 Re: This expensive, glitzy wunderkind is indeed worth lusting after.
<karlkrandall@sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:6e9483da5mks44bmmodepgk7mlo94aql38@4ax.com...
> Reviews are out. Technology columnists that have used production model
> Iphones for two weeks offer their reviews.
>
> NY Times
> News Week
> USA Today - also video on CNBC
> Wall Street Journal
After reading the NY Times review, my impression is that Apple has made some
serious headway in the area of making the small screen a viable interactive
workspace. This is a remarkable achievement and, IMHO, if it is all they say
it is, it will be the biggest advance in UIs since WIMP. Up until now, we've
had to deal with terribly awkward UIs as application designers tried to port
PC-desktop-sized apps to small screens, or have resorted to text-based lists
that are so 1980s. The Times also points out that they goofed on some cell
phone essentials - like making a call. If you want to dial a number, you
have to go through six steps. And if you want to voice-dial (which is how I
make most of my calls) ... you can't. For me, this would be a complete
showstopper. However, this seems to be in keeping with the general trend in
cell phones - that making phone calls is just an afterthought.
For a lot of people, their service provider is like their religion. They're
not likely to give it up just because of a new phone. So if they're not
already on AT&T, what do they do? For the moment, that probably doesn't
matter because people who are willing to spend $600 for a phone (I don't
think they'll sell any 4-GB models, except to people who urgently need to
possess an iPhone after the 8-GB models have sold out) probably will be
prepared to spend another $100 or so per month for a second phone so they
can keep their current carrier and have their iPhone too.
What will be interesting is, as every pocket-sized small-screen devices
moves over to the look and feel of Apple's UI, will Verizon continue to
cling to their feature-crippling proprietary UI that they force upon every
phone they sell, or will they give in and go with the new standard?
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