Filed under: Retail, Apple, iPhone
First "official" reviews of the iPhone are out
Sure, there's been a lot of speculation and discussion about the iPhone, its features and its usability in the mainstream and online press. We might even be guilty of a little speculation here at TUAW, too. I know, try to contain your surprise. Fortunately, speculation time is coming quickly to an end as release day approaches and we get real announcements of data plans and other details. In addition to all the "official" announcements, we've got some actual reviews of the device hitting the wires this evening.Some of the lauded Apple pundits dropping reviews today are Walt Mossberg and Katherine Boehret of the Wall Street Journal, who call the iPhone "a breakthrough handheld computer," and New York Times columnist David Pogue, who says the iPhone "matches most of its hype." To be sure, I expected these rather notable Apple fans to express positive reviews about the device. Still, it's good to see actual reviews in print which confirm what I, and many others, hoped the device would be. Reading these reviews, I'm even more convinced I want an iPhone on Friday. Of course, if I really want one, I probably should get in line now -- especially if more reviews like these come out.
What about you, the highly intelligent and discerning TUAW reader? Do these reviews give you any more reason to get an iPhone, or do they make no difference at this point?
Thanks Scott
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
ECJ said 7:31PM on 6-26-2007
Being a Motorola Q owner with Verizon, it's getting harder to resist the iPhone. With the newly announced plans, I see how much I'm getting ripped off by Verizon. It's about and extra $25 a month, for the same voice and data plan, or $720 for two years.
With the reviews being very positive. Also with the news about syncing calendars with Entourage, possible announcement of direct push with Exchange Servers, and my Girlfriend saying yes. The only thing holding me back is the EDGE network, compared to Verizon's 3G. Is it really that much slower?
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Bart Lee said 7:34PM on 6-26-2007
I think anyone who's planned to get one on day one already made up their mind long ago. However, had the reviews been bad, that could have changed a few minds.
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Zack kitzmiller said 7:35PM on 6-26-2007
@ECJ, I think that in Walt Mossburg's Review, he says very clearly that Exchange Server _IS_ Supported.
"The iPhone can connect with most popular consumer email services, including Yahoo, Gmail, AOL, EarthLink and others. It can also handle corporate email using Microsoft's Exchange system, if your IT department cooperates by enabling a setting on the server."
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eugene said 7:41PM on 6-26-2007
Mossy says doesn't accept SIMs, I'm out.
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Michael Rose said 7:46PM on 6-26-2007
#3: Zack, the Exchange connectivity is via IMAP, which many Exchange admins won't turn on over (IMHO spurious) security concerns. I'm going to try to address this in a post later tonight.
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bradah said 7:48PM on 6-26-2007
#1..... regarding your concerns about the EDGE network, I was reading some comments on another site which stated that EDGE has two speeds. His experience using EDGE wasn't that bad. He mentioned pages would load in about 15-20 seconds....not 2 minutes. He was thinking that Pogue was on the slower EDGE connection.
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Dave Chartier said 7:53PM on 6-26-2007
As someone who has used a phone on just about every US network, I can definitely say there is a significant speed difference between EDGE and 3G networks. Check out Pogue's review, especially the internet part - the NYT site takes nearly a full minute to load. The problem is further compounded by the fact that the iPhone downloads "just the internet," not some watered down version of websites that, truth be told, were designed in part *because* networks like EDGE are so damn slow.
That said, I'm personally not that worried about it. Nearly everywhere I would like to sit down and do some heavy web surfing at is already wi-fi enabled, and I believe that devices like the iPhone are only going to help speed up the spread of wifi. For the times I desperately need something over edge, I figure I can still load up mobile versions of sites in Safari to help keep things zippy.
However, there is a small army of mobile users out there who have more significant needs from a mobile network, and it's understandable that they're upset with the iPhone's EDGE. There are plenty of other phones out there that are 3G enabled on AT&T, and it truly is perplexing as to why Apple didn't include the technology.
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Fabio P said 7:56PM on 6-26-2007
yes its slow, as i already said several times.
takes walt progue two minutes to load yahoo.
anyway, i like the progue video, its fun :P
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Brad Beyenhof said 8:15PM on 6-26-2007
These down-to-the-wire reviews are really making the iPhone irresistible... however, I'm still finding the will to resist it.
1) I'm waiting for the price to go down. I can wait a bit longer if it means I don't have to part with $500.
2) I'm still in the middle of a Verizon contract, and TBH I'd still probably stick with the big V even if I have to wait another 5 years. Coverage here in the way-bottom-left corner of your Continental US map isn't completely reliable unless you've got that troop of "it's the network" people following you around.
3) I'm waiting for another revision. I'm not as pessimistic as Glenn Fleishman, in that I think the first-gen will still be a great device. However, it's only great if you get it right at the beginning; then, you have the maximum possible time being the leader of the pack. Every second you wait past 6PM Friday is another reason to hold out for the 2G model.
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jc said 8:21PM on 6-26-2007
What a disaster. 55 second page load for ATT. 2 minute page load for Amazon. The web browser is rendered useless by a boneheaded decision someone made to use EDGE. I had an EDGE smartphone 3 years ago and it was terrible then. Its even worse now as theres such great alternatives such as EVDO which is fast enough to use as my main broadband connection at home and traveling.
