You probably couldn’t over-hype this phone if you tried. This is really a preview of what this device promises to offer since we have not laid our hands on one.
The iPhone is a revolutionary device. Mobile phones have over the last few years revolved around the same basic design with some daring cosmetic touches. Deep down, functionally, they have really not ventured from the basic concept much. Not so iPhone. Here, the boat has been pushed out.
There has been a number of high-end ‘smart-phones’ which have given the user a functioning touch-screen. That has not been enough for Apple. Tentative measures are not for them. The standard keypad has been jettisoned altogether. The touch-screen is fully functional. Nor do you need a stylus. You use your fingers.
The ‘soft’ keyboard you get is full QWERTY and predictive as well. It remains to be seen how well this feature will work but it is certainly bold.
The device feature a HTML email client and a very able Safari web-browser. Sadly, it does not support 3G but EDGE and Wi-Fi are supported. Google and Yahoo! Search are in-built. You see the full web-page as you would on a desk-top and you can tap the screen to zoom in, if you so wish. Neat.
The display is quite impressive with a resolution of 320 x 480 x 160 pixels and at 3.5 inches, it is genuinely wide taking up the entire front.
What is more impressive is that, it has what is known as proximity sensor so the moment you put it close to your ear to receive a call, the display is turned off to save power.
Memory: This first generation iPhone comes in two version; 4Gb and 8Gb. By modern standard this is plenty as you can store hundreds of music tracks, images and video clips all at the same time. Still, soon enough you can bet people will fret the memory is restrictive and insufficient. As my friend used to say: “ The more you know human beings....”
The iPhone is quad-band so you can take it to any corner of the globe and it will work. The music player is quite similar to the wildly successful iPod except for the absence of the clickwheel. However, if the headphones are of the same caliber as the iPod’s, you may want to look for a better quality pair. No, there is no FM Radio.
The iPhone is impressively slim if a bit wide and long. However, that is a trade-off for that impressive widescreen display. It measures 115 x 61 x 11.6mm and weighs in at 135g (4.8oz.). That is certainly not bad but it where pretenders to the throne are looking to attack. Check out LG’s Prada here.
The announced price in the US at $499 and $599 for the two versions are obviously stiff and people are waiting to see what they will be when it hits Europe. It is likely the networks will try to push longer (18 months) contracts to absorb some of that price. However, the presence of similar products on the market place is likely to limit their room for manoeuvre.
Like many, we can hardly wait to see how this little baby performs. However, the first test is going to be fairly straight-forward: How it handles those calls. After all, it is supposed to be a phone.
