It’s the Little Things

The first thing you really notice upon first booting up 3.0 is that it’s very snappy; everything feels just a pinch faster.  Additionally, the interface has a new level of polish with some subtle cues that let you know how everything works and where everything is; basically everything you’d expect from Apple and then some.  Two great examples of the enhanced polish that I’ve noticed are: Closing apps now provides you with the slightest of fades as the apps vanish into the background.  The other is the changing of the cursor color from a very dark blue to the same blue as the text message send button and slightly thickening it, making it easier to track when skimming through lines of text.  These are such simple changes, but ones I noticed in an instant.

The new Spotlight feature is one of my favorites: From the home screen, you can either swipe to the right or press the home button and you get a nice little fade of your icons as the Spotlight search bar comes into view.  Assuming you don’t have  pages upon pages of index-able apps (I have four, but not four completely filled pages), searching works like a charm and you can even control the results order via Settings > Phone > Search Results.  You can also swipe down on almost any application window (iPod, Notes, Mail, etc) and search specifically in that area.  The attention to detail and intuitiveness of it is nothing short of amazing.

The Phone and Messages icons have received a small design treatment.  Not so much that you’d readily notice, but they both have a faint diagonal pinstriping now and the “SMS” text has been removed from the messaging icon.  I can only assume this is the case in the 3G and 3GS iPhones, since they’re they only ones which support the new (and still unavailable, thanks AT&T!) MMS feature.

Obviously, the option to go landscape on everything should garner a big “Horrah!” from users.  In the Mail app it works great and has been something I’ve personally been hoping for since the 2.0 release.  The text messaging area also benefits from the landscape keyboard plus some minor interface tweaks for the better.  In the pre-3.0 system, upon sending a text you’d have to wait for it be completely sent before accessing the keyboard or text area again.  Such is not the case in 3.0, as the progress indicator has been moved to the title bar, allowing you to navigate freely while the text sends.

Another great thing I’ve noticed is that the call lists (Recents/Voicemail) have been greatly improved, telling you which source has called you (home, mobile, etc) and giving you the appropriate state (based on area code) for numbers not in your phone book.  These are both two huge improvements as far as I’m concerned and should be put out there for all to see.

Three Words: Cut, Copy, Paste

I can’t say anything that hasn’t been repeated ad nauseum about the integration of cut/copy/paste into the 3.0 OS.  I will say that the execution is very tight and works better than expected.  I like the addition of “Select All”, as sometimes I just want to completely highlight all of my text, delete it, and start from scratch.  The ability to copy and paste text, images, and links between programs will be huge and I’m already thanking Apple for it.

A Few New Apps

Let’s just cut right to the chase, since I know everyone is excited about it: the new and improved Stocks app ROCKS! Actually, I’m so uninterested in the Stocks app that, in addition to not opening it yet, I’ve banished it to my last page of apps (along with the similarly useless Contacts app).  I must confess the Voice Recorder apps is pretty cool and something I can see myself using on a regular basis for quick things.  Couple that with it’s ability to sync recordings to iTunes and you have yourself a winning app right there.

MobileMe and the new features therein

I’m reserving my comments about MobileMe for my actual rundown and review of the service as a whole (review forthcoming).  I will say, however, that the deal has been greatly sweetened with the addition of Find My iPhone, Remote Wipe, and over-the-air Notes syncing. (Not that my phone actually ever leaves my side, but it’s a nice thing to have).

In Summary

If you didn’t believe the iPhone was the mobile handset for you because it was missing feature X, you’ll have absolutely no reservations about getting one now because with the 3.0 software Apple has covered the spectrum of everything a smart phone should do for a user.  Set some time aside on Wednesday to get to know your new iPhone because in addition to all of the things I’ve listed, there are plenty more things to discover and become acquainted with.

