The Almighty iPhone

Okay, maybe "almighty" is something of an overstatement, but I sure am digging this little piece of technology. I'll be the first to admit that the iPhone was purely an impulse purchase for me, a toy. Joyce's daughter, Shannon, got one and was showing it off to me at a Sens game a couple of weeks ago. I already had a 2004 model Samsung camera phone that I rarely used as I simply have little need for a mobile phone. Being self-employed now, I rationalized the purchase based on being more accessible at work, pretty weak justification at best.

Anyway, one week to the day after buying the thing, I feel like I could hardly live without it. It's never far from my side, and I've only made/received a couple of phone calls so far. And therein lies the beauty. The iPhone is a prime example of how technology is converging. It's a phone, a camera, a video recorder, an internet access and email tool, a GPS, a music and video player, and much more. Does it replace the need for dedicated devices for those purposes? Of course not. But it does put a whole lot of functionality in your shirt pocket.

As might be expected from Apple, the interface is very intuitive, so you're up and running in no time. And if you have trouble figuring something out on your own, help is only a couple of taps away. The only thing I haven't quite sorted out yet is responding to forwarded emails, but I suspect that has something to do with SMTP settings. I also should have been a little more aware when synching, as I inadvertently sucked down over six years worth of email contacts. Yikes! Battery life is a concern for some (Dave), but so far so good for me. Mine is set to enter sleep mode after 1 min. of inactivity, and I think that probably helps. I suspect the display probably drains a fair bit of juice while active.

I wouldn't have expected going in that I'd be interested in many apps, but I've been very pleasantly surprised by what's available. Many of them are free, and most others are very inexpensive. Not only that but they're tiny so they don't take up much memory space, and download lickety-split. I debated about springing the extra $100 for the 32GB model but, for now, I'm glad I stuck with the 16GB. My music collection is larger than 32GB anyway, and that's what the iPod is for (though I have no love for iTunes, but that's another blog).

And speaking of music, a shout-out to Slacker Radio. Jim's sister, Beth, recommended this dynamite little app that allows you to create personalized radio stations. I know there are similar PC based programs, but this is my first experience with one. Just pick an artist, and Slacker Radio creates a very intelligent playlist around it. I had the iPhone running through the stereo for several hours yesterday, flipping from one custom station to the next. Joyce loved it (she was bouncing around the kitchen!), and I discovered a few cool bands in the process. Apparently, the free subscription to Slacker Radio is only good for 30 days in Canada (no such limitation in the U.S.). Unfortunate as that is, the app is so good that I'll glady pony up the $4 per month to continue it when the time comes.

I'm still undecided over whether the iPhone is a productivity enhancer or a productivity waster. The truth probably falls somewhere in between. Either way, it freakin' rocks!