06-29-2007, 02:50 PM
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Contributing Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,160
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AT&T Getting Ready to Launch the Revolutionary iPod
In a few hours from now AT&T Wireless will start selling the most anticipated and the most hyped gadget. Apple claims that it is the best iPod ever. Reviewers claim that it has the best browser ever for a mobile device. Almost everyone, myself included, is drooling over the screen size, resolution and brightness. Then there is the much debated touch screen, which Apple has managed to blend in (nicely) with the eye-candy user interface elements. The battery life really amazes me; Apple has packed the battery polymer into every nook and cranny of this sealed gadget giving it more life than other similar units on the market. Talking about similar units, do you think this seamless iPod+Browser+Phone gadget should be compared with the smart phones in the market.
Walt Mossberg did in his review, to compare size and battery life. But if it is compared to the smart phones, shouldn’t this gadget get beaten up for not having better email and third-party application support. Shouldn’t this gadget get dinged badly for having too many steps to perform simple steps like dialing a number. It seems to me that the eye-candy interface has taken away the attention from those details. It has been touted as a mobile computer and what a mobile computer should be. Unfortunately Apple has this computer locked down. The mobile OS on this device is close to 700MB in size, I am sure it can do a lot more than what it does now. This is where Apple’s design team comes in and makes a bold decision. They saw that there is a big segment of users that wanted music+email+browser on their mobile devices and didn’t care about the business productivity features; this market segment was buying smart phones and finding it overwhelming. So Apple decides to create a product for this segment, a device that does a few things really really well through a simple to navigate user interface on a cool looking form factor.
Traditionally manufacturers have tried to solve the music+phone convergence problem by adding some music player buttons, but Apple has really blended it in with the phone. Then again the technology components that make this a hyped gadget are not new or innovative, what is innovative and revolutionary is the packaging – choosing the right set of features and blending them together; something that Apple does well. Then there is the traditional Apple advertising that shows the gadget in all its glory and handing the review units to the main stream media (as opposed to bloggers), that has really propelled the hype into a different realm.
So the question is, are you in line for one? I know I am not and I won’t till they open up the phone to third party applications and developers; till they add better corporate email support; till they add more personalization options; till they put a SIM card tray on this sealed unit. Apple has done an amazing job designing a mobile phone keeping the (iPod) masses in the mind, but I am not in that segment. That said, I do strongly feel that it is time for other manufacturers to pay attention to what Apple is doing and pay attention to their consumers instead of paying attention to the carriers and their demands.
Update: According to the user manual [PDF] it has been confirmed that this GSM phone will after all have a SIM card tray. Thanks to our reader, vincenzosi, for pointing this out. |
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06-29-2007, 03:18 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 19
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for $500 and not even 30gb of storage? No. while people been to lazy to add hard drives to smart phones it needs to happen. i personally have 27gb of music to port around and use creative zen, zune will be my next player. Would much rather have it on my blackjack type device and a bigger battery.
Itunes? No thanks.
Touch screen aka, grease screen? no, already bad enough face juice gets on screens nevermind fingers. talk about unfriendly phone when eating.
can buy a laptop for a little more than 500 and get way more features.
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06-29-2007, 03:46 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 23,554
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The iPhone is lacking a lot of features that would make it useful to people like us, but the big screen, the multi-touch interface, the way it works with photos and videos, the coverflow interface, the simple UI...all of those things add up to a very interesting consumer device.
What I wonder about is the size: because it has a touch screen, you pretty much need to carry it in some sort of case. Most people I know don't use cases for their phones because it makes them too big. Sure, there are some hip-holsters out there for Blackberries and whatnot, but Joe Average consumer tends to want his phone to be as small as possible. Will the iPhone be too big for most people?
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06-29-2007, 04:13 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 119
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I don't get it Kris.
What do you want out of the "corporate e-mail" that it can't do?
And there is a SIM slot. It's at the top of the unit.
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06-29-2007, 04:17 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 26
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As a longtime Windows Mobile user going back to the iPaq 3600 and now to my Motorola Q I can't wait to switch to the iPhone. Why most phones are still coming with 64mb of memory is beyond me when it doesnt cost much at all to put at least 512mb in there.
The interface is revolutionary no matter what anyone says if it works as advertised...I know that is a big if.
Simply put most everyone I know shouts curses more than praises at their phones and I think this is going to start changing that. I'm a power user myself and there are some features I'm gonna be wishing it had that my Q or other phones may have. But hands down I've never thought of waiting in line for a product until today.
