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The thing that people invariably ask is, “How is it?”

I don’t know really how to answer this question. I usually “It’s amazing” and “It’s going to change the game.”

There’s so much more in my head about this incredible device. Rather than talking about every feature, here are the key points I’m thinking of. And by the way, I am not going to assume that every design decision has some world-domination or other nefarious reason behind it. Only Steve knows the answer to those things. I’m just an influential end-user.

The keyboard thing

I understand the idea of moving to a more standard input method. However, if you think about the fact that typing an SMS went from searching among 9 keys, to 26+, I’m not sure about this innovation. I want it, I love it (it works great in terms of getting the words right), but I just can’t SMS with one hand (yet?). The best SMS phone I ever had was a Nokia 3390. Black and white, small raised oval keys. I could bang out messages right and left.

Can we get an “option” for a T9 pad?

The MMS thing

So the phone only sends text messages, no picture messages. And just as I was getting the hang of using MMS now that (a) there is a critical mass of phones that do MMS and (b) the plans to do them have become affordable. And the iPhone takes it away. Yes, you can e-mail photos, but you cannot MMS them to another phone. And that’s a difference. I’ve read about the phone e-mail address workaround. Not the same.

Bring MMS back.

There’s a little side bar here about where this will all go - will SMS go away and be replaced by e-mail as the mobile communication tool? I am happy to watch and see what happens here. The key thing about SMS is that it is short - it has to be. It does pop to to the top of the queue. It has limited retention in phone memories. All of these best simulate a real conversation. E-mail, not so much, and in fact, E-mail distorts conversations like crazy.

So, I’ve talked myself out of it. Let’s stick with the SMS/MMS paradigm. And here’s my idea for dealing with it in the meantime - getting a special e-mail account that you only use on your iPhone, at one domain, and get all your iPhone friends to use that same domain - then you can pump out the multi-MMS and multi-SMS like it’s nobody’s business. Who wants to try this with me?

The Camera

This is got to be on the list for an update. You can’t change any of the exposure settings, and when you e-mail a picture, you can’t select which account it’s going to come from at the time of e-mailing. I think this is all because of the MMS problem. Yes, I can still moblog, so all is well.

The Web Browser

It’s nothing short of incredible to have a robust browser at your disposal. So many avenues are opened up. Safari is just great, and it’s great on a mobile platform. I want what everyone else wants - Autofill and maybe even keychain access. It’s a little bit on the crashy side, but I’m really not complaining.

The RSS thing is interesting - there is a bit of an RSS reader within safari. that’s fast and functional. Newsgator also has a mobile edition that you can get to from settings. There’s also this more custom iPhone RSS reader. I think this is a really promising area for the iPhone - RSS reading.

The iPod

Great. For the longest time (several days!) I couldn’t figure out how to silence it if I needed to do something else quickly. I kept unlocking the phone, going to the iPod and pausing. Now I find out it’s a simple click of the microphone button on the headphone cord. Apple, Inc., you did it again!

The Wi-Fi network thing

This is genius. You know all of those places you go, like the gas station, or the port a potty at the State Fair that say, “Wi Fi enabled” and you say to yourself, “Yes, let me go get my laptop and sit here and log on.” Well for the iPhone, it totally makes sense. It’s really cool to watch it jump on an open WiFi network (and, um, for better or for worse, I have now mapped out my entire neighborhood’s security issues). A lot of our city buses are now Wi-Fi enabled. I’ll never pull out a laptop, but I will pull out an iPhone! (and actually, the new MacBookPro is so cool, the one with the LED display, that pulling out the laptop isn’t out of the question anymore…)

That’s all for now. It’s a great great device, made by really talented people. I enjoy it every day.

Gravel Blasts HRC / Queerty

I noticed this discussion, and I have to say, my thoughts are not with HRC on this one. Whether or not the candidate is electable, he is willing to take a strong step to declare the importance of equality for all. It is as if he is going to sacrifice his career at some level to do this.

How many other people are willing to do that?

The impact on HRC appears to be on the negative side this time. Let’s hope that they work to build understanding about the different contributions people will make to help everyone achieve their life goals.

Except the people aren’t as sprightly, and it doesn’t cost hundreds of dollars a day.
Broadway Avenue.

Sent from my iPhone

I’m out of here. 24th Avenue Seattle

Sent from my iPhone

This is the latest book from the author that brought us “Five Dysfunctions of a Team.” If you’re familiar with Patrick’s style, it’s to discuss the topic as a story, featuring fictional characters in a business environment. I think it’s effective because (1) everyone likes to read a story and (2) As you read you say, “Oh, that’s just like Millie in Accounting!” Only until later on do you realize, “Oh, that’s just like me, too.” Gulp.

This fable finds us in the life of a young consultant trying to find his way, with a strong start, and then a struggle. He learns that he can really do good if he can solve the “silo” problem that almost every business faces. We all know this one - the “I’ll ask my people to work with your people” situation. And it’s big. Harvard Business Review recently published an article on this very topic. In the HBR article as well as in the fable, it really comes down to customer focus.

Everyone sort of knows this intuitively, but at times they are not practicing it. The book takes us through the attempts of our young consultant to draw parallels between situations where customer focus is paramount and changes the way that people behave for the better. I admit I was taken along quite nicely by the book, doubting any hope in the beginning (as it was designed), and then grooving with the work as it progressed and improved.

The challenge of this topic is that a discussion of busting silos in any format is only going to scratch the surface. How are you going to support others in having a customer focus? Not every consultant is invited into the Boardroom by the CEO to spell it out. It’s more of a very very delicate dance, that can take a long time (maybe too long a time) to execute.

All of that said, because the time commitment was so low to this book, as it is really written in a very easy to read format, it’s a worthwhile read. It’s not going to, in my opinion, explain the how to make this happen, but it’s going to lay out what the problem is and that there’s a way out.

The added benefit of the way it’s written is its recommendability - much better than recommending the Katherine Graham Autobiog (not that there’s anything wrong with that piece of work). Maybe worth a check out from your local public library.