·--.:::•·
`:,.·-.. ~ ~:
`
`·::·:··--.... : .. ;:·.·,--.:·
`:;-·:· ...
`::: -~ '• : .. ; : . ; : . -~ ·~ :'
`···:-, . :· .. ,•, .: ..
`
`·,·, ;,··:-.·:-;;:·:···
`
`. ·• ,·.:: -:-: A Diz,:;IT-2 (possibly
`NSFW) image, video, O:hd .::hat board.
`
`www.flickr.com
`
`ju:-:;t thmk:ng th~t a graffiti tagger
`h?.med "no parkihg" could .::a use
`s:erlous tro~1ble for?. dty
`(·:< -:';-:-:/about 2 hw.irs ago)
`
`Any ocin:ons expr<:."Ss~:!d on this sit-2 are
`tn~ persona! v1ews of Steven FranK
`only; an.:: do not repre5ent the vi~ws cr
`po!k:ies cf ar.y other pc~rson cr
`cornpa0y.
`
`I'm getting a fa:riy equa! nurnber of requests to go 1ntc more depth on the
`•Phone ar.d go back to talking about;:-.·,:·;., so rm hcp•ng to appease both
`here by doing one last blowout post en my iPhone i•npressicns and then
`go1ng back to shiliing my mvn company, rather than my second favonte
`company.
`
`Calls
`
`,t,s 'Nith al! mv eel: phone reviews, X t1r:we to preface this by say in~~ that mv
`phone usage is about 75c/o data and 2.5% actual phone ca::s, which is
`probabiy the opposite of most peep: e. So, keep that in mind. {Also keep in
`mind this r·evievv is based on cn!y about 48 hours of use.)
`
`8ut :et's talk about the voice aspects quickly up front, since it is obv;ously a
`key concem. So far, my fev~· cails have been clear, wit:--1 no dropouts, and no
`disconnected ca!ls. lvJy house is in a shaky AT&.T coverage area, and my s1gnal
`strength meter at home fluctuates between J and 4 bars depending on
`favorabie >..vind conditions, planetary alignonent. migratory bird patterns, etc.
`
`The tt11ng to keep 1n mind tt1cugh ;s theo·e are so rnar.v factoo·s that affect
`signal strength ar.d phone l"ecept;on that if you read statements on the
`intemet like ''AT&T coverage is terrible in City 'I:(Z", you just can't give them
`any credence. You should alv-.Jays menta!!y append "for me" to any such
`comrnents. Recept;on has everything to do with location of nearest tmr,Jers:
`strength of to-...vers, phone antenna chal-acteristics, buildings ar.d other
`matena!s between you and the towers, etc, etc. You cannot just say
`·'reception IS bad'· and be done 11111Uo 1t. Anyway, end of sermon.
`
`I've not yet received any vcicemail, so I can't tail< about visual vcicemail,
`other· than it !ooks like It shouid ·~vcrk we!! based soie!y on the interface. Y'ou
`can also stili press-and-hold 1 to place a traditional vo1cernai: cal:. A nice
`featuoe was the iPhone letting one set up mv ;nitia: voicemaii passwood
`il-·teractively, without pia·:ing a call.
`
`S;rnilar:y, X haven't tr;ed any conference ca!lon~~. but I'm assuming 1t works
`!ike it does in the ads, because so far, evel-ything else seems to.
`
`Vibration is no great guns, but I've not had any trouble "fee!ing" nev•.' ema1is
`'Nith the phone in my pocket.
`
`Ring tones are current:y iimited to what ships \1\tith the phone, but one gets the
`impr·ession that th:s is virtuaily guaranteed to change :n the future.
`
`form Factor Concerns
`
`I'rn thr:lled that Apple includes a phys:cai switch for silenc:ng the phone. I've
`been a fan cf this ever since the Treo. Similarly a pt1ys;ca: rocker switch for
`voiume is ony prefel-ence, sc I was happy to see that toe. The phone itseif is
`sized perfect:y for my average hands, a:t:--1ough your hands may vary.
`
`,t,s t1as beer. rnentioned elsewhere, the headphone F:Kk is a b!ess;ng and a
`curse 1t's a b:essir.g ;n that it's a J.5'' jack which can accommodate standard
`headphones, unl:ke most music-·play:ng phones vvh:ch require an adapter·.
`Unfortunately, the jack ;s so far recessed that o·ea!!v on!v the included
`headphones work-- without on adopter.
