dock - a new way to access your apps on the Apple iPhone

I've tried this new app called dock. It allows the user to scroll thru all of the applications on the springboard including ones added via hacks or installer.app. It's not as smooth as I would like it, but a rather neat way of accessing your apps on the iPhone. Watch the video below!

A well taken iPhone picture.

Some folks may have been wondering how well a picture the iPhone can take. Well, with the right lighting conditions, it can take amazing pictures. Just look at the one to the right. It is untouched save the watermark, the original picture taken with my iPhone at Blossom, NY today. Blossom, NY is a small town that you pass thru in about 5 seconds, but this one bridge and this one creek make it worth the while to stop and take a picture. Enjoy!

iPhone news roundup: More cool stuff for my iPhone!!!

My iPhone has become my do-it-all gadget. I've gotten directions, added events to iCal, researched topics, found illustrations, checked wifi networks I've installed, snapped pictures, sent email, surfed the full internet, and listened to audio and video podcasts, all on one device. I'm a true believer of a converged device, something I have denied and somewhat aggressively argued against up until my iPhone. So what cool things have I been doing with my iPhone? I'm glad you asked!

1. Installing 3rd party apps via Installer.app - OK, Installer.app is the unofficial way of adding in 3rd party apps until Apple gives the green light for iPhone developers. Still, it's quite simple to install on my iPhone and I can install the limited number of apps on my iPhone as I please. I can even uninstall them if I wish. Still, it's rather cool to see an iPhone modded and show it off at the Apple store.

2. Played BattleFleet (a BattleShip clone) on my iPhone - One of my favorite games as a kid and now I get to play it on my iPhone! Already, I have spent too much time with this little game, but it's lots of fun for me.

3. Updated my ringtones with ifuntastic - another great app for the iPhone and it works rather well when added new ringtones to your iPhone. It's also free- even better!

4. Organized my bookmarks for my iPhone - Group them together in categories to avoid lots of flicking.

5. Watched several videos on my iPhone that I downloaded from iTunes and converted via my MacBook! I never thought I'd watch so much video on a tiny screen, but it's proven to be rather convenient for me at times.

So that's pretty much it for this post!

NEW: iPhone UPDATE 1.0.2

I just updated my iPhone with today's update. Unfortunately, I had to do a complete restore and all my hacks and ringtones were lost. I've already reinstall most of them now though. Nothing dramatic to the update, just bug fixes. It is nice to know that Apple is determined to have a polished OS on the iPhone. Palm and Microsoft could learn a thing or two from Apple's updating and polishing. Apple could learn a thing or two from Palm and Microsoft, too. I sure hope 3rd party apps will be coming soon as I don't mind hacking to get them on my iPhone, but the programs available are limited and I lose them at every update. Oh well, I'm just glad to have my iPhone!

Review - Incase Leather and Nylon Folio for iPhone (Black)

When I bought my iPhone, I didn't have much to choose from when I saw the cases available. As a matter of fact, not much has changed at our Apple store here in Buffalo. Yes, a couple more cases have shown up, but are really impractical for day to day use. So I picked up Incase Leather and Nylon Folio for iPhone (Black) for a mere $40. Now, I have never bought a case for that much money. I'm cheap, I know it. I hesitated, but thought I better pick one up or I maybe paying for a repair for my iPhone.
Thus far I really like the case. It has worn well considering it I use it everyday. I'm a bit concerned at how well the Velcro will hold up since I'm constantly removing my iPhone from it's case.
The inside of the case has a nice soft material with a little bit of design and it makes the whole case look really sharp. The belt clip is strong and has not bent out of shape. Also the look of the black case looks great and doesn't add to much bulk when wearing a suit coat. My only dislike is my iPhone is not completely covered and while this allows the speaker and the headphone jack to be uncovered, I have picked up a few scratches from this uncovered spots.
Overall, I highly recommend this case for those looking for a horizontal belt case. It's sharp and has held out well with heavy daily use.

