Gadgets soliloquy

I used to be a bit of a gadget freak. I'd always have something going, usually a few. I realize that behavior has changed because of the iPhone. I've spend thousands on a phone and equipment. I don't do that now. I probably buy a little more than $200 in apps and have spent that much on a new phone.

Those apps are increasingly encroaching upon devices I've purchased in the past. I have a digital voice recorder to capture face to face interviews for work. With the new Voice App, I don't need that anymore. The video camera will replace the need for a proper video camera for most of my needs – which have more to do with discreetness in an environment than anything else.

Now I know that many of these functions have been in phones in the past. Especially the more recent past. Sidekicks are everywhere. Those phones and many other phones out there can do as much if not more than the iPhone from a feature perspective. Yes this and that phone can capture higher res pictures or capture video at a higher frame rate and resolution. But the filters that the iPhone can apply pre and post image match most of what is done on a desktop and offer a level of on-the-spot creativity and flexibility previously impossible to date. I'm looking forward to the video filters that will no doubt be released in the coming months for the new 3GS video capture capability.

I've had many sophisticated phones – from Sony Ericsson and Nokia – in the past and found them annoying. Each one forced me to compromised in a way I didn't really want. I had a Nokia Series 60 3rd Edition phone last – Nokia E61. That phone drove me nuts. Sound quality excellent. Everything else was horrible, including that thumb busting joystick. The latest E71 generation is much better than the V1/E61 version I used but the iPhone still beats it in design and functionality. It was like using Windows. At least Sony Ericsson can produce things that don't feel like Windows.

The other point I wanted to make is that one of the biggest strengths of the iPhone is its' ability to shape shift. You can never do that with a physical keyboard. With a keyboard, a device will always looks like a phone or a labelmaker. When you put the iTwins into a dock, the screen can transform to become part of its' surroundings.

I'm so excited to see what will be released on the hardware front because I can't even imagine. My wildest dreams were exceeded with the 3G. The new 3.0 software and its' SDK will offer so much more.