First iPhone Review ... Unholy Smackdown!

[volwrath]

Some things are baffling like:

- no voice dial
- no 3g/mobile browsing option
- no GPS
- no search contacts/smarter way to dial
- no IM/MMS/Video/Zoom (even digital?)/Flash
- no mp3 or iTunes ringtones
- no select/copy/paste
- no doc editing

Dont forget no SIM Card
No External Apps
No Expansion slot

 

[MacUser]

But, OTOH, I can bet that they have some large upgrades coming along in the next few months that will add or improve those functions--afterall, besides the 3g/GPS factor, all else could be implemented and I bet they will. Google is obviously getting very cozy with Apple and the iPhone.

That would be a "smart" bet.

 

[mikec#IM]

Well, guess I was right about the browser speeds over Edge, via Pogue:



Damn, Surur beat me!

That's a long time and you haven't even clicked a link yet to go further into the site. No surprise though.

That lovely EDGE...it's turd-er-rific!

The iPhone is sweet - if you never leave your house/wi-fi spot.

 

[RICHINMJ]

Its all about marketing. Steve Jobs will tell you Iphone has "the Edge" and we will all be happy. :stick:

 

[Malatesta]

No A2DP support either. Dang...

 

[RICHINMJ]

Whats r2d2 (A2DP)support?

 

[Malatesta]

Whats r2d2 (A2DP)support?

Well, in fairness that's one reason why they probably don't support it as it's a nerdy/niche technology now, though a very convenient one.

It's streaming of audio to stereo BT headphones e.g. wireless music.

Imagine wireless headphones on your iPhone and you can take and make calls that way too. It'll pause the music, take the call, hang up all through your headphones. That's what you won't be doing, lol.

 

[RICHINMJ]

thanks for the response.

 

[dutchtrumpet]

Dont forget no SIM Card
No External Apps
No Expansion slot

there is a sim card slot. it's even in the pictures.

 

[Antoine of MMM#IM]

I posted this at BH, but it kinda fits here too.

Walt's review was interesting (just read it). Some quotes and responses:

Battery life: Like the iPod, but unlike most cellphones, the iPhone lacks a removable battery. So you can’t carry a spare. But its battery life is excellent. In our tests, it got seven hours and 18 minutes of continuous talk time, while the Wi-Fi was on and email was constantly being fetched in the background. That’s close to Apple’s claim of a maximum of eight hours, and far exceeds the talk time claims of other smart phones, which usually top out at five and a half hours.

For continuous music playback, again with Wi-Fi on and email being fetched, we got over 22 hours, shy of Apple’s claim of up to 24 hours, but still huge. For video playback, under the same conditions, we got just under Apple’s claim of seven hours, enough to watch four average movies. And, for Web browsing and other Internet functions, including sending and receiving emails, viewing Google maps and YouTube videos, we got over nine hours, well above Apple’s claim of up to six hours.

And here I thought the E61i was impressive. This is sick, and very well done by Apple.

A downside — there’s no easy way to transfer phone numbers, via AT&T, directly from an existing phone. The iPhone is meant to sync with an address book (and calendar) on a PC.

Whoops, that will be an issue for some users. Especially those that will forget to sync, lest iTunes does this for them (oh yea iTunes is the iPhone's 'PIM' agent for the desktop).

In general, we found this interface, called “multi-touch,” to be effective, practical and fun. But there’s no overall search on the iPhone (except Web searching), and no quick way to move to the top or bottom of pages (except in the Web browser). The only aid is an alphabetical scale on the right in tiny type.

There’s also no way to cut, copy, or paste text.

And the lack of dedicated hardware buttons for functions like phone, email and contacts means extra taps are needed to start using features. Also, if you are playing music while doing something else, the lack of hardware playback buttons forces you to return to the iPod program to stop the music or change a song.

Another whoops. I am pretty sure this will be 'fixed' for the next version, and tweaked some for this one at some point.

Overall not a bad first attempt. One can see what a few extra $$$ spent in R&D will do though. Not knocking Palm and other smaller companies, but Apple swung for the fences on this one. Tis a shame that other companies hadn't pushed this hard before (Nokia has been threatening, I wonder if they will swing harder now).

