David Pogue videos the iPhone
The first reviews of the iPhone by mainstream media journalists are rolling in and there seems to be a consensus- the iPhone is wonderful, the AT&T network sucks. David Pogue of the New York Times has published what I believe is the best gadget video review ever, Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal has published what I think is the lamest gadget video review ever. Come on Walt, we expect better. The iPhone hype rolls on.
You mean you don't expect lame reviews from Mossberg? Half the time, his stuff reads like Tech Specs for Dummies. That's often enough for me to expect lameness.
Posted by: Sumocat | June 27, 2007 at 08:04 AM
Well... let's put it this way. Pogues did a good job at making his review funny. Walt did a good job at describing the unit in use in many different conditions. Anyway both say: What sucks is AT&T!!!
Posted by: Nikooo | June 27, 2007 at 08:54 AM
I thought the same thing when I watched both video reviews- Mossberg is a person who clearly is better off with print articles whereas Pogue shines with the new medium, creating witty and campy style videos that still explain (albeit creatively) his actual thoughts on the product. I find myself watching any video he puts up even if I'm not interested in the product as he finds a unique angle to make it all interesting!
Posted by: Dave Haupert | June 27, 2007 at 09:38 AM
I laughed out loud at Pogues video, and it definitely held my interest to the end. Fortunately, I'm not in the US, and here in Europe the GSM/GPRS/EDGE infrastructure is all there is and it is supremely well built out. I'm sure we'll be paying through the nose for the device here when it finally comes out, but troubles with the network won't be much of an issue.
Though, that whole "it's so hard to make a call on so-called smartphones" that Jobs was spouting during the first iPhone keynote is, to quote the British, bollocks. My Symbian 3rd gen recognizes voice dialing commands extremely reliably and with zero training of the device. How much easier can it get than to press-and-hold a button and speak a contact name? Works every time...
Posted by: cr0ft | June 27, 2007 at 09:52 AM
Yeah, what was Jobs thinking? The iPhone takes 6 movements/presses to make a phone call and that doesn't even count if you actually don't have the particular number in your contact list. Now that is a hard way to make a call, especially while driving. Watch out for more road accidents from iPhone users.
All the seeded reviewers are diehard Apple fans, but they actually pointed out some issues with the device and seemed pretty honest. The AT&T network issues and the "just OK" phone quality concern me though since even a smartphone should work very well first as a phone.
Posted by: Matthew Miller | June 27, 2007 at 11:08 AM
@Matthew Miller:
Nope! If you use the "favorite" menu, you'll need 3 moves (1) unlock (2) press Fav (3) call the person. If you have a lot of favorites, then you may need to scroll which adds 1 move (you can go straight to the letter you want, there's an alphabetical shortcut on the right side of the screen).
:)
Posted by: Nikooo | June 27, 2007 at 12:42 PM
I'm loving the iPhone for the other features, but for people who want one-handed use it is obviously a total no-show. Hopefully though the graphical goodness will make other phone manufacturers sit up and take notice and thus produce something more normal and one-hand-friendly but with a pretty and responsive GUI as opposed to the butt-ugly dreck they put on most of them now. Perhaps even (while I'm dreaming, may as well go big) Microsoft will realize that WM phones need a ton of polishing in the GUI department...?
Posted by: cr0ft | June 27, 2007 at 02:37 PM
I can see all the hypnotized unwashed masses gazing mindlessly at the shiny.
Honestly if you take all the negatives it sucks as a phone. It sucks as a streaming device. It sucks to type on. It sucks for push email. It sucks for programs. So what's it really good for? For music and video already loaded onto the memory, just get an ipod and a decent phone for gods sake!
I'm watching this release with a great deal of amusement. ALthough I will say I am impressed with the battery life reports. When they come out with Iphone 2 for all carriers with 3G then I might consider it. But until then it's just a jack of all trades, master of none.
Posted by: spinedoc | June 27, 2007 at 04:24 PM
Actually thinking about it I gave the iphone too much credit. It's NOT a great media player. Besides the lack of streaming capability the storage is tiny compared to the 80gb ipods out there, I'm sure there are MP3 players with more storage out there than even that. With no memory card you will always have a 4gb/8gb ceiling.
The thing that struck me as the most short sighted ommission was the lack of A2DP. There are quite a few bluetooth stereo headphones which are wonderful to use. Personally I use the Lubix NC1's, they are absolutely tiny and have awesome sound. The ommission of A2DP is just a fatal error when it comes to a "modern" medial player.
So even as a media player it is subpar. I wonder how much its power as a fashion accessory will fade after everyone and his grandmother have one ala the razr.
Posted by: spinedoc | June 27, 2007 at 05:01 PM
I am one of those who is leaning towards not taking the plunge now with the iPhone. I was wondering whether anyone knows the answer to these two questions: (1) can the iPhone be used as a wireless modem (via Bluetooth) to connect your laptop to the internet? This is one key use that I give my ipaq 6500 today, and one that I cannot afford to lose. I have not seen this discussed anywhere; and (2) can the iPhone be unlocked?
Posted by: Fernando | June 27, 2007 at 07:27 PM
No one knows for sure but the word is no and no.
Posted by: James Kendrick | June 27, 2007 at 07:37 PM
Boy, this is terrible news indeed...
Posted by: Fernando | June 27, 2007 at 07:48 PM
If the iphone were a car here is what the reviews would have looked like--
"It has the most amazing seats, the stereo is implemented in ways that are brand new and totally amazing, it does things no one has ever thought to have a car do and it does those things well... and driving... well it is a mediocre ride at best... but the seats are amazing."
If it is a car the most important thing is how it drives.
If it is a phone the most important thing is how it makes calls.
All the rest, as they say, is commentary.
Posted by: dan | June 28, 2007 at 08:10 AM
@ Fernando (and others):
many questions not discussed by Apple are answered by Pogues here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/28/technology/circuits/28pogue.html?_r=2&ref=business&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
Posted by: Nikooo | June 28, 2007 at 09:01 AM