Here’s how most Apple iPhone news will start to sound over the next few days:
“The Apple iPhone is still days away from launching and there are already …”
We’re just going to skip all those formalities and get straight to the point. There are other Apple iPhone reviews out there (cough, Into iPhone, cough) from people who have had a chance to play with the iPhone for a moment, but we believe these are the first comprehensive reviews of the iPhone from well known tech-evangelists: Walt Mosberg of the Wall Street Journal and David Pogue from the New York Times (NYT has a really cool interactive iPhone graphic, go check it out). They’ve had plenty of time to play with the hotness that is the Apple iPhone (putting the iPhone under the proverbial magnifying glass), so their word is something of an authority at this point.
Mr. Mosberg came away fairy impressed with Apple’s first mobile phone offering, but admits the iPhone does have its niggles and faults. He points out that the iPhone is somewhat sluggish when it comes to browsing the web on AT&T’s EDGE network – although a WiFi connection makes quick work of surfing the internets. The virtual, on-screen keyboard was much better than expected, although the lack of dedicated Phone buttons were somewhat of an inconvenience.
The iPhone is also missing some key features, among them the ability to record video, use instant messaging and using music files as ringtones. As puts it, “Expectations for the iPhone have been so high that it can’t possibly meet them all. It isn’t for the average person who just wants a cheap, small phone for calling and texting. But, despite its network limitations, the iPhone is a whole new experience and a pleasure to use.” With all the crazy-hype surrounding this near-mythical device, the iPhone lived up to most of the expectations.
Which takes us to David Pogues perspective on the iPhone. His issues are with the on-screen keyboard (in contrast to Walt – which might indicate that user experience will vary widely) being too small, no memory card slot, no chat program, no support for Java or Flash, no MMS and that pokey AT&T EDGE network, yet at the end he thinks the iPhone was met most of the industry hype. His conclusion: “even in version 1.0, the iPhone is still the most sophisticated, outlook-changing piece of electronics to come along in years. It does so many things so well, and so pleasurably, that you tend to forgive its foibles,” adding, “In other words, maybe all the iPhone hype isn’t hype at all. As the ball player Dizzy Dean once said, ‘It ain’t bragging if you done it.'”
Again, with all the frenzied media coverage over what the “revolutionary” iPhone can do, it’s amazing that it can meet even portion of our expectations – let alone live up to the hype.
You can find Walt Mosberg’s review here.
You can find David Pogues review here.
Update: Watch Walt’s review [Via: Atmaspheric|Endeavors]
Update #2: David’s iPhone video review: