Apple iPhone Cell Phone
 Maybe it's because I've only ever owned Apple computers, and because I've been following and writing about the company for over a decade now, that I judged them so harshly when they first entered the mobile phone market. I might have held them up to a higher standard, given my longtime fondness and admiration for their products and the resultant sky-high expectations I had for the first Apple mobile phone.
Or I might just have been reacting to the spec sheet and price points - $499/599 plus a two-year contract for a phone that lacked 3G data, GPS, stereo Bluetooth, 3rd party application support, and a camera flash and video recording capabilities sounded awful steep. Still does. In the many months between iPhone's public debut at MacWorld in January 2007 and it's overhyped hit the streets date that June, iPhone was scrutinized by every angle except the one that matters most: we were all writing about the device, but nobody had gotten their hands on the thing.
So when iPhone finally went on sale, I waited. I tried to get one from Apple's PR department but all I got was strung along via email. I wasn't about to plunk down $500 and also sign up for two years of AT&T service since I was still under contract with T-Mobile. So I waited. And then two events occurring within a short time of one another changed everything: Apple cut iPhone's price by a third, and; clever programmers figured out how to unlock the handset for use on other GSM networks.
And so here I am writing my review of Apple's iPhone - a sort of hybrid review combining the "as Apple sells it" iPhone with the "unlocked, running on T-Mobile, chock full of third party apps" iPhone. However you slice it, Apple's maiden cell phone is a game changer that lives up to the hype. Apple has made a fortune combining hardware design, software design, and firmly controlled vision into some of the best top-to-bottom user experiences to be found anywhere in the consumer electronics industry. iPhone is no different. Yes, it lacks certain features folks have come to expect on high-end cell phones. No, it's not for everyone. Yes, the game of cat and mouse between Apple and "the hackers" that rages on as I write this threatens to hang a black cloud over the company for some time to come.
Doesn't matter. Apple's iPhone is a brilliant piece of consumer electronics with perhaps the most useable interface to ever grace the screen of a device that can do so much. Using the word "brilliant" to describe a phone that, as a phone, is average at best takes some doing. But given the state of cell phones today and where the industry is heading, Apple has really launched a landmark product with the iPhone.
Too bad they haven't found a way to let the hacker/developer community continue to make the thing even better.
iPhone is thin, sleek, and dominated by a large 3.5" touchscreen display bracketed by a cut-out speaker and hidden light sensors (top) and a single physical button (bottom) on the front of the device. At 115 x 61 x 11.6 mm and weighing 135 grams, the device is small enough to tuck away in a pants pocket, large enough to make for easy use of the display, and rather heavy but still pleasant in hand. When the display is darkened in sleep mode, the entire front of the handset is black, flanked by a chromed border and rounded edges all around, and looks like a Star Trek Communicator passed through a minimalist design lab.
Most of the side and back panels of the phone are finished in a textured silver metal designed to be comfortable to grip. The lower portion of the panels is done up in black, as are the phone's controls. Along with that lone front-panel button, iPhone houses a rocker switch for volume control and silent/ringer button on its left side, while the right side is completely button-free. The top panel is home to a power/sleep/wake button, the SIM card tray, and a recessed 3.5mm headphone jack (the source of much head-scratching for me ... more on that in a bit). The bottom panel houses a dock connector similar to those found on iPods, and it's flanked by speaker and microphone grills. The back of the phone features a sensor for the camera set in the upper left corner, and while the black part of the back panel is in fact a battery cover, the battery is not user removable.
WIthout delving into the pros and cons of a phone that lacks buttons but compensates with the best touchscreen display on any handset ever, Apple's near-buttonless design is nothing short of stunning. While the black and silver look that screams "Look at me, I'm an Apple!" is honestly a bit ostentatious for my tastes, it's ostentatious in a really cool, mysterious sort of way. iPhone is a good looking gadget that looks like it came from the future, especially when lined up next to something like a Treo.
After a few weeks of using one, I can definitely say Apple did a (typically) fantastic job on iPhone's industrial design. The phone feels good in use during voice calls and screen-intensive tasks, and its size and shape is a great balance between large enough for Web and media player use but small enough to tuck away in a pocket. The phone's 11.6mm profile and extremely durable optical glass front have a lot to do with the whole "easy to tuck away" thing. After several weeks living mainly in my pants pockets without any sort of case to protect it, iPhone's screen is scratch free and the chrome trim is just a little scuffed up.
Read full review » Multitasking on your iPhone? Yup. Palm WebOS-style cards on your iPhone? Yup. But you gotta jailbreak. Noah checks out Backgrounder and ProSwitcher for multitasking on a jailbroken iPhone. Despite a pending lawsuit by AT&T, Verizon's not backing down anytime soon. In their latest anti-AT&T commercial, the iPhone has been banned to the "Island of MIsfit Toys," a popular theme from the 1964 television movie Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Airing just in time for the holiday season, will these ads sway shoppers looking for wireless devices as gifts?
