Warning: iPhone Update Coming

Don’t buy an iPhone for another 15 days.

Why? Because I recently bought one, and if past history has shown me anything, as soon as I buy something like there one of the following things happens: a new version is often released or a price drop is enacted. And always 48 hours after I can do anything about it. Since the iPhone has a 14 day return policy and I bought it yesterday, in another 15 days there should be a price drop or new model available.

It has happened before – odds say it will happen again.

Thoughts on the device follow…

For what it’s worth, it’s a solid device and I knew that before buying one. However, as with all mobile devices, there are some tradeoffs – some expected and some unexpected.

Expected:

+ Ease of hooking up WiFi

– No support of WiFi at work

+ Shiny UI

+ Orientation-aware, for many apps

+ Better browsing [than my Dash]

– No Calendar syncing over the air [which WM has]

– Crappy onscreen keyboard

– No voice dialing

– No Shuffle By Album

– No solitaire

– Having to worry about firmware upgrades because I want a choice of carrier

Unexpected:

– No MMS support (WTF?)

– Only having one sound option for all sounds

+ Better navigation than expected (I expected “use home button” to suck)

+ Jailbreaking was remarkably easy

+ The Installer app in Jailbreaking rocks (App Store should be as good as this)

+ BT headset integration is very well done

– Ring tone limitations are maddening (I’ve been using un-DRM’d MP3’s for years)

+ Wallpapering is fun again

+ iTunes allows you to sync [Calendar/Contact] Info from multiple PC’s (critical)

– Having to carry the Dash for remote email

+ Don’t miss random-access VM

+ SMS threading is neat

– Miss Pocket Outlook from WM more than I thought I would

– Miss the tactile keyboard from the Dash more than I thought I would

– Less cross-feature features than I expected

For the most part, I just wanted a change and I got one… will I keep it? Maybe.

It’ll depend on the available carrier support on the 2.0 bits and how the Exchange integration works. One thing I’ve been able to appreciated more in the last 48 hours is how much “better” the Calendar is on the Dash and how well Calendar and Inbox are integrated… As an example, if I get an email to my “Exchange enabled” inbox in 2.0 that includes a Calendar request, will it auto update the calendar? Don’t know yet because the bits aren’t there, but I’m betting it won’t be that easy. One of the unexpected disappointments is how each of the app’s on the phone are dissimilar. For all of the praise the UI gets, people miss or ignore the fact that some apps don’t support landscape account or that the keyboard behaves different or that T9 doesn’t work everywhere… other mobile and desktop apps/OS’s have the same problem, but based off what I’ve heard I expected more. Closer than most but still not 100% (and it’s all Apple apps at this point, so I can’t even blame ISV’s).

FWIW, I also recommend a glare-free skin for the front: not so much for scratches but it really helps with the fingerprinting.


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