I recently purchased an iPhone 3GS with 16GB of memory. This is my first iPhone and my first experience using Apple’s multi-touch interface. I have never used an iPod touch either. I purchased the iPhone for the purpose of learning Objective-C, Cocoa and doing iPhone Application development. Up until this point my experience with Smart phones has been limited to using and programming Palm OS & Windows Mobile Smart phones. This post covers my personal experience with the iPhone.
User Interface: I am very impressed with the user interface. It is very easy & intuitive. I intentionally left the manual inside the 2″ x 3″ x 5.5″ box. I wanted to see how much of the features I could access without any hints.
Display: My experience watching the high resolution 3.5″ diagonal widescreen display was great. The screen was viewable from many different angles.
Multi-touch screen: It took a little getting used to. But I’ve seen other people use it before, so it wasn’t too difficult to figure out.
Sound: The sound is very good. I’ve listened to it with & without headphones.
Phone Service: So far, I have no complaints. The phone is usable as a phone 🙂 I haven’t had any interruptions in service.
Connectivity Networking: The 3G network and WiFi have been reliable and easy to use.
Connectivity BLUETOOTH: I paired the iPhone with a BLUETOOTH Car Kit – Jabra Cruiser SP710. The pairing was flawless. I didn’t need a manual to do this. Of course prior knowledge of how to pair BLUETOOTH devices with phones helped.
Connectivity USB: I’m currently using it with a Windows XP computer and iTunes for updating information. So, far so good.
GPS: I tried out the maps using the built-in GPS. This is very cool. Especially when you’re trying to figure out where to eat in close proximity.
Camera: it was very easy to use. When it launches, it asks if you want to record the location information. Geotagging, what a great concept.
Slide Unlock: I have one issue so far. The slide to unlock feature is inconvenient. It’s not so easy to do it as a one handed operation. Is it calibratable? It would be nice if you could do a throw slider button gesture across the slider so it would be a simple operation. This is my only complaint right now.
App Store: I have downloaded a few free apps. So far the experience has been painless.
iTunes: I have watched some of the education videos available from Stanford University. The audio & video quality has been excellent.
iPod: I own a lot of my CD’s. After I figured out how to download the Albums into the iPhone they’ve been working fine.
Summary: In a word, “WOW!!!” My first impression of the iPhone has been an excellent experience. I love the User Interface. I’m still learning of course, so my opinion might change. As I explore the features and applications, I’m sure I’ll have more to say about the experience.
To see all the details about the iPhone 3GS visit Apple iPhone Technical Specifications
