I know there are a ton of iPhone reviews out there for techno nerds alike to consume. Most of the reviews I read were from those claiming to be power-suit, power-tie, power-steering fellows (would they even have the time to write a review among their claimed 400-500 e-mails a day?) Anyhow, here’s some perspective from a dude who, like so many, is struggling between the analog and digital, receives a fair amount of valid e-mails per day and needs order in his or her life.
Throughout my six years in college, my pops has handed me down nifty little Palm devices. I gave them a try (I’m quite proficient with these technological things) and I just didn’t like them nor did they help me retain that order many of us seek. Syncing, PCs, Palm’s interface were all rubbish. It was more more efficient for me to keep at the analog with handwriting due dates, appointments and all that sort.
Well, I still handwrite my appointments since we’re constantly in edit mode and no date is ever written in concrete, but much like my meeting notes to its refined counterpart, I find myself memorizing dates better when writing them down in a book all scribbled out and typing them out (even at my busiest times, transcribing my notes into digital form was always worth the extra time) . Then syncing my iCal to the iPhone is a breeze. Thank you Apple for being firm believers in functional and beautiful design. The interface is friendly, simple and functional. I don’t have to strain to deconstruct the hierarchy of information. It’s all quite plain and clear, beautifully set in Helvetica.
There’s a handful of things Apple needs to address and I am sure they will, seeing that they’re quite responsive to user feedback. Browsing the web is an awesome luxury and it’s seemless (Flash support is on its way). For me, the most important thing is for me to be able to send and receive e-mails, and use the phone. Secondly, Kate and I like traveling and discovering new places and the biggest reason for to have pocketable internet is to look up directions, view maps and Yelp.
All in all, I am extremely pleased to embrace the iPhone. Depsite it’s marketing hype, it really is a helpful little gadget that. I invested about two hours of my life aligning its uses to suit my needs and so far so good. E-mail, internet, iPod, texting. I’m as connected as ever, which kind of sucks, but thank you Airplane Mode for isolation-at-a-click.
Somethings I hope to happen:
8. A headphone adapter that flushes into the iPhones recessed headphone jack
7. Enable Push E-mail for POP e-mail users
6. iChat would be nifty
5. Allow Main Menu customization. I don’t care for Youtube & Stocks
4. Add Address Book to the Main Menu so it’s not 3 clicks into the Phone feature
3. Copy & paste, multiple deletes
2. Custom ringtones (supposedly this is being addressed)
1. Jetpack capabilities
Advice: Never give up the paper and pen.