Thursday, May 26, 2011

thoughts, two weeks after getting an iPhone

1. So I finally got an iPhone two weekends ago after years of (somewhat inexplicable) resistance. My go-to "excuse" - whenever I would be asked with disdain why I still had a Blackberry - was that I had "fat thumbs" and was worried I wouldn't be able to type quickly on a touch screen, which for some reason I would always say as if it was this hilarious punchline, and which almost always resulted in either a thumb-width "contest" with the questioner or a confused nod (both disconcerting!). Anyway, one of the great things about my now having an iPhone is that I will (hopefully) never be tempted to embarrass myself with this weird "fat thumbs" riff ever again.

2. Related, an almost-as-great thing is that now I no longer have to put up with everyone lecturing me about how much I need an iPhone/offering me their iPhone to "try"/telling me that "if only I had an iPhone, then I could easily find the best Thai restaurant within a two-block radius of our current location that is cat-friendly and only plays rap music and serves imported ale."

3. Also great: I no longer have to feel inferior and sullen whenever I see an iPhone screen shot posted on Twitter or on someone's blog. (Seriously, I think "desire to finally be able to take screen shots of my text message convos" comprised about 78% of the "what motivated me to finally get an iPhone" pie chart.)

4. But - surprise, surprise - I have some complaints. For one thing, I still, some two weeks later, sort of feel like I am slapping on a cheese board when I try to text. Or, to attempt a different metaphor (I know, topping that cheese board one is going to be TOUGH), when I'm typing on the touch screen I feel like I'm a dolphin jabbing at typewriter keys with one of its fins.

5. I'm guessing this is probably a common source of frustration (and humor, I suppose) in the "iPhone community," but the auto correct function - while sometimes "smart" and helpful - is at other times terribly frustrating. Every "like" somehow becomes a "Luke," every "you" a "toy," etc. So far, almost all of the texts I've sent have ended up reading like Google Translate results.

6. I was given the choice at the store between a white or black iPhone and decided to get a white one, assuming that was the original iPhone color... only to find out later from my brother (and everyone else I've seen since) that, in fact, white iPhones were just recently released. So now I feel especially regretful about my choice to get a black case, which basically negated any "cool" points my accidental hip choice may have earned me. I also feel like this says a lot about my observation "skills" considering all my friends have had iPhones for like the past 15 years.

1 comment:

bittertea said...

Totally agree with #3! I went from blackberry to iphone and HATED it for the first 2 or 3 weeks. I also turned of the corrective text on like day 2.