I am really dependent on my mobile device, both because of the nature of my work, and because I have a passel of children who have to be managed in various ways, and the texting/calendars/email/phone combo helps me do that. And I’ve wanted an iPhone since they were first released, what, five, six years ago now? But the stars have just never really aligned to make it happen. We were on the wrong plan, or I already had a corporate-provided Blackberry Storm (UGH), or something.
Most recently, for the past two years or so, I’ve been using a Google Nexus on TMobile -an Android gadget. I think Google actually discontinued that one, but I just kept using mine because I already had it, and it worked pretty well.
There are many things I liked about my ‘Droid. Mostly, I liked it really well, actually. My main problem with it was that the phone part never worked that well. Like, I’d have to tilt my head a certain way and hold my phone at juuuuuust the right angle, or people couldn’t hear me. And honestly, I had no problems with TMobile service whatsoever, although you sometimes hear people slag them.
But just over a week ago, I accidentally dropped Ye Olde Droid one too many times. And it wasn’t in the Otterbox that had saved it in previous catastrophic events. The screen TOTALLY shattered. It was a goner.
Well, at this point, various things worked out so that after all these years, I was finally able to switch to an iPhone, which arrived yesterday. So far, I like the new gadget a lot, although the screen is definitely smaller than the one on my ‘Droid, and given that I am blind as a bat and seemingly getting blinder with every passing month (I now have to push my glasses down my nose, close one eye and squint in order to read most small things), the smaller screen is proving a bit challenging.
So how about you? iPhone person or non iPhone person? Why or why not? And what iPhone apps do I definitely want to get? I already added Instagram – I am kgranju there – in case any of y’all want to follow my photostream. And E downloaded Fring for me so that he and I can now videochat with one another, since he has it on his phone.
I have a plain old cell phone with no camera, no anything, except the ability to make a phone call. Works for me.
iphone user for 3 years. I'll never go back to Blackberry, a declaration I made in week one.
Indispensable apps, IMO: Bump (transfers your contact info or a friend's to another iphone user), Dropbox, Evernote, and Twitter for iphone. I seldom use Instagram, which surprised me. I use Sportacular more than anything but you aren't a sports nut so you can probably skip that one.
Piece of unsolicited advice: get a good case (and never take it off)!
No iphone. I have a 7-year-old cheapest possible Tracfone, which has everything I want in a cellphone.
I just got an iphone a couple of months ago – still actually missing my Blackberry a bit. Love the cool apps on the iphone, it's certainly a much neater "toy", but as a phone it lacks quite a bit (I can't hear as well) and I guess my age is catching up with me, but I could text like nobody's business on that Blackberry, but I totally SUCK on my iphone…
Cardstar! You put all your loyalty card numbers in there so you can take them off your keychain, wallet, etc…it is so easy, just put in number, type of card (CVS, Shoprite, etc) and when you are in store, press it, it comes up and the person just scans your phone because the bar code comes up on your iphone!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!
And someone already mentioned Bump – that is also neat!
I hate that the phone part of the iphone sucks.
I hate that it's very expensive (the plans, not the phone)
I hate that the camera doesn't work well at all once you have a bunch of pics on it, so you need to delete the photos pretty often (once you download to computer)
I hate that the screen shatters — I've done it twice — and isn't cheap to replace.
Otherwise, I love it and use it all the time
My family got me an iphone for Mother's Day. I had been telling them I didn't need an iphone… didn't want an iphone. I am so glad they didn't listen to me. (Not the first time, I might add!) I love my iphone, and I haven't even touched on the capabilities of it. What I do love though, is Pandora. We have sucky radio stations where I live, and Pandora lets me choose what kind of music I want to listen to, and then lets it rip.
I am not a big fan of Apple as a company and would never own an iphone as a result. Their stuff is nice enough but I think it is overpriced and I don't like their marketing messages.
I currently have a very basic Samsung phone because I'm looking for work and therefore don't want to commit to a contract at this point. When I do, I want a new Nokia Windows phone. I've been a big fan of Nokia hardware for years!
Interesting. I am being pressured to get one (by the other two household members, who love theirs) and have resisted. I have a plain old cellphone with a simple camera and it works OK.
