Neal Sheeran

Rants, Raves, and Geekery

Mea Culpa

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In the past, I have scoffed Facebook and been proven correct. And I have railed against iPhone hype…and been wrong.

I finally broke down and joined the rest of the lemmings and picked up an iPhone 3G S, on launch day no less. I was sort of intrigued by the whole thing and took a closer look when I knew a new phone itself was coming out, as well the updated 3.0 software. I also qualified for the subsidized $199 price for a 16 GB model.

After almost two months, I have to admit the iPhone is one of the coolest things ever. It really is a revolutionary device, and I rarely ever actually use it as a—you know—phone. Here is a quick, stream-of-consciousness review:

The Awesome

  • Mobile Safari - I was not expecting a web browser this capable. I have surfed the web for hours on the couch with this thing. The ability to manipulate the page with gestures is genius.

  • Visual Voicemail - David Pogue and I are on the same sheet here. Not having to listen to that stupid voicemail menu makes my day.

  • Google Maps + Compass. - I use this all the time.

  • Mail - syncs perfectly with my Gmail account and Mail.app on my PowerMac, thanks to this article. I have also been playing with the iPhone-enabled GMail page from Mobile Safari as a page on the homescreen—well done and in some cases better than Mail (the same Google web item also has links to iPhone-optimized Google Calendar and Reader pages…very well done).

  • WiFi - excellent, as well as the ability to remember networks and auto-connect to them.

The Good

  • The onscreen keyboard is easier to use than I thought, but still takes some getting used to. One thing I miss from my Blackberry is the ability to hold down a letter to get it as a capital.

  • Photos - I don’t take a lot of pictures with it, but I’ve synched a fair amount from my desktop.

  • The App Store - This is like crack cocaine (I’m guessing). I’ve bought lots of useless stuff. And I can’t stop.

The Whatever

  • Voice Control - doesn’t work so hot when I need it to - like driving.

  • Voice Memos - relegated to my last homepage screen along with YouTube and iTunes.

  • Messages - There are legions of ten-year-olds that send more text messages during the walk to social studies then I have in my entire life.

So I stand corrected. The iPhone rules. Standby for a future post about iPhone Apps I use (or don’t).

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