Rob,

I agree that iphone mania may be a tad overblown. But as someone who recently switched to a Macbook, I have to say that there is at least a good reason to be excited about the iphone. Apple is showing again how good design is what matters - especially when features like processor speed and memory have become commodities.

Most consumers just want their electronic devices to work well in an easy to understand way. But the reality is that almost all cell phones on the market today have horrible menus and interfaces. There are already phone music player combos out there. No one wants them because they are a pain in the ass to use. Only someone who is willing to spend weeks learning arcane commands and menus can take advantage of their advanced features.

The problem is that for every linux geek who is willing to put in the time, there are 100 other people that have no idea or interest in such an adventure.

My wife said it best, computers should be like appliances - you turn them on, they look pretty, and they work. Apple is going to sell a lot of iPhones even with AT&T's slower network. And I suspect that Verizon is going to be the big loser. Verizon may have the best network, but they have the worst phones and the worst multimedia policy.

It's a phone, not the Beatles' reunion show with John and George chiming in from the netherworld.

Good God JD! That was the most well written, well thought out and percise comment I have EVER read on Post.com!

My views exactly and I couldn't have said it better!

Sorry about all the !'s!

Prof. Ed Felten at Princeton has an interesting short piece on his "Freedom to Tinker" blog:

http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1174

He suggests that the introduction of the iPhone may provide some impetus to break down the "walled garden", locked-in service model the wireless providers are currently wedded to.

"Only a company with marketing muscle, design mojo, and a world-historic Reality Distortion Field could provide the needed bump. Apple decided to try, in the hope of selling zillions of the new, more capable devices."

(Incidentally, even though I might be described as a "Linux geek", I agree with JD about the importance of good design and usability. I spend far too much time trying to help people who can't figure out how to make their cell phone work. Surely there is a better way.)

I was just wondering about one thing: Is it any good at making phone calls? Or is that a secondary function?

On my two year old flip phone from motorola making a call (to one of the "Mikes" I know)requires:
Opening the phone
Press the "contacts" button
Press the "6" ("m") key.
Scroll down to the "Mike" I want to call
Press the dial button.

Or I can just enter the number on the keypad.

Is the iPhone that easy to use?

Oh, and how is the voice quality?

Yep, you nailed it, JD.

ATT will NOT allow any kind of video, streaming, VoIP, downloading (except iTunes, probably) or any other REAL internet usage over your new iPhone data plan, according to the contract terms that have been posted online. I bet that three months from now, the screaming over the contracts will really pick up.

Thanks for the link to Ed Felten's post (he's been one of my favorite tech thinkers for a while now). I really, really, REALLY hope he's right about an end to the silliness of locked cell phones.

BTW, while I'm talking about iPhone hype, I should note that Apple has been pretty quiet. It's all the PR pitches from other companies trying to spin their way into an iPhone story that annoy me--over a dozen just since yesterday. The most ridiculous: "Poll Shows Ideal Weight More Sought After Than the iPhone." You just can't make this stuff up!

- RP

I've seen many articles complaining about "AT&T's slow network" for the iPhone. In fact, AT&T has a very fast 3G network. The Apple designers purposely limited the capabilities of the iPhone to the slower EDGE network. So please blame Apple, not AT&T for that.

Some Guy: The reasoning is that the 3G chips are too power-hungry right now. They will release a 3G iPhone once the 3G chips get smaller and less power-hungry. The thing already has a huge screen and other power hungry bits so I imagine there isn't much left in terms of battery capacity.

Rob,

Thanks for the three sane facts about the iPhone. The bandwaggon seems kind of silly.

Dan - maybe that is the reason Apple selected the slower network (battery life). It doesn't really make sense though. Many other smartphones have big screens and 3G with adequate battery life (Nokia, HTC, etc). The chips don't use power unless the 3G network is in use, and I bet most people would be willing to make that trade. Apple touts streaming and web browsing features, but they're basically useless on EDGE. (Unless you're at a wifi hotspot) When the Apple-crazy mainstream media reviews discover this, they blame AT&T.

Some random notes...

A) There's a YouTube button right on the main menu of the iPhone. It's obviously not going to block all video content as some have said.

B) Although slower than 3G, the EDGE network has apparently been beefed-up by AT&T over the last few weeks. People are getting much better speeds these days than they were a week ago:
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/cutting-edge/att-putting-edge-speeds-on-steroids-273470.php

C) No one's "blaming" AT&T when they say the EDGE network is slow. It's just a matter of fact. And it's entirely approprate to point this out. If AT&T had 3G everywhere Apple might have considered using it. As it is, they DON'T have it everywhere. Apple diddn't want to include a feature that many people couldn't use. It'll come to the phone once AT&T gets it installed more places.

I still like my subsidized and crippled phones for free or near-free. There's no way I'd pay $50 or more for a phone... how much is the iPhone? :)

Jeff - B) EDGE sucks no matter how much they tweak it C) My point is the media only talks about AT&T's slow network, not Apple's selection of the slower chips in the first place. Somehow implying if only AT&T had a faster network (it does) the iPhone would work better (it won't). You say no one is blaming AT&T, but then you go on to blame the iphone's shortcomings on AT&T not having enough 3G coverage. In fact their 3G coverage is quite good, and if there is no 3G network available 3G phones will drop to EDGE anyway.

I am all about using my phone for...phone calls. I care not for internet, or games, or watching entertainment.

Having said that: I found myself in Lanham when I should have been in Landover. What to do? If I had an internet-ready telephone, I could have found where to go.

Instead, I called my friend at work, and had him Google Map me the directions.

