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Walt Mossberg Reviews the iPhone
WSJdpatton writes "Walt Mossberg tested the iPhone for two weeks, in multiple usage scenarios, in cities across the US. His verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is on balance a beautiful and breakthrough hand-held computer. Its software especially sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though the lack of physical buttons can be a hindrance." Digital Daily has a roundup of early iPhone reviews.
I think this is a feature. I HATE dealing with morons on cell phones while driving. Most people have enough trouble navigating a 4000lb piece of equipment without the extra interference of a damn cell phone. If you need to make a call pull over to the side of the road, complete your call, resume driving and pay attention to the road. BTW, I was almost sideswiped by an idiot on a cell phone today.
In the car? You're not. You're supposed to keep your concentration on the road and the traffic where it belongs.
All these idiots yapping on their cellphones while they're driving make driving a lot more hazardous for the few of us left who actually know what we're doing.
Is that cellphone call so important that someone's gonna die if you don't take it? No? Then shut the fuck up and drive, because if you don't someone may well die because of your idiotic phone call.
Use 'slashdot stuff' in the subject line in any email you send me if you want to get past the spam filter.
I started working on a "Mac" when it was called a Lisa. I subsequently owned many (actual) Macs and wrote software for the OS professionally (6.x, 7.x, 8.x). Okay, I'm now a Windows user (got tired of the fight...and frankly, XP is just fine)...so I am not a basher...nor am I a fan boy.
:-) ...and I do...all the time. Games, JVMs, new browsers, whatever I want...from thousands of freeware and commercial titles.
Me? I'm not buying it. Sure, the external looks are great...sexy even...as are the visual bells and whistles in the UI...but features? They just are not there for me. Not even close.
Visual voice mail is neat. I'm sure the iPod also has some other exclusive neat tricks in there...but I have a year-old Treo that does what the iPhone does and more...for $200. Start with the overlap:
- Email
- Web browser
- MP3 player
- Phone
- Addresses
- Videos
- Camera
- Google maps with integrated calling
- SMS
- MS Office compatibility (iPod?)
and a range of other similar functions. Don't bother critiquing the individual Treo apps, because unlike the iPod, I can replace them with other apps. For example, the new version of Opera Mini provides the same means to view an entire web page and zoom in. There are dozens of replacement apps for any one of the above functions.
Now let's look at some core features of the Treo that the iPod lacks:
- Multiple carriers
- High-speed 3G network
- SD card slot...for essentially infinite on-the-go storage for MP3s et al.
- Numerous hard buttons to immediately get to the phone, MP3 player, or another app...and they are all programmable
- Can record video
- Has a GLOBAL find function
- CUT & PASTE (between apps)
- IM
- Tactile sensation on keyboard for typing...or for dialing
and perhaps the most important feature:
I CAN ADD APPLICATIONS TO IT
Yes, Walt claims that he finds the onscreen keyboard to be acceptable...but any Treo user can dial on the screen or on the keypad...and almost everyone I know dials on the keypad when they aren't selecting an existing contact. The actual keyboard and 5-way nav key allow you to use the phone when you aren't staring right at the screen. Yes, we shouldn't dial while we are driving, but we do, and you can do it without looking while using a Treo.
Hey, the iPod raises the bar...by a large amount...and the screen is 50% larger than that of a Palm-based Treo (320x480 instead of 320x320)...but a $600 phone that is not expandable and is only offered by one carrier with a two-year lock-in? One to which you cannot add software (outside of...ahem...AJAX-based apps)? How about one that claims to be a smart phone killer yet lacks basic features like cut & paste and global find? Yes, it has wifi. Great. So do many phones.
No, this is a beauty competition. I applaud apple for getting into the market and raising the bar, but I just cannot see how someone thinks this unit is worth the expense compared to other competing devices. I suppose techno lust is powerful...and form often wins out over function. Me? I'll wait a year or two and see what the next versions can do...and how the competition responds.
Your mileage may vary.
$0.02
"I'm not surprised people like it, actually I'd be more surprised if people didn't like it."
Actually, to me that's the hallmark of successful design: Invoke passion. Make something that some people love and that some people hate and you'll have a market.
Too many companies design by committee and focus groups to the point where the end result is odorless, colorless, and tasteless. Others seemingly design by comparison chart, cramming in feature after feature, and often for no more reason than to fill in the blanks.
The later approach also seems to be favored by commentators here on Slashdot. But by walking a mental checklist of missing features, they also miss what it does do. And by all accounts, does to the point of elegance.
Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
ITS JUST A GOD DAMN CELL PHONE NOT A CURE FOR CANCER
I really feel ridiculous as a human being people are so enamored with teh shinyz. Especially 500 dollar ones when that money could be used for something so much more important.
"Slashdot, where telling the truth is overrated but lying is insightful."
Presumably a 'ringtones' section will soon be appearing in the iTunes store.
This product is just one in a long series, in a trend to completely overlook the needs of blind users. I have been in the market for MP3 players which could be used by blind people, and the general trend is, the newer the device, the less the chances it can be used. The iPhone continues this trend, and I fear the day when other manufacturers pick up on the novelty.
Just a little addition to my rant: I noticed that even simple changes to the firmware, that would make the interface more suited for blind people, like returning to the initial state of the menus, if no interaction for a minute (or such), is being dropped in newer models, even thought it costs nothing to implement. It's almost as if manufacturers have a requirement to make their electronic gadgets less usable by the blind.
"The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
Amen and testify.
I actually see some omissions like dialing while driving and music as ringtones are Apple enforcing its taste and manners on the user. They think extremely deeply into the process of not only actually using the phone, but what the overall experience means to the user, and others around them. It's Apple's defining trait, actually, and it's shocking that very few in the technology industry really grok the human part of human interface.
I would put down money that both those omissions are 100% intentional, and good for Apple.
Someone needed to buck the norms of both the hardware and carrier aspects of mobile phones, and Apple's doing it in a big way. Maybe the thing won't take over the planet, but it'll certainly change the landscape for the better.
Side note: my current pet peeve is police officers surfing the web/emailing/whatever on dash-mounted laptops while driving. If you haven't seen one of these, be thankful. That soccer mom in the Caravan with 6 kids and a mobile to her ear won't look nearly as frightening once you experience THE LAW driving like they've just put away a quart of scotch.
--d
...and they will be $2.99, 30 seconds long, have terrible sound quality, and most of the money will go to AT&T. Cell phone ringtones are the biggest scam ever.