Via: Engadget Mobile Can Apple make "Album Art" go interactive? iTunes LP launches in iTunes 9. Demo live from Apple's media event in San Francisco. iTunes 9 Demo - iPhone OS App management. Live from Apple media event, 9.9.09. Recorded via webcam - sorry for lousy quality :-( Noah from PhoneDog is live at the Apple iPod event in San Francisco. Stay tuned for the new stuff ... The ever-sharp Ross Miller over at Engadget Mobile found himself a video that's like the mobile phone version of Reese's Pieces: iPhone OS and HTC's Sense UI theme have come together like chocolate and peanut butter thanks to the Jailbroken awesomeness of Justflikwalk, a Redmond Pie deviantART member. No, you won't get all of Android + Sense's widget power on your iPhone just by installing the them, but you will get a nifty time/weather widget...
Get out your salt shakers, it's alleged spy photo time!
iPhone repair site iResQ has what they claim are parts from the upcoming fourth-generation Apple iPhone, due to be launched later this year. According to photos on the site, the new iPhone's front panel (right, above) will be approximately 1/4" taller than the current iPhone 3GS (left, above).
The photos also show what iResQ is calling a "reflective surface" on the front panel just above...
According to Adriana, any of you running your iPhones unlocked on T-Mobile should hold off on installing the newest iPhone OS update. Looks like iPhone 3.1.3 breaks TMo connectivity for iPhone 3GS and 3G models - apparently the first-gen iPhones aren't affected.
Any of you running iPhone unlocked on Magenta? If so, can you confirm or deny this? Better yet, are you hard at work on a solution?
More over at Today's iPhone.
[Via: PhoneArena]
I was frustrated when the Apple event came and went without announcement of a new iPhone OS. By the same token, I was intrigued by the iPad's user interface. I remember thinking "when are we going to see this on the iPhone?" It's definitely not official, but a YouTube video provides instructions for how to transport the OS over to your iPhone. You'll need a jailbroken iPhone, Cydia, and a few minutes to watch the... I just knew this day would come. No, I’m not talking about the TodaysiPhone.com launch. Or the 10am PST live Apple event tomorrow — which, by the way, PhoneDog and Today's iPhone will both be covering.
All that is good (and crazy exciting), but I’m actually talking about a little something called Google Voice. I have been waiting for what seems like forever for this service — which thousands of people use for free... What a journey! It’s been unbelievable, the response and support you guys have mustered for Today’s iPhone. And now I am so pleased to make it official…
www.TodaysiPhone.com is live and ready to go!
Geared for iPhone/iPod Touch/upcoming Apple Tablet users, the site offers news, rumors, app and accessory reviews, tutorials and more. We’ve even created a community vid section! So all those talented videographers in...
Despite the fact that there are hundreds of rumors (or so it seems) circulating around Apple's Wednesday press event, I find this one of particular importance given the numerous debates we've had about it over the past few years.
According to a source reporting to HotHardware, it is thought that the Apple tablet announcement will be followed by an announcement detailing the end of AT&T's iPhone exlusivity. Given that an announcement... Pros: great looking, amazing touch screen, awesome web browsing experience, fun with mobileme, MMS works amazingly, easy to navigate, and more, oh and lets not forget THE APP STORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cons: Cant accept .ICS calender files in the mail app, but thats only one thing. Summary: This is a great phone, it is one of the only smart phones that a adult can use, and a kid can use as well, many apps make it customizable and helpful for anything. Pros: -Faster -Records Video -Better Camera -Voice Control Cons: -Nothing so far Summary: After having an iPhone 3G, I upgraded to an iPhone 3GS. It's much more faster, and has some great new features. I recomend buying this phone. hmm... It seems the OS 3.1 has slowed my 3GS down a little bit. 0 out of 1 people found this review helpful Pros: great speed upgrade from earlier versions of the iPhone. better graphics plus widescreen qwerty board. with the mms it is great also. the call quality is amazing. the smudge proof coating also helps a little Cons: not to different from from iPhone 3g. still breaks pretty easy. battery life didnt really improve that much for me. Summary: Overall i love this phone. it works great for me, it has amazing internet and email access with a ton of great apps so you always have something to do on you phone. it has amazing call quality. phone does break easily if you drop it a couple times but its still very good because i havent dropped it yet. my suggestion to people looking for a new phone is get this phone, theres not a better one than it on the market 1 out of 2 people found this review helpful Pros: "S" for speed in the name, certainly hold true! Camera + Autofocus + Video Recording (Better than Jailbroken Video Recorders in my opinion) Compass might be of some very good GPS and navigation use. Cons: No multitasking No Flash with the camera No Flash for web browsing Summary: I was always on the fence on whether to upgrade or not. So I waited, after hearing the never ending praise for the device, I decided to go ahead and get it. First impressions: The Screen