DISQUS

John Wang · 11 months ago

"iPhone or no phone!!!!" Very glad I made the switch. I skipped out on the 1st gen model as I was still under contract with Verizon. Luckily my contracted ended 2 weeks before the new 3G model came out. I definitely camped it out. And I'm very glad I did.

Mona N. · 11 months ago

You made a wise decision and I wish I had your smarts. We are fans for a reason - the iPhone IS near perfect. And I do not blame "the rest" for calling us a cult. Because as many phones as I have used, I can confidently say: "iPhone or no phone" Period.

jinkhet · 11 months ago

I actually bought the 1st gen and waited in line for the 2nd gen iPhone. I haven't been disappointed with either of those decisions. Other than the occasional bit of nonsense from Apple, as technology, the iPhone is nearly perfect and certainly the best of that crowd imo. ENJOY!

Mona N. · 11 months ago

Really? The 1st gen didn't do it for me. Without native apps, there was no point in having a faux multi tasking phone, since there is no push and background processing. Manually retrieving my mail = pain - and when I speed tested side by side, my Curve got mail faster than my computer! But this goes back to what Ron T was saying: for business use, RIM is the king!

jinkhet · 11 months ago

damn - discus got a little confused... the previous, "context-free" comment was in reply to this :-P

Vinko · 11 months ago

I totally agree with you Mona. Having used many mobile phones myself and an early adopter. I too agree that the iPhone is amazing.

Yes, the iPhone does not have many of the features already available in previous generation "smartphones", but how many of these smartphone are praised and loved by so many of its users as the iPhone. Most of all used by users of all ages and technical skilled levels.

Apple has its ways of doing things and being a long time (27 years) Apple product fan I can attest to its careful calculated release of functionalities and features for its products. Whenever Apple release a piece of software or hardware, in most cases, its intended audiences are from the three year old to the 80 year old and everyone in between. So Apple cannot afford to release too many features all at once to mess up the user experience.

Mona N. · 11 months ago

Thanks for the Apple tidbit - 27 years is indeed a long time! All hail the brain behind the plan - Jobs ftw.

Mark Krynsky · 11 months ago

Having never owned a smartphone, I had recently waited patiently over the last few months for the release of the G1 and the Blackberry Storm to then decide between those and an iPhone 3G. A friend got the G1 which I played with and wasn't too impressed. It could be great in the future, but not ready yet IMHO. Then I got my hands on a Storm. It didn't help that the demo model I used seemed to have tons of bugs and issues, but overall I really didn't like the keyboard.

So after much waiting and indecision I chose the iPhone and have been extremely happy I did. Overall it's an amazing device. My biggest issues are lack of portrait mode for the keyboard (app available which I haven't tried yet), No video streaming (I don't want to Jailbreak), and phone coverage is spotty compared by my previous Verizon phone.

But it still doesn't matter. It's still an amazingly great phone that I am very happy with. I am also slowly drinking the Kool Aid. I had avoided Apple products over the last few years primarily due to the overblown fanboyism and MS bashing from much of the user base which really put me off. I think that's simmered a bit and I've also been playing with a Macbook, using OS X and trying out some Mac Apps. There's a chance I will make the switch for work as a test case and see what happens. I'll keep you posted.

P.s. I'm also about to get an Apple TV just to run XBMC and Boxee ;)

Mona N. · 11 months ago

Mark - this is your first Smart Phone and you can STILL tell how good it is? As for the keyboard, I am QWERTY fan, have been since my first Treo. When Palm came out with the Tungsten (wow, throwback), I could NOT get used to the input method - well tbo, it sucked. Compared to that, I can jam on the stock iphone keyboard like nobody's business LOL. And I agree, the coverage is a little spotty (voice) but I barely pick up my phone anyway haha!

Thanks for the thorough and informative feedback. You rule.

cipals15 · 11 months ago

I don't really like using gadgets because after several months. You won't like using it anymore unless there are new features every month.

Mona N. · 11 months ago

These days, firmware upgrades include new features and functions, and the native apps for the iphone are so. much. fun. If that is the only reason you're holding back, you are missing out, cipals15!

Louis Gray · 11 months ago

So your recommendation would be never to buy anything because they are
going to continually be updated, and therefore yours is outdated?

Ron T · 11 months ago

I have several employees who have iPhones and I am supportive, but I have to say these are the guys that lose connection when we are talking and have the harder time responding to email online vs. the others in my group who have Blackberry's. So for personal use I will bow to the iPhone, for work, I still think the Blackberry is king.

Mona N. · 11 months ago

That is a great point, Ron, and I absolutely agree. RIM's messaging/push system is PHENOMENAL. Plus, it enables me to stay online, at all times, and has a native Gtalk app (the iPhone doesn't have). I just hope they don't lose their focus and keep improving for enterprise use, more so than a multi media 'fun' phone.

Wow, you brought up a really good point I shouldn't have left out. Thanks for the comment.

Louis Gray · 11 months ago

Ron, aren't you the same guy who bragged about how many unopened e-
mails you always had in your in box? Sounds like we need to keep
training you how to stay on top in tech. The BlackBerry's time has
come and gone.

Rutger Blom · 11 months ago

Great article Louis. I bought an iPhone 3G for just three days ago and I am too blown away. It's a beautiful device fulfilling a lot of my mobile phone dreams (except for the camera which is crap).

Mona N. · 11 months ago

This was written by me, Rutger. Mona...

