After 3 Months, I'm Still In Love

[Amblinman]

It's been three months since I purchased my iPhone, and I've grown more and more enamored with my newest assistant. Now that I'm fully comfortable with the phone and all of its features, here's my 0.02 worth:

1.) The keyboard is fantastic. I'm tired of people continually taking shots at the device's keyboard (even the Time piece naming it Invention of the Year makes a crack). The keyboard is far more comfortable and easy to type on than most qwertys. I type as fast if not faster, with my iPhone than I did with my BlackBerry. And with fewer mistakes! I've gotten so comfortable, I don't even care if they ever offer landscape typing for email. And I have fat fingers, so for me to say this is pretty impressive.

2.) EDGE really isn't that bad. Yes, I'd prefer 3G. However, I've noticed that if my reception is good (which is pretty much everywhere in the section of NorCal that I live and work), surfing the web is actually pretty fast. Most of the time I have access to WiFi, so I really don't notice the lack of 3G. But the times I'm forced to use EDGE, I honestly don't recall too much frustration over speed. And the practical stuff I use the device for when i'm out and about - Google Maps, Fandango, weather, sports scores, - is pretty speedy.

3.) It *is* a good phone, dammit! Another lazy comment continually made about the device is that it's a crappy cell phone. I couldn't disagree more. Granted, this has as much to do with reception in your area as anything else, but everything being equal I can say this is easily the best cell phone I've ever used, especially for a GSM phone. The voice clarity is great. The call features are really easy to access and use. Is there anyone who doesn't absolutely love Visual Voicemail?

4.) Yes, it really is the best iPod ever made. I don't think I have to go into this one.

Now all of this isn't to say the phone can't stand some improvement. All the usual suspects make my list - copy/paste, 3G, MMS, etc. Although 3G, again, just doesn't seem that big a deal to me anymore. Especially because I believe that a 3G data plan will be more expensive than the current package offered.

All in all, Apple has sold me on the iPhone for at least the next couple of generations. I cannot imagine going to another smartphone.

 

[devilot]

3.) It *is* a good phone, dammit! Another lazy comment continually made about the device is that it's a crappy cell phone. I couldn't disagree more. Granted, this has as much to do with reception in your area as anything else, but everything being equal I can say this is easily the best cell phone I've ever used, especially for a GSM phone.

Sorry, I can't let this slide.

I whole-heartedly disagree. I think it's got lackluster reception as a cell phone. Both of my parents use AT&T as well and we move about the same areas and yet they get much better reception with their phones in the exact same spots than I do w/ the iPhone! (His is a Blackberry Pearl, hers is some Sony Ericsson.)

Also in terms of having the generic "features" or functions of a "typical" cell phone, I think the iPhone has shortcomings. Like being unable to delete single text messages. And similarly, being unable to delete single calls from the call log. Why must it be "Clear all" or nothing? There are lousy 8 year-old cells that have these "features."

 

[SRSound]

1.) The keyboard is fantastic. I'm tired of people continually taking shots at the device's keyboard (even the Time piece naming it Invention of the Year makes a crack). The keyboard is far more comfortable and easy to type on than most qwertys. I type as fast if not faster, with my iPhone than I did with my BlackBerry. And with fewer mistakes! I've gotten so comfortable, I don't even care if they ever offer landscape typing for email. And I have fat fingers, so for me to say this is pretty impressive.

How long did it take you to get used to it? I tried a couple of times in the store but couldnt get the hang of it.

 

[chicagdan]

1.) The keyboard is fantastic; 2.) EDGE really isn't that bad; 3.) It *is* a good phone, dammit!; 4.) Yes, it really is the best iPod ever made. I don't think I have to go into this one.

Agree wholeheartedly with 1-3. The keyboard is great. You just have to learn to keep going after you make mistakes, it almost always works out with a space bar hit. EDGE isn't bad at all, especially if you live in a city (Chicago for instance) where Wi-Fi is everywhere and EDGE is needed only to maintain 24-7 e-mail. The phone is really good, especially the integration with address book.

Disagree strongly with 4, though. I think the iPod function sucks ... overly complicated and it crashes on me a lot. When a song goes into landscape (and it's not so easy to get it out) you lose most of the play options. I hoped iPhone would mean never having to carry an iPod again ... but I've already given up on that hope. I love the old school iPod (Classic, as they call it now.)