Jason, Mossberg and some of the others said they carried their phones in their pockets with keys and in briefcases and it has been resistant to scratching so if I get one there will be no case for me. When I first switched the Q from some cheap little LG phone it took a while for me to get used to the size and the iPhone is almost exactly the same in dimensions to the Q. So I think people will be taken aback by the size but they'll get over it.
Lastly, I've watched the look on people's faces as they watch the iPhone commercials. People are amazed. My almost 50-year-old mother that hates computers wants one. Think about it, when was the last time a phone was ever advertised solely by the user interface? Most phones have scenes in big cities with young people of all races walking while taking a phone call and listening to music...none of them show actually how the phone works.
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06-29-2007, 06:21 PM
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Pupil
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 17
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Like Kris, I am going to be waiting on this one until the price drops, and things get more baked. I don't think its going to fit for me right now, though I do want to put my hands on one...
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06-29-2007, 06:25 PM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 133
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I am in the camp which views this as another expensive piece of Apple hardware that falls short on technology and usefulness. The problem is that any of the "converted" who buy one will be unlikely to critically assess it since they spent so much money on it.
I've owned touchscreen phones and they are definitely a step backwards. The first such phone was the old HTC Space Needle. A horrible device with many things in common with the iPhone: large, fragile display, non-replaceable battery, two-handed operation.
There is a lot to be said for operating your phone with a single hand. I think Apple needed to be "different", but in this case different means worse. Not being one to be left behind, HTC hoisted a similar product onto the market. Ill conceived and destined for novelty status. The HTC Touch is certainly attractive for a Pocket PC, but I would never use it as my wireless phone.
Touchscreen devices have been around for enough time that if it was good to use for a phone, then the majority of phones would already include one.
L.B.
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06-29-2007, 07:27 PM
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Theorist
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 277
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First, Mossberg has never found a product with an Apple logo on it that he didn't fall in love with, so his comments are taken with a large dose of salt.
Second, the iPhone is very attractive yet it seems torn between two sets of users. For that price, it is not a consumer friendly product and more of a prosumer/business item yet the interface and smooth handling of photos and music are clearly aimed at consumers. Maybe Apple will brdige the two worlds. It is possible.
Third, my employer won't install an Exchange server because they've already invested in a Blackberry server and don't want to bother. So they tried to stick me with a Blackberry phone. I used it for four months and couldn't wait to ditch it at my first opportunity. The Blackberry UI for phone use just plain sucks. From the reviews and comments I've read, the iPhone suffers from this well. Maybe it is not as bad as the Blackberry, and I haven't seen one so I am going by the comments of those who claim they have. But my point is: a cell phone should always be a good phone FIRST. No matter how many things the iPhone can do and how cooly (is that a word?) it does them, if it doesn't work well as a phone, it won't do well over the long term.
Fourth, and related to the above is the decision to stick with ATT exclusively. In the Puget Sound area of Washington, ATT is a pretty good system and I have access to the high speed data network at least 90 percent of the time. I know there are vast parts of the country that ATT does poorly, so this would also seem to limit the iPhone's appeal.
And finally, Apple fans won't mind because they like the kool aid, but I find it amusing that so few of the reviews of the iPhone make note that you are still tied to iTunes for purcahsed music, and now tied to Apple for all your software as well. I don't want Apple telling me what software to use and where to buy my music anymore than I want Microsoft making me use WMP or IE if I don't want to.
So for all these reasons I won't own an iPhone. I am now using the best cell phone I've ever used- the Blackjack.
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06-29-2007, 07:38 PM
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Managing Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 2,117
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After getting to play with an iPhone a few hours ago for about 45 seconds, I have learned several things.
a) Typing on the iPhone is like trying to breathe underwater, it is ridiculous
b) It was a fair bit slower than it appears in commercials
All in all, while pretty, I was nowhere near impressed
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06-29-2007, 07:49 PM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 100
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I am curious to see...
* Real reviews from people not hand-picked by Apple.
* The Rate of Return on these in a couple weeks once people realize that ALL those flaws we have all pointed out, can't all be glossed over in real world use.
* The surprise of users when they figure out their already expensive $500 phone, not only costs $2000-$2500 with contract(we all realize this, but most consumers wont), but they are stuck in the Apple money pit for hundreds to thousands more being charged thru iTunes for Songs, Videos, and probably applications and even ringtones. Oh yeah, and most of the plugs are propietary so even a lot of regular iPod accessories wont work, Cha-ching... And then charge you to switch out your battery about twice during your 2 year contract.... Smart move Apple, making people activate their phone using iTunes....
* Just how well it does sell after the initial rush...
Its interface is pretty though... 
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