I freakin' really love the iPhone.
And no, I wasn't paid by Apple or Rogers to say that, either. Enough people have bought iPhones that those companies don't need to pay me off to convince folks it's a worthwhile gadget. Plus, that would be wrong. And they probably don't even know my mailing address, anyway. It's in the book. But it would be wrong. I digress. Sorry.
Yes, it's a phone and an mp3 player in one, not to mention a mobile web browser, portable video player and photo storage device. But most new cell phones have all those features nowadays. Even the oh-so-wonderful touch screen that was the iPhone's first allure can be found on other smart phones like the newest Blackberry. That's old hat, as my grandfather would say. However, the iPhone does give us something that's completely new hat, as probably nobody says but I'm sure you get the picture.
I'm talking about the iPhone's App Store, which allows you to download an incredible variety of little programs (applications) to use on the gadget. There's something like 55,000 "apps" available now, ranging in price from absolutely free to about $4.99. You can access the App Store from either the phone itself, or through iTunes on your computer.
The programs you can get through the App Store span a variety of uses, from applications for business and education to entertainment, games and beyond. Want all of Shakespeare's works on your handheld? Download it for free from the App Store. How about an application that turns your phone into a handy GPS? Yup, there are more than a few available.
There are financial planners, stock market watchers, directories, calendars and calculators. There's an app to help you find a taxi in any city, and one that lets you track your Domino Pizza order. From the mundane to the completely mad, there's an application for every occasion, it seems.
One of my favourite apps at the store makes your iPhone sound exactly like a lightsabre from Star Wars when you waggle it around. Yes - a Star Wars reference from a tech guy - big surprise, I'm sure.
Apple was pretty smart too, and made the application software readily available so developers everywhere could make programs galore for the iPhone. Of course, the freedom to create anything means there are also some pretty moronic apps, like the much-publicized "Baby Shaker" app that lets you quiet an infant by violently shaking it. It was taken out of the store after many complaints.
Major iPhone rival Blackberry obviously understood how attractive a product would be with this application delivery system, so they recently launched their own Blackberry App Store.
In my opinion though, it still doesn't come close to offering the same scope and breadth of applications as does the iPhone's App Store. But I have to hope the Blackberry App Store gets better. That's because I got roped into a multi-year contract with another provider before the iPhone came out in Canada.
So I'm stuck with iPhone App envy until my contract runs out, because my provider doesn't offer Apple's phone of my dreams.
I really freakin' hate contracts. Um, did I mention I was in the book?
