I remembered the hoopla that first surrounded the iPhone when it first came out years ago in 2007.  It became a trend because everyone was getting one.  I even walked by a kid who couldn't have been any older than 11 YEARS OLD with an iPhone in hand as he walked out of the Mac store.  I was amazed.  But the iPhone certainly had it's merits.  It's basically an iPod as a cell phone.  My brother is the one in our family to get the first electronic everything.  He was the first to buy an iPod, the first to buy a blu ray player, the first to buy a Playstation, etc.  My brother is like the Epinions of consumer electronics.  If I wanted to know about a certain product, I could just ask him about it first.

But I won't lie.  When I first saw the iPhone.  I wanted one but there were two factors holding me back.  One was the money, because we all need money to survive and I remembered the first iPhone came out, it was a ridiculous price that cost somewhere around $400 and up.  But the other factor was it being a first generation product.  Past history of products like this will teach you that a first generation product is often buggy and has some kinks that need to be worked out, much like the iPhone first generation had.  But now it's 2011 and iPhone has had several models and improved it's service.  Last year, being the kind of person that I am, I finally hopped on the bandwagon that I should've been on, a long time ago.  I got an iPod Touch.  You have to understand.  I do want these things but I didn't have the money.  Portable electronic devices aren't cheap, especially anything that comes from Apple.  You're going to be paying the money for a product like this, and it's going to be a good chunk of change.  But the timing worked out where my cell contract was expiring and I could get myself a new phone, I clamored for the iPhone long ago.  The iPod Touch if anything, was seriously good training that provided both audio and internet capabilities that were astounding to me.  An iPhone was going to be a great upgrade.  So I got in touch with my cell phone company and finally bought the iPhone.  I will never get anything else.  Nothing against users of Droid, Blackberry, Windows or countless other smartphones, but I will forever be in the grip of the iPhone.  I call this the iCrack, because it's like an addictive drug.

My experience with the iPhone 4 hasn't been all puppies and chocolate coins.  But it's been a good experience so far, especially when my last phone was the clunky, oversized Pantech slider phone.  Nothing against Pantech but when you have a damn phone that's an inch thick with a tiny screen and slow web service, it can be a frustrating experience to use that device.  Even worse is lugging it around in your front pocket.  I have no regrets that using the Pantech phone for two years only made me more appreciative of the iPhone itself.  But the drawbacks to the iPhone is it's battery life is weaker than the Pantech ever was, given that battery life can drain easily just within a day.  I'll honestly say that if you leave your phone on overnight, the phone will be drained the next day.  So be prepared when you buy one.  Plus the cell capabilities aren't as strong as one might like.  There are some areas where you may be, that the signal is weak.  So prepare yourself for that.  Plus this is Apple, so the products are going to be pricier than what you want.  Fortunately they give you a charger with the iPhone, unlike the iPod Touch 3rd generation that I owned, which just had a cable.  But you're going to become best friends with that charger.  But I'll begin to elaborate on the phone....

CELLULAR CAPABILITIES

My iPhone is on the 3G network and the signal, given in the area is pretty solid when need be.  But sometimes the signal depletes.  As with all cell phones, you want to make sure you're in an open area where you're likely to get satelite access.  So if you're in a closed off room, your chances of getting a signal is going to be terrible.  

BATTERY LIFE

If there's one thing I wish I could honestly change, it would be the battery life.  I wish my iPhone's battery life could last a lot longer.  But I find that this sucker drains energy quicker than I'd prefer.  So if you can put your phone to sleep when possible, I'd encourage you to save the juice.  There's a setting on your iPhone that will allow you to see the percentage of energy left in your phone, but you'll have to go fishing for it in your settings app.

iTunes

I'm NOT a fan of iTunes.  I'm PC-based mostly, so as a PC user, I find iTunes to be a very frustrating application.  I might be in the minority here, but overall, I think iTunes isn't as simplified as it thinks.  The chances of putting your own music on your iPhone is a detrimental process, because you have to do things like create playlists and I'm still have a hell of a time trying to put movies on my damn phone.  Not to mention, Apple has made it impossible for users to create ringtones out of music on their iPhone, but thanks to the wonderful world of apps, there's an app for that.  I tried going through the method of renaming and reassigning files and hit a wall before I started using an app that made my life much easier.  But if you've experienced issues with your iTunes on a PC, the experience is more frustrating here.

THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT

Yes, the expression really is true, there's practically an app for everything.  The iPhone comes equipped with all the basic things you need like Google Maps (a Godsend), a compass, calculator and other basics.  But going beyond the world of the basics are the games like X-Men the arcade game, Hopstop (very crucial for public transit), sales percentage apps, recipe apps, Photoshop, Photosynth, Flashlight, IMDB, Angry Birds and banking apps.  Pretty much damn near everything for the thousands of apps that appear on the Apple network.  Some free, some not free.  But I've never ceased to be impressed.

LET'S ACCESSORIZE

As you may know, there's a market full of accessories for the iPhone, that you can get overpriced at the Apple store or cheaply at places like the discards at Marshall's or well stocked at Amazon.  Regarding the battery life of the iPhone if you use it a lot, I'd recommend buying an extended battery.  Yes, there are such things out there.  Being in New York City, this is key and it's a serious help to me. But you can find virtually any accessory you want: jackets, protective cases, cover screens (which you must buy to protect your sensitive screen) and damn near everything else.  Be it driving on the road to talking with friends, there's all kinds of things you can do.

USEFULNESS

The iPhone is a useful device.  Make no bones about it.  You can organize your life, you can get around the city and you can buy stuff all through your iPhone.  I can't tell you how much this thing has saved my skin when roaming the streets of New York City to finding out if a business is closed.  I love using the Safari web browser and being able to call a number through a search on that browser.  An iPhone is a very useful tool and regardless of materialism, it's a really helpful device that I think everyone should have.  If you can get it a good deal through your cell phone provider, I'd recommend it.  All in all, you have something that's not just your cell phone but a camera, video camera, personal organizer, video game player and all kinds of useful things.  I particularly love texting because it's set up like instant messaging.

TO SUM IT UP

The iPhone is a wonderful and useful device.  It's capabilities are endless in terms of what it can do for users.  You can browse the web, listen to music or converse with friends.  People may mock me for saying that I need it, but anyone who has said that, never had an iPhone.

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 150.00
Recommended for: World Travelers - Works Anywhere and Everywhere!