`
`:=ortunateiy, the bund!ed headphones ar·e quite n:ce. They're your· standar·d
`!Pod buds w1th a microphone eon bedded so you can o·eceive ca!ls while
`vveal-ing them. You can also p;nch the microphone nub to perform val-ious
`actions--- pause and resume music playback, cloubie-pinch to skip the current
`song, pinch to accept or reject incoming cails, and so on. Th:s is much nicer
`than having tc whip out the phone and peofoom touchscreen acrobatics foo
`these simDie tasks.
`
`1 was surpr;sed at first that the home button is ar. actual physical button -(cid:173)
`not jUSt touch sensitive 8ut l"eally, this was a good idea, otheowise you'd be
`unintenticnaliy setting it off all t:--1e time as your fingers brus:--1ed by.
`
`The screen is of course a fingerpnnt r::~nd cheek-9res:se magnet. Un!ess the
`:aws of chem;stry somehow change, J don't see any gett;ng around this
`Fo•-tunateiy, 1\ppie includes a cleaning cloth. or you can buff it out with your
`t--shirt, if you're feeling c!assy.
`
`1';-,-, super glad that Apple went with glass instead of plastic for the screen -- J
`have a Tabiet PC with a giass screen, ancl there's nary a mark on it despite
`untold abuse from the styius. I think the iPhone 't-.lill take a lot of punishment.
`Overoli it feels very soiid, and a: though 1';-,-, stil: scared tc death cf di-opping it,
`I'm not quite as nervous as I was that it will die on the fi•-st drop.
`
`The Keyboard
`
`The keyboard WOI"kS well, but you do have to give it some time. Ycuo initial
`exper·ience is net likely to be favorable. The best thing to do is exact!y what
`,t,pple recommends-- JUSt keep typ1ng, even if you hit the wrong letter. The
`outo-coorect does the right th;ng 95% of the time. Pi-essing space accepts the
`auto-correct suggestion and tapping the suggestion ignores it.
`
`lt a!sc seems to have soone degree of learning, as it now wil: successful!v
`outo-coorect the word "stevenf" for me, which ceota;nly isn't in the dictionary
`
`If you're typing scmeth:ng that's not in the dictionary, such as an ernail
`addressr JUSt go rea! slow until you get the hang cf it. Punctuation ar.d specia:
`symbols can be found or. a:terr.ate keyboards. I've net found any necessary
`c:--1aracters to be missing so fa;---- even t:--1e bul:et character is there for my
`notes.
`
`A couple mooe things to know about the keyboard: 1t will cap;tali;:e the fi;:;t
`word in a sentence by defauit, but this can be turned off. You can aiso defeat
`it on an as-needed basis, b'{ s1rnp!v to~Niin~~ the shift key off. Caps L.ock b'{
`double-tapping shift is disab:ed by default but can be turned or. in Settings
`
`Keypresses are register·ed on release, not on press. So if you miss, you can
`roil around the Keybcard until the right key shows up and then let go.
`
`Unlike a conventional keyboard, the backspace key is in the lower-•-ight,
`r·ather than the upper-r:ght. Th:s irritated rne greatiy for about an hour, as I
`
`http:/ /stevenf.com/2007 /07 /the_ official_stevenf_iphone_review .php
`
`SV0011957
`
`

`

`kept hittin~~ P instead cf backspace, and U1en I JUSt sin: ply got used to ;t.
`
`The phone is narmw enough t:-1at it's not hard to use your thumb to type with
`the phone 1n one hand.
`
`Fina:ly, 'Nhoever invented the ''magnifying g:ass'' interface for sett;ng the text
`cursor position ought to be nominated for the Nobe: Peace p;~ize. I can't tell
`you how many hours of my l:fe I've 'tJasted tapping at a screen trying to get
`the text cursor to go exactly on-between those two ietteo·s r;~~ht there NO i'JO"T
`OVER TH~RE DI'J,1N 1T.
`
`Sy~dng
`
`Sync;ng is mostly bl;ssful. Being the fiost device to natively sync to Mac ()5 X,
`it works as you alvvays dreamed it ;,vou:d. The inueasingiy
`!naccurateiy-narned 1Tunes handles a !I the work of course.
`
`Contacts sync focm Address Book, calendars sync fooo.-. iCal, email account
`setups sync frorn IV!a:l, music and v:deos from !Tunes, and bookmarks from
`Safao·i.
`
`An impo;·tant note about iCal syn·:ir.g: to-·dos just simply a;-e not availab:e on
`the phone. You can't see them or create thern. Th!s vvas a b:g burnrner for
`n:e, as l use them extensively, and now have tc find an alternate solution.
`A:sc, the ca:endal- on the phone does not diffeoent;ate betv.:een diffe1·ent
`calendars·-- everything is absorbed into one homogenous caie•1dar.
