“I have used the Apple iPhone. I had a private briefing the day after Steve Jobs’ keynote and spent about 45 minutes noodling around with the device,” Andy Ihnatko reports for The Chicago Sun-Times. “You may touch the hem of my robe if you wish.”
Ihnatko reports, “Here’s what I can tell you so far, based on my hands-on impressions, my talks with Apple and general first-hand sniffing around:”
1. The touch-interface works flawlessly.
2. I think the iPhone’s virtual keyboard is a huge improvement over the mechanical thumbpads found on the Treo and any other smart phones of its size.
3. It’s the most beautiful freakin’ display I’ve ever seen on a phone or PDA, both in range of color and level of detail.
4. The apps that were functional at the time of the demo give the satisfying, protein-rich experience of “real” software.
5. Apple will keep a very tight rein on software development.
6. The iPhone runs the same OS as the Macintosh… everything I’ve learned (both in official briefings and “you and I never spoke, all right?” sort of discussions) says that it truly does run Leopard, the upcoming 10.5 OS that will be released for the Macintosh late in the spring.
7. The iPhone is still under development and isn’t feature-complete… Any complaints about what the iPhone can’t do are premature. Remember, it won’t ship for six months.
Details in the full article here.
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People want this thing to fail and succeed. I can’t wait till it comes out– it’s gonna’ be sharp.
“After 30 seconds, I was already typing faster with the iPhone than I ever have with any other phone. I suspect that true e-mail demons will need to adapt to the lack of tactile feedback, though.”
Wasn’t there some Finn sayin’ sumpin about assured lousy typing on virtual keyboards?
Andy is a great columnist, and if he liked it, I am sold. But I definitely do NOT wish to touch his robe.
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MDN Magic Word: Respect
As is “Much respect.” Ali G
You guys think Apple announced the iPhone now to iron out any potential problems before June?
I don’t understand why they are including a full version of OS X 10.5 Leopard, taking up “less than 500MB” (but presumably more than 400), if there isn’t going to be rampant third party software development. Why include the whole OS if it’s not to let everyone develop for it? If they are going to keep such a tight rein on software why not strip out everything that the apps aren’t going to need. If a future app requires some code that isn’t included by default, Apple uses their tight leash to include the needed OS code in that individual app’s installer. Personally I’d like to keep a lot of space for music, so I doubt I would ever get more than 100MB of apps. If that requires 400-500MB of OS support, there is something wrong. I think there is something here I am missing, possibly because Apple isn’t telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
It sounds like Apple waited until it was 95% confident about the June release, before making the announcement and showing the product. The UI would be the hardest part to get right, and it sounds like it already works perfectly. If all Apple needs to do is finish development and testing of a few apps, that’s good news.
Hopefully, all the “analysts” will stop saying that the iPhone does not have a keyboard. According to someone who actually got to try it, it’s “huge improvement over the mechanical thumbpads.”
Jay,
I envison apps made by Apple to be sold for the phone first, and then it might open up to some approved developers later on… Like with the iPod… We’ll see…
David
My only debate about the iPhone is whether I should pony up and spend $599 at the initial release OR hold off a bit for revision 2.0 at a lower price.
There is no doubt, this thing is overpriced and will come down sharply after the early adopters and Apple fans get milked. I mean sheesh, even if todays report about Apple making a 50% profit on these things is off by 10% or so, they are still making a HUGE profit.
I really want one, but $599 is not an easy purchase for my financial situation. I could do it, but I would hate to have the more advanced 3G version at $349 come out six months later.
Anyone know what Apple’s typical revision 2.0 timespan is?
No James.
I know, as do most who have read and heard about the matter, Apple, Inc. wanted to be the first to introduce this product rather than suffer the woes of premature exposure resulting from leaks at the FCC. The FCC process will require at least two months of lab scrutiny before it is approved by the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
Apple was right to introduce the phone as they did. That iPhone will improve with each iteration is bankable.
I also think Apple has developed OS X Mobile that will find it’s way into future iPod models.
June release. Hmmmmmm, WWDC anyone? I bet that June will also see Leopard ship as well.
Isaih: why not wait? i mean, it won’t kill you or me to wait for iPhone 2.0 to come out. it’s the kind of phone i’ve been waiting for, but that’s a lot of money, for sure. i can use my crap phone longer.
