Apple has posted a 20 minute QuickTime guided tour of the iPhone, and it’s stellar. If you’re not convinced the iPhone is five years ahead of anything out there right now and that the device’s success will surpass even the most hysterical expectations, you will be after watching this. If you’re still not, you’re in denial or your eyes are broken and I regret to inform you that you’re likely blind. Sorry. Didn’t really want to be the one to break the news.
We get to see some of the iPhone’s finer points: animations as the numerical keypad flips on and off, how adding contacts works, how to hold and merge individual phone calls, pictures and camera operation, Safari (which supports multiple open pages), visual voicemail (I love the “Call Back” button), email, SMS, applications (stocks looks particularly interesting, as does Google Maps), YouTube, movie playback and device/system settings. Cool stock ringtones, too.
(If you were still thinking there’s a GPS, you’re wrong. Otherwise, the Google Maps app wouldn’t need a startpoint when plotting a route.)
Above all, what strikes me the most about this is Apple’s unflappable confidence in the iPhone’s interface. The simplicity and intuitiveness is mesmerizing. Since the ads started appearing on TV, they’ve primarily focused on one thing: the GUI. They show the iPhone acting as an iPod, as a web browser and running general mobile apps. All the while you’re left to marvel at the interface, how clean it is, how smoothly it works, the utter lack of physical buttons.
Normally, a mobile phone’s interface is the last thing companies want to show off. Up until now, exterior physical design and ergonomics were the stars of the show.
Now, here comes Apple showing the world that they nailed the hard part: the software. Anyone can make a handset. Not everyone can create a next-gen OS for one.
The iPhone’s OSX Leopard-based OS makes my BlackBerry 8703e’s interface look straight out of 1995. Literally.
(If you’d rather download the 175 MB guided tour instead of streaming it, you can do so right here.)
13 responses so far ↓
Wednesday Keller // June 23, 2007 at 2:49 am
Yep. It’s finally convinced me to shell out for the iPhone. Not Revision A though. Let me preface this by saying these are just my objections, and most people might worry about them but they aren’t that important to most (in North America anyway; 3G, for example, is basically required overseas, and so is some of the software like QR codes in Japan).
For the amount of money I have and what the iPhone does today, I’m waiting.
GPS: Location services are going to be huge (and are getting there in places like Japan) and Apple needs to get involved—both iPhone and in the notebook space. I can understand leaving out 3G for North America and no SDK yet, but lacking a GPS chip is a mistake.
(things to do with location services: email/text location separate or while talking to somebody to any one person or all selected [or even as your new signature line], see where your friends are, plot routes/see what’s near, request ads for nearby whatever, link with GPS equipped transit systems to see when the next bus/streetcar is coming, games, better social networking sites, really specific weather information, virtually tag/view locations, and probably more stuff)
UMTS: If I’m shelling out for a data plan I want to actually download data at a reasonable speed; EDGE doesn’t cut it for more then light browsing and email—not enough for me, and I don’t like relying on hotspots. That said 3G coverage in North America sucks so it’s understandable (also the battery hit is roughly 30% using UMTS only, but 10-20% using GSM/UMTS mix), but will get better fast.
SDK: I want to replace carrying my laptop everywhere, and so I (personally) need; offline RSS, Write Room (with external keyboard, to be sure), QR code reader (I swear, if everybody knew how useful QR was it would catch on like crazy), Scrivener, instant messaging (AT&T’s fault, I imagine), Cha-Ching to keep track of what I’m buying (even better, e-cash with near field contact so I can just use the iPhone to buy stuff), Twitterific (GPS enabled :), Growl (since the iPhone uses the whole screen all the time it would be nice to see what’s going on elsewhere), and SubEthaEdit.
Miscellaneous: Ives should be ashamed of the back of the iPhone. The camera is off to the side and looks bad, the frosted back is ugly, the hunk of black plastic at the bottom is double ugly.
Make it out of black carbon fiber: radio isn’t blocked, the back is one piece (and, ideally, could be lifted off to change batteries), and if one is really clever have a (better) camera with a cover that automatically slides on/off.
Oh, and a near-field contact chip for e-cash would be nice.
So as much as I want an iPhone (and by god, it arrived straight from the future) for the amount of money they want it has to replace my laptop some of the time; and right now it sorta can’t for my needs.
Objections aside I’m so torn about waiting it’s not even funny.
beanie // June 23, 2007 at 4:31 am
That’s a presentation/advertisement. Of course iPhoney looks good against a black background and nice lighting. TV commercial food looks better than it does in person also.
