ReBoot – My Affair with My iPhone Continues

It has been 2 years since I have been having an affair with my phone – my iPhone. I recently upgrade to iPhone 4 and boy I am not disappointed. Why should I be? After all it is an Apple product.

I was using my iPhone 3G and it was working great until I upgrade the iOS recently. Then things slowed down. Even after Apple tried to fix, my iPhone 3G was never the same. It was a causality of its own technology. Regardless, I was always eyeing the 4 from the corner of my eye but felt it was not the right time.

So I made the leap and got the 4. It does everything my old phone did and more. I find my iPhone is faster and better with battery life. A full charge now lasts me more than eight hours before I have to plug in. Also my reception is better. I get good signal strength wherever I go in the NYC metro area and near my home. Previously, I had some signal issues. But we will blame ATT for that. Not my pretty iPhone. I do wish Apple would give more sound options for incoming SMS. I find the default sounds dated and a tad boring. But those are superficial criticisms. Overall I am satisfied once again with my purchase of an Apple product

Don’t tell my wife – but my iPhone and I are going away this weekend. lol

An Apple A Day…

Today (January 27), Apple will be having its much-hyped media event. Over the last few days the net has been a flurry of gossip, leaked photos, and unofficially Apple executive quotes. What is a fan boy to do with all this info? It just makes me giddy…

I must admit, I always look forward to such events from Apple. It is like watching something being created and you are there to take part in the excitement and oohh and aahh over it.

Today, if rumors are true, Apple will be announcing the much anticipated and secretive “iPad” from Apple’s skunkworks.

Something new to add to my Christmas list this year. If the blogs are true, this device will revolutionize publishing, as we know it. I hope so, this industry needs to have a shot in the arm to revive it. I personally don’t read newspapers anymore but do so online on my iPhone. A device that has a bigger screen will be so helpful.

I am going to wait a few months to see how things shake out similar to how I migrated to the iPhone. I am a second-generation kinda guy. I believe in letting others shake the bugs out before I jump on board. And besides, if this takes off, the second gen model will have vastly better features. Just wait and see.

There is also talk that additional carriers for the iPhone will be announced. I think that is great. I believe in competition. I pay vastly too much for my cell service now and the quality of service is just ok.

So we will see what Apple has up their sleeves.

http://www.macrumors.com

A Tablet From Apple?

Why is it that before a product is release there are already critics? Or is it some conspiracy to defame a product so that it can be killed by word of mouth alone before it hits the market.

This week, there have been rumors that Apple is investigating tablets. These rumors suggests evidence that Apple could be considering launching a tablet or netbook form factor in the relatively near future, with 2010 being the most likely timeframe for an introduction.

Tablets and netbooks are not new to the industry. There have been several unsuccessful past attempts that never caught on.

I remember a few years back, when the iPhone was rumored to be in development there were critics that said it would never work and there was no market for such a device. Well look at the iPhone today.

I have an iPhone 3G. And to be honest, I rarely use it as a phone. I use it more as a PDA-if that term is still used, if not I like mobile computing device or MCD. I use my iPhone to check my email, Twitter, read my news, give me directions, play the occasional game and search the net. It is always on and ready for me. I don’t have to think about it. And isn’t that the purpose of any MCD. The end user should not have to worry about it.

If Apple is truly developing a tablet device, I am all for it. To be able to have an “always on” device connected to the Internet 24×7 is great. Knowing Apple, if this rumor is true, it will be revolutionary. So let’s wait and see what the final product will be and how it will function before we pass judgment.

New iPhone 3.0 Operating System

Apple released its new iPhone 3.0 operating system on June 17. The new iPhone 3G S will be released later this week.

While I had some difficulty updating my phone that required a total reset and restore, the new OS seems to be pretty snappy. I am a strong believer in reformatting any device periodically that runs an operating systems. It is just best practices. My phone seems to be faster after the reset and restore. Some good came out of the 2 hours it took to get it back to normal.

Here is a breakout of some the new features.

Cut, Copy & Paste
Finally it is here. It took Apple a long time to implement but now you can quickly and easily cut, copy, and paste text from application to application. You can select entire blocks of web text with a tap. Copy and paste images from the web, too.

Landscape Keyboard
I always had problems typing on the keyboard. Now you can rotate to landscape to use a larger keyboard in Mail, Messages, Notes, and Safari. I can now use both thumbs to type almost Blackberry like.

MMS
AT&T is holding out on us on this one.

Spotlight Search
Find what you’re looking for across your phone. Spotlight searches all of your contacts, email, calendars, and notes, as well as everything in your iPod.

Voice Memos
Capture a memo, a meeting, or any audio recording on the go.

Improved Calendar
Create meetings via Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and subscribe to calendars with new CalDAV support.

Safari
Safari appears to have faster performance. I would like to see some benchmarking done to see if it really is faster.

Internet Tethering
Again AT&T is holding out on us on this one. Why AT&T are you doing this to your customers?

Stereo Bluetooth
Connect compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones, car kits, or other accessories.

Automatic Wi-Fi Login
Log in to a Wi-Fi hotspot and iPhone automatically logs you in when you connect again.

Sync Notes
Now you can sync all the notes you write back to your Mac or PC.

Parental Controls
Decide what music, videos, and apps your kids can access.

iTunes Store Account
Create and log in to one or more iTunes Store accounts directly from your phone.

YouTube Login
Log in to your YouTube account to save and sync bookmarks and rate favorites.

Shake to Shuffle
Shake your phone and it shuffles to a different song in your music library.

MobileMe Find My iPhone and Remote Wipe
Find your iPhone if you lose it and protect your privacy with Remote Wipe.

I was tempted to purchase the new iPhone 3G S but decided against because the new hardware really had no new features that was revolutionary to me. I am sure this time next year, Apple will have something new in its goody bag that will tempt me to upgrade. For now I am happy with my iPhone 3G and new os.

My Affair with My iPhone

It has been a year since I have been having an affair with my phone – my iPhone. I have been using cellphones since the mid 90s. I remember when battery life was nonexistent and they weighed more than most toasters. My how technology has changed…

I was in the market for a phone since I moved to an iMac two years ago. A phone that I was able to synch my contacts and calendar with – reliably. This has always been a unicorn among cellphones. How do you get your information on a mobile platform and be able to synch successfully each time.

I was able to accomplish this through the iPhone. I migrated my contacts and calendar to Microsoft’s Entourage. I am not wild about Entourage but it does the job I want. 

The iPhone has become more then my cellphone. It has become my mobile assistant. I use it to check my email. Yes I check all my email automatically every 15 minutes. I need real time gratification.

I am not big on purchasing apps from the store because I get bored pretty easily but there are a few free apps that have become indispensable. 

All Wall Street types should have the Bloomberg app. It keeps me up-to-date on financial news. The Wall Street Journal is also another great app for news.

Google maps has been great in finding my way around. I stopped using my bigger GPS device because it has become easier to use the iPhone. 

With the new OS, Apple has made the device faster and battery life last longer. I now get a full day of usage before I have to plug in. Kudos to Apple for listening to their customers.

The only issue I have with the phone is typing. My fingers seem a touch to big to type. So I am constantly retyping. I could only imagine what other people with larger fingers must go through.

Any forward thinking professional should get one. Trust me, within the first week you cannot live without your iPhone. 

Don’t tell my wife – but my iPhone and I are going out to dinner tonight. 😉