Side note: Sony Ericsson has just announced for Q4 this year the W960. Dang near the same hardware as the iPhone, but looks like a phone (number pad, touch sensitive controls). I'd love to compare the two of them, because I think that is the best one yet of being the iPhone's competitor.

In the meantime, the rest of this year should be really interesting with leaks and announcements, don't you think What I pretty much am sure of, anything that will truely be innovative (gamechanging) won't leak till later this year and come out next year. Even iMate's Ultimate series needs to have done something in the 'pretty gooy (gui)' dept to garner some fuzz outside of techie circles.

Congrats Apple on changing the game (maybe now we all can get some real innovation and not just spec updates).

 

[dutchtrumpet]

Congrats Apple on changing the game (maybe now we all can get some real innovation and not just spec updates).

what spec updates. the 600, 650, 680, 700p and 755p have the same OS

processor and nvfs and screen res bumped at the 650 (bt too). EVDO added with 700. Other than that. Palm, you used to really excite me. Now you just lay there.

 

[Antoine of MMM#IM]

I don't just mean Palm, I mean the entire industry. Honestly, I like the fresh air and the fact that developers are getting to actually play some. Carriers are still the bottle neck, but at least devices that are innovative can come, not this crap we've been fed for years.

And for the record, I'd only like to see Palm do a non-QWERTY Treo if they could keep it as usable as the current Treo (improve it please), and kill the thickness of the device. Even with Garnet and GX5 playing the role of beauty parlor, they could have something that at least gets more than a 'oh they're still here' kinda glance.

Nokia better come with the N(better). THe N95 is better except in that key battery life item. They can do better. Now they have a cause to.

 

[oalvarez]

what spec updates. the 600, 650, 680, 700p and 755p have the same OS.

and the same silly form factor!! oh forgive me, on some they removed the , curved in the and sacrificed the

 

[Godstyle#WP]

No A2DP? WTF? And how is it feasible that an iPod(Phone) doesn't support mp3 ringtones? Not to mention the fact that there's no way to cut, copy, or paste text?

 

[mikec#IM]

ha

No cut and paste....What were yee effing thinking?

My favorite is the battery that last 300 charges...then send in to be replaced for a fee.

What a bargain...

 

[bruckwine]

Congrats Apple on changing the game (maybe now we all can get some real innovation and not just spec updates).

I dunno if they changed the game but they certainly ACCELERATED it! The phone lacks a lot but it also brings alot (but not for the price)..I too hope this forces companies like Palm who we know can be innovative to improve. I think though that Sony and Nokia will be the best bets. you can bet your bottom dollar Sony still has the demise of the walkman fresh in its mind!

Btw iLove this image :

 

[Antoine of MMM#IM]

I think though that Sony and Nokia will be the best bets. you can bet your bottom dollar Sony still has the demise of the walkman fresh in its mind!

Sony Ericssion has the W960i, which is their iPhone answer coming in Q4. That will have a slew of what the iPhone doesn't. Hopefully, they fixed UIQ's UI so that it's better than just a S60 copy.

Nokia will have something, problably along the lines of the N93i that came out earlier this year. However Nokia's issue isn't devices, its advertising. Being with Dell will help, but they really need more noise (hence people like myself reviewing as many solid models as I can )

 

[nyc_rock]

I can not believe apple would release this product with no blut tooth dialing and no A2DP support. I guess Palm isnt the only company out there with their head up their arse.

 

[LiveFaith]

Battery Tech

What's the battery tech on this thing? So few cycles, but so much life. It's not your run of the mill cell. If my 680 got double the life, I would be willing to pay the price. Is it nuclear or something?

 

[marcol]

Hopefully, they fixed UIQ's UI so that it's better than just a S60 copy.

UIQ is heavily stylus dependent and there are no S60 touch screen devices at all. You lost me there. OTOH, I believe the next UIQ version is designed to address the stylus requirement problem. Looking forward to that.