The first time I ever saw an iPhone commercial was in 2009, and it annoyed me.
I was sitting in a room full of people, all with iPhones. They thought they were better than me.
An advert for the latest model came on and finished with a voice over strapline that said, “If you don’t have an iPhone… you don’t have an iPhone!”
Now, this really rubbed me up the wrong way. I resented the implications.
- On the one hand, that is a genius way to build upon Apple’s elitist, VIP, peer pressure, if-you-can’t-beat-us-join-us mentality. It’s Apple’s “thing”.
- On the other hand, it represents everything I hate about advertising.
Following the crowd and surrendering to this safety-in-numbers consumerism is responsible for the widespread empty-headed spiritual malnourishment in society.
Big brands bug me when they play mind games like this. I hate it when people believe they have to keep up with the Joneses by purchasing things they don’t need.
Are we nothing more than sheep being herded from one fad to another?
So I Bought an iPhone
It was 5 years after the seeing the ad before I bought the iPhone.
My opinion? (This may surprise you)
It is amazing.
Truly, it does everything I need it to do as a BUSINESS tool… not as my contribution to this year’s dick measuring contest. (Which is every time new tech is released, right?)
No Need for the Latest Model
You don’t even need the latest fancy model. Why people get so excited over the most current version is something I don’t understand.
Whatever version you have, you’ll always get the latest operating system free as long as you have a WIFI internet connection.
When you use what you have creatively, there’s no need to spend stupid money on something most people drop on the ground within 20 minutes of getting it.
Honestly, the 4S is what I recommend.
Why?
Well, it’s 5 years old now, so it is inexpensive at around £50.
It’s also the second edition of the iPhone 4, released 2010, meaning any bugs were ironed out.
Save the receipt too, because as a business tool, it is tax deductible.
Fair Price
I looked on eBay and found a shop selling refurbished iPhone 4s handsets in large quantities.
They were £150 and is the most I’ve paid for a phone. There was slight/superficial damage like minor scuffs.
They’re in the £500 range brand new, but I’m not trying to impress anyone so why worry about a few scratches?
The £150 I paid is a very fair price in my opinion. (Watch out for fakes though, especially counterfeit accessories on eBay).
3 Crap Phones I Never Want To See Again
I put up with some shitty phones in the early days of my web design freelancing.
3 unreliable phones
- From 2009 – 2011, I had a LG KU990 but it was fiddly, the touch screen would not calibrate and using it made me feel like I had arthritis.
- Because money was tight, a Samsung GT-E1080i was purchased online for £6. It was brand new… just… rubbish. It was a dated model with poor reception.
- For one year I tolerated the
BlackberryCrapberry Curve 8900 but the terrible battery life and general unreliability made me breathe fire. A hands-free earphone kit improved the experience a little but the handset constantly crashed. A waste of money.
Perfect for a Small Biz
My cousin Ben recommended the iPhone… and believe me, I was ready for it!
After the “frog kissing exercise” with other phones, I didn’t want to get my hopes up TOO much about it in case it provided more disappointment.
Before buying the iPhone, I’d acquired a second hand iPad for around £150 which gave me some experience with Apple. The iPhone is really a smaller version of it.
After years of trial and error with terrible phones, it was obvious the iPhone offered function and design ideal for a small business.
The operating system is nice, and the apps have been brilliant. You just have to watch out for battery life by not going crazy with the app installs.
I don’t use too many apps, but the ones I’ve installed are terrific.
Compared to the LG, Alcatel and Shitberry, the iPhone just works. 🙂
- Touch/swipe screen is a truly beautiful thing.
- There’s nothing fiddly about the voice activated SMS. The dictionary is very good.
- The signal bars/reception has never been problematic. I’m able to talk normally to prospects/clients.
- The hands free kit from the Blackberry works for the iPhone. I use it to listen to music/podcasts too.
The Camera is Excellent
For starters, the camera is superior to any other camera phone I’ve seen before.
Sure, there’s probably better camera today (in fact, I KNOW there are) but for what I paid for this, I’m very happy indeed.
The quality is great, plus there’s the video capabilities.
The way it syncs with DropBox over WI-FI has been an absolute delight for me, because it means not messing about with iTunes and a USB cable.
Voice Memos
Another cool feature of the iPhone is the voice memo app!
Sometimes, when a good idea strikes, I’ll record it and replay it later. I’ve even turned these clips into short podcasts for Soundcloud.
To improve sound quality, I purchased a mic called the iRig Mic Cast and made a short video explaining how much I like it.
Do you Listen to Podcasts?
One of the newer updates to iOS8 is the permanent addition of podcast app.
Before, you needed to manually install it, but now, it’s a fixture. 🙂
This says a lot about the popularity of podcasting.
As an avid listener of podcasts/audiobooks, it’s great to be able to dip into iTunes so easily and listen.
It will encourage the general consumer audience to listen to audio podcasts more, and as someone who podcasts for my business, that’s one good move from Apple right there.
Hacking the iPhone SIM Card
Apple really do try and “ring-fence” their products.
By this, I mean that they do not adhere to universal standards for things like chargers or SIM cards. They have their own party going on and not everyone is invited. A closed system.
Fine.
But I DID find a way to modify my old SIM card to make it fit inside the iPhone.
Although you can order a brand new SIM at the correct Nano size, I’d have to transfer my old number to the new SIM using the PAC code.
I just couldn’t be bothered to do that.
There HAD to be a way to get the existing SIM in the new phone. There was – my cousin Ben told me how to do it!
I grabbed some SIM cutting guide instructions from a PDF online and made the adjustments as shown below.
(My provider GiffGaff do actually supply the smaller Nano SIM cards if you’re registering for a new SIM and therefore a new number.)
I used this guide to put my old SIM in the iPhone 4S. I was laughing and rubbing my hands together.
Analysis
Well, as someone who was every bit the philistine with Apple in 2009, it’s amazing that I’ve come to love it so much.
There’s so many features and benefits about my iPhone that I’d be writing about it for weeks if I tried to mention everything.
Apple may be proprietary (unlike open source Android) but this is something I accept and am glad to use.
Great tools are worth paying good money for if they solve problems and help you work better as a business.
I never thought I’d ever say this:
“If you don’t have an iPhone… you don’t have an iPhone.”
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