I’ve not really had any problems with O2 so was fine to carry on with them. Need to remember to monitor my data allowance use now that its capped/charged at 500MB/month. Preferably need to find an app for that. Difficult to predict how much I’ll use as adverts all state in terms of emails sent and websites viewed but not hours streamed on Spotify.

The charge not lasting any longer but as I’m doing more with it I suppose its holding up a bit better.

It is beautiful to look at and hold but I’m sure its going to get broken. That nice glass surface makes it much more likely to just slip and crash!

And nope. Not tried FaceTime yet.

2. The iPhone

With limited access to useful websites at work, the iPhone was crucial in being online all the time. Without it many fewer tweets would have been twittered.

1. Tweetie

Having migrated from Twitterific to Tweetie about a month ago, it’s handling of multiple accounts really came into it’s own as I needed to flip between @mawawa and @nottstwestival. It’s great for quickly checking and replying to replies and direct messages. The search feature allows you save search terms which are then displayed on the main screen which made it great for checking tweets for Nottingham Twestival. The ‘Nearby’ feature was great for finding local twitterers who may have been interested in attending Nottingham Twestival. After finding people, it’s very easy to follow them too. It can post to Twitpic and it makes it easy to retweet. With an integrated browser it’s possible to get most stuff done within Tweetie. And by adding this tweet as a Favourite, you’ve always got Google at hand in Tweetie.

Tweetie really helped me with Twestival.

Short URL: http://www.martinwright.tv/u/12

I just accidentally dropped my elbow onto the microphone casing on my iPhone 3G headphones, and the music stopped, pressed it again and the music started. I did it again and it worked again. It’s a damn pause button! Duh.

What the hell else can this thing do that I didn’t realise…

A single click on the mic is pause. A double click on the mic skips to the next song. It can also be used to accept calls, end calls and decline calls. Duh.

While playing music on the iPod take the headphones out, it’s a loudspeaker. Duh. Now throw your speaker dock away!

When typing, double tap the spacebar to get a space followed by a period. Duh!

When typing, rely on the autocorrect do the work for you. youve becomes you’ve, ive becomes ive and ygr becomes the. Duh!

In Safari, press and hold the .com button to display a popup list of .edu, .org and .co.uk. Duh!

In Safari, press and hold on an image to display a menu to save the image to the camera roll. Duh!

Take a screenshot of your Home screen by pressing the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time. The screenshot is saved to your camera roll. Duh!

You can set multiple alarms and switch them on and off as required. Duh!

Even though Safari doesn’t use Flash you can view embedded YouTube videos because it’s clever enough to open them in the YouTube app. Duh!

This list was created from: http://www.apple.com/iphone/tips/ and should also apply to the iPod Touch.

Let me know of any useful tips that I’ve missed in the comments.

For those apps where try before you buy is an issue, a free or discounted version should be made available which demos the features, with a premium version at the ‘correct’ price. This is back to the old fashioned shareware model, or the modern model of freemium which is more typically applied to products and services.

This would be an ideal working model that allows a test drive on a trial basis with very little or no outlay. It is a model which is proven and accepted.

This model is also a great way for a developer to determine whether there is an audience for a product. By releasing a basic version of an app for free or low cost, the response to the app can then be judged to inform the decisions on the direction of the product. By soliciting feedback on feature requests, improvements, enhancements and third party integrations it is possible to build for the current userbase.

This allows a developer to test the market before making a huge commitment to a project that may not offer the required return.

For both developer and user, the AppStore could prove to be a win win situation.

When the iPhone 3G was announced it was a much easier decision to make. I had to have it. Still not for the phone functionality but for having an internet connected device in my pocket.

For the first time I’m getting play with some of the iPhone 2.0 features. Things like the Maps feature but how interesting can that be? Simple things like being able to set up directions and play them back step by step on as the Google Maps site. When combined with the current location it can show you exactly how lost you are.

The genius moment is when looking at the maps while driving and a little blue spot starts flashing on screen to show your location and then begins moving as you drive. Suddenly this a feature that I have needed all my life! The first time this happened in the Scottish countryside I saw none of the beautiful scenery as I was transfixed by a little flashing blue light.

All I need to do is charge, right? Wrong. Using a USB connector hooked up the the PC is no good without iTunes installed. So surely using an iPod charger would be OK? It would be if I wasn’t using one that had been kicking around for while and wasn’t ‘compatible’ with the iPhone. Power, charger and iPhone not compatible, huh!?

