Just as everyone feared, the iPhone actually rather revolutionary.
Up to this point I have refrained from mentioning much about the iPhone, despite it’s imminent release, but I recently spied some early reviews from a few lucky journalists who have been playing with it for the past two weeks, unable to comment until now (due to selling their soul to agreements with Apple). Most of the reviews concur: the iPhone deserves the hype; other cell phone manufacturers quake in their boots (figuratively speaking).
The reviews concur: the iPhone is great – it has features never seen on a cell smart phone before, while at the same time lacking several features you’d find on almost every other phone. The text input is pretty good (once you learn to trust the software or “use the force”), the camera is decent, battery life is amazing (actually meeting claims, with an impressive almost 8 hours of talk time), the visual voicemail is cool, web browsing is astounding (for a phone), email works well, voice quality is decent, and the iPhone is wonderfully scratch resistant!
For the bad: no video recording, no MMS, no Flash or Java, no voice dial, no 3G (this is a hardware design decision, known since the first announcements), taking pictures is slightly “awkward”, and apparently the AT&T network sucks (though it’s OK down here in Georgia, for the most part). Oh and it costs you your soul an arm and a leg. Or first born child, you chose (actually $499 or $599, for the 4GB or 8GB, and I’d go for the 8GB model – apparently the OS takes up about 700MB of that space).
I don’t have one yet, and I’m not getting one on Friday (for one I can’t afford it and secondly I want to wait for the next revision until the bugs are worked out). However, the iPhone is maddeningly tempting, and some day you’ll probably spot me chillin’ with one – way after the initial “cool” factor wears off. Unless, of course, someone wants to give me one, because I certainly won’t be complaining! I’d like to see Apple (or those mischievous hackers out there) open the device to real third party programs (not those little “web apps”). I’d like to see 3G and the ability to run Flash, Java, and record video. And I’d like to have it all for a few less dollars. Some of these things can be accomplished through the promised “software upgrades,” while others (mostly just 3G support) will require a hardware refresh.
Now head on over and read the reviews:
And look at Engaget one and two.
Update
Add this one to the “bad” (one that I forgot to mention) – the iPhone will not let you choose one of your songs as a ringtone. To add insult to injury, read this little excerpt from Mac Rumors:
iTunes 7.3 is listed as a requirement for the iPhone but has not yet been released by Apple. Reportedly, the new version of iTunes will allow you to convert any song that is available on iTunes into a ringtone with the “Make into Ringtone” feature. The cost for this service is $.99, however. It’s not clear based on information available whether or not CD-ripped songs can also be easily converted or this is specifically an iTunes Store feature.
That is absolutely unacceptable and ridiculous. I can easily hook my Razr up to the computer, make an MP3 clip, and load it on my phone for use as a ringtone – all without paying a dime extra! The only restriction? The file must be under 500kb. What gives Apple/AT&T? Also of note: this feature is not currently available, according to the reviewers, so you are stuck with the 25 factory ringtones.