So I've had my iPhone for seven months now. At the one month mark, I described the Nine Things I Love About my iPhone. It was probably still the honeymoon phase. Now, six months after my first commentary, I have an update.
- Then: It looks cool.
Now: Yup, it still looks cool. - Then: SMS has become so much easier but the time stamping is messed up.
Now: After seven months, I don't think I completely agree with this anymore. On my old Samsung phone, I could sms with one hand. On the iPhone, it's not as easy to do. It's not impossible, but it's definitely not easier. So if you're always in situations where you can only sms with one hand, the traditional cellphone is much better. The time stamp is still messed up. If I upgrade the software it'll probably fix the problem, but I don't want to mess around with it in case I brick my phone. I used to be really tech savy and wouldn't worry about stuff like that, but in my old age I've become more paranoid and cautious.
- Then: Extremely clear reception.
Now: It's still pretty clear. - Then: It's all-in-one.
Now: It's good and bad. It's good because it means I have tons of information with me all the time. It's bad, because all the information now is in my phone and very little of it is retained in my head. I remember the days when I used to have everyone's phone number and birthday memorized. I had the schedule for several weeks of meetings/deadlines/events in my head. Now, I can't even remember what I'm supposed to do in two hours, let alone what my plans are all week. It might also be related to the fact that I have more things to remember these days than I did when I was seventeen years old, but I'm sure my growing dependency on technology is making it worse. - Then: Custom MP3 ringtones.
Now: This is still an awesome feature. But… it's also a huge time waster. I waste so much time making ringtones. - Then: The screen.
Now: Despite everyone coming out with touchscreen phones, personally, I think the iPhone has the best touchscreen. Maybe I'm biased, but it's fairly sensitive and accurate for a touchscreen that doesn't require a stylus. - Then: The accelerometer.
Now: This is hours of entertainment. Not just for viewing photos, but there are third-party apps that make use of this cool feature. My favourite has to be the Magic 8 Ball. - Then: World clocks.
Now: So I haven't made extensive use of the World Clock feature because I haven't changed time zones since in the last seven months. I have, however, used the stopwatch to time presenters during meetings (and to tell them that they're going over time). I could use any stopwatch for it, but the stopwatch display on the phone is large and clear. It does the job perfectly. - Then: Camera.
Now: The more I play with this, the less I like it. It's not a real camera by any means if you're even remotely interested in photography. It's only good as a novelty to play with, but it's not good for taking photos you wish to print. There are no camera features (though there are third-party apps you could install) like zoom, timer, or manual focus, and you can't change any settings. I only use this camera to take photos of people for call display purposes, photo memos (so I don't have to type in the name of that book I want to buy, I just photograph the cover), and just to be annoying around people who hate having their photo taken. To take real candids, I need to bring a real camera.
Conclusion Then: The iPhone isn't perfect. For example, it could stand to have better games, fix up the timestamp issue on SMS, actually read data off the SIM card, and enable Bluetooth data transfer. Yet, for a first generation product, it does fare extremely well in terms of primary functionality. It's got all the base features of most all-in-ones, and the performance of these features is far superior to the iPhone's competition. I'm extremely happy with my iPhone right now and would recommend it to anyone.
Conclusion Now: After six more months of playing with the phone, my verdict hasn't changed much. I have better games now because I installed some third party apps. It's probably my own fault that the timestamp is still and issue with SMS. There are third party apps to read off the SIM, but nothing to solve the Bluetooth problem. But if the phone was really a failure, I wouldn't feel like my head was missing on the days I forget to bring my phone with me. The battery life could be better but I don't think it's that different from other MP3 phones (though I've heard varying stories from fantastic to crap about the battery on all different kinds of MP3 phones). It's a good phone, and I'd still recommend it to anyone.
Note to Rogers and Apple: Just work out a deal and bring the iPhone to Canada, because this is the sort of toy that lots of Canadians would love to have. I'm serious. Find a compromise and just get the damned thing over here. You'll make tons of money regardless, so quite being greedy, political and stubborn.
