Apple iPhone (8 GB) Smartphone

When I first saw the commercials for the Apple iPhone I didnt pay much attention to them, and figured "It's just another high-tech phone..." I wasnt too impressed with it, well, I was, but I am very strong willed and do not buy the newest technological breakthroughs and inventions at the drop of a hat.  It is common knowledge that anything that is electronic will, in time, grow cheaper in price, so I figured I'd let all the crazy hype die down a while, and then marvel at the beautiful piece of art they called the iPhone.
To be honest, I still to this day am not even sure when the first iphone was released, or the second generation (which is what I purchased) came to fruition either.  I do know that I bought my iphone in mid September of 2008, after I went to the ATT store with my husband looking for new phones.  They had a promotion going on, something about the new gen. phone for $269...well, after checking on that, I found out that was for new contracts, 2 years, blah blah blah...So, feeling defeated I asked the sales associate about other phones.  He showed me other ones, but having looked at the iphone, I was already addicted and was so upset that it was almost $600 full price. 

    This is the part that turned into a blur for me...I walked into the store with a not so shabby Palm Treo.  It was a very expensive phone in my opinion, and wasnt the bottom of the barrel phones that my not so fortunate friends were walking around with...so I couldnt complain too much...but after having the Palm for about 6 months...I could not stand to have it any longer.  It was given to me after a friend couldnt stand it any longer apparently, and although it was a great piece of work, it was the most confusing thing I had ever tried to manage, ever!...and I have three children.  I even had to go buy an alarm clock because I couldnt figure out how to even find the alarm section of the Palm...I am not exactly savvy at all this gizmo stuff...Needless to say, the Palm is reserved for corporate and business needs in my opinion, and is not exactly user friendly.

    Back to my story...For some reason, the associate waited till the last minute to tell me that they had some special going on for ATT customers that might get me qualified for an iphone at an amazing low price of $200 (expensive still, but in comparison to $600, sounded like pocket change).  He asked me to give him all of my account information, and with the click of a button he said I could get it.  I was ecstatic! 

I went ahead and got it of course, spending way less than $300 for the phone, accessories, etc.  and felt so good, I had walked out spending less than I thought I had and had gotten even more.  The fun began here.  I tinkered with it for hours it seemed, figuring everything out, marveling at the features.  I realized that i could use the maps area of the phone and actually get real time GPS driving directions ***Important, because alot of people believe the iphone dont have this**** I got to listen to all of my songs on a crystal clear device...I never had an ipod before, so all of this was new to me.

It is December 2008 now, and having had the phone for 3 months or so now has been pretty pleasant.  There are a few bad things that I have experienced with it, but have brushed them off, it is an electronic device just like anything else.  This is the thing that people need to realize.  It has froze on me once, and because I had no idea how to fix it, it stayed frozen until the battery died...which wasnt long, as any iphone owner can tell you...lol.  My husband called Apple, and was politely instructed how to "hard boot" the phone as you would a computer when it freezes.  He was informed that the iphone is simply set up like a mini computer in a way, and that it is not exempt from freezing up every now and then.  I learned after that to press and hold the only two physical buttons on the phone, the home and power buttons, and to keep them pressed for 15 seconds.  Thankfully i havent had the problem since. 
    I love the camera, but like we all know, there is no zoom, so to get those clear beautiful pictures, I have to freak my kids out by sticking a phone in their faces, but theyre used to it now...lol. 

The monthly fees are abhorrent, but honestly, not much more than what we were paying before i got the iphone.  My husband actually liked the phone so much he was gonna get one a month or so later, but because of the extra service fees, decided not to, so I felt guilty for that. 

The thing I love so much about this phone aside from its sleek, stylish, and in my opinion, gorgeous appearance, is that is it so, so easy to use.  It takes a few days to get used to the full touch screen features, since theres no real keyboard, but after that, its all second nature.  Even my 57 year old step dad fell in love with it, and would buy one, but is with Verizon, and unfortunately has no way of getting it without spending a small fortune for all of the hassles.
The simple layout of the phone makes it so easy my kids can use.  Even the parts of the phone I waited to access were so easy to learn that it made the phone worth it alone.  

It is weird, and to some, probably stupid, to think that a phone can be so important and interesting, but even to this day, I am impressed every time I look at it.  This phone is expensive, but in my opinion, worth every cent, of course depending on what you want. I am a simple girl, a college student, mother, and wife, and love texting. It is everything and then some, but not too much. I would recommend it to anyone considering a new phone. Heck, you get the built in iPod too...cant beat it.