iPhone Purity Test
What is your iPhone coolness factor? Do you waltz through malls wearing white earbuds with your Gucci? Or are there nefarious nerd-like factors at play in your iPhone usage? The following test will help you evaluate exactly how pure--or not--your use of the iPhone is, in the ideal realms that is the Ive/Woz continuum.
How do you score? Let us know in the comments.
Usage
The iPhone is for placing and receiving calls, just like any other cell phone, right? Right?
0 points. I use my iPhone to place calls.
30 points. I use my iPhone to place calls using EDGE- or WiFi-based software.
5 points. My iPhone is using a Cingular/AT&T SIM other than the one it shipped with.
10 bonus points. My iPhone is using prepaid Pick-Your-Plan.
50 bonus points. My iPhone is using a Cingular/AT&T calling plan other than the standard iPhone offerings such as Pay as You Go, my corporate account, or the plan from my Blackjack.
200 points. I have cloned my AT&T SIM in order to place outgoing calls using a non-AT&T account.
1000 points. I have unlocked my iPhone and can use it with any service in any country.
5 points. After chatting up a likely candidate with the iPhone's SMS, I have used the iPhone's Google Maps to navigate to a booty call. (Courtesy M. Rose, who says "It's a purity test.")
Accessories
How you accessorize your iPhone reflects on your iPhone coolness quotient. Those white earbuds may be the most famous accessories on Earth.
0 points. I use the white earbuds included in the package.
5 points. I have purchased a Radio Shack (or equivalent) adapter so I can use my own headphones with the iPhone.
20 bonus points. I have adapted my own headphones to duplicate the controller on the white earbuds.
5 points. I have powered my iPhone off a 9-Volt battery (or equivalent).
20 points. I have set up my iPhone to use GPS data with Google Maps via a Motorola i415.
0 points. I have purchased a third-party iPhone cover.
2 points. I am using either a sock or something purchased at the dollar store as my iPhone cover.
Negative 15 points. I am using the cover from a Zune to protect my iPhone.
Ring Tones
Ah, the sweet sound of ring tones. That personalization touch that determines whether your cell phone will merely annoy other people or set their nerves on edge.
5 points. I've added a custom ringtone to my iPhone.
20 bonus points. I've added a custom ringtone without using ringtone-specific software.
10 bonus points. I've done so wirelessly.
100 bonus points. My ring tone is my last iPhone conversation.
Safari
Steve Jobs promised us none of that "watered-down" Internet. How is your usage of the fully-leaded full-strength variety?
0 points. I have used Safari to surf the Web on my iPhone.
0 points. I have watched YouTube videos with the YouTube widget.
20 points. I have used Safari to watch YouTube h.264 videos on my iPhone.
5 points. I use Safari to instant message with Meebo (or equivalent).
10 points. I have 17 bookmarklets defined in Safari.
5 bonus points. I have more than 17 bookmarklets defined in Safari.
20 bonus points. I have created my own iPhone-specific bookmarklets.
20 points. I have sent myself PDF documents by encoding them in a bookmark's URL.
File access
You can store a lot more than contacts, bookmarks and calendars on your iPhone.
0 points. I have synced my iPhone with iTunes.
5 points. I have put data onto my iPhone.
10 bonus points. Without using third party software.
20 bonus points. I know what "re-jailbreaking" means and why.
Secure Shell
Connecting directly with the iPhone opens up many new access opportunities.
0 points. What's secure shell?
10 points. I have used the Web-based secure shell from my iPhone.
5 bonus points. I know what "dottie" is.
10 bonus points. I know my iPhone's IP address without looking.
5 bonus points. You can assign a Static IP to your iPhone using wireless preferences.
50 points. I have installed dropbear and can connect to my iPhone using ssh.
30 bonus points. I have tethered my iPhone to my laptop.
100 points. I have installed an Apache server on my iPhone and use the iPhone-based Safari to connect to it to serve custom pages using Python scripts (or equivalent).
Applications
The iPhone comes pre-packaged with a dozen fabulous widget-like applications but that's just a jumping-off point.
0 points. I have used the widgets on my iPhone screen.
