Am I an iPhoney? Part II

Back in June I wrote about my recent acquisition of an iPhone (see post here). I had been uncertain of the impact the adoption of a smart phone would have on my communication and phone usage. Six weeks later I feel it's time to reevaluate the phone situation. I've found it to be quite helpful when I need to access information from emails such as directions. I've used the GPS a couple of times, although I recently received a Nuvi as a gift so I doubt I will need to rely on it too often for that purpose, especially since my Nuvi doesn't deplete my data plan.

I use it to check the weather on a daily basis, and use the world clock function to know what time it is where my expatriated friends are. I've downloaded a song to use as a ring tone, the Fandango application to check movie times, Pandora to listen to music anytime and anywhere, and Tetris. The main thing I love about it is the camera. It's great when I just want to quickly capture something funny, or take a photo of something I want to think about buying, or when I forgot my camera battery at a friend's wedding. It's convenient, but at the end of the day a camera would have performed the same function.

The bottom line is that the functional impact the iPhone has had on my life is negligible. Sure, some things I used to do on a computer I now do on my phone, but isn't that just a different format for the same habits? I might spend less time on my laptop, but instead I'm just staring at a different, smaller screen. The iPhone is fun, occasionally very helpful but as I described it to a group of friends the other day: it's basically a phone with a Gameboy attached. I've probably played far more Tetris on it while waiting for a bus, a friend, takeout, etc. than anything else. Let's face it, I should probably be toting a library book around with me instead. It would be much better for my brain and my eyesight. Of course it's probably too late for that, I've probably become assimilated. Besides, you know what they say, once you go Mac, you never go back.