iPhone review

[Pugwash]

This is my review of the iPhone. A few people have asked for my opinion, so here it is.

Yes, an iPod Touch and a n95 would be a workable way of doing it, but I really like the iPhone.

It suffers, much like the original iPod did, in feature-list Top Trumps (my favourite missing-the-point iPod review: "No wireless. Less space than a nomad. Lame.") but is one of those things that's a joy to use, as opposed to hard work. It's more like a fun toy than a work tool, much like the Mac itself. You do the same jobs as on a blackberry or n95, but it doesn't feel like work.

The email and browsing are, without a shadow of doubt, significantly better than anything else out there. It does Push email, if you can stand using a Yahoo address (I can't) but the regular POP/IMAP are perfectly decent with a superb interface. Browsing is ... well, if you don't need Flash or Java, the exact same as on a desktop computer.

It's the little things, the things that just work together, the simplicity and feeling that it's designed to do what it's doing as opposed to merely being a phone fortified with added vitamins and features.

The camera is adequate, but don't expect much more than the occasional wrist-shot to appear on the forums from it as it's just another phone camera. The software may be better, but there's not much you can do on a phone.

Oh, and it's an iPod.

Even if you dislike the iPhone, it's going to be good for you as it's scared the crap out of an industry that was happy playing Top Trumps instead of learning how to make phones better. Next year, the mobile world will be a different and more usable place because of the iPhone.

Photos (with watches) soon.

[cornerstone]

I suspect that in a way the iPhone is a little like mechanical vs quartz; if you want a strictly functional phone there are probably better options out there, but the iPhone is perhaps a little more fun, with a bit more soul.

The browsing is incredible - I was very impressed. But then, that was on the significantly cheaper iPod.

Why no flash incidentally? [CPU?]

[Pugwash]

Why no flash incidentally? [CPU?]

I reckon ...

No Flash/Java means no web-based gtalk/AIM/MSN and therefore you need to use SMS. Phone providers (AT&T/o2) hate people not using their paying services.

In fact, if you look at the T&C, it specifically states you're not allowed to use their internet for chatting.

[Victoria]

In fact, if you look at the T&C, it specifically states you're not allowed to use their internet for chatting.

I just bought myself...the exact same phone I've had for two years, a Nokia.

I hate change, but I DO admit I was tempted by the iPhone. But in the US, they're tied to T-Mobile, I believe. I had heard this had been unlocked, but since I wouldn't know how to do this, I demurred.

Is this review based on the iPhone finally being more common in the UK and/or Europe, or purely because you bought it? I know about the GSM "problem".

UPDATE: Ah, right. A quick Google revealed that 02 debuted the iPhone in the UK this past Friday. Sales were brisker than thought. Yay.

[cornerstone]

No Flash/Java means no web-based gtalk/AIM/MSN and therefore you need to use SMS. Phone providers (AT&T/o2) hate people not using their paying services.

In fact, if you look at the T&C, it specifically states you're not allowed to use their internet for chatting.

Interesting - I hadn't thought of that.

[jot9011]

The feeling is that there will eventually be some sort of flash support in the future...

http://www.mercurious.com/wordpress/2007/0...hone-and-flash/

[Pugwash]

In Feb '08, the development kit allows you to write signed applications for the iPhone. This will mean, for me, a command-line terminal. The day I can ssh from my iPhone is the day everything becomes possible as I can set up a screened terminal session on my home server that's connected to IRC servers, I can also manage my work servers from it or do any of the hardcore UNIX cli stuff I usually do. It means I can use the iPhone as a client.

Oh, for those that don't follow tech that much, the iPhone has UNIX underneath the pretty graphics. Full-fat, leaded-petrol, non-sugar-free UNIX, based on BSD's userland. Oh my. I want a CLI to that.

[jot9011]

If you don't mind voiding your warranty...some of that may be possible now. Do you know if the 3rd party apps (mobile terminal and SSH) are that sofisticated?

[Pugwash]

If you don't mind voiding your warranty...some of that may be possible now. Do you know if the 3rd party apps (mobile terminal and SSH) are that sofisticated?

