Gizmodo
Apple just gave us 15 minutes with the iPhone. To be frank, I was surprised — Apple doesn't usually grace us with this kind of love. I guess they liked our iPhone posts from last month. The legends say Woz and Steve love to pull pranks.
What do I really think of it?
Well CD players and iPods both play music. But elegant design at the fundamental level of how it plays tunes is what helped it transcend the category. From what I saw, first hand, I think the iPhone is going to do this for cellies. I have a bit of sympathy for our friends at RIM and Nokia
First thing I did? I called my mom.
"Mom," I said. "I'm calling you from an iPhone"
Mom says, "Where? Huh? Who?"
I said, "Uh, its a gadget people have been waiting for for a long time. Never mind, I'll call you later."
Then I dug into the features.
It's easy to say how it worked — it did just the way it's supposed to, per the Keynote. The experience is very OS X like. So, lets go through each feature. Keep in mind this isn't the final firmware or hardware. They have months to fix whatever I bitch about.
Phone calling: Sound is clearer than average. The number pad is tucked away, so they depend on you having most numbers in speed dial. That's ok. Soft buttons are never going to be as fast as hard buttons. These were good, there wasn't much delay. But wihtout tactile feedback, its a little strange. (The faux dialtones are cool.)
Screen: Most gorgeous ever. Flawless. Dark, and contrasty. Bright colors. Photos looked natural. Touchscreen was better for multigestures, but the screen itself had a bit of rubbery feel as I flicked through with a single figner.
Gestures: They work! Multitouch is great for zooming photos. I likey.
Video: The pirates of the caribbean video was supposedly 640 by 480, but looked kind of blown up. I'm being picky, though. You can set the video to native res, instead of filling the screen. Maybe that was the 320 version of Pirates. I'm being picky.
Music: Um, I flipped through some songs, but without headphones, I didn't listen.
Images: You saw it from our liveblog. Thumbnails, and zooming using gestures. As you'd expect.
Browser: Perfect rendering of the page (saw the apple page and Google news) Like the opera browser, it scales down images. Didn't check Flash or Java/Javascript support. Flipped to landscape when I tilted (but only one side.) Zooming in with a touch and then back out made sense. And landscape mode is awesome.
Keyboard: The softkey, on screen buttons are small. Think index finger, not thumb. Maybe I wasn't doing it right. The keys pop up when I put my finger down on the keys, but do you think the proximity sensor knows when I get close (but before I touch), and if I hover with my digit, it'll blow up the keys so they're easier to hit? (Am I making sense?)
SMS: Didn't try.
Email: Typed around a bit. Wish the fields for To, and CC were smaller fonts. But I guess when you go to the main message field, it scrolls down.
Google Maps: Perfect. Maps DL'd slower than I'd have liked, esp considering the demo was on wifi (Was it on WiFi? I believe so, but will let you know if I am wrong.)
Widgets: Weather and Stocks are identical to the OS X Dashboard Widgets. Great
Camera: The camera didn't refresh fast in the dark meeting room. I wasn't that impressed, but it was pretty dark.
RAM Vmail: Didn't check, but looked at the messages, seemed straight forward.
Multitasking: Didn't have time to check!
We'll email Apple and ask them if you have any questions, and we'll update this post as we find out more from other journalists themselves.
MORE: Gizmodo iPhone Hands On Part Deux: Why Isn't it White and Other Questions
Macworld Keynote 2007 [Gizmodo]
Macworld Keynote 2007: Chronological order [Gizmodo]
Comments
my comment would be that the image in the post is borked
Wow.... definitely a surprise that Apple's doing this. Pretty unlike them.
Anyways, this whole keyboard thing is the real deal sealer in my opinion... sure is hard for me to imagine a small touch screen being good for entering text despite Apple's "genius" in creating a new interface.
I suppose if the proximity sensing approach was very sensitive, it could be doable. Though I still have my doubts. For $500/$600 bucks, a smartphone better have at least a decent text input method.
I demand to see more iPhone porn, get that picture up!
http://www.gizmodo.com/assets/resources/2007/01/gizmodoiph...