Louis Gray · 11 months ago

That's one of the downsides of the URL. Your name was called out before and after, so we'll have to get better about highlighting the author.

Vinko · 11 months ago

Hi Louis,

I really like some of the features you have on your blog, would love to know the plugins you're using to achieve that. Is this a WordPress blog? Are you achieving these functionalities via plugins you've created?

Louis Gray · 11 months ago

Vinko, as of today, louisgray.com is based on Blogger. I don't use any
plugins. I do have customized scripts from a number of sites, but no
plug-ins.

Vinko · 11 months ago

Hi Louis,

I am particularly interested in the script that produce the FriendFeed status box below your post.

Louis Gray · 11 months ago

The FriendFeed status box is a Yahoo! Pipes script developed by Pat
Hawks.

Pat Hawks · 11 months ago

You can learn all about the FriendFeed Comment Script at http://www.pathawks.com/2008/06/friendfeed-comm...

nrek · 11 months ago

One of these days, I'm going to find myself getting a Family Plan to use the iPhone extensively as to rightfully justify my Nokia addiction. There are things the iPhone can do (two) that most phones can't - but there are are about a dozen things it can't - that people (if they cared about gadgets) would love if they had them on the iPhone.

I'm not going to start some judgmental flame war about preference, that's to everyone's own choosing. But until the iPhone gets two of those dozen things - I'll wait to compare, until then - it's otherwise unfair. 1. Data over Bluetooth -- 2. Video with a non-shit 2mp camera

Mona N. · 11 months ago

2 I completely understand but Bluetooth is disagree. I've watched Bluetooth try to catch on since 2002 in the US and it is just not the standard - unless you are a Nokia/Palm person. Beaming was good (in theory) but there's no point when we can email. Plus, as more sites and services move towards Clouds, we (consumers) will no longer need to shell out extra $$ for memory expansion. Storing data online FTW.

nrek · 11 months ago

Bluetooth data (and stereo bluetooth) is a must for anyone that wants the use of a music/data/smart device... especially the iPhone's mono-audio output for handsfree only. WTF? I says. It's an iPod, stereo BT audio just makes logical sense. The only reason Apple didn't include data BT is to covet their DRM/MP3 whatever from being shared effortlessly. Even using WIndows Mobile & syncing over Bluetooth is a much better alternative than USB or transferring over 3G/HSDPA to wherever.

Mona N. · 11 months ago

Streaming, Enrique. STREAMING. Plus Pandora and last.fm have native iPhone apps. Soon there will be no need to locally store mp3s. And again, back to the omission of memory expansion = saving $$. Mono-audio doesn't bother me. I don't have the "Nokia habit" of utilizing my phone as a musical device. Never have, never will. That's what I have my iPods for anyway. ;)

nrek · 11 months ago

Have you seen Internet Radio on the N96? I agree, streaming is great... which is why Qik.com & HSDPA are great (Nokia apps). I've never owned an iPod or a mini point & shoot, so the N95's music player & 5megapixel camera (video too) are the win win when it comes to hardware superiority.

Mona N. · 11 months ago

Clearly we use phones for different purposes lol. My phone is for Internetting / soc net / mobile browsing on the go. And for my purposes, the iPhone is perfect. Especially since I'm not into the hunting and pecking UI.

nrek · 11 months ago

Contribution vs. Consumption :P that's the difference between being an iPhone user & an N-series user.

Martha · 11 months ago

Oh, this was great to read. I still am wavering slightly but heavily leaning toward iPhone 3G. Still unsure of it as a hardcore business phone. But not that unsure.

Mona N. · 11 months ago

It's too early to be a hardcore business phone - especially since there's not push (yet) If you exchange massive amounts of emails, communicate wiht your colleagues online (meaning you have a need for an IM client to be up 24/7)... wait I am totally repeating myself Martha! I responded on FF. REDUNDANCY FAIL! haha

Louis Gray · 11 months ago

I couldn't justify being an iPhone user until they fully supported
Exchange. Now, the iPhone supports Exchange mail, calendars and
contacts. It does VPN as well. There's virtually no reason you can't
ditch whatever cell phone you are on at the office and get an iPhone
instead.

jinkhet · 11 months ago

haha Yeah, no native apps was definitely a pain. Lets just say that by the time the 2nd gen was finally released, it was an object of intense craving and lust for me :-)

Mona N. · 11 months ago

And I FINALLY see the light!

Joaquin · 11 months ago

I have an iphone and I love a lot of its features. But I'm dieing to see what the next windows mobile will bring to the table. Although I like apple's products, I'm a bit of an apple hater due to its consumer practices.

Mona N. · 11 months ago

Whoa - I thought you were going to harp on me about not specifying that the differences are with the firmware and not the actual hardware. What a pleasant surprise! That said - please don't tell me you're one of those "Zunephone" conspiracy theorists? Danger + Microsoft = no thank you. And WinMo = FAIL. Sorry, but they've been in the game over 10 years? TIME'S UP!

Louis Gray · 11 months ago

It's odd to see someone "dying" to see the next wave of Windows
mobile. As for being an Apple hater, sorry to hear that! I think they
do a lot for the industry at large, even if you're not a Mac person.

Boiarski · 11 months ago

Wisdom can come late and be even wiser.

cheap domain names · 7 months ago

thats how technology is. it just changes day to day and you have update. thats why microsoft
or apple will never go out of business.