System 13 » iphone

Otterbox Defender

Josh — Sat, 08 May 2010 16:24:13 +0000

I love my iPhone, but I’ve been worried to carry it anywhere, lest it fall from my pocket or hand and crash to the ground. While it looks and feels rather futuristic, the iPhone sans case is simply too slippery for me. Whether I set it on a table or am holding it with one hand, it always seemed like it was moments away from sliding away like an icecube.

That particularly problem was solved today. I finally received my Otterbox Defender case, which turned my iPhone more into a rubberized brick than a futuristic Star Trek-like gadget. Actually, it’s still pretty Star Trek-like, just not as shiny and slippery, which is fine with me. It’s much bulkier now, but I would rather have bulky and protected than slim and fragile.

The only problem I have now is the oil slick issue that happens with the Defender. Air bubbles appear between the screen and screen protection part of the case, and it looks like you’re pushing around little puddles of oil. I tried the baby powder fix, which did work, but I couldn’t get it to work without seeing little flecks of baby powder on my screen. I may give it another try later, or just spring for a cheap anti-glare screen protector, which is supposed to fix it as well.

There was a wonderful xkcd comic to go along with this, but I can’t find it right now. Damn. It was the one showing an iPhone user flying away after using an app to save someone’s life; anyone have a link?

iPhoned

Josh — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:04:39 +0000

About a week ago, I bought an iPhone. I scoffed and shook my head for a very long time, saying I didn’t need a smartphone, but ultimately caved to seeing everyone else and their dogs having one. So far, I’m not at all regretting the purchase. I already had an iPod Touch, but the always on connection through 3G / Edge makes a vast difference. Of course, the difference leads to me checking Facebook and email more often, but at least I’m not drawn to browsing for hours on end with my phone.

You see, I suffer greatly from browsitis, which is when you sit down at the computer to do one thing, and then look up three hours later, wondering where the time went while you were reading about Russian skyscrapers or looking at funny pictures of cats. I look things up on my phone, but I don’t really browse for long periods of time.

Related to buying the iPhone, something popped into my mind the other day. It’s highly irreverent, but a friend of mine said I should share it: I wonder if, whenever Steve Jobs dies, his tombstone will simply read “iDead”? Sorry, I know, that’s pretty awful.

iPhone – no, wait. iDon’tiPhone.

Josh — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 02:42:24 +0000

I read a lot of different blogs – some topic-specific, some personal. If one were to browse through my feed reader items from the past couple of days, however, one might assume that I’m a really big Apple fan. Perhaps even a little obsessive. Why? Because it seems like every other frakking item in Google Reader is about Apple’s new iPhone.

I admit – the iPhone looks pretty spiffy. I won’t be owning one (remember: poor college student), but they still look neat, and I’m sure the iPhone does all sorts of awesome things: it let’s you use it as a phone (imagine that!), map things, send and receive email, read news, construct skyscrapers out of thin air, and don’t forget – if you ask it nicely, it’ll do the dishes, too.

But it’s a phone. When you get down to it, it’s a bloody phone. A lot of the stuff I’ve seen zipping through my feed reader makes it sound like it’s going to cure cancer, or perhaps bring back the dinosaurs.

But it won’t be doing anything even remotely as important.

It’s a phone. Relax, people. Breathe. Say it with me: phone.