9 Reasons I Ditched the iPhone and Joined the EVOlution

As an early adopter of the iProducts, this post is particularly difficult to write, just as the reality is difficult to swallow. Apple products really are works of art. I'm anxiously awaiting the next generation of Apple products but the time has come for me to abandon my iPhone.

That being said, generally speaking, the biggest reason I got rid of my iPhone is certainly AT&T but there are several reasons I decided to make the switch to the HTC EVO on the Sprint network.


The EVO's screen is absolutely gargantuan and despite taking a little while to get used to, I feel like the EVO is my communication hub. I always felt that the iPhone was an amazing tool with great apps that doubled as a communication device but it never felt like a true hub, something that incorporates all my social media, email and messages.

So why did I ditch the iPhone and join the EVOlution?

1. I needed a new phone - My original iPhone was showing its age. The smoothness of movement and responsiveness simply wasn't there. Years of numerous applications and use were showing the phone's age. The phone was a great purchase and served the post well but it was a time for a replacement. IPhone 4 would mark the third update since the so called "iPhone 2G"- a name I never liked.

2. The Edge network - The old data network had all but stopped working. It got to the point where I couldn't even do a simple google search reliably - let alone update my PAID apps efficiently.

3. AT&T no longer offering unlimited data plans - Depending on who you ask, this wasn't an issue. I read reports that original iPhone customers with the legacy 20 dollar data plan would, at a minimum lose that (be moved to a 30 dollar data plan) and possibly lose unlimited service. Regardless, with this move, I can no longer trust ATT to honor "legacy" plans.

4. Apple no longer offering support for the iPhone "2g" - Why the hell not? People spent up to 600 dollars to adopt and promote the first iPhone only to have their phones be relegated to the antiquated list by Steve Jobs himself!

5. No iOS4 support - No more updates for the iPhone 2g. They won't even add the functionality to use pictures as wallpaper backgrounds like in the iPad OS and iOS4.

6. Idiotic ATT "Rules" - Still ready to purchase an iPhone4, I went to the ATT store to change my unlimited text plan (20 dollars per month) to the 1500 per month plan (15 per month). Despite having only started the unlimited text plan three months ago, I was told that if I removed the unlimited text plan that I would lose my 20 dollars per month unlimited data legacy plan. This was the straw that broke the camels back. I entered the store, ready to buy an iPhone4 when it came out, I left thinking that ATT had lost a customer.

7. Package deal - AT&T's original exclusive deal with Apple was for a year but was continually re-upped. Even with the announcement that Verizon would be getting the iPhone in 2011, it was too long to wait and too many questions remained for someone who needs a new phone.

8. The EVOlution - A friend of mine had recently purchased the EVO and I was very impressed with some simple functionality that Apple has simply left out. Video backgrounds, widgets (not just apps) and an even sleeker implementation and faster execution of visual voicemail.

9. The Sprint Family Plan - Four members of my family will all be paying less despite having a more robust plan. Two of us left ATT for this reason.


It's been hard to get rid of the iPhone but the EVO is proving to be the perfect tool for someone who wants to escape AT&T and still have a great phone with an affordable plan.

iPhone Photography

I've recently downloaded two photography apps for the iPhone that I simply MUST tell you about. The tiny 2 or 3 megapixel cameras are a frequent target of iPhone haters but I've found them to be good for snapshots provided I keep the lens clean. When you add the power of the camera bag and colorsplash apps you can easily create effects you'll be happy to show your friends.

The first app I downloaded is called camera bag by nevercenter.com. Once you select a picture from your library you can render the image in several different styles. Holga (which they insist on calling Helga) creates the unmistakable toy camera vignette. The app sports two different epoch styles, "1962" which turns the image into a high contrast black and white image and "1974" which adjusts the colors to give it a retro-faded-with-a-hint-of-brown look. Other styles include cinema (widescreen), instant (polaroid), Lolo (which I used to know the meaning of), and infra-red (which leaves much to be desired).

I've enjoyed using pictures of office environments and sporting events and using the 1962 rendering. All in all, well worth the $1.99.

But the REALLY exciting app is Colorsplash by Hendrik Kueck. When I first saw the app a few months back, the pictures looked good by I was convinced it would be too complicated. The colorsplash app allows you to take images from your library and selectively color or decolor. The ability to zoom and use a red mask for the detailed clipping makes the images look fantastic.

The app is a bit limited in that really all you can do is select areas of a picture to color but it does just that so simply and dare I say elegantly that it is a must for anyone with an interest in photography and faux art.

I've included a few pics I quickly edited using the colorsplash app. None of them took more than two or three minutes.


Me after a Tigers game in my kick-ass hoody


AnnArbor.com offices


16 days until Michigan football!

These are so fun to do that I'm sure more will follow!

