A Life Changing Phone!

It has been called many things such as, life changing, a device of the future, and “The Jesus Phone” (Net Profits Inc). But is the iPhone truly what it is hyped up to be? This past weekend I went to the AT&T store to purchase a new phone. The salesman, who told me about each cell phone, advised me to buy the iPhone. He said, “The iPhone is truly amazing, its technology and the way it operates are redefining the electronic world”. While I initially found the phone to be intriguing, I soon realized that I already have an iPod and camera, so all I really need a phone for is to make calls and send text messages. So, instead of buying the iPhone, I bought a far cheaper device that fulfilled my practical needs. However, when I arrived home, I saw an iPhone commercial, advertising the speed and applications on the phone, so I began to think that the phone may be overly romanticized, due to the fact that it seems to be overly praised and discussed. I looked at various reviews online, and most described the phone as, “…so sleek and thin, [making] Treos and Blackberrys look obese”, and “fast, beautiful, menu-free, and dead simple to operate." One blogger even describes it as, “…pretty phenomenal. Life changing. This is one of the most polished products [he has] ever used”. With all of these positive reviews, I had to ask my brother if I could use his iPhone for about an hour, so I could see what everyone was talking about.
When I used his iPhone, I played some of the games he had downloaded from the application store, and I personally found them to be fairly boring and trivial. It may be possible that some of the more expensive ten-dollar games are more enthralling, but I could never see myself playing some of those games in my spare time. I then tried to use the Internet, and I found that it worked far slower than advertised. In fact, an iPhone commercial in the United Kingdom was even banned due to the false advertisement of the speed of the iPhone. Later, I tried to type on the small touch screen keys, and with about ten typos, I realized that the iPhone keyboard would be difficult to get used to and very inconvenient for my needs. Then I asked my brother how he liked it, and he stated that he really enjoys the phone, but it is not what it is romanticized to be. He says that the touch screen often has trouble working in the cold, and sometimes he misses phone calls because the switch on the side occasionally silences the phone when he places it in his pocket. While some believe this phone redefines the entire technology world, I consider the phone as an interesting device, but far less “life changing” than people build it up to be.