it is surprising that they have such high manufacturing costs – not to mention the stock price that needs to live up.

Next, what is 3G doing here? Waiting for the future to arrive? It is like a kindergarten student buying a Ferrari because his children will have better roads.

Let’s look at the features – nothing much has really changed except for the tons of applications for the iPhone – How many of us know that we can also install many of these on the iTouch ?  What about the several hundred applications that are already available for Windows Mobile, Sybian and Blackberry devices?

What about the service plans ? That remains to be seen. While calls in India may be cheap, mobile internet is definitely not. And with mobile internet speeds as ours, it’s going to be worth watching what happens to the user experience.

At 2 megapixels, the camera on the iPhone is pretty basic. There are phones offering higher resolution at much cheaper prices. Next comes interoperabilit. Let us see how many phones are there in the market that say, “Please dont save anything in the memory card because I want you to send everything via my services only”. And not to mention the issues that are being raised about privacy and hung iPhones in the other side of the world.

It is time to know just a little more.

Truth is we have people who spend many times more on a mobile phone than they earn in a month. Truth is that this has been a great letdown for the thousands who will still buy the device. Truth is we have people who understand less and use the features even lesser, but will tout the iPhone with all the hype.

For the saner few, there are a lot more good phones with superb features at great prices. From the Asus P320 to the HTC touch to the latest Nokia N96. Or you can always tag along a much cheaper iTouch along with your phone!

For the die hards – go ahead and buy it! its not a very bad phone either.

Popularity: 13%