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"The iPhone Matches Most of Its Hype" says the NY Times in an early review

nytimes.com — So how is it? As it turns out, much of the hype and some of the criticisms are justified. The iPhone is revolutionary; it’s flawed. It’s substance; it’s style. It does things no phone has ever done before; it lacks features found even on the most basic phones.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 27, 2007

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  • deadbaby, on 10/11/2007, -16/+64It may be lacking some obscure features but the iPod has proven that consumers will pick ease-of-use over the kitchen-sink approach.
  • sundoggy, on 10/11/2007, -2/+47"Purchase"? This was a pretty even handed review, and not surprising from what we knew before. Awesome software, so-so phone, and lousy Edge network.

    However, we'll see now because the embargo is lifted and the other reviews will start drifting in, and after Friday, everyone including you can review it.
  • ZPWeeks, on 10/11/2007, -3/+47Anybody else notice Pogue say, "On the iPhone, voicemail checks you?"
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -8/+43"im in ur edge network, movin sloww"
  • lieutenantmudd, on 10/11/2007, -9/+44Hmm, the iPhone now has the best battery life in class, it can open Word docs, and interact with Exchange. I guess Apple was listening to the iPhone haters.
  • WiseWeasel, on 10/11/2007, -6/+33Nice, balanced review, highlights positives and negatives that people are going to encounter, including the really long load times for some typical sites (NYT - 55sec, Amazon - 100sec, Yahoo - 120sec) on AT&T's EDGE network. Personally, I'm probably going to go for it despite the issues he brings up, just for the decent OS and software experience on a phone. Overall, pretty unbiased for a Pogue write-up.
  • joaob, on 10/11/2007, -4/+22I just dropped $500 on a Blackberry 8800 out of contract because my need for push e-mail. They go like hot cakes on eBay. The iPhone's push email isn't as great but it's about 10 times more functional then my Blackberry...so I really don't see the big deal about the $500 price tag.
  • amrush4th, on 10/11/2007, -1/+18$20/month for unlimited internet, that might have done it. Thats the move that will change the phone industry and force all companies to set more realistic prices then they have in the past. The biggest concern I had has just been dealt with, and quite well to be honest.
  • Me1000, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14I think those features were there all along. the haters just tried to grab onto something to hate at...
  • fivestarsoul, on 10/11/2007, -0/+13what happens in soviet russia with iphone voicemail? i guess you check your voicemail
  • thatgirlismine, on 10/11/2007, -5/+18it's very lame that a phone billed as the best music player ever can't set ringtones other than the handful of default ringers shipped with it.

    Are they waiting to see if they can make a quick buck selling clips of already purchased music on the iTunes Store?
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -8/+21Pros:
    - Very fast hardware and graphics
    - Long battery life
    - Generally excellent software usability
    - By far the fastest and best mobile web browser
    - iTunes / iPod integration

    Cons:
    - No push email. The iPhone is just a typical IMAP/POP3 email client that checks for new mail every 15 or 30 minutes.
    - No IM
    - No MMS
    - Basically, the only instant communication on the thing is SMS, which only supports size-limited messages, doesn't support attachments, doesn't work with Desktop users, and doesn't work if the other user's phone is off or out of service. That sucks quite a bit, especially to users of other devices that support both instant push email and IM. Not to mention that you can only send a limited number of SMS messages per month.
    - No PIM software (Appointments, Tasks, Notes.)
    - No 3rd party software. (Where would I be without my Palm's Gas Mileage calculator, Solitaire, Risk, and HP48 emulator?)
    - The device is *very* bandwidth intensive. On Wifi the device is fantastic, but on EDGE it would be just dog slow. As Pogue said, 50 sections to load nytimes.com. 120 sections for my.yahoo.com. Not to mention that the device is checking for new mail every 15 minutes; sure it'll display photos in email, but it'll take minutes for them to show up.

    Undecided:
    - Keyboard effectiveness

    Bottom line:
    On a device that is *so* bandwidth intensive, and on such a low quality network such as AT&T's, the only way you can have "the internet in your pocket" is with a dirt cheap, unlimited data and SMS plan, along the lines of $40 to $50 per month. AT&T went above that, and also limited the number of SMS messages (which is total BS) so it remains to be seen what will happen.

