Tag Archives: iPhone

Me and My iPhone

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I am loving my new iPhone.

When the Verizon iPhone became available earlier this month, I bought one. I was due for a phone upgrade anyway, and had to choose between an iPhone and an Android phone. I needed either operating system to use my Square point of sale device.

It had been nearly four years since the original iPhone was released, but for that for years, it was only available on AT&T. AT&T does not have the coverage I need in the places I go. It also has crappy customer service handled by overseas, outsourced workers. No matter how much I wanted an iPhone, I was not willing to enter into a relationship with AT&T. Instead, during the four years, I had a Palm Treo phone followed by a BlackBerry Storm. They did the job and I was satisfied.

I was eligible for a phone upgrade on December 22. The rumors of iPhone coming to Verizon were running wild before that. I held off long enough to hear the announcement before locking for two years in on a new phone.

Early in February, when I logged into my Verizon Wireless account, Verizon offered me the phone. Again, my choices were between an iPhone and an Android phone. The main reason I went with the iPhone was because there would be no learning curve for me. I already had an iPad and my understanding was that the operating system was nearly identical on the iPhone. Unlike many people, I don’t consider my phone and toy. It’s a tool. A communication tool. Smartphone features also make it a simple computing tool. I don’t play games, I don’t make movies, and I don’t waste a lot of time with apps. My main concern was getting a smartphone that met my communication needs and enabled me to sync my data with my computer. The way I saw it, the iPhone would do this easily and transparently while an Android phone would require me to either buy special software or jump through hoops using Google apps to sync my data. And although I wasn’t very interested in apps, I knew that there were far more iPhone apps than Android apps. When I discovered that the two phones I was considering, the iPhone and the Droid 2, would cost me the same to buy, the decision became a no-brainer. I bought the iPhone.

Last BlackBerry Photo

The last photo I snapped with my BlackBerry Storm. Really.

What I never realized, was just how much I would enjoy using the iPhone. It really is easier for me to use than any other phone I’ve ever had. The interface is very intuitive. But what really blew me away was how easy it was to sync my data between my Macs and my phone. I simply entered some information about my MobileMe account into my iPhone and my iPhone did the rest. Saving time saves money — really. If I’m not wasting time with a steep learning curve, I have more time available to get work done and to enjoy my life. For me, that’s what it’s all about.

The wide availability of apps surprised me. I never realized how many apps there were for things that I need to do. In my role as a pilot, I need specialized information about the weather, sunrise and sunset times, light angles, and FAA regulations. It wasn’t long before I found apps that can meet many of my needs. For example, I found an app that gets official airport weather and displays it in a format that’s familiar to me. This makes it possible for me to use my phone to get up-to-date weather information about any airport that I might need to fly to. I can even do this during flight (although I can’t say I recommend doing so). Another app not only makes it easy to create an official FAA flight plan but it will show my aircraft position on an aeronautical chart while I am flying. Another app makes it easy for me to log my flight time after every flight. I can then sync that data to a file on my Mac book Pro and my iPad so I have up-to-date logbook information in multiple places.

I know there are a lot of games out there, but I don’t play them. I keep hearing about Angry Birds and how addictive it is and can’t understand why someone would want to play a game that sucks so much time out of their life. The only reason Game Center is on my iPhone is because I can’t get it off. There are no games. People told me that I would like my iPhone because I play with it, but that simply isn’t true –– not in the true sense of the word. I may spend more time browsing weather information and reading books and articles on the news but I don’t play games.

I’m not saying the iPhone is the perfect phone for everyone. It really depends on your needs. If you like to spend your time watching video on your phone, you probably would prefer something on a faster, 4G network. If you’re only interested in communication, you could probably save a lot of money by going with a standard phone instead of a smartphone. People who buy iPhones to look cool or keep up with their friends are idiots. The phone should meet your needs. If it exceeds your needs it should only do so to give you room to grow. After all, don’t you want your phone to last two years?