I mind voiding my warranty.

SSH is built-in to the OS, or at least is an installable BSD component. The terminal app can't be that hard, but there's no Touch API available so I don't know how it'd work.

[thomasng]

Me and my wife admittedly have been using an unlocked iPhone for the last 2 months, I drove down to Buffalo one weekend, brought two back and unlocked it within 30 minutes and I've been loving it since. I use it mainly for multimedia, but I also carry an N95 at the same time for the camera and to browse on 3.5G speeds here in Canada (EDGE is painfully slow). iPhone has a nice screen and multimedia, but it lacks a lot of basic features, and the storage space is still a pretty sad amount. I didn't install any third party applications as they crashed my iPhone within a week, and I had to start everything over again.

Edited November 17, 2007 by thomasng

[jkerouac]

Regarding the use of an iPhone as a client, there is an interesting article about the security risks associated with the iPhone.

The article: iPhone Is A Bigger Security Risk Than You Think

An interesting video demonstration of an iPhone being hacked.

This doesn't mean that other phones are immune. In fact, as cell phones become "smarter," the attack vectors will only increase for all types of smart phones. User beware.

[JWR]

No Flash = no AIM/Yahoo/MSN? I call BS.

iphone.beejive.com

-or-

load meebo.com from the iphone...

The real reason behind no flash is that no SDK exists, and it's a completely new architecture (OS X/ARM CPU).

The existing OS X flash codebase for PPC/x86 performs miserably and sucks CPU (which on a mobile device = sucks battery.)

Rather than reverse engineer flash, i assume that a true flash plugin will come in the february timeframe when the real SDK comes out.

[HauteHippie]

Unless you have toothpicks for fingers or tremendous patience, don't attempt to do much with that iPhone keypad. Fun toy, but just not practical. And apparently it wasn't really meant to be practical since they went with EDGE baseband anyhow, provided a non-replaceable li-ion battery that will show noticeable capacity loss within a year, didn't provide any (as in not one) expansion slot, require a touch screen for dialing, and made single handed operation very tricky at best. Oh and by the way, I'm well aware phone cameras suck, but seriously... why even bother including a camera at all if it's only 2 MP, there's no flash, and they don't even provide video capture capability out of the box?

BTW here is your SSH client: http://www.kwtmac.com/2007/11/20/iphone-ex...e-ssh-terminal/

But you're not REALLY going to be logging into your employer's systems as admin from an insecure device, are you? Apple essentially has root on the iPhone... And anyone who has admin privs on your iphone can steal/destroy data on the corporate network.

[HauteHippie]

Regarding the use of an iPhone as a client, there is an interesting article about the security risks associated with the iPhone.

Well, that's the tradeoff. Functionality vs. security. If there are a million different ways for the device to come in contact with potentially malicious data, the potential threat is much higher. PC's are much much worse. But at least in some cases there is an infrastructure for getting PC's updated....

[Dani]

Do like me if you need a toy buy the Ipod touch and if you need hig tech phone buy the n95 black as phone then you have all the good stuff

Edited November 24, 2007 by Dani

[Pugwash]

Unless you have toothpicks for fingers or tremendous patience, don't attempt to do much with that iPhone keypad.

Have you tried one? After just a week on the keyboard, I'm faster at texting than I was on my RAZR, T68i or Pearl. That's not marketing crap, that's real world usage.

[HauteHippie]

Have you tried one? After just a week on the keyboard, I'm faster at texting than I was on my RAZR, T68i or Pearl. That's not marketing crap, that's real world usage.

Yes I have tried one. More than one, actually. Several of my coworkers are Apple fanboys, and had them the first week. They're a neat toy, but I just can't type on them. Sending short text messages is one thing... U can abbrevi8 wut u say... but anything more than that would drive me nuts.

[TwoTone]

Excellent Read...

Thanks for the Topic Pugs...

[Pugwash]

Yes I have tried one. More than one, actually. Several of my coworkers are Apple fanboys, and had them the first week. They're a neat toy, but I just can't type on them. Sending short text messages is one thing... U can abbrevi8 wut u say... but anything more than that would drive me nuts.

