Well, I finally gave in and joined the cult of iPhone. At the beginning of this month, I decided to splurge and get an iPhone through Fido, Rogers discount brand. Why? I suppose it had something to do with the extension of the 6GB/$30 “promotion” or the fact that I was able to find a 3GS for sale locally, but mostly it had to do with the fact that I needed a new toy. (Note that the iPhone is hardly a novelty item, with >21 million of them out there)

Keep in mind that I didn’t have a mobile phone until late 2007, and even then I decided to only go with a prepaid provider (Virgin Mobile) because I didn’t have much of a need for a phone, but really just wanted Internet access. However, this past summer my phone got more use than usual, especially with regard to Internet access. With Internet browsing being anemic on most non-smartphones, I decided it was time to upgrade.

I narrowed my choices down to two: Either the Palm Pre or the iPhone 3GS. However, I wasn’t very pleased with what plans Bell had to offer and wasn’t sure if the Pre developer ecosystem (and thus the applications available) would turn out to be as varied as the iPhone. So, I decided to join the cult.

Another reason that led me down this path was the fact that I already had an iPod Touch from earlier in the year, and so I was already used to the iPhone interface. (I’ve since sold the Touch) And yes, I do realize in that very article I berated the monthly cost of the iPhone only to now end up doing a complete 180 on the situation. It’s not that I’m happy with what I’m paying, but rather that I’m willing to suck it up. Such is the power of the cult, and perhaps one of the reasons for the iPod Touch’s existence – to suck users into getting an iPhone. After all, Steve Jobs did describe it as “training wheels for the iPhone”, but perhaps “gateway drug to the iPhone” would be more accurate.

Fido actually had some okay plans; okay for Canada that is. In the end, I’m paying just about $80 CAD a month. (including taxes) It’s about $50 more than I was paying for my old phone, which is quite a bit, but the iPhone has been invaluable in the intervening period after moving where I didn’t have Internet access at home. We’ll see if it doesn’t lose its appeal in the coming months.

In the meantime, however, it’s been a blast. There are literally too many apps out there to try, so I’ve only had a chance to play with the more popular ones. Some of my favourites include the AllRecipies dinner spinner, Wikipanion, Restaurantica (which I’m surprised isn’t promoted more on their website), and of course, Shazam, the accuracy of which continues to amaze me!

But the most useful features for me have been the always-available easy-to-use Internet access and the access to Google Maps overlaid with GPS. It’s been invaluable, especially after moving to a new city. Without it, I’d literally have been lost more than once.

Despite all the positive features, there are still some sore points. Firstly, battery life on the 3GS is atrocious, as reports have indicated. On a full charge, I can barely last two days with moderate data usage, some music playback and hardly any YouTube/video usage. Be prepared for the daily recharge should you get this phone.

Additionally, being an Apple product the iPhone looks very attractive but is a dirt/dust/fingerprint magnet. Even with the new oleophobic coating (fancy word for anti-fingerprint) you’ll still probably want to get a screen protector and case for this device. I’ve opted for the Speck PixelSkin, which I believe is one of the better cases out there, as it’s tough, rigid and adds a nice grip to the iPhone.

Lastly, there are no good default ringtones supplied with the iPhone! I don’t need some fancy pop-music ringtone, I just want something that sounds normal. Thankfully, a coworker directed me to the perfect iPhone ringtone, and I’ve since been happy with it.

I’ll leave you with some comparison pictures of the iPhone 3GS and the iPod Touch 2nd generation.

I finally bit the bullet and got an iPod Touch 16 GB, after months of telling myself I shouldn’t. And yes, I’m thoroughly enjoying my new toy. So why did I get an iPod Touch when I could have just got an iPhone for the same upfront cost? A few reasons:

• I don’t use my cellphone a lot. In fact, I’m on a pay-as-you-go plan with Virgin Mobile since my cellphone is basically for emergency situations. I still don’t like cellphones all that much.
• I don’t want to pay the exorbitant monthly fees that carriers in Canada charge to use the iPhone. Basically, the minimum monthly cost is $60, but this does not include the “System Access Fee” or essentials such as Caller ID, and adding those brings the total to over $80/month without taxes

I don’t want to turn this into a huge iPhone vs. iPod Touch debate, so let’s just say I don’t have the cash for an iPhone subscription at present. Anyway, here’s a few pictures from the unboxing. Enjoy!

First was an Xbox 360 wired controller, to be used with my PC. (I don’t have a 360) I’ve always liked the feel of the smaller Xbox controllers, and the 360′s is even better to me. It’s working great with games like the Lego Star Wars series. Sure, it was more pricey than competing PC gamepads, but my experience with other PC gamepads has been somewhat lacking – they’ve always had some shortcomings, whether it was a fidgety D-pad or weird button layouts. I decided to go with something I knew would be good. Plus, it has the added bonus of being compatible with friends’ 360′s, should the need arise.

I also went down to the local MEC store to get a heart-rate monitor watch. I do a lot of running so I think it’ll get put to good use. Also, it’s neat to see how much you can make your heart rate rises when you get up from your chair. I decided to go with a Timex Ironman model, and so far it’s working pretty well. We’ll have to see if it pasts the durability test though – if something can’t last five years, it’s not worth it to me. (Though, by that measure, university would be worthless!)

MEC is a great store as well. Not only do they have a wide selection of stuff useful for almost any outdoor activity (though admittedly I’m really only interested in the running stuff), but their prices can’t be beat. Though it costs $5 to become a “member” (which allows you to buy stuff from them), that cost is negligible and you’ll easily save many times than on your first purchases. Also, many of their products are designed and made by MEC themselves, and provide a higher level of quality – all at prices that are lower than competing brands from what I’ve noticed. The downside? They only have stores in major Canadian cities, but you can always shop online from them – though it’s generally not ideal to buy stuff like clothes or backpacks without trying them out.

I also got a few nice gifts from MEC, mostly running wear, that should make me look less like a bum when I’m out for a cold-weather run.

I finally caved and bought a Nintendo DS Lite a few weeks ago after seeing a few of my friends play with their’s. All I can say is that I’m totally impressed with it. Arstechnica’s review gets it right – the DS Lite is almost perfect, and is much better than the original DS, (which I do not own), it seems.

The DS Lite is not only a lightweight and portable gaming platform, it’s almost a revolution of sorts. The the touchscreen input and microphone allow for games to be much more intuitive and easy to learn, which is good for attracting the non-hardcore gamer crowd. (Most of the population). And, the price is right, being just around $150 CDN before taxes. This has allowed for a whole new breed of games to become popular, in addition to the console classics such as Mario Bros. and Mario Kart.

However, other games typically made for the PC (such as Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory) don’t port well to the NDS Lite – do not expect it to replace the PC as a gaming platform, but rather to complement it. The types of games that play well on the PC don’t do well on the NDS Lite, and vice-versa.

Other features worth mentioning are the auto-suspend, which automatically pauses a game and turns off the screen when you shut the DS Lite, and allows you to pick up where you left off when you reopen the unit. No need to go through a complicated series of steps to pause/susped the game – just shut the NDS Lite, and you’re able to reopen and continue just like you would when reading a book. The games also tend to be fun, quick to get into, and addicting – the perfect time-waster.

The DS Lite also scores points for having bright and vibrant displays, and having an excellent battery life. I’d say the quoted value of 15-19 hours is about right, though your mileage may vary. There are four brightness settings, which will obviously influence battery life. Of the four, I only use the second-lowest; the others either don’t change too much or are too dim.

It’s a good thing midterms are over, since I also recently got Guild Wars Nightfall, making things doubly-bad! Unfortunately, final exams are coming up soon…