After weeks of technology issues, culminating with the crash of my Blackberry, I was ready to go back to pen and paper.
- Make that a pencil
- With my luck, the ink would dry up
For someone who was one of the last living persons on the face of the earth to get a cell phone, isn’t it amazing how that’s changed?
Can’t See the Forest for the Technology
I decided to look at the iPhone4. Since another of my technology tragedies was the demise of my digital camera, I figured I’d toss one device and combine it with another.
Sounds good, right?
- There are two 3-Day Walks for the Cure where I’ll take pictures
- Having a single device is easier when walking 60 miles over 3 days
- I plan on taking more of my own photos for blogs
The camera flash blinded me to the basics.
Finger Exercises
So,I take my new treat home and begin setting up emails and preferences.
Let the fun began.
- You thought you had fat finger syndrome with a Blackberry?
- Try the touchscreen
- Then try entering the server names for incoming and outgoing
- And the email address with password
Mess up one little letter or number and the iPhone rudely rejects your settings.
Finally – success – or so I thought.
Hey, I’m Workin’ Here
I had two client calls to schedule. I sent an invitation out on one, but discovered the invite was being sent under my personal email address instead of my business one.
Not good.
Hours later, multiple calls to two different tech support areas, who knew the calendar function is a major stumbling block?
So far –
- I am unable to send invitations under my business email
- There is no Delete button for appointments I want to cancel
- An invitation sent to me did not convert to my time zone
I added a Subscribed Calendar that was supposed to fix the problem. It didn’t. It appears I have to put appointments in my computer, then sync the iPhone to that.
To add insult to injury, the server address was 91 characters long – 91!
- Is this a joke?
- Are they playing with my boomer brain?
- And my flabby fingers?
Give me a break.
Back to Basics
I just want to communicate with my clients. Is that too much to ask?
There are predictions of the death of Blackberry, which was another reason I considered the iPhone. Blackberry may take me with them.
When it comes to the business function (that I pay dearly for), the Blackberry wins hands down.
I am seriously considering returning the bells and whistles for a calendar function that works.
- Maybe I am just too old to play with an iPhone and apps
- The experience has definitely aged me
Any iPhone4 business owners out there?
Help.
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Live…Laugh…Love
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Cathy,
There is always a big learning curve with new technology. It feels like you are wading through mud while learning. Once you get used to it and everything is set up you’ll adapt and maybe even like it. Give it a chance, I say! 🙂
Sherrie
Hi Sherrie: I know that’s true, but I cannot afford to have simple business needs suffer while researching the vast amount of information just to make my calendar work. I have an insurance plan on the phone and even the tech people couldn’t find a solution for me.
In any event, thanks for weighing in, Sherrie. I do appreciate it. 🙂
I have to agree with Sherrie. As much as I love Apple products, and as intuitive as I think they are, there’s always going to be a lag of several days while you get up to speed on something new. Did you feel this way when you first got your Blackberry?
One way to handle it would be to use a pencil and paper just for a little while, until you find the right calendar solution for your needs. There are tons of calendar apps out there, and lots of review sites so that you can find out what others think before trying them out.
Sorry you are struggling with it, and I hope that you find a solution that works for you soon.
Hi Dava-to be honest, no, I didn’t have this much trouble with Blackberry-learning curve, sure, but I found it much more intuitive when dealing with these issues. The calendar is very easy. When I create an invite to a meeting, I simply select the email address I want to send it from through a drop-down menu.
Any recommendations for calendar apps? Thanks for your perspective, Dava. I appreciate the pep talk. 🙂
LOL! Cathy, I feel your pain. I too have an iPhone, and it’s really not as simple to use as they’d like to have us believe. I recently upgraded mine, & discovered that it now lists my calendars & contacts in triplicate (it never did this before), and I can’t figure out how to stop that. I think I need a trip to the AT&T store soon to get some things figured out. Technology – it’s the devil!
Nicky-thank you, thank you, thank you! It’s nice to know I am not the only one who finds this not simple to fix with a single touch. 😀
Most of the calendar apps I see use Google calendar. I don’t want to use Google calendar. I don’t want to have to keep continually syncing up my computer to the iPhone. I maintained my appointments on my Blackberry.
*heavy sigh*
One is designed the business. The other is designed for teenagers, and GenXers….
And we know I’m NO teenager, Roy! LOL! 😀