We're never too far from a computer, and someone using one - even on a weekend!

I'll stick with cheap-o (read, free) cell phones.

Some Guy - Why is stating a fact, any fact, amount to "blaming?"

I listed some facts. It doesn't mean I blame AT&T. I'm just pointing out the way things are. The fact that Apple made a choice based on 3G coverage is what's called a "reason" or an "explanation." Why say "blame" as if I'm out to get someone?

Dan - I hear you. The iphone or any other handheld computer device is not aimed at people who just want a basic cell phone. But I think there are a lot of people who currently carry a cell phone, and an ipod or some other music player. A smaller subset of people juggle a blackberry, a cell phone, and an ipod. For those people, being able to go from 2 or 3 devices to 1 device that has an intuitive interface is extremely attractive.

Just a quick note for 'Dan from Laurel':

If your phone has text messaging, you can access Google's search and directions services (among others) over SMS using Google SMS. I use it all the time and am able to get sports scores, directions, contact information, weather . . . you name it. Much faster than surfing the web over GPRS or calling a friend for directions. You can see more at
http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/mobile/sms/

What JD said.

and...

Whether or not the iPhone is a sensible purchase is, ultimately, a personal call. My experience in technology is this:

1. Yes, it will get cheaper and gain new features in its second iteration. Of course, when iteration 2 gets released, there's the niggling issue that it makes no sense as a purchase either, as the inevitable and pending iteration 3 will be cheaper and more feature rich. This isn't some unique dilemma to the iPhone, it's a common dynamic of tech purchases. Personally, I'm of the get it early and enjoy the most of the product's life-cycle ilk.

2. Version 1 products can have glitches (and worse). But the iPhone isn't doing something entirely new, it's doing things that have been done... just much better. Also, though it isn't a flawless record, Apple has recently done a lot of things right. iPods have won over technophiles and technophobes alike. More significantly, the switch to Intel-based chipsets for the computers was monumental, and they did it flawlessly.

3. The Apple retail outlet also has engendered some positive feelings and trust that may mitigate concerns about glitches and whatnot. I was one of the folks who purchased a new Intel MacBooks on day 1 (after being a PC user since 8088 processors), and I was one of the rare folks who had a problem with the unit having random shutdowns. Because of the retail outlet, I was able to bring my computer in, talk face-to-face with a helpful tech support person, and have my machine serviced in store and fixed within 48 hrs (and it was a complicated logic-board replacement). Lots of folks here at the Montgomery Mall Apple store (yes, I'm writing this while in line for the iPhone via the store's wifi and said repaired macbook) have mentioned choosing the Apple store (via a Cingular store) b/c they trust Apple to make things right if they have to handle a return. (Let's just say there warm and fuzzy feelings toward Cingular don't run nearly so deep.)

@Some Guy

So you simply reject what Steve Jobs has said about 3G chips being too power-hungry for the present iPhone. Why? What would Apple possibly gain by not using 3G if it weren't the case that it would be too power-hungry?

These are a ton of trade-offs with these design decisions. Many of them are very difficult ones. I'm sure that Apple engineers thought about this a great deal.

BTW, what is the battery life and screen sizes on the 3G phones you mention? I'm curious to know.

Paul Farhi's piece wasn't worth the hype given by your description. And I don't say that as thinking the iPhone isn't overhyped. By downplaying eras where prior inventions are "only" made better misses the point: new groundbreaking discoveries can't be made until the first runs and discoveries are refined into the tools needed for further progress. And these will be discoveries many of us only comprehend in the same way that someone from 1945 would understand the iPhone. Henry Ford might have understood the first Cray computer's ability, but what can be done with a modern super computer would blow him away.

John - I was hoping I'd hear from somebody actually on one of the lines. If you're still online then, let me know what the mob scene... I mean, buying experience is like when the clock strikes 6.

- RP

I never buy new tech gadgets or outdoor gear until they've been on the market for at least 6 months, so no I'm not / won't be standing in line.

Just to toss out a different perspective: I could care less that the iPhone is actually a phone. I'd be more interested in purchasing one to use as a media player / pda with web capabilities and keep my cheap cell for making calls. Unfortunately it doesn't look like ATT / Apple will allow that to happen.

@ Norm

The next version of the iPod may be something like that. It remains to be seen, of course. Should be out by the holiday shopping season.

It's iPhone mania!

How about 3 more:
* It costs over $500 after tax
* AT&T offers phone plans ranging from $59.99 to $219.99 per month (before taxes & fees)
* AT&T requires a 2-year contract

(my head is spinning.. please excuse me)

Is that true that the IPhone (I guess the first version of it) doesn't have voice-dialing? I mean, without the tactile feel of a keypad and no voice-dialing, you are going to have to really look at the phone --and not the road-- to dial it.

@ Ken G

On the Macintouch web site, some new iPhone owers are reporting that the iPhone is working with the hands-free system in their car, which permits voice dialing.

Although the iPhone is limited to a single carrier here in the US, I don't think that can happen in the European Union (EU). As I understand it, EU law requires carriers to allow customers to take their mobile phones with them when they change carriers. The new carrier simply provides a SIM card enabling the phone to work on the new carrier's network.

Is this true? If so, I don't see how Apple could market the iPhone in the EU without complying. iPhone users in the EU would seem to be far better off than their counterparts in the US.

Also, could this give US consumers an opening to buy iPhones for carriers other than AT&T? Let's say they find an EU carrier compatible with, say Verizon. Could they go to the EU, buy an iPhone for that carrier, and then return to the US and use their new iPhone on Verizon's US network?