iPhone, therefore iAm
I finally caved. I resisted buying an iPhone for so long. My father worked for Verizon, so I felt I had to contribute to his job security. Verizon has better coverage and faster data speeds where I live. Most of my friends use Verizon so minutes and texts were all free. My father recently retired, however, so one less reason to stay faithful. The final straw was when my poor old first-generation LG Chocolate got to the point of completely uselessness. For a few months the touch-sensitive buttons would act up now and then, constantly redialing the last person I called, or randomly sending a text message I hadn't finished typing yet. But, a couple weeks ago, the earpiece speaker died. I had to use speakerphone to hold a conversation, not the most convenient way to use a cell phone, and anyone sitting near me in a restaurant didn't like it either. I could have re-upped my contract, gotten a discounted phone from Verizon, and gone about my life, but I took this as my opportunity to jump ship.
Like anything else, the iPhone has it's pluses and minuses. A perfect example of it's usefulness: Tuesday during lunch I remember I need to schedule an eye doctor appointment. I launch the map application and it drops a pin right where I'm sitting at the restaurant. I type in my doctor's name in the search bar, and it drops a pin down the street where his office is. I click on the pin and it shows me his name, address, website URL, and phone number. Click on the phone number and it makes the call. After I make the appointment, I enter it into the calendar in my phone, and through the wonder of MobileMe it instantly syncs to my desktop and laptop. Amazing! Apps are great too, lots to play with, and having music, movies, games etc make it easy to kill time while you're in the waiting room for that doctor's appointment. Through the wonders of MobileMe (IMAP) mail I have every e-mail message I've ever written on my phone, and anything I do stays synced with my two other computers. The auto-correction on the keyboard is great too. My first few text messages watching me type was like watching a baby deer take it's first steps. But I have no realized I don't have to be exact at all, the iPhone auto-corrects me, it knows what I want to say. Scary!
Downsides? Coverage would be the biggest thing, first no 3g here in Blacksburg. It took me a little bit to get things set up just how I wanted them. My biggest deal is mail-checking. If you look at my review for the Curve that was my biggest beef. It took me a while to get it set right, but now my iPhone only checks my e-mail when I launch the Mail application. Everything else (Contacts, Calendars, Bookmarks) all sync automatically. Another problem is the inability to set your own ringtone for SMS messages. You can make anything a ringtone and use it for phone calls, but you're stuck with the 8 or so tones for a new SMS message that came on the phone. I'm also on a search for the perfect iPhone case, I've yet to find it.
iPhone cases: so far I've read about a lot, bought and tried two. First up, I tried a CapsuleRebel from SwitchEasy. Seemed like a sweet design, so I ordered it before I even ordered the phone, knowing most companies were backordered on cases. It case a week before, so I got to stare at the empty case while I waited. Two problems immediately: the case was semi-rigid, enough that the pressure of holding the side would activate the volume switch. I remedied this by cutting out the silicon over the volume switch, this seems to be working well for now. (Click on any of these pics for larger versions)
This case came with a dock insert too, which was nice, I prefer charging a device in a dock, easy than plugging a cable in and pulling it out daily. The second case I tried was a JamJacket by DLO. A simple, to-the-point case, which I bought after having my initial trouble with the CapsuleRebel to try something different. The only problem I had with this case was the mute button hole. It was so small and deep there's no way I could actually flip the switch.
I'm currently back to using the CapsuleRebel, but one word of caution. The back plastic scratches easily, as in here's what mine looks like after 2 days in my back pocket:
You'd think my pants were made of sandpaper to do that in a couple days, but I assure you they are not. So, my quest for the perfect case continues. If you know of any good ones let me know.
