This week has been very busy, but I have been using the iPhone exclusively. The AT&T 3G signal is extremely poor in my house, T-Mobile is much better. Yesterday, I turned off 3G to see if it helps. I seem to be getting more bars. I will try it out over the weekend. Dropped calls and lousy connection at home could be a deal breaker. I know AT&T is looking at putting up a cell site in my neighborhood, but how long will it take...
I really like the user experience on the iPhone, but the Exchange ActiveSync requires some work and I have had a strange calendar issue which I will document in a separate post.
I am adding and updating my Pros and Cons (updates in bold):
Pros:
- I am getting use to the finger typing, the system is learning the words I use and it seems to be getting easier.
- Creating emails is faster experience than in WM. The contact chooser is more intuitive and with my new found finger typing skills, the whole process seems faster.
- Form factor: I like how it feels in my hand, it is thinner that the original but I think the feel of the plastic case made a bigger impression on me that the thinner design.
- Screen size: Apple did a great job picking the iPhone's screen size. I find the 3.5" screen is a big plus over the 2.8" on my AT&T Tilt.
- Exchange ActiveSync is as easy to set up as on a Windows Mobile device.
- The GPS position acquisition is excellent, especially compared to the AT&T Tilt.
Cons:
- Battery life is poor (I am adjusting my previous comment). Yes, I still think battery life is poor, however I can't compare it to the Tilt because I rarely used it with WIFI. The one great usability factor for the iPhone is that you can actually use the web browser for more than mobile sites. As statistics have pointed out the majority of iPhone users browse the Internet. This is not the case with Windows Mobile users. You need 3G or WiFi to effectively browse the Internet. Since coverage in my house is poor, I use WIFI thus driving battery usage. This means I have to charge it once during the day. A bummer but manageable and manage radios on and off.
- 3G reception lousy in my house.
- No spell checker, the dictionary is there for suggestions, but a spell check feature would have been nice.
- No Pocket Informant, Sling Player mobile, Windows Live Search. Those are probably the applications I use the most.
App Store:
- Note2Self works very well, recording play in Outlook 07 preview, and the start recording when you place the unit up to your face is great.
- eWallet looks good but the lack of synchronization currently makes it a bust for me. Can't wait until the beginning of August for the update which includes the synchronization module.
- Audio Recorder is a nice application, tech support has been helpful but I have 2 major problems with the application. First I can't email recordings from my home network (an update is supposedly in the works) and the sound file format is in a non de facto standard. By that I mean it uses Core Audio Format files for which you have to download codecs or compatible players to use. Not too user friendly.
- Typepad application. Along with the i.typepad.com sites provides all the functionality I am looking for: create/edit posts and manage comments. There is a bug with the cropping of screen prints. Typepad support is looking at that issue. It would begreat for Typepad to include the iPhone's web site functionality into the application.
- Twittelator is a Twitter application which has everything I need. From the comments it is not as fancy as Twitterific, but for free you can't beat it and it has no ads (the free version of Twitterific has ads).
Hi, I'm Stephane Delbecque, the Mobile PM at Six Apart. Thanks for having downloaded and using TypePad for iPhone. We are working on correcting minor issues and adding more features in the near future. So please stay tuned. Also, shall you have any comment or feedback, feel free to ping me directly. Best. Stef
Posted by: Stephane Delbecque | July 25, 2008 at 01:21 PM