Google Makes My Life Harder
I like my new iPhone a great deal. I especially like good apps. For instance, the Yelp app rocks; it uses the "current location" feature of the iPhone to show me stuff nearby (such as restaurants). And it's Yelp, which I already use a lot, so it includes user-contributed reviews and info. The Yelp app takes something I love and use from the Web and makes it available and awesome on the iPhone. Easy, specialized, familiar, fast, localized, all things I like in a mobile application. Why can't Google do the same?
Google's iPhone versions of Gmail and Google Calendar are awful. I used both on my Blackberry, and I have new issues. First, they are not standalone applications. I have to go through Safari to get to them. That means I don't have a little "new Gmail" icon. I have to manually check my mail to see if there's anything there (or use the built in Mail app which I already mentioned I don't like). Gmail on the iPhone doesn't have a way for me to label messages. Sure, I can archive them to get them out of my inbox, but then they're lost in the "All Mail" ether. I couldn't label them through the Blackberry Gmail app either, so this isn't new, but it's still annoying.
Google Calendar for the iPhone lacks a rather important feature as well - Edit. Seriously? Google, you didn't think I'd want to edit calendar entries on my phone? It's not clear how I can view the "Standard" versions of either Gmail or Google Calendar. Google checks, finds that I'm on an iPhone, and serves up these "apps" that make my life harder. Maybe that's not fair. Maybe they just fail to make my life easier. I want to use my mobile device for mobile email and mobile calendar, and Google is making it hard for me to do that.
I'm hoping that there are features of Gmail and Google Calendar for the iPhone that I just haven't found or enabled properly. I don't want to go through iCal and syncing to get my calendar or through the very un-Gmail-like Mail app. Please help!
My new iPhone
I had a great week at the poker tables last week and spent some of my winnings on a 16GB iPhone. I've railed against Cingular for years over a fight we had about an alleged many hour phone call from Canada to the U.S. (I didn't make the call, they billed me, drama). I said I'd never go back. Ever. Then came the iPhone 3G. Well, and Cingular returned to AT&T. So I'm back. I'm not sure I'm ready to part with my BlackBerry Pearl, and I haven't ported my number yet just in case. First, I'll get them to unlock my BlackBerry so it can be a backup phone anyway. But that's not the point. My new iPhone is the point. Here are my favorite parts, my least favorite parts, and the things I need to think about some more.
+ overall awesomeness
+ giant screen
+ really good typo correction
+ free apps, especially Pandora and Yelp
+ GPS
+ MobileMe
- can't cut and paste from a text message
- gets hot when in use
- built in Mail app is U-G-L-Y
- AT&T sends me cryptic emails with abbreviations like "CTN" and "CSS" that make no sense
Needs more thought:
Should I fork over the $9.99 for a tethering app so that I can use it as a wifi modem with my laptop? (sigh, another $10 spent, most likely)
Should I buy new V-moda headphones or stick with my Shures? (probably Shures)
Should I keep my Seattle number as a reminder of my summer here? (doubtful)
New and Useful: Google Sync for BlackBerry
In December, Google released a new application called Google Sync for BlackBerry that automatically sync's your device calendar with your Google Calendar. For anyone else using the clunky Google Calendar mobile version in their BlackBerry browser, this is quite exciting.
To download, visit http://m.google.com/sync from your BlackBerry browser.
If you'd rather not have another app on your device, but you want an easier way to get to your Google Calendar, try texting GVENT (48368). You'll get an SMS back with your calendar information: "nday" = next day's calendar; "next" = next event; "day" = today's events
Using a BlackBerry as a Bluetooth Modem with my MacBook
It used to be much easier to find these instructions online, but it took me awhile yesterday. So, here they are where I can find them, and you might be able to use them too.
These instructions work for my Blackberry Pearl on TMobile using a MacBook running Leopard. It may work with other Bluetooth-enabled phones and existing TMobile data plans, or you may find parts of the instructions helpful.
1. Pair BlackBerry and MacBook
2. Open Network Preferences
3. Select "Bluetooth" in the list of connections
4. Choose "Add Configuration..." under "Configuration" on the right side
5. Telephone Number: wap.voicestream.com
6. Account Name: guest
7. Password: guestguest
You may have to click "Apply" before being able to click "Connect."
SpinVox or Voice to Text Fanciness
I can't believe I haven't posted explaining why I love SpinVox, a remarkable service that has nearly eliminated my voicemail headaches. Those of you who call me know that I often just don't pick up. It's nothing personal; I just don't love talking on the phone. SpinVox converts my voicemails into text messages and emails, and I've saved hours reading those and calling back instead of waiting through painful voicemail menus. SpinVox even saves the audio version of all my voicemails so that if it gets the transcription wrong, or I want to hear, say, my friends singing me "Happy Birthday," then I can still listen to the original.
