I swore I wouldn’t. Apple wouldn’t get me. I’d never give in to the hype. I would stand fast and keep on using Windows Mobile based phones forever. But I’ve been weak. I gave in. I cowered. Since a few weeks, I must confess, I’m totin’ an iPhone.
I’ve been a long-time user of Windows Mobile-based devices, and I’ve been – let me make sure I put it correctly – reasonably happy. Not over the moon, not overjoyed. It was more a kind of quiet resignation. Windows Mobile does what it does in the way Microsoft intended it to do, and I tried to make the most of what it provides. I got to know its quirks and idiosyncrasies intimately over the years, and I learned to live with them and steer around them.
I hated it’s memory management, the sometimes unexplainable an seemingly random issues it developed over time (Before Windows Mobile, I wasn’t aware that software could wear with age…), the sometimes awkward Bluetooth implementation (I’ve had 3 cars with Bluetooth receivers, non of my Windows Mobile devices ever worked with any of them flawlessly), I’ve lost and broke (and consequently bought) countless styluses over the years, I’ve learned to live with the fact that occasionally I missed phone calls because the sound driver failed, and I accepted that – like all versions of Windows – it occasionally requires a reboot to keep things running smoothly.
The main selling point for Windows Mobile for me has always been: push synchronization with Exchange. I just love having my email, calendar, and contacts with me at all times. So when the iPhone 3G came to Belgium, featuring push sync with Exchange, I became extremely interested. I held out though, because I wanted to see the reaction of others.
I saw enough, so a couple of weeks ago I took the plunge and got the the “cheap one”: the black 8GB iPhone (I don’t intend to use it as an iPod, I’ve already got a regular iPod, so memory capacity is no real issue for me).
Like all Apple stuff, it carries a really steep price tag. But as soon as you start unpacking, you can see that this is a quality product. There’s a lot of attention to detail, even the packaging is beautiful. When I first switched it on, the quality of the screen really astonished me. It’s clear, sharp and crisp, and leaves anything I’ve seen on Windows Mobile devices behind.
In daily use, what I love most is the attention given to foolproof use. No big stuff, just lots of small things that make you wonder how you ever did without them. Just to name one: I’ve been blessed with rather large ears 
, so on Windows Mobile I’ve accidentally disconnected calls because my ears touched the screen (don’t laugh!). The iPhone’s screen switches off when you put the phone close to your ear and switches on again when you move it away from your ear. On Windows Mobile, I’ve refused calls accidentally when grabbing around in my pocket when the phone rings. On the iPhone, I have to answer with a sliding motion in a specific location, so that doesn’t happen.
These kind of things make the difference between a good and an excellent device.
As a mobile phone, it’s great. Good sound quality, easy to use phone book and favorites, my car’s built-in Bluetooth hands free works flawlessly, I love how SMS on the iPhone is just like IM. Could do with a bit more battery life, but Windows Mobile devices have that problem too.
As a general purpose PDA, I must say that I’m not yet entirely convinced. The keyboard took some serious getting used to (I have rather wide fingertips…). The default set of apps do their job quite well, and there’s loads of 3rd party apps available, some good, some bad, some downright bad, and some just great, but that’s true for Windows Mobile too.
The crazy restrictions that Apple places on them are more of a problem. Some of these restrictions are downright stupid and some are just revenue protectors for Apple or (in the US) AT&T.
First of all, the only way to get software (or anything else for that matter) onto the iPhone is via the iTunes App store, and all software that makes it in there must first go through a (heavily criticized) Apple approval process. Yes, I am aware that you can circumvent that by “pwning” the device, but I don’t want to do that. Some apps are free, and for some you need to pay. There is no way of trying before buying (unless the developer offers a free version of the same app). So if a paid app looks interesting, you need to first fork over the money, and possibly hit yourself over the head if it doesn’t turn out to be what you expected.
Second, Apple puts some really crazy restrictions on the type of software it allows in the iTunes app store. No VoIP applications over 3G (only over Wi-Fi – this is clearly a revenue protection mechanism for AT&T), apps are not allowed to run in the background (although the OS is perfectly capable of doing that), all apps run in their own sandbox (there no concept of a file system and consequently apps do not have access to each other’s files), the iPhone has a GPS built-in, but real-time route guidance is not allowed, meaning that no true GPS apps like TomTom or equivalent are available. There is Google Maps, though, but you can hardly call that real-time route guidance.
There’s some downright stupid stuff too (certainly from a company that’s put user-friendliness front and center):
- There’s no copy-and-paste on the iPhone (yes: I too find that of a stupidity level that is almost incomprehensible).
- The only Bluetooth functionality available is using a headset. There’s no Bluetooth file transfer to or from the phone, and you can’t send or receive contacts via Bluetooth.
- You can’t use it as a modem/router to connect your PC to the internet via your iPhone’s 3G connection (this is downright easy with Windows Mobile, even through Bluetooth). For me personally this is one of the major shortcomings.
- The iPhone doesn’t do MMS. Not at all.
- You can’t personalize most of the sounds it makes.
- You can get ringtones onto it, but only via iTunes, in a very awkward way, and you have to pay for most of them.
- It has a reasonable camera, but the camera software is a study in stupidity: it does one thing and one thing only: it takes a picture. No effects, no zooming, no light correction, no color balance correction, nothing. And you have to press the screen to operate the shutter which results in a lot of accidental and missed photos. Why not use one of the hardware buttons?
- Technically, the camera can do video. Apple just won’t allow it. Only Steve Jobs knows why.
- There no way to extend memory. You get what you bought for a huge amount of money. The price difference between an 8 and a 16GB iPhone is 90€. An 8GB memory card is 25€ or less. Someone really needs to tell Apple that there is something called “memory cards” on the market.
There’s more of those, but all things considered, I can easily live with that. Despite it’s shortcomings I’ve been extremely happy with my iPhone, and despite being a real Microsoft fanboy, I’m sorry to say that I don’t want to go back to Windows Mobile. I’m convinced that either Apple or the 3rd party apps market, under commercial pressure, will eventually provide solutions for most of the quirks and flaws. I really never thought I would say this, but I’m hooked.
And if you can live without some of the things the iPhone can’t do, I can only recommend to you that you run to your nearest store, bite your lip while you plonk down a huge heap of cash, and get one.