But… I don't get good cell phone reception here (something about a terrain "dip" resulting in diminished connectivity) but the iPhones do, so I really should change over the people I talk to most frequently are now calling me on my cell phone rather than our landline.
I'm not a technophobe but neither do I find gadgets especially engaging. I usually wait until a product is well established and the kinks are out before purchasing one.
What people are saying about iPhones does not sound THAT enticing…
I also just got an iPhone! Hubby got it for me for my birthday because he has one and loves it and he figured I would. But so far…I don't know. (I should add some context here – my at least 5 year old phone had recently quit sending and receiving text messages and with two kids under two and a job, I am super busy and really had no choice but to get a phone that could text.) I have had it for a few days now and the phone part, the actual talking to other people, is AWFUL. I am usually doing at least one other thing while talking on the phone and there is no way to hold it on my shoulder/chin without it muting me, going to speaker, calling another person at the same time, trying to FaceTime or pulling up the keypad which then beeps at me. Oh and hanging up on people. At least one of these things has happened every single phone call and it's driving me crazy. But the non-phone uses I like! Get the Camera Plus app. I think it costs like $2, but is worth it! It removes the delay from the camera and gives you lots of fun options to edit pictures. (I don't think I would use the camera at all otherwise, it sucks.) I do like having somewhere to organize my calender, make lists, etc. I have some fun cooking apps, but I just remembered you don't cook… I love that my toddler can sit and watch little videos on it, but you have an iPad for that. So far, I really don't think it was worth it.
I have had my iPhone for 2 years +. I love it (but have no other smart phone to compare to)! I use the camera and video features often. I also use email, facebook, twitter along with phone and texting on a regular basis. I have many many apps that were free or really cheap for myself and my preschooler. She loves to watch netflix on the phone (Strawberry Shortcake and Dora). I love Pandora, Shazam, UrbanSpoon, Instagram, Lose It, Scrabble, and several news pages. I download more music directly on my phone than I do on my laptop. I have the 3GS and would love to upgrade to the 4 (or 5) when the prices are reasonable. The AT&T plan is pricey for 2 iPhones.
Call quality is good for me.
Iphone all the way, baby! A friend of mine gave me her old one, the first generation, a few years ago. Then I got the 3G and I recently bought the 4. I love it. My children love the games and load them on my phone all the time. I love it that my ipod is on there. It's got everythng. Yes, it's expensive, but I lead a fairly simple life so I justify the indulgence…. Have fun with it!
Do any of y'all find the screen on your iPhone to be on the too-small-side?
Yes, I'm blind as a bat anymore and it's just too small to see. I absolutely never text while driving, but I do like to call others while I'm on the road (I own it, judge me), but I cannot see the contact info unless I put my readers on.
And like Elizabeth says, I keep muting, facetiming and speakerphoning my conversations…
I need reading glasses to see anything, so the screen size was a concern. But, I just turn the phone sideways and pull the screen to a larger size, and I don't have any issue seeing anything on it.
hi! i love my iphone, but i am fully sighted
i know you are not legally blind etc, but working for a blind association i can tell you that this is the first technology device that is blind-friendly directly off the shelf… most computers etc need to be made accessible with software etc. our ceo is legally blind and this phone is the best thing that has happened to him. integrated in the phone is a voice-over function that allows for voice prompted navigation. here's just one of many postings about it http://www.tuaw.com/2010/09/20/blind-user-explain… like i said – i know you're not legally blind etc, but som eof these features may make navigation a little more easy, especially while multitasking or driving! good luck!
I love my iPhone, except I miss the keyboard of my droid. My favorite apps are Netflix, kindle, and tangrams for my kids. I think I got that one from JCO's blog about great kids apps. My 2 yo can it with shape prompts and my 5 yo can use it with just the picture prompt. Love it!
I love my iPhone. The screen size is fine for me — I only need glasses when I drive, the rest of the time I'm fine. I don't make a ton of calls and I hardly ever text, so what I really like about my iPhone is the Internet capability. And because I bought the iPhone and signed up with a plan when my provider was offering unlimited data, I don't have to worry about overages there.