`
`My only irr;tation with syncing comes from lV St1ows. You are given pre-set
`options to sync th;ngs like ''the 3 most 1·ecent unwatched episodes" of a shew.
`The problem is, by "most recent". J\pple means when it was added to your
`iibrary" NOT th;ngs like the episode number.
`
`For example, 1 downloaded Harvey Birdn:an season 1, and have watched
`episodes 1-3, leaving 4··12 marked as nev-.,.. iTunes thinks the three most
`recent are c;, ll" and 12., presurnably because those were the last three to
`finish do'lvnioadir.g, and that's what syncs to mv phone Now fo1·tunateiv,
`Harvey Birdman eviscerates the notion of continuity, so it's not a probiem in
`th!s particular case. But :f these were episodes of :.....ost, I'd be pretty mad right
`new. Especially since there ;s no 'Nay that I can f1nd to p;ck specific eposodes
`to sync.
`
`Other than that gnpe, sync:ng has proven fiawless so far :n both d:rec.tions.
`r'4y desktop has picked up calendar entries and bcokrnarks that f added on
`the iPhor.e and vice-versa.
`
`Presun:ably, notes wiil sync w;th the notes feature in Leopard. R1~~ht no·N
`there's no way to get at (or edit) you• notes from the Mac.
`
`SMS
`
`.L..s unfortunate as the :ack of fl.lM ;s, the S"iS application f;l!s the vacuurn
`quite nicely. Jt ;san extremely nice ionplementation that looks exactly like
`:Chat, dividing up conver·sat!ons by partic:pant, and thread:ng the
`conveo·sation 'Nith tionestarnps and the 'Nhole nine yao·ds.
`
`Photos .and Camera
`
`noe pt1otc viewer 1ro~orks verv n1cely, and iPhoto svncin~~ is a breeze. I set up
`an "iPhone i\:bun:" or. my Mac, dragged a few wedding and dog photos into
`it, and they we1·e on my phon~~ next time I grabbed it out of th~~ dock.
`
`Hoe gestural Interface for flipping bet'Neen photos, :wom;n~~ and pannong, is
`fantastic. 8est of ali, you can use this same interface when setting a photo as
`wa!lpap~~r or •:ontact photo, to crop out the pa1·ts of the p:-1oto you don't want.
`
`Photos taken wiUl U1e iPt1one's camera can be absorbed onto iPt1otc via ttoe
`standard "import from camera'' interface.
`
`The camera itself !sa pretty bog--standard 2fVIP eel! phone can: era. Nothing to
`'Nrite horne about. It"s a bit of a d;sappointrnent corn pared to the niceness cf
`cameras like the Jfv]p with autofocus camera on the :"3ony Ericsson ~:790a, but
`•:am era qua!ity is 1-·ot usually my fj;·st criterion wh~~n picking a phol-·e. I'm just
`happy to have one at ali.
`
`The camera ir.teoface is pretty a on using with only two buttons: "take a
`picture" and "go to albums". It 1s qu:te chal!enging to take a self portrait or
`any pt1ctc where you can't see the screenr because there os no tactile
`feedback for where the shutter button is.
`
`Wifi
`
`1 love the iPhone's wif; implementat;on. It boils clown to this: if wifi is turned
`on and you make an attempt to access the internet, it vvili use t:-1e current wifi
`connection 1f there is one. If not, it vv!ll scan for netvvorks and popup a !!st fer
`you to choose from. [f you decline that, it'll fall back to ttoe t:I>:;I: network.
`
`Vou would r.ot beiieve how much better this is than other imp:ementatior.s
`I've seen. lvJy previous ('VVindmvs ~,1obile) phone vvould constantly pop up
`"lJt:w 1/v'[Ff NE:TVVOR.K"' doalous for the duration that 'Nifo 'Nas turned on and
`even then 1 was never oealiv.'sure if I was using w;fi or t:DGE. J.\ iot cf the
`tin:e, :t seemed l:ke it \>Vould continue to use EDGE: even when vv1fi was
`avai:able. The net result 'Nas that I pretty much left 'Nifo turned off.
`
`Not so on the iPhone. It's just t:-1ere when I need iL exactly the way it shou:d
`be.
`
`Widgets
`
`The stocks, weather, clock, and caiculator widgets should be immediateiy
`familiar to anvone who has eveo· used Dashboard. They iook and \Nork aln:ost
`exactly the same lfllay. Not much to say about them other than they work,
`iook beautiful, and are occasionally useful.
