Here are a few thoughts that popped into my mind as I was watching the iPhone tour video:
- Can’t start typing a number or a few letters to place a call (either you select from the address book or you remember the full phone number).
- Visual voice mail rocks.
- Touch screen is good for many more activities than I thought (but I suspect, still terrible to type text).
- Overall, it’s quite striking to see how the UI (and the entire demo) downplays typing. Quite a contrast compared to how much typing is used in iTunes or search on Mac OS. For example, if I want to add the picture of Sarah Young to her contact info, I would start typing “y o”. With the iPhone, you have to scroll through your address book (lucky him, there is only one entry in the “y” category, what a coincidence!).
- Is it possible to buy something from the iTunes store from the phone? (not shown in the demo, so I’m guessing not).
- Good handling of the headphone/music/incoming call activity.
- Safari: “renders just like on your computer”. Honest.
- Web page zooming is cool.
- Google button!
- The typist doesn’t seem to make any mistakes with the keyboard. I’m still a bit skeptical about that, but we’ll see. Good to see they have spelling correction (and nice demo with the thumbs).
- Claims Gmail access… Probably through POP… lame.
- Can check email automatically.
- Maps looks awesome. With traffic! (network access too fast to be true, though). The turn by turn instructions don’t seem to do text to speech, unfortunately.
- “There are many ways you can customize your iPhone”… as long as you choose black.
#1 by Will on June 23, 2007 - 11:37 pm
It’s interesting that they highlighted the periodic email checking but left out the push email capability offered by Yahoo!. I wonder how that’s implemented.
#2 by Sam on June 24, 2007 - 6:20 am
The Yahoo! mail is offered through Push-IMAP. It’s part of the new “Lemonade Profile” for email on mobile devices. I believe it’s still in draft.
I’d be willing to bet all the email access on the iPhone is POP3/IMAP/P-IMAP. No proprietary push format like the the BlackBerry. Once Gmail supports these protocols we’ll be all set (hint, hint).
Personally, I’m disappointed by the lack of GPS. Everyone laments the lack of 3G, but Cingular has awful 3G coverage as it is.
#3 by kooldudegaurav on July 6, 2007 - 4:18 am
I dont think all that stuff on iPhone is all worth the kinda money customers are going to shell out for the plans.
Plus being in Indian I dont think its gonna be successful except in some elite show off circles.
Basically I dont feel iPhone is productive in any sense.It do not assist you in any way to make or attend call.Its sporting an average camera.
All the applications there are dependent on Network related features and I am sure they will be really horrible to access as speed will be slow.
Only thing that it might has is a better menus and UI.
Man aint u worried about all the smudges you gonna get when you hold the phone on to ur face plus the ugly weird stares when people see u with that monolithic device,ofcourse till they dont know its an iPhone.
#4 by MilesVorkosigan on August 31, 2007 - 5:21 pm
For the same price I have choose the HTC3300 including a GPS and a RDS FM radio…
#5 by Anonymous on December 31, 2007 - 7:43 am
lol..