lamom

Hi all,
Husband thought that maybe an iphone for each of us would be good for Christmas. Son at college loves his friend's so would probably be excited. I am phone challenged but can perform minor tasks. Husband could use a new phone and would probably like it. We are already AT&T customers. Son & I have had difficulties keeping phones from damage or loss-we usually have cheap phones for the cost of a new phone was always < cost of insurance. Do iphones have insurance available.

Any experiences/comments would be appreciated.
Thanks

MomofWildChild

It really depends on whether you have a burning desire to have your music on the same device that you use for a phone. I am an "early adopter" and always want the latest and greatest, and I have no desire for an iphone. I think they are awesome and that Apple has scored a home run, but I don't need to have my MP3 player and my phone be the same unit. I run with my IPOD and would worry about damage etc if it were also an expensive phone.
That said, what the college kids really seem to be taking to is the Blackberry Curve. I really think Blackberry makes good devices, and with the Curve you get your email and phone (and camera, messaging etc). I have a work and a personal Blackberry, and my son and all his friends have the Curve. Might want to consider that. It's cheaper than the IPhone, but you have to pay for the data service, which you would tend to do if you got the IPhone, too.

UCDAlum82

Okay, I got an iPhone because the writing was big. Yep. One and only reason. Oh, and the service was cheaper than the service for the old folks phone, the jitterbug which was the only other phone with big writing.

But, what I've found:

I can run with my tunes, and still get phone calls. (My husband is fighting cancer, I do need to be available, but more importantly, I need to run...)

All my contacts that I happen to have for emails magically showed up on my iPhone, which means I have way more than the 10 numbers I normally enter into my phone. Though I do have my 10 favorites :-)

I can get my emails all day, all the time. While waiting in line at Starbucks, while wandering downtown, while filling up the tank with gas. I find I don't need to head for my computer when I get home, nor do we, as a family, bring our computer when we go away for the weekend. We can check emails on our iPhones. And even weirder, when someone sends you an email with a phone number in it, you can click on the phone number and it calls them. Cool.

I CAN text mail. Really, I don't need to do that weird typing on a keypad thing. The children appreciate that.

I have a map with me all the time. And I can just put in what I'm looking for (pizza, stationary store) and it'll find one nearby. And in the bay area, it even updates the traffic, so I don't get stuck in the muck.

I like seeing the weather at my daughter's school. Makes me smile.

I have loaded pictures of my kids, and other's that I want to show my friends. So I don't need the "Grama brag books". And yes, I've taken pictures when I've forgotten a real camera.

As for iPhone insurance, my old phones I never dropped, because I never took them with me anywhere. This one I have occasionally left in my jacket pocket, and it came flying out in my tennis game, and it was fine and did not scratch. I have sat on it, spilled water on it, and kept in in my purse with keys and other sharp objects, it does not scratch. I'm thinking it's pretty indestructable.

MomofWildChild

You can do all that with the Blackberry except you don't get to have as much music on it. Blackberry has a better keyboard for emailing and texting than the IPhone.

m&sdad

I would wait for the soon to be released model with faster data speeds.

The web interface is great, but the network can handle much better speeds than the current model of the iphone supports.

Wait for the model with the "3G" data capability.

I currently have the Moto Q Global and am happy with it. It has mp3 capability (replaced my shuttle), Window Mobile 6, full keyboard, bluetooth and GPS. Admittedly the web interface is not as nice as the iphone, but is still functional.

The other consideration is if you have Microsoft Exchange mail at work. The iphone does not support the Microsoft push email, a common corporate email standard.

razorsharp

Apple will always be in the process of continuing to impove the Iphone or any other product. If you get the Iphone, be sure to get a case to protect the phone. There are many inexpensive options for those whose Iphones sometimes become basketballs.

UCDAlum82

"You can do all that with the Blackberry except you don't get to have as much music on it. Blackberry has a better keyboard for emailing and texting than the IPhone."

And the writing, no where near as big :-)

MomofWildChild

You can change the font size on your blackberry and make it pretty big.

