dannyman.toldme.com

Keith’s iPhone Review

Keith just posted his review of the iPhone. I appreciate it because he is coming off of a Sidekick 3, and he’s a Unix geek. It sounds like he really likes the web browser, and that the e-mail client is mostly good. He is still getting used to typing on the screen. Personally, I think I would have a hard time giving up the tactile feel of the Sidekick 2 keyboard.

I got to play with Ari’s iPhone last week. The web browser is pretty nifty. It handles Google Maps really well and you can click on elements within a web page and zoom in on them, turning the thing left and right to get a better view. Looks great for navigating when lost, or for casual web browsing on the train.

My take?

A couple weeks back I had lunch with a colleague who is currently working at Danger. He felt the place was morally dubious. Why? Because you start talking with a Danger employee, and count how long it takes before they shift their attention from you to their device. You do a lot better sending these folks instant messages which they can mediate through their phone. Then there was the time last year I went out for dinner–alone–and the wife starts IMing me that she wants a divorce. Who needs to be connected all the time? It really is better to “unplug” and focus on what is in front of you.

Which is just to say, I’m trying to reduce the amount of distraction in my life, and although I use a “smart phone” (the Sidekick 2) I would just as soon not spend much effort into going with the latest and greatest. If my Sidekick were to die today, and I decided I wanted to go with a smart phone, I’d totally check out the iPhone, but then there is a good chance I would opt for something like the Sidekick ID, which costs a lot less and still has a tactile keyboard. (Or I would look around for a Sidekick 2. I really like the rubber keyboard.)

That, and I hate iTunes.