Clifton Griffin

I finally made the jump to the heavy weight champion of the smart phone world, the iPhone.  After admiring the device mostly from afar for years, I was slightly concerned that in the end the phone would be unable to live up to the hype.  So far, that has not been the case. In no particular order, here are a few thoughts from my first few days using the phone.  I will be focusing mostly on what I did not expect.

1. It was easier to setup Microsoft Exchange on the iPhone than it is on Windows Mobile.

Which is just pathetic, Microsoft. For some reason, I imagined that setting up exchange was going to be a pain as many 3rd party implementations are, but the process was an absolute breeze. It just worked.

2.  I multi-task better on the iPhone than Windows Mobile.

The iPhone may restrict you to one application at a time, but the fact that virtually all applications open again to the same place you left them mostly hides this.  I have no problems going from app to app…I’m accomplishing more and the fact that the programs are not simultaneously running is insignificant.

3. The battery life is excellent.

If there is a technical spec that seems to be erroneous or blatantly dishonest, it is usually battery life.  I have found the iPhone, specs aside, easily makes it through a whole day of moderate usage.  Considering my HTC Touch Pro could barley make it past 1PM, this is a huge improvement.   I suspect that my overall battery life will decrease by 20% as I use the phone more, but so far…I’m very pleased.

4. Edge is slow, but not that slow.

I can tell I’m not on 3G, but the fact that the actual software is so responsive and quick decreases the effect of the smaller bandwidth.  Plus, the iPhone makes connecting to Wifi natural and effortless, so most of the time I do not have to rely on AT&T for my data at all.  Safari is a speed champ. After using Pocket Internet Explorer and Opera for years, I will gladly give up a little bandwidth.

5.  Typing is really easy, actually.

In the past I have veered away from touch screen only phones because of a lingering suspicion that this would be a more frustrating, more inaccurate way to type. Using HTC’s touch keyboard relieved some of my fears, but in no way did I expect to be this accurate this quickly on the iPhone’s touch keyboard.  The larger screen real estate and extremely accurate auto correction make me much faster than I was on the physical slide out keyboard on the Touch Pro.   That’s pretty cool!

6. Voice quality is fantastic.

Compared to my last two phones, the voice quality on the iPhone is superb.  Even with AT&Ts spotty coverage, I’ve yet to drop a call. (Though I haven’t made many either.)

So there’s six things that I love, how about dislikes? There’s only a few.

1. Apple’s application reviews.
   While there are many apps for the iPhone that have no Windows counter part, there are also some fairly basic ones that are unavailable for the iPhone solely because Apple won’t approve them.  LAME.
2. Noise alerts for new e-mails in subfolders other than my inbox.
   I can’t seem to turn them off.
3. Vibration is a bit difficult to feel in my pocket.
   Though I think it will improve as I get used to the phone.
4. AT&T’s coverage is truly awful.
   Worst I’ve seen in Lynchburg, VA by far.  There are several places in town where I can barely get 1 bar of coverage.

That’s all I can think of at the moment. Overall I love it. I will definitely stick with this phone (and its future updates) if my experience continues to be this positive.