Merry Christmas!

The iPhone promised to be 3+ devices in 1. A phone, an iPod, an Internet Device & More.

New Phone

I wasn’t that excited about a new phone. I didn’t really like phones. I’m a tech-snob (Is that a word). Phones and so called smart phones have always been cumbersome to me. I appreciate how a real computer works, but phones don’t work right.

New iPod

My wife has had an iPod for years. It was nice having a ton of music that traveled with us, but I wasn’t interested in an iPod. My favorite music is listening to my wife and daughters sing.

Internet

Now the internet. Now you have my attention. I’d played with smart phones in the past that had internet browser, but they were slow. How slow were they? They were so slow they made dial-up look like a T-1 line. This was true (in my experience) with the original iPhone as well. So I waited.

Enter the second generation iPhone (iPhone 3G). Billed as “Twice as Fast. Half the Price”. Michelle and my old phones, conveniently died. Finally the wait was over. For my Birthday Michelle and I both got new iPhones. An 8GB for Michelle and a 16GB for her favorite geek. Thanks Honey!

So how did Apple deliver on its promise?

At first I have to admit I was a little disappointed. Mike the Manager at the Longview AT&T store opened up the boxes and started to get us setup. You see I really enjoy buying a new Apple Computer. Opening the box, the packaging, discovering and setting up the new Mac is a blast.

<< Hey I’m a geek.

To Mike’s defense he didn’t know that I was a Mac Addict and would have preferred to open the box myself.

With iPhone in hand I tapped (clicking is so last century) on safari (the web browser) slowly “typed” omOriginals.com. The virtually keyboard appears on the screen as you touch the screen with your thumbs to type. It takes a little to getting used to this new way to type.

The web site came up quickly. Much quicker than than when I tried the original iPhone. Is it 2x as fast? My un-scientific tests – say much quicker.
 I then thumbed my way through setting up eMail. After I turned off SSL, my eMail quickly downloaded.

Next I was eager to sync (share info) with my Mac. I connected the cable and iTunes started up. Within a few minutes I had 1300 of my closest friends (contacts) added to my iPhone.

I also added some music and a book or two from my audio bible. Then I found the App Store. The App Store has tons of free and fee applications designed for iPhone. You can download them directly from the iPhone or from iTunes on your computer. One of our favorite games is iBowl.

The iPhone has an “Accelerometer” sensor that senses the movement of the iPhone. Our daughters really enjoy swinging the phone to make the ball move. We are careful to throw the ball, but NOT the phone.

One “practical” use of the Accelerometer is the app called iMilk. (haha) When you start up this program your phone looks like it begins to fill with Milk. If you move the phone, the milk tilts like it would in a real glass. Thirsty? Put the “glass” to your mouth and pour. When the glass is empty you hear a virtual “burp”! < Excuse me. >

Got Beer? iPhone does. iBeer “drinks” the same as iMilk and is 100% non-alcoholic.

There are plenty of games to keep you busy, but there are also some great tools to help you be more productive.

Productivity

I now have my work and home calendars in my pocket where ever I go. This was the main reason that I wanted to get the iPhone. My calendars are automatically synced over the internet. This is great not having to open up my laptop to do basic info lookups. Unfortunately, my to-do list from my Mac doesn’t make it to my iPhone. Originally I thought something was broken, but it looks like it was an oversight. There are quite a few to-do apps, but I was looking forward to integrating with iCal (the Mac calendar).

I believe that Toodledo
 http://www.toodledo.com …will be the key to keeping me in sync.

I’ve been using my iPhone 2 weeks today and I see it as more than just Phone. It’s beginning to look a lot like a Computer.

So I waited. And I’m glad iDid.

Merry Christmas! Here’s to you finding an iPhone under your tree this year.
God Bless,
Oscar Myre IV

Oscar started listening to Christmas Music this year in early November. He loves Christmas and is looking forward to his new baby this year!

Oscar Myre IV is the owner and creative director of omOriginals Design Studio, located in Longview and serving Cowlitz County and beyond. For web site or other “geek related” questions, please call his studio at 360.575.9839 or on the web:
 http://omOriginals.com