Playman Track & Field App for iPhone...and some other goodies

When the App Store was launched last year it completely changed the way I used my phone. For several months I was very successful in my "don't pay for apps" policy. It was all new, and there were so many free apps to choose from that it was a pretty easy rule to live by.

Early this year the success of my policy began to waver. The first app I bought was Koi Pond from the Blimp Pilots. At only 99 cents, the graphics, sound effects and the sense of equilibrium achieved through playing with the little Japanese fish, the app was well worth the cost. In fact, I was so thrilled with the app that I searched for other Blimp Pilots apps and ended up purchasing the Distant Shore app. At first I really liked this app. I thought it opened up a yet to be explored social networking niche. Whereas most social networking sites focus on your friends, Distant Shore focuses on connections based on chance and anonymity. I don't think I've launched the app in a month or two.

Back to the apps.

After those first two, I still attempted to follow my no-pay policy. I still felt pretty good about scrolling through my screens for friends and saying I'd only paid for two. It helped that some fantastic apps were released for free, the best possibly being the google earth app. The useful apps from the big guys were almost always free, AIM, google voice search, facebook, seadragon etc.

Over the last month or so my policy has more or less evaporated. So much so that I usually check the paid apps before the free ones. I've realized that, big boys excepted, you get what you pay for.

I wanted to share with you one in particular today (and I have the feeling more will follow), the Track & Field App from Playman. Unbelievably intuitive, you can participate in five different events, 100m dash, 110m hurdles, long jump, pole vault and javelin. The game's "fun factor" reminds me of the original Nintendo games. The graphics aren't breathtaking but they get the job done. There are only two buttons to press and some timing. It's one of those easy to play, impossible to master apps that seem to be a rarity in the app store.



The other thing worth mentioning about this app is it is great for quick play. It loads quickly and you can pick up right where you left off as there is a top notch auto-save feature. So, you can whip out your phone on the can, pass a level or two and feel like you accomplished something...you know, multitasking.

If you happen to have an iPhone or iPod touch and end up getting the Track & Field app I offer perhaps THE tip to help you do well: The alternative green dots you have to press are a seemingly randomly generated sequence, switching from left to right and back again. However, the green light will never appear on one side more than twice in a row. As such, if you get two green lights on the right side, you can immediately click the left side and gain some valuable time. You WILL need to use this strategy to get past the second round!

I'm looking for some more app buys, let me know of any you recommend!

Google Earth app for iPhone

It's no secret I've loved my iPhone from the second I got it, and then again from the second after I got a new one. When Apple rolled out the Software Developers Kit for the "gifted" to write stand alone programs for the phone I was sure it would make the phone more enjoyable. I had no idea how much it would improve the experience.

When the 2.0 Apple software update was launched earlier this year and applications came online at iTunes it truly did transform my phone, and the way I use it. While the initial fun factor for my "2G" iPhone lasted much longer than expected, I had grown used to having what I still consider to be the best phone out there. I was ready for an upgrade!

The ability to download new applications, many of which are free from the iTunes store has turned my phone in to an entertainment hub. Games, news, web browsing, entertainment utilities are all fun and easy...oh yea and its a phone too!

Last night while perusing the top 50 free apps I came across and downloaded the Google Earth application. I use Google Earth on an almost daily basis, so the opportunity to have it, or something resembling it on my iPhone excited me. After a full day of using it, I can say that it far exceeded my expectations. Even on the Edge network it loads fast enough to be practical and this is no scaled down version, its the whole world-in your hand. Google has proven it is a master of writing programs for Apple's OS X. Within the app you can tilt the phone to change your vantage point, view terrain and quickly access Panoramio pictures. It immerses you in your surroundings arguably more than the real thing. While I'm on the subject of Google Earth, next time you are using it (not on your iPhone) type ctrl+alt+a...and enjoy!

Speaking of Google, it wasn't long after I bought my phone that I started hearing a lot about the upcoming Google phone and not long after that when the first Android compatible prototypes were being reviewed. From what I've seen and read about the G1 phone, I wasn't blown away, which is what I've come to expect for anything that Google touches. However, just like the app store has transformed the iPhone, Google's open source model will certainly transform the way we use our...well, we used to call them phones.

Lastly, I would be remiss if I did not mention the other free app I stumbled upon which has been extremely useful. The app is called Wikiamo and it is a utility that makes Wikipedia pages easy to read on the iPhone. As a daily user of Wikipedia, this is also something to be excited about.

Beatles, the other Apple and iTunes

As a new iPod (phone) user I've really started to use iTunes as my music hub. After living under the "under 25" assumption that music is free for several years, I now feel a little bit of pride each time I spend 99 cents for a new song. Along with that 99 cent song you get the sweet cover art for scrolling too!

