2004:  I’d never owned any Apple product.

2005:  I bought my first Apple product, an iPod Classic.

2007:  I bought my first Apple computer, an iMac, through a friend of a friend’s Apple employee discount.

As of today, I’ve already owned and retired:

• That original iMac
• 2 iPod Classics
• An iPod Shuffle
• iPhone 3
• iPhone 3GS
• iPad

• MacBook Pro 13″
• Apple Cinema Display
• Apple Airport Extreme
• Apple Airport Express
• iPhone 4
• iPad 2
• Apple TV
• MacBook Air 13″ for personal use
• MacBook Air 11″ for work
• Apple Thunderbolt Display for work

Having carelessly left my iPad in a Southwest Airlines seat-back pocket in December, I’ve been waiting impatiently for this day to come for months!

I used TaskRabbit to arrange for a runner to wait in line on my behalf. If you haven’t used TaskRabbit yet, try it. Define just about any task — such as buy groceries, drop off donations at Goodwill, pick up dry-cleaning — or even wait in line at an Apple Store for 12 hours on iPad 2 launch day. Then, set a maximum price, and “rabbits” (runners) make offers for how much they’ll perform the task. If they bid under your maximum, you pay less. Pick a runner, and off you go.

Thanks to TaskRabbit, rabbit Katherine D. and her husband Brian lined up as first in line for me at the Apple Store in Los Gatos at 3:00 a.m. PT on the 11th. Which meant that I was first in line when I sauntered up to the store around 4:00 p.m. to join in the opening day spectacle. At the time I took pole position, the line stretched down and around several blocks and easily was 500 people long.

Apple’s launch day retail experience — especially for those first in line — was wonderfully warm, welcoming and whimsical. Just inside the window front, a black velvet curtain veiled the entire store. Waiting outside for that final hour, we heard repeated cheers from within as the retail staff psyched up for the opening. Minutes before the doors opened at 5:00 p.m., Apple folks spilled out the doors, asked those first in line which models they wanted and distributed small white reservation cards with specific SKUs written on them for inventory control. At 5:00 p.m., the curtain dropped, and Brian and I were greeted with a double line of 40 employees inside the store wildly clapping and cheering and high five-ing the first dozen customers permitted to enter the store. With classic Apple retail efficiency, a retail associate greeted me, hooked me up with a white 64GB wi-fi + 3G AT&T iPad 2 (plus another I bought for friend) and a navy Smart Cover, and I walked out the door 10 minutes later to the cheers and envy of the waiting crowd. Felt like Marky Mark in “Rock Star.”

The out-of-box was what we’ve come to expect from Apple: easy to open packaging, minimal contents (iPad, charger) and intuitive set up (plug in, connect to iTunes and follow the onscreen instructions). I haven’t activated the 3G service yet, but that looks to be very easy too.

So first impressions?
- As reported, it feels great. Thinner, lighter (although it’s only marginally so) and the tapered back is more comfortable to hold than the original’s.
- The white looks even better than I expected. From the images I’d seen online, the white looked too bright, and possibly cheap. On the contrary, the color is almost ivory and reminds me of Steinway piano keys. Gorgeous.
- So far, it does seem faster and the graphics look better thanks to the new dual-core processor. I’ve been playing Infinity Blade and Angry Birds on my iPhone 4 for months and didn’t realize what I’d been missing until yesterday. Fast switching is also faster than before and faster than my iPhone 4.
- Mixed feelings on the Smart Cover. Slick design and works great — but I don’t like that the back of the iPad is unprotected, and when using it to type on an uneven surface (my lap), the magnets and cover occasionally detach. I’m eyeing the bamboo and leather cover by Grove.
- The camera quality is noticeably poor as reported. It’ll serve for video calls, and I expect to continue to use my iPhone 4 for snapshots and short video clips.
- One note on FaceTime: Not sure about this, but it appears that if you’re already using FaceTime on one device, say a MacBook Pro, with one Apple ID, then you may need a separate, new Apple ID unique to your iPad. So far, I’ve been unable to verify my existing Apple ID to use FaceTime on this new iPad 2.

Overall, this is the day for which I’ve been waiting like a kid on Christmas morning, and I’m completely delighted with Apple’s latest offering. Fanboy I am.

But I’m not switching quite yet.  Here’s why:

• No simultaneous voice and data — This is a non-starter. I frequently access the Internet while on a call. AT&T allows it, Verizon doesn’t, because of the nature of CDMA.

• Limited international reach — GSM is the global standard, and just a few months ago I was in Korea making calls and going online with my iPhone. With Verizon instead of AT&T, this wouldn’t have been possible — and this is true in many more countries than not.

• Not an early adopter here — I won’t buy the first Verizon iPhone for the same reason I didn’t buy the original iPhone: First generation new products — and granted ostensibly only the CDMA antenna is new — rarely work as predicted.  I’d wait for the kinks to get worked out first.

• No guarantees of network superiority — I love Verizon’s network, especially in the Bay Area, and switched from it to AT&T only when I wanted a more global network for international travel. That said, no one can really predict at this point how the iPhone will perform on Verizon’s network. (Although it’s hard to imagine worse performance than we get with AT&T).

