The Gadgeteer has an in-depth review of the iPhone. Their conclusion?
I'm not going to lie to you, I do love the iPhone. Even though it's crazy expensive for a phone, I love the display, love the widescreen iPod, love Safari, love Mail, really like the camera, appreciate automatic syncing through iTunes whenever I plug the iPhone into the computer (think Windows Mobile ActiveSync, only this sync actually works...) and have grown to enjoy the touch keyboard. I also share the excitement with all the hackers out there that are trying to open this device to make it better than it currently is. It feels like the early days of the Palm Pilot, when every other week brought us some cool new application or accessory. But all that said, it's difficult to imagine myself using the iPhone as my main device much longer.
The biggest issues keeping me from switching to the iPhone right now (in order of importance to me) is the fact that I can't have all my text files on the device, can't search those text files for info, and that the phone is closed to installable 3rd party apps. I'm hopeful that these things will change in the near future and that the iPhone will eventually become the smart-phone that I want it to be. I am keeping my iPhone close at hand. But it just won't be in my pocket 24/7. At least not for now...
The iPhone may not yet be for everyone, but it is a tremendous leap forward in technology. Most of what Julie doesn't like could be fixed with some software upgrades that I'd expect Apple to come out with eventually. It has certainly raised the bar for what is possible in a small, ubiquitous piece of technology and is certainly going to drive additional, wonderful innovations in the cell phone industry.
1 comment:
To hold and use the iPhone at an Apple store is almost an epiphany: this is the way all phones should work. It is truly the first fun cell phone at a time when most people hate their mobile devices.
And almost all flaws mentioned by most reviewers can be remedied with a software upgrade. Essentially, the phone is all software with a big screen.
To me the biggest flaw is that, while having WiFi for fast wireless internet access where near a hotspot, it's cellular internet access is not 3G. While there are good business reasons for this at this point in time, it does interfere with truly tapping the potential of the phone. In fact, if there was ever a phone built for 3G, this is it. Of course, Steve Jobs has basically said the same as well, and no doubt iPhone 2.0 will have 3G.
Post a Comment