iPhone 6 - One Week In

Are we are interested in the wrong stuff? The big iPhone bends and it's not an LG Flex.. OK. Friends in love with Samsung are waiting for the EDGE/Note 4. Great! Moto X goes on sale today which has been declared the best Android phone ever by more sites than I can count (or was it one guy and then a bunch of copycats?). Ever try to use StreamBoard these days to monitor  the tweets associated with a popular event? Impossible. Everyone's got an opinion. Haters hate etc. But the proof is in the using..

I've been using the iPhone 6 as my sole device for a week now and I like the form. No case for me. Haven't come close to dropping it once. It's the right size for my hand (no reason not to try it out). I like the power button on the right side of the phone instead of the top though I'm still getting used to it. Moto X (first gen) taught me where all the buttons should be and that's on the right side of the phone (for a righty!). One hand operation is dramatically improved with the volume rocker and power buttons on the right.  I updated to iOS 8.0.2 this morning. Luckily I missed the fun with the first update yesterday morning. Seems most of the notable tech sites referenced this article if you are interested in more details and sixcolors.com is a great place to keep up with Apple and other tech news that's not tuned to advertisers. The site is written by a former lead editor at Macworld.

My experience: It is easier to enter passwords on Android with  Lastpass as your password manager. It is also easier to share/save/clip articles and interesting stuff you find to Pocket, Instapaper, Facebook, Twitter, G+, Evernote etc. It's improved on Safari for  iPhone but I'm a Firefox/Chrome sync fan. Memories of MobileMe still haunt me. I'll get over it. I really like the ability iPhone now has to respond to messages via the home screen alert and appreciate the frequent contacts that are easily accessible with the double click of the home button. The "Tips" app has taught me some nice tricks as well. Check it out. Waze works great. As does Glympse. Strava, gMail and various go-to apps are super. Screen is bright and beautiful. Like the new wallpapers...

The Android lovers are out in force saying that the new iPhone is 2 years behind Android and there is a bit of evidence to support that. So not much has changed really. I like wireless charging which seems to not be a priority these days. The new iPhone's battery, despite comments in the press to the contrary (which are maybe based on specs and not experience), has been great and I really like a Laptop/Phone/Tablet that can stay unplugged for a day without making adjustments to my performance settings. BTW the iPhone will charge faster if you use the adapter for an iPad (pro trick safe for use at home).

The iPhone is great in it's simplicity and the only glitch I've encountered has been the accelerometer is sometimes slow to adjust the screen from portrait to landscape and back. That and the inevitable issue which is that I use lots Google products (Keep for Notes, Picasa, Finance, Voice, Calendar, Maps, Mail and my default document manager is Google Docs. Rarely do I start a document with Word anymore.)  Love Google Now. Google apps integrate seamlessly with one password for all apps on Android. Google now can be used on the iPhone but not as an integrated feature. It's getting better everyday.
The issue of Apple allowing 3rd party keyboards has been noted. SwiftKey for Android was a favorite of mine and I loaded it onto the iPhone. It has limited functionality compared to it's Android sibling. The stock iPhone keyboard has been improved. It still has a way to go.

There are  a couple of great reasons to get the new iPhone. It's by far the best one yet. The camera is great. Click here for a wonderful demonstration of the iPhone 6 Plus in Iceland by Austin Mann. It has Facetime and so do your relatives. Apple will keep it simple and you don't have to fuss with it. Makes great calls, has a super messaging app now with some cool new features. Messaging has become very fragmented. I prefer Hangouts. What do you use? I get a lot of replies like, "yes. sure. who is this?" Onward.

Enjoy it and let the gang at XDA Developers and Google+ communities say whatever they want. If you are adventurous take the plunge. There are a number of great Android phones to choose from and there will be a new Nexus shortly! Got my eye on the MotoX.. Its the right size!
This new iPhone is super. Thumbs up!

ATT and Apple-how to really piss off a customer...

