The iPhone Comes Into Focus
On Friday, the dance of the seven veils that's been Apple's rollout of the iPhone comes to an end. For now, the thing still has an aura of mystery about it--but a bunch of open questions about the phone were answered, at least kinda-sorta, today.
For one thing, Apple and AT&T announced how much iPhone service will cost. The news was...well, there are few things on earth more tedious than the details of cell-phone rate plans, but with that in mind, the news was good. Plans start at a non-exorbitant $60 a month for voice and data; once you subtract what you'd pay AT&T for the same number of voice minutes on other plans, you're paying $20 a month for unlimited data. Not bad, considering that AT&T still wants owners of some other fancy phones to shell out a lot more.
For instance, I have something called the PDAMax plan for my Treo 750; it's $55 a month. Lemme see here--if I were to dump the Treo for an iPhone, I'd save $35 a month...over the two-year contract, that'd be $840 in savings...which means that I could not only pay for an 8GB iPhone, but I'd have $240 left!
(Er, sorry--just lapsed into iPhone-justification mode for a moment...)
The other big news today came in the form of the first iPhone reviews, from those few journalists who Apple slipped iPhones in the past couple of weeks.
The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg and Katie Boehret dig the deepest, calling the iPhone a breakthrough handheld computer. (Makes sense to me--it's as much a 21st-century Newton as it is a device for making phone calls.) They like the screen and overall form factor, think the touch screen works well (calling the on-screen keyboard a "non-issue"), and are impressed by the battery life. They also like the visual voicemail, and mention that you can view Word and Excel documents and connect to an Exchange server.
Downsides noted by Walt and Katie: No SIM card (which means you can't use it on T-Mobile and can't buy cheap voice minutes or data when you're overseas--this is truly an AT&T-only phone); some iPod accessories won't work; the battery is sealed in, requiring that you ship the phone back to Apple for replacement; the few Web-based applications available aren't impressive; there's no instant messaging; EDGE data is pokey.
Newsweek's Steve Levy and The New York Times' David Pogue make many of the same points as Walt and Katie; they're less taken with the on-screen keyboard, but don't consider it a complete dealbreaker. USA Today's Ed Baig also voices similar sentiments, and is okay with the lack of a physical keyboard.
I'm also pleased to learn definitively from the reviews that you sign up for iPhone service via iTunes, rather than in the store. I'd much rather choose my plan by pointing and clicking in the privacy of my own home, rather than rely on an AT&T sales person to do the job. (I've had some pretty unpleasant experiences in the past at my local AT&T--n?e Cingular--store.)
All the reviews have a similar bottom line: The iPhone is an impressive and important product with some meaningful limitations. Which is what it looked like it'd likely be all along. Betcha that once the phone is released on Friday, those predisposed to love it will find lots to love--and that many naysayers will continue their naysaying ways...
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What's with the Willy Wonka picture?
Is it supposed to represent Steve Jobs?
Yeah, I'd like to see him wear a hat like that too.
Sounds like iBust. Someone should tell Steve Jobs that the handheld industry is already oversaturated with the these devices.