The last What's Happening I wrote about how my phone slept in a puddle recently and sadly drowneded all alone in the rain. Of course, secretly I was psyched because it meant that I could get a new phone 'guilt-free'! The thing that worried me is that I was still in contract with AT&T. I had 6-8 months left until I could contract renew and get a fancy new phone at the reduced price. But when I got to the AT&T store the woman told me they actually never renewed my contract with my last phone! That I've been out of contract for years! Total computer glitch worked in my favor! I told the AT&T person that I'd be back and I headed home to research my new phone. So many choices!
First off, I was pretty psyched that the other phone died (although it died with all my contacts-- there was no backup-- and apparently they all saved to the 'phone' and not the 'card'. Thanks.). My Samsung 90% sucked. Billed as a potential 'iPhone Killer' it really was a big joke. No worthwhile apps. Unplayable games. (I posted one on youtube a while ago...) No customization. No updates to software. Hardcoded undeletable icons front and center. No alternative headphone choices due to weird port. Wonky connection to my home computer with Samsung crap software. To get to my email it was literally four-five clicks. And that was via the browser to gmail. On the upside though the screen keyboard was solid and the battery lasted for days and it rarely dropped a call. As a baseline phone it was pretty good.
Anyway, so I sat in front of my computer looking into a Droid. Looking into new Nexus Google whatever. I definitely didn't need a Blackberry because I'm home all the time or whatever. I was looking at everything but an iPhone. I didn't want one.
Here are the reasons why I didn't want an iPhone
1. I'm a commited PC person and cutesy Mac
feels like a computer mistress.
2. I hate iTunes as a program because it sucks
and everyone knows it.
3. I feared an over involvement and
timesuck.
4. The perceived nooshy (nerd douche) white ear buds.
5. The 'Look at this cool new app!'
6. The sorta snobbish
finger flick scroll through contacts.
7. The new feeling of walking around with
a phone I have to care about and protect.
8. The 'Bump' and that ilk.
9. The crap camera and crap video.
10. The weird feeling of it having to be cooler than me if I
ever show it to someone. (cool music listed, lots of contacts, groovy
apps)
But when push came to shove my research kept spinning me back toward the iPhone. New Lexus phone is in the guinea pig stage (actually I was out the other night and someone had one and they had legit complaints). The Droid smells suspiciously wonky. I got so badly burned with my other 'iPhone Killer' so at some point I started to question my resistance. I was like, 'If this phone wasn't Apple-- I'd definitely be getting it.' Plus, I was curious to pass judgement over the thing.
So here's my judgment:
This phone is truly amazing. The best device out of the box I've owned. The interface is buttery smooth and sleek. I like that it feels like a brand new toy. There is an appreciated Mac simplicity- like every time I can't see how to do something-- it turns out that the solution is staring me in the face. It feels sturdy and alive. It's a boredom killer if I'm ever alone. It's fairly idiot proof so that's handy for me. I find the audio to be stronger and crisper than my last phone. I like that I feel up to speed techwise now. I'm digging email and text (although I do think the Samsung had a better more accurate keyboard). I absolutely obliterates my last phone in terms of competition. And I like with podcasts and streaming stuff there's lots to listen to besides music.
However, the battery life sucks. iTunes sucks. It is a bad distraction. It drops calls often. I doubt I'll watch any video. I'm not really into the apps besides the few that might make life a little easier. Most are more like little toys you get for kids that last one day. There are some that seems good in theory (tip calculator, subway map thing, shazam) but how often am I really going to use any of that stuff? Most of it is for show. I mean Mepball for the iPhone rocks (only .99!)-- but gamerwise I'll probably dabble around in some of the word games and other stuff rather than get all involved with GTA or something. (Btw starting discussions on developing a new iPhone game from scratch with Jim Boney) .
I did want to hold off for two weeks before writing stuff up to see if Apps actually worm their way into my day to day. But so far not yet-- and because I'm not sold on them-- I'm thinking about shying away from anything that doesn't seem like essential. Moviefone, Pandora, NYT or some other stuff to read. Crap apps could be killer for a distraction addict like me.
But in the world of iPhone like phones-- I am convinced that this phone is the best. I doubt I'll ever truly truly love it but who knows. For now, I respect it alot and appreciate it as a friend. If we have a falling out-- I'll let you know...
And no this does not mean I'm getting a Mac.
ok bye!
tOdd