    It's not a drop dead fantastic deal, but it'll probably be good enough for sizable chunk of people, enough for the iPhone to initially fly off the shelves, anyway.
  • cmiller1, on 10/11/2007, -3/+12PLEASE KILL YOUR SELF SO I DON'T HAVE TO USE THE BAN BUTTON TO FILTER YOU OUT
  • Muyoso, on 10/11/2007, -6/+15Seeing as how when there were a total of maybe a few hundred phones taxing the AT&T data network, the Iphone took nearly 2 minutes to load freaking Yahoo, i CANNOT wait to see how the sales of a million Iphones completely DESTROY the AT&T network. You will have to Queue a website up before you sleep for it to be available for lunch the next day.
  • pradaaddict, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9It does have PUSH. Yahoo Mail Push service.
    It does have IM. iChat and SMS texting
    It does have a calender and scheduler and notes.
    It does have 3rd party software, Web 2.0 apps. It will also eventually be opened up once they devise a system to stop ***** programs.

  • infobhan, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9What do you mean HDD? There is no drive. It's all flash memory. I doubt how much it is filled will affect performance.
  • corsairstw, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8The video review is priceless.
  • BossX, on 10/11/2007, -9/+15Like I said... No 3G = Pointless iPhone. "Then there’s the Internet problem. When you’re in a Wi-Fi hot spot, going online is fast and satisfying. But otherwise, you have to use AT&T’s ancient EDGE cellular network, which is excruciatingly slow. The New York Times’s home page takes 55 seconds to appear; Amazon.com, 100 seconds; Yahoo, two minutes. You almost ache for a dial-up modem."
  • heavyd14, on 10/11/2007, -0/+6If not, you will be able to read some emails telling you how to do so (on the cheap no less) from anywhere.
  • bethlagarrison, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Yeah, and what's SUPER cool is that your laptop fits right into your pocket and has a battery life of 8 hours.

    Right?

    Boom! iPhone.
  • VanteS, on 10/11/2007, -4/+9"but it doesn’t scratch easily. I’ve walked around with an iPhone in my pocket for two weeks, naked and unprotected (the iPhone, that is, not me), and there’s not a mark on it."

    Excellent! That's all I was waiting to hear, scratches made my nano almost unusable.
  • SpacedCowboy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5Yes, it does. It has a push-email service from Yahoo for free to any iPhone owner, and there are persistent rumours that it integrates with Exchange to provide push email.
  • mannymix03, on 10/11/2007, -5/+10"On the iPhone, you don’t check your voice mail; it checks you."
  • undersky, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6i think the BIGGEST FAVOR apple did for the nay-sayers were to add the glass screen. i think without the glass screen, if iPhone scratches like old nano, 80% of people wouldn't buy it otherwise.
  • tobsterius, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7the price point is new to you? The cost was announced in January.
  • lieutenantmudd, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Lack of critical thinking? Go price cellphone plans. The iPhone plan is nearly identical to most voice/data plans. Hell, my plan with taxes is $55. It's the base Verizon plan plus 200 text messages. With taxes, the base iPhone plan is probably around $70. A $15 difference for unlimited internet sounds right to me
  • SpacedCowboy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4The "ichat" icon is just an interface to SMS.

    What everyone seems to be missing is that this is just software. It would be easy for Apple to add (real) iChat in a software update later on. As one of the reviewers said, they're even hinting they'll be adding features as time goes by. This isn't your usual cellphone, stuck with what it started with...

  • tobsterius, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4http://www.amazon.com/Pocket-Idiots-Guide-Grammar-Punctuation/dp/1592573932

    You should buy that instead.
  • tinygibbles, on 10/11/2007, -4/+8 nobody wants to hear your goddamn ringtone, except you, of course. Apple gets it. Personalized ringtones are a pox.
  • rauz, on 10/11/2007, -3/+7And the no 1 reason FOR buying an iPhone: just to piss you off.
  • Trapped, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I recall during the Keynote Address last January at Macworld where the iPhone was first announced that PUSH email would available for the iPhone via Yahoo mail. I am not sure if this has changed or not or perhaps it is still forthcoming for it.
  • superkendall, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4I'm mostly at home or work, where I have WiFi. I prefer a fast connection most of the time, with a data network that can reach almost anywhere I go on road trips, which is true of EDGE but not of 3G. Heck, my hometown, Denver, has no 3G and no plans to get 3G! People who are demanding the iPhone must live in New York and spend all day in Central Park.
  • CraigJ, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4who pays for wi-fi?
  • vhold, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6To me the device is basically crippled beyond any worth by its poor network. Having to hunt down Wifi just to get a cell phone to work like it was meant to is totally unacceptable.

    It seems likely that they will improve the situation, but I definitely wouldn't buy a phone banking on that presumption. Cell phone companies are absolutely terrible about holding up their end on such promises.
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4save it, steve.... we're wise to your trickery
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -4/+8Also note than the penultimate fanboy Pogue, has to compare it to smart phones when feature wise it is really more comparable to free handsets. Because if they don't do that comparison it is obviously wildly overpriced.
  • colincornaby, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3"Who wants to wait one minute to open a web page? Who wants to pay for wi-fi coverage in order to get decent speeds? Why not wait for i-phone 2.0 with 3G? It seems like apple sent this out 75% done."

