Tech Tip 133 - iPhone Mania - Worth the Hype?

By Kimmy Powell - Sunday, August 5, 2007

When the iPhone arrived on the scene just over one month ago, between 500,000 to 700,000 units flew out the door in three days. Not since the unveiling of the original iPod has there been as much anticipation about a gadget as there has with the iPhone.  Never mind the fact that you need deep pockets in order to get your hot little hands on this decade defining device.  At a steep $499 per unit with no immediate discounts on the horizon and the signing of an exclusive 2-year contract with AT&T (you remember, the guys who took over Cingular), you might balk at the responsibility of owning one.  Considering that other capable smart phones exist on the market for much less, is the iPhone really worth the hype? Maybe? Probably. 

The iPhone’s easy-to-use touch screen interface, stunning graphics and sleek, clean lines make it a definite no-brainer among geeks and non-geeks alike, something everyone can relate to and enjoy using no matter one’s technical prowess.  Let’s examine the features and see whether or not the iPhone justifies the fanfare.

Design

Nobody would argue with the iPhone’s dominance in the area of sleekness and fashion design. At a mere 4.5 inches tall, 2.4 inches wide and thinner than the Motorola RAZR and Treo 755p, the iPhone comes encased in stylish black and silver with a large glass display (3.5 inch and a resolution of 480x320 pixels), and crisp and sharp graphics.  The 4.8 ounce iPhone has a nice weightiness to it and feels durable when compared side-by-side against the Blackberry Curve and the 8800; however, the “cheaper” feeling Blackberry is more likely to survive and outlast the iPhone in a head-to-head crash down.

Touch Screen Capabilities

The intuitive and easy-to-use touch screen is the defining (if not the niftiest) feature offered.  Slide your fingers apart for a close up view of an image or move them to expand the image; slide your finger down to scroll through menus, flip through phone books and personal organizers; turn on the virtual keyboard to tap out messages or dial numbers.  Tap once on a link to navigate to it, twice to zoom in and out of web pages (the iPhone features whole HTML views).  As far as ease is concerned, nobody beats Apple on this front. 

However, every good thing inevitably comes with drawbacks.  Individuals with big fingers may find the sensitivity and proximity of the keys on the keyboard awkward, and scrolling down lists in search of one function or another may also prove laborious.  For example, you have to flip through menus just to get to the keypad.  There is no way to just punch in the numbers and make the call.  Luckily, you could press on the button below the display to return to the home page.  Other than these few minor annoyances and the constant cleaning required wipe away fingerprint smudges, the touch screen technology is the singular feature that makes the iPhone unforgettable.

Web Surfing Using the EDGE Network and Wi Fi

Wireless functionality includes Bluetooth 2.0 (common with all newer phones), Wi Fi (not so common among mobiles) and the EDGE network.  Unless you’re located around a Wi-Fi hotspot, the default network will be AT&T’s EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) network.  While AT&T’s maintains a faster 3G network, it was trumped in favor of the slower network.  Speeds hover between 75 to 135 Kbps (broadband users typically experience rates of 600 Kbps to 3Mbps).  The end result is that EDGE will take a full minute to load Amazon and a whopping two minutes for Yahoo.  Surfing can be painfully slow for those accustomed to instant gratification.  Also, performance really depends on the number of clients logged in to the EDGE network. 

Overall, Apple could have found a little inspiration in negotiating a better “connected” experience with AT&T.  If you desire speed, find a Wi-Fi hotspot and switch.  You might have to pay for the added perk, but at least you’ll get your web page that much faster.

A charmer to the web surfing experience is Apple’s devotion to WYSIWYG – viewing full length web pages in the Safari browser.  On the darker side, Safari currently fails to support Flash or Java and has limited support in importing existing Firefox bookmarks. 

Integrated Music and Video Capabilities with the iPod

The built-in iPod means you no longer have to lug around a plethora of devices to get from one functionality to another.  Images are crisp and sharp, and the video quality amazing.  Whatever the normal iPod offers will be replicated on the iPhone.  Content is managed through Apple’s ITunes 7.3 software, but absent is the ability to drag and drop files from computer to the phone.

The iPhone quadband phone includes the ability to view album cover artwork when scrolling through music collections – a very attractive extra for music enthusiasts.  Another cool feature – Apple now includes a You Tube player accessible from the main menu.  Unfortunately, the iPod capabilities are not portable for travel outside of the continental United States.

Other Features Deserving Honorable Mention

The Apple iPhone includes a host of other features for work and play, including:

	Phone Book – Each contact entry can hold up to eight telephone numbers; email, web and street addresses; notes; birthday and anniversary information; and employment information.  Unfortunately, you cannot create distribution groups, but you can add friends to a list of Favorites and assign distinguishing ringtones and photos.
	Calendar – The calendar function is adequate, but awkward to manipulate.  It takes a good deal of scrolling to arrive at the desired destination and the display shows only day and month views.
	Text Messaging and Email – Alas, Apple neglected to add the all important instant messenger and multimedia messaging to the iPhone.  However, there is support for all Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, Mac and IMAP/POP3 mail.  Visual voicemail works like this – think of a computer folder with the date, number and time stamp attached.  Double click (or tap) on the message and listen to messages without first calling your voicemail box.
	Camera – The iPhone comes pre-packaged with a 2.0 megapixel camera.  While the camera creates realistic enough pictures, there are limits; notable is the lack of pre-bundled editing software and no flash.  The competitive Blackberry Curve comes with a 2.5 megapixel camera with flash for almost $200 less.
	Widgets – The iPhone includes the world clock, real time maps and live stock tickers.  Apple left out the games (a grievous misgiving) and the GPS system.  The Blackberry 8800 at $379.99 might not have the camera, but it does include a nifty GPS that actually talks.

Pricing and Call Plans

The pricing and the calling plans are the drawbacks of the iPhone.  At a whopping $499 for the 4GB model (media intensive users might opt for the $599 8GB model) and the signing of a two year plan with AT&T starting at $59.99 (additional usage fees apply for iTunes downloads), owning an iPhone is a big deal.  Existing AT&T users don’t fare much better – tack an additional $20 per month for the iPhone data plan, not to mention the full cost of the phone.  There is no cell phone insurance coverage on this pricey gadget and tech support (even battery exchanges) are entirely done through Apple.  That means if your phone breaks down, you’re out of luck – and the phone – until Apple resolves the problem.

A Phone Worthy of the Worship?

Are all the features worth the hype?  While you might find competitively priced smart phones in the Blackberry Curve, Blackberry 8800 and Samsung, you won’t find a more play worthy gadget than the iPhone.  Pricing will ultimately dictate whether you make the switch, and at the current prices you might be better off waiting for the next generation iPhone when the disadvantages become advantageous and the price drops enough to entice the average consumer.