You may remember that I left T-Mobile (foolishly!) for a couple weeks in May, and I was so upset that Sprint doesn't allow users to change the forwarding number for unanswered calls that I nearly cried. T-Mobile is happy to let me forward my unanswered calls to the number SpinVox provided. T-Mobile loves me and wants me to be happy.
Unfortunately, SpinVox is no longer accepting new U.S. customers - at least not individuals. I think they're targeting carriers and trying to get them to offer SpinVox services as part of wireless bundles. So, maybe pestering your wireless carrier will help? Maybe there's another voice-to-text service out there that could save you hours of listening to voicemail menus too. I see I missed out on SpinVox for Blackberry, another probably rockin' service that had a limited introductory period. Well, at least I can read my voicemails while I wait for that to hit the larger, open market. I hope you iPhone users are enjoying visual voicemail, but even that has nothing on SpinVox's free pricetag and not-tied-to-a-handset feature.
New technologies often make me cranky or leave me unimpressed. SpinVox is a rare exception, and I love it. I don't need perfect transcription of my voicemails, and I don't need to listen to them in real-time. They've managed to take an imperfect technology (voice recognition) and solve a real problem. Well done, SpinVox, and thanks for letting me into your beta!
The Pearl lasts for.ev.er
So I was on the phone for almost 200 minutes today, and the Pearl still has battery remaining. In fact, it has more than one bar of battery remaining. I didn't even have time to get the thing fully charged! I'm impressed. Yes, I got another BlackBerry Pearl today. I ran back to the comforting arms of T-Mobile, and I'm thrilled. It took literally 30 seconds to sync all my data to the phone, and I could not be more pleased. Given the 4+ hour debacle of trying to get the Treo and the Mac to get along, I was bracing myself for difficulty. Everything worked smoothly though.
I just returned from a couple hours out with some friends at the 8 Ball Saloon. The 8 Ball is a truly wonderful place. Ann Arbor doesn't have many bars that combine dart boards, pool tables, cheap drinks, laid back attitudes, and permanent hand stamps. In fact, I'm not sure we have any other bars that have all those things. Oh, and popcorn! Yum. I stopped after one drink tonight, but you wouldn't know it if you'd seen me lying in the back of a pickup during a post-midnight McDonald's run. My friend Jessie and I needed some French fries, and Cory obliged. Here's the evidence to prove it:
Please take me back!
I have had enough of the Treo 755p and enough of Sprint's subpar service.� I am running back to the loving arms of T-Mobile, but first I'm taking a detour through the rebates of wirefly.com.� I called Wirefly today to make sure that I was eligible for a rebate on a new phone and service plan with T-Mobile and was assured that since I cancelled my T-Mobile account and moved to Sprint, I was in fact eligible.� So, I'm getting a free Blackberry Pearl in the next 2-3 business days.
Going back to the Pearl is exciting.� It's smaller and easier to use than the Treo.� It also looks "cooler" and just generally rocks.� T-Mobile's service is also $45 less per month and includes such niceties as the ability to utilize SpinVox again. Sprint doesn't allow customers to forward their calls to a different voicemail provider, and I've been forced to listen to voicemail again. Bleck.� When I go back to T-Mobile on Friday, I'll get my messages via text again.� Whew!
Stay tuned to read how much this cell phone roulette ends up costing.� I think we all know I'm not getting out of it without spending a couple hundred dollars.
The Treo 755p and how it makes me angry
I let a manager at Wireless Toyz talk me into trying a Palm Treo 755p with Sprint. What a stupid mistake. I was perfectly happy with T-Mobile; I just needed a new phone. I should've gone back to the Blackberry Pearl that I had at the beginning of the month and been happy. Instead, I decided to give a full-figured PDA a try, and I've been angry about it every since. Here are some of the reasons the 755p is not for me:
- Sprint doesn't work with SpinVox, and SpinVox may be my favorite thing of 2007
- Treos and Macs do not get along easy (total time to set up syncing: 3.5 hours)
- the 755p is a brick; it's so heavy my pants sag when it's in my pocket
- It takes 2 hands to accomplish most tasks with the 755p
- Sprint is insanely expensive - $105/month for voice, data, text messaging
- You can't download pictures from the Treo to your desktop; you have to go through Sprint Picture Mail
- The default ring tones are all bad.
- Chat help from Palm is not available for Mac users
And those are just the 8 I could think of right away. Argh! Do not buy a 755p if you are a Mac user or value your time. I can't speak to the Windows side, but getting iSync to work took 3.5 hours and a hard reboot of the 755p. I'm exhausted and irritated and still can't tell if my contacts made it over to the device. Boo!