I’ve been thinking about it for a while. It’s been weighing heavily on me. I was one of those people lucky enough to have been at the original Macworld show in London when Apple unveiled the original 5gb iPod, and I was instantly hooked. There was something about the way it looked, the way it sounded, and how easy it was to use. I just couldn’t resist buying an iPhone. I’m just surprised it was so low-ley event.

But anyway, the iPhone. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Nothing really. Everyone’s talked about how easy to use they are. How intuitive the interface is. What a joy it is to use, and it’s problems. Well, I hate to sound boring, but I’ve come to the same conclusion.

It does have some problems. Like I can no longer type a text message while I walk – nothing major, just takes me 30 seconds of standing still. There’s the fact that the headphone socket is recessed so you can only use Apple headphones – got an adaptor for that. The polished good looks that you’re worried will get scratched – got a case. The GPRS was slow, did a bit of reading and found that Vodafone have 2 networks – one’s fast! And I did manage to get it to crash once – hold down 2 buttons and it restarts just fine. But that’s it really. Nothing else really lets it down.

So, the good stuff… Well, the most obvious thing is the interface. There’s just not enough you can say about it. Everything just flows. The way if you flick your finger list keep going, but if you slide it, the list stays with your finger. Each touch somehow does what you expect. A flick side-to-side takes you through the applications. Browse a web page, use two fingers, spread them and the page zooms in. Feels like that seen in Minority Report.

Then you start using the applications – all through touch. They all have that brilliant Apple simplicity. Your SMS’ keep track of each other – well near enough – like a conversation in iChat. The keyboard is very good, and even with my fat fingers, it manages to correct most mistyped words, but does miss some. Just slide your finger back over the text and a magnifying glass appears showing you which point in the text you’re over. Easy.

Emails, calls, you name it, all easy. OK, so I did like the feature on my Nokia where I could start typing a name and it would move to that point in the list, but I’m getting better at the flick and the jump to feature. Call reception is excellent, and I can now make calls anywhere in the flat now.

Wifi works well – although I did have to reconfigure my Wireless network to get it to work at home. Now it’s setup, it works perfectly at home. And now I have a network sniffer on it, I can pretty much get fast access anywhere. But now, after a little reading, I now have faster GPRS too – fast enough for Google maps. On that note, it shouldn’t but does work most of the time, and can tell you where you are – although sometimes only to within 100m, but better than nothing!

Oh, and it has the iPod functionality. That works as well as iPods always have. Only this time I get full screen video. Videos off the web play perfectly – not looked into playing other formats yet. And as everyone knows, when you turn the iPhone on it’s side, you get the video full screen – same with the web browser.

iTunes integration is as ever seamless, and my contacts are now much better organised through the use of Apple’s Contact application groups – not tried Exchange synchronisation. My calender is back on there courtesy of iCal – something that didn’t worked so well with my Nokia 6500 Classic. Podcasts, music, et al go on very easily.

With the iPhone Apple’s not really made anything new, all they’ve done is take some good things and made them great! And I love it! I just wish I’d got one sooner – and no, I’m not bothered by the 3G iPhone rumours as my Tariff won’t expire for a while yet, and I still think it’ll be 6 months till the new ones are out.

What I am really looking forward to is the iPhone version 2 software that makes your phone into a bit more of a mobile office through support for Cisco VPN and Microsoft Exchange. Having those on your iPhone will be interesting. Lets see what happens. I think Apple’s only just begun waking up the mobile industry from it’s sleep!

Play is a performance of computer game music by a live Orchestra. Hearing some of our childhood favourites and some truly epic music from modern games such as Halo and Final Fantasy, performed by a live Orchestra and backed by Choir’s and Grand Organs is something everybody has to hear.

One year living downunder, and Sydney still has me captivated by it way of life, style and strange alure.

It’s always been a dream of mine to see U2 live in concert. And, when they announced they were playing an extra night at Sydney’s Telstra Stadium, I managed to get hold of some tickets. My dream was coming true.

So, accompanied by my friend Heather, we went and saw the most amazing show I’ve ever seen! Kanye West was the supporting act – I will confess, Heather had to tell me who he was… But when he started singing, I instantly recognized the songs. I did think that he was a slightly odd artist to start the performance, but he a big supporter of the make poverty history movement.

And then U2 came on… Wow! They lived up to all my expectations! And the light show was simply phenomenal. Well, if you can call it a light show. It was more like a giant TV screen, dancing to the music, showing the band members and other imagery.

But the highlight was the music. The new stuff was great, but when the all time classics such as “Where the streets have no name” and “With or without you came on”, you just felt a tingle run through your body! It was a night neither of use will forget in a hurry!

If you ever get the chance to see U2 live, do not turn it down!

Links
Make Poverty History
Official U2 Website

A weekend away from Sydney with my friend Klass to the southern city of Melbourne was a great escape, and the furthest South I’ve yet been in Australia.

The 2nd installment of my adventures down under in Sydney. Featuring my mum, some friends, the tower, Opera House and Bridge Climb.

Live and what a fantastic night! Complete with wrestling friends.