`
`The notes app IS very barebonesr with your opt1cns bas;ca:ly l1rnited to just
`viewing, editing, adding, and deleting notes. Notes are plain text and set in
`r"larker Fe:t, which is a big problem if you happen to be John Gruber. (Just
`kidding, John.)
`
`Safari
`
`You've heard it ail before-· this is the best web bmwser experience of any
`eel! phone, per;cd. Sarne-as-desktop renderingr up to c; pages open at a time_.
`functional AJA><, etc, etc, etc.
`
`At f:r·st I was skept!cai about the zoom:ng interface. In pr·act!ce, it v-.·crks
`exceeding I'{ wei!. If a sin: pie double-tap does net zoom in on the area vou
`want, just use the pinch gestuoe. Because zoooning and panning is FAST, this
`
`http:/ /stevenf.com/2007 /07 /the_ official_stevenf_iphone_review .php
`
`SV0011958
`
`

`

`;sr.'t the nigt1trnare it wcuid be on any other device. It wcrk..s much better
`than simp:y increasing and decreasing the font s;ze, vvhich is what a lot of
`ot:-1er mobile brovvs~~rs call zooming.
`
`A;nuson[~iy, 1r,1eb pages w1th the most fiexible lavouts (say a table with a single
`stretchy coiumn) have the most tooubie adapting to the iPhor.e usage patteon,
`because iPhone Safari renders the page to a fixed width, rather than
`·.:vmpp;ng words :ike ;nost rnobile browsers: you':l end up J-:oon:in[~ and
`panning on these types of pages
`
`Hmveve;· the majority of webs1tes a;·e broken up into columns, and that's
`·.:vhe;·e ttoe iPt1cne's browser excels.
`
`The oniy complaint I have about mobiie Safari is t:-1at it seems to be a little bit
`Gashy. When trying to work w:th D:gg this rnorning, I had numerous crashes.
`~~~~~~~~~ s~~~~~~~~ji~gt~~~~,;~~;;;i,:~2~~~~;' :~~~~~~~~~:s~r;~/~~y[~~r~~;~~~~
`Safari has handled onost everything else I'v~~ thrown at it wit:-! aplomb.
`
`When vou sync your iPt1cne, iTunes w;ll send the I Phone's crash logs back to
`.t..pple (if you ali ow it), so hopefuliy, the crashes will be addressed soon
`
`fVIy other gripes are rea!ly .Just feature requests -- in particular I ,,vish r couid
`save in:ages to tt1e photo albu;nr and I wisto 1t did a bit more caching, which
`is something I never thought I'd hear onyseif say about Safari.
`
`Fiie uploads are not supported, s1nce the iPhone has no use;·-accessib!e
`filesystem. It wou:d be n;ce to be able to offer th;s wheoe it onakes sense,
`such as c:-1oosing a photo to upioad to a site.
`
`1 an: perpetual:'{ surpnsed: a! though 1 rea!ly shouidn·t be, that whenever 1
`see a QuickTime movie or. a page, 1 can actual:y PL.r\Y it. The lack of F:ash is
`kind of a bummer but, look on the brigi-1t sicle, you vvon't be seeing any 'Take
`a picture of Paris :-iiitcn and vvin an iPcdi" banners.
`
`:=mail :s biiss. On my first sync, the iPhone picked up my unconventiona!
`1MPP-SSL. and Sf,~TP-Tl.S configuration E'::lnd 1t JUSt worked. New ernf::lils st1ow
`up, ail o.-.y JMAP mailboxes are thel-e, 1 can delete and move eo.-.ails ar.d the
`c:-1anges are propagated con-e.:tiy to the IMAP server.
`
`Comln[~ fron: the S;dek;ck (no t;·ue Xt"ifl.P) and '.t\lir.dows Mobile (we've kind of
`heard of this IMJ'....P thing but we don't really get it, and honestly we'd prefer if
`you just bought an Exc:-1ange ser;er) this is like a dream come true.
`
`The built-in PDF attact1rnent v;ewer hE'::!s a! ready corne in handyr as [';n sure
`the Off;ce document viewers wiil also eventuailv. 1t would be n•ce ;f the PDF
`viewer vvas a separate application. and I could sync a folder of PDF fiies to the
`phone, but a:as that IS not '{et the CE'::!Se.
`
`There a•-e som~~ limitations to r"lail ·-- th~~re doesn't seem to be a >sav to attach
`;ncre than one photo to a singie email for example. I don't see any obvious
`way of handling cert;f1cates and encrvpted ;nessages (not son:eth;ng that's
`iike:y to be a priority fol- the genel-al consuoner). De:etir.g emails is a
`one-at-a-time affai•-, and of course, the system-wide :ack of cut/copy/paste
`n:akes ;ne very sad.
