The Starbucks Reserve Roastery Edition Field Notes look amazing. Only available from the one specific Starbucks location in Seattle. Through begging online, I managed to get someone to send me a couple of packs, apparently they are already out.

Tempted by this guy.

via Cool Material.

I’ve only had my iPhone 6 for about twenty four hours, but here’s some of my first impressions. I upgraded from an iPhone 5S. This is not intended to be a full review, nor do I intend to do one. It’s also not a review of iOS 8, you should read this one if you want that. I went for the iPhone 6 Space Gray, 128 Gb. My carrier is AT&T.

First, the software and data transition between phones was the easiest one I have ever done. I had upgraded my 5S to iOS 8 last week, and did a lot of purging beforehand to make sure my backup was as small as possible. Having said that, I was up and running pretty quickly, and most everything just works today. iCloud keychain, and iCloud backups, have taken this process lightyears ahead of the “old days.”

It’s a fistful of phone for me, but not too big by any means. I can reach all areas of the screen. Your mileage may vary based on your hand size and dexterity, but I am totally comfortable with the size of the phone.

That screen! Wow. The colors, the resolution, it looks amazing. Feels like a substantial upgrade from the 5S screen to me. Not just the size, but also the quality.

The Sleep/Wake button location change to the side of the device went against my muscle memory for the first few hours of use, but today it seems like I’m well on my way to getting used to this change.

It worked, without any obvious issues, with my car kit and other accessories, except for my Elevation Dock, which it doesn’t fit in. (Anyone want to buy an Elevation Dock for their 5S or 5C?)

I went for the Apple Leather Case (Black) because I used the same/similar case from Apple on my iPhone 5S. I’m not disappointed in any way, it feels great. I think that most people will want a case for this phone, it’s very smooth and rounded, and I think, easier to drop than the last four iPhones.

I haven’t taken many pictures yet, but the pictures I took to test looked markedly better than similar shots with my iPhone 5S.

I’m very enthusiastic about this device. It seems better in all the right ways.  It’s not really worse in any way that I have found after a day.

Last night, the people who were among the select group of writers to receive review units of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus were finally allowed to release their hands on reviews of the new devices.

Every year, I find this night a little overwhelming as I try to read and digest the opinions of a catalog of people who I trust, and, in some cases, revere, for their opinions on this stuff. This is kind of hilarious in that every previous year at this point I’ve already ordered my device.  This year, however, more than any other, I was reading these reviews hoping that I haven’t made the wrong decision in which device I ordered. Really for the first time in the iPhone’s history, there are two “top of the line” devices to choose from. Did I get it right?

I ordered an iPhone 6 Plus at 3:40 am ET last Friday, after 4o frustrating minutes of trying to order a phone while simultaneously reloading Twitter to see if others had been successful.  My reasoning behind choosing the iPhone 6 Plus was that I wanted the extra battery life, and that, given how much I value the pictures I take with the device, that the camera with optical stabilization would be something that I would want.

I had printed out the PDF of the devices, and cut them out. It did nag at me a little that the 6 Plus was the same size as my (work provided) Samsung Galaxy Note 3. When my order went through, the app informed me that my device would be shipping the first week in October. Unacceptable, but I went back to bed anyway.

The next morning, I found that there were iPhone 6, Space Gray, 128 Gb still available for store pickup at two of my local Apple stores with a 9/19 availability date. I cancelled my iPhone 6 Plus order, and placed one for an iPhone 6 for pick up. (I can’t pick mine up until Monday because I am out of town at a family wedding the next few days.) I’m hoping that I don’t spend much time in the next 12 months regretting that decision. My reasoning was that the iPhone 6 is still a good jump from the iPhone 5S I am using now in terms of size.  We’ll see.

Here’s some thoughts on a few reviews from around the web. I don’t intend this post to be a summary of the reviews, or a review of reviews, it’s mostly my reaction to each.

Daring Fireball - The iPhones 6 by John Gruber

This review made me feel a little better about my decision to go with the iPhone 6, particularly this part, where he makes his recommendations.

 If you simply want a bigger iPhone, get the 4.7-inch iPhone 6. That’s what it feels like: a bigger iPhone.

After seven years, it is hard, really hard, to get to used to the new side placement of the sleep/wake button.

MacWorld - iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus review: Bigger is in fact better (in the right hands) by Jason Snell

That’s one heck of a line wrapping title. Jason does a great job of putting this set of device releases in the context of the history of iPhone releases at the beginning of the review. He seems to feel almost exactly the same way that Gruber does about the 6 Plus.