Copy, paste, be disappointed.
Any word on the processor and ram choice for it? Is there a Terminal.app hiding there somewhere you could run dmesg from to tell us the inside details?
so its 600 w/ the plan? or will there be a further discount. honestly, i thought that the ps3 was stretching it as far as price goes. as much as i'd like to have both, they are both just too damn expensive for their own good. For 600, i could buy an 8 gig nano or a 30 gig video and a small camera phone and have enough left over for a few accessories. The price is almost unjustifiable. Though i am a huge fan of the mac os and apple in general, i think that this phone, even if marketed right might become a niche product. they should release a less expensive version sans fancy feature, just a music phone with nice aesthetics and a beautiful os. *sigh* for now it seems i'll have to go sans iphone however, if this follows the path of the ipod, it should become affordable in about a year after its release
My cell feels like a tin can with a string comming out of it now.
I would like to know how this will effect the ipod line, I am wondering if this is the path apple is going with the ipods and will make a version of this, but without the cell (I would go for that in an instant at $400). How are the sales at the apple store going to work, and how much is the upgrade price? And to end my barrage of questions, Will this require a $40 a month data plan, like the treo 680? And my one more thing, which steve missed, Will cingular branding be all over this thing?
Thanks
The eternal new iPod product questions: Is the battery removeable and does the case seem like a scratch magnet?
am i the only one pissed that its only offered on cingular? I mean a prision caffeteria buy has better customer service than those dolts.
Biggest question for me: can you add new events and manage your calendar using the calendar app, or is it just a viewer?
Will the WiFi do PEAP? (I guess yes!)
Does the browser do Java/Javascript?
There's a Troll in the house, and it's name is werk...
werk, you really think that your opinion counts for anything, based on you being in the wrong camp when this product was announced?
Jealousy is a terrible thing werk, so sad that you can't enjoy like everyone else.
SlashGear says the battery is non-removable, but im SURE you'll be able to get a replacement if you send it away to Apple, as with the iPod of today....
http://www.slashgear.com/apple-iphone-definitely-worth-the...
Jesus DrD, I meant be disappointed because it's just a stock photo, nothing new to get excited about. Grow up.
I'm curious about the keyboard - I'm no fan of index finger typing, does it enlarge when you switch it to landscape view? I think it would make more since to not only have this ability, but when your typing in a field, get rid of everything else! Lets have a full keyboard I can work with if I want.
can you input new contacts, or only use what you typed into your computer? Can you input calendar entries on the iPhone that will sync to iCal, or is it only a 1-way sync like the old ones?
I'm getting one the day they are available. I will take out my tmobile pebl and a hammer and smash the crap out of it right in the Cingular store if I can get some swag.
I don't care about price. I care about experience. I have a gut feeling the experience will be frigging awesome. Just like when the ipod first showed up and people were like "Meh - I ain't spending that much for some mp3 player" and a month later they were all blinged out with ipods.
Now here is a biggie - can I use it as a bluetooth modem so I can connect to the Cingular via the wireless data network on my PB while away from a hot spot? I sometimes need more access than this will give me.
You know its funny how history repeats itself. Same talk as when the iPod came out... it's too expensive, this is just a niche item for the fanboys... blah blah blah.
Bottom-line be patient, 5 years from now, we'll all wonder what life was like before the iPhone came out. MS will be releasing a competing product called the Phune, touting their slogan "welcome to the circle jerk".
Just look back at a 1G iPod, think about how that looks to you now... those retailed for what 4gb phone is going to go for in June, so just give it time. Other carriers will join in and it'll be a party.
So... where's the hands on pics? Did you guys really get a hands on? Hook us up with pics, if you really did.
Too true djdare. I confess to being a little bit of a hater myself, given my crappy history with smartphones. But there's nothing funnier than reading the slashdot comments on the day of the iPod announcement. Google it for some epic laughs.
werk - back at you Troll Boy!
Graydon - expect a modem option via Bluetooth to be standard, based on the inherent sync functionality with OS X desktop/Laptop
Probably Bluetooth stereo headphones won't be far behind.
djdare - good point about the original iPod - I forgot how much I paid for that sucker, but it felt so good being the only one on the plane with one and having people literally stop and ask to see and hear it working - it was more than worth it! :)
Microsoft has already been in the phone game.