I’ll be writing a lot about my iPhone in the days and weeks to come. I want to highlight some apps that I think people may find useful. I don’t want people thinking that I’m an Apple fan boy or fan girl. Although I like most Apple products, I’m not blind to their shortcomings. (I must admit, however, that I haven’t found any shortcomings in my iPhone yet.) My goal is to point out how software tools, including mobile computing apps, make my life easier. By sharing this information with you, you might learn how to make your life easier, too.

On a side note here, I’m currently experimenting with Dragon Dictate, a software program that uses voice recognition to transcribe what I dictate. This entire blog post was written by dictation. As I look over what has been transcribed, I realize that it is not error-free, but it is amazingly accurate. I need to learn the software to help make me more productive. Many people like to spend hours in front of the computer but I don’t. I’m hoping that by using dictation software which can type almost as fast as I speak, I can save a lot of time in my writing work and be able to spend more time doing the things I love with the people I love.

Five Reasons Why My Next Phone Will Be an iPhone

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Yes, I finally took the plunge.

Regular readers of this blog think I hate the iPhone. That is not the case. I hate AT&T. From their crappy coverage to their even crappier customer service, I won’t voluntarily give that company another dime of my money ever again. Hell, when I made my split with them years ago, I even sold my stock.

I actually like the iPhone. And, since buying an iPad last April, I like it even more. After all, isn’t an iPad like a big, fat iPhone without calling capabilities or a camera?

I was eligible for a new phone on my Verizon plan on December 23. I’d been considering several Android phones and the Motorola Droid 2 was likely to be the winner.

And then the Verizon iPhone announcement came.

I gave it a lot of thought. I was worried that Verizon would attempt to squeeze higher fees out of customers for the privilege of using the most coveted smartphone in the world. So I waited to learn more about pricing, etc. Hell, I’d lived with the BlackBerry — which still worked fine — for nearly two years; I could wait another few weeks.

Eligible for UpgradeThis morning, I went online to the Verizon site. When I logged in, I was greeted with a message telling me that as a “valued customer,” I was eligible to upgrade to an iPhone first and could get the phone as soon as February 10. I followed a trail of information by clicking a bunch of buttons. I was surprised that the 16GB iPhone 4 would cost me the same as the Droid 2. I clicked some more. I was surprised that an unlimited voice/text plan was available. And that adding up the plans I needed would cost me less per month than I was already paying with my 2-year-old BlackBerry Storm.

When I began entering a credit card number, I knew they had me. Moments later, it was too late to turn back.

But I do have five valid reasons why my next phone will be an iPhone.

  • Smart Phone. It was absolutely necessary for me to buy a smartphone — and the iPhone is one hell of a smart phone. It gives me access to my address book and calendar data and lets me add the apps that I needed to get my work done. And there are plenty of apps. (No, Angry Birds will never be installed on any of my devices.)
  • Easy Syncing. The iPhone will sync address book, calendar, and e-mail data transparently with my Macs. The Droid would have required 3rd party software or clunky syncing with Google services that I don’t currently use. The syncing alone was enough to sell me on the phone, even if it cost more.
  • Familiar Interface. I have an iPad. I struggled with the interface for a short time when it was new. Why? Because it’s based on the iPhone interface, which I didn’t know. So my knowledge of the iPad interface means I already know 95% of what I need to use the iPhone. I admit that I dreaded facing the learning process for an Android phone; now I don’t have to worry about it.
  • The price is right. The iPhone cost me the same as the Droid would have but gives me so much more (see previous three bullets).
  • I am an Apple User (and stockholder). I’ve been using Macs since 1989 and have been writing about them since 1991. People who know me for my Mac-related work are always shocked to learn that I don’t have an iPhone. It isn’t individualism, I tell them. It’s the simple fact that AT&T cannot deliver the kind of service I need for my only means of communication. (Yes, we dumped the land lines at least two years ago.) Now I can meet the expectations of my peers without sacrificing my own communication needs.

