iPhone: The Ultimate Media Device
iPhone: The Ultimate Media Device:
As most of my readers/listeners know, I carry not only the iPhone, but 2-3 other devices as well. My hobby is cell phones and mobile tech, so I have tried every major OS and/or phone on the market. One of the things I use my phone on a daily basis is media. Even back in Pocket PC days (PDA not phone), I was loading up videos and music, but it never felt “easy”. Things have definitely gotten better over the last few years as manufactures try to compete for the prosumer’s dollars and media is a huge selling point of new devices. The problem is that these devices don’t get it right due to a few reasons. Media comes in so many file types and not all devices support every file type. This means you have to take your current media and convert it to work for your particular device. This is a huge inconvenience and does not always work. The other issue is device and computer compatibility. Not all devices play well with every computer OS, thus requiring you to purchase another piece of software, or just being left out in the cold all together with no syncing option.
Enter the iPhone. The iPhone has been the answer to my media prayers and is the end all be all in portable media. Since purchasing the iPhone, it is the only device I need to carry with me to enjoy every piece of media I own. The iPhone handles music, movies, pictures, and audio books beautifully. With the release of the kindle app, the iPhone is now a fully functional eBook reader as well.
Of course it is not all roses and sunshine with Apple and media. One major buy in with the iPhone is iTunes. iTunes is hands down the easiest and most convenient place to get all of your music and movies. The issue with iTunes is that Apple just started selling music DRM free, which means the music files can be used on any device and not just a iPhone/iPod/Computer. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the TV Shows and movies Apple sells via iTunes. Movies and TV Shows are still protected and the files can only be used on Apple approved devices. This is not a huge issue if you buy into the iTunes ecosystem, which I have done and love. Once you get over the fact you cant use these iTunes files on other devices, iTunes becomes your best friend for media.
I love watching movies on my devices, and it was always a struggle to get them in the right format and to look good. The iPhone handles movies TV shows, and other video clips so well it amazes me. With DVD like quality, no slow down, no audio/video sync issues, watching video on the iPhone is easy and looks great! The process is so simple to get movies to and from the iPhone. Purchase the movie from iTunes, or use an app named Handbrake to convert a video file (Handbrake has an iPhone preset for perfect quality), drag it into iTunes, plug your phone in and check the box next to the movie! That is it! No more adjusting bit rates, audio/video not matching up or any other conversion issues, it just works.
Another piece of media I use quite frequently is music, I will not go into how easy music is because chances are you have used an iPod and it is pretty much the exact same process and experience. What I will say is that the iPhone has completely removed my need for any other portable music device. I even use the iPhone with an AUX jack in my car to listen to music, and it works perfect!
The last thing I would like to touch on that really impresses me about the iPhone, is the way it handles Audio books. I listen to a ton of audio books and using the iPhone to listen to them results in a great experience. The iPhone remembers exactly where you left off when you stop the book from playing. Even after performing a soft reset or power down, the iPhone picks the audio book up right where I left off without a hitch. This is such a huge plus, as clicking through 20 chapters to find where you were in a audio book is a big PITA.
Yes the iPhone is great at a lot of other things, but what is does better than any device on the market is media. Since owning an iPhone, I have bought into the iTunes ecosystem and purchased an Apple TV, multiple iPods (for my fiancé), 2 Macbooks, and a Time Capsule. Once you make the jump to Apple’s way of using media, you will never go back. Managing my media has become so simple and the iPhone is THE only device I need to carry in order to enjoy it all.