• Switching costs — Not a sole deciding factor, but given the other concerns, no reason to pay early contract termination fees to plunge into another unknown.

Will be very interested to see how Verizon’s network performs!

Without any intention of picking up the latest in consumer gadgetry, I found myself in the Apple Store in Palo Alto yesterday — hey, it’s across the street from where I get my hair cut.  I took a look at a display model; I saw the large, luminous display and the familiar multi-touch UI; and after that, everything became a big foggy.  While considering only the 64GB version, a shipment magically arrived (no inventory was available when I first walked in at 10:00 a.m.), my credit card slipped out of pocket quite of its own volition, and shortly thereafter I walked out with my 64GB WiFi iPad and a few accessories.

My first thoughts:

• The screen is gorgeous.  I look at my puny iPhone screen now with pity.
• It’s already replacing my laptop for checking email and surfing the Web while watching TV on the couch at home — this can’t be good for my health.
• Media, more than I expected, renders beautifully and is fun to use — music, photos, and videos.  I’m not a heavy media consumer, but this device may change my behavior.
• The manner in which the UI for primary apps like calendar and mail change from portrait to landscape orientation is interesting — I’m not sure it’s seamless enough or how much I like it yet.
• Absence of flash is glaring.
• Apps designed for the iPhone or iPod Touch just don’t work well.  The iPad renders them at what appears to be the same screen size as on the iPhone or iPod Touch.  An option to increase the size exists, but then the app resolution is too coarse.  It’s better to use Facebook through Safari, for example, than to use the acclaimed Facebook iPhone app.
• Lack of Korean language input support is disappointing.  I didn’t realize until after purchase that the iPad doesn’t support the full set of languages supported by the iPhone and iPod Touch.
• The ebook readers — iBook and Kindle — are designed great, but I still can’t see myself reading for long periods of time on the iPad.  Eye strain will be inevitable.
• Last, Plants v. Zombies is bigger and better.  I’m tempted to buy the HD version.

Overall, very happy with the purchase so far.  It’s a great show and tell piece when out and about, lots of fun.  I can see it replacing my laptop for short personal trips.  I hadn’t imagined I would have a use for it, and I was wrong and am pleasantly surprised.

Update:  Not missing 3G so far.  I’m only using the iPad where WiFi is present.  Any applications I need where WiFi isn’t I can get on my iPhone.  Plus, I happen to have a Verizon MiFi card to fill any gaps.

I’ve been very happy with my Amazon Kindle DX since I first received it in June 2009.  I love books and reading but was unhappy with the clutter of three double-stacked bookshelves and stacks of books everywhere in my apartment.  So space savings was the purchase trigger for an electronic reader for me.  And in 2009, Amazon had the best offering, with an attractive, easy-to-use/intuitive design and a seamlessly integrated ebook purchase process.  So far, I’ve loved it.

The one notable problem I experienced with it was last year, with the leather cover that Amazon markets hard with the Kindle DX.  The Kindle DX — and the Kindle 2 — has two slots on the left edge for purposes of attaching/fitting it onto two clasps on the leather cover.  It’s a little awkward at first, but doable.  The problem is that if you inadvertently open the Kindle from the rear, the top clasp acts a lever and pries wide the opening in the Kindle.  After doing this a few times, no matter how careful to avoid it, it results in unsightly cracks in the plastic right above the opening and can pry open the case, too.  I know from other Kindle owners that this can actually compromise the operation of the Kindle — it won’t work in some circumstances.

The cover clasp or latch will pry open the opening/slot on the Kindle if the cover is opened from the back.

Last year, a search quickly led to a number of discussion board threads in complaint.  In response to customer complaints and attempts to get exchanges or refunds, Amazon denied any product defect in the Kindle or the leather cover or the interaction between them, effectively asserting that any damage was customer fault.

Interestingly, they’ve now reversed this stance; I received this email today:

Now, Amazon is acknowledging that damage to either the cover or the Kindle are covered under warranty — a complete reversal of the prior stance.  I managed to keep the damage to mine minimal, so I’ll decide now whether to go through the hassle of getting a warranty exchange.

This doesn’t appear to be related to all the announcements these past few weeks — Kindle DX with global wireless, new royalty scheme for self-publishers, and Kindle developer program — but I do wonder if Amazon’s fearful anticipation of the impending Apple tablet announcement is driving the company to step up it’s game.

Competition is good, and consumers are the winners.

For those following my iPhone trials and tribulations, you know that 2.1 broke my Microsoft Exchange integration of calendar and contacts — neither would sync with 2.1, and 2-3 trips to Genius Bars and multiple calls to Apple support didn’t help.  I still plan to describe the workaround I devised (Plaxo as the hub among applications with MobileMe for wireless sync) in a subsequent post.

Well, it seems to be fixed somehow.  The download and installation took about 30 minutes and was straightforward and without complications.  My iPhone and Exchange calendar and contacts are now synced again.  I would love to understand why, but I suppose I’ll be content that it’s working.  Obviously, for an enterprise application, it is inexcusable and completely unacceptable that it wasn’t working for the past several months.

