Seriously?  I know I've touched on it before barely, but with behemoths such as the Droid X and the EVO 4G pretty popular in the mobile world I'm worried that the trend of the big screen phone will continue.  I know that I've seen people in the world with their EVO out and it looks like you could serve dinner off of it.  How is that easily portable?  You almost need a holster at your side to fit it right.

Along the same lines, Apple has stood by it's 3.5" form factor since the iPhone's inception.  It makes you wonder if the folks in Cupertino are exploring other options for their next iterations of the iPhone.  Given their recent comments regarding small tablets, it leads me to believe they wouldn't go for the full 4.3" monster but maybe a small bump to 3.8" or so.  They have to keep the Retina Display resolution that everyone loves, so I'm not sure what the screen size change would do to it.

The line between what makes a phone and phone and what makes a tablet a tablet is becoming more and more blurred.  I want my phone to be handy and not bulky and awkward.  I also do not want to be left behind with older equipment simply because I refuse to go big.  A 5" phone in your pocket seems prone to breakage.  All it takes is a trip into a desk or door and 1/4 (or more) of your screen is gone.  Sure there's been advances such as Gorilla Glass and whatever Apple is using, but with enough force any glass will break.

Of course someone could simply make the Pip-Boy form factor popular and everyone will just operate off of their arm.

What a month it's been huh?  June 24, 2010: Judgment Day.  Steve Jobs released upon this world a redesigned iPhone, very different than the familiar 3G and 3GS form factor.  Little did he know, the flood gates to Antennagate were about to blow open and drown out the wondrous magical device that Jobsy promised.

I'm usually not an early adopter, I typically like to wait a bit after a major phone release before deciding on which to choose.  I know we wanted iPhones, and the iPhone product has been rock steady pretty much since it's inception in 2007.  I also was drawn to the new design of the iPhone 4, the curvy nonsense on the 3G and 3GS wasn't attractive to me at all.  So I took the plunge and pre-ordered for launch day.  My phone came (not without many billing fiascoes with AT&T, but that's a different story) and I've been using it as my primary mobile device since then.  Here's my take on my first month with my first iOS device.

Point 1: AT&T's service

OK, so the first complaint EVERYONE IN THE US has with the iPhone is AT&T.  I've seen the speedtest results from the major metros (SF, NY, etc.).  I understand that people can be frustrated with dropped calls and slow data in highly populated areas and somehow this gets blanketed to the 97% of the country that AT&T covers.  Maybe Raleigh/Durham just has a very strong AT&T infrastructure.  I can say this, while in my home area, I have yet to drop a call throughout this month.  Additionally, I have not experienced any data slowdowns and have had 3G coverage everywhere I've gone.  Granted I don't go to a lot of places outside the Triangle, but for what I use the phone for I'm completely satisfied.  My recent trip to Las Vegas did have some severe data slowdown issues in certain parts of The Strip, and I certainly made use of the "Mark the Spot" app.  I'm probably jinxing myself by writing this, but as far as my daily use goes there has been no difference between AT&T and Verizon's service.

Point 2: Death Grip

The iPhone 4 has a signal attenuation issue, it's been confirmed by various outlets and even Apple itself.  Am I aware of how I hold the phone when I'm using it?  Yes.  Does it ruin the experience for me and render the phone unusable?  No.  People made a mountain out of a molehill and got their free case/bumper out of it (I'll be getting one too, not sure if I'll use it however).  This is not a dealbreaker for me and again has not really affected the way I use it.

Point 3: iOS and it's "apps"

I'm digging iOS.  Much more than Windows Mobile, though I haven't used Android in order to compare.  I appreciate the attention to detail that was put into it (i.e. the .com button on the Safari keyboard) and it's extremely user friendly.  I'm finding that I'm not really using a large variety of apps and the app store seems to be full of garbage apps.  It's nice to say that you have 100,000 apps but if 60% are garbage it loses it's value.  The iPod app is absolutely excellent, a pleasure to use.  I can't wait to see iOS on other types of devices because it would certainly fit. 