 

[Sobe]

How long did it take you to get used to it? I tried a couple of times in the store but couldnt get the hang of it.

the key is to just keep typing. Charge ahead and it seems to just work out.

 

[Amblinman]

How long did it take you to get used to it? I tried a couple of times in the store but couldnt get the hang of it.

Probably a week, give or take.

About some of the disagreements so far - what can I say? My experience with the reception and clarity has been fantastic.

To the poster that said his phone crashes when he uses the iPod - I haven't had that issue once. And I've used the iPod while browsing many times, never had a crash.

Perhaps I've been extraordinarily lucky so far with the phone.

 

[cjmal]

1. Agree, ive actually gotten used to the keyboard and can type pretty fast on it now.

2. EDGE isn't unbearable, but it's pretty bad. Even when im around wi-fi browsing seems pretty slow.

3. Agreed, best cell phone i've ever used too. I used to hate going through my contacts on other phones because all my previous phones had sloooooow UIs, scrolling through the contacts on the iPhone is awesome.

4. I wish I could agree. As far as music, agreed, but it's impossible to take advantage of the video playback feature on the iPod when your screen looks like complete crap while watching videos. I really prefer watching video on my old 5g, a time when there were no negative effect issues.

 

[Jade Cambell]

It's been three months since I purchased my iPhone, and I've grown more and more enamored with my newest assistant. Now that I'm fully comfortable with the phone and all of its features, here's my 0.02 worth:

1.) The keyboard is fantastic. I'm tired of people continually taking shots at the device's keyboard (even the Time piece naming it Invention of the Year makes a crack). The keyboard is far more comfortable and easy to type on than most qwertys. I type as fast if not faster, with my iPhone than I did with my BlackBerry. And with fewer mistakes! I've gotten so comfortable, I don't even care if they ever offer landscape typing for email. And I have fat fingers, so for me to say this is pretty impressive.

2.) EDGE really isn't that bad. Yes, I'd prefer 3G. However, I've noticed that if my reception is good (which is pretty much everywhere in the section of NorCal that I live and work), surfing the web is actually pretty fast. Most of the time I have access to WiFi, so I really don't notice the lack of 3G. But the times I'm forced to use EDGE, I honestly don't recall too much frustration over speed. And the practical stuff I use the device for when i'm out and about - Google Maps, Fandango, weather, sports scores, - is pretty speedy.

3.) It *is* a good phone, dammit! Another lazy comment continually made about the device is that it's a crappy cell phone. I couldn't disagree more. Granted, this has as much to do with reception in your area as anything else, but everything being equal I can say this is easily the best cell phone I've ever used, especially for a GSM phone. The voice clarity is great. The call features are really easy to access and use. Is there anyone who doesn't absolutely love Visual Voicemail?

4.) Yes, it really is the best iPod ever made. I don't think I have to go into this one.

Now all of this isn't to say the phone can't stand some improvement. All the usual suspects make my list - copy/paste, 3G, MMS, etc. Although 3G, again, just doesn't seem that big a deal to me anymore. Especially because I believe that a 3G data plan will be more expensive than the current package offered.

All in all, Apple has sold me on the iPhone for at least the next couple of generations. I cannot imagine going to another smartphone.

I agree that EDGE is great in spots of good reception. In fact, in spots of good reception it's alot better than many Wi-Fi networks, seriously.

Now, since the antenna is in a black plastic casing at the bottom of the phone, the reception is worse than other cell phones. When you're in a spot of poor reception, just flip the phone upside down, and watch your reception gain a bar or two. Completely rediculous and stupid on Apple's part.

But otherwise I agree with what you say.

 

[dangleheart]

3.) It *is* a good phone, dammit! Another lazy comment continually made about the device is that it's a crappy cell phone. I couldn't disagree more. Granted, this has as much to do with reception in your area as anything else, but everything being equal I can say this is easily the best cell phone I've ever used, especially for a GSM phone. The voice clarity is great. The call features are really easy to access and use. Is there anyone who doesn't absolutely love Visual Voicemail?

