Okay, so maybe the iPhone is not so perfect that it has some kind of godly origin, but I have been so impressed by the iPhone I decided that I could no longer live without one. The iPhone has plenty of limitations right now (hopefully many are addressed by future software updates) but the many things it does amazingly well, so much so that it is head and shoulders above any phone I’ve seen or used before. (My previous phone the Nokia N80 actually has pretty much all the functions of the iPhone, web, email, WIFI, music player, video, but the usefulness of these functions and the ease of use makes for no comparison)
A few of the iPhones features that may not go with mainstream notice but I have come to love are the dedicated silent mode / ringer mode switch that without needing to come out of hibernate shows you whether you are silent (most phones require at least a few keystrokes or opening the phone), the navigation of contacts, music or anything else by ‘flicking’ your finger is so easy and intuitive that it is amazing to use. Viewing photos on the amazing screen, and zooming and moving with simple motions of your fingers is also truly amazing.
One thing that I feel a lot of people didn’t know about, or at least I didn’t, that has proved quite useful is the iPhones ability to dock w/ more than one computer. This has limitations, as you can’t sync music with more than one computer for example (piracy issues I would think) , or contacts with more than one computer, but you can sync your music on your home computer and your calendar and contacts on your work computer with no problem. (Video on Macworld showing this in action)
The last thing I will mention I was truly impressed with is the headphones it comes with, they are simple, standard white iPod headphones, that also feature a tiny mic on one cord. If you pinch the mic it answers the phone, or pauses your music or two presses skip to the next track. While its simple and offers only those few controls it is really great while walking the dog, listening to music and being able to grab your calls with no hassle. Of course one may not truly be so connected, but then the iPhone might not be for you.
Of course the iPhone has flaws, no cut and paste is one, of course the much hearlded 3G lacking is another, but I think the lack of a dedicated keyboard isn’t as bad as folks made it out, as your speed improves quickly on it. If the iphone gets push email (true push) later it may intrude into some Blackberry or Treo users. The battery (non removable) and screen (smudging) are both issues that have also been brought up a lot, and I have discussed earlier.
Filed under: Design, Tech | 1 Comment »
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You may have guessed, without even really knowing (or thinking about) that the font Helvetica is from Switzerland as it echoes some of the values of Swiss design and neutrality. You may not know that its now 50 years old, many major corporations use it for their logos (including Microsoft who used Arial (a knock off) in Windows in order to save licensing Helvetica), along with countless other important locations (NYC subway). There is a good photo essay on the font over at Slate and as someone who is interested in fonts and design I thought it was pretty interesting. See “