`
`iPad
`
`They real!y ·.:veren't kidding 'Nhen they said th1s was the best iPod they've ever
`n:ade. 1rnf::lglne a touchscreen video iPod, but yet sornehow even bette;·. What
`on ore do I need to say about this, really-:; It even has gotten one inteoested ;n
`video podcasts for n:y bus comrnute, where prev:ously I had pretty much no
`ir.te;·est beef::! use they were teo ha;·d to wrangle onto rny previous phone.
`
`You Tube
`
`Oh, '(ouTube. Vvhiie a lot of its content 1s diff:cuit to ·.:vatch v .. ·ithout cr:nging. it
`can ve;·v effect;;.'ely consurne hou;·s of your ti;ne, whict1 frn iookir.g fonr.!ard to
`th~~ next ti•ne I'm sat in a cha!1- vvhi!e my significal-·t other tries on 20 different
`dresses :n the mall (love you, sv .. ·eetie).
`
`Jt should r.ot be sui-poising that it takes longer to load videos ove1- EDGE than
`over vvifi, but it does wo•-k, ~~ventually. A brief sidenot~~ about EDGE spe~~d:
`:t's p;·etty ;nuch the same oid EDGt: as alv .. ·ays. At ieast fer me, it is not any
`ff::lster cr slowe;· than it has ever been. [r. my area, 1t docks 1n at about 90
`K8/s with about J . 5s latency
`
`I just had an interesting expe;·ience this ;ncrning ·.:vhere I was brmvsing a
`page or. the phone that !inKed to a You Tube v;deo, and l thougt1t "man, it
`>sou:d be awesome if it actual!y loadecl this in th~~ YouTube app rather than
`taking ;ne to a \.Neb page with a non-functionai F!ash v:ev .. ·er", and !o and
`behcid that ·.:vas exactlv what t1appened, and 1 squef::lled w;th [~iee and startled
`o.-.y dog
`
`Summary
`
`Best phone eve1-. And given the rest of the industry's generally pervasive
`·:iuelessness about p•-etty muc:-1 evel-yt:-dng, I don't exp~~ct it to b~~ su•-passed
`by anything unt:l the iPhone 2. In my opinion, this 1s a homerun for net .Just
`,t..pple but fl.T&T ·.:vho we;·e sma;t enough to :et Steve Jobs have h;s wicked
`wav with them.
`
`The iPhone's noteworthy not just because of what it does, but because of
`what it doesn't de-- narnelyr ail the imtat1ng shit that encurnbe:s e;.'ery other
`smartphone OS. The oniy ti•·-·e the !Phon~~ frustrates is vvhen you think of
`something It couid do, but doesn't · · yet.
`
`kudos to everyone involved It's an ;ndustry-changing pmduct, and J wouid
`neve•- say that lightly
`
`Ef:l39n~.f}.O.W.G.~.'1~5J.f..C~
`Members have unlimited access, no
`restnct1ons!
`
`Your Comments
`
`R.'1."!~nJ9~~-J».V.~t""S.~ .. -;.~t""S.t~::s.
`Psp, Zune, Music, Mp3, Movies, Tv Videos,
`
`Games, I phone Files Waiting -
`
`http:/ /stevenf.com/2007 /07 /the_ official_stevenf_iphone_review .php
`
`SV0011959
`
`

`

`Just cut of curiosity: Is !Tunes bette: at sync:ng your addresses to the :Phone
`than 1t :sat syr.ch!ng vour addresses to the !Pod? Dr is tt11s nothing than~
`transfer cf a somewhat dubious vcf fi:e as well?
`
`·'In mv are~, it clocks on ~t about 90 Kt3;s with about 1.5s l~tency."
`
`Hovv did you do the benchmark? r·.;:y first thought vvas to use the usuai
`suspects (broadbandreports.com, etc.). but a !I of them seem to be e1the:
`f:ast1 cr Java based.
`
`ssp: I can't say I've noticed any probiems vv:th the AB sync:ng. Is there
`anytt1ing you'd specific~ II'{ !ike me to check foo·?
`
`Jim: I used dslrepol·ts.co•n/mspeed
`
`anyone figur·ed out a good 'Nay to post to de!icious et ai en !Phone safm'i?
`
`hi-
`
`(a) Have ycu f!gured out hovv to use it as a data modem for a laptop, either
`via bluetooth or Inte1·net Sharing and Vv'iFi?
`
`(b) VViil it synch vvith a bluetooth keyboard incase I don't -...vant to use the
`screen thurnbboardr but want to use the pt1one as a display?
