Ah yes, go ahead and say it. Don’t let me stop you. Get it out of your system. Joel drank the Kook-Aid and bought Apple.
No, I didn’t. Well, yes, I did stick with Ma Bell (AT&T), and upgraded to the Apple iPhone 4. After three years, I’m finally trying an Apple iPhone. All the naysayers and complainers have so much to say, I suppose. What happened to your love for Rim and BlackBerry? Why didn’t you move to Verizon? Why not an Android phone? Why not a new Windows 7 phone? Do you love Steve Jobs that much? Let me answer all the questions.
- What happened to your love for Rim and BlackBerry? I’ve had two BlackBerries now since 2007 — the Curve and the Bold. Both were great for their times. The Curve introduced me to smartphones, and the Bold was great. The trackball is wearing out and malfunctioning on my Bold, and I was getting tired of the form-factor. I’ve seen my wife’s HTC Incredible running Android, and I’ve been both impressed and jealous. The touchscreen, the apps, the size of the screen. Oh, jealousy is a terrible thing. I respect the BlackBerry, but I wanted something new and different. Sadly, I found the Torch to be underwhelming.
- Why didn’t you move to Verizon? Um, I’ve been with Verizon, and I respect Verizon. I don’t have any real complaints about AT&T, and I like the benefits of being on GSM — voice and data simultaneously. People argued that LTE is coming to Verizon in Dec, but that’s just a trial in some major NFL cities. Also, consumers will need handsets to handle both LTE and CDMA for a while until new handsets come out. It’s going to be a long while.
- Why not an Android phone? I like Android, but I didn’t like the Android phones at AT&T. Maybe next time.
- Why not a new Windows 7 phone? I did check out the Windows 7 phones at the AT&T store Saturday night. They are interesting, but I don’t want to be a guinea pig for a 1st-gen Windows phone. Sorry. Microsoft has a tendency to burn their customers, their app marketplace is tiny, and they haven’t figured out copy & paste yet. Also, my music is on iTunes, and I’d like to have it all.
- Do you love Steve Jobs that much? No, I don’t care. I never drank the Kool-Aid. I just want to try being an iPhone user, and experience the advantages and disadvantages.
The upgrade was easy enough, and it’s been a few days now. So far, I have no complaints. I’m trying to be careful with it, because of the ongoing Glassgate. I’m personally not one for bumpers and cases. I like holsters and I appreciate the need for a scratch-resistant screen protector, but these cases are ridiculous. I’ve seen folks carrying their iPhones in these bulky cases. Why? I initially resisted getting a bumper for the iPhone, but two reasons made me get it:
- I’ve seen the display models at various AT&T stores. Apple says the glass is 30% more scratch-resistant and tough, but all those phones on tethers that don’t leave the display are all scratched up. Hmmm, that’s not good. What would happen if you used it outside the store?
- I know me. I can make electronics disintegrate into dust in my hands. I need protection for my phone. My phone needs protection from me.
I relented an bought a screen protector for $10, and a $30 Frog case. The case is nice and svelte, and even gives me a nice grip.
So after a few days, what do I think of the iPhone 4? It’s a nice phone. The BlackBerry phones are more email and communications-oriented. Excellent integration with email, addressbook, maps. The iPhone is more media-centric, with an emphasis on web-browsing, listening to music, watching video. Web pages look much better, as does email. Video and photos look nice. I don’t have any problems with reception, it’s fast and responsive, and I like the overall comfort. Typing on the virtual keyboard is painfully slow, but I’ll have to adjust and adapt.
Two words: Zagg InvisibleShield. I will never use anything else again.
One more thing: Angry Birds. Get it.
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