Smooth Little App

Picked up a nice little application today for moving ringtones to iPhone:

iToner. iToner from Ambrosia Software allows you to move almost any sound file to your iPhone as a custom ringtone.

• Almost any sound file. MP3, AAC, WAVE, or AIFF
  
• Drag and drop interface.
  
• Free trial.
  
• Low cost ~ $15.00.
  
• No need to purchase the song and then the ringtone from iTunes.
  
• No jailbreak required.
  

Doesn't work with purchased iTunes songs though. Fair enough.

Oh And it's Mac OS only.

Still a win-win.

iPhone Review (Unvarnished) - A Series By TexasT's

I've had the iPhone for a couple of months now so I think I've amassed enough mileage with it to write a decent review. Guess we'll see what you think about that as we go along...

On the day my Moto Razr finally gave up the ghost I decided it was time for an upgrade. The Razr was over two years old and was pretty beat up. I didn't baby the damned thing. I supposed it was a miracle it lasted as long as it did. Technically it wasn't really dead, but I was getting a lot of static and more than a few dropped calls at the end.

I had (have) an 8GB iPod Touch and I really liked the touch interface. After yet another dropped call, I decided a visit to the ATT Store was in order.

The sales person was knowledgable enough, even though she didn't have an iPhone herself. She confessed her husband was a TechNut (There are a lot of us out there) and had one. We went over the various plans. I settled on the lowest cost ($40.00) one which had 200 text messages and unlimited email and Internet usage. Good thing too, because once you have an Internet capable device, I'd guess you use it more. A lot more. Trust me on this. I know I do. I rely heavily on the Internet functions of this phone. More on this later...

By the way the data plan is over and above whatever calling plan you have.

She helped me pick out a case as well. I knew I needed one, as the iPhone doesn't come with one. I guess Apple decided that since the iPhone is such a stylish device that one would want to make the choice for how to hang the phone off of one's body. At the store I was at, they had a fair selection of cases. I soon (relatively speaking) settled on a DLO Hipcase. Leather of course!

• Stylish and durable leather case for iPhone
• Padded cover flips up easily for quick, single-handed iPhone access and retrieval
• Access to iPhone headset jack, even when closed
• Leather-covered belt clip secures iPhone anywhere
• MSRP $34.99 Available for less via internet.

DLO (Digital Lifestyle Outfitters) produces an entire line of computer and digital music player accessories.

Keeps iPhone by your side in style...

Yeah. Durable. Right.

...Whatever.

While it is nice looking, the clip is already pulling loose from the case itself. Looks like the leather stretched. Probably from getting damp. (This is southeast Texas after all). This will need to be replaced. With something a little more durable. As I said I'm not easy on my toys or tools. I am not abusive, but I do not keep my stuff in velvet lined boxes either. Not saying anything bad about other DLO products at all. Just that this leather case apparently doesn't fit my particular lifestyle, if that makes any sense.

~ Just a little mini review on the aftermarket case.

My purchase complete I headed back to the office...In possession of:

I spent a helluva chunk of change just to come away with that little box. Still and all, given the Fruit Company's reputation for puting out products, I feel pretty good about my purchase.

When I got back to the office, I had to open the box of course, even though you have to use iTunes to activate the phone.

I didn't care, I just wanted to hold the thing. In my hands.

So...What's in the box?

• iPhone
• Stereo Headset
• Dock Connector to USB Cable
• Standard iPhone Dock
• USB AC adapter
• Polishing Cloth (not pictured)

After I inspected everything, I repacked it and put it into my backpack for the ride home. Of course it was just shortly afer lunchtime, so I had quite the wait...

Next ~ Okay ~ I Have the Damned Thing ~ What Now?

Now That's What I Call Customer Service!

I use Adobe™ PhotoShop™ Elements 4 (still thinking about that upgrade to v6) to manipulate graphics (photos and other formats, too) and stuff *technical term ~cough~cough*.

There is an enhancement package put out by onOne software called Essentials 2™. It has a couple of really nice enhancements for PSE. I use it often.

When you have a Mac you generally get automatic updates for everything. My system is set to warn me when updates are available. Since I'm a little gun shy from my days on a PC, I'll bring the updates window up and download if necessary.

I got a notice for one for Essentials 2™ for version 2.0. So I clicked to download. The package download was taking too long for something that was 250 MEG. I mean over 45 minutes for something that size on a broadband connection is ridiculous. So I knew something was up, but I went ahead and started the installer anyway. Not only did it not install, but it screwed my current version of Essentials 2™ up royally.

I like to think my computer mojo is pretty strong, but this threw me a loop. In desperation, I sent onOne an email via their webpage. I explained what had happened and why I thought it had happened.

It took them a day or so to respond initially. After a couple of email exchanges back and forth over the period of a day. I got what I thought was a final email stating they were just going to send me a new disk with the updated package, if I would just confirm my mailing address...So I did.

The next day I got an order confirmation (no charge). Later that day, I got another email informing me that the disc had shipped. This was about mid-day on Wednesday. I was getting ready to go to lunch, when I got a call on my cell from someplace I didn't recognize.

Now if I get one of these on the office phone I'll let it go to voice mail. But if I get one on my cell, it means I've given the number out for some reason.

So I picked up the call. It was a Service Tech from onOne Software, following up. Jeebus!

This sounds like something I would have done for one of my favorite customers. She explained what I needed to do once I got the disc to get the software installed correctly.

When you least expect it some company goes and does something really surprising to restore my faith in corporate culture...

I am one mightily satisfied customer with onOne software.