How'd I used my iPhone today!

Having a gadget that can make you more productive is an incredible joy! My iPhone does just that and as today was a busy day, it was very useful for me. Today one of my teenagers texted me about helping out at our county fair this weekend passing out tracts, I quickly responded to his text letting him know some details about it. I also had several voicemails today and with my visual voicemail on my iPhone I was able to quickly hear the ones I wanted to first. My wife also sent me some texts today about some of our bills being lower- YEAH! I also responded to some email and was able to check a church's website as well that I needed to look at. I also added events to my iPhone and change a few others that needed to be update because of some changes. Of course, I made and received many phone calls today. A few minutes ago, I went jogging and listened to my jogging playlist using my iPhone.
All of this I did with one device. For several years now, I have balked at a converged device, but now I am totally sold on the idea and the iPhone has been a huge reason for that change. Some may think an iPhone is an overpriced toy, but for me it has proven to be quite a productivity booster.

The master list of iPhone Widgets

OK, you just bought your shiny iPhone and you know want to know what you can do with it. Well, look no further the Gadget Pastor has the answer for you! Check out iPhone Widget List as these folks have collected much of the iPhone web apps that have been created so far. It's quite extensive and I've already added a few of the sites to my iPhone. My favorite so far is iPhone Sports. Check them out and you will be able to add more fun and productivity to your iPhone!

Another great Bible study widget for iPhone users

This widget called iBiblespace allows an iPhone user to have several Bible study helps conveniently located in one site. Read on for the description!

"iBibleSpace.org offers five useful tools for regular Bible readers: 1) The iPhone Bible includes the entire English Standard Version Bible, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary, and your own personal notebook! Using the notebook you can highlight or attach notes to any verse of the Bible. 2) A verse of the day gives a short verse each day to mediate on. 3) Bible search allows you to search the entire Bible by keyword. 4) Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening is a daily devotional by Charles Spurgeon. 5) Today’s podcasts presents quick links to today’s radio messages offered by nationally recognized ministries."

My At&t phone bill was 23 pages long.

Yes, it is another feature for all us iPhone users- cellphone bills that are 23+ pages long. Well, that is how many pages my bill was. Apparently, other iPhone users have reported this already and I had forgotten about it until my wife said, "Did you know that your cellphone bill is 23 pages long?!" I then remembered and chuckled. Surely, At&t won't be able to do this much longer as folks will undoubtedly be complaining above how many trees have been "slaughter" for iPhone users. Yippeee!

Brando releases new iPhone accessories

Brando, a popular site for accessories and gadgets, is now offering iPhone accessories even a replacement battery. Quite amazing that Brando only charges $20 for the DIY battery kit while Apple will charge $86. Be sure to check out Brando whole lineup of cool stuff. You'll really have a hard time not buying something!

Some iPhone accessories :

BW iPhone Silicone Case
http://shop.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=01982

iPhone Crystal Case
http://shop.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=02069

iPhone Battery
http://shop.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=02068

BW UltraClear Cellphone S/P (iPhone)
http://shop.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=02039

Thank you!

Brando

I've updated my iPhone!

Well, I bit the bullet and downloaded and installed the Apple iPhone Update 1.0.1. It's really a nothing to see update and focuses on security issues and the like. I did have to reinstall all my ringtones and logos via iFuntastic as I had to do a complete restore. Reinstalling everything only took about 20 minutes or so. While I had hoped that the first update would have more to it, it's still nice to now that my iPhone is all that more secure.

Apple iPhone software update coming soon!!!

AppleInsider is reporting that Apple will be releasing a software update for the iPhone soon. How soon is soon? We don't know, but I'm definitely looking forward to Apple's update. Where'd they get this information? Apple's Vice President of iPod Product Marketing, Greg Joswiak. We all expected a software update sometime and it's nice to know that one will be coming out soon. Hopefully that means next week along with the anticipated iMacs and rumored Nanos even a mockup seen here. We shall soon see!

