Halloweekend, with an iPhone Review

I decided to write this blog during a study break from my unspecified on-campus study spot. Hallo-Weekend is fully underway, and instead of watching the Longhorns losing to Texas Tech, I'm digging my way from being six feet under a homework burial. Boo.

Anyway, so I recently acquired an iPhone (first G, metal one) and unlocked it for T-Mobile. After eagerly wanting one for forever, I was super excited to finally see if idealism would stack up against reality. So without further ado, here is my Joe Somebody's review of the Apple iPhone, free of CNET's and Apple-maniac hype. Four pros, four cons. Warning: Long, but detailed, read.

PROS:
Multi-functionality: The main reason I wanted an iPhone was the same reason you'd buy a Swiss Army knife instead of a switchblade if you needed a knife. Phone, iPod, and I guess, micro-PC with Internet. For the most part, it has done that job wonderfully. I love how the iPhone gently fades out the music when you get a call in the middle of song-listening. There's a sudden "WTF just happened to the music?" moment, which is replaced quickly by an "Oh, someone's calling me" moment. After you hang up, the music fades back in. Beautiful.

For perspective, I used to have a 1G iPod touch, a cell phone, and sometimes a digital camera on me, all at once. Needless to say, I looked like Batman with a utility belt around my waist. With a wallet in my back pocket, all four of my pockets would be used up. Not a good feeling, especially when you're sitting down. I already had enough problems with a fat wallet bulging with cash money, and now this. Seriously though, changing devices was a nightmare. I missed calls all the time listening to my iPod, or wasted battery life on my iPod because I forgot to turn it off. On the flip side, I lost a lot of pic quality with the iPhone's camera since I had a Canon before, but luckily the iPhone cam is actually pretty good.

Interface: For the most part, it is idiot-proof. Everything is spaced out nicely, transitions are smooth, font is easy on the eyes. Love the conversation-style format for SMS. Also, the interface is consistent across most/all apps. The interface you use to pick songs is the same you use to decide which person to call. The ultimate kicker is that no phone's music player even comes close to an iPhone's. Wonder why?

Speakers: The speakers are actually both a pro and a con. The fact that they're there is great, but the quality and loudness could be a lot better, esp considering I use the iPhone to replace my alarm clock. (Unlimited alarms ftw! -I'm a DEEP sleeper)

Hackability: I'm just starting to scratch the surface, but the fact that the iPhone is so smart and yet so hackable is a definite plus. I've already did a few minor hacks, my favorite being the custom-created J logo I used to replace the Apple logo on startup. Sweet. I'll look more into the Winterboard world when I have the time.

CONS:
Battery Life: Sucks!! With the Swiss Army functionality, that would come to be expected, but sometimes it's bad enough to the point of frustration. Maybe I expect too much out of the iPhone, but I constantly find myself having to keep screen brightness at a minimum, turn Wi-Fi off whenever I'm not using it, and keep Auto-Fetch off. Even so, I have to fully charge the iPhone daily or walk around with a brick the next day. I'm still looking for 3PA's to optimize battery life, but so far no luck.

Recessed Headphone Jack: If it wasn't for the fact that I use other inputs besides a iPhone head/mic, this wouldn't be so much of a problem. Unfortunately, I do, so it is a problem. I have to squash the soft rubber surrounding my headphones into the jack to make it fit. Again, not so much of a problem because it stays there. Until I try plugging the iPhone into my wonderspeakers, the Logitech Z-2300. Hard rubber + Recessed jack do not equal a happy iPhone owner. Until I can find a 3.5 mm adapter, and then spend money to buy the adapter, I can't use my speakers.

Performance: The iPhone locks up or temporarily freezes. A LOT. Given that all phones do this, I should cut some slack, but it seems the iPhone does this much more often that its Apple logo should give it credit for. I'll press the home button while listening to music or running a 3PA, and sometimes it takes 10 seconds before it responds, during which I'm furiously wondering why it's taking so long. It's been at its worst while texting. Recently, the iPhone has lagged behind in processing what I type by entire sentences. I'm not a fast typer by any means, so this should not be happening. I wait and watch as the iPhone processes each individual letter that I typed, seconds ago. Not pretty.

Reception: I've heard from many iPhone 3G owners that the biggest difference is in reception because of the casing change. Apparently, aluminum partially inhibits signal from phones, while plastic is more signal-friendly. Maybe this is true, I wouldn't know. I've had a mixed experience. I have gotten signal in some places I've never had it in before (like the bathroom of Welch, Welch is a T-Mo deadzone btw). But 15% of the time I need to make a call, the iPhone says I have no service. This has happened a lot in places where it shouldn't, like in the middle of campus. I have to wait in frustration and hope for the signal availability to come back. This is where the lagging performance combines to make a double whammy. Along with battery life, this might be the biggest negative for me.

OVERALL:
The iPhone's main purpose is a Swiss Army device, and in the bigger picture, it does a great job at that. It is why I will keep using it for as long as I can. Unfortunately, small technical issues keep coming up at the worst times and become like splinters in your fingers, or an ant bite between your toes.

Whew, and only half an hour gone. Back to homework.