Tip: Just found this out yesterday. Check with your provider to see if you can get a "purchase block" This will prevent "subscriptions" from being added to your phone bill without you entering a password to okay it. It doesn't affect iTunes (where you buy apps), but it does prevent scammers from charging your phone bill without your knowledge. The only "downside" is that you can't text funds for relief for a natural disaster, but I prefer to send a check for something like that anyway.
Love Bump and use it regularly. I also use a barcode scanner (i use Red Laser, but if you upgrade to a paid app like shop shop, you can scan items in your pantry and it will make a list for you.
Star Walk is a neat, but non-every day use app.
Iperiod – will let you enter your period as well as track other things, certainly not for family planning, but I find useful to know when to expect "things" to happen.
Redbox/Netflix- let you rent or watch instantly assuming you have a Netflix account.
Words with Friends- also I think there is a hang man version out there.
Angry Birds
Alchemy
Moxie
Soundhound- hear a song on the radio but don't know what it is? Soundhound will listen to it and if available find it in it's database and give you multiple ways to purchase said song. Similar to Shazam.
google- has voice capability. I type for crap on my phone, so the fact that I can talk and then search is worth the space on the screen.
Also, if you haven't figured out how yet I'd lock your phone. and you can change out the bottom 4 apps, which are permanent to each page. I always have the phone, ipod, soundhound and google at the bottom.
Enjoy your new phone!
Hi Katie!
I love my iphone. I got mine in April after waiting for it to finally come to Verizon! If you take a lot of photos with your iphone, you can download an app (free) called Photosync that allows you to wirelessly sync photos from your iPhone to your computer (or an iPad if you have that). Just a suggestion.
Enjoy your new phone!
Glenneth
I just got my second iPhone. Lost the first. I LOVE it. You can double tap the screen, just like on the iPad, to make it zoom in. Makes everything bigger. I STRONGLY suggest you have the Apple Care Plan. It is $70 and covers the phone for 2 years. Basically, as long as there is not water damage they will fix/or replace phone for free. I wore the top button out on one and they replaced the phone for free. I dropped it and broke the glass. The guy art Apple said, "so what happened…? Did you uh, just notice it cracked?" with the tone of voice that gave me the out…and a new screen which is a $100 repair.
I have not had any issues hearing people or pressing random buttons. Do know that the ringer volume and the volume you can hear people speaking are controlled by the same buttons but are in the phone differently. You can have your ringer all the way down and when on the phone turn the volume all the way up. All with the same button on the side of the phone. I hope that made sense. I have had no issues with the camera and besides pictures I didn't like I had all the pictures I ever took on my phone, still on my phone when I lost the last one. And it was hundreds. Although that phone app so sober suggested sounds cool.
My fav apps are FB, twitter, words with friends, moonlight mahjong. SheKnows even has apps!
I love the maps app that allows me to use a GPS. That and the phone are the main things I use. My husband and kids use lots of apps and can't imagine life pre-Iphone. Personally, I'd be happy with a regular phone and a GPS (but perhaps, I need to expand my horizons a bit.)
Yeah. The GPS map that came on the phone is great. It is constantly kept updated for free with out having to do computer downloads. And shoes you current traffic locations etc. One of the apps I use the most.
Dumbphone user here. My older daughter wanted to get me an IPhone for Christmas but I talked her out of it. I'm making a cross-country trip soon, though, and am seriously considering it…we'll see. Old dog, new tricks?
seems like a lot of legitimate complaints for use-ability, but people still say they love it. funny how we get loyal to some things! my husband has been trying to get me to join him in his iPhone world, but when I block out the hype and marketing and use his, it really isn't all that great. I encounter the same problems everyone is complaining about. There is a reason there is a website dedicated to the iPhone autocorrect misspellings!
Getting my iPhone was life changing. No going back to any other phone. Here are apps I recommend:
MLB – a must for a baseball fan, I think it's the best app
realtor.com
zillow
facebook
hipstamatic (great photo app)
Viber (free iphone to iphone calls anywhere in the world)
skype
shazam
cnn
the weather channel
mynetdiary (weight loss aide)
translator
skobbler (free voice turn by turn directions)
iBooks
redlaser (price comparison tool)
ebay
amazon
8mm (video affects)
ted