"Speaking to analysts for RBC Capital Markets this week, Apple's Vice President of iPod Product Marketing, Greg Joswiak, said the first software update for his company's iPhone handset is due to arrive shortly.

"Management expressed excitement at plans to increase iPhone value over time via new software features, citing 'the sky is the limit' for iPhone software," analyst Mike Abramsky told clients in a research note Tuesday. "An iPhone update patch is expected shortly."

Abramsky speculated that upcoming iPhone software updates would include new widgets, peer-to-peer applications (chat, picture messaging, social networking), location-based services, MMS support, home networking, and possibly some integration with Mac OS X Leopard."

Let the time wasting begin- Bejeweled for the iPhone

Popcap has designed a Web 2.0 site that allows iPhone users (a most anybody with a web browser) to play Bejeweled online for free! Yep, those days of me playing Bejeweled on my Palm PDAs can now be relived on my iPhone. While Bejeweled is not necessarily new on the iPhone, Diamenty is an excellent clone of Bejeweled, this is the first game from a major game developer designed specifically for the iPhone. The direct link is http://static.popcap.com/iphone./

"SEATTLE, July 30 /PRNewswire/ -- PopCap Games, the leading developer
and publisher of casual games, today announced that it has launched a
custom version of its flagship game Bejeweled(R) for the Safari(R) Web
browser on Apple Inc.'s new iPhone(R) and is making it available at no cost
to iPhone owners. Beginning today, iPhone users can log on to
http://www.popcap.com via the iPhone's Web browser and play the
iPhone-specific version of the original match-3 puzzler Bejeweled for free.
This customized version of Bejeweled leverages the Web 2.0 capabilities of
Safari and the wireless capabilities of the iPhone, and has been optimized
to take advantage of the iPhone's unique display and input controls. PopCap
developed the Safari-based version of Bejeweled in partnership with Polish
developer Arkadiusz Mlynarczyk, one of the first programmers to take
advantage of the Apple iPhone's capabilities for video gaming purposes.
"We're excited to be providing the most popular puzzle game of the 21st
century to users of the most advanced mobile device yet created," said
Andrew Stein, Director of Mobile Platforms at PopCap. "We wanted to give
the hundreds of thousands of iPhone users a fun, fast gaming fix -- and at
no cost, no less."
PopCap's leadership role in the mobile gaming sector is reflected in
several recent milestones, including the hiring of key mobile industry
executives, establishment of direct partnerships with wireless carriers,
and the recent launch of Chuzzle(TM) Mobile, the first mobile game that
PopCap has developed and distributed directly. Bejeweled and Zuma(TM), two
of PopCap's most popular games, have also been runaway successes on Video
iPods since their introduction on those devices last year."

Source: Mac Daily News

iPhone news roundup

Here are some of the exciting things that happened in the iPhone world why I was away!

iFuntastic: GUI iPhone custom ringtone manager (TUAW) - This program allows you to add and delete ringtones from your iPhone. It's relatively easy to use and I can confirm that it works quite well. I've even be able to change the At&t logo to the mini Gadget Pastor logo. So you too can have an iPhone that shows your support for the Gadget Pastor Blog!

iPhoneology - is a new site that started yesterday by Reggie and Joel from 1src, Palm related site, and Jimmie Geddes from Gadgets on the Go, a gadget website. If these guys come up with anything like what they do on their sites already, this will be a great site to bookmark for iPhone users.

iPhone Bible has been updated - I just noticed late last night that the iPhone Bible has added a couple new features. You can now search the Bible and select which version you want to search. At this time only the KJV is offered. There is also a plan of salvation with the site as well.