Frankly this collective i-orgasm over everything jobs pulls out of his ass is pathetic.
Haha, that was great. It's hysterical when someone launches a high-horse attack based on a total misunderstanding of a benign comment. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, man.
That said, I am disappointed at both the stock photo and the iPhone price, and I don't care whether my opinion matters or not -- if it did, I'd be contractually prevented from sharing it on the Internet, that's for damned sure.
When you were typing the email with the cramped keyboard, if you rotated the phone to landscape, would the keys stretch to give more room for thumbs and fat fingers? Or were you doing it landscape?
The only pics I've seen of the keyboard have been while the phone is upright. Seems like you should be able to do it sideways, no?
dtrain - glad I could lighten your day.
Sorry the price doesn't appeal - sure it'll be more reasonable in a year or two's time.
There are excellent stock shots on apple.com if you're being stressed by werk's favorite product shot.
And please feel free to check out werks trolling on other iPhone posts - so that you can at least get yourself a decent perspective
I really think Apple did it this time. Cingular sucks, but hey ... the legal writing's on the wall re: locked in services- it'll change.
This phone is either genre blending or genre busting. It's gorgeous and it's versatile. Nobody will EVER accuse me of being an apple zealot, but it needs to be said: outstanding!
It's way pricey, but that will all change ... as has already been posted. Go to the Apple site for pictures and movies showing exactly how this gadget works.
trendspotter said: SlashGear says the battery is non-removable, but im SURE you'll be able to get a replacement if you send it away to Apple, as with the iPod of today....
While that's all well and good with an iPod, I certainly wouldn't be willing to part with my phone for over a week... let alone my portable email, calendar and camera.
I'm I the only one that thinks the mirror like finish looks kind of tacky?
Other then that the list of features doesn't seem to bad, but doesn't scream "Hey, spend $600 on a phone!"
Idk, maybe its because I'm not an apple fan.
"The price is almost unjustifiable."
Erm... work for a business? Does that business use smartphones? do they stay current with new models? We paid $349 for our blackberries when they came out, paying $499 for a phone which is infinitely easier to use, and doubles as an ipod, is a no brainer, well worth a $150 premium over the previous.
Besides, who thinks the components inside the phone only cost $100? oh no one. Who thinks custom silicon and all the crap inside, compared to say a treo or blackberry, might actually, gasp, cost more? oh all of us.
If $499 is too much, wait a year. But lets get real. Nothing on the market is even vaguely comparable, of course it's going to cost more then the average smartphone, it brings so much more to the table, and i'd wager most of the components are quit a bit more expensive, ie the screen.
I'd like to know what they mean by "desktop-class applications." How much of OSX is running? Just the kernel?
Can I install additional applications? Will it run Office OSX, or do we have to wait for Microsoft to make a mobile version, or are we limited to just widgets? What developers are signed on to provide additional functionality, if any?
How are the network features? Can I map a network drive across the local wireless network? Can I map a network drive over the internet?
I have some big dreams for the device if this is possible - something like using it as my ~home directory under OSX, with my data drive mapped across the internet if the OS on the phone can support it.
I've been hacking on Symbian phones for half a year now, so upon hearing that it runs OS X, my first thought was: Can I write programs for it? Can I write programs that take advantage of the accelerometer, camera, mic, and other sensors?
here here ruggels
also gadgetophile, thanks for the tip, I'm still reading through the old posts on slashdot and it's hilarious how much it applies to this thread today...
Zhao, did you know it is illegal to use the word "sans" in consecutive sentences?
Anyway, iPhone (no 'the' according to Apple) does seem revolutionary. If the soft keyboard works well (whoever said landscape mode rather than portrait has the idea), this is a killer product.
The mirror finish is to enhance the blacks, and provide slightly better contrast. It's an optional finish on their notebooks.
Does it support themes/ skins? Any sync options other than itunes? Support for Mass Storage?
