“We have been testing the iPhone for two weeks, in multiple usage scenarios, in cities across the country. Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions,” Walter S. Mossberg and Katherine Boehret report for The Wall Street Journal.
“It has the largest and highest-resolution screen of any smart phone we’ve seen, and the most internal memory by far. Yet it is one of the thinnest smart phones available and offers impressive battery life, better than its key competitors claim,” Mossberg and Boehret report. “It feels solid and comfortable in the hand and the way it displays photos, videos and Web pages on its gorgeous screen makes other smart phones look primitive.”
Mossberg and Boehret report, “The iPhone’s most controversial feature, the omission of a physical keyboard in favor of a virtual keyboard on the screen, turned out in our tests to be a nonissue, despite our deep initial skepticism. After five days of use, Walt — who did most of the testing for this review — was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years. This was partly because of smart software that corrects typing errors on the fly.”
“The display is made of a sturdy glass, not plastic, and while it did pick up smudges, it didn’t acquire a single scratch, even though it was tossed into Walt’s pocket or briefcase, or Katie’s purse, without any protective case or holster. No scratches appeared on the rest of the body either,” Mossberg and Boehret report.
Walt Mossberg – Apple iPhone is Breakthrough Handheld Computer:
Full review with much more here.
Also, Apple CEO Steve Jobs answers Walt Mossberg’s iPhone questions here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “ChrissyOne” for the heads up.]
This is arguably the most important review the iPhone will ever receive and, as it’s basically a rave review from Mossberg, it means even more money in the bank for Apple.