February 10 is just a week away. Four years and two phones — Palm Treo 700p and BlackBerry Storm — after the original iPhone was announced, I’m finally joining the throng.

I feel oddly unexcited. Could it be because I know what so many others won’t admit?

It’s just a phone.

The State of Macworld Expo

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The end of an era? Looks that way to me.

When Apple announced, two years ago, that it would no longer attend Macworld Expo, lots of people said the announcement was Macworld Expo’s death knell. Like some other people, I thought that opinion was a both harsh and premature.

I don’t think that anymore.

On Friday, I did a presentation as a member of the Macworld Expo Conference faculty for the first time in at least eight years. I used to speak at Macworld Expo all the time, having at least one session in San Francisco and Boston (and later, New York) and even Toronto from about 1993 through 2002 or so. Back in the early 2000s, IDG took over the show and the conference management changed. They also went off in a new direction that stressed the creative aspects of working with the Mac. I was always more of a productivity person, so I didn’t fit in.

I still went to the show once in a while, but not very often. I came a few years ago, mostly to meet with one of my publishers. But that was it.

Looking back at it, I realize that I was deep in the Mac world at Apple’s first peak in popularity. The shows — especially in San Francisco — were huge. The very biggest shows took up both exhibit halls of Moscone Conference Center. All the big vendors were there — Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, Macromedia, Claris (later FileMaker), Quark — the list goes on and on. The show floor was buzzing all day long. The noise was deafening and there was a pure adrenaline rush on first entering the exhibit hall. And the products introduced! Even my husband talks about innovations like the Video Toaster (which, ironically, I believe ran on an Amiga). I remember all of Apple’s big hardware and software releases and the software demos that were both educational and entertaining. And how could I forget the Boston show where Mac OS 8 went on sale and my first Mac OS Visual QuickStart Guide sold out?

Afterwards, the parties would start. They were amazing affairs — the Exploratorium is a good example; the party sponsors rented the entire facility, leaving us to wander around and play with the exhibits. There was headliner entertainment, too: one year was Chris Isaac at one party and Jefferson Airplane at another. There were cruises and bungee jumps at Boston Harbor. There were full food, open bar parties at the top of the Fairmont in San Francisco. As one of the B+ list speakers/authors (in those days, anyway), I’d party hop with my peers. I remember one year bouncing from one party to the next with Bob Levitus, who always managed to get into all the parties, whether he had tickets or not.

Things change. Apple took a serious downturn. Things looked bad. Then Steve Jobs came back. The original iMac breathed new life into the company. More products followed. I remember seeing hundreds of buses all over San Francisco skinned with images of five colors of iMacs. But despite Apple’s subsequent successes, Macworld Expo was never quite the same. The show began to shrink.

What I saw on the show floor this year was a shock. The show was tiny — by old standards — occupying about half of one floor at the relatively new Moscone West building. At least 80% of the items on display could be classified as accessories — mostly protective or decorative covers — for the iPad and iPhone. There were very few Macintosh items.

Macworld Expo had become iAccessoryworld Expo.

Although most of the folks I spoke to about their thoughts on this matter seemed to agree with me — some more strongly than others — the members of the Macintosh press that I met there were surprisingly upbeat about it. One of them even commented that Microsoft’s support for the show is a good sign. Support for the show? They didn’t even have a booth! Having a party for a chosen few and being one of the sponsors on another party isn’t the kind of support I’d be upbeat about.

If I had travelled to San Francisco for the sole purpose of seeing the show floor — as I know many people did in the past — I would have been sorely disappointed. Disappointed enough to demand my money back. What I wouldn’t be able to get back was the travel time and expense and the three hours of my life spent trying to understand how so many accessory developers could think there was a market for yet another version of an iPad case. Or skin. Or screen protector.

