Apple did a great thing when they put their full Safari web browser on the Apple iPhone. The functionality of the Safari browser paired with an unlimited data plan from AT&T, or even better a Wi-Fi hot spot, turns your iPhone into a mini laptop.
I just purchased the iPhone this weekend while on a business trip and on the way home, I found a deal on an item on eBay that I really wanted to bid on. My first thought was to call my brother and have him login and place the bid for me. This is what I would have normally done in the past.
Then I realized, I have everything I need to buy something on eBay with my iPhone.
Right before the auction ended, I jumped on my iPhone, opened up Safari and went to eBay.com. Placed my bid for the item and a few minutes later received an email, on my iPhone, that said I had won the item.
This is only one great example of how useful and powerful the iPhone device is. Try doing the same thing I did with this on a traditional cell phone. I know it can be done on some smart phones but not nearly as easy and as quickly as I was able to do with the iPhone.
The Safari web browser on the iPhone opens up a huge world of opportunities for iPhone specific web applications. But it is not limited to only web applications designed for it, you can use the iPhone Safari web browser with pretty much any existing web site.
Think about how much functionality is available to you right there in that one feature of the iPhone.
If you have a story about something you’ve been able to do with the new capabilities available through the iPhone, be sure to tell me about it by commenting below.
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After enjoying the Macy’s fireworks last night my friends and I wanted to watch a movie. They asked me to find tickets for the opening of the Transformers. I used the iPhone to filter out sold out shows and purchase tickets with Fandango simply by typing “Transformers” in Google via the Safari browser. I managed to do all of this while walking to the car from the fireworks! We even used Google Maps to help avoid traffic so we wouldn’t be late. While my older cell phone had similar capabilities via WAP this experience was seamless, fast, and successful. It seems we are only scratching the surface of the capabilities this device offers with web applications!