1. Cut, Copy, Paste – Let’s get it out of the way; this has been a talking point about the device since day one.  Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that the iPhone is one of the most sophisticated mobile devices on the market today. Other phones on the market may have better cameras, additional functionality, and even a wider user base, but only Apple has been able to wrap it all up neatly into a package that shifts the balance of power from your cellular provider into your hands.  Now that the hurdle of cut, copy, and paste has been jumped I suspect more people will readily jump on board.
2. Spotlight – I wasn’t a big Spotlight user until the huge performance gains were realized in Leopard, but now I use it to quickly search documents and even launch my apps.  It’ll serve a most excellent function on the iPhone as a handy way to search emails quickly (I currently have 4 accounts linked to my phone) as well as texts and contacts.  It’s implementation is also really slick, acting as an additional home screen to the left of your primary home screen.
3. Landscape Everywhere! – If you’ve ever used the iPhone for any length of time you’ll realize that the landscape keyboard is much easier to use and offers greater precision in almost all tasks. This isn’t a huge deal by itself, but just one component that will make the overall iPhone experience that much better.  Some developers probably won’t be too happy about it, though, as they sell their otherwise generic apps by lauding unique landscape keyboards.
4. Push Notifications – Developers and users alike have been waiting almost a year for this technology, which allows apps to communicate without using precious background processes.  During their keynote, Apple said that phones can lose up to 80% of their battery life while running a background application.  Whether this number is true or not, it’s definitely something to factor in to the overall usability of a device.  Apple’s solution is a Push notification system that can inform you of simple things like when an IM is received (as demonstrated by the awesome Meebo iPhone App) or when additonal in-app content has successfully downloaded.
5. P2P Connectivity – I’m not sure anyone saw this coming. There are a few apps within the App Store that allow some of this functionality, but none of them have quite nailed it yet and you’d need two or three apps to encompass all of the functionality exactly as Apple has implemented it.  Basically, this peer to peer system allows you to connect to other iPhone users in the vicinity (eg: within the range of Bluetooth, which is roughly a diameter of 30 feet) and share files, contacts, and even play games together.  It sounds like a really slick addition to a mobile OS that’s already shaping up to be a juggernaut.

Honorable mentions include the following, with their respective caveats following:

• MMS Messaging – This is a feature that appeals more to the masses than the power users of the iPhone since MMS is just clunky email file attachment system. Thumbs down for being a 3G only feature with additional usage fees.
• Stereo Bluetooth – Seems like a niche market, but probably appealing to those specific users.
• Hardware tethering – Pretty exciting tech, but I think it’ll be a while before we see anything really useful come from this arena with the exception of utilizing the cell phone network for use with laptops.

It’s safe to say that the most recent batch of iPhone updates planned for the 3.0 release have wowed and appeased the masses. The combination of the small, “most wanted” features like cut, copy, paste combined with the technical achievements of P2P and Mobile Spotlight seemingly ensure that Apple will be seeing many more converts to the almighty iPhone come Summer time.

This technology isn’t new by any means.  Users of Microsoft’s Exchange service have had over-the-air syncing capabilities for years and, more recently, iPhone users have had the sometimes unstable but generally well-received MobileMe service for $100 a year.

I’ll come right out and say that, as of this writing, I haven’t used either service but now seems like an opportune time.  Google Sync is completely free and Apple offers a free 90 day trial of MobileMe, so I really have nothing to lose either way.  In the past, I did undertake the daunting task of syncing the iPhone calendar app with my Google Calendar, but found the whole process way too involved for something that should be simple; even requiring additional software to work properly (prior to the iPhone 2.0 update).

At this point, I’m poised to give both a shot but have to admit I’m less likely to go the MobileMe route since the main selling points for me were tight calendar integration and unified contact list from wherever I am.  I don’t need the @me.com email address because I already have four email accounts that I have to check regularly and the web apps to access my files aren’t a deal breaker, either.

Regardless of my decision when I eventually try the aforementioned apps, any choice that we have in how we manage our digital lives is good for everyone, especially when it comes down to two companies that know how to do it just right.

Update 03/02/09: I’ve concluded my tests and come to a verdict at the following link. Google Sync Follow Up

It must be a slap in the face to serious developers to see the top paid iPhone app is “iFart Mobile”

Within five minutes of me posting this tweet, I get a response from the developer saying the following:

can you define “serious developers”?  just because we have a sense of humor doesn’t make us any less serious.

Indeed, having a sense of humor doesn’t make you a less serious developer.  On the flip side, seriously developing an app centered on fart jokes doesn’t make your app any less of a novelty.

In retrospect, I could’ve worded differently in 140 characters, but I still stand behind my original tweet.  The heart of my argument was really geared towards the developers that are attempting to make a genuinely useful application, only to be eclipsed on the top 25 by what is, in essence, a fart joke.

Then I thought a little more into the response and how quickly they were to respond.  They must just have a Twitter search window open, refreshing it every few minutes or so.  After doing a quick search myself, found that I’m not alone:

swords: Somewhat sad to see the iFart iPhone application still in the top five list after two weeks.

l3e3e7: So the number one IPhone app in the app store is “iFart“. And that is the state of the nation.

cdny: Think about this for a second and what is says about the future of mobile applications: iFart is now the most popular iPhone application.

True that I picked out just a few tweets that support my case, but most of the coverage relating to iFart on Twitter are in regards to the astronomical amount of money the developer(s) made in such a short period of time (over $40k in just the first two days).

In summary, I’m sure the iFart devs are laughing all the way to the bank.  They’ve made, in a matter of two weeks, what most people make in two years (or more!).  Between the combined press coverage, the low price, and the novelty of it all, I’m sure we’ll see it maintain it’s #1 position for a good while, or at least until iBoobs comes out…