I'm over this just enough to have a little perspective.. ATT really Sucks and Apple really Rocks.. I should have taken a picture, but suffice to say I smashed my iPhone. I was Wazing around Salinas Golf and Country Club this afternoon working on getting my index above 10 for the Senior Championships later this month ( I got a chance folks ;)).. and I used to be a 3 so this is upsetting and I am not getting any younger..but... Back to story... I'm pretending to be road munching (blazing the new trail for Wazers) when all I'm doing is driving all over the golf course.. cart signs? common this is a very private club. So up I go over the curb on 4 and the iPhone of our dreams slips through the cup holder and onto the concrete and hits said curb and has a nice big crack across the back and two snowflakes on the front.. I whine and finish the 9 holes and think that ATT will take care of this no problem. I do a lot of business  with them (unlimited domestic calling, DirecTV, Internet/DSL, two blackberries and an iPhone for $350 a month plus any International roaming I might do now and then) and have been a very loyal customer for over 20 years and I've got insurance..BUT: they very politely (too, Too, TOO f'ing politely) explain I have no insurance because I didn't buy something they never told me about called "mobileprotect". They keep calling me Sir and this nice looking young lady keeps nodding her head as this Puke of a sales rep does absolutely nothing to try to help me except explain the brutal facts and about how little he could care about "my problem" and then at about the point I'm ready to hit him and spit in his face, he offers up that maybe apple could help.. Have had an iPhone for nearly 3 years (maybe?.. there are some posts back a bit about my first iPhone 3G) and this is the third time some jerk from ATT has told me the same thing.. Maybe they could help if I were willing to drive to Monterey in rush hour traffic (not too bad here really) and ask them (someone else who might give a ship), but he couldn't have cared less and ATT really hires jerks and trains them to be worse.. didn't used to be this way friends.. they were better.. I think.. So I email my Good Buddie RR who is an Apple Expert in one of their sweet stores and ask when they close and explain el problemo. 2 minutes later I know I have enough time and am on my way. I roll into Del Monte mall and head to the store. I just happen to have to walk by the ATT hole in the wall and get to see some fake concern by another ATT employee while their customer shakes his head in disbelief.. I might mention I have a Buddie who loves Blackberries and would have a Torch were it not for the fact that you can "only get one from those F%$ks at ATT"... "never again for those 'holes" ..so in I go to a nicely lighted, good vibe of a store and am greeted. Can we help? I show the patient. Genuine sadness. I can get you together with someone who can explain your options to you in 10 minutes. OK..I'll amuse myself with iPads and MacBook Pros. I walked out of there 20 minutes later with a brand new iPhone. ..a one time good guy we love you and hope you love us please come back Bro 32GB iPhone.. set-up with my gMail account and my sync'd contacts just waiting for me to sync it up with the master playlist on iTunes when I get home. The guy was tired and distracted by a very good looking 20 something on her way to a concert who had spilled nail polish on her keyboard and we hoped she took a lot of time to explain the problem to us, but he was gonna take care of me.. Next time It'll set me back $200. But this time, it's a Bro deal.. I will buy an Apple laptop the next time I need a laptop. No doubt.. and questions remain unanswered, but I hate ATT with a passion. They are corporate pukes... and apple are corporate pukes too, but they have the good sense to keep most of their CPs (I know you guys ...remember? ..we used to be friends.. we may still be) in Cupertino kissing the feet of Steve ..who really could change the world someday. I've heard the rumors...(spying?) OK. But I don't care. A Great Big Thanks. I have been down the road with Apple before and know all there is not perfect.. but compared to ATT , Sony and Dell? Wow.. It's not so much the lesser of evils. It's that at this moment of truth when I had made a mistake, these guys were willing to feel my pain and help me out...we could use more empathy in business these days. Today I found it. ATT got the first shot and missed by a mile.. then Apple hit a 3 pointer at the buzzer for the Championship.
I'm typing this on a custom PC made by a guy named Evan.. no one will ever approach his level of service and I'm not female, good looking or a gamer.. just a guy who really wants to do business with "friends"... partners to patronize.. I found some today. Thanks Apple!

BTW: all apple stores are not equal.. it's not 5th Ave or SF, and whoever runs the Monterey store gets my vote for Exec of the year.. it's the unsung hero who takes the time to build a great team that has the right attitude when it counts.. Go see them the next time your here.. easy to find. Worth the trip!