That being said, the iPhone 6 Plus is unlike any iPhone before it. Not quite a phone, not yet an iPad, it’s a tweener of a device that’s going to be fantastic for some people and completely wrong for others.

Reachability isn’t the most elegant concept I’ve seen Apple develop, but it does make the size of these phones more manageable when you’re using only one hand.

On a side note, Jason Snell has left MacWorld, and has a new site, Six Colors.  There are some interesting deeper insights about the screens and display technology in his first article on that site, iPhone 6 & iPhone 6 Plus: A tale of scale. Looking forward to seeing what else he does with his newfound freedom.

The Verge - iPhone 6 Review by David Pierce,  iPhone 6 Plus Review by Nilay Patel

First, I think that it was a curious decision to do these as two separate reviews by two different writers. The two reviews above got this right, in my opinion. A single review for both makes for better reading, and they are so similar in so many ways, that this style of review is more efficient for the reader.

The iPhone 6 review does a good job of putting this phone, and it’s size, in the context of the larger market, fairly comparing it to the Android devices that the Daring Fireballs and MacWorlds would typically not mention.  This review has the nicest product photography and better screen shots than any other review I have looked at for these phones as well. It talks more about iOS 8 than the previous two as well, mentioning Spotlight for instance.

I’m particularly smitten with Spotlight, which now includes the App Store, web, local, and other search results as you type. It’s become my go-to way to find anything; it’s much faster than opening Safari or dealing with Siri, which can be fantastically useful but remains hard of hearing.

The iPhone 6 plus review did cause me some regret. Particularly this section on battery.

Huge phones get to have huge batteries, and the iPhone 6 Plus is a huge phone with a huge battery: I consistently got about two days of battery life from the 6 Plus in regular daily use — slightly more than the day and a half we got from the iPhone 6

I would be doing The Verge a disservice if I didn’t mention how well done the video reviews are. Both are excellent, and I found myself wondering why some of the other publications/sites don’t do this, as it’s way more revealing about a product like the iPhone than a written review with some screenshots.  I especially  enjoyed the shot of the reviewer walking by the line at the 5th Avenue Apple Store in Manhattan, walking past the people waiting in line for the iPhone 6 while talking on the iPhone 6.  Funny.

New York Times - Review and Video: With Big New iPhones, It’s the iOS 8 Software Inside That Counts by Molly Wood

This one is another combo written review and video review in a single page. The written review sticks to the basics, and really steers clear of making a recommendation, as I think you would expect from a more mainstream media review.

The video review is excellent, and seeing the phones in her hands was great. It made me realize just how huge the iPhone 6 Plus is going to be for people with smaller hands. (Which I don’t have.) The video review has a lot more flavor and opinion to it, and I wish that had come through more in the written review.

Neither review impacted my possible buyer’s remorse.

I’m pushing this post out, but plan on adding additional reviews today as time allows.  There are a lot of reviews. - RO 11:44 AM ET

The rewards include a custom printed Bullet Journal notebook, which seems like an interesting idea, albeit a little antithetical to the overall idea of Bullet Journal in the first place. Of course, I was in the moment I saw the Kickstarter, and have backed the project at the two notebook tier.

I feel like I owe Ryder a debt of gratitude because Bullet Journal has been so useful for me, and I am interested in seeing more ideas from other people on how I can evolve my Bullet Journal style. (The best thing for me would be neater handwriting, I need to work on that.) It’s definitely a very accessible system, so it adapts well to a variety of needs, and varying levels of note taking skill. If you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s your chance.

Fall 2014 Field Notes, sort of revealed. Can’t wait to get my subscription package. FIELD NOTES COLORS: UNEXPOSED EDITION.

I've gone a little office supply, pen and notebook crazy over the last year. It really started when I stated using Bullet Journal.  One of the favorite items that I have bought during that time was a Hobonichi Planner Book. It's one of those products that is obviously a labor of love for the people who craft it, and there are numerous delightful details.  Next year's book goes on sale on September 1st, and if you are at all interested in this sort of thing, I recommend reading this really well done overview post over at Pen*Paper*Ink*Letter.  It includes some great images of the product, covers, and packaging.

Ran across this blog post on one of my groups, and definitely plan on trying it out because it seems like an interesting visual approach to coding your notebook entries, where a single entry can be coded as multiple topics. This hack makes the  back of your notebook will act like a tag list or index.

This weekend, I was reading Twitter, minding my own business, when I ran across this tweet by Nick Bilton. It had this picture taken from a drone attached to it.

