A browser does not a smartphone make.
In 1986 I got my first hand-held mobile phone. I never used it for all of the things that I planned to justify it. Instead, I discovered uses far more valuable than those that I had planned. So it has been with the iPhone. After a decade of using Palm phones, I bought an iPhone. I thought that I knew what I would do with it. For a while, it was true.
However, since the introduction of the 2.0 software, my use of the iPhone has changed markedly. While I still use the Safari browser once or twice a day, it is mostly for backup. Most of my use of the Internet today is via specialized apps. I use Bloomberg, the Weather Channel, iTV, OneTap Movie, the Amazon Kindle reader, the e-reader.com reader. Banking, PayPal, TruPhone, YPMobile, Maps, Remote, City Transit, Station Stops, Flight Status, Airport Status, Amazon.com, iBart, Wiki Tap, Open Table, MPR Radio, and TWIT.am, Free RSS (5 feeds), and the NYTimes.
Most of the things that these apps do can be done by Safari, but none quite so well. Many of these things use GPS in a way that Safari cannot. Many of them save state on the iPhone in a way that Safari cannot. Many of these applications are what are called 'mash-ups," meaning they combine information from two or more web-sites. A browser does not a smartphone make.
A few of these applications are replicas of apps that I had on my Treo, some even by the same developers. An example is Splash Shopper, my shopping list app. However, there is little comparison; the iPhone Splash Shopper is the clear winner.
When I wake in the morning I spend an hour reading my current book. I check e-mail but deal with only a few messages. I check the weather and my calendar. I check the RSS feeds and read the Times headlines. Then I turn on TWIT.am or MPR Radio. I do all of this before I get out of bed.
On most days I will use Bloomberg to check the market several times a day. I check voice-mall and e-mail. I like to check Deliveries and the App Store several times a day. I continue to bank with Wachovia, in large part because I can use Banking with them but not with my other banks. Rarely bother to use Safari to check transactions or balances on my other accounts.
On travel days, I use Maps, City Transit, Station Stops, Flight Status, Airport Status, iBart, etc. I also use Delta.com and AA.com to check flight status and to check-in for flights. I always have music (the memory hog), audio books, and movies to divert me on the airplane. (Many airlines would not permit me to use my Treo on board but no one has even questioned my iPhone.)
I still use my Treo TomTom for turn-by-turn navigation; I am happy with the app but really do not like having to carry an extra device. However, I use Map for most of my trip planning. Did you know that Map does a great job of planning trips on public transit? I do not mean "great" for a hand-held, I mean really great. It knows the lines, interchanges, and schedules ("Mash-up"). True!
I use WinRemote, in lieu of a mouse and keyboard, to control systems on my home network. If it were easier to use on other networks, I might not need to carry a BT control for PowerPoint presentations. Every now and then I use Remote to control Music or pod-casts from iTunes.
I use the iPhone to watch TV clips, but for my birthday (74th, April) I expect to have an iPhone Slingplayer. Sling has promised to deliver it to Apple by the end of this month.
Wi-Fi has become much more useful in the last year. AT&T now competes with T-mobile in most of my Starbucks, and, with the Easy Wi-Fi app is much easier to use. More-over, our local ISP has made the county wireless, at least in all town centers and long major roadways. Not quite transparent yet, as at home, but it is getting there. On the other hand, GPRS is now fast enough for most apps.
Did I say that I sometimes use my iPhone to make phone calls? I do. It is my phone of choice. I like TruPhone, but I would like it much better if it supported headsets, BT, and the speaker. I rarely put my iPhone to my ear.
Now, if I just had cut-and-paste all of my apps would be even more useful.
Since using the iPhone my Data Usage has sky-rocketed. I have always been a big talker and email user. I use my iPhone for business during the week, but I am getting to where I use it to do general browsing on the weekends and at night.
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