Posting from the gym


I am taking my new 3g iphone for a spin at the gym this morning. This will be a brief post because I can’t type on this thing for the life of me

There are some nice things about this phone I like the twinkle twitted client,I like the geoloxation features,I like that I have all my smartplaylists available to
I listen to,and I love the mobile browser

The typepad app is ok I like that it’s easy to take or add a photo from your library to your post

But until/if I can learn to type on this thing at anywhere near the speed I can type on my blackberry,it’s primary use will be laser saber fights with my son

#Blogging On The Road

Comments (Archived):

  1. Andrew

    there is nothing better for the gym than the pandora app and aol music. last.fm is good too.

    1. fredwilson

      I was listening to last.fm music on my iphone and then when I went toanother app, it stopped playingWhat’s up with that?

      1. Andrew

        Don’t even bring that up. I am amazed that you cannot use more than one app or function at a time on the iphone. I like to listen to Pandora and reply to emails at the same time. Grr. This needs to be resolved but I know that unlike PC, Apple Computers don’t like to have more than one background process running at a time. If anyone has a soluation please comment.

        1. Graham Siener

          “Apple Computers don’t like to have more than one background process running at a time?”Not sure where that came from, but given OSX’s foundation of BSD, I would say that Windows is less able to handle multiple threads and processes (think status bar clutter).The WWDC Keynote that introduced 3G and the SDK talks very clearly about the design choice to not have multiple apps running at once on the iPhone (vs. the task manager model for Windows Mobile).A jailbroken iphone is the way to go if you want apps that can run in the background, but obviously Apple can’t support or condone that. I agree that this is a big sticking point, and can also understand the choices leading to this decision.

      2. vincentvw

        Wow, I didn’t know that. That sounds like a real dealbreaker to me. And I suppose, you cant have it running in the background through Safari either, because of no flash-support?

        1. fredwilson

          They have to fix that nobody listens to internet radio as their primary application. They minimize it and do other stuff

  2. jgonzz

    my first thought of this pic was that you have a “Archbishop look going on..”

    1. fredwilson

      Hopefully the archbishop of somewhere fun

  3. Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry

    I just bought one for my birthday — the typing is hard at first, but it gets easier. I have the added trouble of typing in two languages, which screws up the typing predictor. It adds accents when I’m typing in English and doesn’t add them when I’m typing in French…The other downside (famously) is the battery. I left with an almost full battery today, didn’t do too much interneting but wrote a long message on Facebook and by the time I got home by battery was at 20%… I can see when it wouldn’t be an issue. If I could I’d just buy a new charger for my office but I do most of my work outside offices.I’m still very happy with the device but these are real drawbacks.

    1. fredwilson

      A friend told me he charges his iphone at every opptyI only use it for testing stuff and rely on bberry for serious work

  4. JT

    I too am a bit frustrated with the grammar and auto-correct issues that I’ve run into while chatting with friends on the iPod Touch. Nothing a firmware update or two can’t address.

    1. fredwilson

      My issues are my fat thumbs and 10 years of typing on a bberry

  5. adam

    tip for typing (from a 2G veteran)1 – hold the iphone in your left hand & use your right index finger only to type.2 – type fast, trust the auto-correctonce you are up to speed on this, then start using 2 thumbs if you feel you need it – i don’t

    1. foxynet

      Adam,Thanks. Thanks a heap !Such a small tip … such a huge reward.Cheers,Greg

  6. vanelsas

    Hi Fred, You aren’t the only one with typing problems. It is one of the reasons I have called the iPhone probably one of the worst mobile phones I have ever used. It is a great handheld computer but it still sucks when it comes to the most important phone functionalities. Try typing an SMS or selecting a contact you want to call when you are on the move. It’s nearly impossible. The touch screen forces a complete stand still of the body, and you need to be sucked into the screen entirely to get things right. On any other phone (regular buttons) you have tactile feedback and can do these tasks blindly. iPhone lovers didn’t like that post of mine much, but I’m looking at it from a user’s perspective, not from a technology passion 😉

  7. bart schachter

    The reason you can’t use two apps at once is because the Apple SDK specifically restricts this from developers. No background tasks are allowed. Until that changes no app developer can circumvent this restriction. Considering the limited CPU capacity of the iphone, this is probably understandable.

  8. andreaitis

    seems to be a b-berry crowd…but any opinions on the treo 800?

  9. DonRyan

    Fat thumbs killed me from the iPhone. Although the light saber fight does rock. Still using a BlackBerry.

  10. kenberger

    oh I get it– instead of waiting for Valleywag to post funny pix of you, pre-emptively do it yourself!

    1. fredwilson

      They will post this at some point. Or someone else will

      1. Dorian Benkoil

        photo makes you, Fred, look a bit like Kevin Spacey. Anyone agree w/ me?

  11. vincentvw

    So how well does the iPhone touchscreen work with sweaty fingers?And, last year, you gave the ipod Touch a pretty bad review, interface-wise, do you think the iPhone is an improvement or not?

    1. fredwilson

      Its the same interface more or less. Most people like it. I don’t

  12. Riaz Kanani

    Yea – I love the iPhone – the interface and apps are great but typing just is not a great experience – still its the best convergent device out there so far for me. Maybe sending voice/video messages is the next step rather than text messages – with the unlimited data bundle that works great for all iPhone users.. not so much for others mind.Maybe there is a place for seesmic/kyte.tv and the like after all.

  13. Bill

    I think its a great computer, but a terrible messaging device. I can’t imagine using it as my main phone/message system. Battery life is brutal, and the typing stinks. By Blackberry is still the king with messaging.People always talk about the typing being an issue, which I agree with, but I think the sms/email/phone integration is not too great either. On my BB I can jump back and forth quickly by contact. I can call them from a email etc… that doesn’t exist with the iphone.The location aware apps are great as are the games. But if you are a serious texter… run away!

  14. Gotham Gal

    you look hilarious!

  15. Dorian Benkoil

    Some of us choose can’t (or choose not to) afford both Blackberry and iPhone … this is a quandary. Actually, even more than money it’s that I don’t want multiple devices. I HAVE to have email, and ability to type well. I want to have the things the iPhone gives me. Well, looking forward to seeing what Android gives us.

    1. fredwilson

      Me too

      1. Alan

        I’m a long time treo (now centro) user. Have been really tempted to get an iphone but a couple of things including many of the points made above holding me back. I’m thinking of getting an ipod touch to test the waters without having to commit to at&t.

  16. fakedjs

    Hilarious.