    I like the iPhone, and I think it's a great device for most people. However, this is standard Rev. A Apple fare. Rev. A Apple products are always somewhat half done. See the first Macbook Pros (no FW 800), the first Macbooks (sudden restarting, top case discoloration), and the first version of Mac OS X (No DVD or CD Burning?). But, the bad news for the haters is that Apple always works hard and kicks out better and better devices constantly (see: the iPod, OS X, etc). I plan on waiting for GPS myself, but I think for most users the iPhone is a more than capable device. I can't blame people though for waiting until the iPhone does : blank :. The same thing happened with the iPod, and Apple eventually added the features people wanted (video, FM radio, color screen, etc).
  • mediaphile, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3i think deadbaby was alluding to the phrase "they've thrown in everything but the kitchen sink" or other derivations thereof.
  • inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3One thing I would add... this thing looks like a piece of art. Most owners will probably whip out their white gloves to answer the damn thing. The best thing about my "old school" mobile is that i can just toss it on the table without worries. "Oh did i knick the plastic? who cares!"
  • Muyoso, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5If the killer feature is Ipod integration, why have I seen a total of 1 MILLION commercials about how "this isnt the washed out half internet" and exactly 0 about how this is the first integrated IPOD in a PHONE. The Ipod in a phone is nothing special, thats why. Almost EVERY phone has an mp3 player now. The Iphone is about eye candy and access to the internet. You know there IS a reason why the DATA plan is ***** STANDARD and HAS to be purchased with the phone. Its not because of instant messenger or sending pictures through text messengering, cause the Iphone doesnt do that, rather CANT do that, its about INTERNET access.
  • stotch, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3maybe they just think it sucks and feel like expressing their opinions

    What i don't understand is people defending the iphone like its their mom, who cares if a stranger ***** talks a phone, why on earth would that bother you?
  • bertram, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3your cons include no notes...um, there's a Notes app right there on the home screen: http://images.apple.com/iphone/usingiphone/images/guidedtour_hero20070626.png
  • razordead, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Plus wouldn't "Calendar" be where your appointments go? The calendar app might even do tasks, as well.
  • superkendall, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4No push email? Yahoo does push.

    No MMS? I can email pictures I take from the phone itself, who cares about MMS! I know a lot more people with email addresses than phones that support MMS!

    It has calendars, and notes! What do you mean "No PIM". And with notes, you essentially have a ToDo . Or, iCal has a ToDo feature that I'm sure is also on the iPhone somehow.

    50 seconds to load NYTimes is not "bandwidth intensive", that's just a factor of how there are a lot of graphics on the page. It's the NYTimes that's bandwith intensive...
  • redlaser, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3its the "swiss-knife" approach
  • fjc8, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5I just tried these sites with Opera on my Samsung Blackjack, using Cingular HSDPA 3G. The screen is 320x240.
    nytimes.com:
    - 9 seconds before the browser started to let me scroll down after clicking OK while using small screen mode. I scrolled to the content at 12 seconds and clicked on a story at 15.
    - nytimes.com with Identify as desktop rendering mode was fully functional/rendered at 14 seconds (eg the gui elements of hte page were loaded). The page began to render at 10 seconds.
    - There is a bug with opera/nytimes.com/both that makes the browser keep thinking there are three images left to load so the page takes 30+s to finish loading. However, all images appear after 15 seconds.
    amazon.com:
    - Went to a mobile version that loaded in less than 1 second.
    - I clicked on the "PC version" link.
    - The HTML was downloaded/scrollable at 6 seconds.
    - The page was done in 14 seconds.
    - Note that the main amazon.com site apparently uses CSS or some other mechanism to selectively render certain elements. However, the amazon.com I saw on my screen had the same (all) of the content I saw on the PC.
    - With full-screen rendering mode turned on, the site was usable/menu fully rendered/content viewable in 13 seconds and finished loading in 23 seconds.
    yahoo.com:
    - Page was usable/scrollable at 11 seconds.
    - Page was done in 22 seconds.
    - With desktop mode rendering/identify as PC turned on, the page was usable/most images loaded at 14 seconds and the site was done loading at 26 seconds.

    All these are first-visit (cleared cache, restarted phone/browser) figures, so repeated use would mean that many elements of the page would be cached.

    I would imagine that a device with a more powerful CPU would do a better job with the same network connectivity.
  • NicksVideo, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5I only dugg you down because you said "H8er".
  • derning, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Like any girl would go near me anyway, with or without my Batman utility belt.
  • videomeister, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2iChat is an AIM client
  • Trapped, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2It plays H.264 format YouTube videos instead, not Flash.
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