Applecare for iPhone now available - Every iPhone comes with one year of hardware repair coverage and up to two years of technical support.(1) The AppleCare Protection Plan for iPhone extends your repair coverage to two years from the original purchase date of your iPhone.(2) Whether you use iPhone with a Mac or a PC, just one phone call can help resolve most issues. Extend your coverage to two years of service and expert telephone support.

iPhone: class-action battery lawsuit, mass AC adapter failures (Apple Insider) - Looks like some people are going to try and sue Apple ove the non-replaceable battery in the iPhone. I really don't think this is a good idea at all, because it acts as a distraction and a time waster. Plus people are always suing for the craziest of things. Some folks have also been reporting of AC adapter failure to charge their iPhones. I have yet to experience any issues with mine - yet.

Motorola feeling the effects of the iPhone?

The New York Times is reporting that Motorola has posted a $28 million loss. I wonder if the iPhone had anything to do with this loss? Maybe... maybe not. I am sure that many handset makers will start feeling the iPhone effect in their pocketbooks. Most of them will no doubt release a competing device to the iPhone. Motorola is counting on the Razr 2 and the Z8 to get them back on track. If Apple does release an iPhone nano, it may not work for them.


"CHICAGO, July 19 (AP) — Motorola reported a second straight quarterly loss Thursday after another quarter of subpar sales. The latest deficit, $28 million, raises pressure on the company and its chief executive, Edward J. Zander.

The company promised financial improvement in its cellphone division in the second half but steered clear of estimates after weak international sales contributed to back-to-back losses for the first time in five years.

Its hopes for recovery, put off until next year, hinge on the reception of new phones like the Razr 2 and the Z8 that are just being shipped."

The Gadget Pastor's iPhone tips.

I have certainly enjoyed my iPhone these past few weeks. Grant it, it hasn't been completely perfect, I did have a few dead pixels on my first iPhone, but Apple replaced it right away for me. So here are my top tips for iPhone users!

1. Improve sound when watching movies.
I'm a left hand person and I have found that if I use my right hand and cup it a bit, I amplify the sound better towards me. Works great and I have better volume for listening to videos.

2. Slow iPhone? Power it down.
Sometimes my iPhone slows down and the UI is not as smooth as it usually is. I have found that turning off iPhone and turning it back on clears this up and brings back the quickness to the UI. I don't have to do this too often though.

3. Eliminate sound system interference with airplane mode.
During our church services, I'm in the sound room running the sound board. Sometimes my iPhone will cause interference with the sound system especially when I'm close to it. In order to stop the interference, I turn my iPhone to airplane mode and of course, it works perfectly to eliminate the interference. Airplane works great even when you are on the ground!

4. Set two alarms when you need to remind yourself about an event.
Many times when I have an event coming up in my iPhone, I will set two alarms for a single event. It's easy to do. Tap on your your event and then select edit. Tap on alert and from there you can set a first alert and a second alert. The alerts can be 5 minutes before the alert to 2 days before the event or even on the date of the event. Very helpful when you tend to forget after the one alert!

5. Add a pause to your contacts number so you can add an extension.
The other day I was working on saving a contact with an extension. I wanted my iPhone to automatically dial the extension number after dialing the main number. It is simple to do, but I guess it was not simple enough for me! I walk thru the process as if I was adding a new contact. Tap on the phone icon and then tap on the "old fashioned" keypad or go to your contacts list and tap the plus sign. OK, after you have entered in your contacts number tap on the +*# key. This will change the keypad and specifically change the zero to a pause key. Tap on the pause key and a comma will appear, tap in the extension of your contact and your iPhone will take of the rest the next time you dial that contact. Works great for me and the folks I have called!

6. Automatically delete your deleted emails in your trash.
One thing I totally dislike about the iPhone's mail app is I cannot delete multiple emails whether in my inbox or my trash. It's annoying let me tell you especially when you've downloaded a bunch of them and you've got several days worth in your trash. Well, there is an easy to solve the double delete. Set the mail app to automatically delete the emails in your trash. To set this, tap on the settings icon, go to mail, then select your mail account. Scroll down to the bottom and select advanced. You can set the mail app to empty your trash after one day, one week, or one month.

