So I went out and did it. I got caught up in the hype and purchased an iPhone 3G. After living with it for a little over a week, I have decided that I like the iPhone very much. The only problem is porting over contacts and calendars for MS applications. But since my circle is small, it’s not too much of pain for me. Visual Voice Mail has had the biggest positive impact on me. Now that I’m able to see the messages stacked up waiting for me, I can selectively listen to messages, skip the messages in favor of calling the person back, or, even better, delete the messages without having to listen to them or call the caller back. This is so nice considering all the junk phone calls that come from telemarketing computers.

As for the applications, the mapping application is a nice little novelty. It’s kinda spooky to see that your phone can pinpoint your location in your own home, right down to the side of house you are in. Combine that with a picture of your house from Google maps and it’s just plain scary. At the same time, I feel good about my prospects if I ever get stranded in the middle of the woods with my iPhone. I downloaded Pandora radio which is a nice way to discover music. This application is a blessing and a curse in that it connects directly with iTunes so you can purchase and download a song or album within 2 or 3 clicks while listening to it. It’s nice, though, to have access to iTunes where ever I go, rather than having to be tethered to a computer.

Let’s see, I downloaded Fuzzyshot mobile blogging so I now have a mobile blog out there in the ether. Here’s a link. Unfortunately, I’ve been pretty close to home so there’s nothing exciting posted, but feel free to look. I also downloaded a voice recorder, a Japanese dictionary, and Kanji flash cards. OMG! I love the Kanji flash cards because I can whip out my phone and learn and practice Kanjis when I find myself with a little wait time (another pacifier!!!). I want a to do list application, so I will look into that today.

Making phone calls is easy since it’s touch screen driven. I also bought a Bluetooth earpiece which works very nicely with the iPhone. Once linked to the phone, I don’t have to activate it again to use it and when the earpiece is not being used, the bluetooth connection for both the earpiece and the phone are shut off or in a low energy state such that their batteries aren’t drained quickly. SMS is also easier for me to do compared to my old phone. The iPhone SMS is driven by a small qwerty touch keyboard and the letters get big when you put your finger near them so you can pick the right one. I also like how the messages are listed in speech bubbles so I can actually look at the whole conversation and not just the current message. I also am able to get and send e-mail via my home e-mail account on my iPhone. This is handy. Surfing the internet is also easy :).

Anyhow, if you want an iPhone or are curious about an iPhone, then just go out and get one. At $199 I promise you will be happy. If you aren’t a talker like I am, there are lower rate talk plans than the $39.99 one advertised. I was able to stick with my previous plan which include 450-mins + 200 SMS/mo for $29.99/mo.