Milestone

As often happens with me I had a random thought.  After doing the math I realized I've had my iPhone 4 longer than I've had any other smartphone device.  Prior to the iPhone the longest I had a smartphone before getting bored and moving on was my old Motorola Q9c which I had for nine months.  I've been sporting the iPhone for nine months and one week and have no desire to ditch it in favor of some other device.

Considering I went through six smartphone in three years before the iPhone I think this is something of an accomplishment for me.

No iPhone 4S Upgrade For Me

The iPhone 4 has been updated to the iPhone 4S with a faster dual-core A5 CPU (same as in the iPad 2), improved 8MP camera with 1080p video recording, and a neat new voice commanded assistant.  It's all good and well and it is more than a little impressive.  However I have to say I'm staying put with my trusty iPhone 4 on Verizon.  I can almost see those who know me nodding their heads and thinking, "Yeah, right."

See, for the first time in the more than three years I've been packing a smartphone device with me on a daily basis I'm quite content and happy with what I've got.  As hard as it is to believe I have no burning desire to upgrade right now.  If the new iPhone had a larger screen and a new form factor with some 4G LTE sauce thrown in I may have been tempted to jump on board but in all reality it's a minor spec bump and for what I use my iPhone for it's not at all neccessary for me.  The apps I use daily run just fine, the 5MP camera works for what I use it for, and I don't really see me needing a fancy new voice assistant.  I know that iOS 5 will run well on my current iPhone because I've been running the beta versions since the first release.

Another reason is that I would have to pay the full retail value for the new iPhone which for the 32GB version would run me $749.  Sure, I could get Best Buy to buy the phone back for $340 (they had a special on their buy back program when I got it so it cost me nothing) but I just can't see paying a little over $400 for a spec bump.  Further, the way my contract with Verizon is structured I'm all set for a subsidised upgrade come October of 2012 which is when we may expect the next version of the iPhone to come out.

All in all, I'm happy with what I have got right now and I'm going to enjoy this feeling.  That and I'll enjoy not plunking down hundreds of dollars for a new handset less than twelve months after buying one.

iOS 5 So Far

I've been running the iOS 5 betas on both my iPhone 4 and iPad 2 for a little over two weeks now and am currently running the second version of the beta on both devices.  Plenty of other web sites have been talking about the new version of iOS and have been concentrating on the various new features found within.  There's been talk about iCloud integration, wireless syncing via Wi-Fi, photo streaming, deep Twitter integration, the new notifications system, and lots of other odds and ends.  I deliberately avoided writing about it all for at least a couple of weeks so that I could provide something else, perhaps a different perspective on the new operating system.  

I first want to offer up a few caveats about this blog entry.  

First, iOS 5 is currently still in beta testing and as such it's to be expected that there will be glitches, performance issues, broken apps, and more than a few instances of just plain hinky stuff going on.  I've beta tested software before for various platforms so I knew what I was getting into here.  Unless you've beta tested software before it's one thing to read about stuff being broken on your devices and a completely different thing to have them break on your device.  It will frustrate you at times.  In other words don't try installing this stuff yourself unless you're willing to take all those problems into account.  Trust me on this one.  Besides all that you'll have to either pay to access the developer program Apple has set up, know someone who can get you in, or take a chance on one of the many sites that offer to give you access for a fee.

Second, all these opinions about the iOS 5 beta are mine and mine alone.  I did not set out to test or find every single new or improved feature in the OS.  Instead I've been using my devices as I normally would and this entry will reflect that point of view.

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Now Running iOS 5

Yesterday I downloaded the iOS 5 beta for both my CDMA iPhone 4 and Wi-Fi iPad 2 so that I could see what the new version was all about.  That and the fact I'm bit of an early adopter.

Last night I got the beta OS installed to my iPhone and so far it looks good.  Me being a bit slow forgot to download the beta of iTunes 10.5 that works with the new iOS beta so I had to do that as well, right after restoring to iOS 5.  This led to a "Oh crap" panic moment but everything worked out fine.  I'll install the beta to my iPad later today as well.

Lately I've been taking my iPad out with me daily and tethering it to my iPhone for internet access but today I'll probably go solo with just the phone.  This will give me a chance to get a handle on battery life with the new OS as well as try out a lot of features.

Anyway, stay tuned for screen shots and updates on how the beta works as my daily driver.

Tethered iPad

This past week I finally got around to packing up my iPad 2 and taking it out and about with me.  Part of the delay was finding a new case that would protect the iPad, both front and back, instead of just covering the front like the Smart Cover does.  The other part was probably an overdose of worry.  In any case it's now traveling around with me a lot and one thing I decided to give a try was the built in hot spot capability of the iPhone 4 to provide internet access while on the go to the iPad.

So, how's that working out for me so far?

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