Technology Review: iPhone

Yesterday afternoon, I became a cliche. A foregone conclusion. A clone, if you will. I purchased the 8 gig iPhone with AT&T. This was not my intention, I assure you. My real desire was the new Blackberry Storm. But, it wasn't to be for several reasons: the Storm is sold out across the country until after Dec 20th, AT&T had better International rates while out of the country, AT&T was $50 cheaper a month, and I can download my iTunes library into my iPhone - and, I did it, in less than 10 minutes.
Oh - I already have AT&T U-Verse and AT&T local and long distance. This means, in addition to the 20% Progressive discount I get, I also get an AT&T 'bundled' package discount - of, I think, 15%.

Appearance: Very nice. Sleek, black, shiny, thin, nice big screen. Sharp looking phone - not as bulky as I thought it would be. Pretty light. Lighter than the Storm, actually.

Durability: Like all Apple products, you will need a 'sleeve' or protective covering to avoid scratches and prints on the shell of the phone. Touch screen is great. I do not have the included protective screen on - the prints clean up easily with the included cloth.

Set-up: Easy. I plugged in the iPhone to my PC (with the same cable I use for the iPod) and iTunes came right up. It takes you through the set up wizard (takes just a few minutes), then asks if you would like to synch up your iPhone. After clicking 'yes', my iTunes library downloaded. After typing in the email address I wanted to use (you can choose many), it took all of my contacts and downloaded them into my phone (takes about a minute). So now, I have my iTunes library, email, and contacts working in about 15 minutes, total!

Applications: iPhone, like the Storm, have these 'applications' you can download - most of them for free. The phone comes with many downloaded already, including Facebook. Simply touch the Facebook icon and up comes your Facebook homepage. Perfect. (The first time, it takes you to the log-in page. You only need to log-in once).
You can download applications right from your phone, but iTunes has the descriptions for each app. I downloaded 'Twitterific' (free) from iTunes. Now, I can simply touch the Twitterific icon, and I up comes my Twitter home page where I can see tweets from those I am following, and I can update my own status - right from my phone.
One of the most useful apps is the 'AroundMe' app. Simply touch the AroundMe icon. A pop up comes up asking if it can use your current location. Touch 'yes' and a list of catagories come up: gas stations, stores, banks, restaurants, bars, coffee shops, hotels, hospitals, movie theaters, etc. Touch any category, and a list of specific establishments comes up - closest one first. Touch on any establishment and it's address, phone number and website comes up. You are given 4 options: Show route, Show map, email, and Add to contacts. Click on the Show route or Show map, and it gives you directions to the place you selected! VERY handy, indeed.
So, the apps are fun. I also have a Spanish app downloaded to mine.

Web Browsing: Much better than my old RAZR. With a nice wide screen, picture is clear and bright. Font is not as small as I thought it would be, and it is adjustable. Easy to add bookmarks - but even easier to add your favorite website to your iPhone home page so it displays with the rest of your apps. You can open multiple browsers, then fan through them.
Simply turn your iPhone and view switches to Landscape mode. Unfortunately, this feature only works while web browsing. Landscape is not available in the following modes: contacts, phone, iPod, application, or well, just about anywhere else.

Keyboard: Nicer and easier to use than I thought it would be. A QWERTY keyboard is used. Characters are spaced far enough apart where it isn't a problem tapping the right character.

Operating System: Fast enough for a phone. Some pages take up to 8 seconds to fully load. So far, they have all loaded. It is a little faster when I am at home using my wireless connection. Let's stop a minute and talk about that. When I turned my iPhone on for the first time (at home), a pop up came up with the list of available wireless connections. Mine was 1st in the list. I simply touched my connection and that was it. I was connected. It remembers my choice and I never have to do that again! Pretty cool.

Overall: It is growing on me. I love Twitterific. I love the Facebook app. I also like the fact that I have had this phone 24 hours, but it seems like I have had it for months - it is comfortable already.
I haven't tried a lot of things, yet, like the camera or video, but I will eventualy!

In The News...
According to www.cyclingnews.com (Dec 12, 2008), Cadel Evans will NOT race the 2009 Giro d'Italia. Evans suggested that RCS stated he was racing the Giro to promote the race; that he, in fact never said he would be at the 1st of the season's Grand Tours. There will be a star studded line-up at the 2009 Giro, including Lance Armstrong, Ivan Basso, Carlos Sastre, Denis Menchov, Gilberto Simoni and Danilo DiLuca along with strong support riders who, arguably could win a Grand Tour themselves. Route/stage details for the 2009 Giro will be announced tomorrow, Dec 13th.

Anytime Filippo Pozzato is in the news it makes me smile. You have to have some confidence to work the hair he does. As reported by www.cyclingnews.com, Team Katusha, at a training camp in Italy, debuted their new kits and Ridley bikes. Check out the new get up at www.cyclingnews.com in the Latest Cyclingnews for Dec 12th. This segments right into something silly (Pozzato rides for Katusha in 2009, put was on Liquigas...see the connection???)
I have to add my all time favorite cycing picture of Filippo Pozzato (many were in contention). But, this one is special. For one, I didn't even recognize him! Second , he kind of reminds me of the creepy guy from 'Silence of the Lambs'. You know, the one who is trying to make a 'human suit' out of woman's skin so he can have soft and smoothe skin? Taken at the 2008 Tour de France:


This news is a few days old, but great news it is! Ivan "Papi" Dominguez will be riding in the ProTour in 2009!!! With Fuji-Servetto (formerly Suanier-Duval). I am so happy for Ivan! This team is shaping up nicely for the 2009 season with their roster nearly set: Alberto Benítez, Iker Camaño, David Cañada, Eros Capecchi, Ermanno Capelli, Juanjo Cobo, David de la Fuente, Jesús Del Nero, Iván Domínguez, Arkaitz Durán, Alberto Fernández de la Puebla, Ángel Litu Gómez, Héctor González, Beñat Intxausti, Josep Jufré, Javier Megías, Daniele Nardello, Ricardo Serrano, Andrea Tonti, Davide Vigano and William Walker


I have a busy weekend coming up, but I will try to get some more updates out there tonight or Sunday night. The 2009 Cycling Season is just around the corner with the Tour Down Under just about 1 month away!!