`
`(c) f\ic video chat vvher. neao a WiFi hot spot? bco hoc.
`
`At last, someone else os bug~~ed by the 'sync 3 most recent unwatc.t1ed
`episodes' thing! To be honest, I always assumed that it meant the top J, and
`not based on t:-1e date whel-· you added the items, but al-·yway, vvhat it needs
`to do !s sync '3 unwatched ep:sodes w!th THE LOWEST EPISODE 1\JU!VIBt:R' ·
`iike you said.
`
`I vvatc:-1 a lot of •:ontinuous se1-~~~s 01-, my video iPocl, ai-od this 'featLn-e' drives
`one mad. [t's surprosingly duonb for .A.pple.
`
`,c.,nyway, the way I get aoound it is turn or. 'oniy sync checked iteons' on the
`ma1n iPod/1Phone p:ef page, and then uncheck the iater ep:sodes. Clumsy and
`onanua:r but it works.
`
`Thanks for t:-1e review! Just anothe;- 6 ononths to wait in the UK .. : (
`
`.A.nother gl~rir.g omission (for one at least) is soone way to open a link in a
`new tab. They provided the tab imp:ementatior. (caliing them pages instead
`of tabs), but didn't pmvide a way to modify a c!ick so that you dont lose the
`page you're ~I ready on.
`
`You clon't fincl th~~ lack of fv1~1S extremely annoying?
`
`1 don't know about you, but s;nce 1 oealiv want to know who's ca:lir.g before I
`ansvver, I stiil neecl to take my iPhone out of ony pocket before i p;·ess t:-1e
`headset buttcn. So, here's a feature I'd love Apple to implement: enab!e
`;Phone to read the name on the address book card when someone known is
`caliing. Or maybe spell out the numbe;- if unknown .
`
`. A.nother 'Nay around the episodes th1n~~ is to make ~r. "epsides'· piay!ist and
`just sync that playlist.
`
`I've done th!s before the iPhone, sc 1 assume it st!li vvm'ks no'N. I shcu!d try
`agam.
`
`Yeah, the manual says that after you type out (and teil !t to accept) a word
`that's not 1n its dictoonary twice, it adds it. Pretty n1fty!
`
`http:/ /stevenf.com/2007 /07 /the_ official_stevenf_iphone_review .php
`
`SV0011960
`
`

`

`Hi Stephen. I don't know :f you've seen the PC \Nor!d stress test yet, but once
`you h~ver 1 don't think you'!! be worried ~bout vour iF'hone dying even on the
`tenth drop. (,£\lthcugh still-- don't drcp ;t~)
`
`Excellent review. I think you'd ag;~ee that most of cu;~ minor complaints are
`things that can (and rnost likely w:l!) be addressed 'tJith a simp!e software
`update.
`
`I don't knovv anyone who uses ~1fv1S to any ievei of satisfaction. so I'm just
`·~vaiting for the day vvhen everyone n:~ads actual emai! on their phone.
`
`Dave: I :-1ave oniy used MfvJS once, and found it annoying, pointiess and
`gimmicky.
`
`I do know there are people that don't share this opinion, though, so I lik.e to
`ask: VVhat 1s it about JvJ~1S that you use (or "use so much", as you'd f1ncl ;t
`'extremely annoying").
`
`I've heard people teii me MfvJS is to SMS as /1,\1 in ;Chat is to textchat. :'3ince I
`only ever AV Chat vvith one pe;·son and only on special ocassions (vvhen one is
`out of the country) I can't find that sim:le conclus:ve.
`
`To post to de.icio.US 1 just have the "post to de:.icio.us" bookmarklet in your
`bookmarks. It's the same way of posting when using regular safari.
`
`Novv, from the page that you want to post, select the bookmark. Jt works!
`
`Re. taking seif po1·traits (and using the camera in genera:), although it mav
`be hard to f...Ifv] the camera >shel-· not iooking at the screen{ I've fmn-·d that
`since the shutter doesn't open unti! you release U1e button, vou can press &
`held the shutter button unt;l you're ready to shoot. Jr. my short-lived (3
`days?) experience, this also he:ps keep the camera st~~adi~~r >shel-· it comes
`tirne to shoot. But at least you wouldn't have to find the button when not
`!ookir.g at tt1e screen.
`
`So as I'm reading thiS 1 I real1ze that there has been very little coverage of the
`;Pod features of the phone, instead concentraton[~ or. the new stuff. PJ: ttois
`talk of svr.cing has me a bit worried . .£\re you saying that l can't just drag
`it~~ms f;-o;-.-, itunes onto th~~ device like you can vvith a current generation iPod?