I am also as high on the iPhone as you are but I have to disagree with the above observation. I suffer from dual problems. One is AT&T reception and the other is iPhone itself. Let me focus on the latter.

a) Voice fidelity. Surprizingly, the voice fidelity is not that good. There are atleast ten occasions when I could not recognize the voice of the person I called. This has never happened to me before. It is quite screwey. It does not happen often enough for me to convince AT&T or Apple that there is a problem. I have called them both. But when it happened, I was going wtf. It is not the reception itself since there were no static and it was a clear connection. There is some issue with the CODEC. I do not know where the problem is: On the Iphone or AT&T.

b) The UI to get to the phone features. This is a pet peeve of mine. I have several issues with it.

1) It is just too many steps to make a phone call with the keypad.
2) It is just too many steps to make a phone call even from the favorites list
3) The touch concept does not work for me in a couple of scenarios. With my previous cell phones, I can dial with my left hand: Flip and dial either through the keypad or through the contacts however clumsy those phones are. It is very hard for me to do. It may be the orientation of my touch with the left hand fingers or something. I can not even slide it consistently to unlock it on first try with just the left hand.
4) Continuing with the above, dialing while driving is just next to impossible for me, though I try to do that only if it is absolutely necessary.
5) Once or twice, I have accidentally dialed a number as I just hung up on one call and I was holding the phone in one hand and opening the door to my house. May the the favorites screen was on at that time. I had some explaining to do as to why I called but did not speak ;-)
6) My ears dial the digits sometimes annoying the other party. When this happens, I have to press tha 'Hide Keyboard' button.
7) Because of all this, I am a bit nervous about this touch thing that I may accidentally touch something and unpredictable things may happen.

Each one is probably silly, but when combined it makes for a less than ideal cell phone experience.

But I can not live without the iPhone, having gotten used to all its features in the past 3 months.

 

[anti-microsoft]

I love the iPhone, don't get me wrong, but why can it not be open to ALL carriers?? and way can't we have pay as you go deals?????

Apple, sometimes I do not understand...

 

[ghostshadow777]

It's been three months since I purchased my iPhone, and I've grown more and more enamored with my newest assistant.

Spoken like a true fanboi. I am with ya, brotha.

I hated the keyboard when I tried it in store, but after a few days, it's no problem at all. Best iPod, best cell phone, best PDA I've ever owned.

 

[metoo6000]

I love the iPhone, don't get me wrong, but why can it not be open to ALL carriers?? and way can't we have pay as you go deals?????

Apple, sometimes I do not understand...

We still don't know whether or not O2 offer PAYG on the launching day.
Let's just fingers cross....

 

[Jshwon]

4. I wish I could agree. As far as music, agreed, but it's impossible to take advantage of the video playback feature on the iPod when your screen looks like complete crap while watching videos. I really prefer watching video on my old 5g, a time when there were no negative effect issues.

Depends on the phone. It sucks that some iPhones have this issue. I had two but finally got a hold of a "072" lcd and let me tell you the screen is beautiful. I watch video/movies all the time. So to me it IS the best iPod ever.

 

[chr1s60]

I agree with pretty much everything you have said. My biggest disagreement is over the iPod. To be honest, I am not too impressed with it. It is the coolest looking iPod ever and I enjoy the coverflow interface, but it is not the best iPod ever. I have no iPod games, I can only hold 8GB of my music, and there really is no feature on it that makes it so much better than any other iPod other than the fact that it is on an iPhone. To be the best iPod ever, I would expect some new features and games.

I know you are getting a lot of crap over calling the iPhone a good phone and I don't fully understand all arguments. My biggest complaint about the iPhone as a phone is that the speaker volume still is not loud enough. That has nothing to do with the phone feature, but instead with the speaker used in it. AT&T signal has been great where I live and I am yet to have a dropped call on my iPhone. I think many of the "iPhone sucks as a phone" complaints are more about the user than the actual phone. It takes too many steps to make a call???? Who, other than 911, are you calling that is so extremely urgent that 2 extra seconds is killing you? If needing to unlock your phone, hit phone, then scroll or hit keypad and dial has hurt you when calling 911, you have an argument. If not, your argument is lame, get over it. That is probably the worst argument I have ever heard.