Point 4: Camera

I took all my photos and video from my trip last week to Vegas on my iPhone.  Some came out really great, some not so great.  After all, it is a phone and not a point-and-shoot or DSLR replacement.  Here's some samples:

Bottom Line:

The iPhone 4 is the best phone I've used.  The form factor, the aesthetics, the display, the responsiveness of the touchscreen, everything.  Even if Consumer Reports won't recommend a buy, I will. 

I've got a full week under my belt with Apple's newest iDevice.  News broke today that the first (emphasis added) class action lawsuit is being brought against Apple in regards to the "death grip" antenna issues.  From the KCR website (http://www.kcrlegal.com/iPhone-reception-problems.aspx):>

Meanwhile, since we posted our inquiry on Monday, June 28, over 1250 people have responded. The overwhelming majority are experiencing problems with their iPhones and agree that Apple should be held accountable.

So let me get this straight.  Over 1250 people are saying their reception isn't so great with the iPhone 4.  Apple sold 1.7 million devices in the first weekend it was available.  The percentage of respondents is so low I can't even copy it from Windows Calculator (I mean I can, it's 7.352941176470588e-4, but who wants to see that?).  Why are people bothering with this frivolousness?  I'd even venture to say there's more actually defective units that were sold than the amount of people that are complaining about their signal loss.

Apple is a big company, people think that it's going to just roll over to a few squeaky wheels.  To say that the iPhone 4 is completely unusable as it was released is absurd.  I'm finding more and more places just in my daily use where I have more bars with AT&T than I did with Verizon, including inside buildings.  This kind of nonsense just appears to be the same Apple hate that happens every go around, it's always going to be something critically and traumatically wrong with anything that is released.

Don't get me wrong, if I cover the left side black band with my thumb my bars start to drop.  In my apartment.  Around town I don't have that issue and I can freely hold the phone however I wish without dropping calls or paralyzing my data connection.  I'm not going to put a bumper on my phone and I'm not putting a case on it.  I'm not dissatisfied with the service or the hardware.  I have my gripes about some minor things with iOS but I'll get used to it.

It's genuinely shocking to me the amount of fervor over "low signal strength."  Hasn't that been the major complaint of AT&T for years now?  It's no different now than it was when you bought your 3GS last year, and your 3G the year before, and your 2G the year before that.  AT&T and Apple both have a 30 day return policy, if it doesn't fit your needs, then return it.  I'd be interested to go into a few AT&T and Apple stores to see how many phones have been returned to date.  My guess is very very very few.

The Apple vs. the Internet soap opera continues......

Let's see if AT&T lives up to their reputation and if ol' Jobsy can impress me. Today I hopefully fought my last billing battle and have the iPhone 4 in my grubby mitts.

Sent from my iPhone

By this time next week I will be running my first iOS (and furthermore Apple) device.  As the delivery date quickly approaches, I keep thinking about how the iPhone 4 will change the way I use mobile devices.

I've been using Windows Mobile OS since version 5.0 on a Dell Axim X5 PDA.  My first smartphone was a Verizon (HTC built) XV6900 Windows Mobile 6 device.  Windows Mobile's interface, program compatability (along with it's lack of robust applications), and general usage is all I know.

I'm not concerned that I'll have to pick up on all the things that make iOS different from everything else.  I'm not concerned that I'll have to learn how to use a touchscreen again.  I'm concerned I will like iOS too much.  I've already got a stack of apps ready to sync with my new phone, something I was never really able to do short of a few .cab files on a storage card for any new WinMo device.  I've read about the ins and outs of the OS, how it works together and utilizes the apps.  Short of reading I've logged maybe a few minutes in my lifetime on any iOS device.  Things are definetly about to change.

I'll talk about this point more I'm sure once I get the iPhone in my hands.