First Impression, 12 hours using my iPhone

[art]

My purchase experience was outstanding. I went to my local Apple store and once I was waited on, I was out of there in about 15 to 20 minutes. They were very organized and made the process very easy.

Brought it home and connected with iTunes to activate. That process was very impressive. Very fast, smooth and no problems. I was not surprised however as I knew what to expect since I had read all about it on the web site prior to the purchase. A smart way to activate phones.

The iPhone checks my Yahoo mail every 15 minutes.
My same Yahoo account is push mail on my BlackBerry but that's normal as BB servers provide push mail service. I'm sure down the line Apple may provide this, but at the moment you've got to wait. I did not expect it to be push however since the iPhone is mainly an entertainment device not designed for work.

I find the touch sensitive keyboard very well thought out, but slightly miserable to use. It’s OK for the odd email here and there but I would not want to try and use it daily as I process about 30 to 40 emails a day while traveling (using my BB) and a regular keyboard is so much easier and you don’t have to look at the device to use it.

While Outlook syncs nicely with the iPhone it too is really slow compared to the speed of a sync on my BlackBerry. I timed it, with the somewhat large contact list I have (3,500 contacts) it takes just under 30 seconds on the BlackBerry. The same operation on the iPhone is 2.5 minutes. But again I did not expect it to be able to perform as fast as a BlackBerry so I'm not unhappy.

The phone quality is a bit weak and not that clear, however I must remember that it's Apples first try at cramming so many features into one device. It’s usable and that’s good enough.

The internet experience on WiFi is decent, just average overall. I'm surprised that it's about 15% slower than my laptop. I have an E61 Nokia smart phone with WiFi and it's the same speed as my laptop, so that's what I was expecting from the iPhone. Again, I'm thinking it's because Apple has no experience in this field with mobile devices and therefore we the public are like the beta testers of iPhone version 1.0. I don’t mind. The only area that is pretty bad is the internet experience using EDGE. Compared to my 3G Blackjack (which is 3G) the iPhone is very slow. I think it’s bad enough, that hopefully lots of people will complain to Apple and due to that pressure Apple will respond with a 3G version before XMAS. Then I will just dump this one on eBay and get the 3G model with the faster connection. I use the net a lot and the iPhone is perfect with the large display, but with the slow connection it’s horrible. Then again I knew it would be, so it’s not like it’s a surprise or anything. I can use my Blackjack to get me by.

The iPod functions like Video, music and pictures are all just as good as my 80GB Video iPod, just very limited as with 8GB you really can't put much on it. But again I expected this limitation as I read everything about the phone prior to purchasing so I knew what to expect. This is the reason for the purchase as I like that everything is all on one device even if there are some rather big compromises and somewhat of a lack of speed. Getting the music, pictures and other stuff into the iPhone was easy as I’ve been using an iPod for years and spent some time getting iTunes ready to load what I wanted on my iPhone in advance.

The Camera is OK. It may be just a bit better than my K550i Sony Ericsson, but only under certain conditions and again I've only had the iPhone since 6:30pm yesterday. I feel that it is adequate and it’s not something that is a deal breaker. However it would be nice if it had a better camera.

The build quality of the device is stellar, typical Apple, very well designed, sturdy and good looking. I must say that the key to keeping it this way will be to avoid dropping it. I think that it will scratch up a fair amount when dropped, so avoiding that is a priority.

The glass display is a bit on the shiny side, and reflects a fair amount. However perhaps with time it something that you get used to. The colors are very nice and the resolution is not bad. The icons can be a bit fuzzy on the edges but that’s probably because I have very good vision and I notice things like that, just a minor detail. Once you use it for awhile there are so many fingerprints that it’s less noticeable. I keep a small soft micro fiber cloth and a bit of screen cleaning liquid in my bag so I can clean it frequently. It’s really nice when super clean.

No idea about battery performance yet, even though I used it from about 7:30pm until about 3am in the morning, and then again from 7:30am this morning until about noon, then I took a few minutes to write this report. Anyway I was too focused on everything else and I’m not picky about battery times anyway as I always carry the charger with me.

So that is my initial impression after about 11 to 12 hours of usage. Overall I give Apple good marks as it all works. As noted some of the functions need improvement in the speed department, however for a first try I think Apple did OK. I think this is a good starting point for them, and the next version should be much better and so much faster.

For now I'm happy as I knew that it would be slow based on the specs and lack of 3G. I mainly purchased it because I'm an early adopter, it will not be my main phone and thus it really doesn't matter that much.

I am a serious phone enthusiast with three lines and several new unlocked phones. I use my BlackBerry during the week. My Samsung A717 when I want to carry a small, fast & light 3G flip phone with really strong, clear phone reception, when out hiking or going to the beach, or on the boat, where one would not want to carry the iPhone. Finally, I plan on carrying my iPhone for fun on other evenings during the week and on the weekends. It's a phone that is like my PSP, just for fun.

If they work diligently, I believe that in a year or so, Apple will have the bugs worked out of the iPhone and at that time it may be good enough to be the only phone one carries, except for those times you want a small phone for an active weekend out.

On a scale of 1 – 10 I rate it as a solid 7.0, very good for their first try.

[stuart9682]

Nice write-up. Kinda harsh on the score, but if you're looking for a 10 out of 10 I don't think one exists.... I'd say the average smartphone rates in at about a 5.5 especially if considering UI.

[art]

Originally Posted by stuart9682

Nice write-up. Kinda harsh on the score, but if you're looking for a 10 out of 10 I don't think one exists.... I'd say the average smartphone rates in at about a 5.5 especially if considering UI.