The other big argument is dialing. As far as dialing on it goes, it is not hard. There isn't some strange out of order keypad on iPhone, it is the normal keypad we have had since touch tone phones were released. If you still don't know the order of 1-9 with the *,0, and # on the bottom, perhaps you should not own a cell phone. If the argument is over not being able to feel the numbers, duh, it is a touch screen phone and if you can't look and dial or figure out where numbers are without feeling them, don't get an iPhone.

I love my iPhone and even though it is not perfect, it is still the best phone on the market in the U.S.

 

[plumbingandtech]

Sorry, I can't let this slide.

I whole-heartedly disagree. I think it's got lackluster reception as a cell phone. Both of my parents use AT&T as well and we move about the same areas and yet they get much better reception with their phones in the exact same spots than I do w/ the iPhone! (His is a Blackberry Pearl, hers is some Sony Ericsson.)

And I get better reception with ATT and my iphone then tmobile and my blackberry.

 

[gauchogolfer]

I get reception in my apartment with my iPhone that I never did using a SE phone. I'm really pleased with that part of the deal.

The only part I wish the iPod portion had that it's lacking is lyrics support! I miss my nano for this reason.

 

[rayward]

I've posted before about how great the iPhone is for anyone who travels a lot. I used to carry a phone, iPod and PDA. And three chargers (and plug adapters when outside the US). Now I have one device and one charger, and have more functionality. For example, when on the go it's not always possible or convenient to break out the laptop to check-in online for flight. Now I can do that from anywhere.

What I haven't talked about before, though, is the headset. Nothing special, just the standard headset. But I really do think that the simple idea - of putting a mic which doubles as a button on the headset string - is true genius. Now, when stomping around airports listening to music, I only have to click the string-button when the music fades and a call comes in, and I am chatting with the caller. I have both hands free, haven't had to swap out the headset for a Bluetooth earpiece and I have great sound quality. Callers say that they can hear me perfectly.

That one little enhancement has made a really big difference to my life on the road.

 

[stockscalper]

You can't go by the number of bars you have to judge reception. I'm in an area constantly where I only get two bars, yet I have no problems making or receiving calls and voice clarity is good.

 

[dangleheart]

I know you are getting a lot of crap over calling the iPhone a good phone and I don't fully understand all arguments. My biggest complaint about the iPhone as a phone is that the speaker volume still is not loud enough. That has nothing to do with the phone feature, but instead with the speaker used in it. AT&T signal has been great where I live and I am yet to have a dropped call on my iPhone. I think many of the "iPhone sucks as a phone" complaints are more about the user than the actual phone. It takes too many steps to make a call???? Who, other than 911, are you calling that is so extremely urgent that 2 extra seconds is killing you? If needing to unlock your phone, hit phone, then scroll or hit keypad and dial has hurt you when calling 911, you have an argument. If not, your argument is lame, get over it. That is probably the worst argument I have ever heard.

The other big argument is dialing. As far as dialing on it goes, it is not hard. There isn't some strange out of order keypad on iPhone, it is the normal keypad we have had since touch tone phones were released. If you still don't know the order of 1-9 with the *,0, and # on the bottom, perhaps you should not own a cell phone. If the argument is over not being able to feel the numbers, duh, it is a touch screen phone and if you can't look and dial or figure out where numbers are without feeling them, don't get an iPhone.

I love my iPhone and even though it is not perfect, it is still the best phone on the market in the U.S.

Hey, I think you are replying to my arguments.. Let me just say that I agree with your last sentence, I am right there with you. I stand by my complaints about the phone. If you do not relate to it, so be it but do not call me an idiot for expressing an end customer perspective. My post is not to give grief to the OP, far from it. There are several different ways of improving the touch interface and you are implying that the current version of iPhone is the last word on such things. Far from it. Just wait for a couple of years.. UI is a complex thing and it is not easy to satisfy every segment but I am sure Apple will redesign/improve/accomodate different customer preferences. Having read your tone and attitude, my only hope is Apple does not take the same attitude to their customer's inputs.

 

[Decrepit]

I've been very happy with my iPhone as well.

I only have reception problems when I'm underground. So, that's kind of expected since nobody has any reception on any carrier when I'm in the basement of the building.

