Posted on 06/26/2007 4:27:22 PM PDT by HAL9000
Excerpt -
~ snip ~We have been testing the iPhone for two weeks, in multiple usage scenarios, in cities across the country. Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld 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 it sometimes adds steps to common functions.
~ snip ~
The iPhone’s most controversial feature, the omission of a physical keyboard in favor of a virtual keyboard on the screen, turned out in our tests to be a nonissue, despite our deep initial skepticism. After five days of use, Walt — who did most of the testing for this review — was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years. This was partly because of smart software that corrects typing errors on the fly.
~ snip ~
(Excerpt) Read more at solution.allthingsd.com ...
The stock got beat up today. Perhaps this will help.
Just finished reading that. Seems to be a pretty unbiased review
It’s not really revolutionary, but the hardware is a good value if you don’t mind limited additional software availability. I would suggest buying it outright so they don’t bump package costs higher than for a windows mobile device if you can. The Cingular ones should take the same SIM card and I would stay on my same plan.
New York Times - David Pogue - The iPhone Matches Most of Its Hype
Newsweek - Steven Levy - At Last, the iPhone.
It doesn’t matter what store you get it from, Apple or Cingular/AT&T — brick and mortar or online — it’s all the same, all the same and all the same. There will be no variation no matter where you get it or how you get it.
The package price for the service has already been announced and it’s as low as $59. Again, it won’t matter when you get it, where you get it, or whatever — it’s all going to be the same pricing structure at every conceivable place you can get it from — no variation — down to the penny...
Regards,
Star Traveler
Even to upping my price if I buy one outright and swap SIM cards? I’m paying $43/mo for minimal minutes and unlimited internet now on my 8125 now. I thought I might just get one and use my current plan. The SIM card sets the account information, and i have always swapped into phones that we have around when i need a smaller phone - whats to stop me from doing the same with apple hardware? The signal should be the same as HTC shouldn’t it?
All I’m saying is that when you buy an iPhone, it doesn’t matter who you get it from, where you get it from or whether it’s in the store or online — because it’s all going to be the exact same thing, the exact same price, the exact same plans.
Now, as to whether you can go fiddling with it and get the iPhone to do something that it’s not made to do, is quite another story. I understand from my reading that if you don’t get your service from AT&T/Cingular, then the iPhone is partially disabled and doesn’t even function fully — at all. It only functions fully when it gets the service plan activated.
So, I would imagine that the iPhone is made exactly for how it is marketed and exactly for the plans that are provided, or else, you’re going to find it disabled in many different ways.
Regards,
Star Traveler
An additional note here..., I understand from my reading that the iPod portion of the iPhone is totally disabled if you don’t activate your plan. So, for example, if someone were to get the phone and not activate it, you couldn’t even use it as an iPod — without the phone features...
In other words, they’re selling exactly what they said they’re selling and you’re not going to be able to change it.
It activates, by the way, through the iTunes program...
Regards,
Star Traveler
Too bad the service is with AT&T/Cingular and not Verizon. It doesn’t matter how great a phone is if the signal isn’t reliable.
I agree. The iPhone would have been superb on the EVDO data network used by Verizon and Sprint, with very fast downloads of web pages (EVDO download speeds are around 400 to 800 kilobytes per second, pretty good for wireless connections).
I am predicting 10 million units sold by Christmas - Apple will not be able to make them fast enough to meet demand.
Within five years, we will see over 250 million iPhones sold. At an average price of $400 (it will drop slightly over time), that represent revenues of $100 billion accruing to Apple over the next 5 years just for iPhone alone.
BTW, it will all but replace the iPod.
Were I live and work, AT&T is the ONLY reliable signal.
Verizon sucks in the mountains.
Where I live the only signal I get is Verizon and even that is a stretch at times. When we moved here we had Qwest and no signal. I might add we live in a small city, next to a major city and we don't live in the mountains.
We got Verizon because our neighbor could go into the mountains and out to the coast and still get a signal.
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