DISQUS

Podophile · 2 years ago

It seems like many people rushed to write the "first" reviews without spending much time actually using their new iPhones. Dave Winer's complaints are especially silly. When you load a web page, it automatically shrinks to fit the iPhone screen. Yes, this makes the text small. Double-tapping on the section you want to read enlarges it. Double-tapping again shrinks it. Want to really zoom into something? Use the multi-touch finger-spread. Websites on the iPhone look just like websites on your computer (Flash excepted). Makes navigation much easier. IMO this is far superior to the way most phones handle web rendering.

webomatica · 2 years ago

Excellent point. Yeah, it's really going to take a few weeks for people to get more objective, and talk about real-world use of the iPhone over time, as the hype dies down. Also, if there are any bugs it will also take some time for them to mainfest themselves with regular use.

I know you for one have an actual iPhone in your lucky hands so I'll be watching your blog for updates - so I know when to get off my iFence... iWant one...

DaFerret · 2 years ago

It seems like roughly half of the person's gripes will be addressed later in the year if this post has any weight to it.

I don't blame people for thinking the iPhone is supposed to have everything and the kitchen sink since Apple kind of advertised it that way, but I'm left wondering why did they buy it in the first place if they knew it didn't have stuff they'd want?

It's like someone mentioned in a forums I visit... "Oh, the iPhone isn't water proof. There's this phone out that's water proof and if you wanted to, you could make phone calls in the shower!"

Uhh... so who wants to talk on the phone while showering? It's water proof but is it soap proof? A water proof phone would be helpful in Hawaii when you're out at sea, but is it saltwater proof? Does it float or will it sink to the depths (rendering its water proofability useless anyway)?

Griping that the iPhone camera isn't able to do macro shots? If I wanted to take fancy photos, I'd use a real camera.

Basically all the gripes about what the iPhone can't do, doesn't really affect the way I'd use the phone. And even some of the omitted features seems pretty silly to me.

webomatica · 2 years ago

Heh - yeah is it kinda funny how much people expect out of the iPhone that is sort of missing the point about who this phone is targeted to and why someone will buy it. I recall all the gripes about how the Shuffle or the Nano "sucked" because of lack of features when most people just care about whether it does the basic functions well (phone, iPod, Internet) enough to justify the price.

The waterproof phone issue is definitely one of those "huh?" features.

JC · 2 years ago

Any disappointment stems from people once again making up dream features that were never announced, hoping for things they knew weren't there, etc. If you stuck to exactly what Apple always said iPhone would be, you walked away Friday night very happy. (Unless you had trouble activating; personally, mine was up in less than a minute, and I was hijacking someone's home WiFi in Palo Alto at the time, because I couldn't wait until I got home. )

I know a lot of Verizon customers think that a Verizon iPhone would have been heaven on a stick, but the bottom line is that Apple would have had to make compromises with Verizon (most likely related to tying iPhone into BREW somehow, and dumping WiFi most likely). That's why the Verizon deal fell through; Apple wouldn't budge on some key things that Verizon wanted to push on them. I'm glad Steve stuck to his guns and got most of what he wanted for iPhone 1.0.

Speaking of 1.0: I can't argue with the advice to wait for 2.0 on any new piece of hardware (even though I always ignore it, thanks to having no will power), but from my early testing (and several dissection photo galleries floating around the web) it seems like iPhone 1.0 is a very solidly built product. So far, I've managed to crash Safari once or twice (I've been playing non-stop with it since Friday night) but whenever that happens, you just get dumped back into the home screen. Press the Safari button again, and you're right back in the browser, on the page where you left off. The entire iPhone has yet to crash. I can't say that for any of my Treos, which used to crash once or twice a day, with moderate use. I haven't dropped it yet, but it's been living naked in my pocket for two days now with nary a scratch on the screen or anywhere else. PC magazine did a great stress test that involved keys, coins, and even dropping it on a sidewalk several times. Nothing but the chrome edge around the screen was damaged at all.

With software updates sure to come over time, I don't think there's any doubt that OS X is going to be the mobile platform to beat. Palm OS is dead, even if they ever publish the new Linux version. Windows Mobile will stick around in the Enterprise, but it will continue to be relegated to IT nerds and the CEOs they push their crap on. RIM will fall even further into a niche category. And Adobe will try to push Flash lite with phones like the Prada, but with little success.

No doubt iPhone needs work. But it's still better by a long shot than anything any other company has come up with to date. Forget about the list of features, and concentrate on the user experience. That's where Apple always shines.

webomatica · 2 years ago

(JC have you ever considered starting an Apple Blog centering on the iPhone).

Well said. Really can't counter hands on experiences with the iPhone. I may be getting off the iFence sooner than later. Especially now that I see Scoble and Calacanis have both been converted by the Jesusphone.

DaFerret · 2 years ago

Now here're some good complaints. All of them seem to be software correctable, too, so I hope they get addressed.

No confirmation from AT&T that my order has been processed, yet. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

I might end up raiding the Apple Store here if they restock this week, then when I get the phone from AT&T, I'll return that one. :P

Billy · 2 years ago

It may be fair to say that not all product launches can be as successful as the iPhone; at the same time because the product is so new that it is bound have a few glitches.

Buying an iPhone is a decent investment even at the retail price tag of $500 with a two year contract. It may be hard to deliver on expectations.

I would wait for the 2nd generation before buying into the iPhone hype.