So I did it, I joined the so called “dark” side when I picked up an iPhone 4 a few weeks ago. What made me do it? Well I’m not exactly new to the iPhone you see. My first was a first gen shortly after its release in ’07. I was tipped of to a place that was selling them “cash” all pre-jailbroken and unlocked, about a week later I dropped the $600+ dollars that they were asking for it, a lot of money but I remember feeling like it was worth every penny. I loved the exclusivity that came with having a phone that was not yet available in Canada but more than that I loved that it allowed me to replace three other devices and actually did as good a job if not better than everything it replaced. I remember saying on a regular basis that “I would never use anything other than an iPhone ever again”, man did I eat those words
I did end up moving away from it once I discovered it’s many limitations but it did last longer than any phone I’ve bought since. The two years since then consisted of two blackberries and three Android’s, each one came with its high’s and low’s, they all did data very well and I grew to love both platforms. Then Apple released the iPhone 4 and more importantly IOS4.
I have been very critical of Apple and their approach for the last two years. I resisted the way in which they attempted to tell me what I needed to do and how I needed to do it but even more that any of that I hated that the iphone was missing multitasking! I have discussed that topic so often that just typing that sentence bored me a little but seriously, what kind of modern “computer” like device doesn’t multitask, it was completely unacceptable to me! IOS4 fixed that as well as many other issues that I had with the device and I once again found myself kind of wanting an iPhone. I first bought one for Liz who had been dying to get her hands on another iPhone since I upgraded hers to a Blackberry Storm a year and a half earlier (long story and I don’t think she will ever fully forgive me for that one
). Well whenever she wasn’t using her new iPhone 4 I was on it, learning, researching, adding mental check marks beside my list of items that I need a mobile device to do. It wasn’t long before I realized that it was finally time for me to get one of my own. The hunt was on and as it turns out it was not as hard as I thought it would be, just weekly visits to the local Rogers store until that wonderful day that they actually had 3 in stock! Okay so that day was a bit more of an adventure than that but that’s a story for another day.
So finally here I am, about a month has passed and I’m absolutely 100% satisfied with my shiny new iPhone 4. I have had more “oh ya, forgot about that” moments than I can count and it doesn’t even bother me that I have the same phone as 50% of the people that I know. It’s funny but I have actually taken more heat than I thought I would from the people around me on this one, things like “another phone” and “I give it 6 months”. What people don’t realize is that I have always loved the iPhone, I just hated all the things that it didn’t have. Using one again totally feels like coming home again. It’s like I bought a house in 2007 and I loved it but I had to move out while renovations took place, all done now and I get to come home again and it feels good. I always smirk smugly a little now when I read things like “2.1 finally here on the X10 in Europe”. I loved the Android but the constant tweaking that was required to make it great just kinda got old, I have a family now and I don’t want to spend my nights playing with my phone anymore. I wonder how I’ll feel in 6 months to a year but for now, for now I’m happy with my new friend. Dark side you say, I would have to disagree with you on that one, there’s nothing dark about this from where I’m standing!
Later all,
Ed.