I love my iPhone. I don’t have to fight with it or coax it to perform even the most complicated of operations. It doesn’t crash. Unlike any other phone or PDA I’ve ever used, the iPhone does everything Apple claims it can–and it does it well.

Simplicity

If I had to choose one word to describe the iPhone, it would be simplicity. Ignoring the impressive internal hardware and attractive aluminum exterior, the iPhone is a relatively simple device. It has practically no hardware buttons to confuse the user. There are no complicated start menus to access to check your email. You just turn it on, swipe your finger and choose an app.

When I first played with an iPhone I was confused. Not because the iPhone itself was complicated but because my brain was used to complicated menus. I’d been a Windows Mobile user for many years and it took me a few minutes to realize that were no x buttons to click. No windows to minimize. No multilevel dropdown menus to traverse. To get back to the home screen I press the single front hardware button. To navigate through an app, I lightly touch logically placed blue navigation buttons. It’s an absolute pleasure. Oh, and it’s fast. My last phone was an HTC Touch. I had to overclock it to make it remotely bearable.

I’m proud to say that I’ve been an iPhone user for over six months, and I still can’t seem to find any significant faults with the device apart from perhaps slight annoyances.

Battery life

Batter life on 3G is acceptable, although certainly not great. Years ago, I got myself into the habit of charging my phone every night, so this is not really a problem for me, but if I do heavy 3G usage during the day my phone is under 50% by the time I put it in its dock for the night. With 3G disabled, the battery will last probably twice as long. Is there a phone out there that has better battery life? Probably. Does it do as much and can provide as good as an experience as the iPhone? I sincerely doubt it.

I don’t like tiny keyboards

I refuse ever to get a device with a Blackberry-like keyboard. My phone is not just an email device. There are plenty of apps that don’t require a keyboard, so why would I want one staring me in the face when the phone’s precious real estate could be used by, oh, I don’t know… a bigger screen? I love the iPhone’s on-screen keyboard. I’ve had several Windows Mobile devices over the years and I got used to tapping keys with a stylus. I was very impressed by how easy it actually is to type on the iPhone’s screen with my thumbs. It’s very intuitive; it can figure out pretty well exactly what I am typing, and I can get a pretty decent speed. It’s much faster than using a stylus.

Multi-tasking

Everyone talks about the iPhone’s lack of multi-tasking. Ok, it’s a valid point: The iPhone does not have true multi-tasking. But is that something I really need on my phone? Is my phone experience lacking because I can’t quickly switch between applications? Do I really need to do more than one thing at a time on my phone?

The answer is no. It’s a phone! I know that’s a poor excuse, but it’s a valid one. On a desktop computer, I usually have at least 10 windows open at any given moment and at least 15 or so tabs in my web browser. Do I miss multitasking on the iPhone? No, I don’t. If I want to switch between apps on my iPhone, I press the home button and choose my next app. Some apps remember where you left off, so in a way you get pseudo multi-tasking (in the application switching sense of multi-tasking). I can still have my multiple web browser tabs in Safari. Would I like multi-tasking on the iPhone? Sure. Will I buy another iPhone even if it still doesn’t have multi-tasking? Definitely.

My regrets

My only regret related to buying an iPhone is that I had to settle for a 16GB model because there weren’t any 32GB 3GS models in stock when I bought my phone. I saved $100, but would rather have had double the space.

The iPhone is simply amazing. It’s the ultimate smart phone. Once again, Apple has come up with another incredible product and I can’t imagine what features the next iPhone will have.