I just wanted to give you guys some feedback on the iPhone. I know we are all tech geeks here and haven't seen a lot of talk about it.
I bought one about 3 weeks ago at the Apple store in Syracuse, NY, on my way to Montreal where I am living now. Yes, it was an impulse buy but mainly it was because my original phone had died and I wanted an unlocked quad-band GSM because I travel a lot. Good Things: The phone interface is incredible. My parents were at the store with me playing with the demo while I was in line and within 5 minutes they had figured out how to take pictures and flip through albums - a task that would have taken months on a normal phone. Yes, typing is a bit tricky with two thumbs. It took me a solid weekend of practice to be able to do it at decent pace. But it is more a challenge to break your existing Treo/Blackberry typing habits than it is difficult to type on the iPhone. The iPhone is simply the best ipod ever. Period. (this is coming from a guy who has owned 3 iPods and a Zen). The screen and metal backside are surprisingly durable and scratch-resistant. You actually have to work to do any damage, unlike some previous iPods. Downsides: The latest firmware, 1.1.1, breaks all current unlocks and hacks. It doesn't brick your phone (unless you really screw with it) but it will return it to an AT&T only state and will remove all mods and apps. There is a way to revert to the older firmware but no jailbreak for 1.1.1 yet. It's a real shame because there are some brilliant third-party apps and games available for free. Only syncs with iTunes which means Linux users are screwed until someone hacks it. The iPhone has a recessed headphone jack which is just deep enough to render most normal headphone plugs unusable without an adapter. They are cheap ($6) but still it is an irritation. No GPS. The custom google maps is really sweet (like an appelized-version of the real google maps) but if you don't know where you are it loses some functionality. There is a software package out called Navizon that for $20 it will try and triangulate your position using cell towers and public Wi-Fi nodes. No 3G, only EDGE. Which for me isn't an issue because Canada doesn't (AFAIK) have a carrier with an unlimited data plan. So I don't use the edge connection, just the WiFi. It works great but if you aren't near an open WiFi hotspot then you can't use a bunch of the iPhone features. Overall all I am very happy and have no regrets what so ever. Unless they come out with a 16GB version with 3G and GPS next month :( -- Brian Weeden
