My only problem lately is using iPhone with Penn State Webmail, and I am not exactly certain if the problem is with my phone or with webmail. Every time I try to access webmail from my phone in the past several weeks, I am getting a 503 Error Message indicating that the server is temporarily unavailable. This is happening a lot, and I am getting pretty frustrated with it. Up til now, I was happy using webmail, even though gmail is much easier to deal with. Yesterday, I received the 503 error message on my phone, so I ran up to our computer to compare - and webmail was working fine. So I opened it up again on my iPhone, and it was fine - until I clicked on an email, and then the 503 message appeared. I checked the computer again - fine, and then I checked my iPhone again - down. Either it's my iPhone or my timing - not sure. Would love to know if anyone else is seeing this.

Now to other things. A friend sent me the link to the new iPhone ads the other day (http://www.apple.com/iphone/ads/ad11/). I had not seen them on TV until yesterday evening during the Cowboys game. I think these ads are great - I definitely can relate to them. They certainly emphasize how the phone visual features make it so easy to use - and how having the web at your fingertips opens up so many possibilities. I have used my phone so many times when I have rushed off to a meeting and forgot which specific room I was heading to, to get a restaurant phone number and menu, to check the weather, etc. Again, whoever came up with the idea for these commercials must have based them on his/her own experiences with the iPhone.

As far as its features, I tried one for the first time a couple weeks ago, when a friend of mine was visiting Haiti. I really, really hate to admit this is a public setting, but I have never used text messaging. Goodness - I can actually hear the gasping as I type this. Anywho, back to my point. So my friend visits Haiti on some government grant, and there is no internet access and the phone connection is just terrible - so what ends up working out to be the best means of communication? Texting. And it works from anywhere in that country or the Dominican Republic - and I'm talking the rural, mountain areas - not tourist attractions. I was just amazed. (BTW, I also called up ATT&T twice to ensure that my plan covered this, and both representatives confirmed that it did.)

The final "new thing" for me is realizing that I can now download ringtones from iTunes (I might be behind on this, but I've been a tad busy due to the start of the semester and all the course-related problems it brings). It looks easy enough, but the selection on iTunes is very disappointing. Nonetheless, it's good to have options, and I'm sure more will be available as time goes on.

To sum up - three months in - still love the iPhone - but not feeling it for Webmail. ;-)

Like it because:
*I can look up anything, anytime almost anywhere.
*I have the option of using the EDGE network or WiFi.
*It's user-friendly and the more I use it, the more I discover little features that I wasn't aware of (shutting off typing sound, making the number not viewable by caller ID, etc.)
*It's everything rolled into one - so I am always reaching for it - phone, camera, ipod, internet access.
*It's sleek and visually appealing (weird, I know, but it does make a difference.)

I don't like it because:
*The size works for and against it. I took it to the gym out of necessity one day, and it was as awkward as I expected it to be. If I didn't have a purse, I probably wouldn't use it.
*It is too fragile, or at least that's what I have convinced myself - so I am always worrying about where I lay it, how good a grasp I have on it, etc. In other words, I am still not at ease with it.

Would I give up the iPhone at this point? Absolutely not. It will be interesting to see how I feel six months or a year from now, but currently, I am still in awe.

Twenty minutes past my appointment time, my stylist cautiously approached me to say she was ready. Normally, I think I may been short with her, but I honestly wasn't bothered. I didn't feel as though I had wasted time - in fact, I felt as though I had been rather productive. This wasn't the first time I relied on my iPhone to pass the time, but it was the first time that I realized that it's user friendly design made passing time fun.

I was pretty upset over the short life of the battery, and even more upset over the thought of shipping off my phone to get the existing battery replaced.

Fortunately, Campus Technology had an email cafe set up - which no one was using because EVERYONE had a laptop with a wireless connection. I was able to access the iPhone's User's Guide, and found a helpful solution - press the main menu button and off/on button down simultaneously for at least 10 seconds - quite similar to a frozen iPod. Bingo - my iPhone lit up and all was right with the world. :-)

First, I have to say for long car rides or plane trips, the iPhone is the perfect distraction. I had mine out the entire time. Checking the weather, reviewing directions, responding to email, etc. The EDGE network was great - I only had two instances where I didn't get service, but they only lasted a couple of minutes each.

