The iPhone After A Week

If I had a dollar for every time I thought I hit the “m” key but backspaced instead I’d be a wealthy guy.

Thumbnail image for apple-iphone-3g.jpgI’ve had my iPhone over a week now. I suppose an update is in order.

There have been two very distinct responses I’ve gotten from people who’ve found out about the phone.

  • Welcome to the dark side
  • What about the keyboard?

Dark siders: This doesn’t mean I’ll eschew the PC world for Apple. Sorry.

Keyboarders: It’s a bitch! There’s no doubt this keyboard is very difficult to use. I make many more mistakes than I did with the BlackBerry keyboard, itself on the small side but at least with tactile response (you know, the keys pushed down).

If I had a dollar for every time I thought I hit the “m” key but backspaced instead I’d be a wealthy guy.

The one saving grace is Apple’s incredibly useful self correction feature. A few commenters told me to just type away and let the iPhone fix things on its own.

I do. It does.

It’s still not enough.

Using the keyboard in landscape mode is better than portrait mode–but it’s not always available. This is the most anti-intuitive part of the phone. I don’t quite understand why this happens, but it does. Frustrating.

The world famous iPhone apps are pretty amazing. I think I’ve spent around $5 so far for dozens of cool and fun tools. Some are worthwhile. Others will be removed the next time I sync the phone with iTunes.

I bought a UPC scanner app (please, don’t ask why) which automatically tells you what its read and then prices it out on the Internet! I also have a few games and audio services. Yes, I can now provide my own rim shots for one liners!

One program which lets you hold your arm outstretched and shows you which stars you’re seeing is amazing. It shows the incredible value of the compass, which Apple seems to market more as a gadget. No–the compass is much more of an enabling device than I would have ever thought.

Last night after the Phillies won I used the iPhone to play KYW radio. I’ve also used it in the car to listen to some NPR shows.

The phone call volume is TOO LOW!!! It’s too low from the phone and from my bluetooth earpiece. There is a solution published online for more volume but it includes poking tiny holes in the speaker enclosures. Sorry–I need it in software.

Surprisingly it’s too difficult to make calls directly from the home screen. Yes, there’s voice control, but it doesn’t always work correctly. My Motorola RAZR and the BlackBerry are superior in this regard.

As if by magic, one week after I bought the iPhone Verizon began to advertise what many are calling the iPhone killer. What were they waiting for? Couldn’t they have run it as I was driving home from the store?

Bottom line–I’m mainly pleased with the phone though more because of its computer attributes than its phone attributes. I’ve gone on EBay and ordered a bunch of little accessories.

The iPhone stays.