I’ve had an iPhone in my pocket for several years now though I wasn’t an early adopter. I missed out on the first generation, but I’ve carried the 3G, 3GS, and now the iPhone 4. It wasn’t until I got the iPhone 4; however, that I started actually working on my phone.
Early Days: Consumption
The immediate predecessor to my first iPhone was the same most other folks used—a flip phone. In my case, that was a Motorola RAZR (again, like most other people back then). My cell phone was just that, a phone. I had a game or two I installed, but the weren’t very good.
The iPhone came along and changed that for me in an instant. I could surf the Internet and it wasn’t painfully slow. Not only was the speed acceptable (even on the EDGE network before 3G become available and ubiquitous), but web pages looked like they should look. They didn’t force users into a funky mobile version.
Let the surfing begin!
Now, Wikipedia was always at my fingertips. Someone in the room would think aloud, “I wonder what something something” and I would have an answer for them a few seconds later. Smart phones may not actually make you smarter (do they?) but they can make you look smarter anyway.
Email. RSS feeds. High quality games. All right there in snap with a few taps on the touch screen.
But I didn’t use the 3G or even the 3GS for much more than consuming information. Then, I got the fourth iteration of the iPhone.
Accomplishing Something
The responsiveness that accompanied the updated coupled with the quality of display makes the hardware a pleasure to use and the latest software makes it an absolute joy.
Take Elements for example. That’s the app I’m using to write this article. It’s Markdown ready, as easy access to word count, and it’s compatible with TextExpander.
Improved Bluetooth compatibility let’s me connect with my Apple wireless keyboard so I can really pound out some words, but this post was done with the virtual touch screen keyboard.