Category: This ‘n That

Well I did it. I purchased the much hyped Apple iPhone today. Those of you who know me will wonder why I waited this long. I mean it has been out a whole day. Well let me tell you I wanted to wait in line with everyone on Friday, but I had a chemistry test and it took me all day to study for it and then finally take the thing. I of course took the time to order one online exactly at 6 P.M. P.S.T. I was very unhappy to read that it would be two to four weeks before it would ship to me… two to four weeks! I was one of the first to order on line! Unacceptable! I decided to call around on Saturday morning to see if by chance some local store ATT store was overlooked by the madness. Fat chance… the two out of the way stores I called were entirely sold out. I decided to call my local Apple store, and to my surprise… they had them in stock! Woo Hoo! I raced to the store lest some other crazy person like myself got there before me! I purchased the 8 gig model and of course opened it in the car on the way home. I have always felt that instant gratification takes too long! I don’t know what propels me to pursue the latest and greatest gadget. It really is an addiction. I spend far too much money that I don’t have on the latest and greatest gizmo, and cell phones are a really strong weakness for me. I don’t even talk on them very much and never come close to my alloted minutes! It is madness I tell you, madness!

Before I tell you my likes and dislikes, let me tell you what I have been using for the past 7 months… a Samsung Blackjack.  Overall,  I have been pretty happy with it. I like the full qwerty, the camera, and the ability to get my email. I also really like the 3g speeds I get while browsing the internet. What I don’t like is the fact that it seems to have a slow reaction if you forget to close applications you are not using. I also don’t like the fact that it seems to take forever to get to the function you really want to use. But overall,  7 months says that I have been pretty happy with it.

Enter the iPhone. I recently have started using a Mac Mini and also bought a Mac Book Pro. I have been a Windows user for years, but I have not been that impressed with Vista and have been frustrated with Microsoft products for a long time. The iPhone became appealing to me because of good experience so far with my Macs and my beloved Video iPod. Okay, Finally I will mention my likes and dislikes!

Likes

1.The iPhone is really a nice looking phone. It fits well in my hand, and is just a touch bigger than my Blackjack.
2. I love the large screen! It really is nice.
3. I love the easy access to the applications that you use most often from the moment the unit starts!
4. The iPhone is perky! It doesn’t seem to slow down when going to an application the way my Blackjack did.
5. I love having Wifi build in! I really missed that in the Blackjack. I can cruise the web from my home network fast… so much fun!
6. I really like the slide to unlock button on the touchscreen. I had to do two awkward key presses to unlock the Blackjack.
7. I really like the way it handles your photo library. The pinch to make smaller and reverse pinch to zoom are really cool, as is the swipe to the next photo.
8. Moving all over a web page with your finger is really great, as are using the finger pinches on a page.
9. How cool is it to have a Youtube button? Very Cool! Lots of mindless entertainment available while you are waiting at the dentist’s office!
10. I love its integration with iTunes. Now I really have a reason to buy movies from Apple! This is the perfect item for plane rides.
11. The activation and setup couldn’t be easier(at least on my mac). It automatically set up my gmail account and imported all my addresses. My Blackjack took forever to get the email working correctly.
12. It is intuitive for the most part. No need to spend an hour or two with a manual trying to figure out how to change a ringtone, or set up a bluetooth earpiece. It just works.
13. It’s cool… period.

Dislikes

1. The phone is slippery. I really think a rubberized outershell, at least on the sides would have made sense. It is only a matter of time before this beauty is gonna hit the ground.
2. Difficult access to the sim card. Geeks have many phones and we like to use different ones for different situations. The card is damn near impossible to get out and there is not way to do it with out a paper clip.
3. The camera is not up to what it should be. The iPhone really needs and external button to release the shutter! They could even change the software to use the volume buttons as a release while in camera mode. It is very difficult to hold the camera still and try to do a finger press on the screen.  You will end up missing a lot of shots. Also, tapping an on screen button jars the camera and can contribute to some really nice blurry shots! Forget about trying to take a picture of yourself with it! You can’t see the button to press! It is really disappointing.
4. No 3g! This is really unacceptable…having a slow connection on a full web browser is horrible! Especially when you get used to using the phone on the Wifi network. Shoot me now!
5. No flash and no java? You have to be kidding me. All the web phones I have had the past few years have been able to use flash and java. Flash is beginning to be used on everyone’s website. I really hope that there is some update to this. I am missing have the content on some sites.
6. No battery access. I am gonna have to send my phone in if I want a new battery? That is crazy. With all the use that the phone is going to get with video and music, having a way to swap in a charged battery would make so much sense. I think many of us are going to be calling you back after you leave a message because our phones are all dead!
7. No Voice  Dialing.  C’mon this is the phone of the future and there are times you can’t press a button, nor should you.
8. Controlled Youtube. You can’t search for any video on Youtube. I have a bunch that I created, but they do not turn up in search. I think they must be converting only top videos or something fro iPhone use. Don’t call it Youtube, if I can’t access all of their videos. I am very disappointed.
9. The keypad. I am trying! I can do quite well with an index finger, but the iPhone does not like my thumbs, especially my right one! I can never hit the right letter with my right thumb for some reason. It really slows me down with thumb typing. The keypad is much better when in landscape mode, but it only works when browsing. It really needs to be available in landscape in all modes. I hope that they might be able to update this. I find the delete key way to easy to hit, but again it has something to do with my right thumb. So many problems could be solved if they let us use the keyboard in landscape mode! Please Apple!
10. No Mp3 Ringtones. Why is this? I can’t believe it! I have been making my own Mp3 ringtones for years. I have this whole access to my music library and I can’t select something instead of the standard stuff included? It makes no sense.
11. No micro sd memory card. They probably didn’t have any more room, but this really would make the thing rock! 8 gigs isn’t enough for us geeks! I really can’t complain, it really is a phone first, but I can dream.
12. The metal back is really gonna get scratched if you don’t keep it in a case I think. Time will tell.
13. No itunes store access? Strange. I would thing they would want us to buy songs from the phone. Of course it probably would be a painfully slow download without 3g!
14. Itunes only activation. There are a lot of people still that don’t have a computer that would still like this phone.

Well that is all I can think of at this time. All in all it is about even in what I like and dislike. I have always said that the phone I want hasn’t been invented yet. I still feel that way, but I think that the new iPhone is a step in the right direction. I hope that Apple improves it soon. I can’t imagine actually holding onto a cell phone for a while. Hey, and in case you would like a slightly used Samsung Blackjack, I will be posting it in my auction soon!