3Door4G wrote:
So my phone's about to die, and it's becoming clear to me that I need to bite the bullet and get a smart phone.
I'm going to be at several car shows and events over spring time, and I really need a way to update/edit my blog, post live tweets, post pictures etc. I need to do this while I'm out.
I've looked around at reviews for several phones, and although an iPhone was not my first choice, it seems like it has the best multimedia and browser applications.
Does anyone own one? What do they think? What about other phones that compare?
We bought them just before New Year. In my case it replaced a Palm Treo and for my wife it replaced a Palm and separate mobile. We eventually took the plunge because we are Mac desktop users, and Palm has long ago abandoned Macintosh users. If you are a Windows user you are going to have to download and use the Win version of iTunes in order to sync and manage your phone, which can be annoying. You can Jailbreak it to get away from this but that involves its own set of issues.
If you get one, spring for the 3GS with maximum available RAM (32gb as of writing). The purchase cost of the phone is a minimal part of the actual cost of ownership and you will regret not spending the extra hundred or two up front. As of this writing I believe only the 3GS has GPS which is one of the great joys of the phone.
Overall it's a great piece of kit, though I have to say, it has some flaws and weaknesses. The included To Do list is virtually useless - frankly I'm appalled at how bad it truly is. I can't even begin to imagine why Apple released it this way in this day and age. Luckily there are a large variety of 3rd party apps to cover that, most of which cost $5 or less. The Calendar is hugely better than the To Do list but still not as good as it could easily be. A number of the major information sources like Wikipedia have iPhone-specific front end apps that adapt to the small screen very well.
The integration of the whole thing is quite good and it works flawlessly for picking up email and webbing. The onscreen keyboard works well and has a fantastic autocorrect routine that not only corrects most fumbles but can be used seamlessly to increase typing speed by completing words for you.
It takes good pictures, too, though the camera settings are very basic. And I've got free or cheap apps that will do everything from keeping and organizing my shopping lists to ordering a pizza from the closest pizza parlor to providing realtime speedtrap locations based on user input. I even have the X-plane flight simulator on it.
