A Month with my iPhone

Now that I’ve been using my iPhone for exactly a month, here are some more thoughtful thoughts, in icon display order:

  • SMS: Don’t need it. Don’t like it. Don’t want to pay for the SMS messages. Why not allow a tcp/ip REAL chat application; iChat at least, and preferably something cross platform? (As an aside, why not a chat standard based on an RFC?)
  • Calendar: I would like to be able to e-mail appointments to someone so they can incorporate them into their calendar. Additionally, I’d like to be able to add .ics files right to my calendar from the iPhone. Generally, though, I very much like the calendar app. It is easy to add new appointments. Once I figured out how, it’s been painless to synch back and forth between my iPhone and Entourage.
  • Photos: I like the photo app. I’ve removed (most) of the photos in my wallet, now that I can keep so many more on my iPhone.
  • Camera: I know, it’s 2 megapixels, and doesn’t shoot well in the dark. But it’s good enough.
  • YouTube: Nice, but not an app I use all that often. I like being able to bookmark videos, but I wish I could view older content not yet encoded with the new Apple approved codecs.
  • Stocks: Interesting. I’m not a big stock watcher, but I was able (with some sleuthing) to add the major indices. I do think they should update the widget so I can get a daily view of the Japanese and London markets. Right now, the only time period the widget will show during the day are the hours the US market is open. Silly, and it ought to be changed.
  • Maps: They rock. We used them while on our trip East, navigating between family member’s homes, into and out of DC, and to and from Mt. Vernon. They work very well, with the slow Edge networking issue noted above. The iPhone would benefit greatly from an integrated GPS. For that matter, why not allow a connection to an external GPS as a workaround?
  • Weather: Standard Yahoo widget. I wish it would show a bit more info for each day’s forecast. Why not show the current conditions on the widget’s icon?
  • Clock: I like being able to have clocks in different time zones, setting alarms, and using it as a timer and stop watch. Very nice touches. And, as above, why not show the current time on the widget’s icon?
  • Calculator: Not of much use to me. But it could be.
  • Notes: Still waiting to be able to synch notes. I can e-mail notes, but basically, the notes applet is unfinished, and its usefulness is negligible.
  • Settings: Why can’t I choose the sounds I want for different alerts? (For that matter, why not allow me to upload my own sounds?)
  • Phone: I like the big keys for directly dialing a number. Voice dialing would be a nice addition. I’d also like to be able to make and maintain my own ringtones. (Oh, I know I can, and I have, but I don’t want to have to fight Apple everytime they update the software on the iPhone and break my ringtones.)
  • Contacts: I’d like for the contacts app to be a separate application, rather than integrated into the phone app. It makes sense to me to go to contacts, search for my contact, then select the contact to dial the number.
  • Mail: Generally works well. I would like to be able to sort by sender, or subject.
  • Safari: Works well. I like being able to double tap to zoom into and out of a column of text, or a photo. It’d be nice to be able to open links as new windows.
  • iPod: Beautiful. No complaints. Oh, wait - one comment. Why not allow me to be able to change titles and such on the iPhone, as I can on my iPod?
  • Networks/Networking:
    • WiFi: The iPhone, in case the Apple folks hadn’t noticed, supports 802.11 networking. Why not allow me to synch via wireless? Why not allow me to access bookmarks via Rendezvous? Allow me to access my shared iTunes library?
    • Edge: Good enough, but just barely. Accessing maps on the fly driving through Washington DC was painful at best. But it was good enough while driving through suburban Virginia.
  • Things I’d Like to see and do: A real todo list. Cut and paste. An eBook reader that allows me to read html, text, pdf, and some other standard eBook formats. I’d like to be able to mount the iPhone as I can my iPod, so I can transfer files back and forth. I’d like to be able to use it as a mobile presentation device.
  • The Price Drop: While it is true that the technology products drop in price and gain in features/capabilities as time goes by, Apple’s recent $200 price drop was purely marketing, and I think purchasers are justified in feeling taken advantage of. The price drop is in no way related to economies of scale, the introduction of newer unites with expanded capabilities, or any of the usual reasons why companies drop the price of products.
  • Third Party Apps: Apple has totally lost control of this. I have currently 24 native, unofficial applications on my iPhone, about which I may blog later. Apple ought to allow programmers access to the SDK, so they can create native third party applications for the phone. Apple could then distribute those apps through (the increasingly misnamed) iTunes.
  • Finally: I ‘ll cross this bridge when I come to it…but why is the battery SOLDERED IN PLACE!!?!??!

Long story short: There are some shortcomings, but this device is one I don’t forget (as I did my previous cell phone) when I go out. It’s too useful, too cool, and too fun to leave home.

September 10, 2007 | Filed Under Things 

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