Abbey Road

August 06, 2008

It took me four years to dump my old Nokia 6620 and it was like parting with an old friend. I even tried a Blackberry for a week and sent the thing back as too difficult to use for texting.

But in came this fancy new iPhone and after watching a pal show me the tricks at lunch a few weeks ago, my mind was made up. I joined the three and a half hour wait at the Apple suburban store north of Chicago and now I have one.

But … and there always is one isn’t there … I again have proven the point we hear so often about regretting purchases based on too much emotion.

Don’t get me wrong, the iPhone as a micro-computer does some astounding things. But I wish I knew it failed at a couple of the basics that even my four year old Nokia could handle.

Be forewarned.

The Apple iPhone will NOT capture video which means my chances of becoming an iJournalist for CNN are slim to none. With all of the features on this phone, plus the 16 GB of storage on board, it’s impossible for me to understand how Steve Jobs let this one slip past the innovators in California. Maybe I’ll be lucky and one of you will tell me that it really WILL capture video if I only hold down some damned key I can’t seem to find.

Next, my other gripe. I can’t attach a still photo I shoot with the iPhone to a text message. I must enter a valid e-mail and send it that way. This one is not a deal killer, but more of an annoyance.

The video issue … that one popped my cork.