Recall my most recent complaints:  (1) abysmal battery life and (2) broken Microsoft Exchange integration.

I was sometimes getting less than 5 hours of battery life, even after Apple replaced my unit with a new one.  Firmware 2.1 plus some more prudent battery conservation practices have all but solved #1.  I’ve read too many articles, blog posts and discussion board threads on this to recount.  Plus, I’ve finally succumbed to logical suggestions — most of which I daresay I had heard already — from BW and ES.  Here’s what’s worked for me:

First, I’m only fetching data now, and only hourly.  Such is the disappointment of and lowered expectations in performance of the iPhone 3G that the very reason for buying it — push — is what must be disabled to provide more reasonable battery life.  I’m not even upset that I don’t get push, because it was working so poorly — that battery-killing wheel seemed to be spinning constantly — and I’m so grateful for longer battery life.

Second, I’ve slightly reduced the number of accounts from which I’m fetching data.  I have work Exchange, Yahoo, Gmail and MobileMe accounts.  Instead of fetching data from all of them, I’m forwarding Gmail to Yahoo and fetching from Yahoo.  I use MobileMe only for calendar and contacts syncing, so I have it set up but never check that email.  And I’m even fetching from my work email account.  I came to terms with the fact that I don’t need push email to distract me in meetings, and I already get push when sitting in front of my destop with Outlook open.

Third, I’ve turned brightness down fairly low.  Even with a protective film on the glass, it’s still bright enough for me.

Fourth, I’ve left Bluetooth and Location Services on.  I use my Bluetooth headset to and from work every day, it’s too much of a pain to go into Settings to deactivate and activate it repeatedly, and I’m not convinced it’s a drain on the battery.  For Location Services, much of the time I have this off, but I just end up switching it on when prompted when using Google Maps or some other geo-aware application that calls for it.

Finally, I’ve left both 3G and Data Roaming turned on.  As eBay alumnus Ryan Spoon notes, push has a much greater effect on battery life than 3G.  I know at least one other iPhone 3G owner — ES –  who switches off 3G not because of the perceived battery life drain but because he believes the network is unreliable and results in dropped calls.  I’m accessing the Internet often enough that I want the speed from its being on all the time.

The net effect?  I can go over a day without recharging.  And I don’t live in constant fear of a sudden drained-battery-induced shutdown.  Frackin’ fantastic.  Reasonable battery life?  Check!

Next, I’ll bemoan the complete failure of Exchange integration, my data sync requirements and then the awkward but functioning solutions I’ve devised.

Today, Apple released the new 2.1 firmware, and it’s broken my Exchange integration.  Right now, I have no calendar, no contacts and no email — the unit is useless to me without these core functions.  I’ve tried deleting the Exchange account and re-adding it, but that doesn’t help.  Apple support forums indicate that at least a few others are experiencing the same problem.  Frankly, I’m sick of the inability of the iPhone to perform basic functions, and I’m seriously thinking about switching back to BlackBerry.

Two reasons to buy Apple products:  (1) They just work and (2) sex appeal.  So far, (1) is absent leaving my iPhone decidely unsexy. 

Must Have:

• Improve the battery life. The battery life is so bad that I find myself now becoming accustomed to charging my iPhone throughout the day. Granted, my usage is high. I ran the unit several times until it shut down to maximize battery life as an Apple Genius recommended. But any handheld communications-organization device needs to be able to run from the time I wake until the time I sleep. End of story.
• To-Do List/Notes Sync. I used Notes and the To-Do List (the “NextAction” add-on) extensively on my BlackBerry, and they integrated beautifully with Outlook, including Outlook Exchange Web mail. Now, I remain in a quandary as to what to do with the iPhone. I’m looking at Evernote, EasyTask Manager and OmniFocus as replacements (I’m a partial GTD adherent), but none solve all of the problems I have. (More on GTD applications to come).
• Copy/Cut-Paste. It’s beyond my understanding why this is not available.
• More Robust Email. The litany of issues is too long to enumerate. BlackBerry is way better, period. This is essential if Apple wants to steal share in the enterprise market.
• Voice Dialing. Especially in California, where headsets are now required by law when driving, easy dialing while in the car is essential. Favorites, Recents, Contacts — all of these are too difficult to use when driving. I’ve tried the SpeechCloud Voice Dialer application and it (1) isn’t a dialer – it’s a voice recognition lookup tool and (2) it doesn’t work well. In 4-5 tries, it never found the name I was seeking, and I then uninstalled it. In general, contact and phone number lookup on the iPhone require too many keystrokes, and the ease of use of the basic phone function is less than ideal.
• Overall Stability. My iPhone crashes. Not infrequently. Usually when flipping among applications. An open platform is great. It’s got to be more stable that this.

Nice to Have:

• IR Beam. Remember the Palm V? I do. I’d love better capability to transmit data from phone-to-phone.
• Video Recording. This isn’t that important to me, but I look forward to the day.

I’m still a satisifed promoter of the iPhone and look forward to future improvements. It’s been a week, and I’m still having fun.