Now that the iPad has taken over as my go-to iOS device, I have been using the 3GS for a lot less and I’ve spent some time thinking about what kind of role the device now plays (aside from Very Pretty Cellphone).
Snappier
Before I get into usage details, I wanted to note that my iPhone feels a little snappier now that I’m using it less. Not faster than it was originally, but no longer sluggish.
I have attributed half of this perceived speed improvement to a conscious effort to remove some of the clutter on my iPhone. I’ve deleted a lot of the games, media, and note apps I don’t use on a weekly basis, so there are simply fewer apps to launch at any given time.
The rest of the speed increase is probably due to the very natural off-loading of tasks (RSS, Twitter, e-mail) from the iPhone to the iPad, meaning that I’m simply doing a lot less on the iPhone than I was before, and less frequently to boot.
These changes in usage have made a difference because I now switch between just 8-16 apps on a day-to-day basis, which is less than one full home screen can accommodate. This means fewer apps held in RAM, and fewer times that the 3GS simply runs out of memory and has to kill one app to launch another one.
More Focused Usage
I’d like to say that I’ve achieved some sort of minimal nirvana here and that I now know exactly what my iPhone is for, but the truth of the matter is that I’ve still got more apps to use than I have RAM to load them into. However, cutting down on apps has helped me figure out how I can use my iPhone alongside the iPad.
Personal Stereo – now that the iPhone isn’t my main mobile device, it can sit easily on a stereo dock and blast music with Tunes Remote loaded and I never have to interrupt it to tweet or check mail.
Messaging and notifications platform – I keep iPad notifications off most of the time, so the iPhone actually functions as my all-purpose alarm and notification system. It’s the only device that makes a sound when new e-mail comes in, it notifies me of incoming tweets via Boxcar, and it’s my main portal to my friends through WhatsApp and SMS.
Fast Camera – I’m still not sure that this is the way I’m actually using my iPhone, or the way I want to think I’m using it. The camera on the 3GS is really quite good, but can take forever and a day to get started. I’m hoping that by lowering the number of apps I use, I’ll be able to keep Camera+ loaded in RAM nearly all the time and be ready to take pictures whenever I want to…instead of four seconds after the moment is over.
Just Right
These three aspects are what I really use the iPhone for now, and that’s a pretty big change, considering I used the device for nearly everything before I bought the iPad. In fact, I’d say I overused it simply because I liked the form factor and touch screen interaction so much that I’d opt to use the tiny 3.5″ touchscreen over the 13″ screen of my MacBook Pro.
Don’t get me wrong: I still have quite a number of other apps installed on the iPhone an one of the device’s strengths is still its flexibility and utility, but finding a balance for how I using the iPhone and iPad has helped to ease my mind. I like knowing that I’m still taking full advantage of my tools, and if focusing the uses for my 3GS has helped to make it a bit faster in the process, then I can deal with that, too.
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