iPhone, Box.net, and the end of sync

I've gotten excited by the idea of using box.net as a way of getting files onto my iPhone. With capability of having drag-and-drop file storage for the iPhone, I don't really miss the USB disk mode present in older iPods. Remote access is like having a 3000-mile long USB cable.

You are limited to the file types supported by the iPhone. Support for basic file types is there,including JPEG, PDF and Microsoft Word and Excel. I've tried some other file formats - I was particularly hoping that iCal (.ics) would open in the calendar, but no dice. Still, it got me thinking. 

It isn't a stretch to imagine adding iCal support to Calendar, or even better, supporting access to .ics feeds over the net - after all, iCal on the Mac does this already, as do several other calendar programs. Combine this capability with the iPhone's always-on access, there's no reason you couldn't just use, say Google Calendar as your master calendar and sidestep syncing altogether. You'd still need to go to Google Calendar to set up new entries in this scenario, though.

Similarly, many have noted the lack of a to-do list on the iPhone. Frankly, I don't miss having a local to-do list. For a while now, I've been keeping to-dos in Stikkit, which gives me a single view of to-dos no matter what device I'm using. There have been an number of other web-base to-do organizers leaping in to fill this need, such as Ta-Da Lists, which is now offering an iPhone optimized page, and ToodleDo, which also has an iPhone page.

While there have been some rumors of to-do syncing coming with Tiger, I don't actually see a need to wait. It's time for iPhone owners to cut the tether to their laptops and switch to a web-centric model for calendars and to-dos. 

Shoulda done my homework dept: Roughly Drafted has a good article on the iPhone, iCal, and syncing.

iPhone mini-reviews

I've had my iPhone for the long weekend, and I'm still highly impressed by both the functionality and the integration among those functions. Rather than save up my impressions for a single big review, I plan to post these on my Technodad Tumblog. An RSS feed of the articles is cross-linked in on this blog's home page.

Beauty and the beast

Well, I finally took the plunge and got an iPhone. After a seeing the coverage in the press, and a good recommendation from my buddy Graham, who knows of what he speaks regarding user experiences, I went to the Apple store and tried one out.

The preliminaries: Having heard some of the stories about activation, I called my company's phone plan administrator, and she called AT&T to see if there would be any difficulty in activating my number on the iPhone. They report that my number has no "Foundation Number" and that we should be OK.

After work, off to the Apple store in Burlington. The store was packed, but the employees were moving the customers through. There were plenty of iPhones on display, all activated so you could check them out. There seemed to be plenty in stock. After handling one for a few minutes and trying my favorite websites, there was no question...this gadget is magic. So, I bought one.

Unboxing: The packaging is the usual hyper-elegant Apple packaging. Maybe too elegant - I kinda felt like one of the apes approaching the monolith in 2001.

Good news: Got an iPhone.

Bad news: I got home and tried to activate it. No luck - iTunes reports "AT&T has determined your current number cannot be used".

The descent into the first circle: Into AT&T hell on activation – despite having our company admin check this in advance, the AT&T activation trolls won’t let me activate on my current number. I’m going to have to try and activate on my home account (which is AT&T) as long as I can transfer to my current number.

The second circle: My interactions with AT&T just get crazier: I got permission from my company to transfer my business number to a personal account. I called AT&T and they tell me that I can't transfer my number to my personal account, unless I transferred to a business billing. Huh? I thought the point was to move to a personal account - which is exactly what the AT&T policy on iPhone activation says to do.

The third circle: I called the support line for my existing personal account. While they said they couldn't help me directly, they said they could help transfer my work number to the personal account. Many transfers to various different AT&T departments later, I got an extremely polite person who could crack the code: she consolidated all my phone numbers onto a new account number, preserving all the features of my current personal account. (I also have to note that Bertha, the AT&T rep who helped me with this, was polite and constructive throughout.)

The escape: Well, Bertha's magic worked. After getting off the phone, I waited a few minutes and plugged my iPhone in. iTunes springs to life, and with trembling fingers, I enter in my phone number. Success! After a bit of entering account info, iTunes offers to add the data plan to my account. I'm bask in the well-lit world of Apple service.

I'm off and syncing; I'll update on the actual experience with the phone once I recover from the AT&T experience.

The bottom line: AT&T's policy on iPhones makes no business sense. Their admin staff is clearly going through hoops dealing with activation issues, which must cost them plenty in labor costs, let alone the reputation damage. In addition, I’m trying to spend more money with them for the data plan, which I’ll gladly pay. I have my account administrator’s support in adding the phone to the corporate account. If AT&T just changed their policy, or empowered their employees to make the decision, they’d have another $240/year in their pocket, they'd lower their admin costs, and have a happy customer to boot!

There's another lesson here: There is someone at every company who is on the clue train, and will actually help the customer solve their problems, rather than just read the three-ring notebook of policy. Those people are gold, and need to be recognized. Thanks, Bertha!

Oh, arise, ye prisoners of starvation...

Oh, arise, ye prisoners of starvation...
Originally uploaded by technodad.

The big news this week in Kennebunk is that George W. Bush is staying at the family compound on Walker's Point in Kennebunkport. The town is decked out in both American and Russian flags, including the local fried food joint, the Clam Shack. Reports are that the Clam Shack is supplying 25 pounds of lobster for the dinner with Putin.