Review – Apple iPhone/iTouch 3.0
With the latest firmware for iTouch and iPhone having been out for over a week now, I thought it was time to give some feedback on how I think Apple did with this update and if it was worth the hype.
First, let me say that I’m using the software on a 16GB iPhone 3G. So I won’t be talking much about the things available on the iPhone 3GS, as I don’t even know anyone personally that lives within 500 miles of me that bought one yet.
When the upgrade was announced several months ago, Apple tossed around some ridiculous number of upgrades to the OS. I want to say 1,000, but maybe it was 300. Whatever it was, it was a lot of upgrades. I use a lot of the features of my iPhone, but I’m pretty sure I don’t use 300, so I guess I’m just missing out on something.
Phone:
Not much really changed here. Now that I think about it, I don’t know if anything of any significance changed aside from being able to see if your contact called from Home, Mobile, Work, etc.
Background notifications:
The number of apps that even use this so far is very very limited, so I don’t have any exposure to it. I do worry that it will put a drain on battery life on a phone that already teeters when you use it a lot. I can see how it would be useful for a number of things, but it’s just not implemented yet save for a few apps like AIM.
Calendar:
With the added CalDAV support, I can now add my Google Calendar in addition to my work one. The problem is that when I’m actually using GCal on a regular computer, I can administer three calendars. Mine, my wife’s, and our shared “Birthday” calendar. While I can subscribe to the other two, I can’t make any changes to them on the phone. I could set my wife’s calendar up in the same way that I set mine up – with a Google login, but that’s not the point. I can’t edit the Birthday calendar, and that’s just not cool. It’s a small gripe, but it’s a gripe nonetheless. Oh, and setup was not that intuitive.
They have updated the ability to add calendar meetings via the iPhone, which is very useful in a pinch. As with most feature on the phone, it’s simple and effective
Autofill:
This is not terribly useful for me either. I use my phone for a number of things, but ordering things online or being in some situation that involves filling out a bunch of fields is not one of them. However, the implementation is relatively solid, as I tested it out just to see.
Landscape mode:
I’ve wanted this feature for text and email since release, and now that I have it, I’m so used to cramped typing, I forget to turn the device at least half of the time. When I do think of it, it’s a Godsend. Much easier to type, I just have to remember to use it. Just as an FYI, it also works in the updated Stocks app too.
MMS:
Yep, we still don’t have it yet. Thanks AT&T.
iPod:
I listen to podcasts to/from work every day, and I haven’t used the 30 second back-skip a single time yet. I did use the 2X playback once just to see, and it doesn’t turn your audio into a Alvin & the Chipmunks rendition. If you’ve got 20 minutes to listen to a 40 minute podcast, this may be useful. Might also be useful for listening to an audiobook, though I’m not sure how annoying it would get listening to someone talk so fast for a long period of time. I’m not sure how many people listen to podcasts as much as I do, but the ability to email them to your contacts (or at least a link to them) is something I have wanted for a while, I just didn’t realize it.
Voice Memos:
This is probably the most surprising aspect of the new OS. Not that it wasn’t expected, I just didn’t expect it to be so good! I’m not sure how far away you can place it from the source of the audio (your voice), but it is crystal clear when I use it close to my face. I can see using this as a method of recording a podcast if you don’t feel like buying any gear or dealing with convoluted software applications. The Memos also sync back to iTunes so you won’t lose them if your phone bites the dust. I’ve used it several times and have also emailed the files to people when I record my son making various baby noises (he is a baby – so it’s ok). Without doing extensive testing, the audio has come out to about 500k for every 10 seconds. The bitrate seems to be variable, in the mid 300 kbps range, and they are saved as .m4a files. All in all, I applaud this effort.
Copy/Paste:
People have clamored over this for a long time, and now the iPhone has it as well. I can tell you that I never once found myself in a situation where I was wishing for it. Now that I have it, I’m still yet to need it for anything. It’s relatively easy to use, but I suggest being zoomed in when you are trying to select areas of text, or you’ll get the wrong thing.
Buy Movies/TV/Audiobooks:
Again, another feature I haven’t needed. I have watched a few things on my phone, but I am yet to be in an unexpected “Oh my, I’m about to be bored for the next 2 hours with no way to get access to entertainment. I’d better download a movie/TV show.” This may happen sometime in the future, but for now, it’s just a little perk. WiFi only, but that only makes sense.
Internet Tethering:
Not enabled yet, but I certainly won’t be paying for this when it does come out. I think it’s cheaper to just buy a separate 3G card for your laptop, no?
Parental Controls:
My kid is 8 months old, he’s got at least 4 more months before he needs an iPhone. But when he does, PC will be implemented.
YouTube Login:
Pretty much useless for anyone over the age of 25, I think. But I’m not big on YouTube in general, so maybe I’m the weird one.
Stereo Bluetooth:
If my cars had bluetooth built in, this would be much better than my tape adapter. I’ve seen it synced with BT headphones, and it’s seamless and sounds excellent.
Spotlight Search:
I don’t keep enough stuff on my phone to necessitate a search for anything. I have 3 screens of apps, and if I need to dig for an email, I go find a computer closeby. However, for those of use who are power users and app addicts, this thing is awesome.
Photos:
You can email up to 5 photos at a time. This is excellent.
Here is a list of additional “hidden” features that may be useful to some of you out there. I mostly wanted to talk about the major ones and the ones that I found most useful.
In summary, the update adds and/or fixes a LOT of small things and a few of the bigger ones. Considering how many features were changed, I agree that it is justifiable to warrant a full version upgrade as opposed to calling it 2.3, which some people have claimed. The only drawback that I’ve found, and it seems to not be an across the board issue, is that my phone is a bit slower now. When syncing, my backups get hung up, so I’m not ready to restore the phone until I get that squared away. Hopefully that will fix the issue.
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