Apple's iPhone: The Future is Here
by Anand Lal Shimpi on July 2, 2007 6:13 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
I waited in line, I bought two, I didn't even get a chance to play with mine because I was already taking the other one apart by the time I got home. In the middle of taking one apart, I activated mine and used it enough to get frustrated with the keyboard. I then spent the next three days using it, running down its battery and writing about it.
For the past two weeks I haven't had a normal cell phone experience; I've been testing the Samsung Blackjack or the Blackberry Curve, both great phones but reviewing is very different than using. Half the time when I'd go out I'd have a stopwatch around my neck, waiting for my phone's battery to die. For the really long tests, I wouldn't even have a phone on me, it'd be back at my desk looping through webpages trying to simulate real world usage.
You're sick of hearing about the iPhone? I'm sick of working on the iPhone, I just want to use it already.
My frustrations aren't out of hatred for the product, that couldn't be further from the truth. For the first time in over 10 years of writing for AnandTech, I didn't want to be in this industry. I wanted to be writing about cars or flowers or kittens and cheezburgers; I wanted to be in some completely unrelated industry so that the iPhone could launch and I could spend the weekend enjoying it, not trying to break it, test it and find its flaws as quickly as possible.
But it seems all I needed was perspective; during my review process my cousin called me, I didn't answer because my phone was in the middle of a battery life test. I called him back and explained the situation, after getting hassled for not answering my cell phone for the past few days. He then told me that I must have it rough, having to sit at my desk and play with cell phones all day.
I don't know why reviewing the iPhone was any different for me, I've been just as excited about other products in the past. Part of it may be that Apple kept all of us in suspense, the majority of press included. Review samples were rarer than Barcelona and the product itself had the potential to really shake an industry.
Then there was the issue of having to wait in line for what was ultimately a telephone, there are few things that I've voluntarily done that have made me feel like that.
But the end result is quite good. The iPhone isn't perfect, I can tell you that now (for more reasons than only supporting Edge), but it's a huge step in the right direction. At the same time it's a great product today and while not for everyone, its impact on the industry will be tremendous.
In the coming pages we'll walk through the iPhone, looking at what it does right and what it does wrong. We'll figure out what it needs, and maybe what we could expect in the near term from Apple. We'll look at its competitors; the argument that the iPhone does nothing new is valid, but is that ultimately what matters? And we'll look ahead to the long term significance of the iPhone and where Apple wants to take it.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
85 Comments
View All Comments
michael2k - Sunday, July 8, 2007 - link
Except of course for the keyboard.If he unveiled the thing, it would have to be as a small laptop.
edwinder - Wednesday, July 4, 2007 - link
Anand, I never got through your iPhone review...because everything I read is basically Blackberry this, Blackberry that. Just so that you know, not all your readers like/own/used Blackberries, and have found other replacements that suit us more besides a Blackberry (i.e E61). Yes, I know you love your BB's, but hope you can rename your article to reflect the review that you wrote. Nothing wrong with it... but reading your article gave me no basis of which to refer to, hence stopped reading it after a few pages.aGoGo - Wednesday, July 4, 2007 - link
Exactly,I used BB 8700, 8100, 8300 and 8800.. all of them suck, i have to admit that the RIM makes the best "stupid-proof" devices, that can enable you connect to your work email through BES, other than that, every single feature sucks.
I'm using the Imate Jasjar (HTC Universal) and it can do every single thing the iPhone can do, without the cute looking UI, people wanna use things, not look at them, how many of you are still using Aero glass and DreamScene? Every single person disabled them after one week.
r33tr33t - Wednesday, July 4, 2007 - link
You can catch bits of Anand's gigantic house as well as his face reflected back in the metallic part of some of the iPhone photos.plinden - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Actually, http://www.apple.com/iphone/specs.html">here, Apple does claim "up to 6 hours" internet time, so what you're seeing is in line with Apple's claims.
Yes, I do like my Apple products (3 Macs and two iPods) but I've always taken the battery life claims with a large pinch of salt.
Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
I know exactly what you're saying; battery life on the MacBook Pro is no where near Apple's 6-hour claims; I'd be lucky to get 2.5 hours of real work on mine.Thanks for the correction, I too was shocked to see it actually lasted 6 hours on WiFi. I'm doing some more tests now looking closer at its battery life, so you may see a follow-up article in the near future.
Take care,
Anand
strikeback03 - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Looks nice, but too big for me. If they can build one around something more like a 2.25" screen that would be sweet.Also on the next to last page there is a picture missing of the screen you get to unlock the phone.
Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Agreed. An iPhone mini could be very interesting but I'm not sure how the keyboard would work out. And I've added the missing image, thanks for the heads up :)Take care,
Anand
Drumsticks - Wednesday, January 7, 2015 - link
I had to go through this review for a paper I was writing for school, and I came across this comment. In 2015... how times have changed :)aGoGo - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Blackberry Curve and Blackjack?there are better phones to use, how about the HTC Universal? Nokia N95? SE P990i? HTC Athena?
I really don't know how much this damn thing is gonna cost if it's unlocked? $1000?