SubscribeiPhone Impressions
I took the plunge and bought myself the new 3G iPhone. I've had it about a week, so I wanted to share my impressions with you all.
Why Did I Do It?
For the past 3 years I've been using handed down phones from other people in my company. They were free, but sucky. I decided that I wanted a phone that was suitable to read email and actually be able to respond. I have about 12 gigs of music that I toted around on a 5th gen iPod, and this was an chance to consolidate.
What Do I Like?
First off, the phone looks awesome. I like the design. I like the extra screen real estate that's provided due to the fact that it's touchscreen. Speaking of the touchscreen, I was pleasantly surprised how well the interface works. All of the touch gestures are intuitive and interaction with the phone just works. I haven't gone crazy with the applications, but I have managed to download a couple that are useful.
What I Don't Like
Currently there is a known problem with the current software configuration that will cause 3rd party apps to not startup. At first I thought this was an application problem, but I just realized today that it's something on Apple's end. Steve Jobs says it will be fixed this month, so no big deal there.
What Caught Me Off Guard?
I'm a little annoyed about the battery charging situation with my 3rd party accessories. It turns out that the 3G iPhone won't accept 12v charging that my car charger provides. It will only charge on the 5V pins that you would get from the USB connection. This just means that I have to be extra careful when buying new stuff that it says that it's iPhone 3G compatible.
What Would I Change?
I'm not digging the conversation bubble interface with the texting. I would personally like to see texts in email format. Then it might make sense to allow multimedia messages. I'd love to see something like this be configurable.
Conclusion
At present I'm still very satisfied with my purchase. If the application startup issue gets resolved this month, then I'll be happy. First and foremost, it's a phone. It's been doing that part well for me. I also wanted email, and I've got that. Lastly, I wanted to have it replace my iPod, and it does that for me also. So far, it's fulfilled my needs. Anything else above that is a bonus for me.