From Blackberry to iPhone… a whole new world

By curiousillusion ( August 12, 2009 at 7:49 pm) · Filed under gadgets,

I got my first smart phone, a Blackberry, a little over 2 years ago… and it changed my life.  Having a phone that could surf the internet, receive and send emails, on top of doing everything else that a phone does was simply amazing.  I loved it and couldn’t imagine my life without it.

But that was before I was surrounded by iPhones this weekend.  At one point I picked up my brother’s and started playing with it… and I had a hard time giving it back 30 minutes later.  I got to watch one cousin use her iPhone to play music in the car, then answer the same iPhone when it rang… how convenient.  After playing with the Facebook app and seeing the Maps app in action, I was hooked – the iPhone must be mine.

So today I finally got my iPhone 3G S.  I drove 20 minutes to the nearest AT&T on my lunch break to get it, I couldn’t wait any longer – and it was totally worth it.  I’ve heard all the debates back and forth between Blackberry and iPhones and, as someone who uses a smart phone for pleasure and not for business, this is what I’ve come to love about the iPhone, in such a short while:

  • Playing music.  Yes I have a separate iPod but juggling/carrying 2 appliances isn’t convenient.  Plus my nano was getting full, I needed more space.
  • Safari.  The web browser is neat and I love how I can view actual webpages, not converted mobile versions.
  • The apps. I love Facebook, especially being able to chat which I couldn’t do on my blackberry. Shazam, which can identify music being played nearby, is just amazing.  Being able to download directly from itunes on the go will be dangerous but so handy.  The maps works super fast and I find it easier to use than when I had it on the Blackberry, probably because of the touchscreen.  Accessing my google reader on the go is also neat. I’ve downloaded more apps but haven’t played with them yet.
  • The speed.  Both safari, loading apps and email messages are a lot faster than I expected and in some cases faster than the Blackberry.
  • The bigger screen and full sized keyboard.  Granted this is Pearl specific, but I was getting tired of the SureType and the tiny screen space.  Having such a large space to see and type is pretty great.

I will say that the email does stink.  I just went into the email part of the iPhone and then suddenly the phone realized I had a new email, which actually came 30 minutes earlier.  Plus I don’t like having my 2 email inboxes separate, but I guess that’s not a big deal.  I also kind of wish that apps could run in the background, like Tweetie, so that I could be notified whenever I have a new @ reply. But I’ll get used to it.

So, for someone that loves new gadgets, this is pure awesomeness.  No it’s not perfect, as a million people will point out, but it has a lot of great features that I’ve already come to love.  I’m sure there are even more amazing things that I have yet to discover.  As for the Blackberry?  I’m not looking back.

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  • TotallyHeather
    Me and the BlackBerry world will miss you!

    Hahah and as far as the OCD screen thing, absolutely OCD. I'm constantly cleaning my BB screen. And no one knows why because it's already spotless. But I can't help it. If I'm just sitting there, I'll take out my BlackBerry, take the case off, clean the screen, put the case back on and then put it down. I don't know why. Just one of my strange little quirks, I guess.

    It's not just the iPhone but any touch screen phone. I'd freak out. Like the BlackBerry Storm. Love my BlackBerry but could never use the Storm.
  • I've had an iPhone for a year now and I love it. Glad you found Tweetie already, because I was going to recommend it.
  • You've already seen my post comparing my BlackBerry to my iPhone, and with the one exception of the common inbox issue, I've managed to alleviate almost all of my complaints.

    As far as getting timely notifications of my emails - since the important emails are my work emails, they come from Microsoft Exchange, which is "push", so I get them right away. I have it checking my Gmail every 15 minutes. I cannot get through the day without charging my iPhone though - but it sits on my desk at work plugged in most of the day, so it's no big issue.

    I will say this - there are going to be anecdotal stories (you've already gotten a few) about how terrible and scary jailbreaking is. I was against it for a while, and frankly, you might want to hold off on it for a bit too, until you find a compelling reason to do so. For me it was because I needed the MyProfiles app, which Apple won't allow into their store. Without that app, there was no way I could use the iPhone for business purposes.

    Also, you need to get Words with Friends (there's a free version in the App Store) and play "scrabble" with me. I'm "mattstratton" on that app :)
  • I am afraid of smart phones and conviced that they will one day rule the world, Terminator style.
  • Pam
    Now I really want one!! I'm switching to AT&T when my contract is up in May and I'm totally getting an iPhone. Not only am I a Mac addict, but I am drawn to everyone who has an iPhone.
  • Oh, about jail breaking your telephone I highly recommend NOT doing it. Do you remember me ranting a while back about waiting for a replacement phone? I had my iPhone jail broken and when I went to reverse it so I could get the new upgrades (picture messaging, voice recorder, and texting horizonital) my phone got stuck in a reboot cycle. My phone would NOT turn on. It was just stuck rebooting every 3 minutes and wouldn't get past the black screen with the white apple!
  • I love my iPhone and wouldn't trade it for anything...except maybe the new Prada phone when they decide to drop the price down to something affordable.