7. Use At&t services to check your bill balance, dial directory assistant, pay your bill, view my minutes, voice connect, and go online and visit your account.
Simple tap on the settings widget and then scroll down to tap on phone. Scroll down to the bottom and select At&t services. There they all are for you to use. Nice to have these available, but would be better for then to be already in your contacts list.

So that's it. You just read through the Gadget Pastor's iPhone tips! Hope they help you get the most out of your iPhone.

13 reasons to avoid an iPhone

Harry McCracken over at PC World has written an article discussing his reason for not purchasing an iPhone. Many of the reasons could easily be fixed by Apple via a software update and I certainly hope that Apple does provide new features in a future update. However, the iPhone is missing some key features as McCracken points out. I think what it boils down to is many people would love to own an iPhone, but they cannot give up the functionality of their current phone until the iPhone can provide similar features. I hope in time the iPhone will be able to do this, but until then we will have to enjoy a less featured cell phone. Of course maybe a few of you will probably be writing this faults down so you can tell others why you have shied from the iPhone. ;)


"I bought a new phone from AT&T week before last. I'm pretty happy with it. And the weird thing is, it isn't an iPhone--it's an AT&T 8525, a Windows Mobile-based model that's been around since the middle of last year. I picked it up after a week of living with an iPhone, during which I learned that for all the cool things about it--and it is the coolest cell phone ever made--it's not a practical everyday phone for me, or at least not as practical a choice as the 8525 is. Here's why..."

iPhone news and software highlights.

Here are today's top iPhone news and posts as determined by me! So for all you iPhone enthusiasts, enjoy.

Battery life tests show why Apple skipped 3G on iPhone
"Without a doubt, current 3G implementations do require more space and consume more power than simply outfitting a phone with support for EDGE. Using the Samsung Blackjack as an example, turning on 3G reduces battery life by around 25% under web/email use. The biggest impact of all is, surprisingly enough, talk time; with 3G enabled, the Blackjack's talk time is cut in half, with absolutely no benefit realized from the higher bandwidth standard," Anand Lal Shimpi reports for AnandTech..."

Apple to patch iPhone battery bug with software update
"A benign software bug is causing some of Apple Inc.'s iPhone handsets to reflect an incomplete battery charge when in fact the battery is properly charged to capacity, the company says. Over the past two weeks, a significant number of early adopters have report that their iPhones will not indicate a full charge no matter how long they are left plugged into a power adapter. "Your battery is fully charged, but the UI (User Interface) is just not correctly reflecting this," an Apple spokesperson told WirelessInfo. "We expect to fix this in a software update."

iPhone browser dialing found to be security threat
"SPI Labs is claiming to have discovered a fairly significant threat to iPhone security due to MobileSafari's ability to dial phone numbers found on web pages. The feature can apparently be exploited in various ways, such as redirecting the actual call to a number other than what is viewed on the webpage, tracking calls placed by a site visitor, bypassing the confirmation dialog and forcing the call to continue and even preventing the phone from dialing calls altogether. Imagine clicking on a local number for a restaurant on a malicious website, only to discover you're actually calling an international number and, perhaps more importantly, paying international calling rates."

Software Highlights.
The other day I was looking for an iPhone Bible website and low and behold I have found one. It is called iPhone Bible and it is in the King James Version. Much to my delight it works great on my iPhone. You can also have a Widget like interface for all your iPhone sites. Try either Gridgets or try Mac Dock another web app launcher. I cannot believe how fast these apps keep coming out. It's a lot of fun trying these sites on my iPhone.

Accessories.
You've got to have accessories for your iPhone. Not having some is not being the Gadget Pastor for me. So, tomorrow, I'm off to pickup a screen protector at our Apple Store. There are loads of accessories online as well and I'd recommend Boxwave as a place for you to check out for iPhone accessories.

I hope you enjoyed the iPhone news and software highlights for today!

