Apple iPhone Review

Tag : double ring magnet

I've been a fan of Apple products since I purchased my first iPod back in 2003. Yes, I waited until the 3rd generation of theworld's most popular audio player was on the market before I drankthe kool-aid. Two years later, I took another gulp of that kool-aidand ditched my Windows PC, for an iMac and haven't looked back. It did take me 3 tries before I finallymade that switch though, as I always found some reason why the MacOS didn't quite do it for me. And now, I find myself standing atyet another Apple crossroads in my gadget life. This time, it'swith the world's most hyped mobile phone: the Apple iPhone.
After Apple broke the news that they were NOT going to allowdevelopers to create installable 3rd party applications for theiPhone, I was pretty sure that this device would be adisappointment to me. Their consolation prize of web applicationsjust sounded lame and equally disappointing. I've been using a Treo 680 (and previously the Treo 650 ) for a long while now, so not having access to great 3rd partyapplications is almost unthinkable, when it comes to a feature onmy phone. Of course, the fear of disappointment did not keep mefrom standing in line on 6/29/07 to buy my 8gb Apple iPhone. But after having used this phone for alittle over a week, I am to the point where I have to ask myself ifthis is the right device for me. Before I let you in on mydecision, let's actually take a look at a phone that may havegarnered more attention than Alexander Graham Bell's originalinvention.
After waiting for months and months to finally get my hands on aniPhone, unboxing it and holding it my hand for the first time was areal gadget lovers moment. I found the iPhone to be even sexier inperson. The size, shape and feel of the iPhone in your hand makesyou appreciate all of the engineers at Apple. There is no doubtthat they are masters at creating wonderful consumer electronics.Let's take a hardware tour... Hardware

The entire front surface of the phone is a color display made ofcompletely flat glossy glass. Yes, it's a fingerprint and smudgemagnet. Did you think otherwise? ;o) The color display is beyondgorgeous. I think it might be the best display I've seen on anyhandheld device to date. It's so crisp and sharp that at first itlooks like it's not even real. You know how they have demo devicesin stores with fake screens? That's what the iPhone looks like.It's just too good to be a real display. But it is real... thecolors are great and the resolution is tight. I also found thedisplay to be viewable in full sunlight. It does get dark, but itis readable.
What I love best about the iPhone display is the fact that it'sglass. Unlike other handheld displays that we've all been used tofor years, this one seems almost impervious to scratching. It'salso completely rigid and does not indent when you touch it.Speaking of touching the screen, I wasn't sure how long it wouldtake me to feel comfortable tapping, swiping, pinching, etc. thescreen with my fingers. I come from the PDA world, where doing sois a no-no. I will say that after a very short acclimation period,I've found that I really enjoy tapping away with my fingers.Stylus? What's a stylus? BTW: if you think you'll just be 'safe'and use a stylus with the iPhone, instead of your fingers... youcan't. It won't work. So just give in and touch it!
All of the finger gestures of pinching a screen to make text /images smaller or spreading your fingers to make it larger, workjust like the videos you see on Apple's site. The actions feelnatural and the results are smooth and fast. This feature in itselfwill change handheld devices forever. Yay!

There is only one button on the face of this device. It is locatedin the center bottom edge. The Wake / Home button brings the iPhoneout of idle and gets you back to the main menu whenever you pressit.
Surrounding the display is a ring of chrome and if you flip thephone over, you'll see that the back shell of the phone isconstructed of brushed aluminum and Black plastic. The iPhone issealed, you can not open it to swap batteries when needed. If /when you need to have the battery replaced, you have to send it toApple along with $86 to have them do the switch. Can you saygrrrrrr?

On the Left side of the iPhone, you'll find a small switch at thetop that toggles the speaker On/Off. I have always appreciated asimilar switch on my Treo, so I love that Apple also included it onthe iPhone. Below this switch is the volume up / down rockerswitch.

On the bottom edge, you'll notice the speaker / microphone grills.The iPhone has good sound through the built in speakers. I actuallydid a double take when I hit Play in iPod mode and heard musicplaying through the speakers. It surprised me to hear an iPodplaying music without earbuds plugged in. Volume levels are verygood as well. I can totally use the iPhone as an alarm clock.
Between the speaker grills is a standard iPod docking connector.Even though this is a standard 30pin iPod connector, that doesn'tmean that you'll be able to use ALL of your old iPod accessorieswith the iPhone. Some accessories work, some don't.

Apple was nice enough to include a small dock with the iPhone. Youcan use it or just plug the included cable directly into the phoneto charge and sync with a computer.

On the opposite end, you'll find the power switch. To power theiPhone off completely, you hold down the power button and thenconfirm that you want to power down by swiping the screen.

Next to the power switch is the GSM SIM card slot and earphonejack. To open the card slot, you have to use a paperclip or pushpin to 'eject' it.
Regarding the earphone jack, it's a standard 3.5mm jack, butthere's an issue with the fact that it is recessed into the case.Depending on thickness of the plastic around your favoriteearbuds, the connector might not make good contact in the jack. Itried several pairs of non-Apple earbuds with the iPhone and noneof them fit correctly. Quite annoying! And if you are thinking ofusing a pair of external speakers with your iPhone, well... I wishyou good luck. I've sure not had any.

Of course the earbuds included with the iPhone work just fine. Theyactually aren't your typical Apple earbuds though. There's a tinymicrophone and switch built into the Right ear cable. The switchwill pause and play music and will allow you to answer / end calls.These earbuds work remarkably well and I really liked being able tolisten to a phone call with sound coming into both of my ears.

In hand, the iPhone feels extremely solid and comfortable to hold.My Gadgeteer squeeze test yielded no flexing, creaking or crackingand shaking the phone produced no rattles. I also have to say thatafter using this phone for the past week with no case or screenprotection, it looks as perfect as the day I unboxed it.

To give you an idea of how the iPhone compares in size to otherpopular devices, I've photographed it with my 60gb iPod Video andthe Treo 680.

The iPhone is quite thin and definitely pocketable (either in yourback pants pocket, jacket pocket or cargo pants pocket.

Another stack up view. Treo on top, iPhone in the center and iPodon the bottom. Activation
So, you've just purchased an iPhone and you want instantgratification. Guess what? You can't just start using it as soon asyou walk out of the store or open the box. Unlike all the other GSMphones I've used in the past, you can't pop in your existing AT&TSIM card and skip away into new phone bliss. Nope, you have to backhome, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed onyour Mac or PC, pop the iPhone in the cradle and activate itthrough the iTunes. This means you will need an active internetconnection as well.
Once you're connected and start the activation process, you'll haveto commit to a 2yr plan. Plans start out at $59.99/mo., whichincludes 450 minutes, 200 SMS messages and the $20.00 unlimiteddata plan. My monthly rate stayed the same, so I was a happycamper.
Set up continues with iTunes configuring your email accounts, whatmusic, video, photos to sync, etc.
Transitioning between using WiFi and EDGE is seamless. It justhappens on the fly with no intervention from you. Surfing via WiFion this device is a joy. EDGE, not so much. Ok, it's nothorrible... But it is slow.
As is, Bluetooth on the iPhone isn't all that feature rich. It'sonly good for using headsets right now. No tethering and no A2DPprofile for wireless audio earphones.
I have been very pleased with overall system performance andbattery life on the iPhone. The built in applications load almostinstantly. If only there were 3rd party apps... You would think with such a gorgeous screen, WiFi and playingmusic through the speaker would be a real drain on the battery.But, Apple has done a great job cramming lots of juice in what mustbe a tiny battery package. I've gone a couple of days withoutcharging. Very Nice!