I’m writing after quite a while and I only write when I think I have to write about it!
I was close minded, narrow and all excited when I bought the iPhone 3g a month into me being in the US… It cost me quite a Bit - A 2 Year contract with AT&T and a Data Plan of $30 every month compulsory. All was fine till they offered the $599 Phone for $199…! The first month I racked up huge bills for the advance payment for next month’s bills. Then as everyone would imagine it should have been smooth sailing. It kind of was. Then the $30 Dollars you spend, u realize that you inexplicably won’t use it for its worth. The 3G network pisses you off by not connecting the pages properly and not loading the GPS properly! You end up using the Wi-Fi network home to connect finally rendering the 3G subscription practically worthless! Well one can argue that the Signal strength would not have been good in my area… That too is a reason! AT&T network is so pathetic, Trust me I miss the good old Airtel back in India to which I was a dealer of! So, Now I use the phone off the House… Everyone knows the Application Google Maps on the iPhone! It’s good to an extent to check ROUGHLY where u are on the roads and get local destinations on your Map and find a Route to it. There is a ticking blue dot indicating your position on the road and take my word for it, it’s a bad idea to try and use it as a GPS! The 3G network’s pathetic Latency makes you miss the most important Exits on a freeway! Other than that, Several times, either the 3G or the Wi-Fi would die out for no reason on the Phone and I end up on a Null connection to the internet. With so many things to get on your nerves and more, the recurring $30 was absolutely pissing off! I decided to give away the phone when my friend offered to swap his phone with mine.
It was good while it lasted! Unparalleled iPod features and the Music quality are off the Shelf! Watching Movies in it is another pleasure I could only dream of in India! The Multi Touch makes it really cool to with a 3G or Wi-Fi connection. For Example, there is a Facebook Application I used for Mobile Facebook. Pandora and Virgin Internet Radio, Mobile Banking Applications are all among those! Other applications are to-do lists, grocery lists, running meter etc… You can use and get to lot of stuff off apple Store for free! The phone is normal in speed and not like the Nokia 1100 I used to use in India. Gaming in the iPhone is worth a Mention as there r so many different games that use up the iPhone’s accelerometer and one can race with just tilting the iPhone! Millions of Applications are there among which half are only goodto use without internet!
I have to Say I kept finding out new features and gestures off my iPhone every other day. Like a swipe on the button in one direction will make something happen. And then on the usage and understanding will improve. I thoroughly enjoyed the luxury it gave when I had it but didn’t come to my full senses that I actually had an iPhone and that feeling made it a bit bad! I would check my mail read my RSS as and when I want! That’s a luxury that you should have when you deserve it, I thought so. Hence I waited for the moment to give my phone off so that I can transcend back to reality and what I was. Ultimately, it only got me worse because, whenever I go about doing something on the phone, I keep on to it for hours and believe me, it’s that addictive! It got me into deep trouble in all my time management issues!
To sum up, the iPhone 3G, though I had fun with it, was a through waste of precious time and money and especially unnecessary for me in this point of life when I’m trying to get a Masters degree!
