iPhone 4 proves to be a good travel buddy
by Volker Weber
This feels a bit like cheating on RIM, while I am attending the BlackBerry Devcon in San Francisco. But I have to say that the iPhone 4 proves to be the perfect travel companion.
First, you get free Wi-Fi through AT&T in each and every Starbucks, and also in front of the Starbucks. Which translates in San Francisco to virtually everywhere. AT&T recognizes an iPhone by its browser ID, so should be easy to cheat.
Second, FaceTime. Words fail me to describe how well connected I am with FaceTime. I will not go back to regular phone calls. Period.
Third, the camera. I did not need to bring my G11. Yes, I could take some amazing shots with it, but for memories, the iPhone 4 is more than good enough. Even when I have the G11 in my bag, I hardly ever bother taking it out. Exception: real work. I can't shoot somebody on stage in a dark room with an iPhone.
Fourth, the screen. It's that much better than the other ones.
Two more pieces of Apple kit I am carrying and using: iPad for doing my work, and an AirPort Express which turns an Ethernet connection into a hotspot for the iPad and the iPhone.
It's not all perfect since iPad and iPhone don't tether, and you can't read a thumb drive on either one, but I am more than happy.
Comments
You might consider swapping the AirPort Express for a Sapido 1102. It comes with an integrated power supply like the Airport but can be powered through USB. It takes any of the following inputs and turns it into your hotspot: Wifi, Ethernet Cable, 3G USB stick. It also makes an USB stick available as shared drive (that's the part you are mostly missing now). I haven't seen a direct size comparison, but I believe they are not that much different.
:-) stw
Totally agree about Starbucks (so ridiculously ubiquitous here) and FaceTime. Just finished a FaceTime chat with my wife and two boys who are getting ready for bed on the east coast while I am sitting in a software partner's lounge north of San Fran. Hard to describe what it was like seeing their faces light up.
Facetime really does work. Having the camera so close to the display removes that weird feeling of your correspondent looking past you, and the optimization in the arms-length positioning looks/feels very natural. Curious to see how it translates to other devices that will use the APIs.
The ability to flip the camera and show what's around you is especially cool.
How did you get an AT&T SIM-card?
I didn't.
Got exactly the same setup when I leave the house every day ;-)
...plus...the HTC Desire (for Wireless AP) when needed.
Yea -- the bundled AT&T WiFi is big for me. There are a surprising number of hot spots in New York; not just in Starbucks.
@Stephan: Sapido GR1102. Totale Konfigurationskatastrophe. Fängt an mit einem Menü, das komplett auf Chinesisch ist - Umschaltung in irgendeinem (ebenfalls chinesischen) Untermenü. Dann geht eine Orgie von lange andauernden Reboot-Vorgängen los. Den O2 Surfstick hat das Ding auch nach einem Tag noch nicht erkannt. Vergiß es.
Ich würde sowas auch nicht kaufen. Stephan kann chinesisch. :-)
Der hat us absichtlich nach Taiwan gehetzt - gibt´s auch bei Pearl, das Ding. Hier mehr: http://excited.posterous.com/sapido-mobiler-access-point-gr-1102-pearl-wrp
Da gibt´s die ganze Story, incl. der gelöschten Beiträge in einem Schweizer Forum...
