Techiebytes

Turns out I might be a bit of a Microsoft fan. It’s even possible that from time to time I make some rushed decisions due to my loyalty. Hey, we’re all human, and Apple hasn’t held back on the misleading marketing campaigns. The important thing is that I can listen and re-evaluate my opinion when necessary.

So I’ll swallow my pride, give Tom Hood and the other iPhone addicts some credit, and admit that this iPhone has grown into a rather functional device. Don’t get me wrong, I still maintain my position that it didn’t live up to the marketing hype when it was released. I still think Apple is evil, and I’m not buying a MAC. I’m simply stating that the iPhone has grown up and it shows.

So what made a Microsoft fan change his tune? It’s very simple, MS Exchange connectivity, the application store, and the incredible number of social apps available. None of these are unique to the iPhone but when combined with speed and ease of use it’s a killer combo.

Microsoft Exchange connectivity is what you would expect from a non-Windows Mobile device. I’d call it incomplete, others might call it functional. In the grand scheme of things it works well enough for the average user. It pushes my e-mail, folders, and calendar and allows me to get my day to day work done. After a few days, the only feature I really missed from Windows Mobile was the ability to flag messages for follow-up.

Handango works fine as an application store for both Windows Mobile and BlackBerry, so Apple’s hype about their application store didn’t impress me much. This is one of those times when you just have to experience something to understand the difference. Apple kicked everyone’s butt with this one. Both finding and loading applications is almost effortless. This is one I have to admit I was plain wrong on, and nothing can compare to it.

We’re all aware that Social Networking is here to stay. I’m a huge fan of Twitter (some might call it an addiction) and I’ve used multiple clients on multiple devices. iPhone clients are hands down the best. Pick your poison: Facebook, MySpace, Twitter or FriendFeed and you’ll find one or more clients in the Apple application store.

And to add to the pain, even the 1st generation iPhone is faster than any of my Windows Mobile devices. The battery life exceeded my expectations, I didn’t have a single lock-up all week and I didn’t have to rebuild it. While this might sound like blasphemy coming from a hard core Microsoft guy, I really like this device.

Now of course you knew I wasn’t just going to lie down with the evil Apple Empire and drink the Kool-Aid. The iPhone experience isn’t perfect. I mentioned before, I’d call the MS Exchange connectivity incomplete compared to Windows Mobile. I miss not having the presence of Office Communicator available. I still can’t get the speed I’d like from the keyboard, and I hate iTunes.

Like all mobile devices you have to take the good with the bad. In this case, the iPhone has grown well enough to get some praise, even from this stubborn MS guy.