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Ten iPhone Reasons for Fence Sitters

Friday, August 17th, 2007 at 2:30 PM - by

There are ten very good reasons to go out and buy an iPhone, according to Jim Lynch at ExtremeTech on Friday.

Perhaps everyone who was caught up in the initial furor over the iPhone and wanted one has an iPhone. Now begins Apple's long process of getting all the fence-sitters and doubters on board. That's been helped along considerably by Mr. Lynch's insightful analysis of life with an iPhone.

Here's what the author said about Safari: "Okay, I was wrong. I admit it. I bashed Safari like crazy in my last column and I've changed my mind since I bought an iPhone. It is just amazing to use Safari and get the real web on my iPhone. It's so different from the "mobile web." While Safari is not perfect (as I pointed out in my last column) it is still right now arguably the best browser on any phone ....

"Before I used Safari on my iPhone, I thought the web on a phone was just stupid. Now it actually works (no, there's no flash support yet but there will be) and, since you can zoom in and out, it works really well and comfortably for your eyes. I give Safari a big thumbs up at this point."

Regarding the synthesis of a video iPod and a phone, Mr. Lynch discovered and articulated what many other have found: "When I first got my phone I was really not particularly interested in video on it. Boy, was I wrong! After I got it home and synched it up with iTunes on my MacBook Pro, I found myself appreciating what video looks like on it. It is the first phone I ever liked watching video on....

"I've also been putting various podcasts on it as well as TV shows like Hercules and another one from National Geographic.... Once you get used to seeing video on the iPhone's gorgeous 3.5 inch screen, you won't want to use an inferior phone ever again."

Over and above the politics, mobile phone contracts, and what dyed-in-the-wool BlackBerry users have said, there are some very compelling personal and technical issues solved by the iPhone. The "10 Reasons You Should Buy an iPhone" is notable for going into those issues in great detail to the point where the reader begins to really get what the iPhone is all about.

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A guest said: (hide)

Fri Aug 17, 2007 3:28 pm

Apple's genius in omitting flash from the mobile Safari will force site owners to encode their video in Quicktime, thereby extending their reach.

podpacker.com

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Sir Harry Flashman said:

member since 08 Feb 2007 with 792 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Fri Aug 17, 2007 4:08 pm

Guest wrote:
Apple's genius in omitting flash from the mobile Safari will force site owners to encode their video in Quicktime, thereby extending their reach.

podpacker.com

Good point. Skip Intro I would think that there also would be an iPhone problem with those 100% Flash web sites.

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DaiMac said:

member since 29 Jun 2001 with 952 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Fri Aug 17, 2007 4:38 pm

Two things:

1. I'll remain on the fence with iPhone until I'm able to use either my current carrier (not because they're better than AT&T but because I'm under contract for over 2 more years) or there is a switch to AT&T for low penalty deal that makes sense for me. If I had no cell phone or was looking to switch then I'd be all over it already. I think thats probably the main factor holding its sales back from being over-the-top ridiculously good, the economic realities of the existing cell market and already committed customers.

2. I love how the guy freaks out about being in line next to an "APPLE CULTIST." Really lent credibility to his article.

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yakirz said:

member since 22 Nov 2002 with 457 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Sat Aug 18, 2007 12:41 am

Here's one issue I've got with the iPhone, that I'd really like to see answered.

On every demo iPhone I've tried, at both AT&T and Apple stores, Safari constantly crashes and sends me to the Home screen.

One Apple Store employee told me it was because on Sunday they reset the demo iPhones to like new condition, erasing whatever people visiting the store add to it. By Saturday, the iPhones are filled almost to capacity, causing crashes.

So how much of my precious 8 GB do I have to leave unused, so Safari doesn't freak out and kick me off?

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A guest said: (hide)

Sat Aug 18, 2007 1:58 pm

I got my iPhone just after the release and Safari does not crash that often. It does crash but it is not to the point where its not usable. With that said the good thing is that software updates are coming and Safari should get even better. One thing I have noticed with the iPhone is that I get so much value out of it compared to my old phone. I use the calendar and address book all the time as they are so easy. When I bought the iPhone I did not even consider the camera function but I use it all the time. Also because the iPhone has a speaker I use the iPod functions more as well. And lastly I use the web all the time. I think once you have an iPhone you will find you get more use out of it than you might imagine. At least I am.

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yakirz said:

member since 22 Nov 2002 with 457 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Sat Aug 18, 2007 3:57 pm

I'm sure I'll love it when I get one. Besides the Safari crashes, I don't know if 8 GB will suffice. I hope 16 GB is on its way. 3G would be nice, but where I live is not a 3G area yet. Knowing my luck I'll get an 8 GB EDGE iPhone, and a week later they'll announce a 3G 16 GB model, with 3G service rolled out here the very same day...

As of now, a decent subset of my iTunes library, podcasts, video, calendar, phone book, and any new apps, I'm already near the full point, and I haven't bought one yet.

Luckily I have an older (monochrome 40 GB) iPod for my car, so maybe I can limit myself to a few hundred of my favorite songs and audiobooks. And if e-books (hopefully with support for .pdb Palm Reader files).

My father bought one and loves it.

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gslusher said:

member since 13 Nov 2002 with 2088 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Sun Aug 19, 2007 9:07 am

yakirz wrote:
I'm sure I'll love it when I get one. Besides the Safari crashes, I don't know if 8 GB will suffice. I hope 16 GB is on its way. 3G would be nice, but where I live is not a 3G area yet. Knowing my luck I'll get an 8 GB EDGE iPhone, and a week later they'll announce a 3G 16 GB model, with 3G service rolled out here the very same day...

As of now, a decent subset of my iTunes library, podcasts, video, calendar, phone book, and any new apps, I'm already near the full point, and I haven't bought one yet.

Luckily I have an older (monochrome 40 GB) iPod for my car, so maybe I can limit myself to a few hundred of my favorite songs and audiobooks. And if e-books (hopefully with support for .pdb Palm Reader files).

My father bought one and loves it.

It all depends upon your time frame. If you want to load your iPhone or iPod with enough music, audiobooks, videos, etc., to last a month of solid listening, then 8 GB certainly isn't enough. OTOH, if you are willing to carry just what you will listen to for a few days, 8 GB should work. I do quite nicely with a 4 GB Nano in my car. I don't listen to more than one audiobook at a time, though I usually have 2 or 3 on the Nano, plus a couple of hours of Car Talk and several podcasts. It's easy enough to sync the Nano when I want to change what is on it.

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chicknfood said:

member since 13 May 2004 with 15 posts, unranked, send him a message or view his profile

Mon Aug 20, 2007 1:04 pm

If ATT was smart they would pay the termination fee for switchers.

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