As we neared D.C., pulled out the Mapquest directions and compared to those suggested on the iPhone, and of course they did not match. Tried to locate a specific highway - George Washington Memorial Parkway, which I was able to do - but then as I tried to zoom to a specific point, I got disoriented. Tried using the satellite feature, but it was taking too long to load. Found myself missing a big screen - actually, found myself missing two large monitors from which to work from. Finally shoved the iPhone back in my purse and depended on the printed out version from MapQuest - having the large image allowed me to orient myself and understand where I was going.

Once I was at the conference, the EDGE network worked fine in my room and in the lobby. It did not work, however, at the conference which was located across two lower levels of the hotel - both below street level. I looked around and saw the other conference goers checking email using the free wireless network provided by the hotel. Went into my settings, switched on wifi, and located the wireless connection - all bars showing, so it should have been a strong connection. Went back to email - nothing. Tried to access the web - nothing. Getting messages that the server could not be located. Went back into my settings, chose a weaker connection, still nothing. Switched back to the edge - nothing. Switched back to the strong connection - nothing. Noticed that I was distracting others around me, so again, the iPhone was tossed back into my purse. At a break, went upstairs to the lobby, and was able to access email and the web with no problems.

As the week progressed, found myself falling further and further behind in emails (using PSU webmail). The inability to cut and paste became a major obstacle; found out that although I could view google docs, I could not edit them; occasionally came across emails that I had missed on previous days - probably because the small screen size caused them to get lost; could not initially compose something in word to copy/paste into email - or blog for that matter.
For casual emails, found myself switching to my gmail account, which made things a lot easier. This was also the account used when I took and emailed pictures. Gmail, however, would sometimes freeze when pictures were attached, causing me to accidentally send out repeat emails.

Found that although the web truly looks like the web on the iPhone - which was one of my biggest attractions to it in the first place - when one is trying to get work done, it is not an advantage. The way websites are currently designed, too much time is spent scrolling around trying to locate a link or specific point and waiting for the page to load - very frustrating.

For communicating on the run and for pure enjoyment, the iPhone is definitely tops. Visited museums and found that the iPhone images were superior to two different digital cameras, mainly because it did not have a flash. Iphone was also a great way to discretely take pictures without looking like a tourist. ;-)

So going back to my original question, can the iPhone replace a laptop? At this point, no, but I think in the near future, it probably could. The iPhone desperately needs word processing capabilities or at least allow one to edit online documents like google docs. Plus more web sites needs to be designed with the small screen in mind. In addition, those of us accustomed to having two large monitors will have to adjust our habits and adapt to the new environment - something that we all take in stride at this point.

First, I was able to use CAT to locate a book, a specific journal, and an e-journal using both the basic and advance search (drop down menu makes scrolling half-screen appear).

To locate a specific full-text article, I was connected to the Ebscohost Professional Development database. I located the article by entering the year, volume, issue and starting page. Once the article was located, I had the option of downloading a PDF or emailing it.

The PDF opened fine, but took a little time to load. It was only six pages, so lengthy articles may time out before they download. Sometimes there is an option to open up the article in HTML, which might be a better option if you only have access to an iPhone.

I also tried the email option. I emailed the article to both my gmail account, which I could view easily on my iPhone, and also to my PSU account. Everything worked smoothly, except after I sent the email, a pop-up window appeared confirming that my email was sent, and I couldn't make it go away. Nonetheless, the article was sent to both my email addresses within seconds - both with a pdf attachment that opened just fine.

What does this mean for faculty or students doing research?

1) They can search for books and articles at Penn State using the iphone.

2) Once they locate a specific article, they can find out its physical location in the library - or if it is in an e-journal or available in an online format from a database, they can view the abstract or full-length article in PDF (if short in length) or HTML (if available) using their iPhone.

3) They can email a copy (PDF) of the article to their PSU or preferred email account, so they can view/printout the article.

3) They can share abstracts, articles with colleagues or other students via email.

The only problem is the Library's time-out feature. One has to be quick - however, I was taking notes between tests, so the inactivity may have caused it rather than a problem with the edge network or iphone itself.

Talkr can also provide you with a podcast of your favorite news sources. This means that you can plug your MP3 player into your home computer once a day and Talkr will provide you with hours of audio content with no additional work on your part. Talkr will keep tabs on your feeds and send audio to your computer as those audio files become available.