Anyway, maybe when you actually get one in your hands, you will find that surfing the web and watching movies on a dinky screen is no fun.
If you wrap your fingers around it will applications start lauching? How about if you press it against your face while talking?
European carriers describe their talks with Apple as ‘arrogance’. Same thing probably happened when Apple talked to Verizon. Verizon was not playing hardball, as you suggest.
Apple just made unreasonable terms.
darren // June 23, 2007 at 10:44 am
@beanie
have you actually looked at the video and iPhone web site? if you did, rather than trolling, you would know that there are sensors in place to deactivate the touchscreen when it is in call mode by your face.
Some EU carriers describe apple as arrogant - perhaps they are the ones that didnt get the gig and can only spread FUD?
if you have been following the news from your cave this week you will not a pattern whereby every 2 days apple debunks another FUD myth about the phone …. announced this week: longer battery , glass screen, fast GUI, etc
the biggest problem for me is when it is going to be available in australia
Brian Purkiss // June 23, 2007 at 5:16 pm
I understand you’re reasons for waiting for the iPhone Wednesday Keller. I’m waiting as well - mainly because I have Sprint and I’m going to be buying a Mac Book Pro when Leopard comes out.
I actually have a friend who is waiting. He’s opting to wait for new features to come out and bugs (if any
) to be worked out.
But still - I don’t care - that’s just awesome.
mark // June 23, 2007 at 5:22 pm
@beanie - If those terms were so unreasonable, then why did AT&T sign up? So they were within reason, just not within what Verizon wanted to keep for itself. Apple isn’t in a rush to sign up a European carrier; they’re confident that the windfall for AT&T will sooner or later be enough to convince some European and Asian carrier to sign on.
Jeff Ventura // June 23, 2007 at 5:24 pm
I’m with Wednesday. The pragmatic part of me says to wait, wait for the 3G (or anything better than EDGE) version of this, wait for the GPS, wait for the first-rev bugs to be worked out.
The other half of me is hysterical for this thing. This is clearly a breakthrough piece of technology.
I look at it this way: I have heaps of AAPL for the short term. As the iPhone sells and gets reviewed and improved, my Verizon contract will run out. Once these two paths converge, I will jump carriers and get a second gen iPhone.
IF I can wait, seeing how I have a friend willing to stand in line for me and pick one up for me. IF.
Big ass IF.
Bill // June 23, 2007 at 5:59 pm
Beanie, the Treo has a touch screen and apps, as well as a keyboard. The keyboard on most phones hit your face when talking, and the Treo touch screen does as well. This does not interfere with your call.
I can afford a few of these, but like most, it probably is not for me as I would not use most of the functions. However, it has such appeal on enough people that it will sell pretty well. In fact, I would seriously consider buying one should my second Treo follow the fatal path of it’s predecessor. The iCal app would probably be most important. I would really like to see it, especially a month at a glance, and compare to Datebk 6 The newer Treo’s are in the same price range as iPhone, and I think that hardware failure is a problem with Treo’s. You cannot even buy an extended warranty for them [or other smartphones, I believe, at least not from Palm or ATT]. If they die in one year, your screwed. Apple will offer an extended warranty for the iPhone, which is appealing. It will protect your investment longer than the other smartphones. This is a smart sales move.
Okasa // June 23, 2007 at 11:59 pm
One thing I’ve been wondering… is it possible to buy an iPhone and not sign up for the AT&T plan? So, you can’t make calls, but won’t you still be able to access the internet if you are close to a wireless access point?
Bill // June 24, 2007 at 10:02 am
That’s an interesting thought. My Palm T3 allowed bluetooth connection to access the internet through a gateway, and Wi-Fi cards can do the same. I noticed that if I start the browser on my Treo, the default connects through ATT. You would think that an app can be used to use the gateway, or at least configure the browser.
When I first did this, I noticed that the 3.25 x 2.25 in. screen was kinda small, like beanie stated, and can switch from landscape to portrait [T3]. But the iPhone has a better zoom feature. Still it was still functional and had respectable speed. I noticed the iPhone easily bested the T3, so I expect that web browsing will make us happy.
Bill // June 24, 2007 at 1:12 pm
This article at iTWire suggests that you can use Wi-Fi to web surf, rather than ATT:
http://www.itwire.com.au/content/view/13129/1023/
Karl L. Gechlik // June 24, 2007 at 2:24 pm
I tell you this is pushing me a lil’ bit closer to grabbing a rev A model but these other reasons are still holding me back .
http://digg.com/gadgets/Should_I_get_the_iphone_when_it_first_comes_out_Mr_admin_guy
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