The real value in Macworld Expo was the conference sessions — now more than ever. The conference management assembled a collection of experts — some old timers like me, some younger and newer to Mac OS (and iOS, of course) — and offered a variety of interesting tracks and sessions for Mac, iPhone, and iPad users.

My session about building your iPad for business was relatively well attended — the room was about half full. I received a handful of follow-up questions and a polite round of applause at the conclusion of my talk. Several of the attendees came up to the front of the room to thank me or offer complements. It was like the old days, but on a much smaller scale.

After all, Friday’s room could have held only about 100 people when, in the past, I did sessions that packed a room that seated more than 300.

And the meeting room area at Macworld Expo used to be busier than a high school hallway between classes each time a session let out. Now only a few dozen people meandered about, shuffling from room to room.

At least these people got something worthwhile for their money.

I know these are harsh words and, as a member of the Mac community with a long Macworld Expo history, it’s hard for me to type them. The conference faculty was treated quite well, with generously filled swag bags, a comfortable place to rest between sessions, and both breakfast and lunch every day. The session rooms were relatively well equipped. It’s hard to share negative opinions about Macworld Expo when IDG staff responsible for the conference part of the show treated me well. But if this blog post precludes me from ever speaking again at a Macworld Expo, so be it. I don’t sugar coat anything and I’m certainly not going to sugar coat this.

While I realize that the old days are long gone, I think that if IDG can’t do better than what I experienced this past week in San Francisco, they should throw in the towel on Macworld Expo and concentrate on better ways to share valuable information with Mac OS and iOS users.

Apple is a Corporation, NOT a Cause

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A post by former MacWEEK editor, Rick LePage, really hits the nail on the head.

Yesterday, while having lunch in my hangar at Wickenburg, I checked ÜberTwitter to see what was going on in TwitterLand. Along the way, I followed a link shared by @BWJones to a blog post by Rick LePage.

Rick LePage was the editor-in-chief of MacWeek magazine, a weekly tabloid-sized publication that covered all things Macintosh. Back in the 1990s, not long after I began my writing career, I wrote occasionally for MacWEEK. Not only did the magazine pay well, but it was highly respected. Writing for MacWEEK likely helped my writing career get off the ground — although I never really pursued magazine writing, preferring to author books instead.

So there I was, munching a bacon cheese burger and tater tots while sitting on the back seat of my golf cart at the airport, reading Rick’s blog post on my BlackBerry Storm. One thing I hate about the Storm is its Web browser. I don’t surf on the Storm. I’d lose my mind. But this blog post really sucked me in. It explained what was going on at MacWEEK when Apple was in its “state of confusion” before Steve Jobs came back. It admitted that MacWEEK had gone beyond reporting and had been trying to push its own agenda to sway user opinion on what Apple was doing. (I can’t help but think about FoxNews and its political slant here.) I was so sucked in that I forgot I was reading microscopic print on a cell phone.

And then that cell phone rang. I was called into action doing something else. I put the phone away, cleaned up my lunch mess, and got back to work.

But I didn’t forget the blog post. It had impressed me that much. I figured I was only halfway finished with it and I wanted to read it to the end. I can’t tell you how seldom that happens these days.

So this morning, I looked it up and finished reading it. I discovered that I’d nearly finished. But the best was at the end, in the last paragraph. It started with these sentences that really hit home for me:

I don’t think Apple is a better or worse company than most others. I still love the stuff they turn out, and would much rather be pushing a Mac than a Windows box. But, for all of you who think that the Mac—or Apple, or the iPhone—is a Cause, and that somehow Apple cares about you, wake up.

It was as if Rick had written this based on what was in my mind.

I like most Apple products, and have bought many of them. I prefer a Mac over a Windows PC — to me, there’s no comparison worth making. I own numerous Mac computers, including a desktop Mac and three laptops.