If you have already installed a "podcatcher" or "podcasting client" on your home or office computer, it is simple to tell Talkr to podcast to your computer. (Which podcasting client should I use?)

1. Go to your My Feeds page.
2. Select the feed that you would like to automatically download to your computer.
3. Copy and paste the link from the podcasting icon image into your podcatcher.

They chose ARCHOS 504 after comparing it to a number of other handheld devices including the iPod, Palm One Life Drive, Microsoft Zune, Nokia Internet Tablet N800 and Rover TV. Compared to the others, ARCHOS had the largest screen and was easiest to use.

Since I attended the conference, the iPhone has come out, and it’s screen is about the same size as the ARCHOS. Thus, the iPhone could possibly be used as an “individual device enabling access. The difficult part, is of course, how to download the content to the iPhone. With it’s web browsing feature, content could be converted to quicktime format and stored in ANGEL and then opened up via the iPhone. Converting it to a podcast or vodcast might also be an option. If any of these worked, think of the opportunities. Will have to run some tests on this and post what I find.

Thinking back to the USDLA conference, I remembered a free online tool that converted blog entries to speech. What could be better for those with visual impairments? I went to the site, talkr.com, added my own blog, and it produced an mp3 for each entry. I listened to the mp3 on my computer – wonderful! I then got on my iPhone – would it work? No, it would not open up the mp3 file from the website. Nonetheless, the Talkr site is AMAZING. You register for a free account, select your blog feeds, and presto – in less than a minute – they are converted to mp3s!

Here is a screen capture of my blog on Talkr with mp3s:

I was able to take and submit the quizzes without any problem. After submitting the quiz, I was able to view my answers with corrective feedback. The screen did not turn white as it had in the normal mode.

I was also able to post a message in the discussion forum. The text box for my message was not blocked by the keypad as it had been in regular mode. However, I still was unable to open my post or any of the other posts. When I clicked each, it highlighted and the title became underlined and turned from a blue-colored font to a green-colored font, but it did not open.

Whoa - wait - the problem isn't the iPhone - it's me. The postings are opening - but they show at the bottom half of the screen. I just wasn't patient enough for it to load nor did I scroll down far enough. The postings show up just fine.

Thus, the iPhone works extremely well with ANGEL quizzes and discussion forums in the PDA mode.

I logged into ANGEL and waited as my long list of courses loaded. I scrolled to the very bottom of the page, where the PDA button was located. I gave it a push, and nothing happened. I tried again - and yet again - nothing. I gave it one last hard press, and due to it's location at the very bottom edge of the screen, I accidentally hit the back arrow and was taken out of the site.

Frustrated, got back in and tried it again. Same experience. The size and location of the PDA key on ANGEL make it difficult (impossible for me) to access it.

I was able to access ANGEL with no problems. Selecting a course from the list was a little difficult because they are so close together, and finding a place to tap to enlarge it without hitting a link is tricky. Once in the course, I was able to get into folders and to the quizzes without a problem.

I first tried a ten-point fill-in-the-blank quiz. If I was really taking the quiz for credit, I would have been worried, because typing in each answer was time-consuming - and this was a timed quiz. For each response, the keyboard appeared, and I was able to enter in my response like I do for any web site. Once I was done, I hit the "submit" button and my screen went blank - we're talking total white screen. It almost seemed to freeze. Took me some time to regain back the screen, but I was tossed back out to the profile page. Not good.

Next, I tried a quiz that consisted of both multiple choice and drop-down-menu-style true and false questions. The multiple choice questions were tough - It took a lot of pressure to make the radio button show as selected - and sometimes it would stay selected when I moved on to the next question and sometimes it would not. The true/false questions were even tougher. When I selected the downward arrow for the menu, this box popped up showing me the True and False options. The box covered half the screen. It had a next and a done option, but it caused me to get lost in the quiz questions for some reason (it caused the screen to scroll). Finally after giving up on answering the true and false, and growing frustrated with the radio buttons sometimes working and sometimes not, I hit the "submit" button to see what happened. For a brief second, my responses with corrective feedback showed, but then the screen went white. I moved all around trying to find it again, but there was nothing - just white screen.

