Once I got over that I’d have a $75 USD phone bill in an area where Edge is the only solution, I decided to get an iPhone. I went with the 8 GB Black rather than springing the extra hundred for something I knew I’d be replacing in a year or so. It’s been great so far, but does it compare to a jailbreak 1st gen? Is the GPS worth it without turn by turn? And which games and apps are worth the money? This series is going to cover why my iPhone relationship remains a love-hate one. I’ll cover a few quick topics to start with, check back weekly for a new article.

Dialing on the road:
In NJ and other states now it is a primary offense to use your phone without a hands free headset. iPhone includes nifty headphones that have a mic and answer button built on. Great stuff. But how about voice dialing? Or even haptic feedback with varying degrees of sensitivity and response for different numbers. You just don’t get that. Even a Razr has voice dialing, it cannot be that hard for Apple to design the phone so that when you hold the mic button down for 3 seconds, you can speak the name and have it dial when you let go.

The Plastic Back:
At first I was opposed, but after a few days use there is no way you can disagree with the route Apple took. Not only is it aesthetically pleasing, but it grips your hand a lot better. Anyone who ever walks down the streets of a city with drains and gutters every five feet will appreciate this. It doesn’t scratch very noticeably at all either in black or white. The only issue worth noting is the curved back. I miss having it not wobble when I typed on a flat surface, but that’s just a matter of me not pounding the keys like a lumberjack.

The Screen:
Perhaps it’s only in my head, but the glass over the screen just isn’t the same. It’s more wide and unlike my old iPhone I had for almost a year, it got scratched in the first day. I was surprised, I take remarkably good care of my stuff, OCD good care, so how it even got anything near something that could have scratched it is baffling to me. It’s being reported that the screen is warmer, I noticed nothing outside of a subtle change. My feelings on the screen size, I believe, may be confirmed by issues placing screen cover’s on it. There are massive, unattractive gaps of unprotected screen.

Lastly I leave you with some screenshots of the current apps I am using. So far they’ve been pretty useful or just fun (see PhoneSaber). If you have any suggestions for new apps or alternatives to the ones I use post them in the comments. Next week I’ll be covering Apple’s approved apps vs Jailbroken Apps.