I agree the keyboard looks rather tiny for large fingers. I wonder how Apple's Inkwell technology (similar to Palm's Graffiti) works on it. It looks like Apple is not recommending a stylus, but can you at least write letters with your finger?
noremac - "im witch-you" - NOTHING is gonna make me leave my $5/month UNLIMITED data plan on tmobile - i suppose well just have to wait for the unlocked version to surface - but i shudder to think how much it's unsubsidized price is going to be...
i mean - i know its pretty much a full fledged pda thatll probably work better than any treo, blackberry, axim, etc out there - but to think that without a cingular contract (a LONG one, at that) this thing may be almost as expensive as a base macbook model just makes it that much harder to justify...
lakiolen, I'm with you. I'll pony up my developer membership this year if I can get access to their location device, and the other sensors.
I make 2 posts about the feasibility of the iPhone in a corporate environment and all of a sudden I'm trolling. Like I said, please, grow up.
What's most impressive though is that they've kept iPhone's development under tight wraps for 2-1/2 years. Sure. there were rumors. But noone could substantiate it beyond mere rumors.
But does it sync with Outlook's addy books? Or even run a variant of Outlook so I can access corp email with it? Can I throw a PPT on it and run it to a projector?
If you can get it to do those things, this thing will make crazy sales in the business (ech "enterprise") market. Nay, it could pretty much be a laptop replacement.
Too much like a PDA. Nothing ground breaking here. Clean your keyboards now, fanboys. :)
The must own gadget of 2007, hands down. Great coverage, Gizmodo.
I've been out of my current cell contract now for 10 months just waiting for this to become available.
I had faith, and it paid off. (Did you hear that Jesus? Steve Jobs is doing a better job than you.)
It's a beautiful phone, a lovely interface, something that looks very evolutionary rather than revolutionary, though. It elegantly combines a number of existing technologies. Very nice. If I had a spare $600 -- spare as in I wouldn't mind setting it on fire somewhere -- I'd be tempted.
But I don't. It's been suggested that in 5 years we'll be wondering how we lived without something like the iPhone. That may be absolutely true. However, Microsoft has already been in this game with Windows Mobile, and I believe that Gizmodo itself still declares the Cingular 8525 the uber smartphone of the century. The 8525, in case you forgot, runs Windows Mobile.
The 8GB iPhone costs 50% more than an 8525. For that price difference I'm pretty sure I can get a more than decent mp3 player, maybe even an iPod. I KNOW the price difference will get me a more than decent digital camera. The 8525 is no where near as elegant as this iPhone, but I'm pretty sure I can pound out messages and emails on its keyboard faster than the software equivalent on the iPhone.
Comparisons with the iPod's history are not on point. The iPod essentially created a new industry not just via the device but via iTunes and iStore. iPod sales skyrocketed the moment those features were accessible by Windows users. Here, the cell phone market exists, the smartphone market exists. Apple is attempting to redefine the industry.
This iteration of the iPhone reminds me of the Apple Lisa. You remember Lisa, the $10,000 predecessor for the Macintosh. Lisa did most of what a Mac did, only it costs 4x what a Mac would eventually cost. Lisa vanished, the Mac thrived.
So yes, this iPhone is a beaut, but next year's iPhone is more likely to be the killer.
Looks interesting!
I await further details!
- Way too expensive.
- No 3G.
- Soft keyboard just doesn't cut it.
+ Video player
What about battery life? Standby time etc?
Nah, a SonyEricsson Walkman phone is more likely to be my next phone. Like the W950 or new W850.
I think a big thank you is in order for the absolutely wonderful coverage of all things Apple. You guys really did an awesome job covering MacWorld 2007, it almost felt like I was there. Grazie. Arigato. Gracias. Xie xie. Thank you!
blacberry comparers: I don't think the employees of the world (much less the executives of the world) are going to be trading in the berry anytime soon for this. It's entertainment, not business. The 20 year old will have it, his 50 yo exec dad will look at it like a monkey looks at a math problem. I don't think Rim is too concerned. Different targets.
>> Nothing ground breaking here.
Reminiscent of all those famous last words from back in the 1G iPod launch day ;-p