    As for getting your emails in "real time" you can set your phone to automatically fetch every X amount of minutes or do it manually. I'm an email whore and probably check my email every 45 minutes while at work or on the go. Having it fetch automatically every 15 minutes is battery draining, increasing your internet usage (unless you are in a wireless area)...but do you really want your iPhone fetching your emails while you are sitting at your desk checking your own emails?

    WeatherEye is a great app that has accurate weather forecasts. The app that comes with the phone sucks. I use Tweetdeck for Twitter.

    AroundMe is helpful when you are in an area you don't know. It will find gas stations, restos, banks, ATMs, hotels etc.

    Fring is like trillion for the iPhone.

    Don't know what to eat? Try UrbanSpoon.

    Do you subsribe to LastFM for music? Yep, they have an app too!

    I have a million apps but those are some of my favorites!
  • I think somebody may have mentioned it already but you can set your phone to check for email more frequently, but this can be a battery drain. Then again, you can also sign up to MobileMe and have push notification, so emails are delivered instantly. This also gives you other cool features like Find My iPhone and Remote Wipe. However, it is another $99 per year.

    As for Twitter notifications, they're perfectly possible. The problem isn't with the iPhone but with the need for someone/thing/server to be checking your account for updates so that it can tell you! I'm sure someone will do it soon enough. See http://jerakeen.org/notes/2009/06/125128358/ for more info.
  • Be sure to get the UrbanSpoon app, too! It's free and uh-MAZ-ing!

    :)
  • JPP
    YEAH for the iphone!

    My favorite apps...

    Say Where - A business finder that has changed my life.
    QuickTip- Fantastic way to determine your tip. Love it.
    Google app- Clearly.
    Eight Glasses a Day- My favorite way to track my water intake.

    Enjoy!
  • Congrats and welcome to the wonderful world of iphones! Enjoy playing around!
    :) Camile
  • I have a G1 phone and I could never use anything other than an Android smartphone. It's SO GREAT. I like it even better than the iPhone, which I did debate getting. I can run my Twitter app in the background, and since I already had Gmail, everything was set up like that with a familiar interface. My point is, a smartphone changed my life too, haha.
  • ronnica
    I'm glad you're loving it! I just finished uploading my music to my new phone myself. I don't use the Internet on it, but that's a personal decision to allow myself not to have 24/7 access to my email, thus feeding my addiction. It's crazy to think that this one gadget replaces my mp3, PDA, and phone, and is better than all 3 of them in speed, looks, and usability. I can't imagine what phones are going to look even in a few more years!
  • If you use gmail you might prefer the iPhone-friendly Gmail site to the Mail app. Google also has an all purpose app in the store.

    You should also consider jailbreaking. It enables some neat stuff (real time last.fm scribbling for instance), is really easy and completely reversible.
  • Jailbreaking? Sounds scary. What does it entail/do?
  • I'd recommend against jailbreaking... it means hacking the iPhone's software to override the built-in protections so that it can be made to do things it otherwise couldn't. Do your research and make up your own mind but it is in breach of your T&Cs and I believe it gets undone every time there is an update.
  • Nah it sounds totally scary, I'm gonna avoid it.
  • TeacherCarrie
    Oh and as for apps...I thought I would share my favs with you. They were all free. I have only paid for an app twice, and it was for $.99...and they are games.

    UrbanSpoon - find restaurants of any type nearby
    AirMe - uploads your pics you take to Facebook and/or Flickr
    Pandora - just like the online radio station, where you customize what you listen to
    IHeart Radio - totally awesome...you can listen to your fav radio station live!
    Phone Flicks - Netflix for your iPhone
    Tip-U-Late - no need to figure out a tip when you go out with someone or a huge group of people
  • TeacherCarrie
    You can go into your settings and change the email setting to alert you when you receive the email, receive emails every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, etc. I think I finally set mine to receive an alert every 30 minutes. I lurve it!

    My iPhone is attached to my hand. Today, I accidentally forgot it at home b/c it was charging upstairs. Oh my god...I had no clue what to do with myself. Luckily, I was at work and wouldn't really need to use my phone or any of the stuff on it...so it wasn't too bad...until I was driving home and thought of a million things I needed to do using it. Oy vey!
  • odd_one_in
    Good on you for getting it and enjoying it. I've never really liked iPods. I love my Cowon, it's touch screen, has radio, plays video, it also integrates music that you add via the SD card you can use if you choose to, great sound quality, and all for less than what an iPod costs. Anyway, that's my rant.
    I can't rant about the iPhone bcos in terms of mobile phones, I can go for weeks without anyone ringing it. :)
    Keep having fun with your new fancier geek device :)
  • leaky_tiki
    Told ya! ;-)

    And in the settings menu can can adjust the fetch settings to get your email every 15 minutes, but it can drain the battery. I leave mine on manual and check it every few hours. You could do the same and check yours between classes...Wait..Do you even have classes in kindergarden? LOL
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