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 I'd be
surprised if you haven't yet heard the hype about the iPhone, Apple's new combo
telephone/iPod gadget. Last month people were standing in line to purchase the
new iPhone when it went on sale. After trying the iPhone myself, I can now give
you an overview of this much anticipated new high tech device.
The iPhone,
without a doubt, has many pluses. First is the design. It's stunning enough to
light up the face of any gadget guru. The entire front is a shiny black touch
pad rimmed by mirror-finish stainless steel. The back is of sleek textured
aluminum. The only physical buttons are a volume control, a ringer on/off
control, a home button, and a sleep/wake button. The volume and ringer buttons
are two very useful buttons that are missing on most cell phones which require
you to scroll through menus to change the volume and/or turn off the ringer.
The large screen,
roughly 3" by 2", is lovely, showing bright and clear images and video. The
true beauty of the iPhone, however, is found in its easy-to-use interface.
Everything is done with the finger. Bring your fingers together on the screen in
a motion that mimics pinching and then drag them apart and the Web page or
image on the screen shrinks or grows. Flip through photos or album covers with
your finger and they scroll by as if they are on a circular merchandise rack. Turn the iPhone from a vertical to a
horizontal position and the internal gyroscope automatically changes the
orientation of the screen. There are no menus to scroll through. Just press
your finger on your choices. It's all much more intuitive than any other cell
phone I've used.
The iPhone
also lets you surf the Web using Wi-Fi or Cingular's Edge network. All of your
photos, songs, address books, podcasts, and videos can be synched to the iPhone
from Apple's iTunes software.
With all of
this to like, what's the bad news? First is the price. You'll pay $499 or $599,
with the higher priced model having more memory. You can't use the iPhone just
as an iPod. You have to cough up $60 or more a month for the AT&T service.
Many will
find the iPhone's battery problematic. The battery can only be replaced by
sending it in to Apple. Most cell phone batteries can be user installed. While
the same type of battery has been accepted by the public in the iPod, most
people use their cell phones much more than their iPods. With the multiple
functionality of the iPhone, you can expect the need for a new battery to arise
sooner than it does in most cell phones.
Also on the
negative side, there is no voice recorder or voice dialing which I have come to
find very valuable. Also, although other reviewers have said they quickly
adjusted to the onscreen keyboard, I found it difficult to use.
The iPhone
will definitely impact the future of cell phones. Similar models are already
appearing from Samsung and others.
Perhaps they will copy the simplicity of the iPhone to make all cell phones
easier to use. If you don't need a new cell phone right now, why not wait a bit
to see what the rest of the cell phone industry comes up with. Also stay tuned
for the second generation iPhone. If they correct some of the negatives, that
may be the one to buy.
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