I was very careful to be fair and accurate, based on my years of smartphone experience. I've owned Treos', Blackjack, Moto-Q, Nokia, and HTC smart phones. So from a stricly comparison basis at 7.0 the iPhone gets high marks.

The other brands have been out for some time and are fully debugged. So given that this is Apples first try, I think 7.0 is a very good score for them.

What I did not want to do, is to be biased and rate it higher than was fair. Especially since I'm a true Apple enthusiast and user, with a new MacBook Pro (2nd one) iPod Video, and new Nano, plus past PowerBooks etc. So I tend to be very pro Apple.

Thanks for the feedback.....

[9:42]

I enjoyed reading your review, art. Very well presented. I purchased my 8GB yesterday at 6:20PM and here I am still waiting for activation like so many others. I appreciate your comments regarding application for work tasks. I'm in the same boat and have been monitoring this site many times daily for months worrying about whether I could efficiently function without my Treo for work purposes with synching with my PC's Outlook and business email. Hopefully, I'll get the "word from God" email from ATT soon so I can activate and finally take this thing for a test drive.

[wjp09]

I think a seven is harsh I'm giving mine a nine then again I was using a regular phone before this

[ebrunn]

Originally Posted by art

The internet experience on WiFi is decent, just average overall. I'm surprised that it's about 15% slower than my laptop. I have an E61 Nokia smart phone with WiFi and it's the same speed as my laptop, so that's what I was expecting from the iPhone.

I'm thinking that issue is all software and can be fixed with updates along the lines.

Nice review. Some people on all of the forums try to review the thing when the only time they have used it is in the store on the demo unit.

Originally Posted by wjp09

I think a seven is harsh I'm giving mine a nine then again I was using a regular phone before this

I was coming from a Razr on the GPRS network.

[daveh98]

Originally Posted by art

I was very careful to be fair and accurate, based on my years of smartphone experience. I've owned Treos', Blackjack, Moto-Q, Nokia, and HTC smart phones. So from a stricly comparison basis at 7.0 the iPhone gets high marks.

The other brands have been out for some time and are fully debugged. So given that this is Apples first try, I think 7.0 is a very good score for them.

What I did not want to do, is to be biased and rate it higher than was fair. Especially since I'm a true Apple enthusiast and user, with a new MacBook Pro (2nd one) iPod Video, and new Nano, plus past PowerBooks etc. So I tend to be very pro Apple.

Thanks for the feedback.....

good write up. I think it was not biased and I think I know why you scored it as you did. It appears you have a phone for every occassion and the iphone is about convergence. It really is a jack of all trades phone but a master of none (maybe cool factor, touch screen ect). But if you compared the best features of your work, hiking and other phones you could find the weaker points to the iphone.

Of course improvements will be made; that is the nature of the business. I can't base my personal score on "what should be in the future."

For me, there is no phone that puts together a package as elegant, fun and overall "good" as the iphone so I would give it a 9. If it had 3g and a few other features it would be a perfect score for me.

[art]

Originally Posted by 9:42

I enjoyed reading your review, art. Very well presented. I purchased my 8GB yesterday at 6:20PM and here I am still waiting for activation like so many others. I appreciate your comments regarding application for work tasks. I'm in the same boat and have been monitoring this site many times daily for months worrying about whether I could efficiently function without my Treo for work purposes with synching with my PC's Outlook and business email. Hopefully, I'll get the "word from God" email from ATT soon so I can activate and finally take this thing for a test drive.

It really does depend on what you do with your smartphone. And what you expect out of your iPhone.

In my case, I own a large business and communication in a timely fashion is really crucial for me. Much of that is by email, and the rest by phone. So I must have a good phone, a great email device, and reliability. I switched to a BlackBerry after trying the rest because RIM finally began offering BB's with good phones. I live by Outlook for work and personal so that's got to sync reliably and fast. I'm so use to touch typing on a smartphone that I must have keys. I really tried to like the touch screen keyboard, but you have to look at it and that doesn't work for me. It's incredibly slow and uncomfortable. Striking the hard glass surface as you type is a deal breaker.

If you have other questions please ask.

[art]

Originally Posted by ebrunn

I'm thinking that issue is all software and can be fixed with updates along the lines.
Nice review.

Thanks for the feedback, I'm sure your right and a software update should improve WiFi performance. That's what I really love about Apple is they seem to offer updates in a timely fashion. Overall, it's a good start, for their first device....

[art]

Originally Posted by daveh98

good write up. I think it was not biased and I think I know why you scored it as you did. It appears you have a phone for every occassion and the iphone is about convergence.

Thanks for the feedback. You are right on, it is about convergence and when I look at it that way I would have probably scored it higher. However that said, as an engineer with a lot of mobile phone experience I do tend to find "everything" that is not up to what I know the manufacturer is capable of. I try to balance my expectations and in this case I will say that I'm particularly excited about the next version. I feel quite confident that Apple is going to learn a lot from this model and the upcoming improvements should be very impressive.

Originally Posted by daveh98

Of course improvements will be made; that is the nature of the business. I can't base my personal score on "what should be in the future."

Yes, and the challenge for the manufacturer is to find a balance of features that appeal to a wide audience. Everything is a compromise and that is the challenge.

Originally Posted by daveh98

For me, there is no phone that puts together a package as elegant, fun and overall "good" as the iphone so I would give it a 9. If it had 3g and a few other features it would be a perfect score for me.

Again, I could not agree more. In fact the lack of 3G is something that I found unacceptable in this version. That and the rather modest phone performance, the slow WiFi, and a few other nits, admittedly caused me to lower the overall score.

When I step back ten paces and look at the big picture for Apple and the iPhone the future promises to be very bright. I will certainly be at the head of the line for version 2.0......