is certainly a LESS of a fingerprint-magnet than it's predecessor. It isn't fingerprint-resistant. Camera is somewhat better quality and the finger touch autofocus feature is very helpful. The ability to trim videos is a cool little feature. A flash would have made it perfect. Speed: It is considerably faster than both the V1 and the 3G, a direct result of the increased RAM and the faster processor. Web: Safari usually loads pages faster than before due to the new Java Nitro (i think!) Find my iPhone: It sucks that you have to pay for it, but worthwhile none the less. Was the $200 upgrade worthwhile? ... Ummm... Certainly a better phone but not worth the $200 or the inability to upgrade to the next one as soon as it comes out. Here's to the hoping that the iPhone 2010 is a step ahead like the 3G was and not a mere RAM upgrade! 2 out of 5 people found this review helpful Pros: 1. Safari is better than other phone internet browsers. Very fast. 2. Sensitive touch screen 3. The virtual keyboard helps you type faster with auto correction. 4. 3G speed 5. Many apps. Very useful. 6. A good iPod or music player. 7. Stylish Design 8. Easy to use 9. The screen is scratch-resistance 10, jailbreakable! Sim lock can be unlocked! 11. The mic on the hand-free earphone is slim. 12. push mail sservice Cons: 1. 2.0 mega pixel camera 2. Battery life goes short when used excessively. 3. The back cover is easily scratched 4. Apps sometimes close or hang due to the lack of ram. 5. CPU is underclocked from 620MHz to 412 MHz 6. A little complicated when adding ur own ringtones to iphone 7. Jailbreaking and unlocking are a little bit complicated. Summary: iPhone is certainly the best smartphone which keeps you in touch with the internet everywhere with the web browser Safari. Its multiple-touch screen enables a convenient use of the phone. Also, it is supported by lots of apps which bring lots of functions to the phone. Besides, it is an ipod. Finally, since the day I bought the iphone, I started to love using mobile phone. 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful I personally have been using smart phones since 2001... and I am really pleased to see their development... I currently have the G1, rooted with Cyan's 3.4.6 build... It's optimized and built for speed... I am the only one amongst my friends... that does not have an IPhone... Constantly I am berated on how much my phone sucks compared to IPhone.. etc etc... But honestly I don't care... I love my phone... just recently did I root my phone..... If you are getting an unlocked iPhone, yeah I would go for a first gen iPhone for T-Mobile. However, I would really recommend the G1. If anything, the G1 would have the faster 3G connection, the first gen iPhone, or that of any iPhone on T-Mobile's network, wont have the 3G connection. I would suggest getting the G1. However, you should know that the G1 doesn't have a great battery, but you can buy spares or bigger batteries on Amazon, etc. That's probably the biggest flaw of the G1, everything else about it is satisfactory to great. i have felt like other phone companies are changing to touchscreen so the iphone is no big deal. when the 3g came out it was disapointing. the just upgraded the iphone i wouldnt call it the 2nd generation. nothing changed therefore the same phone is still around while samsung and htc are creating new phones all the time. i would like to see more of a variety in the iphone. like a smaller version, a rugged verison and the simple. this would allow... Hi! So, I have had an iPhone since they came out. I got the original iPhone a week after it came out. And the 3G iPhone the 5th day it was out. I am working at my parents office as a manager, and since I'm only in the office 5 hours a day I need push email and basically full connection to the office all the time. What would you recommend? I would prefer a phone with a touch screen. I don't need a good keyboard because it is mostly just... You could look at the iphone cause your on at&t. the HTC touch hd is a touch phone you could get unlocked. Hi,I got the original iPhone when it came out for $600.Then when the 3G came out I got 2 iPhones. (I couldn't decide between the white and the black so I got both.)And now with having to cell phone lines (one active line on AT&T where I switch between iPhones. & One on T-Mobile where I have a Pearl 8120.)But, now I am kinda getting sick of both of my phones. I don't know what to get.I would like to stick to something like the iPhone on... Okay people I need some help deciding. Basically I have a choice. Either iPhone 1st gen (8GB) or a Google G1. Now I really like the iPhone and have wanted one for a while however now with the G1 out I'm having second thoughts. So if you can help me decide by voicing your opinion it would be greatly appreciated. If you Triple Tap The Shift(Caps) Button Really Fast it Will turn blue and temp. turn on Capitilization.<a href="http://tinypic.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i34.tinypic.com/fd... border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> Buying choicesWith new service  This item is not being sold with a service plan by any online merchant. With pre-paid service This item is not being sold with a pre-paid service service plan by any online merchant. Purchase phone only Accessories Purchase compatible accessories for this phone Ringtones & MediaShop for compatible mobile content for this phone
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4.4 
4.8 out of 5
