I am in my second week of owning and using an Iphone 3G and I’m really liking it. Yes, I’m a nerd, so this phone strokes all the right places (that sounded weird). And nothing shows this more than how I put the phone to use on Saturday as I spent a day away from the office with my wife and daughter. Let me illustrate:

1. Got up and went to the gym. Used the Iphone to listen to some podcasts I had on there. Other times I’ve been at the gym, I’ve used Pandora to listen to free, streaming music off the Internet. Beats the crap out of a traditional Ipod.
2. Got home and checked my email while I had breakfast. Didn’t need to go back to the office (which is, yes, just down the hall) to check my email. Did it from the couch with children’s shows on in the background.
3. We decided to head over to Lake Wales, FL to check it out and spend some time together as a family. So, we popped in the car. My Acura TL has a GPS, but I have not yet purchased updated maps for it. So, how best to find my way around? Yes, the Iphone. It easily guides me around by placing my current position right on top of Google Maps. Kick ass.
4. Wouldn’t you know it, I forgot my digital camera. And when you have a little baby, you want to take a camera pretty much everywhere. What did I have with me? You guessed it – the Iphone. And it makes for a decent little digital camera. I snapped about 50 photos while we were out and did so with the Iphone. Sure, quality is not up to the level of a real digital camera, but it’ll do.
5. We stopped off for one of the few real restaurants in Lake Wales – Beef O Brady’s. While waiting on my food, I checked in on my email and responded to a few Twitter messages using Twitterific. I also looked up Bok Tower on Wikipedia and got a little information about it while sitting there in the restaurant.
6. While using the Iphone GPS to get myself to Bok Tower, we pulled over to feed the baby. My wife asked me about ticket prices to get into Bok Tower. So, I looked up Bok Tower on the Internet on the Iphone, clicked the phone number on their website and immediately dialed up the people at the Tower. Within about 2 minutes, I had the info I needed.
7. While at Bok Tower, I used Twitterific to snap a photo and Twitter it. In fact, I sent several messages while we were out and about – keeping me in touch with my Twitter peeps.
8. On the way back home, I used the Iphone in conjunction with the Bluetooth in my car to make a few phone calls. As a last minute decision, we decided to hook up with my brother and his wife at a Starbucks in Lakeland, FL.. Of course, I didn’t know where it was. But, a quick search for “Starbucks” on the Iphone maps app showed me all Starbucks around my location and I could then drive right to it.
9. Got home, dumped the photos onto my computer from the Iphone, and uploaded them to my Flickr gallery.

It occurred to me – this is the future. The holy grail of mobile has almost always been an all-in-one device that allows you to do what you need to do where you need to do it. The Iphone 3G fits the bill.

Perhaps this is something only a nerd like me will appreciate. Looking ahead, though, I can definitely see a future where this is more the norm than the exception. There will always be a need for a real computer to act as a hub for your digital life. Even if there is not a real need, there will be a perceived need and a market need and, for that reason, the computer will not die in favor of portable devices like the Iphone. But, these kinds of mobile devices will become more popular and will become more normal.

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