The excitement of the iPhone has worn off for me a bit. For the first few days of having my iPhone, I couldn’t get the thing out of my hands. I would sit on the couch, watch TV, and browse the web using my local WiFi network, even though I wasn’t really looking for anything online. But for the last few days, my iPhone has sat on my desk, next to m computer, largely unused.
I’m using it less than I might, I know, because I haven’t made it my primary phone yet — I still need to switch my friends, family, and colleagues to my new number. But I generally feel less excitement about the phone than I did a week or 10 days ago.
I’ve never been a big phone guy. I haven’t followed the latest trends in mobile phones, haven’t drooled over new features, displays, or form factors. In fact, I’ve more than once been happy with whatever free phone came with my mobile plan. And perhaps that’s what’s at the heart of my ennui about the iPhone.
On top of that, it’s not displacing my current iPods. It’s nice to have a phone with 1500 songs on it. But it’s not as great as my 80GB iPod with 6700 songs and a few movies, podcasts, and TV shows. When I jump in the car for a long trip, that’s the media player I reach for.
I still think the iPhone is a beautiful device. I still believe that it will push a number of technology spaces forward in a way that will improve many devices, not just phones or iPods. I still love just looking at the interface in action.
But right now, halfway through my 30 Days with iPhone project, I’m less enthusiastic about the day-to-day use of the iPhone than I’d expected to be. Interesting.
