Hands on with the Apple iPhone
[intro]Having sneaked backstage at Macworld, I've managed to get my hands on the Best Thing Ever[/intro]
Apple has just one iPhone on its stand at Macworld Expo, and it’s behind glass on a podium, guarded by three Apple staff. Fortunately, I managed to get backstage and finally spend some quality hands-on time with the phone. I was expecting my initial fervour to be tempered by the glitches you often find on preproduction devices. But I was wrong.
The iPhone is nothing short of genius. It’s smaller than it looks, and so thin it hurts. It feels like science fiction: there doesn’t seem to be space within it for a battery and a display, let alone all the computing and wireless gubbins. But the 480x320pixel screen is incredibly clear and bright, with the graphic wizardry of OS X supplying amazing animations and zooms as you move between functions.
The first thing I checked out was Safari, which loaded the Stuff website in a few seconds, displaying the homepage in its entirety. Zooming to a readable level really is as simple as prodding with your finger, while pinching two fingers together zooms out. Hold the iPhone on its side and the browser immediate flips to landscape mode. It’s absolutely incredible.
Safari will come with a number of web plugins for multimedia content, but it’s unclear whether it’ll have Flash – Apple is not opening the iPhone up to third party applications, preferring to be in total control of the user experience. This makes sense on UI level, although it’s a little frustrating when we live in an era of great homebrew and shareware apps.
According to Greg Josniak, Apple’s Vice-President of Product Maketing, the iPhone runs “full-strength Mac OS X”, although I’m not sure how that can be possible without it taking up the iPhone’s entire 4GB capacity. But it certainly feels like Mac OS, especially when you use the Widgets – small web apps that have specific functions. I checked the weather, flipping between cities with my forefinger like I was leafing through I book. I can’t express how cool this Minority Report-style Multi-touch UI is, and how revolutionary – we really are talking about something as momentous as the first mouse.
I was concerned that the complexity of the technology could make it hard to use the device – but the opposite is true: the iPhone is beautifully intuitive, and more fun to use than a computer. The same cannot be said for rival phones.
Google Maps works just like it does on a computer, except you can move around and zoom with your fingers. The music app works just like an iPod, except with more eye candy. I even took a photo with the 2megapixel camera, and despite the darkness of the room and the lack of a flash, the quality seemed pretty good.
So what can’t it do? Well, despite featuring 802.11g, the iPhone can’t sync via Wi-Fi or stream to Apple TV – Josniak said that Apple wants to keep the computer as the hub for digital content. That’s why you can’t download music directly to the phone, either. But you can sync the iPhone with Windows computer, and it’s likely to work with Adobe Photoshop Elements and Outlook (although that’s not yet confirmed). Also unconfirmed was whether the iPhone featured Bluetooth Stereo for music streaming, but it’s hard to think that it won’t.
Other problems? Well, aside from the fact I won’t get one for another 9 months, I can’t see any problems. It’s possible that the iPhone will be expensive – the US price of $499 (4GB) and $599 (8GB) requires signing up to a 2-year Cingular contract, and it’s not clear how much that contract will cost.
But I’ll pay, and so will you, if you have any passion for gadgetry. Because the iPhone is more exciting than the original iPod. It is, put simply, the Best Thing Ever.
Comments
ianmb
5 years ago
After last week's podcast does the iPhone now oust the Nokia N95 as the phone to look forward to this year or is that a silly question?
Tom Dunmore
5 years ago
I think the iPhone is one to look forward to... all year. But the N95 should be with us by March. So I'll have them both!
coachdriver
5 years ago
Great stuff Tom, but as you said we won't see it for 9 months at least and at what cost ?
I don't pay for a phone at the moment but would serioulsy conisder buying this. But why do we have to wait ? It's just not acceptable these days to have to wait for all these releases to be so far behind and so overpriced for the UK. Not just Apple but Sony obviously as well.
In 9 months what will Nokia, Sony, Motorola and Samsung produce ?
Apple have changed their names and are now entering another market. But are they able to cope with the competition ? Time will tell and I hope they do, but 9 months ......
alex24
5 years ago
Just watched the full keynote - amazing. Can't wait to try one out, and own one myself. I think the easiest way to get my hands on the iPhone the quickest is to just get a job at Apple.
Farenheit
5 years ago
http://digg.com/apple/Stuff_mag_gets_hands_on_first_review_of_the_iPhone
Also...what is the photo-taking app like?
weejimmy
5 years ago
The iPhone looks great and I cant wait until it comes to the UK.The touchscreen ui seems so smooth and easy to use.Another top job Apple!!!
iPhone News
5 years ago
Tom,
A few questions.
1) Do you think support for email attachments such as Office and PDF will be included?
2) What was the touchscreen like? Breakable?!
3) Any chance of 3rd party apps or at least Wigits?
Good work!
Tom Dunmore
5 years ago
1) Hard to say whether you'll be able to view Office docs, but PDF is pretty well supported by the Mac OS so I think that's likely. That's just speculation though.
2) The whole device seemed really solid - it didn't feel breakable or even particulary scratchable. Joz claimed he'd been carrying it in his pocket without a cover, but then he would, wouldn't he?
3) Apple were adamant that there wouldn't be 3rd party apps. Whether it'll be hackable is another question, but Apple is pretty good at creating closed systems. Probably the best we can hope for is a development of the web clippings feature of Leopard that allows you to create your own widgets by highlighting certain parts of a web page.
It's worth remembering that the software can be updated, so all of this could change.
t
iPhone News
5 years ago
Great stuff thanks - any chance of a plug for my site www.iPhoneNews.co.uk anywhere in Stuff or on Stuff.tv? :)
Bruno Mindhorn
5 years ago
Looks like you've just done it!
Farenheit
5 years ago
Yeah, sure you can, if you pay them.
http://stuff.tv/page/advertise/
ultramagnetic_c...
5 years ago
So I've a bone to pick with you.
People kept going on about the new 'iPhone' and I've been telling them that it wouldn't be called the iPhone because Apple weren't allowed to. Because you told me. And then they go and launch the iPhone! I know Apple have just been sued for the name but that's last column in the newspaper stuff which noone sees (and won't be successful).
Tom Dunmore
5 years ago
yeah, ok, well we weren't the only ones who assumed it'd be called something else.
But, as David Brent says, when you assume you make an ass out of u and me.
Sorry.
ultramagnetic_c...
5 years ago
Well ok...
I guess it just shows that big corps like Apple can use their financial muscle to bully others. Apple wanted the name so they just went for it whether they had the rights or not.
auroradaugherty
40 weeks ago
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