Reading the Bible on your iPhone

One of the drawbacks to no installable iPhone programs is you have to find what you want on the web. Now, thankfully, you can find a lot of useful sites on the web. Finding a website that you can read the Bible on your iPhone is not easy. I have already emailed eBible requesting that they add a way for iPhone users to read the Bible online. Unfortunately, they have not seen many iPhone users surfing their site, so it doesn't make a good investment for them. Antoine over at Mobile Ministry Magazine has suggested this site. However, I prefer to use the King James version for reading my Bible. So I'll share with you what I have done to enable me to read the Scriptures on my iPhone.

Step 1 - From your Mac or PC computer, go to http://bibleresources.bible.com/

Step 2 - In the middle of the webpage you will see "Access Bible" and underneath that you will see "Read the Bible." Click on "Read the Bible."

Step 3 - On the next window, select your preferred version of the Bible or your country's language. I choose the King James version, but they also have Amplified Bible, Bible in Basic English, New International Version, New King James Version, New Living Translation, and Young's Literal Translation just to name a few.

Step 4 - Once you have chosen your version of the Bible and/or language, bookmark the page in Safari or Internet Explorer. I named my bookmark "Online Bible KJV".

Step 5 - Sync your iPhone to your computer. Make sure you have chosen to sync bookmarks with Safari or Internet Explorer. To enable syncing of bookmarks, make sure your iPhone is connected. If iTunes is not open, open iTunes. In the left column, click on your iPhone. In the middle of iTunes and underneath the Apple logo is the tab, "Info". Click on info and scroll down a bit. Make sure the box is checked next to "Sync my bookmarks with..."

Step 6 - On your iPhone, tap on Safari and then tap on the bookmark icon. Find your bookmark and tap on it. Your Online Bible will show up and you can double tap to zoom in on the Books along with their chapters. Once you have chosen your book and chapter, you can double tap on the text and it will fit really nice onto your iPhone's screen.

Conclusion:

It's not a perfect setup. You cannot choose a chapter and verse. So if you load Psalm 119 and you want verse 121, you will have a lot of flicking to do. Also there are some ads and what not around the books of the Bible and the chapters, however they are minimal and do not seem to affect the load times too much. It has been the best way I have found to read the version of the Bible that I want. If you have a better way, please share it below. If you have an iPhone go and visit, eBible and others such sites to help encourage them to develop a page specifically design for the iPhone. You might also want to send them an email as well.

My thoughts on the iPhone after almost two weeks of usage

Almost two weeks ago, I was sitting in the iPhone line in front of the Apple store here in Buffalo, NY. I meet a few people spent some time talking about the iPhone and I must admit that I really had a lot of fun. Now that I'm two weeks out, do I still like my iPhone? Does it still bring excitment or just a lot pain and frustration? I must admit that it has not all been peaches and cream. I've had a few complaints along the way, so I will do my best to give a fair review to the iPhone.
Design.I'm holding my shiny new iPhone in my hand right now. As I turn it over and look at it, I'm still impressed with the design of the device. It feels great in my hand and is not to heavy for my liking. Everybody that sees my iPhone (those that I let hold it) are also equally impressed with Apple's design. It is definitely an eye catching design and much better looking then many of the smartphones out now for At & t (Treo, AT & T 8525, Blackberries, Nokias, etc.) The iPhone's casing also holds out well against abuse as is seen in PC World's iPhone stress test video.

iPhone as a phone.
Well, herein this area are some of my complaints. I do not like the speaker phone volume as it is quite low and pretty much useless for me. Even in quiet places, it can still be hard to hear the caller. Most people say that I sound good on the phone, although I'm not crystal clear. I don't mind scrolling thru my list of contacts with a flick here and a tap there. It works for me since my last phone I had to press the down button a bunch of times to get to some of my contacts. Merging calls is fairly easy and that impressed me. I do like the headphones w/ the built in mic that came with my iPhone as I think they work rather well. Not sure though how legal it is to drive with these things on though! Overall, it works ok as a phone. I've gotten some signal losses here and there in places that I should have signal. So that is somewhat annoying. I think the best part though is some of these issues could be cleared up in a software update (I hope).

