Now that we've had our iPhones for three months, we thought we'd interview ourselves about life with our iPhones thus far. Of note, Apple recently announced preliminary plans for third-party iPhone software development, which means that we'll probably see some legal applications next year.
Which application do you find yourself using frequently that you didn't think you would use much?
Neil: The camera. I never bothered to figure out how to use the camera on my Razr. By contrast, I take photos with my iPhone all the time.
Email is what makes the camera so useful. I mostly use it as a travelogue to provide context. It's like micro-blogging, but much more private. Most of the time, I email just one person. Two recent examples:
"Greetings from the far side of the world (well Manhattan). Hope you have a good run!" — A photo from West Street (the southwestern tip of Manhattan) sent to my friend who was running a 5K while I was at the midpoint of a 12 mile walk.
"Don't eat!" — A photo of Balthazaar Bakery in SoHo sent to Sara. I bought some croissants for a "Fat Friday" breakfast.
Sara: The built-in camera. My previous LG flip phone had a poor-quality camera and I rarely used it. Plus, I received a great Canon PowerShot SD630 this past Christmas — so why would I take pictures with my phone?
Because the iPhone takes great shots! Not only does it take surprisingly good photos, but I love that you can email the photo instantly.
On a recent trip to Vermont with friends, I was able to send my husband beautiful shots of Lake Champlain as we were standing at the water's edge. At a Mets game at Shea Stadium a few weeks ago, I was able to send my dad a quick pic of the field before game time.
It's very handy when I leave my actual camera at home, or when my camera runs out of battery.
It's also a fun way to stay in touch with the people I care about.
What was your best iPhone Moment so far?
Neil: Workwise, when I reviewed, sent feedback, and ultimately approved our TechnoLawyer Linkathon graphic via email while out and about on a Saturday. The graphic artist was in Argentina, which made this particular mobile moment all the more satisfying. Funwise, when a crowd formed around me at a bar in the meatpacking district in the early iPhone days.
Sara: My favorite iPhone moment thus far was on the way to a party in an area of Brooklyn I didn't know very well. I got off the subway and was confused about which way to head. I whipped out the iPhone and clicked on the Maps application. Once I typed in the address, I was able to get my bearings and easily find my way. I used to constantly print out directions from Google maps beforehand and tuck them in my purse. Now, no need!
What is the biggest glitch or problem you've experienced?
Neil: My first iPhone had a defective screen, which failed the excellent screen test at Apple Served Up. Bracing for a fight, I made the last appointment of the day at an Apple store, thinking that they would prefer to just replace my phone rather than stay late arguing with me. However, the Genius agreed with me and gave me a new iPhone.
Sara: The biggest problem I've experienced is that sometimes it seems a process gets stuck in a loop and makes the iPhone run very hot. This also drains the battery extremely fast. My solution has been to power down, and then restart the iPhone. I may have to get this checked out soon.
What is your favorite application?
Neil: It's difficult to choose among Mail, Safari, and iPod as they are all superb. Let me discuss Safari because it's the most interesting. I use Safari a lot at home, not just when I'm out. I do all my reading online nowadays. Sitting with an iPhone is a lot more comfortable than sitting with a laptop. Though smaller, the screen is sharper than a laptop screen because of its higher pixel density. Also, double tapping a column of text to enlarge it and tilting the screen to read in landscape make it easy to read most Web sites. Finally, iPhone-friendly online RSS readers like Google Reader and NewsGator also enhance the experience. When third-party application development begins next year, I suspect we'll see an eBook reader.
Sara: My favorite application has to be Mail. I will readily admit that I'm an email junkie — and I love being able to check it on the go. Now that Gmail has introduced IMAP, both my personal and work email are synced. No more marking things read in two places, or filing email on my iPhone, then again on my home laptop, then again on my work computer.
How did you spend your $100 iPhone rebate?
Neil: I haven't spent mine yet. I'll probably buy a Bluetooth headset or the new iPod nano and Nike+ sensor so that I can make sure I really do walk 12 miles. Currently, I rely on MapMyRun.
Sara: On top of getting me an iPhone to begin with, Neil was nice enough to let me use the rebate associated with my iPhone. So what did I spend it on? An iPhone for my husband of course!
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