Yes, I’m one of the lucky ones - I got an iPhone. (For my birthday, no less - thanks to everybody in the family who contributed!). I gave it a couple of days before writing about it so I could have at least some idea if it’s all it’s supposed to be.
And yes, so far it’s been a great device for me. Let me warn you, though: It is not for the business people who truly need a constant e-mail stream. The iPhone is decent when it comes to mail, it supports push (via Yahoo! IMAP), but it’s not something for people getting large quantities of mail throughout the day. (Although if you really need e-mail every second, you might want to re-evaluate your life.)
It is squarely aimed at casual users who want a phone that is a pleasure to use. Yes, it misses some features like GPS - but it does the job of keeping you connected amazingly well. Not to mention all the attention to detail that makes it a thoroughly enjoyable phone - it reports where an area code is located for phone numbers without contact info. If two contacts share the same phone number, it shows call as a call from “Person A or Person B”, and much more. Sad as it may be, the iPhone is the first phone that makes me happy when I use it.
As for the keyboard - it is working fine for me. There are few secrets to making it easier to use the iPhone keyboard.
Number one, you have to trust the prediction. Don’t go back and correct typos - the auto correction usually gets what you’re saying. Second, use slightly longer words - it gives the autocorrection more to go on. (I.e. ‘utilize’ instead of ‘use’, etc.)
Third, find your optimal touch point for keys. Even though you might think you put your finger squarely on a button, keep in mind the tip of your finger is round - it is likely that your fingers hit the screen off-center first, before making more contact. For me, that means touching the upper left of a key instead - it will pretty much always hit the right key.
Experiment with it - you will find your optimal touch point fairly soon. Just look at what characters come up if you miss, and move slightly in the opposite direction.
Oh, and if you’re fond of contractions, try leaving out the apostrophe. The auto correction will fix it for you. “Youre” becomes “You’re”, etc. The one excpetion is “it’s” - you need to double the trailing s to “itss” - that way, you can still use the possessive form properly. (Did I mention attention to detail?)
Phone, mail, web, and calendar are really the main applications. Safari is an excellent browser - the only recommendation is not to open too many tabs. Going beyond six tabs seems to markedly increase the crash rate. But having a full web browser on a phone is a great tool.
Then there are some applications that are just pure entertainment. YouTube is a marvelous thing - my friends and I spent half an evening at a bar yesterday night sharing personal YouTube favorites. The same goes for the iPod part, especially movies. The display is unbelievably crisp - it is fun to watch videos on it.
Google Maps is Google Maps - except for the fact that the touch interface gives it a decidedly “Minority Report”-ish feeling, especially in Satellite View. You have to experience it to really get the satisfaction from handling maps by touch. I could watch L.A. satellite pics for hours….
Of course, there are a few downs - the camera, for example, is pretty much a kids toy. The only tip here is to keep your finger on the snapshot button. For strange reasons, the iPhone snaps a pic when you release the button. It makes it slightly easier to snap a good picture. (It’s still a bad CCD sensor. Hope for improvements)
Notes is another forgettable application - I recommend you use Jott instead. (See my previous article on Jott).
All in all though, it is a great phone/web device. After having used it for a few days, I can safely say that it’s the best one I ever had, and yes, I’d buy it again.
thanks for this post! I was tired of reading blogs focused on the negative and ONLY the negative about the iPhone. I don’t have one yet but post like yours are making me highly considering it. Thanks a ton! Oh…kudos on the recommendation on Jott. KILLER app and I’ve been wondering if Jott was just AMAZING with the iPhone because you can have access to your jotts via email anytime! Killer app i tell ya!