Thursday 30 September 2010

Transitioning to the iPhone

What is it about the iPhone?  Everyone who has one, loves it and talks about it like it is gods gift to the universe.  And everyone who doesn't have one says its because they are crap (to which iPhone users retort 'jealous much?').  As with so many things in this life people seem to have trouble being objective.

For me the iPhone is not exactly the wonderful and miraculous device that other iPhone users had painted.  So far I have had a few issues some major and some minor.

1.  The keypad is a pain in the butt to type with.  I used to do all of my blogging from the blackberry, in fact I used to write 2 page documents from my blackberry.  The idea of trying to type anything of any quality on the iPhone sends me into sweats.  Sure I think that in time I will get used to it but so far the transition has not been seamless.

2. The iPhone doesn't have the capability to change ring profiles.  This means that without going into settings and a few other spots and flicking switches off I can't have the phone be silent except for the ringer.  Now for you it might not be an issue but for me its rather a large issue. At the moment I am on call for a birth so I need to be able to have my phone on for phone calls all night but make no other sounds.  What I have to do at the moment is turn off all the other tones at night and then turn them all back on in the morning.

3.  There is no easy way to change your ring tone.  On my blackberry I can load an MP3 and then select it as my new ring tone.  With the iPhone I can go through a 10 step process to create a new ring tone and do that every time I want a new one.

4.  Without jail breaking my iPhone I can't make my own SMS tones or change any other tones on the phone.  What Apple seems to have missed is how much people like to personalise their phones.  They have simplified the device a few steps too far.

5.   When I am on the phone the touch screen often wigs out.  This means that I accidentally hit speaker or call another person or it hangs up or (and possibly worst) it accidentally tries to video call people.  This is annoying if I'm on the phone to friends and just terrible if I'm on the phone for work.

So, so far these are the things that are bugging me about the iPhone.  Now ask me if I regret getting it .... and the answer is an unequivocal NO!!

There are so many things that are fun, groovy and just damn beautiful about the iPhone that most of the time it is an absolute pleasure to use.  Not to mention that fun, practical and super cool apps that are available.  There is Angry Birds and Hipstamatic, Flixter and free comic books, photo editing and zombie killing.  It has become my camera, my iPod, my phone, my email, my facebook, my games console, my internet, my calendar and contacts, and my book/comic reader all in one.  All in all there is so much fun to have with the iPhone that after only a month I wouldn't know what to do without it.  

So first I want to share the video that dad sent me when I was looking at buying an iPhone.  And then I'm going to share a few of the latest photos I have taken using my iPhone 4 and a few free apps.  Sure they aren't the most amazing photos in the universe .... but then what does your phone do? *grin* 










2 comments:

funkylamb said...

I couldn't really justify an iphone when I've got a ipod touch and a perfectly good phone but I have coveted one and don't feel the need to pooh-pooh them. That said, the hipstamatic thing really irritates me as it has taken something beautiful and random and (frankly) tricky and made it ubiquitous. Actually, more than that, it annoys me that the photos are so low-res. I'm sure I would get over it if I had it on my phone though... ;)

Buffy Stun-Hers said...

Abu but see you are like me a few months ago. I wanted an iPhone but had an iPod and my blackberry so couldn't justify one. But ohh I wanted one. I wanted to play with that camera. Use the games. Get the free apps etc etc.

I agree with you about the photos but then I feel the same about Photoshop and such. No longer do you become a photographer by taking great shots and knowing your stuff in a darkroom. Sure you still need to know how to compose a beautiful picture but anything that is missed could be added later on. But yeah I'm loving adding weird little touches to my own photos. :)

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