First iPhone Review ... Unholy Smackdown!

[bruckwine]

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 )

Def. if it's one thing Apple brought to the game that maybe only Sony does well is advertising. Unless ppl KNOW a competitor's phone (or PMP as a good past example) is better then you can't outsell them.

 

[bruckwine]

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?

Well if you take the rumour of 300 cycles to heeart it still means charging once every 24 hrs ( a talk time of 5.5 - 7.5 hrs depending on which apple-inspired review you read) . So unless you don't use the phone or wifi and just use the ipod ( supposedly 20 hrs using the iPod only) you will need to fix that battery in a year or so give or take (a cycle each day for 365 days??) ...that said some ppl claim their iPods last 2-3 yrs (mine did only last 1 yr before a replacement battery, now it's jsut dead)

 

[Antoine of MMM#IM]

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.

See the W950i review at Mobile Review; its optimized for stylus input. Its getting there, but yes, needs a step up. THe next version of UIQ should address some parts of that.

Nokia has been playing with going touchsreen, yet nothing is coming yet to my knowledge.

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?

The Treo 680 gives you 1000 cycles, the iPhone 300-400. While I like the battery life of the iPhone, 300 cycles on a hard driven device means every day, means in 1 year I'll need a replacement -- I'll pass (for now).

Addition: I do have to wonder, if Apple could do this, and Nokia nearly similar with the N800, what the heck are everyone else doing. I think people would be glad to take the shorter battery longevity for a longer time between charges if it were done more often. But as things stand, we get nada for longer. Ah well.

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.

But can't you just see Apple release BT headphone accessory with a software update for the iPhone (OTA of course). I doubt they want ot push wireless on folks all in one bunch (all data in one place, no wires to music - its a paradigm shift to do so). Nevertheless, Apple does know what they missed, and I am sure iPhone 2 will address some things and iPhone 3 will address some more (my guess is the former is nearly done and the latter is in the crux of its major development now).

 

[nyc_rock]

See the W950i review at Mobile Review; its optimized for stylus input. Its getting there, but yes, needs a step up. THe next version of UIQ should address some parts of that.

Nokia has been playing with going touchsreen, yet nothing is coming yet to my knowledge.



The Treo 680 gives you 1000 cycles, the iPhone 300-400. While I like the battery life of the iPhone, 300 cycles on a hard driven device means every day, means in 1 year I'll need a replacement -- I'll pass (for now).

Addition: I do have to wonder, if Apple could do this, and Nokia nearly similar with the N800, what the heck are everyone else doing. I think people would be glad to take the shorter battery longevity for a longer time between charges if it were done more often. But as things stand, we get nada for longer. Ah well.



But can't you just see Apple release BT headphone accessory with a software update for the iPhone (OTA of course). I doubt they want ot push wireless on folks all in one bunch (all data in one place, no wires to music - its a paradigm shift to do so). Nevertheless, Apple does know what they missed, and I am sure iPhone 2 will address some things and iPhone 3 will address some more (my guess is the former is nearly done and the latter is in the crux of its major development now).

I just think for a 500-600 device, it should be loaded. No 3g is bad enough, but to ommit voice dialing over BT and A2dp support is just horrific. I guess people who dont know any better will line up for it, but seriosly, those are awful ommisons.

 

[mikec#IM]

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 :

That image is great! LOL.

 

[bruckwine]

Everything we/they know (Gizmodo review) b4 Friday:

Everything We Know About the iPhone

Following up our list of features the iPhone was finally confirmed not to have, here's a comprehensive list based on the four reviews currently out detailing everything we know about the iPhone so far: what it has, what it doesn't have, its known problems and what we still don't know.

What it has:
• Built-in iPod with Video playback
• Intelligent predictive typing
• Multi-touch interface (fast)
• Great scratch resistant screen (easily cleaned with your sleeve)
• Tilt sensors that lock the screen when up to your face, but unlocks it when you lower it to type numbers
• Screen that's visible in direct sunlight
• Software upgrades over time
• Decent voice quality
• Call and song control from its headphones
• Viewing Word, Excel and PDF documents
• Free live traffic in Google Maps
• Turn by turn directions that simulate a GPS (need to tell the phone when you're turning)
• Dedicated volume control and mute switch
• Microsoft Exchange support if your IT staff enables a setting on the server
• Push email via Yahoo Mail
• Syncing via Outlook calendar and contacts through iTunes (works even on Vista with the latest Outlook)
• Ability to play with other applications while you talk
• Good battery life
• A "real" browser
• Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, EarthLink, and various other email support
• Visual voicemail (support for rewinding, fast forwarding like a song)
• YouTube support
• Decent 2-megapixel camera
• It's thin
• Lots of eye candy
• Conference call with up to 5 people
• Built-in speakers if you don't want to use headphones
• Quicktime support in Safari
• Activating the phone requires iTunes and internet access
• A speakerphone


What it doesn't have:
• Support for all iPod accessories—doesn't support all car adapters for playing back, only charging
• An easy way to transfer phone numbers, via AT&T, from an existing phone
• Copy and paste support
• MP3/iTunes music ringtones
• Built-in game support
• Flash support anywhere (including browser)
• Instant Messaging
• Picture messaging (MMS)
• Video recording
• Voice recognition or voice dialing
• Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Streaming (A2DP support)
• One-size-fits-all headset jack (May have to buy an adapter for certain headphones)
• 3G (EV-DO/HSDPA)
• A hardware keyboard
• GPS
• Removable battery
• Expandable Storage
• Direct iTunes Music Store Access (Over Wi-Fi or EDGE)
• BlackBerry support
• Flash or zoom on the camera
• Windows Media support


Known Problems:
• Can get a little warm after use
• Battery will need to be replaced by Apple after 300-400 charges
• Levy had problems with one of his email accounts, due to his ISP blocking port 25. Apple's engineers "suggested a fix and said that this was something that would probably be addressed in an update."
• EDGE data is very slow
• AT&T's signal is lousy
• No hardware playback buttons make you go back to the iPod app to change songs or stop music
• Takes more taps to reach the phone interface than other smartphones
• Getting your contacts onto here from your old phone may be a hassle
• No real-time navigation
• The few web-app programs Mossberg tried weren't' impressive
• Camera is only good with ample light and no motion
• Only 200 text messages included on any calling plan
• Playing back music through an iPod dock may cause interference, so the iPhone "offered to switch to airplane mode". Doing so means you get no calls.


What we still don't know:
• How fingerprinty/face greasy it gets
• Whether Bluetooth file transfer works
• When and how often software updates (with new features) will appear

 

[sxtg]

It's an Ipod that has a phone (no matter what you say- That's all it is) in contrast to a phone that plays Mp3s.
Maybe its me, but it just doesn't scream "innovation".

 

[ksom]

Walt Mossberg's review - the good bits removed to save you reading time. :evil:


http://solution.allthingsd.com/?p=125&ak_action=printable

Surur

Looks like most of the small anony problems are related to the lack of hardware keys. But this can be fixed by add a simple gasture or a single key to pull up the virtual keyboard. It should allow the keyboard to show up in any application at anytime in any mode. That way one press you can start looking for contract by pressing letters.