Most of the shortcomings that made me return the 1G, 3G, and 3GS are still there, but the killer application that I can’t live without is FaceTime. Skype, Yahoo Chat, MSN Messenger, all have been around for years – video chatting isn’t new, but with FaceTime, Apple does it right. The ability to have a handheld device, press a single button, and be able to share lives across the continent is magical.

From a technical standpoint it’s an engineering marvel. I clearly remember the days when simple actions like AIM Direct Connect would require port forwarding behind routers and often failed. Today, I’m able to video chat, in amazing quality, without a single thought to firewall configuration. If you’re interested in the nitty gritty of how FaceTime really works, check out Packet Stan’s blog, but Apple has managed to use technologies that have existed for years and turned them into something truly magical.

FaceTime technology coupled with the iPhone 4′s superb hardware and software allow crystal clear audio, and not quite HD, but excellent video quality. In fact, with the shoddy AT&T coverage I have my house, I was having 5-6 dropped calls every hour; with FaceTime, I have virtually none. The hardware is so good it picks up whispers and conversations in the other rooms. The software so good, that there are zero ambient noises – it actually sounds as if the person is in the same room.

I was a skeptic when FaceTime first came out, thinking I never video chat on my PC, so why would I care to on my phone? Today I’m a fan – I love it. There is no replacement for seeing someone in person, but for people who have dear ones far away, FaceTime certainly makes the distance seem less.

PS: I’m still an ardent BlackBerry user and can’t live without my BlackBerry. I still believe the BlackBerry experience is unrivaled for work. When compared to an iPhone, for contacts, emails, tasks, and calendars, I firmly believe the Blackberry is a superior device. However, with my new found love of FaceTime, it has been relegated to my daytime phone, and the iPhone is my evening phone. I can’t wait to upgrade to iPhone 5.

Yesterday, I bought the Blackberry Curve 8900. I literally went back and forth between the Curve 8900 and the Bold 9000 five to six times, and ended up going with the Curve. I love it.

It’s the perfect shape, quick, takes 16GB external memory, has a vivid display screen, and has phenomenal battery life. I spend about two hours on the phone yesterday, installed tons of apps, browsed internet, and my battery is still at 55% after not charging it overnight.

Yes, the Curve has no 3G, but 3G from all accounts is a battery hog. My dad recharges his Bold every 7-8 hours. It drains battery as the network isn’t as well saturated yet, and the phone constantly jumps between EDGE and 3G causing the drain. Additionally, most places I’m around frequently like work and home have WiFi so 3G is useless. While traveling on the road, 3G isn’t available due to the remoteness of the highways, and the costs of 3G outweighed the benefits.

The Curve is a better phone on most other accounts, better 3.2mp camera (with auto focus), keyboard (a preference thing), larger screen (40 pixels taller), smaller and lighter. The Bold felt clunky and out of proportion to me, but that’s another preference thing.

For all your iPhone fans out there, I understand the appeal, but I’m a blackberry lover for life. It’s simply too good a phone for people that actually work for a living (ha!).

Microsoft Enterprise Exchange Server, Microsoft Outlook, Blackberry Enterprise Server, and a Blackberry device are the perfect combination and I have yet to see a service that can rival how these four play together. Contact, calendars, memos, tasks, emails, settings, speed dial lists, alarm preferences, (even something as meaning less as my ring tones), were automatically synced with my new phone while my old one is somewhere in the bottom of the Atlantic. I can literally throw away my desktop, blackberry, laptop, and still have my data synced with new devices in a matter of minutes.

I initiated a remote wipe on my old phone, just for peace of mind, but I highly doubt underwater sea creatures have mastered the blackberry yet.

1. Always keep a spare fiber-optic cable with tin cans attached to each end.
2. Take a deep breath, stretch, and count to 20. When you’re relaxed, you can throw your BlackBerry much harder.
3. Acquire an advanced degree in telecommunications engineering, so you can decipher the eventual explanation from RIM.
4. Call your local Homeland Security office and threaten to blow it up in the name of Holy Jihad. Then the BlackBerry outage will be the least of your worries.
5. While they may not be fast, today’s carrier turtles are more reliable than ever.
6. Use your writing or photography skills to chronicle the tragedy for future generations. The world must never forget.
7. Consider learning semaphore.
8. Take advantage of the accompanying chaos to loot an iPhone.
9. If you experience feelings of murderous rage, remember: incompetent buck-passing millionaire executives are people, too.

via Woot.