But I’m not a blind follower to everything Apple. I’m not a member of the Apple cult. I make my product decisions based on design and functionality, not logo. I don’t hang on Apple rumors. I don’t push Apple products to my friends and family members. I don’t surf the Web looking for all things Apple. And I certainly don’t get into bullshit platform wars in forums and blog comments. Hell, I have a life beyond the computer I chose to get work done.

I don’t like all Apple products — I still can’t see the real point of an AppleTV and prefer my BlackBerry over an iPhone. (I don’t want to surf the Web and run countless pointless applications on my phone.) My days of buying in and adopting early ended not long after I bought a Newton.

I realized years ago — probably around the time iTunes made its debut — that Apple is not putting the customer first. As Rick points out in his piece, Apple is a company with the need to make a profit and stockholders (like me, I might add) who want to see it succeed. Apple has a huge cult-like following — there must be something hypnotic about Steve Jobs at a keynote intoning, “Isn’t this incredible?” — and it’s cashing in on it. More power to ’em!

The sentences I quoted above should be a reality check for everyone. Apple is not a cause. It’s a corporation. Its goal isn’t to make you feel good or solve all your problems. Its goal is to get you to buy its products so it can make a big, fat profit.

Wake up, folks. Look beyond the logo and pretty white packaging and think about what you’re buying. If you still want to evangelize the “Apple cause” — well, it’s your life.

And now lets see how many people completely misunderstand the point of this post and come to Apple’s rescue in Comments.

Why I Canceled My Nook Order

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And why I might buy one anyway.

As an avid reader, I’ve been attracted to the idea of an ebook reader for years. But until this past autumn, I haven’t really found one I thought I’d actively use.

Before that were offerings from Sony, which seemed to fall far short of what I thought was a good design. The blinking page turns would drive me batty, since I knew I could go through an average page in 10-20 seconds. (Have I mentioned that I read very fast?)

Kindle came out and lots of people loved it, but I was turned off by Amazon.com’s aggressive marketing, limited format support, and high book prices. (Like many other book buyers, I don’t feel that an ebook’s cost should be anywhere near the cost of its printed version.) And when Amazon snatched purchased books off of Kindles without warning, I started wondering what other kind of access Amazon had and whether it would use it.

Enter, the Nook

NookThen Barnes and Noble introduced its Nook. Or at least it announced it. It seemed more in line with what I was looking for in size, cost (for the unit and books), features, and flexibility. I visited B&N stores regularly to get my hands on one and give it a try. No joy there. Even after November 30, when the units were supposed to be available for purchase, I could not seem to find one. And I certainly wasn’t going to buy one until I either read a lot of reviews about it or had some quality time with a demo unit. I did see a few reviews and they were, for the most part, positive. But I still wasn’t prepared to buy one until I could walk away from the store with it.

Christmas came. My husband decided to buy one for me. Of course, he couldn’t get his hands on one, either. But he ordered one online. They said it would ship in January. He asked for some kind of card he could give me on Christmas Day, in its place. They charged him $4 for a card that looked like a nook. And that’s what I opened on Christmas Day.

A few days later, he checked with B&N again to see when the Nook would arrive. They projected the end of January.

FAIL

An Apple Tablet?

This week, the Apple Tablet rumors have been in full swing. I’ve been wanting an Apple Tablet — or at least thinking I wanted an Apple Tablet; more on that in a moment — since last spring. I actually put off the purchase of a 13-inch MacBook Pro, hoping a Mac netbook would become available before then. Apple kept insisting they weren’t going to develop a netbook. I caved and bought the 13-inch MacBook Pro to replace a 15-inch MacBook Pro and the 12-inch PowerBook before it. (I still have both of those; anyone want to buy one?)

So here I sit, on January 6, expecting a Nook right around the same time that Apple might announce something infinitely better.

Or not.

