Aug 20, 2008 By Shawn King 5 min read

I would like to start this article off with a little bit of a background story for you see there happens to be people in this world who are often referred to as “fan boy.” Now, I often encounter this so called “Fan Boy” all to often. Fan Boy – An individual who only buys a product based on the product’s name and logo.

I would encourage people to do something bold. Purchase a device based on the quality of it. Just that quality. Not the name.

But that is not why we are here. We are here to talk about my new found bundle of joy.

And no mom… I am not going to be a father. Please refrain from jumping out the nearest window.

I am talking about the Apple iPhone.

Now I know plenty of people who hear the word iPhone or i anything and immediately bash the said product to the ground. When the iPod came out I liked the idea a whole lot. I did not like the initial price but, I was also in college. Now in this new age of constant employment, I have a bit more opportunity to purchase things and understand that the monetary value of a product is sometimes worth it. In this case the iPhone delivers to great lengths. I am only going to entertain you with a few basic reasons why this phone is so completely wonderful today. So I deem this article, “The iPhone: Article I.”

So you have a cell phone? Super, congrats. I had one once too. It was nice, I called people often and sent text messages. It was a joyous time, or so I thought. Now I am sure that you too have loads of fun. You can call people, and email people, and text people and… um.. you can call people! You might even have a Blackberry. Cool. You can also access the Internet and surf it! Now take a moment and open your mind up to this. A phone that allows you do the basics. Check your email, text message, and yes, despite some rumors you may have heard this phone will also allow you to make phone calls. Now here is the cool part. It also has an iPod built in, and Google maps, and GPS abilities. Also, there is a little button on this device. A button that is called the App Store. This little button can bring you a small slice of Christmas whenever you see fit. You can access the App Store and download various applications that will allow you to play games, make a daily planner, track your budget, track your friends, find events, find locations around you, find local movies, buy tickets to those movies and that is just for starters. Imagine a device that does everything a phone does and then some… lets say roughly 500 times more (The estimated number of current available applications in the App Store).

Now onto the other things that come with the phone. Along with the phone acting as a phone, it also comes with iTunes. So now when I decide to go on a bike ride or to shoot basketball I do not have to lug a phone, and an MP3 player along for the ride. I simply just bring my phone and open up good old iTunes. To be general here the phone is basically a hand held media everything. You can download television shows, movies and music to your phone and listen to music or watch movies. Which I must say, the screen on this thing is pretty amazing. I find myself often watching a quick episode of my favorite TV show before I go to sleep nearly every night.

Along with the media fun also comes some amazing things for the business world. Oh.. so you thought that business Shawn and casual Shawn could not possibly use the same phone? Ahh so wrong you are. The iPhone also has the ability to sync your Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, MSN, and just about any other email format that you have into one inbox where you can select the account you want to check. With one push of your finger you have nearly instant email updates. Also the iPhone has the ability to sync up all of your calendar events and business meetings into your iPhone calendar. A nice little daily planner.

So as you can see even the basics of this phone can leave you relatively happy inside. Now mind you I am no fan boy. Please refer to the beginning of the article where I said, “I can not stand fan boys.” This device is just really superb in the things it can provide you with one touch.

I will even give you a few downfalls that could find you pulling your hair out if you do not completely know how to manage your iPhone. In some cases the battery life can be an issue. I find that normally my phone keeps a charge for anywhere from 2 to 3 days. That is pretty amazing considering I use it as an MP3 player, an email source, an open Internet connection, and yes… a phone. However if you find yourself onstantly pushing the limits of what this phone can do… the battery might only live for one day. But you do have to have a lot going on to experience that.

So hopefully I have helped some people out there who may have: 1. Never heard about this, 2. Did not know what it did, or 3. Were on the ropes about buying one, which, if you were, the wait it roughly two weeks. So stay tuned for, “The iPhone: Article II – The App Store.” Coming soon.