The only problem I have with Edge download speed is that so many websites are so full of bloated crap that they're slow to download. If they would make one without all the unnecessary ads and blinky crap, the sites would download much faster.

I am so glad that this phone came out. I don't have to carry several items at the same time now that I have it. I've used the maps feature to find a phone number of a local Italian restaurant, which was really slick.

Apple will have to release an absolutely amazing new featureset on their next phone to make me even think of upgrading. I don't need more storage space, or wireless speed. So, that next generation would have to be unbelievable.

 

[phaggard]

I have a Treo 680 and a 4GB Iphone. I am having problems deciding which to use. Although the Iphone has the wonderful screen and browser, there's nothing else. My Treo has everything the Iphone does and so much more. Even so, I still want to want the Iphone, but I can't, can I?

I only get WiFi at home. It seems perfect until I disable WiFi and then it sucks. It works but sucks.

On top of this I have a Blackberry for work so the calendar on both are worthless to me.

I work for the Navy so I can't get my work email on either my Treo or my Iphone.

I think I will keep the Iphone. No, I'll keep the Treo. No, I'll keep both.

What predicaments we have in our lives.

 

[dangleheart]

I don't need more storage space, or wireless speed. So, that next generation would have to be unbelievable.

Ha.. ha.. you are on record now. We will check back with you when the next generation happens. I have a feeling you may be swept by that wave.

 

[chr1s60]

Hey, I think you are replying to my arguments.. Let me just say that I agree with your last sentence, I am right there with you. I stand by my complaints about the phone. If you do not relate to it, so be it but do not call me an idiot for expressing an end customer perspective. My post is not to give grief to the OP, far from it. There are several different ways of improving the touch interface and you are implying that the current version of iPhone is the last word on such things. Far from it. Just wait for a couple of years.. UI is a complex thing and it is not easy to satisfy every segment but I am sure Apple will redesign/improve/accomodate different customer preferences. Having read your tone and attitude, my only hope is Apple does not take the same attitude to their customer's inputs.

I wasn't replying directly to your post. I have seen these same complaints many times from people I have met and through various forums online. I never called you an idiot, nor did I say that the iPhone was the best a touch screen phone could be. I was stating my opinion that I think the continuous complaints over the features I mentioned are lame. Just as you are entitled to complain about those features, I am entitled to think they are weak arguments about a user preference and not something that makes the phone feature bad.

 

[question fear]

Sorry, I can't let this slide.

I whole-heartedly disagree. I think it's got lackluster reception as a cell phone. Both of my parents use AT&T as well and we move about the same areas and yet they get much better reception with their phones in the exact same spots than I do w/ the iPhone! (His is a Blackberry Pearl, hers is some Sony Ericsson.)

Also in terms of having the generic "features" or functions of a "typical" cell phone, I think the iPhone has shortcomings. Like being unable to delete single text messages. And similarly, being unable to delete single calls from the call log. Why must it be "Clear all" or nothing? There are lousy 8 year-old cells that have these "features."

See, oddly I've had better voice quality and far less dropped calls with my iphone than I did on my Treo 650. The first call I made was to my parents, and my dad commented he couldn't believe how well he could hear me. To be fair, I had a smaller aftermarket antennae on my Treo so that probably had an impact on the quality. But I think it's totally a case of ymmv.

I've posted before about how great the iPhone is for anyone who travels a lot. I used to carry a phone, iPod and PDA. And three chargers (and plug adapters when outside the US). Now I have one device and one charger, and have more functionality. For example, when on the go it's not always possible or convenient to break out the laptop to check-in online for flight. Now I can do that from anywhere.

What I haven't talked about before, though, is the headset. Nothing special, just the standard headset. But I really do think that the simple idea - of putting a mic which doubles as a button on the headset string - is true genius. Now, when stomping around airports listening to music, I only have to click the string-button when the music fades and a call comes in, and I am chatting with the caller. I have both hands free, haven't had to swap out the headset for a Bluetooth earpiece and I have great sound quality. Callers say that they can hear me perfectly.

That one little enhancement has made a really big difference to my life on the road.

AGREED 110%! I actually use my little headset all the time, not just when travelling...it's nice to hear people in stereo, plus it keeps my hands free and is more comfortable than bluetooth without any weird fuzziness.