Crossing over to the dark side

Anyone who knows me has a clear understanding of my years dislike for anything made by Apple.  From iMacs, to iBooks, and all the fruity colors they pushed on the computer market.  I have tried to use Macs in my career as an IT professional and have never found anything to like about them.  The Apple commercials talk about how easy Macs are to use, yet I have always found them to be exactly opposite.

Now perhaps my inability to figure out how to use a Mac is due to the years of using a Windows based PC.  This could very well be.  I am just use to how Windows works.  But that may have changed recently.  

I have been impressed with what I have seen with the iPhone.  Some friends of mine had them and I have tried them out much to my enjoyment.  Now being an avid hater of AT&T and not liking Apple, I went to other cellphone providers looking for the iPhone wanna be.  Figuring someone would make one that was better.  NOPE.  Both Verizon and Sprint have phones that try to compete with the iPhone but they simply can't come close to the amazing iPhone.

So needless to say, I swallowed my Microsoft pride and went into the AT&T store and proceeded to buy an iPhone.  I got the 8 GB version and I simply can't express how much I love this phone.  I am amazed by this thing on a daily basis.  Here are some things I enjoy.

The phone is amazingly simple to use.  Anything, and I do mean ANYTHING, that you do is simple.  The phone does not even come with a manual (you can get an electronic copy online).  Instead you get a little pamphlet.  At first I thought what the heck?  But I soon discovered that you don't need it.  The phone is so simple to use.

I love the built-in Google Maps.  This has come in handy numerous times already.  The only thing they need to do to improve this GPS option is to give the phone the ability to read out the directions to you like a real GPS device.  But this is a very nice alternative.  

Email is a breeze to setup and it comes ready to pull in your  email from sites like Yahoo, Google, Hotmail, etc.  You can even hook it into your companies email systems.  This phone is not up to speed yet for Enterprise email use as it is missing some useful features, but it does give you the basics.

Web browsing is a breeze with the REAL browser built-in (Safari).  And you can tip the phone on its side to get a more full screen view of the page.  Plus you get actual web pages and not text only versions which is really nice.  And I gotta say that I am very impressed with the speeds I am getting on the G3 network.  

The Apps store is by far one of the greatest things with this phone.  Thousands of applications are available at the touch of a button right from the phone.  No need to be at your computer to buy and install the app.  Just get it from the store direct from the phone.  I have downloaded lots of free apps that keep me updated on sports, stocks, news, movies, and even a few games.  

The contact list on this phone is the nicest I have seen as well.  All other phones I have had have pre-determined fields.  Most often you are not given enough fields to fill in all the numbers you may have for someone.  With the iPhone, you can customize fields very easily which is awesome.  Now I can have all the info I need for a person.

The phone is definitely an amazing piece of technology.  I look forward to future improvements and more great software in the app store.  If you are thinking about getting one of these phones, then stop thinking and go get it now.  You will be glad that you did.