Switching to an iPhone from a Blackberry
A little more than a month ago I switched to an iPhone after being a long time user of Blackberry. In the Blackberry I was missing out on a true mobile web experience (it just doen’t exist) and as 3G got rolled out and the iPhones became more and more powerful, I could not resist any more. My biggest hesitation came from the fact that I am on the road quite a bit and email on the phone is very important for me. I was very worried about giving up a physical keyboard. Now that I have made the switch here is the good, bad & ugly.
The Good
- There is no question that the mobile web experience is awesome. In fact I don’t open up my laptop that often now unless I need to work on some documents.
- iTunes is huge for me: I am a big iTunes user and now having all my music with me all the time is fantastic. I can buy music & TV Shows on the road and with iCloud all that is available on my computer automatically.
- The phone is simply sexy! The manufacturing finesse, the software finesse are just something to be admired. Dual 8MP cameras, video, retina display … I can go on.
- I really like the ScannerPro app ($6.99) that has essentially replaced an $80 flatbed scanner for scanning documents and made the workflow for scanning so simple
- I love using the map to find latitude/longitude information of places I visit and that makes finding the place again so much more simple (I am prototyping this on the phone)
- Time pass Angry Birds
The Bad
- Battery life is a major issue. Since the mobile web is such a key part of the experience I am constantly worried about running out of battery. I have somewhat fixed the problem by getting a Dexim power case, but now I have to carry this additional accessory around. I can live with that.
- Time waste Angry Birds
The Ugly
- My worst fear about the switch came true. Typing has become a royal pain in the you-know-what and although I had assurances from other users, I don’t think they are power email users on the phone like me. This is made worse as while traveling I am in the car a lot and uneven roads exacerbates the problem. Cut/paste, search/replace are painful. I have finally just resigned to living with typos and I no longer type long emails on the phone as I would do on my blackberry.
- Addictive Angry Birds
I have not yet used an Android device (iTunes tipped the balance for me in favor of an iPhone) and I’d love someday to make a proper comparison with one. I’d welcome if someone who has used both can share their experience in the comments.
