dm2363

Does Apple's iPhone Live Up to Its Hype?

" probably dumbass ex-RAZR users who never heard about VOIP, 3G/HSDPA, Skype, GPS etc."

Based on some independent tests done recently and published on the web, 3G apparently drains the battery twice as fast when you're on voice calls; and also (as Apple has said all along) noticeably faster when you're doing other things. I'm satisifed with the compromise that using EDGE/2.5G presents with the iPhone: much better battery life, and also, more widespread availability of service.
I absolutely would NOT want to have reduced battery life when using the iPhone.

VOIP? That's a software, not a hardware, feature. Give it time, it will come. There are already services available (Talkety) that will let you connect any two phones (including landline, or cell, to an iPhone) that are doing this a little bit less directly.

GPS? That's the only hardware feature that's missing. However, it's safe to assume that adding GPS to an iPhone would mean thicker/longer/heavier... and with reduced battery life.

Does Apple's iPhone Live Up to Its Hype?

And then the surprise over price. I was asked repeatedly how much the service cost; the minimum $60/month with unlimited data plan also brings on stares of surprise. No expensive "toll" extras, like, having to use MMS or pay-for email to get your cameraphone-shot images out of the iPhone. With free email; and (already) a growing number of methods for logging into AIM, etc. and chatting (you have to know that built-in iChat is just one step around the corner), there's little need to pay for text messaging.

I was initially concerned that the 450 mins minimum AT&T plan wouldn't be enough; but, no longer.

One thing that hasn't occurred to most people... yet... is that 450 minutes is a lot more useful than one would think... -because- of the fact that the iPhone is really a laptop-equivalent in your pocket. Who needs to talk, when non-urgent messages can come in and out through email? Thanks to rollover, unused minutes will build up. Most of my work use for the iPhone will be done this way, and I'll make and receive calls when necessary, but I'll spend at least as much time using it as an Internet access device as in using it as a phone.

As far as a lower priced model, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that. There is no point; yet. There is absolutely no reason for them to do this when they can sell as many of the current design as they can manufacture. Rumors about the imminent arrival of a lower-cost version make no sense and need to be taken with a big grain of salt.

Does Apple's iPhone Live Up to Its Hype?

The last comment shows a total lack of understanding about the monumental gulf (putting it mildly) between an underpowered Windows Mobile or Treo 750 device, running what is in comparison a "toy" operating system, vs. the iPhone, which is running OSX.

There is no comparison. Multitasking, smoothly animated effects, incredible attention to detail for every little facet of the iPhone in what is essentially software rev 1.0, and which will continue to grow and get better over time. Anyone who has used, or at least seen, an iPhone in action will understand this; someone who hasn't might think that having some multicolored icons on a screen means the same functionality and user experience, whether you're using an iPhone or one of those other things. They couldn't be more wrong.

Thinking back to some things that were done a few months ago, comparing the iPhone to those other devices is laughable. I remember seeing videos put up on YouTube by people who had "modified" other smartphones to look/behave like the upcoming iPhone. The herky-jerky slowness of the response and animation of anything that these simulated "iPhone-like" UIs did on other smartphones is like comparing an old 1960's cartoon to a Pixar movie today.

So when I see a statement like "doesn't do any one thing better... than a Windows Mobile device or Treo...", I have to say, it will do EVERYTHING better than any of those phone, by a huge margin.

One final anecdote. I was at a Best Buy during the week, took out my iPhone and started to show it to the staff, none of whom had apparently ever seen on. Before I turned it on, a few of them seemed curious, but also said they would never be interested in having one and that it wasn't anything that special. After I'd spent a little while tapping and running through features - here's my email, here's the web, here's how the contacts list interfaces with the phone, email, the web, and Google Maps; here's how Google Maps works; and eventually ("does it play music?") when they're shown what the iPod functionality is like; all jaws were on the floor.

People need to SEE the iPhone (and even better, use it for a few minutes) before they truly understand what it does, and what it means.

iPhone Report: The Great and Not-So-Great

Apple also chose AT&T for another reason: they were the ONLY carrier that gave Apple full control over all hardware and software aspects of the phone. Verizon (the only other real option) refused. If Apple had gone with Verizon, the iPhone could not have existed.

Would anyone have wanted an iPhone if, like other cell phones: you would have to pay to get your photos out? (with the iPhone, you can sync them directly out into iPhoto, or email them for free); you would have to pay to organize and play music? (with the iPhone, it's just another sync from iTunes); etc.

Looking at other cell phones (cheap, inexpensive, but still the "latest" advanced versions from Samsung and Nokia, for instance) which have multimedia features: these things are ridiculous nickel-and-diming toll collectors with toy user interfaces. On something like a Samsung SYNC, the only way to get photos from the camera phone out is to pay. The multi-step process (ugly UI) that you have to go through to do this is awful. The UI on these things (from looking at the manual) is no better than what's on my 2 year old LG; ugly icons which make no sense, arbitrary menus to navigate which make no sense, tinny synthesized sounds. Totally non-intuitive and you can never remember how to do things.

These phones are free with 2 year activations, yes; because they're really not worth anything, other than giving you the ability to make calls.

The reason this becomes more apparent is that after switching over to an iPhone (which is wonderful), it becomes so much more obvious, like being poked in the eye with a sharp stick, how bad everything else is.