The way I see it, Apple could do one of two things:

  • It could announce an Apple Tablet that basically reinvents ebook readers and tablet computers at the same time. Kind of like what the iPod did for MP3 players years ago. Something that would blow all the existing options out of the water. Something not only I’d want, but everyone with a need (or desire) for mobile computing or an ebook reader would want.
  • It could announce an Apple Tablet that, although attractive in its design and interface, falls short of what I need or want as an ebook reader or tablet computer. Or marry the device to a partner that I can’t do business with. This is what I thought about the iPhone and AT&T. I might have gone with the iPhone if I could choose my own carrier — without jailbreaking — but the AT&T partnership was a deal breaker for me.

An iPhone-like Situation

Indeed, my situation today has a lot in common with the iPhone announcement and release. Back then, I was in the market for my first smartphone. My Motorola flip phone was four years old (at least) and I wanted to tap into the basic computing power of a smart phone to store contact information, calendar events, and simple applications that would help me as a pilot (weather, flight planning, etc.). It was vital that the phone be able to communicate with my Macs to exchange information. When the iPhone came out, it looked like a dream come true.

Yet just days before people started lining up to buy iPhones, I bought my Palm Treo 700p. At the time, it was a better decision for me. Two years later, I updated to a Blackberry Storm. Again, it was better for me.

You see, unlike so many other people, I don’t buy the hot new gadget just because it’s a hot new gadget. I buy it because it meets my needs. The iPhone doesn’t meet my needs. I need a carrier with coverage in remote places. Verizon is that carrier. (Hell, AT&T can’t even get a good signal at my house.) I’m not interested in dropping $1.99 every few days or weeks on cool apps I don’t need or playing games on my phone. I’m not interested in being able to join wi-fi networks — in the very remote places I go, I consider myself lucky to have a cell signal at all. I need “tethering” to get my computer on the Internet via my cell phone’s Internet connection. The Treo and the Storm both support that through Verizon; I just learned that the iPhone still does not via AT&T. I’m not interested in jailbreaking a phone to add features that the maker and carrier don’t want me to have. I want a fully functioning, fully supported smartphone that does exactly what I need it to do, right out of the box. That’s why I don’t have an iPhone.

Now before you iPhone lovers get your panties in a bunch, just remember that I’m talking about my needs and wants. Not yours. Yes, your iPhone is very cool. Yes, I wish it met my needs. But although it might be perfect for you, it simply doesn’t meet my needs. I made my decision. Don’t waste your time and mine blasting me in Comments because I haven’t drunk the iPhone Kool-Aid and sacrificed my needs so I can be cool, too.

My Point

And that brings up one of two points in this post:

  • Barnes & Noble failed when it introduced its Nook right before Christmas and didn’t have enough units on hand to sell to customers who wanted them. That failure was only made worse when the Apple Tablet rumors starting churning up again. Why would anyone buy now and wait until January month-end for a device when Apple, which is known for innovative, game-changing designs, could announce a competing product around the same time? Hell, if the Apple Tablet is the product I hope it is, I’d buy one even if I already had a Nook. But the Nook hasn’t arrived and B&N has just lost a sale.
  • Although I’m huge Apple fan who has been using Macs since 1989, writing about them since 1990, and, indeed, earning a living as someone who teaches others about Apple products and software, I won’t buy an Apple Tablet if it doesn’t meet my needs. (Maybe it’s because I’d be buying it for me, and not to impress others with it. ) I’d like to think that there are other people like me who feel the same way. Don’t buy it just because it has an Apple logo on it. Buy it because it’s the best product to meet your needs.

It’s because I’m willing to wait and see what might be available soon that I’m in a good position to get what I want instead of compromising on features. I like immediate gratification as much as the next geek, but after buying so many gadgets over the years — heck, I still have a Newton MessagePad on the shelf! — I’ve learned not to rush out and buy what might be the next great thing. I’m willing to wait, at least until April or May, to make my ebook reader purchase.

Whether it’s an Apple Tablet or a Nook or something else that materializes between now and then remains to be seen.

But one thing’s for certain: it will be the right purchase decision for me.