About To Be Assimilated

[filkertom]

My god, I'm seriously thinking about getting an iPhone.

Discuss.

Comments

[sarutobe.livejournal.com]

Plants Vs. Zombies is on iPhone, but if you get that, get the 3GS phone. The fact that the framerate chugs on my 3G is about the only thing I don't like about the portable PvZ.

[wingus.livejournal.com]

Whatever you wanna do, man.

Though if you do, will you do a sequel song to "iDon'tCare" called "iGaveIn"? ;)

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Very possibly.

[wingus.livejournal.com]

Awesome. :D

[drzarron.livejournal.com]

I'm an Touch user, so I love the aps, the form factor. The iPhone is an okay phone, but the PDA aspect shine.

If you can swing the data package price, you're in good stead.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Actually, I have it on my iPod. Plays quite decently. But, yeah, the larger screen would help. Bluntly, my reasons for getting the iPhone would be at least twofold: [1] having a decent phone that won't completely fall apart, and [2] credit-card-processing apps, of which there are several and looking way better on the rates than CD Baby is these days.

There are also a few very cool music apps that use voice, and it's simply easier to get a phone rather than a Bluetooth headset that's compatible with the rather truncated list the iPod will accept. Coulda sworn part of the appeal of Bluetooth is, y'know, working with other Bluetooth....

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

That is a big if, though. It won't be immediately in any case.

[hughcasey.livejournal.com]

I have an iPhone, and since getting it in July it has turned into my indispensable companion.

Like most people, I'm not THAT impressed with ATT, but it's coverage for the places I need to be is adequate.

The device itself, though, is easy to use, is AMAZINGLY intuitive, and has so many apps that I feel like I've got a freakin' TRICORDER. (The day they offer an app that lets me scan for life-forms, my life will be complete!)

There ARE some issues, of course. You can ONLY get apps through iTunes, unless you decide to jailbreak the phone (which carries it's OWN risks). The phone/data plan is kinda pricey. And, as mentioned, ATT. However, if those aren't serious issues for you, then I'd say go for it.

[atalantapendrag.livejournal.com]

I've known two people with iPhones. One totally loves it, has a ton of (free) apps, and is always playing games on it. The other loved and raved about his at first, then started having trouble with AT&T coverage and got a Droid instead.

[nimitzbrood.livejournal.com]

This.

I love my iPhone despite the limitations. The apps man! You just can't get away from the apps! :-)

Two things:

1) Get a screen protector for it. It won't save it if you drop and shatter it but it will prevent everything else.

2) Whatever carrying case you get for it make DAMN sure it latches completely. I have a belt pouch for it that has weak velcro and more than once I've found my iPhone lying on the seat of the car or on the couch, etc.

[loosecanon.livejournal.com]

A few things I hate about my iPhone;
The battery is not easily replaceable. My last phone outlasted 4 batteries, I hate planned obsolescence.
There are no arrow keys on the keyboard. I have to scrub a whole word to correct a single letter.
The camera is awful. There is no control over it whatsoever. Better none than one this poor.
It seems to work by heat sensors. Gloves render it useless. I have resorted to my nose at times.
Battery life is apalling. I use a 4 AA cell booster. At least there is one available
As with most touchscreen phones, the writing window is tiny.
Can't change font size while typing, for tired eyes

Lots of good things about it, really. I love mine, but it is not perfect.

[ldyerzsie.livejournal.com]

We have AT&T on our current cell phones--not iPhones--and we have decided that we will get iPhones when we can get them on Verizon. As soon as this contract runs out--it was NOT AT&T when we started it--we are changing to Verizon. That's what we have for the cells at work and they have coverage in seriously BFE Indiana. In fact that's the company most of my Ohio country-folks family has because AT&T doesn't cover where they live. Check the coverage maps versus where you plan to travel, it might make a difference.

If it weren't for the whole AT&T thing, we would probably have iPhones.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

I couldn't afford the monthly fees for an iPhone and got an iPod Touch instead. I had needed a new PDA for more than a year, and the guy at Radio Shack said they didn't make them anymore; everyone was going to smartphones. And I thought, "Oh yeah, I can afford that--a PDA you have to *ransom* every month. I'll go back to paper first."

Then I found out that an iPod Touch could do most of the things a PDA could--and wham it went on my birthday/Christmas wish list.

I *love* the Touch (I got the second gen one). I use it all the time. The timer for cooking, the alarm for getting up in the morning, Stanza for reading free e-books under the covers, 4 track for recording song ideas when I'm caught out without my Zoom, Calendar and Contacts for the usual.

Sometimes I even listen to music or podcasts on it.