So much for the FUD about the inferiority of the touchscreen interface for texting. The lying “pundits” and “anal-ists” are exposed yet again doing their obsessive compulsive Apple bashing.
The first thing I want to do is text Ballmer and tell him why he and his company suck while typing it on the virtual keyboard of the iPhone, which it doesn’t have, according to his Uncle FUDsterness.
Andy Ihnatko is a hoot. Check out his interview immediately after the Stevenote on the MacBreak video podcast.
There are a few reasons Apple launched now, but it was basically for the same reason they launched AppleTV in advance:
Marketing 101
The quick and dirty is this – you launch a new product into a new market you do not yet currently play in, that contains little risk in reducing any current product sales.
This does several things:
1. Slows competitive product sales. “Oh, I was going to purchase a Blackberry, but I can wait.”
2. Due to #1, this starts to build pent-up demand when the product does launch.
3. More free press and specualtion during the time from pre-announcing to launching. Then another boost of free press once the product starts shipping. Money can’t buy this much press… well it can, but this is simply a smarter way to get it for free.
4. FCC and Cingular: This point is Apple-specific, but Apple requires total secrecy in developing products. With this device, the FCC would have blown the products cover, so a pre-launch was necessary. Then their is Cingular, and Apple knows there is no way to control their pie-holes, so you pre-announce before some tech at Cingular does it for you.
There you go.
I bet I know why Apple went with OS X: to remove its dependence on PortalPlayer (now owned my nVidia) with its current iPods. OS X is far more portable than the proprietary OS the current iPods run in combination with the PortalPlayer hardware. OS X can run on almost anything.
> The quick and dirty is this – you launch a new product into a new market you do not yet currently play in, that contains little risk in reducing any current product sales.
Your comments are mostly true, except that Apple called the iPhone the best iPod it has ever made. There will no doubt be a video iPod (with a hard drive) using the same touch screen technology. But Apple will probably not release such a product until iPhone is out the door (to avoid stealing attention and sales from iPhone). So there is significant risk that iPod sales will be reduced this quarter and next quarter. However, Apple timed this very well, since any iPod lull will be offset (at least during the April-June quarter) by a Mac salses surge caused by the release of Leopard (with new Macs and iLife/iWork).
“You guys think Apple announced the iPhone now to iron out any potential problems before June?”
No they released it because I doubt the people at the FCC care as much about Apples penchant for secrecy as Apple does.
Takes a few months for FCC approval. Likely they don’t alllow approval unless the product is actually SHOWN to the agency.
Perhaps a welcomed side effect of having to do this however is that they are certainly hearing plenty of feedback via the intartubes and the blaghosphere about what people want it to do (3G, iTunes ringtones) and what they dont want it to do (Cingular lock-in). Perhaps this gives them time to make ‘adjustments’.
“I noticed that the iPhone’s pre-release browser was missing some plug-ins. I asked if Real and Macromedia et al. would be writing media plug-ins for the iPhone’s Web browser, and was told that no, the browser would ship with plug-ins, but Apple would be writing them all in-house.”
Does that mean no Flash or what?
So sometime before June Leopard should appear on the Mac. So this would also explain the wait until June. Leopard isn’t done yet so there other leopard apps they are going to load on the iphone probably isn’t done yet either.
So sometime before June Leopard should appear on the Mac
Aw gee, I was kinda hoping it would be out about mid-March.
@ R2
Does that mean no Flash or what?
I doubt that it means no Flash. Apparently Apple will be writing (proofing?) the plug-ins. I think it means that if you thought the Mac was a vertically oriented product you should call the iPhone the “Plumb”.
You guys think Apple announced the iPhone now to iron out any potential problems before June?
Steve said in the keynote he wanted to announce it before the FCC did!
COULD SOMEONE PLEASE POST THIS ON FARK!
Maybe a headline that says “iPhone reviewed by somone…who…actually…used it!”
or something witty
I tried and my account is acting all weird and it won’t let me.
=[
It would be excellent for Apple to get this out to the masses. Believe me, Fark already has a bunch of PC weenies that have been trying their hardest to bash it…
Am I the only one here who has noticed one critical flaw that sure as hell better be included in the final iPhone…VIBRATION!