tOfficial iPhone news and discussion thread

Crow · 06-26-2007, 12:37 PM

$60/mo for that kind of plan sounds really good...

Trevor Barnes · 06-26-2007, 07:21 PM

The first review is in. Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal...

The iPhone is Breakthrough Handheld Computer | The Mossberg Solution | Walter S. Mossberg and Katherine Boehret | AllThingsD

Quote:

The Apple phone combines intelligent voice calling, and a full-blown iPod, with a beautiful new interface for music and video playback. It offers the best Web browser we have seen on a smart phone, and robust email software. And it synchronizes easily and well with both Windows and Macintosh computers using Apple’s iTunes software.

It has the largest and highest-resolution screen of any smart phone we’ve seen, and the most internal memory by far. Yet it is one of the thinnest smart phones available and offers impressive battery life, better than its key competitors claim.

It feels solid and comfortable in the hand and the way it displays photos, videos and Web pages on its gorgeous screen makes other smart phones look primitive.

The iPhone’s most controversial feature, the omission of a physical keyboard in favor of a virtual keyboard on the screen, turned out in our tests to be a nonissue, despite our deep initial skepticism. After five days of use, Walt — who did most of the testing for this review — was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years. This was partly because of smart software that corrects typing errors on the fly.

Catch22 · 06-26-2007, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor Barnes

The first review is in. Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal...

The iPhone is Breakthrough Handheld Computer | The Mossberg Solution | Walter S. Mossberg and Katherine Boehret | AllThingsD

But naturally that's just the Reality Distortion Field and the iPhone will be a flop because multiple people here think it will be. I mean, duh.

PortlandSpartan · 06-26-2007, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor Barnes

The first review is in. Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal...

The iPhone is Breakthrough Handheld Computer | The Mossberg Solution | Walter S. Mossberg and Katherine Boehret | AllThingsD

Not saying its wrong, I mean who knows at this point, but Mossberg is a pretty big Apple sunshine blower.

Trevor Barnes · 06-26-2007, 07:45 PM

So what do we know after the first review?

Keyboard - As quick and as accurate as a Palm Treo the reviewer had used for years, very good news

Display - the nicest found on a cell phone today, largest and highest-resolution screen on any smartphone, "gorgeous screen makes other smart phones look primitive"

Screen Durability - Did not scratch whatsoever after being thrown in a purse or pocket

Network - EDGE isn't great, which we already knew. Will switch on the fly to open WiFi spots though and is very fast using WiFi.

User Interface - "effective, practical and fun", may require extra taps compared to other cell phones

Internet - "a real, computer-grade Web browser", supports all major consumer email providers including support for Microsoft Exchange

Battery life - 7+ hours of talk time, "far exceeds the talk time claims of other smart phones"
- "over 22 hours of music playback time"
- "over 9 hours" of internet surfing/email time, which exceeded Apple's own estimates by 3 hours

Camera - excellent picture quality but no video

PortlandSpartan · 06-26-2007, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor Barnes

Internet[/B] - "a real, computer-grade Web browser", supports all major consumer email providers including support for Microsoft Exchange

Exchange?

Trevor Barnes · 06-26-2007, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PortlandSpartan

Exchange?

Apparently...

Quote:

It can also handle corporate email using Microsoft’s Exchange system, if your IT department cooperates by enabling a setting on the server.

Sparticane · 06-26-2007, 08:02 PM

Non Interview: First iPhone Campers Not What Apple Expected - Gizmodo

Trevor Barnes · 06-26-2007, 08:02 PM

David Pogue of the New York Times has also posted his review on the "Jesus phone":

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/27/te...gy&oref=slogin

Quote:

The phone is so sleek and thin, it makes Treos and BlackBerrys look obese. The glass gets smudgy—a sleeve wipes it clean—but it doesn’t scratch easily. I’ve walked around with an iPhone in my pocket for two weeks, naked and unprotected (the iPhone, that is, not me), and there’s not a mark on it.

But the bigger achievement is the software. It’s fast, beautiful, menu-free, and dead simple to operate. You can’t get lost, because the solitary physical button below the screen always opens the Home page, arrayed with icons for the iPhone’s 16 functions.

TurboSpartan · 06-26-2007, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor Barnes

Apparently...
Quote:

It can also handle corporate email using Microsoft’s Exchange system, if your IT department cooperates by enabling a setting on the server.

Jobs has specifically said that since the iPhone supports IMAP and POP if the IMAP option is selected then it can connect to Exchange. That is not Exchange Syncing.

Trevor Barnes · 06-26-2007, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurboSpartan

Jobs has specifically said that since the iPhone supports IMAP and POP if the IMAP option is selected then it can connect to Exchange. That is not Exchange Syncing.

Cool, I know many have a use for it but I personally don't have a need for it.

Trevor Barnes · 06-26-2007, 08:28 PM

Steven Levy of Newsweek's review:

First Look: Test Driving the iPhone - Newsweek Technology - MSNBC.com

Quote:

And there it is: one of the most hyped consumer products ever comes pretty close to justifying the bombast. Apple has a history of using cutting-edge technology, slick design and friendly software to break the common logjam in which our machines have the capability to perform certain tasks, but developers haven’t figured out how to make the experience easy, even pleasurable, for users. That’s one reason why people, especially the tens of millions who love iPods, have been so eagerly awaiting the iPhone. “Everyone we talk to hates their phones—it’s universal,” Steve Jobs told me on a call to my iPhone a couple of days ago. (The control-freaky Apple CEO was just checking up to see how I was doing.) If you’re looking for quibbles, flaws and omissions, you’ll certainly find them in this first version of the iPhone. (I’ll get to these below.) But the bottom line is that the iPhone is a significant leap. It’s a superbly engineered, cleverly designed and imaginatively implemented approach to a problem that no one has cracked to date: merging a phone handset, an Internet navigator and a media player in a package where every component shines, and the features are welcoming rather than foreboding. The iPhone is the rare convergence device where things actually converge.

