I forgot books. I read a lot on my storm simply because I ALWAYS have a book now or just about any book I want.
Really, carrying something as big as a pack of cigs and having all this available is just quite stunning.
I got the iPhone when it first came out. I just upgraded a couple months ago to the 3GS (32 gb).
I think, first and foremost, it depends on how “plugged-in” you are. That is, how much of your life is organized and runs through the computer. I run my own business (3D modeling / CG animator), so it’s a much more convenient lifestyle if I can check up on matters, while I’m away from my main rig. Lots of sending and receiving visual content and video, so it’s perfect for that. As for general communication I use it, of course, to make calls, but for work I mostly stay in touch through email.
Second: What a great pocket device! Games, books, utilities, internet, email, google maps, GPS, digital compass, camera (video and pics), music/media player, apps, etc. All in an incredibly easy to use, slick and well integrated piece of hardware (that is, well integrated with the Mac OS and Apple’s hardware). I make use of almost all of it, constantly. I hate being stuck somewhere and being bored, or not being able to access my “plugged-in” life. With the iPhone, it’s available to me anywhere, so long as I have coverage (or wifi) and my phone has juice.
That seems pretty cool, and it’s definitely a plus. But on the other hand, I prefer not to leave my PC on for hours at a time when I’m not using it. I assume you’d have to leave your PC on for this to work, right? I realize that’s probably a stupid question - I like to think I’m fairly tech-savvy, but for all I know, Apple has servers with billions of GB dedicated to backing up people’s iTunes collections for instant streaming.
Oredigger mentioned battery life as being 19 hours during MP3 playback, and maybe 4 hours of heavy use. Is this pretty standard for the current generation of phones? Anybody with a Droid or Blackberry that can comment? My wife leaves her phone plugged in almost nonstop when she’s home, and it seems that the battery will last just long enough for her to take it to work and back. I’ve just assumed that it’s basically the same for other Droid-owners, but maybe she’s just got a crappy unit?
Currently the iphone is the closest thing you will ever own that replicates a tricorder.
Declan
I have a PDA phone because of work as well. I’m on call one week in three and need to be able to get emails from our monitoring software anywhere/anytime. My phone also has remote desktop program that lets me log in to the servers at work and fix problems. It has Outlook calendar functionality and serves as a great reminder tool for upcoming events.
For non-work related uses, my phone gets called into service when there’s a movie trivia\song lyric dispute and there’s no computer close. For gift shopping purposes, I typed up a text list of which seasons of what shows on DVD my wife needs to complete her various collections. Google maps is great on trips out of town. I used the phone once inside a store to look up the right kind of headlights for my wife’s car. Someone had ripped the reference book off the display.
It’s like having a slow computer with a tiny screen in my pocket.
I got a Blackberry because it allowed me to have Google Talk in my pocket and use it to IM as much as I want. Later on, I grew to appreciate the email functionality and the web-browsing capability, but initially, it was all about the IMs.