iPhone as a internet device.
The iPhone is an amazing internet device. The fact that I can view websites as they were designed on my phone is an wonderful feature. No more stripped down versions or broken versions of the sites that I visit as I did with my Lifedrive. I do have the full internet in my pocket and not some watered down version. When the multi-touch, it's also quite easy to zoom in and zoom out. For this reason, I have found myself leaving my MacBook at home because of this capability. Safari needs flash support and I hope it gets it soon, although I'm not sure how practical it would be for battery life and all the ads you would get to see! Cut and paste is also missing which is something a blogger really needs when commenting or referring to another site. Overall, it's a great experience surfing on the web.

iPhone as an iPod.
Despite your small storage area, the iPhone as an iPod is quite amazing. From the cover flow to the fullscreen videos, you'll have an iPod that is sure to please. The videos on the device look crystal clear even at intense scenes. I have watched several hours of video on it and I am quite pleased with it. Music qaulity is excellent and I have not noticed any distortions or the like on the iPhone. When a call or email come in, the music fades out and lets the call ring or you here your email arrive sound and after you've ignored the call, finished the call, or the email sound is done, your music fades back in. Nice, very nice! I think as with many other reviews, most people will not like the small storage space available for music and videos. Keep in mind that most movies will take up around 1 GB of space. That's not a lot of room for someone with lots of music and videos. Also you do not have the repeat options available for your music.

iPhone as a camera.
The picture quality is rather good in well lit areas. Once you are in a dark area, the quality suffers. Having the Photos app is quite helpful as it works like iPhoto on your device. All your pictures are grouped into rolls of film. While you can show a slide show or flick thru/zoom your pictures, there is not much else it can do. You can email pictures, but only one at a time. I would like to see the option to send multiple pictures as I've had the need to do this on several occasions.

Other applications.
Google Maps is a blast to use and very helpful. Already its been a huge help to myself and my family. The calendar application works great with iCal and I've had no problems using it. It's simple to set up an event on the iPhone. Some have knocked the notes app on the iPhone, but I'm a big fan of the application. It's very much like a stickie pad and I use to use those all the time. You Tube is nice, but only useful with WiFi as the quality is greatly reduced with Edge. Speaking of Edge, it is slow, sometimes its quite fast, but it is still slow most of the time. Would be nice to see Apple unlock 3g on the phone (not sure that is even possible with the iPhone). Battery life is amazing and after 400 charge cycles the battery drops to roughly 80% or so of its original battery power(this is according to Apple). This fact has been greatly misreported by several media sites. The weather app is cool, but I would like to see it updated so that you can tap on a day and see a hour by hour, a written weather report, etc. Stocks app is great if you are into that, I'm not. SMS is really cool with the threaded conversation (Palm gets kudos here for starting that).

Other dislikes.
I want 3rd party apps. I really do. I think having 3rd party development will only further cement the iPhone into being top dog in the smartphone world. It would probably kill the likes of Palm if this happens though. Wallpaper behind the homescreen would a nice option as well. I really want cut and paste, too. I do not mind the iPhone being on the At & t network as I was already a customer with them prior to the iPhone. I'd probably be upset though if it was exclusive to another cell phone provider.

Conclusion.
I do not understand the haters of the iPhone. It is a wonderfully designed and developed device. It has flaws to be sure and it may not meet all your needs, but what smartphone does? For me, the iPhone is an awesome device despite some of its lacking features and some issues. I do think that the iPhone will get way better prior to October as Apple has hinted at updates before Leopard. So those of you will complaints may see some of them taken care within a software update. The iPhone may not be a revolutionary device, but it converges all your mobile devices (iPod, cellphone, internet, media player) into one device without the usual compromises of a converged device and does it with style and flair.