Trevor Barnes · 06-26-2007, 08:32 PM

USA Today review:

Apple's iPhone isn't perfect, but it's worthy of the hype - USATODAY.com

Quote:

The mania over Apple's iPhone launch has created stratospheric expectations that are near impossible to live up to. Yet with a few exceptions, this expensive, glitzy wunderkind is indeed worth lusting after.

That's saying a lot. After months of hype, Apple has delivered a prodigy — a slender fashion phone, a slick iPod and an Internet experience unlike any before it on a mobile handset.

Trevor Barnes · 06-26-2007, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurboSpartan

Jobs has specifically said that since the iPhone supports IMAP and POP if the IMAP option is selected then it can connect to Exchange. That is not Exchange Syncing.

Actually, according to Engadget, there may be FULL support of Microsoft Exchange Active Sync push technology in a software update for the iPhone.

Apple, Microsoft to push Exchange Direct Push to iPhone? - Engadget

PortlandSpartan · 06-26-2007, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trevor Barnes

Actually, according to Engadget, there may be FULL support of Microsoft Exchange Active Sync push technology in a software update for the iPhone.

Apple, Microsoft to push Exchange Direct Push to iPhone? - Engadget

If true, the only real criticism left I could see is the crappy network.

bulldogg · 06-27-2007, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PortlandSpartan

If true, the only real criticism left I could see is the crappy network.

Don't blame the network. Blame Apple for that one.

bulldogg · 06-27-2007, 10:07 AM

Other misses on Apple's part:

Quote:

Finally Confirmed: What the iPhone Doesn't Have

• Songs as Ringtones
• Games
• Any flash support
• Instant Messaging
• Picture messages (MMS)
• Video recording
• Voice recognition or voice dialing
• Wireless Bluetooth Stereo Streaming (A2DP)
• One-size-fits-all headset jack (May have to buy an adapter for certain headphones)

Stuff we already knew it didn't have
• 3G (EV-DO/HSDPA)
• GPS
• A real keyboard
• Removable battery
• Expandable Storage
• Direct iTunes Music Store Access (Over Wi-Fi or EDGE)

No songs as ringtones? No A2DP?

The biggest misses IMO though are the Exchange sync, 3G, and GPS (the last two being very un-Apple like misses).

GameDay Bunny · 06-27-2007, 10:07 AM

Bulldog, what does Apple have to do with the network?

I am not too excited about EDGE, I would be more excited about 3G. But Verizon passes the iPhone up and Chad from Alltel didn't even get a chance at it.

Fletch · 06-27-2007, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bulldogg

Other misses on Apple's part:

No songs as ringtones? No A2DP?

The biggest misses IMO though are the Exchange sync, 3G, and GPS (the last two being very un-Apple like misses).

Careful...you could get banned or censored for questioning the holy nature of the iPhone.

bulldogg · 06-27-2007, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TurboSpartan

Jobs has specifically said that since the iPhone supports IMAP and POP if the IMAP option is selected then it can connect to Exchange. That is not Exchange Syncing.

IMAP and POP are nice for email specifically (however most Exchange servers do not have these enabled), but they don't provide access to calendaring, address book lookups, tasks, contacts, etc.

bulldogg · 06-27-2007, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imacericg

Bulldog, what does Apple have to do with the network?

I am not too excited about EDGE, I would be more excited about 3G. But Verizon passes the iPhone up and Chad from Alltel didn't even get a chance at it.

AT&T has a 3G network (available in Michigan now in the Detroit area and in GR by the end of the year). Apple chose not to support it. Big mistake in my book.

bulldogg · 06-27-2007, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imacericg

Bulldog, what does Apple have to do with the network?

I am not too excited about EDGE, I would be more excited about 3G. But Verizon passes the iPhone up and Chad from Alltel didn't even get a chance at it.

Oh, and Alltel isn't considered a national provider ... which is probably the reason they never got a chance at it.

GameDay Bunny · 06-27-2007, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bulldogg

AT&T has a 3G network (available in Michigan now in the Detroit area and in GR by the end of the year). Apple chose not to support it. Big mistake in my book.

Gotcha. I agree. If their network was in my area (Petoskey, MI) I would be all over it. I have been contemplating on moving for some time now, but by the time I move and get a iPhone, iPhone 2 will come out in a few months.

Spartytruth · 06-27-2007, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PortlandSpartan

If true, the only real criticism left I could see is the crappy network.

true but they gave Apple free reign to do as they please. I expect the network to expand rapidly.

bulldogg · 06-27-2007, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imacericg

Gotcha. I agree. If their network was in my area (Petoskey, MI) I would be all over it. I have been contemplating on moving for some time now, but by the time I move and get a iPhone, iPhone 2 will come out in a few months.

There is.

AT&T Coverage Viewer

It's partner coverage, but roaming is free - so that doesn't matter. Data rates vary, but the same goes with Verizon/Sprint/Alltel when they roam on other networks.