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34 Days with the iPhone |
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By Pedro Gomez
Interactive Producer
I have been using the iPhone now for about a month – 34 days to be exact. I was one of “those” that got in line at 3 A.M., but I did avoid all the activation issues that ensued later that day. I have always had the generic phone even though in my line of work, I need to always be online.
Before I switched over to AT&T, I was with Sprint for seven years. I was satisfied with Sprint - never had any problems and tried to stay with them even longer. They have their new toy out from Samsung called Instinct. I had the phone for about a week before the honeymoon was over. The phone functioned well, but it had the most aggravating web browser. I could not view some very basic sites because of its lack of full support for JavaScript. The web browser was the deal breaker and since the new iPhone was coming out soon, I left Sprint for AT&T to get the tried and true, iPhone.
The iPhone truly is a great phone. I don’t think there is any arguing there. Sure I have minor issues with it, but it is a very fun device to own and has increased my productivity.
There have been some people that have regretted the upgrades, but I don’t share their same thoughts. . .
The Good
Audio
The audio is extremely clear and speakerphone is loud. The ability to use a Bluetooth device could not be simpler and switching from Bluetooth back to the phone as your audio source is just a click away. I will say the menu is a bit buried, but overall ease of use is there.
Usability
It is great. Right out of the box the phone is very easy to use and navigate. There is something appealing about being able to use a touch screen with a well-designed menu system as opposed to navigating through menus with your keypad.
App Store
What separates the iPhone from all other smart-phone devices is the App Store. Apple has made it easy, maybe too easy, to buy apps. 99 cents here and $5 there and before you know it, you have just spent $50 on apps.
Some of my favorite and most used apps are as follows (of the time of this writing, the iTunes Link Maker was not working):
• Things - Product from Cultured Code for me is the best Task Management application out there. They just released 1.1, which finally syncs.
• PageOnce - Nice, quick overview of any account that I add to it, whether it be my AT&T or bank account.
• Jott - If I am driving and cannot write something down that comes to mind, Jott allows me to say what I need (up to 30 seconds), then transcribes and emails it to me.
• Pandora - Even with all the music on my iPhone, it is great to be able to stream CD quality music.
• Instapaper - Sometimes you run across an article on your computer that you do not have time to read. Instapaper allows you to save articles to your account, which then syncs to your iPhone. Then when you have time but are not at your computer, you can still catch up on whatever you saved.
• Texas Hold ‘em - All work and no play is never fun. This is a great game if you like Texas Hold ‘em.
• Look out for an iPhone app for a future project from Push.
The Bad
Battery
I am usually accessible to a charger, but I don’t always remember to plug in and before I know it, I have a low battery warning. I tweaked my settings the best I could to preserve the battery. My old phone, the Instinct, had the ability to switch out the battery, but I don’t think Apple will ever enable that.
Slow Response
When I am in my Contacts, I am there to either call or text someone, but when the Contacts load, it will sit there for a good 5-6 seconds before I can interact with the screen. Nothing is more frustrating when you are trying to quickly get in contact with someone.
The Future
It’s great when a product like this comes out. Some people hate the iPhone for being a product from Apple and others because it is tied to AT&T, but one thing it has done has been to spark better innovation in mobile devices. Before the iPhone, the progression of mobile phones in the U.S. was stagnant compared to Europe or Asia. But even if we aren’t there just yet, we are on our way.
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