`rhat wou!d be a hu[~e !oss ;n funct1or.a:ity.
`
`:'3o in general, are the iPod aspects p1·etty much jUSt l;ke the iPcd we k.now
`and love'?
`
`Fina:ly! It's nice to see that someone else is verv annoyed by iTunes default
`syncing be:-1avior of episodic content. It's the exact opposite of hm.v you vvouid
`ever want to consume content: why would l want to go ;n reveo·se
`chronological order?
`
`t"ly 'Norkamund is to make a smart playlist fer each show/pod cast. Lirnit it to
`a certa1r. title or authoo· and ilrn;t 1t to "pl~ycount = 0". You can then set U1e
`playiist to 5 (or l Ol" J or ,,j ''least recently added'' iteons. If you check "live
`updating". you can ;,vatch or iisten to episodes in o;~der on the iPod/iPhone ··
`·~vhen you sync, the vvatched episodes are then removed and replaced by
`"r.eweo·" iterns.
`
`It still doesn"t fix t:-1e "recent:y added" issue that Steven describes, though ..
`
`I don't suppose ~
`
`IF I r·ecali cmTectly ther·e's a way tc have AllvJ messages sent via SIV!S, but
`unless vou have an unlim;ted SMS plan U1at seems a bit of a waste.
`
`I noticed some coo: scroliing gestures in safari while i vvas reading your
`article. When zoomed ;nto the text column you can double tap the upper or
`:ower areas to scroli. Taping the clock sGolls to the top! How cool.
`
`http:/ /stevenf.com/2007 /07 /the_ official_stevenf_iphone_review .php
`
`SV0011961
`
`

`

`:=duo: rv:t"lS has been a Godsend en mm·e than one occasion for rne and quite
`a feN others 1 knm:v.
`
`It's great fo;- those "this is th~~ moclel/brand/colour/shape/etc one I vvas going
`to buy fm· you, do you want !t?"
`.C..iso photos of pl~ces to t1eip w!th g;v!ng directions ..
`
`Of course being on a plan that allo·ws f;·ee r"l!vlSing betvveen tvvo phones on
`the one account, it frequentiy gets abused by sending cute photos of pets etc
`to iiven up one's workday!
`
`stevenf: Check the link I used for my comrnents. 1 describe bugs of the
`;Tunes address book svnchong there (haven't checked 1n recent veo·sions but
`those have been around for ages). Most notably, the ;Pod address book 'l'iiil
`not contain ail addresses you have fer a contact (just these marked as 'home'
`or ·work') 'Nhoch can be a real bummer 1r,1hen you wanted to depend on your
`!Pod for addoesses. f\laone pronunciation fooms (for those /\sian friends .. ) a1·e
`also missing
`
`fr~Uom Spiro Pap! oro July 03, 2007@ 03:43AM UTC-03:00
`
`syncing: vou said next time vou took it out of its cradle, stuff had just svnc'd
`not picking on you but did you manuaily sync it or does it just kinda sync
`itself per·iod!ca!ly'? I'm curious because I'm hoping 't.te start mov:ng mm·e ful!y
`tO'Nao·d devices autosyr.cing themselves dan·on soon. l'n: SICk of leaving for
`work w;th my Toeo and not hav;ng that latest contact on it I added in
`AddressSook just b/c I forgot to sync in the a.rn.
`
`folesystern: > > f=i:e uploads are not supportedr since the 1Phone has no
`user-accessible fiiesysten:. It wouid be nice to be obie to offer this where it
`n:akes sense, such as choosing a photo to upload to a site.<< so ,,vhat does :t
`toave? ~'soup· like Newton OS? it does seern like ttoey'd be able to add ir.
`bette• access to files, or at least refe1· to the data. after oii, aoen't the
`•:ontao:ts !1-, the contact iist just a bunch of data?
`
`DP,\/E:: 1 have a n·eo lOOp and, once in a wtoiie, fond the lack of Mf,1S
`extreoneiy annoying. but then J en: a; I a photo and om no Ionge• annoved.
`~~specially saving the $180/yeal- Spi-!1-·t would like to charge ;-.-,e for Picturerllail
`on top of the $H!O/year X already pav for t.miirn1ted internet access and
`$180/year extra I now hove to pay fer uniin:ited SMS. what a oacketl!!
`
`(Q:.• Jacquesass
`
`Can't you just use the ''Svnc 3 most recent unplayed episodes of'' under
`''Podcasts'' on the iPhone?
