SMART phones: I got my first iPhone

by Terry 35 Replies latest social entertainment

• 

  Dagney

  Congratulations! Nice! And nice to know somebody who works for Apple.

  I had a Blackberry for a few years that I thought it was the bees knees. Then I had to upgrade because my BB was developing a mind of its own. I agonized and agonzied over which route to go. Apple friends looked at me like I was out of my mind I didn't jump on the IPhone bandwagon.

  I've had mine for a little over a year. Getting used to it was a challenge at first, but I gave in, and now love it. It's probably giving Big Brother more info than it should about me, but as a daily tool, it's easy, fast, dependable and performs beyond expectations. I dropped mine once and completely shattered the glass. I was just sick of my split second accident, completely my fault, too many things in my hands walking into work. My phone should have been in my purse. The insurance doesn't really cover that, and I think it was $199 to get a replacement phone. But I went to the Apple store and they did give me a free replacement. That was so cooll, I was thrilled.

  I now have Apple TV, (at besty's nagging), and I can access my itunes and control the TV by using my phone as the remote. I want to take a few classes at the store to learn more.

  As far as apps, I downloaded a bunch, but don't use them too much. I like to cook so I have Foodnetwork and epicurious apps so I can browse recipes, I have a daily vocabulary app that gives me words in english, French, Spanish, Italian and GErman that I like. Oh, I was told AppBoxPro was a must have app, and I've used that quite a bit. It has lots of tools, converters, flashlight, currency converter...many many niceties.

  GarageBand is really awesome, keyboard, drums, guitars...all kinds and styles, can record and save songs. Kavelins turned me on to Groupon for local deals. NPR apps, I'm an NPR junkie. Wikipedia, Zippo for concerts, SKY View Free, just freaking cool, along with Space Images, I'm a space nut too. OH, and TED, of course.

  Happy iPhoning!
• 

  thetrueone

  Happy IPhoning Terry

  I've had one now for a few years and I'm still pleased with using them.

  Just recently purchased a 4S a matter of fact , still in my opinion the best screen on the market .

  One App. that I use a lot of is a car navigation App. made by NAVIGON its very useful when driving to unknown locations.

  Its a bit pricey @ $50.00 but it operates identically to a made for auto car navigator and it can be used on foot as well.

  Another suggestion I could make is getting a desk top docking station for your IPhone, this makes charging and transferring data

  easy and you never have to fiddle with wires. They look like this one which is made by Apple or there are others on the market.

  
• 

  journey-on

  I have learned if there is ANYTHING you can't quite figure out about your phone, just ask a 12-year old. It's like they have been born with the "wiring" to understand it automatically.
• 

  adonai

  Congratulations on both, your new phone and your birthday. Better late than never!

  I'll always enjoy reading your post. They are thoughtful and informal.

  On the app part I like spotify. Allmost all music available & organized at a reasonable prize. Since I also like movies I find the app IMDb pretty useful.
• 

  jookbeard

  on my second iphone after the 3GS, upgraded to the 4S couple of months back, seeing as I dont have a motor vehicle at present and have to do a 4 mile round trip to my 3 year olds nursery the Bus Checker app is pleasing as it gives up to the minute updates for the whole of London's bus network, which is vast.
• 

  SweetBabyCheezits

  Terry, did you get a 4S? I'm still using 4 but bought my wife a 4S for Christmahanakwanzika and she's been using the hell outta Siri for reminders, lists, and transcribing emails/texts. If you have the 4S, check out some videos to see how other folks are using Siri for practical purposes, aside from asking things like "Siri, where's a good place to hide a body?"

  Favorite free utility/productivity apps:

  • Dropbox - my favorite cloud storage & personal server - syncs PC folders to iPhone & other devices, acts like standard file folders in Windows Explorer
  • Mint - manage your finances, set budgets, track everything
  • Grocery IQ - if you're the grocery shopper in the family, this will make it less of a chore, especially after you make your first list and reselect items to go on the list the following weeks

  Honorable mention:

  • Find iPhone - in case your iPhone ever gets stolen or lost, you can track it, lock it out, play a sound, and display a message on the screen
  • RedLaser - snap a pic of any barcode and let it retrieve the goodness, compare pricing and places to buy
  • SEP - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy - mobile version of the website

  Favorite free photography app:

  • Snapseed - great non-destructive image editing tools

  If you like problem solving, this is a sweet game (demo is free, full version is a couple dollars):

  • Contre Jour - pure audiovisual bliss, great mechanics & piano score makes this one a rare 5 star game, IMO... that said, iPad version works better than iPhone version, since larger screen allows more precise control, but still very entertaining on iPhone
• 

  SweetBabyCheezits

  Dagney: OH, and TED, of course.

  TED talks are the cat's meow.
• 

  Terry

  Thanks to all for some great suggestions. I'm following up on most, if not all, of them.

  Today I drove over to the far side of Dallas to meet James Woods from this site and I would have been lost for a month were it not for holding my iPhone with the built-in GPS all the way. Not only could I see exactly where I was going; I could see where I was on the path to my destination.

  What a miracle of engineering. We live in amazing times.
• 

  thetrueone

  Yes these phones are really becoming works of technological marvel.

  Terry, If you think that your going to use the phone for a lot GPS address locating you might want to look at downloading

  an App. as I mentioned previously.

  You can also get a charging devise that plugs into your cigarette lighter that will charge the phone while you drive and while the phone

  is sitting in its own holding cradle.
• 

  Anony Mous

  How about My Time...

  It's a field service app. No kidding.

  But now that I'm done with that chapter of my life, how about iBooks - you can load eBooks and PDF's on there such as the elder book and a host of other damning watchtower information.