I saw this picture, and I was intrigued. A longtime lover of photography, I am really interested in the perspectives you could capture with a drone that you wouldn’t normally be able to capture without a helicopter, or even without a helicopter.  As I do, I started searching for more information about using drones for photography, and discovered a few sites/posts with some great information.  First, this post on the National Geographic web site.  Later, I found skypixel.org which seems to be a very actively maintained blog with some really striking drone photography on it.  It also features this awesome getting started guide.  If you are at all interested in this stuff, this seems like the page to bookmark to get started.

I have gone ahead and ordered a practice drone.  Before I spend too much money on this, I want to be sure that it’s something I enjoy doing, and that I can actually fly one of these things.  Even the bare bone drones plus a GoPro camera will end up setting you back a thousand dollars.  Although it looks like rentals are going to be available soon, keep reading.

A couple of days later, Jason Kottke posted this Drone selfies post and the web exploded with drone photography interest.  The drone selfie video, which I have embedded below, was take at the same time as the shot above that Nick Bilton posted to Twitter.  It seems like this meme has exploded in the last few days, this led to more drone selfies, or dronies.  Personally, I am more interested in taking high quality stills from unique perspectives than the videos, but I probably will reconsider once I have gear.

Amit Gupta, who took the Drone selfie below, has added Drone Photography gear rental to his awesome photography gear site, Photojojo.  Go here to check that out and sign up for more information.  Looks like they are launching on May 15th.  There’s also a great guide to “How to take a perfect Dronie” on that page.

Bernal Hill selfie from Amit Gupta on Vimeo.

Evernote and Moleskine have released another entry into their lineup of co-created notebooks.  Aside from the nicer cover than the previous offering, which was my only real complaint with them, this one has some particularly interesting additions.  First, there’s an area, pictured above, where you can take notes that are only for you, allowing you to share notes from meetings, while keeping some notes that aren’t meant to be shared.  Second, there’s a check box in the corner of each page, and, if it’s checked, Evernote will set a reminder when you capture that page with the Evernote app.  This has a ton of possible useful applications.  I’ve been constantly trying out new notebooks as I continue to evolve my own personal version of Bullet Journal, and I guess this one is next.

This post on MacRumors, iPhone 6: Everything We Know is a great comprehensive wrap up of the current conjecture about the all but confirmed larger screen iPhone we expect to see in late 2014.  I don’t really have much to add, but the image above, from the article, really did grab my attention.  (The image is from MacRumors, not me.)

“Skala Color is a compact and feature-rich OS X color picker that works with a huge variety of formats, covering everything you’re likely to need for web, iOS, Android, and OS X development.”

I’m a true believer in Bjango’s software, and swear by iStat Menus.  You can’t beat the price, free.

Happy Easter!.

The main subject of posts about this purchase seems to be speculation about what Twitter might want with a lock screen utility company. I think that’s a fairly obvious, Twitter updates without unlocking your phone.

Flow for iPad, a photo by bump on Flickr.

Instagram doesn’t have an official iPad client. Who knows why this is? I have used a bunch of different iPad apps, most recently Iris, which is also quite good, to use this service on my iPad. Recently Flow was released, and I really like it, I think it’s the best Instagram client for iPad.

There are a few different reasons why I like this over the other alternatives out there. First, it’s all about the pictures. As you can see from the image above, the app is designed to only be used in landscape orientation, and fits the maximum amount of pictures into the iPad viewport with a minimum of chrome. Second, the app is snappy, and the transition animations between screens are well thought out, pleasing, yet not over the top. Third, they’ve made it easy to navigate the sea of pictures, allowing you to move picture to picture while viewing in detail mode. Also of use, and well designed, are the abilities to search and bookmark specific tags, users and locations. I have a small list that I check on a regular basis, for example #vscocam, which yields a really nice set of pictures. All the expected Instagram functionality you’d expect is there, and well supported.

Flow is free to download, and does not currently contain any advertising, so I am not sure what their long term plan to make this app into a real business might be. I guess I always wonder about this whenever I download a new app these days. I’d just much rather pay for the app than wonder what could happen in the future. In this case, given that Instagram is still figuring out how to make money too, I think I would be a hypocrite to not use this free app when I am already using this free service. The app is not perfect. The lack of portrait support, while not a deal killer, seems like an oddity in an otherwise well thought out application. I’ve also had to fiddle with it to get the pictures to refresh at times, but I do think, in lieu of an official Instagram client for iPad, that this is a really nice replacement.