2 Months With an iPhone...

It was the beginning of April when I got my iPhone. This isn't my first smartphone. I have had 1 Windows mobile phone, 2 Blackberries, 3 Treos...so I know my way around the space pretty well. Even on my feature phones, I have done things like contact management, e-mail, etc. Suffice it to say, I try to get my phones to do the most that they can.

So, onto my iPhone experience. I assume that anyone in the audience is pretty familiar with the iPhone capabilities, so this won't be a blow by blow description of features. And, next month, with a software refresh, any compliments or criticisms I might levy could be moot, so I won't bore you with all of that. All of that being said, the iPhone is the best information device I have ever had. As a phone, it is as good or better than many other devices, but the phone part of the iPhone isn't the killer app.

The killer app for the iPhone: THE BROWSER.

You've seen posts by me extolling the virtues of Opera Mini (which is pretty terrific) but the mobile Safari browser is the best piece of mobile software I have every used. Even over the EDGE network, getting to REAL web pages is easy. Over WiFi, practically delicious.

I live in a multi-computer house. There is almost always a laptop within 30 feet. When I get home from the office now, my laptop stays in my bag. Mobile Safari over WiFi is so easy and fast that I don't need my laptop as much. In fact, my home usage of my laptop has declined by at least 50%. There is almost nothing that I do (in my spare time) on my computer that I can't do on my iPhone. Web browsing, You Tube (my kids LOVE watching You Tube cartoons on my iPhone...especially old Bugs Bunny!), e-mail...all well implemented, easy to use, and intuitive.

Speaking of intuitive, my 4 year old daughter grabbed my iPhone on the first day I had it. She immediately figured out the slider lock, saw the phone icon and was able to call my wife without me explaining to her how to do it. Intuitive enough that the interface is satisfying to me, and easy enough for a child to navigate. That is incredible.

So, while all my other smartphones had nice features (e-mail and keyboard on Blackberry are better), the iPhone is in a different league. The iPhone has a different mobile ambition than the average smartphone. For example, t he iPod features are also excellent (but they should enable video download over WiFi), the camera is good, but the photo display is excellent! My iPhone is where I keep my important music, video and photos, along side my important e-mails, contacts, and calendar.Smartphones are tools to get things done. My iPhone is my companion that helps me live my life. Nice job, Apple.

iPhone in My Hands

The day before I was headed to CTIA, an amazing thing happened. I dropped my Blackberry into the toilet. ( Embarrassing!) I did not have a backup handset, and Sprint was less than helpful in helping me get a replacement sent to my hotel, so I decided to bail on Sprint. Sorry guys! (I was one of those million + defectors last quarter.) So, during a stopover in Philadelphia, I hopped in a cab, went to an ATT store and got a 16 Gig iPhone. (And, I feel compelled to point out that shopping in an ATT store is pretty rotten. The clerk wouldn't let me leave without getting a credit approval (and since I was in Philadelphia it had some kind of location code attached to it) and when I went to activate through iTunes, it wouldn't let me port in my Boston number. WTF? So, after 2 hours on a payphone at the Philadelphia airport, and getting nowhere with ATT, I just tried activate it like I had purchased it at the Apple store. I didn't use the credit approval code and ported in my number like a charm! Now, after a little investigation, it seems like my erstwhile ATT store rep was trying to earn a little commission on my activation by demanding that I get a credit approval. I hate that stuff. He wasted my time, and I am glad that he got not credit for my activation. Long story short, if you want an iPhone, go to the Apple store.

2 months with an iPhone in my next post.

2 Months...and No Posts Ugggh

So, I am back blogging. Thanks for your patience. Laziness got the best of me.