A disappointment has been the unavailability (pretty sure thats a word) of Beatles music. I went ahead and Googled my way to an answer. I found several interesting articles that I've tried to arrange here chronologically.

If you've got any more information or would like to be the source of the next apple-iTunes-the OTHER apple-beatles rumor, just leave me a message.

MacObserver article from 2003
CNN Money article from 2005
Business blog from mid 2007
Gizmodo article from earlier this year (2008)

I'm stuck in traffic or 50 and Sunny in La Rochelle

I told my self I wasn't going to be one of those guys that becomes consumed by his iPhone. But but but, well bear with me for just a little more.

I've lamented about the weather, more on other peoples blogs; Sylvie and Kevin's and CG Betty's. After figuring out a few weeks back that La Rochelle is an actual place and not a state of mind I added it to the weather widget on my iPhone and became incredibly jealous when the forecast came up as 50's and sunny for a week. La Rochelle is not only a place but its apparently got some nice weather this time of year!

Adding salt to the would was a hell of a snow storm this afternoon in Southeast Michigan. A commute that normally takes me 20-25 minutes took closer to an hour and a half. My coworker Eric told me that an 11 mile stretch of I-94 was closed due to the weather but by the time that I left it was open, although I'd be lying if I said my drive home was leisurely.

The bright spot in the drive home was my iPhone. As I was stopped in traffic I clicked on the maps widget, added real time traffic info and amazingly saw that in fact I WAS sitting in traffic. How cool is it to not only sit in traffic but be able to confirm it on your phone. And the answer is yes; this is my way of making fun of myself. And no, I do not want to hear about how its dangerous for me to be looking up weather and traffic info on my cell phone while driving. At least I wasn't texting....yea, never done that!

Now If I only knew what "Lo TG Ed" meant. Of course I get confused by a lot of the over the ponder's blogs, or are we the over the ponders - I can't remember. But I think yanks such as ROTUS and myself truly are the FMB minority, but we're pulling our weight.

Apple Karma or Attack of the iPhone Killing Ice

Last week I wrote that I hoped that the Patriots would win the Super Bowl. What I didn't mention was that if the Giants won I would win a playoff pool. I had picked every game correctly from the start with the exception of Indy's first round loss. Yes, from the very beginning I picked the Giants to win, one of only three out of the 175 or so entries.

Since money won is much sweeter than money earned I spent Monday night perusing gadgets. I seriously considered a new Digital SLR camera an HD Camcorder and the Apple iPhone. After carefully considering each I decided on an iPhone. The next day I went to the AT&T store and 5 minutes later walked out with my new toy. It was by far the easiest phone purchase ever. The salesperson didn't even try to convince me to buy other things.

The phone is amazing! Five minutes after turning it on I new I had made the right choice on what to buy. Over the past few days I've spent some time programming numbers, taking pictures, adding web applications etc, to personalize my phone.

After an evening at Buffalo Wild Wings (BWLD) and stopping by my old fraternity house, the drive home was treacherous because of the ice that had formed under the snow. My car slid a few times but I got home safe. However, as I was walking from my car up the driveway to my garage I bit it hard. As I stepped with my left foot it slipped underneath me and before I new it my left side hit the pavement - HARD - knock the wind out of you hard. Unfortunately I was holding my new phone in my right hand and the force of the slip sent it flying out of my hand, straight up in the air.

When I hit the ground I realized my phone had slipped out, I also noticed that I hadn't heard it hit the ground yet. Instinctively I started to count in my head 1-2- and right before 3 I hear it hit...oh boy. I jump up, avoid stumbling again and notice my phone laying in the snow. I picked it up, brushed it off, turned it back on, unlocked it...my phone had survived, and thanks to the case, not a scratch.

Then this morning happened. To see how cold it was outside this morning (since it was supposed to be in the single digits) I pressed the weather widget on the home screen...no response. Fifteen seconds later I realized that the entire top half of the screen was no longer touch sensitive.

Shit.

Double shit.

Shit times 400 (dollars).

My only option was calling apple support. The guy I talked to said to take it into the store and that they would give me a loaner phone to use while my phone is being repaired and then I would need to bring that phone back in a few weeks when my phone was available. I can think of several things I'd rather do on a Sunday than that!

I was not looking forward to going to this store. Not even a month ago Amy took her computer in for repairs, needing it ASAP for her graphic design school work only to discover that it just sat in the store for more than a week collecting dust rather than being sent in to apple.

So I reluctantly scheduled an appointment and they just gave me brand new phone. All things considered this was the best possible outcome. Instead of having to eat a 250 dollar replacement cost I just had to reprogram my contacts- I'll take that deal any day.

And so, my faith in Apple support has been restored, along with the firmware on my iPhone.