`
`Just cunousr looking for the best solut;on -==]
`
`Hi Steven! One thing I haven't read about !s: does the !Phone support
`bonjouo·? Can 1 ~ccess
`iocal rnact11nes usong the .loca: scheme'? 1 war
`real:y bummed that the
`doesn't support Bonjour, J'n: hoping the /1.pple
`pmduct does
`
`Sest,
`dcm
`
`Steven, J'm fol:ow1ng vour t'Nitteo· updatesr and wish they t1ad a wav of
`sending con:ments to people who hGven't friended vou, but:
`
`R.e: to-dos, hoV\1 about just sto1·ing t.hern in a '.t,(lki?
`
`Re: video podcasts, I started giving a crap about .C..pp:e T\i because of video
`podcasts, which I start~~d to care about because of video !Pod but I ei-·decl up
`just ·~vatch:ng thern ali on my T'i via ~·1ac rnini now (the Apple TV podcast
`experience is W/1,Y better tt1ough)
`
`R.~~: 'sync 3 most recent': yeah, that's pretty annoying (~~ven on App!e TV).
`have you tried using a play!ist (sn:art or otherwise)'?
`
`Aiso. SpinPapi, I cloubt that iP:-1one continuously syncs while dockecl {seeing
`as how iPod doesn't), but most phones which support Bluetooth sync via
`;Sync are real:y easy to auton:atoca:ly sync. [ have a cror. job that .JUSt o·uns
`
`osascript -e 'tell appiication "iSync" to synch;·onize'
`
`everv day at 7:45 .C..M. [t works we~t w1th my Sony E:ricssor. pt1one. Sad!y 1t
`doesn't work at Gii on phones which oequire sync to be initiated fooo.-. the
`phone (such as the Treo or iPhone), though if you :eave the iPhone docked I
`bet you can do something sin:ilar with AppieScript and iTunes.
`
`fr~Uom Wood ore July 09, 2(!07 (q: 03:55 PM UTC-08:00
`
`R.egarding svncing videos in !Tunes: this is soonething that was a: so d1·iving
`rne absolutely batshit nuts.
`
`Much googl;ng later, [found that vou CC..N make iTunes sync shows ir. a series
`il-· order, BY AIRDJ\TE, by unwatc:-1ed, with a smart piaylist
`
`Aiso, :Tunes n:adden:ng refusal to sync any playiist containing v:deos other
`than television shows is also sionpie to f;x, once you knmv what's going on.
`
`ilounge has a vet)' comprehel-·sive article expiaining :-1ow to fix bot:-1 of these
`;ssues (and n:ore) here:
`
`http:/ /stevenf.com/2007 /07 /the_ official_stevenf_iphone_review .php
`
`SV0011962
`
`

`

`··--:-..... -.:-.-,,·,··:-: . .-:··::;:':···
`VVhi.:h is not to say that I clon't fervently hope that Apple pays some attention
`to these issues. This stuff is supposed to "_;ust ,,vork/ right?
`
`·-.-,::.:-::·;:·>'
`
`Phone sounds 01< (basicaliy a smali mac/cell phone hybrid), but the int~~gratecl
`battery issue a! one prevents me from wanting one. i'd rather get a bas:c LG
`or sornethin~~ wt1e:e 1 can rep!ace the battery for 5 bud.;::> :ather than spend
`the 100+ dollars fol- appie to l"eplace the ;phone battery fol- me.
`
`Post a Comment
`
`If you have a TypeKey identity. you can·-·
`
`to use it here.
`
`Remember r.::e? (: Yes
`
`~- i\Jo
`
`......................................................................................................................
`Com;nents:
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`Tf·JlL vviil be stripped. URLs vvili be automatically lii-·ked.
`
`Also on "'stevenf
`
`":·
`
`-:::-::·
`
`··--··--·:·.-:-::::•
`
`(excerpt) Five minute revfe\tv: ram bim".'n away by the
`iPhone. if you've seen the ads and watched the videos,. you
`pretty much know af! vou need w know. That ts exactfv how
`it.: fookS and work'5 -- no trickery. r
`
`(excerpt) ffere's a lfttfe Independence Dav project I've been
`working on: Gems for ;Phone! It's a clone ot a popular
`"match the colored gems" gante vou may have pfayeo
`before. Oick a colored square,. then an adjacent square rc
`swap thern ..
`
`c~:-~t~f'tt:dr.-ci d<;!!0!:9}1 cc::~yrtgn.t:[)2{):82·2-on7 • ... ··:·::-.• ·-:·:I ?'&W<;!rM by ··- -.·.:;:.· "•·:··· ~ :·· ··-::-:·I:··--·
`
`http:/ /stevenf.com/2007 /07 /the_ official_stevenf_iphone_review .php
`
`SV0011963
`
`