Why I love my iPhone 4

I’ve been pretty anti-Mac, so imagine my father’s surprise when I bought an iPhone 4.

In fact, he thought I was drinking.

Now I’ve had it for a couple of months and it is time for a review.

This little electronic device has me hooked. It is almost always by my side. And there really isn’t much it can’t do.

What I use my iPhone 4 for, and why I love the iPhone 4:

checking email when I am in the living room, or in bed, or sitting in the car, or sitting outside, possibly even in the bathroom, but I’m not tellin’
tweeting on twitter, or just reading the latest tweets
to check Facebook, or to check-in using Facebook Places, telling everyone of my friends where I am at the moment
to check in on news – I have the free apps for CBC, Globe and Mail, Macleans.
to write notes to myself, like grocery lists, things to do, clients to invoice, time spent per project
it is synced with my Google Calendars so I can see and add things to my calendar from my iPhone. I can also set reminders on any event to notify me in advance in case I forget
to play music while I’m in the shower – I plug in an old set of computer speakers to amplify
I’ve got >2,000 songs loaded on it, but rarely use the iPod feature, I usually use listen to radio shows.
Pocket Tunes – the only app I’ve paid for – allows me to listen to my Sirius satellite radio subscription on my iPhone (using wifi) so now I don’t have to have a separate satellite radio for my desk at work (now it’s in Jeff’s truck for him to enjoy). Pocket tunes is really wonderful. I have set a bunch of satellite channels to my favourite list. It also has all the radio stations available to listen to from around the world, if they stream online. It also has police and emergency scanners.
to count calories, if I wonder how my day is looking, caloricly.
brain growth – I’ve downloaded brain twister apps until I master them and then delete. The best part of the App store is it is so easy to search for apps, download them, try them, and then delete them
it helps me cook – I’ve found a couple apps with recipes available – one even makes your grocery list with the list of ingredients for you! I think an iPad would be an even better assistant in the kitchen since it is bigger (no I don’t want one)
flashlight – yes, there is an app for that. So if Jeff goes to bed before me, I can use the flashlight app to navigate my way over the dog to the bed
learning Dutch – I downloaded a couple of free apps that are for learning Dutch. I went gung-ho on those for the first couple of days, but haven’t dove back in lately.
checking my faxes – I pay for a 1-888 fax number for my business (MyFax) and I can view my incoming faxes, and actually send faxes, right from my iPhone.
scanning documents – I have a free app that will use the iPhone’s camera to take a photo of a document. Bye bye photocopier!
reading novels – all the old classics are out of copyright and are free to read on the iPhone!
GPS – I have a free app with all the typo maps of Canada. When you load it up, it uses your current coordinates and places your location on the screen. Google Maps and Google Earth are also incredible, and I’ve used them twice to find where I was, and how to get to where I was going (once walking around Winnipeg looking for the arena at night, and the other with Julie while she was driving me to the Hamilton airport)
movie reviews – I loaded up the IMDb app so when Jeff is flipping through the movies about to start, I can quickly check the reviews online
National Film Board has tons and tons of movies in their app for free. My favourite are the old classics – “Blackfly” and “The Snits”
I can use the Safari browser to do anything (except Flash) just like it I was at my computer
convert units – now I don’t have to scramble to convert units when measuring or cooking – there is a free unit conversion app available!
if I ever need to pass time, there is always YouTube!
easy, handy camera – the camera doesn’t match up to our good Nikon, but it is handy, and it can also take videos
OH! and there is a phone on it! I probably use the phone the least, but it is nice to have something always with me. My last pay as you go cell phone was so flukey and I couldn’t rely on it. Jeff likes that I have a good cell with me now (although cell signals here in the country are still spotty)
It has Bluetooth, and so does my car, so I am hands free if you call me while I’m driving :>>
It notifies me if my server is down (I’ve had two DDOS attacks in the last week) – I use Pingdom
I’d love to try out the tree identification apps, but they aren’t free :no: but my birthday is coming up!!
The new screen resolution on these iPhone 4’s are nothing short of incredible. In fact, it is so sharp and clear that when I switch to my laptop, that has a beautiful LED display, it makes it look so pixelated and coarse. Will Apple now use this technology for larger monitors? ‘hope so!
it also has a compass!
and a calculator!
it will even search Google based on voice prompts! It is shockingly accurate. I even said “Lisa Schuyler” and it searched google with the correct spelling!
I can see the weather forecast for here, and I can set a bunch of other places, so I can see what the weather is like back in Listowel, and in Thunder Bay.

I researched A LOT when I was shopping for a smart phone. I really didn’t want an iPhone, but there really is no competition. The competition will tell you there is competition, but take it from me. This iPhone 4 is a genius piece of equipment. I tried my brother’s Blackberry Torch and it is an etch-a-sketch compared to my iPhone. (Oh poop, now I sound like I’m in the damn Mac cult)

I’d say the cell phone company is making all the coin, rather than Apple, because plans start at $50/month without call display or voicemail. I went with Bell because their plan includes a free fav 5 list (nation-wide), and a bunch of free anytime minutes, and a decent amount of free data when a free wifi connection isn’t available, so luckily it is easy to stay within the $50/month.

Here are some screenshots:

Google Earth: