My iPhone impression after two months of use

The iPhone is one of those rare products that actually does live up to the hype. I've had mine since the weekend they were introduced and I'm still loving it. My previous phone was a Treo and there is simply no comparison. The keyboard was frustrating at first. The learning curve is anywhere from 3 days to a week. But, once you get it, it's great. I was willing to compromise on that to get the additional screen real estate, but I no longer consider it any sort of compromise. I estimate that I type roughly twice as fast on my iPhone than I ever did on my Treo. The keyboard is going to frustrate any first time user, but don't let that initial impression scare you away. It gets better with time (much better).

Of the non phone apps, probably the #1 most often used app is Safari (the web browser). I find it quite handy even in my own home. I read the news in the morning on it with my coffee. I read articles in the evening while lying on the couch. And this despite having several computers in the house that are always on and ready to use. I never got that kind of utility out of the crippled browser on my Treo.

Email is similarly crucial. It took some tweaking to get GMail to only forward a subset of the email I receive on a daily basis (the subset that is non spam and non mailing list). Now that I've got it setup the way I like, it's terrific. Again, far better than my Treo (which I eventually stopped using for email). But, I suspect Blackberry might still have an edge here (but only a very slim one).

Google maps is indispensible when out and about. I find myself using it more and more every day. It's great if you happen to know the name of some store or restaurant and you know approximately where it is. Just pop into maps, search, click the push pin and instantly get directions or place a call. It's one of the things that amazes everyone I show it to. It's not that there aren't other phones out there that could do similar things, it's that the iPhone can do it with such efficiency and grace.

I use the iPod and photo apps heavily too (it's fantastic for sharing photos with friends). The iPod is also fantastic. I frequently use the world clock for setting alarms and timers. I sync my calendar and make appointements. I check stocks, the weather, and use the calculator from time to time. I snap photos with it when I don't have my usual camera handy. YouTube is a fun distraction every now and again. The Notes app is my least used app (though I do use it on occassion to jot down a reminder or list of some kind).

And, the great thing is that Apple appears eager to continue rolling out improvements in the software. That's something that Palm could have done with the Treo, but never really did. Other phones also just seem to push out the bare minimum in bug fixes and what not.

My one desire is for Apple to open up the iPhone to some form of third party application development. Right now, there is a lot of incredible stuff being done via Safari, but there are limits to that form of application delivery. I believe Apple will do that, I just believe they will work very hard to get it right and make a viable marketplace for those third party application developers.

Well, there just isn't much negative to say. Oh, the range on the Apple bluetooth headset isn't very good. Be prepared to return it if that's an issue for you. Otherwise, it's a nicely designed headset that's nicely integrated with the iPhone.