The FLAP bags start to arrive from WhiteAfrican on Vimeo.

It was only about 3 years ago when the average US based cell phone user didn’t know what an app or a sim card was, then along came the iPhone.  Most US based users felt they simply wanted a phone to talk and occasionally text.  A phone with too many features was too complicated for the average user to figure out.  Phones like the Palm Treo were for power smartphone users and left every day users simply perplexed.  Unlocked smartphones like the Nokia Communicator series were far too complicated for people to figure out . Not to mention the $500 plus price tag seemed ridiculous.  Many users who attempted to tackle these phones ended up frustrated and unable to fully utilize them.

The iPhone simply put these matters to rest.  An out of the box, app friendly,  high-end phone.  Today average users are asking for more apps and features. They are not afraid of the hefty price tag and see their phone as more than just a means to text or make phone calls.  The iPhone deserves a lot of credit for the growth in popularity of US based smartphone users.  The iPhone put the competition on notice.  They either had to make their phones fun and user friendly or else!!  Some companies still haven’t got it and are losing market share.  For example if you put a phone with Windows Mobile 6.1 in someones hands versus giving someone an iPhone, you will get a lot more overall interest from the iPhone, meanwhile the Windows Mobile phone may actually  suit that individual better and have more features.  Some of the latest updates to the iPhone 3Gs were features that existed on other phones for the past 3 years however that did not slow sales down one bit.  As of January this year iPhone sales were up 88%.  The iPhone keeps winning new users every day.

While the competition has to hate the iPhone, they also must thank them at the same time for bringing more users to the smartphone market.

Since last year I have been playing around with a rather unique Navigation system called Nav4All. Nav4All allow you to navigate worldwide on your mobile phone. The best part of it is that it is free of charge (until 2010). There are no subscriptions or downloading fees. The countries supported are North America, Brazil, Mexico, Europe, South Africa, Australia and soon in China. Nav4All is available in 55 languages and in more than 100 different voices.

My personal favorite is the sexy British ladies voice. Nav4all is a dutch based company that use NAVTEQ Mapping Technology. The application can easily be downloaded from their site. When it comes to using the application it is rather user friendly. At times it can be a bit slow especially when it comes to Acquiring the GPS satellites. Nav4All is consistently updating their software and coming out with better releases. Is it better than my AT&T Navigator $10/month? The short answer is no, but it is certainly a little more interesting to use and has a lot of variety to it. Oh yeah and its free. Areas for improvement would be on the look and feel side, its rather basic.

My friend for got to shut his off and was horrified when I told him all the places he had visited that day. There are some people who like the idea of being able to monitor where your child is or what your spouse is really doing. There also situations where this could save someones life who is in harm. A more interesting question is are your movements stored somewhere somehow? If so, could these be used in legal case to prove guilt or innocence. I see many pros and cons.

I personally like this application. Google Maps with Latitude is an overall user friendly easy to use application with a great look and feel to it. The only thing needed here is turn by turn directions. This app blows Microsoft’s Live search right out of the water.