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.

Comments

Re:Problems

[sssssss27]

I have to agree with you that scratches and the lack of a tactile feedback is reason alone for me not to want it. I text a lot and I know a lot of my generation, I'm only 21 by the way, does as well. I have a feeling texting is going to be cumbersome with this phone.

I know some company designed a haptic feedback system for touch screens that makes you think you are actually pushing a button. I wonder why Apple didn't include that in this device.

Another gadget

[death_metal]

I don't have an opinion on Apple or the iPhone, but I prefer that software innovations come before hardware because they produce less landfill. I had to laugh when I saw how the iPhone's "innovative" interface resembles what Opera, the browser uses for its startup screen as of version 9.22 -- a tactile, tiled favorites menu. In ten years, the iPhones will all be in landfills and Opera will be on version 18, without having contributed any landfill. Can we please stop the waste insanity? My grandchildren will have to survive on this planet and they'd like to have some open, unpolluted spaces.

Re:face oil / greasy finger smears??

[moderatorrater]

Dude, it's the fucking IPHONE!!! That bitch comes with three kinds of wipers; and you know what? They're DIGITAL! No SDK, but who needs them? They'll revolutionize the industry, and your life.

Re:Which reviews are you reading?

[stubear]

Oh, please. David Pogue and Walt Mossberg are Apple shills. I'd sooner believe Walt Disney then Walt Mossberg on anything technology related.

Re:In other words

[stewbacca]

Or maybe you are missing the simpler fact that she believes people who believe in Marxism are dumbasses. I got it, you over-analyzed it.

Re:Not an apple hater...but looks aren't enough

[stewbacca]

Your dismissive attitude about the iPod's success ("brand" and "ecosystem") discredits the rest of your post.

Pick up any of today's portable media players - Creative, iRiver, or maybe even the Zune. You'll find that they offer functionality and usability that's very, very similar to the iPod.

If I can stop laughing long enough to continue....

You might also find a few surprising things - like a device that doesn't have bullshit "do not disconnect" periods where it can become corrupted,

I've ignored that warning for years now and have never lost an ounce of data on any one of my 5 past or current iPods. Isn't the iPod an actual mountable and bootable drive, thus explaining the "do not disconnect" warning? Do the other players you mention offer such "similar" features? Maybe they do, I'm just askin'.

a device that lets you sync with multiple computers,

Well, again, all of my iPods sync with all five of my computers (3 macs and 2 pcs) and (on the Macs) with both my user account and my wife's user account. I believe you are mistaking the inability to sync with multiple computers with the inability to sync with multiple iTunes accounts. Unless of course you are referring to the 5-computer DRM limit? Technically, there is no 5-computer limit if you purchase DRM free tracks (or rip your own songs altogether) and even then, you deactivate a computer when you will no longer be using it for iTunes. I don't know anybody that has more than 5 computers AND needs music purchased from the iTunes store on all of them at the same time. There is no limit to the number of iPods you can put your DRM'd music on, either.

a device that lets you copy tracks back to your PC,

Senuti for Mac. PC variants are available too. It takes about 30 seconds to google (or save some time and surf over to ilounge.com), and another 2 minutes for download and install. But then again, if you actually used an iPod, you would probably already know about these resources.

Ok, so no open video standard like XVID, but there are plenty of 3rd party apps that convert most video formats to the iPod format. If you look at torrent sites, you'll see plenty of non-iTunes available tv shows available in iPod format, so obviously SOMEBODY has figured out how to convert XVID (and other formats) to iPod.

Also, why do you assume the iPhone will not have games or IM? Have you used an iPhone yet? It runs some form of OS X, so why couldn't it be able to run simple executable files? My video iPod plays games, and this is a video iPod too. Since the thing has a web browser, what would keep me from running web-based applications? A little optimism would be nice. If you find that hard, then maybe you could just wait until the thing is actually available and see how long it takes for the 3rd party apps to start flowing. Since I don't know you from Joe Schmoe, I'm inclined to give Apple the benefit of the doubt (based on their track record of successful consumer electronics) over some random dude's rant on the 'net.

I really don't like posts like yours that are just full of bias and projection. If you like your iRiver or your Zune, then good for you. Please don't try and tell us that your iRiver is somehow a better device because it supports open formats when it is nearly universally accepted that the iPod is a superior electronic device in nearly every way. And for crying out loud, don't for one second think that just because the iPhone lacks features YOU want, that it will be a horrible product that nobody with half a brain would ever consider buying.

Re:Excellent

[stewbacca]

Sorry to say, I was projecting the 30-second estimate at you. My relationship with my wife is just fine, yet for some reason, I feel no need to share that with anyone on /. Enjoy your "feeling good for hours" while it lasts. Someday you'll grow up.