KungPowThinking

“So what ya gonna do when the novelty has gone?Yeah, what ya gonna do when the novelty has gone?” 

- “Novelty” by Joy Division

Which would you rather your site be:

• Usable or useful?
• Accessible or accessed?

Not that the concepts are mutually exclusive, but, to me, the latter represent healthier perspectives. I KNOW how I’d answer those questions.

OK here’s a list of things I like about my new iPhone. For context I’ll include a quick background on my previous phone experiences. I’ve been a mobile phone user since 1999 long enough to have owned a Motorola digital StarTak, two Nokia 61xx series, two Nokia 82xx series, a Samsung phone I barely remember, a Motorola A630, an NEC phone I never used, an iMate SP3 and a Samsung Trace. I’ve been on AT&T, Sprint and am currently with T Mobile and AT&T. Oh and I’ve had 2 iPod Mini’s and an iPod Nano.

Here’s The List

• It’s not much bigger than my Samsung Trace, and my Trace is pretty small.
• It’s by far the best looking mobile phone I’ve ever used.
• The UI is just about everything it’s cracked up to be. It’s not perfect, but it is slick and pretty usable.
• Typing (sms, email, etc.) is quite a bit faster than using T9, and I’ve had no problems with non-tactile feedback despite my earlier concerns.
• I’ve been on a GSM network for a while, so Edge doesn’t seem so slow to me as it probably does for users who have been on 3G networks.
• Google Maps is awesome even without GPS.
• I will definitely watch movies during my next flight back to Los Angeles.
• Music sounds pretty damn good, and it will probably completely replace my Nano.
• Syncing with Address Book and Mail from my Macbook Pro was seamless, except for not being able to sync mail folders. It is by far the best syncing experience I’ve had with a phone so far.
• Safari rocks. Nuff said. I NEVER expected to browse the Web on my phone, and now I’m doing it multiple times a day.

So, that’s a partial list of things I like about my new toy. There are definitely things that I don’ like about the phone, but one thing I noticed in my complaints was that they are typically complaints about features that no other phone I’ve ever used has had. You KNOW a company has hit the nail on the head with a product when most users are complaining about a lack of features that have never been invented.Well… mp3 ringtones, bulk sms, mms, 3G, email folders, calendar todo’s, an IM client, and the ability to record videos would have been nice.

Well folks here it is. In a calculated strategy to garner hard-earned traffic to my site, my first post on KungPowThinking is going to be about everyone’s favorite gadget.

How I Got My iPhone

Jeff and Bryan woke up relatively early to wait in line last Friday at the 5th Avenue Apple Store. They were interviewed a few times, got some free drinks and snacks, and met some fellow Apple enthusiasts. Lucky for me, Jeff was nice enough to pick me up a shiny new 8GB iPhone while I waited patiently across the street watching the mayhem. Within seconds of Jeff and Bryan making the hand-off, Bryan and I were in a cab back to the apt in order to activate our phones. To make a long story short, I decided not to transfer my phone number and was able to get my iPhone activated with a new New York phone number within 15 minutes. A majority of that time was spent installing Apple updates NOT going through the activation process. It was an overall painless experience with the exception of my new phone number, which would not have been a first choice. Unfortunately, both Bryan and Jeff ran headlong into serious delays while trying to activate their phones. Bryan has yet to have his phone activated and Jeff posted about his experience on his site.