Next, I decided to check out the discussion forums. I was able to get into the forums and click on "Post" button. When I did, the keyboard popped up. Entering the title was easy, but when I tried to enter something in the body, the keyboard covered it. I could type, but I couldn't see what I was typing. Once I was done, I hit submit and my posting showed with the others in the thread. When I clicked on it, however, nothing happened. I clicked on the other students' postings, and nothing happened either. Their posting titles would highlight and there was even a flicker, but nothing opened up.

Based on this little test, iPhone does not appear to be a good tool to use with ANGEL - part of the problem may be due to the Safari browser.

Using my iPhone, I accessed the www.podcasts.psu.edu site, found the course that addresses Colony Collapse Disorder, and clicked on one of the podcasts. It loaded right up and everything worked fine in terms of sound. The still images that accompanied the podcast did not show. Tried the PHIL 083 course too - same thing - loaded and sound is fine, but images not showing. I assume that these are enhanced podcasts created with the software, Profcast, and for many courses, still images are needed to get the point across. Thus it appears that creating podcasts with Profcast might not be a good idea if they are being viewed on the iPhone - unless of course, there is some setting I need to find...will also need to download enhanced podcasts from iTunes and see what happens.

*I needed a few things for the house, so I took some measurements and entered them into the notes feature (I kept losing the slip of paper I had written them down on the previous evening.)

*We wanted to see a movie, but wasn't sure which one was on Carnegie Drive - so I entered "Movie theaters, State College, PA into the mapping feature, and located the exact place.

*We wanted to confirm the time of the movie, so I clicked on the link to the website that came up on the map and got onto the theater's web site.

*After the movie, we wanted to find the future location of PAWS, so I typed in their website and read about the groundbreaking in a news article off their site.

*We decided to get take out, so I entered Applebees, State College, PA into my map to get the phone number.

*My husband couldn't remember the name of the entree he liked, so I accessed the menu via the site link provided by the mapping feature.

*Once we had our order, I switched to the phone feature and called it in.

*I added Applebees as a contact and entered our favorite entrees into the notes, so we'd remember next time.

At the end of the day, I couldn't help marveling at how handy the iPhone was, and thinking that it would have been a lifesaver in my former occupation. This little device would have saved me so much time and energy. As a rehabilitation counselor, I had to locate employment for persons on worker's compensation, and this involved traveling to different areas in PA, NY and MD, and making cold calls to local employers - restaurants, plants, banks, telemarketing firms, etc. The iPhone would have allowed me to enter the business type, the location, and then view all the places in the area that I could visit. I usually tried to call ahead to check for openings, so I could have just pressed the phone key to make the call. I could also use the web feature to check job openings, and the weather feature to plan my week of travel (always liked to avoid Mansfield when a snow storm was due.)

This led me to contemplate how the iPhone can be used in education. My first thoughts are that the main - and perhaps only - advantage of an iPhone over a laptop and cell phone is its portability. But currently, this isn't a strong advantage because web access isn't always available, and without it, the iPhone is just a cell phone with a nice camera.

Thus, the iPhone would be ideal for students who need to be out and about but remain in contact with one another, and who need access to information - like fieldwork (i.e., biology) or internships (i.e., student teaching.) The drawback here is again web access. If students are in a remote location looking at plants or rocks, web access may not be available.

The iPhone is also good if a course uses podcasts, because the student can download them and have access to them at all time - then again, this would be same if they had an iPod, but being that the iPhone is everything rolled into one, the student will probably always carry this with them.

So far, it looks to me like the iPhone is just another tool for students to use as needed. It is much easier and quicker to look up website on a laptop or desktop, so the only reason to use this feature on the iPhone is if you don't have access to either of these.

The iPhone's appeal, especially to students, is it's user-friendly design. I can't help but think of Diane Oblinger's presentations on the Net Generation's use of technology and how she likens it to our use of the refrigerator. Today's college student uses technology for everything, but they can't do things like programming. Just like we use the refrigerator everyday, but must call a repairman to fix it.

http://tinyurl.com/2gfslo

Wondering - does one really have to send the iPhone away to get a new battery as the article indicates? Checked the User's Manual and sure enough:

Rechargeable batteries have a limited number of charge cycles and may eventually
need to be replaced. The iPhone battery is not user replaceable; it can only be replaced
by an authorized service provider. For more information, go to:
www.apple.com/batteries