Recently I was in the US so I dropped by an Apple Store to check out the iPhone. As many of you know, it only works on the AT&T network in the US so there was no point really in buying one and trying to use it here in Toronto. The Apple Store I was in had units in stock and while I was there I saw several being sold to eager customers.
If you're reading this, you've probably seen a few pics / videos on the web. Having said that, the iPhone is pretty cool to actually hold on to. From a size perspective, it just feels right in your hand. The multi-touch screen is intuitive and easy to use, and in the brightly lit store and also right by the window where strong sunlight was streaming in, was easy to see as well.
I tried surfing into a couple of websites - http://news.bbc.co.uk and also http://www.cbc.ca on the iPhone and on my Blackberry (Rogers, 8800 model) at the same time so I could do a head-to-head comparison. Despite both units operating on the same network at (theoretically) the same speed, the iPhone kicked the crap out of my Blackberry without even trying. The iPhone easily loaded the full pages in half the time that my Blackberry took. On the iPhone, the pages looked exactly the way they do on my desktop whereas on the Blackberry I get these stripped-down versions that are more WAP-like than web-like.
Typing on the iPhone wasn't too bad, but it's way easier on the Blackberry. As cool and slick as the iPhone keyboard is, and as good as the visual feedback is to typing, you just can't beat having a real, physical keyboard such as the one on the Blackberry.
For Mac users, the widgets included with the iPhone will seem familiar. Google Maps is also included and on the units I tried, defaulted to the satellite view. I also tried a VPN connection back to the corporate (Exchange) email server via Outlook Web Access (OWA). To my surprise and delight, it worked without a hitch. True, the screen was a lot smaller than on my laptop but the functionality and look / feel of OWA was complete and I had no trouble using it.
The units in the store only had data connections enabled so I was unable to try a voice call to see what sound quality was like. I did try the iPod though and the built in speakers pumped out a surprising amount of volume. You wouldn't want to listen with the internal speakers in anything other than a private, quiet environment but even in the noisy Apple store, the sound was discernible.
Anecdotally the iPhone does seem popular in the US. I counted 4 in the airport lounges and on a public bus I took I saw 3 people using them. Given that this unit only just came out, I think that's pretty good real-life sales traction. While in the store I think I saw 8 units being sold and I was only in the store for 15 min or less.
Would I buy one? Probably not. My use for these types of devices is corporate and not personal. As such, I need stronger connectivity to the Exchange server and better (tactile) feedback when I'm typing. But as a high-end consumer device that's really not that much more than an iPod given the extra functionality you're getting, it's a pretty good buy.
If you're reading this, you've probably seen a few pics / videos on the web. Having said that, the iPhone is pretty cool to actually hold on to. From a size perspective, it just feels right in your hand. The multi-touch screen is intuitive and easy to use, and in the brightly lit store and also right by the window where strong sunlight was streaming in, was easy to see as well.
I tried surfing into a couple of websites - http://news.bbc.co.uk and also http://www.cbc.ca on the iPhone and on my Blackberry (Rogers, 8800 model) at the same time so I could do a head-to-head comparison. Despite both units operating on the same network at (theoretically) the same speed, the iPhone kicked the crap out of my Blackberry without even trying. The iPhone easily loaded the full pages in half the time that my Blackberry took. On the iPhone, the pages looked exactly the way they do on my desktop whereas on the Blackberry I get these stripped-down versions that are more WAP-like than web-like.
Typing on the iPhone wasn't too bad, but it's way easier on the Blackberry. As cool and slick as the iPhone keyboard is, and as good as the visual feedback is to typing, you just can't beat having a real, physical keyboard such as the one on the Blackberry.
For Mac users, the widgets included with the iPhone will seem familiar. Google Maps is also included and on the units I tried, defaulted to the satellite view. I also tried a VPN connection back to the corporate (Exchange) email server via Outlook Web Access (OWA). To my surprise and delight, it worked without a hitch. True, the screen was a lot smaller than on my laptop but the functionality and look / feel of OWA was complete and I had no trouble using it.
The units in the store only had data connections enabled so I was unable to try a voice call to see what sound quality was like. I did try the iPod though and the built in speakers pumped out a surprising amount of volume. You wouldn't want to listen with the internal speakers in anything other than a private, quiet environment but even in the noisy Apple store, the sound was discernible.
Anecdotally the iPhone does seem popular in the US. I counted 4 in the airport lounges and on a public bus I took I saw 3 people using them. Given that this unit only just came out, I think that's pretty good real-life sales traction. While in the store I think I saw 8 units being sold and I was only in the store for 15 min or less.
Would I buy one? Probably not. My use for these types of devices is corporate and not personal. As such, I need stronger connectivity to the Exchange server and better (tactile) feedback when I'm typing. But as a high-end consumer device that's really not that much more than an iPod given the extra functionality you're getting, it's a pretty good buy.