5 points. The name "Springboard.app" is meaningful.
15 points. I have tested "Demo.app"
30 points. I have added "Demo.app" and/or "FieldTest.app" to the standard list of widgets on my iPhone's display.
10 bonus points. I have spent more than 5 minutes attempting to figure out how to provide data in the proper format to Demo.app
100 points. I have compiled command-line utilities for the iPhone.
10 bonus points. And installed them.
10 bonus points. I know what UIKit.framework is.
20 bonus points. And class-dumped it.
1000 bonus points. I have compiled and installed UI-based applications for the iPhone.
Wear and Tear
A new Apple product often leaves you wanting to treat it like a special jewel. You won't get a lot of use out of your iPhone if you're a "don't smudge my screen" kind of person.
1 point. I know how to power my iPhone off using the sleep and back buttons.
5 points. I know how to put my iPhone into recovery mode.
5 bonus points. And I have done so more than 5 time.
5 points. I have restored the software on my iPhone.
10 bonus points. More than twice.
10 bonus points. Because I iBricked it.
20 bonus points. At least twice.
50 points. After iBricking my iPhone, I have socially engineered my way into getting a new one for free.
50 bonus points. Three times.
2 points. I have complained vigorously about the iPhone's non-removable battery.
3 bonus points. In public.
20 points. I have replaced the non-removable battery myself.
10 bonus points. Using an a third-party replacement product. (Thanks das)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
VH said 1:57PM on 7-26-2007
Hmm... I'm confused. How many points if I don't have an iPhone?
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kory said 2:02PM on 7-26-2007
76...i'm pretty basic. and apparently lame (;
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scott said 2:12PM on 7-26-2007
hmm, i scored 101. i guess im pretty lame!
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Kender said 2:14PM on 7-26-2007
281. I was scared at first :)
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Emor8t said 2:16PM on 7-26-2007
if this doesn't scream self absorbed apple sheep, I don't know what does.
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arjun said 2:21PM on 7-26-2007
71... woot i'm useless... what do u get for already cracking ur screen and replacing it???
and how about replacing the headphone buds with ones of your choice ? (i used sony ex85sl buds, noise cancelling and amazing quality)?
i say that's worth at least 50 =D
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Joe said 2:27PM on 7-26-2007
Billy K - I didn't think it was an ego booster, I thought it was more like a "joke".
(and we wonder why the rest of the population doesn't think computer geeks have a sense of humor.)
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Craig said 2:31PM on 7-26-2007
0! I live in Europe....
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Johnny Thrash said 2:34PM on 7-26-2007
My attention span won't let me read all that, but I prolly only get about a 10 points or so... I'm perfectly happy with my purchase.
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Steve Shaner said 2:37PM on 7-26-2007
133 points and kicking here. :d
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Jacob Welsh said 2:58PM on 7-26-2007
206
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Harbinger said 3:20PM on 7-26-2007
Erica, you're still missing wireless sync via a Samba Share.
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Mike said 3:50PM on 7-26-2007
Just 26 for me. I am not very adventurous with my $600 toy. The biggest thing I did was mod my headphones. I shaved away the plastic on them so they would fit into the iPhone's jack. I'm interested in splicing the button/mic on to them, but I don't have the know-how.
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Aron Trimble said 4:00PM on 7-26-2007
266 - but i'll be adding another 30 when I try tethering after work tonight.
I'm also putting together a script-based kit for getting SSH and a few other things working. Any bonus points there?
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Ian Donaldson said 5:01PM on 7-26-2007
I came out with a total of 186.
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Alex said 5:01PM on 7-26-2007
I have a scratch on my glass iPhone screen. It's only visible when you angle the phone correctly with a lamp, but its definitely there, a little longer than an inch.
Where was this category in wear and tear?
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billbob said 7:59PM on 7-26-2007
i scored 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 points!
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Derrick Rollns said 9:03PM on 7-26-2007
26....what's wrong with just using it? I don't want to hack my precious black jewel. I feel worthless because I'm not a super uber geek-a-tron. I own an iphone, isn't that worth at least 100 points on its own? Oh well...
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