Letters to the Editor
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mooing
Funny, my MacBook used to moo, but I did a couple of software upgrades and it doesn't do it anymore. Is that possible or am I imagining it?
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Sunlight
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned this: How can you dial out in bright sunlight? You can't see my RAZR's screen in sunlight, but I don't need to. I can use the keyboard to place or receive calls. If the screen's unusable, and all activity is on the screen, how will it function in the sun?
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the DRM
The only problem with the iPhone is that its proprietary phone format will only let you call other iPhone users, and if those users switch plans you will immediately forget ever having spoken with them.
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What sucks about Apple's new phnoe?
Reading all the predictions of doom from uniformed scaremongers citing unnamed sources.
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personal technology
Good one GXavier! I think people have it right here in that there will be problems but it will still sell.
One of the first letter writers mentioned body oils getting on the phone, and this struck a cord with me. I note that personal technology is different from other gee-whiz tech. When you show off your HDTV or new car, you can present it in all its glory to your friends. But, whenever friends want to impress me with their already iPhone-like PDAs, it's a decidedly mixed experience. While I'm not squeamish, it's always jarring as the fancy piece of tech comes closer, you begin to see all the colored lights and buttons and huge screens, then it comes closer still and you notice it’s smeared in ... something. Gunk. Goo. Whatever. Yes, very nice … ah, not sure I want to touch it…you can just keep it over there, thanks though! I guess the contrast between clean, sterile high tech anything and the messiness of biology is sometimes a sharp one. Will this place limits on the development of personal tech, I wonder?
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Choice is to bet for or against Steve Jobs
You have 25-30 years of past experience on which to base your bet.
Sure, everyone has failures. The Cube, one of Apple's last failures, could actually be viewed as a prototype for the last few generations of the iMac and MacMini.
There is a lot wrong about the way mobile phones work especially the way they incorporate technology. This is Apple's strong point. Probably the bigger risk is with the hardware. Perhaps that' why Apple chose to focus on software breakthroughs rather than use the latest technology for v1.
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The first revision...
There will be bugs/problems with the iPhone's first revision, which is why I'm taking a wait and see approach for it (but I really want what they're advertising). Inevitably the first revision of any major new apple product has some serious bugs to work out, because they do things differently than other companies (or sometimes it's as simple as applying the wrong amount of thermal paste). My bet on the bugs will be low battery life, lack of a flash/lens cover for the camera will make it quickly useless/low screen contrast in sunlight. That being said, I expect apple to have these cleared up by the end of the year, when I plan to get an iPhone.
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@DannyP
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned this: How can you dial out in bright sunlight? You can't see my RAZR's screen in sunlight, but I don't need to. I can use the keyboard to place or receive calls. If the screen's unusable, and all activity is on the screen, how will it function in the sun?
My RAZR is the same way, and the quality bites, too. Funny enough, though, my iPod is very easily read in full sunlight, and has a great resolution. I wonder which screen technology Apple will choose to go with?
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Thanks for your answers, everyone
The face oils problem isn't something I'd thought of before, and I can't imagine how Apple's going to get around that one. I'll respond to the rest of these in the blog next week.
Also, one more thing: to the people who say they want "just a phone" -- that the bells and whistles actually kind of annoy you -- can you send me an e-mail at farhad@salon.com? I'd like to talk to you. Thanks.
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Business applications... correct information
Someone mentioned earlier that crappy EDGE-speed internet and inability to use Microsoft Exchange servers are two drawbacks to the iPhone. They need to get their information right: if you check out Apple's iPhone internet features page, it says right there that you can surf the web over wi-fi or EDGE. Meaning that, when you are within range of a wi-fi network (pretty much anywhere in most big American cities) you surf at wi-fi speed. When you're not, you can still surf, but it's slower.
As far as Exchange is concerned, I wouldn't worry. Apple doesn't announce it, but the regular Mac Mail application can connect to Exchange servers (it's an undocumented feature). Since the iPod is basically stripped-down MacOS X on a portable computer with a built-in phone, I'm betting it will, too.
And as far as 3rd-party apps, my money's on someone hacking the phone and installing their own software on it by the end of the day it comes out.
R
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"business" class
The dry suits bitching about how this phone will flop because it somehow doesn't appeal to business use are delirious. Of course it will appeal. As soon as some bigshot execudroid gets one and demands it be tied in to the corporate email monster, it'll happen.
nobody seems to remember that both Exchange and Notes support IMAP/POP mail protocols, but these must be enabled by the admin and nobody does it because they're either lazy or paranoid. I've been trying to get our IT pearl-clutchers to turn IMAP on for months so I can use some other client app besides the disastrous bloated mess of the Notes client, but no. I didn't think anything could be as bad as MS Outlook until I had to use Notes.
But hey, Dvorak got noticed for the first time in years, so I guess his pants-wetting shtick still works. whee.
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Who wants to take the first bite?
My HTC Inovation 8125 already does all the things the EYE pod does and the screen hasn't cracked the battery life is great and it has Windows Mobile. Who needs Apple?