Last Friday, I was one of the crazies who stood in line for the next big thing… the iPhone. I was in line from nine in the morning until six when they went on sale. Luckily, here in Rogers, there weren’t a lot of people camping out like in New York and I managed to be number three in line. I actually got to meet some great people in line at the AT&T store on Walnut here in Rogers. Here are my thoughts on the iPhone.
Likes:
• The screen - HUGE! By far the best screen on any iPod or cell phone I’ve owned. Great for showing photos or watching movies. I have the screen turned down almost all the way and it still shows just fine!
• The interface - It is so not a cell phone interface. It is so easy to use, it’s ridiculous. The “Home” button is great as it takes you back to the main page at any time.
• Internet - The iPhone has a full version of Safari and you can view complete webpages (not including Flash, but that’s coming). It’s very easy to read and navigate.
• iPod - It really is the best iPod they’ve ever made. The screen allows for great video viewing of my movies and TV shows and the sound quality is superb.
• YouTube videos - If I get bored, I can always search and view videos from YouTube.
• Email - I can view HTML email where my Blackberry couldn’t. All I could see was code and it was annoying.
• Battery life - Better than expected. In my experience, it lasts just as long, if not longer, than what Apple said it would.
• Syncs flawlessly with my Mac. With the Blackberry, I had to use third-party software and it was buggy sometimes. This has worked just fine with iTunes.
Dislikes:
• Email - There is no way to have multiple signatures from within Mail. I’m used to having multiple signatures and the only way I’ve found (thanks Becker!) is to use the Notes function and email that. Not a very efficient way to do it. I would like for the iPhone to sync the signatures from my Mac. I have a sweet signature using CSS and I can’t use it on the iPhone. Also, I wish they could find a way to support PUSH email like the Blackberry.
• Speakerphone is weak! If I ask you to repeat yourself when we’re on the phone, that could be why. Maybe they can fix that with an update.
• No MMS option. I understand that I can email the photo I just took with the camera, but I would like to be able to send that image to someone who doesn’t have access to their email at that time. I don’t see that this will be updated.
• I can’t use my current earphones without an adapter. Apple decided to recess the earphone opening and made it impossible to use some earphones.
• No custom ringtones (yet).
• No file browser (yet). I can’t access my images on the iPhone from within Safari to upload them when I’m browsing. I hear this all will change.
• No way to copy/paste text. This is something I desperately want. Especially if I can’t get multiple email signatures.
Overall, I love the iPhone. Not because it’s another great product by Apple, but because it’s a great product. It is a mini-computer in my pocket. I am able to keep up to date with my family, friends and clients. I also like not having to tote around a phone and an iPod. I have all I need in one device. It was totally worth the wait and money to get this thing. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next!
