I finally got a chance to take a look at the iPhone last week. I went to a local AT&T Corporate Store near Atlanta. The display for the phone looked very Applesque (very simple and the nicest display in the store). Although the store had 2 iphones on display, I still had to wait 15 minutes to see them.
Simply put, the handset “wowed” me. What really surprised me was that the phone actually worked the way Steve Jobs and the advertisements stated it would. One of my concerns was that with the EDGE network, the iPhone’s internet browser would be drastically slower than depicted. However, it actually appeared to be quite a bit faster than than similar GSM/EDGE smart phones that I’ve used in the past (albeit, still not as fast as a CDMA EV-DO Smart Phone).
Of course, one of the greatest features of the iPhone is the iPod capability. I would buy the phone for this functionality alone. I was able to watch part of a movie, listen to music, and watch part of a TV show. Because of all of the podcasts I watch this functionality would make the purchase worth the $600 cost.
And finally… it actually makes calls!!! The voice quality was very clear and audible with little or no distortion. The phone interface was intuitive and very easy to use. It worked as well as or better than most other phones I’ve used.
Overall, the phone was great. For a first attempt at a mobile phone, Apple has done a far better job than a number of other manufacturers who have been downplaying the iPhone for the past 5 months. There are still a number of other handsets on the market that can’t even come close to the feature set or interface of the iPhone.
One thing I’ve found interesting lately is that the “other” carriers are programming their people to make the point that the iPhone just won’t work for business. Or… “I just don’t see why a business would want a phone like this that doesn’t have push e-mail or a regular keyboard” (source anonymous). One thing to remember is that this phone is NOT targeted to businesses. You can’t even get it on AT&T’s network with a Business Rate Plan. This handset is aiming directly for the consumer market – a plan that is paying huge rewards to Apple and (thanks to the iHype) AT&T.
I still love my Blackberry and my Verizon Phones, but for the “just damn cool” factor, Apple wins the kudos. Now… if they would just make a CDMA version for VZW!
(photo courtesy of Apple Inc.)