UriA702

I'd hold off till January. Macworld Expo is usually consumer based, and if any changes will be made to the Iphone platform it will be then. I am assuming a 16 gb version (double the memory of current model) will be available after macworld expo. As well as a 3g (high speed internet) model. Those are what have been rumored anyway. If you really do want one go for it! In technology newer things will always come out making what you have obsolete. It's a price us geeks are willing to pay. Early adopters pay more, people who wait end up seeing replacements with newer technologies implemented. It's a lose/lose situation, but you might as well buy now and have your fun with it.

hops_scout

I dont understand why people would want to have their MP3 players and their phones in one device. That way if one breaks, they're both broke.

I am a fairly tech-oriented person.. I do all the computer stuff in the family with wireless, printers, etc. I have a nice LCD TV. But I have the most basic phone that I could find and love it! It has a camera which I was actually hoping to NOT get.

Maybe someday I'll be excited about the camera phones and Ipods.. now I stick to basic phone and cheap MP3.

Missy Jo

I suppose you could always wait for the alleged 3G model with faster data speeds, but the EDGE network is okay in metropolitan areas. If it's larger capacity for music you want, then a 16GB version is rumored to debut at MacWorld next month. As for everything else, the e-mail (Yahoo!, Gmail, etc.) function is really handy because it's so easy to use. The camera is decent - it's not the main feature advertised with the phone, but it's actually fairly good for a camera on a camera phone. Having pictures so readily available is pretty nifty as well, so that's a bonus. My mom and I <3 Google maps because of the traffic updates and mapquest features; we live in SoCal, so traffic updates save hours in traffic as we know which freeways to avoid. The browser is easy to navigate. It may take a few days to get used to the lack of tactile feedback on the virtual keyboard, but after you get the hang of it, you can get 35-45 wpm easily. Some people may not like the virtual keyboard, so I'd recommend going to your local Apple or ATT store and playing around with it before purchasing. Visual voicemail is the best thing since sliced bread; I like being able to pick and choose which messages to hear without having to wait to push "4" to skip. The calendar is easy to use/manage, and the stock feature is great for when I need to check. iTunes is also easy to use on the phone, as is the iPod, although it's not really meant to be the "iPod to end all iPods." I have a little over 50 gigs of music, and obviously I can't fit that onto 8GB storage capacity, so I put the songs I listen to most frequently on it and rotate, and the rotational system works quite well.
For many people, the factor that deters them from getting an iPhone over a blackberry is the lack of a physical keyboard. If you just give the virtual keyboard a chance, you can get used to it in no time - my dad has fat fingers and has no problem with the keyboard, especially in landscape mode. Again, I highly recommend going to retailers where you can play with the phone for a while (5 minutes isn't a while - you have to play with all the features before you can make a judgment).

momof2inca

S is getting one under the tree this year, with the case to protect it. I'll let you know how he likes it. He has quite possibly the oldest cell phone in California at this time, so it will be quite the upgrade for him.

hops_scout

So I was curious and looked at the IPhone... there is no way I'm spending $400 for a cell phone! I don't care what it does..

emeraldkity4

I dont care for all in one deals-
I like my cell phone,my ipod and my palm ( although since Palm is not going to upgrade OS- I want Apple to come out with a PDA.... again- they should call it Clarus )
If I need all three, then I need all three, but usually I just need one or at the most two with me & I like the sizes they are. The Iphone is not comfortable to me, it certainly does'nt have enough memory to replace the ipod or palm, and for that price it needs expandable memory, like my phone & pda currently have.
I was really excited about it- but am waiting.

overseas

I don't have one. My son does. He has the internet where ever he is. He sends photos to me before he takes off from an airport....we chat anywhere if necessary. He thinks about it as his computer now, a travelling computer. An anywhere you go computer and he can type 40 wpm. Don't ask me how but he visited a friend the other day who asked him to show his speed. And well it was pretty fast....type "The Night Before Christmas" says he. So he does. It really isn't just a cell phone....it is a mini computer of sorts that fits in your pocket.