ryptide.com

Today is my last day of vacation. I go back to work tomorrow. Gaian Mind Festival was incredible, as always, and I planned my sleep strategically so I could stay awake to dance along with the sunrise on Sunday morning. The land there is just gorgeous. When there are some pictures available, I’ll put a link up here.

After Gaian Mind Festival, it was off to Bethany Beach to spend a week with Elizabeth and her family. Monday morning was rough, as I was sleeping in a common area and kids are rather noisy in the morning. I got used to it later though, and had a wonderful time. The beach was great, her family was awesome and I managed to avoid getting too sunburned.

On the way home from the beach, we stopped in Newark, DE to pick up an iPhone. A mini review after a few hours of use:

Pros:

• The screen is incredible for a mobile device. Crystal clear, even at an angle, and even in direct sunlight.
• The user interface is awesome. The keyboard takes a little getting used to, but everything else is awesome.
• The switch to landscape mode by tilting the phone over is very simple and clever. This is the way everything that has a vertical and a landscape mode should work.
• The iPod application is gorgeous. I have not previously owned an iPod, but I have played with them and I agree with Apple when they say this is the best one ever created. I expect by the holidays they will put out an iPod version of this (without the phone features) which will sell like hotcakes.
• The transition from EDGE to any available WiFi network is very smooth and makes things quite easy.
• Great form factor. It has a nice weight in the hand, and the shape is just right.
• The screen is VERY resilient. Smudges from my fingers wipe right off. No scratches so far, which is impressive since the screen is so large

Cons:

• No way to highlight text or copy/paste. This makes getting used to new keyboard more annoying. Hopefully this something a software update can fix
• No landscape mode for typing SMS messages or emails.
• No *real* third-party applications, just web applications.

All things considered, I think my current rating is a 9 out of 10. With the right software updates and an SDK, I’d be 100% happy.