When buying the iPhone I had no intention of using it just as a phone. What a waste that would be for a truly mobile pocket computer. It was the 3G network to allow easy web browsing and third party apps that appealed. I’m using Twitterific and even the Facebook app much more than that Phone app. And a healthy appetite for the consumption of podcasts ensure that a couple of hours of every charge are spent listening on the iPod.

While the power consumption continues to be unimpressive and the solution is long winded I’m already looking forward to the next generation that can pack more power for its punch.

Eventually figured out how to get the SIM card in, switched on and was running straight away.

The first day of use was great. I hadn’t downloaded any podcasts so just browsed to TWiT and streamed it over the 3G network and there were no glitches in 90 minutes.

My iPhone hasn’t once decided to reboot itself even though its been put through its paces. A couple of apps have gracefully crashed during use though.

The iPhone 3G is all about the apps and for me is what was missing from the original. I had opted for the Ipod Touch over the iPhone, but couldn’t resist the iPhone 3G.

My first two downloads were Band and Super Monkey Ball as previewed at the WWDC. Band is great little app which is superb fun. A raft of instruments with a recording loop to allow you to build up the layers into a song. Really easy to use but it doesn’t help if you are musically restricted. Super Monkey Ball is a great game from Sega which uses the accelerometer. It’s simple to pick up, super easy to play and great to look at. Did anyone know that the iPhone was going to look this good? It’s a phone!

Another great demo app for the Accelerometer technology is iPint. There are three levels of game which involve sliding a pint across the bar to your mate, tilting the iPhone to direct your pint. Once completed, the reward is a pint which empties as you drink it, a great party trick.

Morocco is an alternative name for Reversi which is an alternate name for Othello. Whatever the name, you’ll recognise the game and this is a great implementation. It allows play against the iPhone or another player. It also has a hint function which shows all the available moves and is great for playing against the iPhone or to assist someone who is learning to play for the first time.

Light is so obvious it had to be done. A bright white screen which can act as a torch – and why not. Phone Saber definitely didn’t have to be done but I’m pleased they did. Yes, it swooshes as you wave it around!

Twitterific is a neat way to view tweets from everyone you’re following. The scrolling and positioning on reopening the app seems a bit random between last viewed tweet and most recent tweet. The in-app web browser is useful as it removes the need to leave the app to view links but still provides the option to leap out into Safari. Posting tweets is made easy using the iPhone popup keyboard.

The Facebook app is really simple but only allows you to view status updates and photos, and interact using chat and mail. There are no links to the myriad of third party Facebook apps in Safari. It has a unique feature which is the ability to post a photo from your iPhone onto your Facebook account. Update: latest version also gives access to the Wall and photo albums.

Remote is a great way to show off, for me, a pointless yet briliant integration of iPhone, Mac and iTunes.

A neat free feature is the ability to place a web shortcut on the main iPhone screen e.g. shortcuts to Google Showtimes or BBC News Headlines. The real beauty being that you can watch the trailers before deciding which film to watch and then when you’re watching the film and it has “that actress who was in the thing with oojamaflip” you can hop onto IMDB and find out!

Despite what others are saying, this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.

There have been a lot of complaints about how badly the iPhone has been rolled out so I thought I should add my voice and take the opposite view by saying that my iPhone is great and has been from the start.

I had preregistered my email address with both O2 and Carphone Warehouse just to have both bases covered. On Tuesday morning at 8:02 I received an email from O2 saying that the iPhone was available for order immediately. By 8:28 I had completed the transaction and had an email confirmation. It was way too easy and a great relief that I didn’t have to queue at a shop on Saturday morning as I had planned, which in hindsight is even better because there was nothing to queue for by then.

It was delivered as promised on Friday and I was up and running with a new O2 number immediately. The longest part of the whole process was waiting on the phone for 20 minutes to port over my previous number. This was no hassle and had completed on Tuesday afternoon as expected.

After being a loyal foolish customer of Orange for nearly 10 years, I’ve now hopped to O2 via 3 in less than 18 months.

Paying for the iPhone

This is without doubt the most expensive mobile phone contract I’ve ever had. At £30/month it’s a lot less than the majority of people are paying for a non-iPhone contract. It includes only 75 minutes talk and 125 texts but importantly it has an unlimited data plan. That’s unlimited surfing, unlimited emails, unlimited YouTube viewing, unlimited Twittering, unlimited Facebook updating – how am I going to have time to talk or text anyone!

At the moment I subscribe to podcasts in iTunes for download onto the iPhone but could just as easily be streaming them over the 3G network. With the YouTube app I can watch as many videos as the battery will allow and that looks to be standing up pretty well.