It might be worth looking into whether you *must* have the actual iPhone to handle credit cards or whether a Touch could save the transaction until you're in wifi range again. Most hotels have wifi, after all.

In my experience the phone part is more cheaply handled by a pay-go phone anyway. Of course, I don't use my cell much, so maybe the AT&T plan is a better deal for you.

[unclelumpy.livejournal.com]

Might not be so bad. Just don't go overboard.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

You might have just undercut one of the reasons for getting it. Cannot brain, have dumb. Of course the transactions could be sent in later by WiFi.

Hm. Still want to be able to use a couple of vocal apps, though. Like VoiceBand.

[aiela.livejournal.com]

I've never had an iPhone, but I love my Droid, and since you travel a lot you might want to look at AT&T's 3G coverage vs. Verizon's 3G coverage.

Other than that, I think it's basically platform wars and you shoudl go with whatever makes you happy.

[jenrose]

I'd sooner get one of those snazzy little netbooks you can actually type on. Probably cheaper in the long run. Then again, my cell phone is not an integral part of my existence.

[rivkaesque.livejournal.com]

Well, I think it depends on what you think of the planned obsolescence/poor coverage vs. the apps you need. I'd check if a different smart phone platform has the apps you need - perhaps an Android phone? I went with the first gen (g1) and was highly underwhelmed, but I understand they're much better now.

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

My sympathies. I gather that the Nexus One and the Droid don't cut it, then.

[wrenn.livejournal.com]

Well... I'm with T-Mobile and I FINALLY changed to a 'driod phone yesterday. I'm surprised you haven't heard the SQUEE from here (2 year contract came up last month). I was surprised, when I went to the data package, which included unlimited text and data (and so dropped off the messaging package of unlimited text) my monthly phone bill will only go up $17 a month. I'd expected it to be higher. I've been busily customizing the toy. :)

Keith adores his IPhone, he's a unrepetant phone fondler. I, however, wanted a 'real' qwerty keyboard, so was heading droid no matter what. My oldest brother has worked for AT&T and now works for T-Mobile (in a line engineer/hardware/cell sites, etc. capacity), and I asked him a lot of questions about the phones. He keeps both his IPhone and his newer droid, utilizing both services, and said they both have their appeal. He was also a bit leery about AT&T, and, yeah, well, they laid him off over a year ago, but his issues with them were that they have cut far back on their infrastructure support, and that's not a good idea.

Given that what you do, however, that credit card app would be extremely useful.

[mg4h.livejournal.com]

I believe this fix should work across all iPhones, if not, I'm sorry.

I have to scrub a whole word to correct a single letter.

If you put your finger over where you want to move the cursor to, and hold it there for a second or three, it will magnify and highlight the words you are typing, and you can move the cursor to the offending letter. Then backspace, edit it, and move it again to the end of where you were typing to continue.

It seems to work by heat sensors.

It actually works on capacitance, where the touchscreen determines where you are pointing by the fact that your skin can transmit a very (VERY) small electric current. Gloves over a certain thickness will keep this from happening, yes. Fabric under a certain thickness, won't. I've accidentally hung up by putting my active phone in my pants pocket, screen side in. My pants pockets are pretty thin, enough to "touch" buttons.

[allandaros.livejournal.com]

At least your Borg implants will be shiny white plastic.

[smoooom.livejournal.com]

Well, I love my i-touch, it's way better than the palm that died. i-phones up here are way expensive, and I don't really feel the need to be in touch 24/7 any way. But the apps. There really is an app for every thing. You need either a touch or a phone. And since you guys get way cheaper phone rates go for the phone. And look at the apps. Look at all the way cool geeky guitar apps, really, there are some really really cool ones. I don't usually go on about technology but I do in this case. You need an I-phone.

[loosecanon.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I don't seem to be dextrous enough to manage this, but it's nice to know that it works for most folks.
And thank you for better describing how the screen works.

[mg4h.livejournal.com]

So, yeah. It's expensive. The data plan and the minimal minutes per month is expensive. Some people have trouble with the range, but so far it's worked everywhere I care about (aside from a 2 mile stretch in nowhere-VA). It's ATT.

However, it's a fun phone, it has lots of useful apps, and the credit card reader is definitely a plus. I would suggest you wait a bit, however, because if that's one of your major reasons, it's fairly new and I am myself waiting to see if they get regulated out of existence.

And also, yes - if you can still do it with the Touch, it's much much cheaper. Instead of having to pay the monthly data fee, at worst you have to pay $20 for the hotel wifi, or find the nearest coffee shop with free wifi to download things.