All iPhone Reviews

[wjp09]

NY Times: David Pogue
- "so sleek and thin, it makes Treos and BlackBerrys look obese."
- After walking around with the iPhone unprotected for 2 weeks, no marks on it. Glass smudges are easily wiped off.
- 700 megabytes is occupied by the phone’s software
- Making calls can be a 6 step process if phone is off.
- Web, Email is superior
- Battery Life Test: 5 hours video, 23 hours audio. Note: did not turn off Wi-Fi and other features as Apple suggests.
- Typing was OK. Difficult at first, but learned to "trust" the keyboard. "The BlackBerry won’t be going away anytime soon."
- Cites AT&T network as iPhone's biggest downfall. Cites Consumer Reports survey which ranks AT&T network as last or second to last in 19 out of 20 major US cities.
- AT&T’s EDGE cellular network: "excruciatingly slow"
- Slideshow of photos taken with iPhone
- Video Review

Newsweek: Steven Levy
- bottom line is that the iPhone is a significant leap
- The iPhone is the rare convergence device where things actually converge.
- e-mail looks more like you’re working on a computer than a clunky phone
- YouTube videos work great on Wi-Fi, but can display in a lower quality when you’re not at a hotspot and are using AT&T’s EDGE network
- unless I did a lot of video watching or Web browsing, [the battery] could generally last the day
- I’ve been jamming it in my pocket with keyrings, coins and pens, and so far it’s nearly as good as new.

USA Today: Edward Baig
- Apple's iPhone isn't perfect, but it's worthy of the hype
- The revelation is that it's also comfortable to hold and touch.
- I expected to miss the tactile feel that a physical keyboard provides. I didn't.
- You can hold a conference call with up to five people.
- No voice recognition or voice dialing
- halfway decent internal speakers for listening if you set the thing down
- iPod games are not compatible with iPhone
- our company tech department raised questions about the security settings Apple required with our Microsoft Exchange servers.
- Battery life didn't prove to be a big problem in my unscientific tests
The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg and Katherine Boehret have posted their review of the Apple iPhone.

Mossberg and Bohret
tested the iPhone for two weeks in multiple usage scenarios and in various cities:

Our verdict is that, despite some flaws and feature omissions, the iPhone is, on balance, a beautiful and breakthrough handheld computer. Its software, especially, sets a new bar for the smart-phone industry, and its clever finger-touch interface, which dispenses with a stylus and most buttons, works well, though it sometimes adds steps to common functions.

Some highlights:

- largest, highest resolution screen of any smart phone they've seen, most internal memory
- Impressive battery life and thin
- Feels solid
- Regarding the touch keyboard: "After five days of use, Walt -- who did most of the testing for this review -- was able to type on it as quickly and accurately as he could on the Palm Treo he has used for years."
- Can't use T-Mobile SIM cards
- Wi-Fi capability doesn't fully make up for the lack of a fast cellular data capability
- Multitouch: "effective, practical and fun"
- No way to copy/paste text
- Microsoft's Exchange system support
- Voice call quality was good, but not great
- Can't record video
- No Adobe Flash support
- Songs can't be set as ringtones


Apple says it plans to add features to the phone over time, via free downloads, and hints that some of these holes may be filled.

Chart




The iPhone Matches Most of Its Hype [New York Times]
The iPhone is Breakthrough Handheld Computer [Wall Street Journal]
Apple's iPhone isn't perfect, but it's worthy of the hype [USA Today]
At Last, the iPhone: A first look [Newsweek]

[thinkart]

this part worries me...

Originally Posted by wjp09

- No way to copy/paste text
- Voice call quality was good, but not great

i sure hope they can update the copy paste....I ALWAYS USE THIS!

Originally Posted by wjp09

Apple says it plans to add features to the phone over time, via free downloads, and hints that some of these holes may be filled.

i hope apple is taking these reviews seriously. a lot had good things to say.

[spacerog]

wjp: don't know where you got that or if you wrote it up yourself (I've seen it posted to a few sites.) Either way thanks for sharing.

Glad to see that the 'official' reviews from people who have actually used the device ar generally positive.

Especially happy to hear about the scratch resistance.

- SR

[ps49556n]

Im not going to comment on the "problems" as they have no effect on my decision nor do I really care what the media thinks, but I will say that the good not great voice quality comment is irrelevant. I have never seen any cellphone receive an EXCELLENT call quality rating from media reviews. These so called "reviewers" decide for some stupid reason that cell phones are EXACTLY identical as landlines in terms of call quality. Although cell quality has improved, landlines always will have an advantage.

[ash]

Thanks for summarizing the reviews!! Very helpful; now I don't have to read them all individually!!

[Jeff]

Wow, from reading these reviews and the iphone / AT&T drawbacks, there are more reasons to wait:

• The initial iPhone model cannot be upgraded to use the faster networks.

• The bigger problem is the AT&T network. In a Consumer Reports study, AT&T’s signal ranked either last or second to last in 19 out of 20 major cities. My tests in five states bear this out. If Verizon’s slogan is, “Can you hear me now?” AT&T’s should be, “I’m losing you.”

• 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.

• Making a call can take as many as six steps: wake the phone, unlock its buttons, summon the Home screen, open the Phone program, view the Recent Calls or speed-dial list, and select a name.

These drawbacks may be deal-killers for some people.

[wjp09]

NOT I. I will get it either way. I will judge the edge speed myself.

[thinkart]

Newsweek's Steve Levy says

"Simply typing 'yo' qualifies as one of the 200 SMS messages that come with your plan."

uh...DUH! his review is decent other than that statement. that was the dumbest thing to state. what SMS service calculates SMS's based on characters? thats not a flaw of the iphone. that is what ALL service providers do.
link to review

[Jeff]

Originally Posted by wjp09

NOT I. I will get it either way. I will judge the edge speed myself.

Please let us know. I'd also be interested in call quality and the other issues singled out, not just EDGE speeds, which was already pointed out in tests as being pretty slow. And I've already had AT&T service so I speak from my own experience dealing with very slow EDGE speeds and many dropped calls here in NYC. The reviews don't lie.

I think that when the initial thrill wears off, many early adopters will be anxiously awaiting the next model. I do believe that AT&T will be working on improving their network. But I'll need to see that before I sign another 2 year contract with them.

[spacerog]

Jeff: No need to post the same comments in multiple threads.