So after almost a week of use, I’m in love with the iPhone. It’s absolutely great, and I’m really happy with the call package I’m on. I can’t wait for my number to port over. But it’s not perfect. Thankfully this is the first time I’ve had a phone that gets patches and updates seamlessly applied to it, so hopefully most of the following will be sorted out soon.
No obvious ‘Contact Management’ interface: I’d have expected something on the landing page. You’ve got to go to ‘Phone’, then contacts. Deleting is hidden away inside the ‘Edit’ option for a contact, rather than the yummy ’swipe-to-delete’ gesture used for Mail. Indeed, on that note, the ’swipe-to-delete’ interface feature doesn’t apply everywhere where you expect it to.
The auto-correct feature is great, but hit the delete key to correct a glaring typo, and it seems to stop trying more suggestions.
Why don’t the Notes sync up to my computer at all?
Why is there no TODO support in the calendar application!? This and the previous point are new Leopard Mail features. I suppose the Mac and Windows iTunes versions may need to work differently, and in Windows at least, it can depend on what other software you have.
There is one thing that I puzzle over slightly - and that’s the lack of an easy ‘Make emergency calls’ option. Not for me, but if that bus hit me, and my iPhone was the only phone available to be used, would a non-techie be able to work out how to make a call for the ambulance? My old phones always allowed 999 to be dialled through the keyboard lock. But the iPhone requires a slide-to-unlock, click phone, select keypad, dial 999. It’s straight forward, but I’m not sure it’s intuitive in a potentially high-stress situation for anybody unfamiliar with the phone.
November 18th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
999 calls, Richard? The things you think about! I’m loving my iPhone but I could do with you to help me around some of the features.
December 3rd, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Having a phone that you don’t have to send back to the manufacturer every 12 to 14 months just to change tha battery would be top of my wish list…
December 3rd, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Paul - the ‘iPod battery’ argument is one that’s lost on me. I’ve got a 2nd Gen iPod that’s around five years old that still works just fine after a full charge, and had a good amount of daily use in its time. Granted I don’t use it a huge amount these days, but when I do charge it up and use the battery, it lasts plenty long enough for my purposes. I’d suggest - as with anything - you need to know how to care of batteries.
Also I find that most phones never last much more than two years anyway given the grief I give them: I’m not a particularly careful person and the phone is with me all the time, so to be honest even if the battery does drop out after a few years, I’ll probably need to replace the whole phone by then anyway. Just as I have had to with every other phone.
Your mileage undoubtedly varies.