navigate communications

Do I regret not buying an iPhone? Yes and no. I have seen a couple now, and while the device is incredibly sleek, there are some drawbacks that I hope will be resolved with the next version. Here are the reasons I resisted the hype and did not buy an iPhone. For those of you that really know me, this is a major feat. I am an Apple sort of guy (our house runs an Apple network for home entertainment and work). I am also a bit of a gadget guy.

1. As an “Internet device”, I would expect the iPhone to help me connect my computer online while I’m mobile, but this is not the case. It cannot function as a modem.
2. The Internet speed crawls from most accounts I’ve read. My wife has a 3G Motorola RAZR that rocks when it comes to a relatively high-speed multimedia experience, but the service is unavailable everywhere. I may in fact see if I can get my hands on the new RAZR2 when it comes out later this month (Motorola is a Fleishman-Hillard client). There is a great overview discussing why Apple did not incorporate 3G into the current iPhone from AppleInsider. Fortunately, iPhone users can flip to Wi-Fi if it’s available.
3. The battery replacement seems to be a major concern. The battery lasts approximately 400 charges and when it dies it needs to be returned to Apple for three days at a cost of $80 for the replacement battery, $7 for shipping and $29 for a loaner phone if required. Talk about a pain! Especially on top of a $500 - $600 purchase price and a minimum monthly service fee of $60 on a two year contract. Mind you, the service fee doesn’t seem to be too exorbitant.
4. Work at this point is not outfitted to support the iPhone. This is completely understandable, but the built in VPN features are something I’d hope to explore if I was to own an iPhone at one point.

These drawbacks were enough to derail my initial desire for the hottest new device. I am still envious when I see an iPhone. It’s cool enough, but lacks in practicality for my immediate priorities. That may change though. We’ll see.

Technorati Tags: iphone, apple, motorola, razr, razr2, cell phone, mobile phone

So, I’m sitting on the subway making my way home after a long week. The days seem to get shorter with the amount of work and information we need to process in this digital era. In fact, this past week I just had my performance review. My main gripe? Not enough time to read news and keep up with industry trends. In my job, this is a necessity. Not having time is no excuse.

I’m now holding a time machine in my hands, my Palm Treo. I’m writing this blog in transit. I’ve just installed Quick News on my Treo so I can keep up with my RSS feeds. Now we’re talking. This is a great application that allows me to grab updates for my favourite feeds at any time from anywhere I have a signal on my phone. I load up before diving underground to the subway and start scanning headlines. I have just added 20 minutes of real-time reading to my day. Excellent!

Keeping up with email, phone calls and meetings, oh and work is pretty much all I can seem to pack into a day. It’s no wonder blog desertion rates remain high.

Enough of my rant. With this said, I am going to apply some discipline to keep navigate communications more timely and informative. Wish me luck.