iPhone

[starseven]

Saturday night I was at a party, I got talking to a chap who had just got two one for him and one for his wife.

I sat using it for half an hour or so, the house was wireless so it had fast internet which was totally user friendly. Search you tube, find, play videos, I didn’t try it but would imagine this forum would be entirely practical.

It is also an mp3/video player with a fantastic interface, literally no instruction very intuitive.

Apple has done what apple does which is make technology very user friendly.

Having said all that I wouldn’t buy one because it’s too expensive and I would break it in a month.

 

[twowheelsgood]

I was given a Nokia smart phone a while back. I still spent 99.9% of the time making voice calls and SMSs, exactly the same as you can with a free phone. My current phone cost 2 beers in the pub.

What kind of idiot would buy a phone where you can't swap the battery? Especially given that if you actually make use of the features it'll barely last the day on a full charge?

The whole concept is fatally flawed in 2 ways IMHO. Firstly, if your video ipod conks-out halfway through a movie on the train that's annoying. If your iphone conks out and leaves you unable to be contacted that's potentially a problem. Secondly, whatever makes a good phone (compact, simple) inherently makes a bad everything else (small screen, small or no keyboard).

 

[Jaded]

If your video iPod or phone conks out half way through a train journey then you probably aren't very good at planning ahead or reacting to changed circumstances.

Better stop cycling!

 

[twowheelsgood]

If I take the train home it can take 15 hours. A bit difficult to plan my way out of that one I'm afraid.

 

[yorkshiregoth]

I am using my iphone to post this reply

 

[jashburnham]

I love the fact that most posters on here are having a go at something they have never actually owned or tried! I bought an iPhone - I love my gadgets so it was a no brainer. Impressions so far are that it is very good; intuitive, excellent battery life and a joy to use. It is the first phone I have ever owned that I was able to set my email up on properly and it was so easy, it just synched with my macbook and everything was automatic. Surfing the net is a pleasure, especially as I live in London and can almost always pick up free wifi, even used the built in googlemaps on Sunday to navigate round an unfamiliar area of East London. The screen is great, high resolution and the keyboard is easy to use after a bit of getting used to. Oh and it looks so damn gorgeous. Of course it's not perfect, but I don't care, it's is still far better than the Samsung it has replaced, and the joy of having my music on my phone in a way that just works! Nokia, Motorola etc can learn a lot from Apple's first attempt. The tariff is also better value than my old Vodafone one. For me though, the key is that it is the first phone that is actually a proper handheld pc - it runs a UNIX based system, not some pared down version of Windows, and there is so much potential for it. Apple are opening the platform to 3rd party developers in Feb and I cannot wait to see what additional functions people are going to come up with.

As Stephen Fry puts it:

“The rest of the world can mock as much as it likes. If you're going to have a phone/video player/slideshow/music centre/web browser/camera in your pocket, is it so wrong to want one that makes you grin from ear to ear? Not with smugness (though heaven knows the enemies of the device will read that into the smiles) but with delight.”

Have a play with one - I challenge you not to be impressed!

 

[twowheelsgood]

I have played with one, in fact about a week after launch. I work for a US company and we have plenty of visitors.

It's slick and nice to use and although it's technical limitations are well known (crap camera, old 2G networking etc.) it isn't those that grate, it's Apple's deliberate restrictions.

1. Itunes - an appalling piece of incredibly limited software. This would be ok if Apple didn't deliberately keep blocking alternatives. Why can't I get my mp3s off as well as on? Why can't I download my postcasts at work and sync from this second machine without wiping out what I put on at home?

2. Why no user replaceable battery? Other than to annoy people, seriously restrict the usefulness and earn Apple $99 for replacing a $8 battery what was the point?

3. Why no SD card port? You are stuck with 8GB forever, that's piddly for a video capable device. Also you cannot view your pictures or video taken on a decent camera.

4. Quicktime. Limited, slow and utterly rubbish. Practically anything not from itunes has to be transcoded. Why no divx, avi and other support? (ok obvious really)

5. Network tie-ins. No, no and no again.

I own an ipod but I won't be buying another. It's great as far as it goes, I just can't live with Apple's attitude towards it's users, which seems to get progressively more restrictive as time goes on. Also the competition is better hardware wise and although not there yet, UIs are improving too.

Thanks but no thanks. Although I'm sure if you want to do things Apple's way, it'll work fine for you.

 

[domtyler]

I tried one, the UI is clunky and unwieldy, the screen is hard to look at for more than five minutes at a time, the sound quality was shocking and the thing crashes every ten minutes. Making a voice call was absolutely horrible.

 

[mondobongo]

Yes they can be unlocked so you can go PAYG or another network but Apple have thought of this and when you do a software upgrade your phone will not work and you have done your warranty as well.

Me I am waiting to see what Sony Ericsson come up with next my 880i is a brilliant phone.

 

[Crackle]

Apple are the Religous sects of technology -

 

[twowheelsgood]

Yes they can be unlocked so you can go PAYG or another network but Apple have thought of this and when you do a software upgrade your phone will not work and you have done your warranty as well.

Me I am waiting to see what Sony Ericsson come up with next my 880i is a brilliant phone.

That's only partially true. You have the right to "buy out" your contract at which point the supplier must unlock your phone. Apple wouldn't be allowed to stop it from working.

My guess is once someone does this, it'll be reverse engineered and it should be possible to unlock any phone without Apple bricking your phone.

Even so if Apple want to play silly buggers, it's just another reason for not buying from them.

 

[vbc]

Mobile 'phones as fashion statements? Whatever next?

 

[Jaded]

If I take the train home it can take 15 hours. A bit difficult to plan my way out of that one I'm afraid.

What a truly ghastly state of affairs. I'm amazed that I ever survived the 18 and 24 hour train journeys that I have made.

Mind you, at least now I know how deprived I was. Thanks.

If you don't like the iPhone, don't buy one! Did someone with an Apple Lisa stamp on your Action Man?

 

[Richie1964]

Mobile 'phones as fashion statements? Whatever next?

Boxes for the living room with moving pictures?

 

[SamNichols]

Boxes for the living room with moving pictures?

Living rooms are so passe. The more discerning just have a bedroom with a desk in it.