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iPhone

What I learned in the first 4 days of my iPhone 3G

I picked up my new iPhone late on Thursday night, worked with it on Friday, then left with it for a quick trip to see my brother and my first and only nephew. Prior to this phone, I have used some sort of smartphone since 2000…all Palm software based. Prior to that I used Palm handheld computers since about 1997.

I decided to move to the iPhone because I felt that the Palm innovation had stagnated…about 5 years ago. Plus, with all the innovation and development happening around the iPhone, I knew it was a great opportunity to take my smartphone usage even further than the Palm based systems had. A real quick word about any smartphone; they aren’t met for every cell phone user. Smartphones are designed for people who want to check email, lookup information on the web, get maps, send text messages, add specialty programs like conversion programs, time trackers and much more to their phone.

Enough blabber, here are some of my thoughts about the iPhone after only four days of use:

  1. The screen is absolutely stunning…clear, bright, and responsive.

  2. I really miss being able to select text

My iPhone 3G is on its way

Finally, after an almost 4 week wait (between working with my current provider and ordering the new phone), my new iPhone 3G is scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Last year when the first generation iPhone appeared on the scene, I spoke up and said that the iPhone was too expensive, too slow, and not expandable (lack of add-on applications).

Being a long time Palm user, then the Palm smartphone series user, I saw that the first iPhone, though compelling, lacked some features to justify its high price ($599 last year). I made the move this year because Apple and AT&T added the high speed 3G network, add-on application support, and reduced the price to $199 and $299.

Yelp – Real world reviews

On my most recent travels, I discovered yet another great travel web site that I will be using every time I travel. The site’s name is Yelp. Yelp bills themselves as a site of Real People. Real Reviews. Yelp reviewers review everything from restaurants to schools to religious organizations. As their slogan describes, anyone can write a review about any service. I think the service works so well because it works like the feedback on eBay. Everyone has an opinion about everything, but after reading a dozen or so reviews for whatever topic (I used it for finding good restaurants) you can easily titrate the advice into something usable for you.

2 fantastic alternatives to Mapquest maps

Mapquest.com used to be synonymous with online maps. They offered online maps when few others did and did a good job. Unfortunately, Mapquest hasn’t changed much since the late 90’s except get more and more advertisements hovering around their slow and out-dated system. Their innovation and improvements seemed to stop around the same time AOL bought them.

For faster, easier, and better online mapping, I like two products; Google Maps and Microsoft’s Live Search Maps.

10 Phrases that we never thought we would utter

I know I’m missing some awfully good phrases, but I wanted to write some of them down. Leave a comment and tell me some other strange, modern tech phrases that would be so out of place 15 years ago and before.

  1. “How much RAM do you have in the PC?”
  2. “Send me a text message on your cell.”
  3. “Do you have an optical or laser mouse?”
  4. “Does this hotel have free wi-fi?”
  5. “I need to defrag my hard drive after I run the disk cleanup.”
  6. “Did you google your that?”
  7. “I shopped on eBay, Craig’s List, Amazon, Newegg, and ecost and still can’t find it.”
  8. “If you don’t have an optical or laser mouse, you have to clean your mouse’s ball so it runs smoothly.”
  9. “Should I buy an 8 megapixel or 10 megapixel camera?”
  10. “Which smart phone is the best, the Treo, iPhone, Razr, or Blackberry?”

These are 10 that I came up with, but I would love to hear tech phrases that you come up with that would have sounded ludicrous in the 20th century…so leave a comment!

Now I remember what I don’t like about Apple and Macs

Apple products are beautiful and functional. Many people brag about their iPod or Mac’s stability, but there is a good reason that Macs are so stable. Apple is very restrictive as to what others are allowed to do with their systems.

For example, if you have a iPod, you can only use iTunes if you want to sync music to it. If you have another brand of media player, it will not work with iTunes.

Most standard hardware such as keyboards, mice and printers are compatable with both Macs and PCs, but when it comes to software, Apple has some very strict standards that developers must meet and money must exchange hands to apply for Apple approval.

iPhone Web Applications

I setup my third iPhone today. I like them (especially now that they are $200 cheaper), but I still prefer the Treo. The web experience on an iPhone is superior to any phone I’ve used to date and some useful and fun web based applications are starting to develop specifically for iPhone users. This site links up their Top 25 iPhone Web Applications.

First iPhone setup

I helped setup an iPhone for the first time today. Here is a quick summary of my findings:

Pros

  • Amazingly easy setup on the Windows XP machine we installed it on. No disks or CD’s ship with the iPhone at all. The only requirement is that you have the latest version of iTunes installed. The activation and installation were SIMPLE…the way all installations should be.
  • Nice form factor. Felt like a large candy bar and had more heft (a good thing) that I anticipated. Curved edges allow for easy pocketability and feels good in your hand.
  • Amazing screen clarity and color.
  • Web looks good and the ability to switch from portrait to landscape and zoom in and out of a page all work to make it a good experience overall.
  • Synchronizes bookmarks and editing bookmarks is easy on the device.
  • Out of the box, the phone is very responsive. Very little waiting when switching between applications.
  • Large screen makes it easy for folks who use reading glasses to see and use a smart device.
  • Sound clarity seemed good on both ends of the call. Did not try a headset with it yet. 

Cons

  • Cut, copy, and paste not available. This is a huge omission, in my opinion.
  • Typing isn’t nearly as fast as on a keyboard smartphone like a Treo or Blackberry, but I have to admit that it was easier and more accurate than I anticipated.
  • No one should ever use a cell phone when the drive, and the iPhone will make for some awfully distracted drivers if their owners attempt to use this device while driving except for maybe answering calls.
  • Navigating contacts is really slow. With practice, perhaps an iPhone user can access their contacts at maybe 2-3 times that of a

iPhone Research

I have a friend who I’m going to help setup his new iPhone next week. He will be syncing it with Microsoft Outlook and needs tasks and memos(notes). Out of the box, the iPhone will only sync contacts and calendar information, but I’ve discovered that enterprising souls are already finding solutions to overcome this oversight:

A nice little site is starting to form called iPhone Applications which is a must have bookmark for any iPhone user.

The missing iPhone disclaimer

I am throwing this into the newsletter this week. But I will post it here because I spent too much time writing it.

The Apple iPhone came out this Friday. We have taken the opportunity to write up the disclaimer that should appear on the device, but does not.