It must be something you have a problem with as I find it significantly easier to use than any other mobile device. The keyboard is decent and the predictive spelling assist makes it actually usable.

Would it surprise you to learn this post was done from the iPhone?

[HauteHippie]

It must be something you have a problem with as I find it significantly easier to use than any other mobile device. The keyboard is decent and the predictive spelling assist makes it actually usable.

Would it surprise you to learn this post was done from the iPhone?

No, it wouldn't surprise me because judging by your wrist shots, I would guess that you probably have iPhone sized fingers. I just don't. Even when using only my pinkie finger - which somehow seems so apropos when typing on an Apple iPhone - I don't consistently get the letter I intend.

[Craytonic]

I have had one since day 1; it is a great phone. It honestly has made my life much, much easier.

I am not a big fan of the keyboard; it is not that great - I can type much faster on a blackberry. If they would allow the user to type an email in horizontal mode (similar to entering URL) that would go a long, long way in my book. That said, I prefer it to a blackberry. As long as I use it the way it was intended - a quick replacement for my powerbook for a fast email or quick google - it is great. No long emails for me. Some people can bang away on it very fast, I admit. I am just not one of them.

I use the camera a good deal more than I thought. It is really nice to be able to snap a quick photo of something and send it to a friend. I also use the built-in google maps all the time, it is great to be able to look up a restaurant on the map, then call it to make a reservation, and then get directions. I am an ical addict so having that sync every night is huge. I am also big on the contact database. I also like having all my bookmarks synched. I read many RSS feeds via google reader, so it is great to be able to use google reader mobile to catch up and then have it show them as read when I get home and want to read the rest.

The part I never use is the ipod part, I just don't. Same for the youtube.

Anyways I can't imagine life now without it; it really is all it is cracked up to be.

[Pugwash]

The part I never use is the ipod part, I just don't. Same for the youtube.

I use the iPod part daily, especially for watching movies. I commute an hour each way by bus and train and I get to watch an episode of something in the morning and something else in the evening. Using iPhone-specific h264 videos, I can get a 45-minute episode (A one-hour US show) down to 200MB in perfectly decent quality. When I get off the train and walk the last bit, something like ENVY, Nine Inch Nails, Mogwai or PJ Harvey will wake me up enough to start a day at work.

I realise that this is just me, but my iPhone has replaced my phone, PSP, book and iPod. When I previously carried a small messenger bag, I now carry a phone.

[Craytonic]

I should have added I lived in NYC for the summer and did listen to it daily; I am no longer there and hence drive everywhere so I don't use the ipod as much since I am never walking or riding. For some reason the audio jack on the iPhone does not seem to fit anything other than the earbuds (it won't fit the jack in my car or on my stereo). They make an adapter though; I just need to get it.

Pug do you find it weird to hold it for videos? I was trying to use it to watch the tudors on the subway but always felt weird holding the thing or staring down at my lap.

I'm currently using a shuffle at the gym, and then the old school video ipod to watch movies on the cardio equipment... kinda silly since the screen on it is smaller so I need to stop doing that.

[POTR]

I've been using Palm since it was a Pilot, and have owned every major revision since the original, except the current LifeDrive... I've not migrated past the T|X, as it pretty much handles just about everything I require (or can personally justify to myself...) been using SSH for years on the platform (VNC too, for that matter)... without the Hype.

As far as the interface and integration of the iPhone goes, I can agree, in principle, that it's a great breakthough in concept, and will affect future design... still, function as a whole is merely an incremental step, if any at all...

As far as criticizms of the iPhone 'keyboard', I can only say, that with my overly-large hands, I was still able to nearly touch type on my ancient TRS-80 PC2, have no problems with using the stylus rapidly for the tiny Palm virtual kb, so, anything with larger 'keys' can only be better...

Thanks for the great review Pug... you have moved the iPhone from my 'ignore' to my 'maybe' list...

[Pugwash]

Pug do you find it weird to hold it for videos? I was trying to use it to watch the tudors on the subway but always felt weird holding the thing or staring down at my lap.

I am used to using a PSP for videos so it's no different.