iPhone

So I was at a software conference last weekend called No Fluff Just Stuff. It was in Redmond and it was kind of interesting for a software geek like me but what was really cool, was that I ACTUALLY WON AN iPHONE!!!! Holy cow, I couldn't believe it, I never win anything but they were giving away door prizes and I somehow got lucky. Now I will say I have been intrigued by this phone but didn't think it was worth the $599 price tag. Well, the price has actually already dropped by $200 to $399 but I still wasn't about to buy one. Well, if someone wants to give me one, I'll take it :-) And . . . . after using the phone for a few days . . . I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW AWESOME THIS PHONE IS. While my last phone technically did most of the stuff this phone did, this phone make it immensenly easier (and funner) to do the same things. I hardly even use my computer to check email anymore because it's so darn easy and convenient to do right on the phone. Browsing the web . . . no problem, email . . . no problem . . . pictures, music, video . . . no problem. The texting is really cool . . . it groups all the messages into ongoing conversations. One the other hand Apple is making a few bone-headed descisions over the phone. One of these things is the fact that they are doing anything and everything they can to prevent third party software from being installed on the phone. I think this is a big mistake and this kind of thinking is what has kept Macs out of the main stream for so long (even though they are superior to PCs). Even so, there is software out there now that lets you install third party applications and in a matter of minutes, you can have the phone totally customized and full of all kinds of useful add-on applications.

A couple of useful websites I've found for the iPhone are:

http://www.iphoneatlas.com/
http://www.hackint0sh.org/forum/indexpage.php

I'm telling you, if Apple doesn't screw it up, this phone is going to dominate the cell phone market . . .