It is here. My company has come through and provided me with an iPhone. It has been a long wait, but well worth it. I’ve already put Google maps to good use navigating unfamiliar areas of London and enjoy being able to get information from the internet while out and about.
The iPhone is an interesting device. Many of my co-workers got phones with technically “superior” features to the iPhone including GPS, G3 and built-in modem. In reality these features aren’t worth much because they aren’t usable. Even basic functions like sending a text message require going to the “start menu” (on a phone? are you kidding me?) and “clicking” 5 times with a stylus just to get to the point where you can get to start with the actual message.
That is where the iPhone excels — usability. What it does, it does well. Browsing the internet, e-mail, navigating with Google maps — and of course the phone basics of making a call, sending a text are all easy and accessible. While there is aalways a desire for a few more features here and there, overall I love having an iPhone.
Just curious- who is the service provider for the iPhone in London?
In the UK the provider is O2. They seem to be pretty good, though data coverage can be weak in some places in London.
The iPhone commercials make the functionality look really friendly and intuitive and something that does not require a 90 page manual. I’m delighted that texting is so easy.
I’m also delighted that you don’t have a car. The local controversy is whether to make texting while driving something that is against the law. We see this all the time and wonder how people can do it and drive. On the other hand, we see people reading books and newspapers on their steering wheels, putting on make-up, shaving, coffee in one hand and cell phone in the other (don’t ask who is steering the car). Then there are the moms with their arms and face in the back seat as they tend to their children, and men with their Home Depot stash half out the window or on the roof, held on by one small string and their left hand.
Oh, and the proposed law to outlaw smoking in your car if there are children under 6 inside. I guess we can give cancer to children over six and that’s ok. What if it is a convertible with the top down? Well, next we must protect the under six children and not allow smoking in the home.
Perhaps David Thorough was right when he moved to Golden Pond.
That’s all for today, Andy Rooney