Oh well, stupid stupid decision on Apple's part. Hopefully they'll fix it in a couple years. I'm a little pissed since I really want one, but thats a show stopper.
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Marc Orchant said 8:30PM on 6-26-2007
Nope. My mind is still made up. I'm waiting for version 2.0 (or whatever number it ends up being) that allows me to swap batteries. I can put up with the fixed storage (although I really want a microSD slot too) but not the sealed battery. This isn't an iPod that simply bums me out when it runs dry. This is an essential communications tool that I can't afford to have run out of juice with no recourse except finding an outlet and waiting.
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Chris said 8:34PM on 6-26-2007
EDGE uses less battery power than EVDO or HSP(D/U)A. Plus, Cingular said "Yes." That's why it's EDGE. Cingular demanded and got a 5-year exclusive contract, so don't expect them to be unlocked anytime soon.
I'm not hearing anything too bad so far. Recharging is possible anywhere my laptop is, which is a almost anywhere. My disappointment lies only in the lack of sight-free (via touch-only or voice-activated) dialing. Yet, I'll adjust.
I haven't liked any cell phone since my Motorola StarTac died many years ago. I was getting an iPhone regardless, but these reviews are making me more excited about it. The iPhone will be fun.
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Perry L said 8:41PM on 6-26-2007
The voice/data plan is teh sexy. I pay about the same for a lot less features right now. I wish these were out in Canada. Sigh.
Re: EDGE - if ATT are smart they will release some mobile optimized bookmarks for people.
EVDO in cell phones is slow too. m.engadget takes a few seconds to load without pix on a BB 7130e. I worked for Bell in a major centre up here and even with a unlimited phone use (no bill, yeah!) I never found it very useful.
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Perry L said 8:41PM on 6-26-2007
#4 - you need to work on the reading comprehension.
The article said a T-Mobile SIM did not work - i.e. it is SIM locked.
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Perry L said 8:45PM on 6-26-2007
re: 3G capability
Maybe the phone is software 3G disabled. The radio might be in there already. HSDPA is being rolled out in places all over NA - quietly. Where I live, it is being tested right now. Folks with unlocked world phones can actually access the test network.
You guys in the US probably are a lot further along.
So yeah, the omission of a 3G radio is puzzling.
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Perry L said 8:45PM on 6-26-2007
re: 3G capability
Maybe the phone is software 3G disabled. The radio might be in there already. HSDPA is being rolled out in places all over NA - quietly. Where I live, it is being tested right now. Folks with unlocked world phones can actually access the test network.
You guys in the US probably are a lot further along.
So yeah, the omission of a 3G radio is puzzling.
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ecobore said 8:57PM on 6-26-2007
Sure I want an iPhone, but in Europe we like freedom to change SIMS when we travel - roaming charges are very expensive here and pay as you go contracts cheap and easy, so for a three week trip to say Turkey, it is far less expensive to buy and use a local SIM. For instance I live between the UK and France. I swop SIMS each time I travel. The iPhone precludes that. Also, why not expandable memory? This is no longer the age of expensive memory, we should have a slot where we can stick in 64Gb if we so choose!
And no 3G?!?! That is a big nono for Europe. 3G is catching on big time here and the data plans are cheap, Apple can't afford to miss that bandwagon here!
So no iPhone for me on this round, but the next release... Maybe...
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Thecompkid said 9:04PM on 6-26-2007
#15:
No, since the iPhone has to be FCC approved, I can assure you that it most certainly is not just "software disabled". Nice try, though.
And, for the record, I would absolutely love to be wrong.
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Eric B. said 9:30PM on 6-26-2007
I think they could come straight out and tell me that there is a 95% change the iPhone will take a crap on my desk when I wasn't looking and I would still want one. I'm totally bought into the hype.
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John Kirk said 9:31PM on 6-26-2007
It always annoys me when people who don't have to live within real world constraints call the compromises of other "stupid or foolish". Apple negotiated with both AT&T and Verizon (and perhaps others) to get the best deal they could get. Verizon has publicly stated that they declined Apple's offer because they did not want to make some of the concessions that Apple demanded. As you can see from the rollout, AT&T is bending over backwards to meet Apple's specifications for the iPhone.
AT&T has both Edge and 3G, but it's 3G network does not have great coverage. I'm sure in a perfect world, Apple would have preferred to roll out the phone to all carriers at the highest bit rate. But using an exclusive contract as leverage, Apple has gotten AT&T to do things the "Apple" way. And I'm sure Apple was not happy with the speed of the network, but there was a little thing called "reality" that they had to deal with. No matter how good Apple is, they can't just wish communication towers into existence.
Apple is counting on the Wi-Fi to make up for the slow Edge speeds. But if the slow speed is a deal-breaker for you, so be it. But don't think that Apple made a stupid decision to use Edge. They wouldn't have gotten as good a deal if they had used Verizon and they wouldn't have had nearly the coverage if they'd used 3g. But don't criticize Apple for living in the real world just because you live in a fantasy world.
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