Archive for January, 2007

Thanks to the Slashphone, we can show you how your phone can sound like iPhone. It's easy, all you need to do is download iPhone ringtone and set it on your device as a default. Available formats include mp3 and midi. Plus, three remixes are available - first two in mp3 and the third in aiff format. Remix links: 1, 2, 3.

Check out the latest previews of the Apple iPhone - see how it looks, works, feels!

• Apple iPhone Video Tour
• Apple's Official iphone advertisements 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
• Four things you probably missed from Steve Job's iPhone presentation
• AT&T Chief Operating Officer Randall Stephenson on Apple iPhone
• CBS gets the downlow on the Apple iPhone
• David Pogue of The New York Times on the Apple iPhone
• Apple iPhone on CNBC
• Apple iPhone commercial (ripped it off some documentary)
• Apple iPhone commercial on Late Night with Conan O'Brien

David Pogue, of the New York Times, had the honor of getting some hands-on time with the Apple iPhone - and he came away very impressed.

The one aspect of the Apple iPhone on everyone's mind these days seems to be the on-screen, virtual keyboard. Cade Metz of PC Magazine stated decent accuracy with the keyboard, adding that it would take some getting used to. However, Mr. Pogue came away with a very different take on the keyboard. He found the keyboard verry accurate, with the help of the "auto-correct" feature that predicts what keys you meant to hit and displays a suggestion word underneath your typed word - but he didn't use pronouns, which is something that predictive text input has a huge problem with.

As far as the feel of the device, Pogue said it was unlike anything else that he had ever held. The stainless-steel edges are soo smooth and the device so slim that it was a pleasure to handle. He was especially impressed by the proximity detector that shuts off the display when it's close to your face.

David really like the glass surface and mentioned that finger smudges shouldn't be too much of a problem. However, web-browsing speeds on the iPhone wifi connection was OK, not good, just OK. This was troubling because AT&T's EDGE network will be slower than the wifi connection, but Steve Jobs promised that the speeds will be much improved by the time the iPhone actually starts leaving salesroom floors. But, we should mention that the web-browsing navigation features were quite impressive. Mr. Pogue really like the way the full web-page could be zoomed and stretched with smooth, animated visuals.

You can see the review here.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/01/09/some-hands-on-time-with-the-iphone/

PC Magazine has a good review of the Apple iPhone from the day after Steve Jobs' iPhone keynote. Cade Metz was lucky enough to get a few minutes of play time with the Apple iPhone, just hours after it was launched! How lucky is that?

Anyway, Cade came away from the device fairly impressed, as was everyone else at the San Fransisco unveiling - mentioning that the only real issue was with the on-screen keyboard. Now, this is cause for concern, as the on-screen keyboard with no real hard-keys has been a point of contention for as long as the iPhone has been out in the public eye. Cade says that it's not disappointing, just will take some getting used to - which is encouraging.

As far as Multi-touch is concerned - Cade says it's everything that it's been hyped up to be. The finger-touch navigation functions are seemless and smooth, making web-browsing and photo viewing/editing a cinch and enjoyable. However, call quality seemed a little fuzzy, but that could have been caused by the Moscone Hall's poor reception quality.

Check out the review here.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2082361,00.asp

Apocalypso from Symbian-Freak wrote and interesting article comparing Apple's newly announced iPhone with Nokia N93 and N95. First he discusses his views on iPhone, adding that without doubt iPhone is the single most overrated, overpriced and hyped piece of hardware on the market. Next, he's all about the facts. From the specs table you can see for yourself that Nokia's high-end devices beat iPhone in almost all aspects.

However, as I've argued few days ago - iPhone could have that sexy appeal to the consumers. Just take a look at the iPod. It's everything, but the best music player. Some other devices on the market (Linux-powered Archos for instance) also beat iPod in the specs, yet they can't come even close to the iPod's sales numbers. We'll watch carefully this space and keep you posted.

It's been two days after Apple announced its entrance in the mobile phone market. The long-time rumored iPhone was finally presented at the MacWorld and… people are delighted. Everyone expected Apple to make a hit, but iPhone went one step further presenting some new concepts. Now, what we want to do is to separate the hype from the facts. Let's start…

iPhone strengths

Let's face it, Apple created the gorgeous device. There is no other device that can match its style. Furthermore, the iPhone brought other things on the table - the new mobile OS, usage of sensors, a large multi-touch screen… Apple has a large and quite loyal iPod user base.

iPhone weaknesses

iPhone is NOT a 3G device. Will it be until it hits Europe? It's hard to say at the moment. One thing is certain, 3G implementation should not be a problem for Apple. Next, battery is not removable (as in iPod), memory can't be expanded (as in Nokia N91 and Sony Ericsson W950i), it doesn't have a top-notch camera and it does not supports Microsoft Exchange or Office.

Competition from Symbian devices

Among the Symbian-based devices, we could argue that iPhone competes with all of the Nokia NSeries devices, as well as Sony Ericsson W950. Two of the other Sony Ericsson smartphones and Nokia ESeries devices are enterprise focused and will most probably not be disturbed by the Apple's invention.

How will users react - will they stay loyal to Nokia/Sony Ericsson? I don't think so. It's just that Nokia NSeries devices and Sony Ericsson W950 (and other Walkman branded Sony Ericsson phones for that matter) are mostly designed for all around entertainment and always-on lifestyle. Yes, they are powerful mobile computers, but personally I don't think that many users of these devices use their full potentials. Most of them want to listen to music, surf the Internet, watch a movie and maybe take a photo. For them, iPhone with its coolness will most probably be a better choice, especially if they already buy songs from iTunes.

iPhone/Symbian future

How will iPhone affect the Symbian world and all smartphone world. It all depends what will Apple do with its mobile platform. According to some reports, mobile Mac OS X used on iPhone will not be open, leaving only Apple with its partners to develop software for it. My opinion is that this will lead Apple to death of its device.

But, take a look at other scenario. Apple could quickly get many software developers that already make applications for the desktop Mac OS to write application for the iPhone. Just imagine transferring some of the popular Mac apps to the new iPhone. We could see hundreds of real applications developed for the new platform within a short period of time, if Apple decides so. We should also acknowledge that this is the first version of the Apple's mobile OS and that it could have some problems, but wait… for the first version it is awesome.

Apple certainly brought new cards on the table, and it will be interesting to watch handset manufacturers competing with the iPhone.

What's next

If I'm at Nokia or Sony Ericsson, I would be worried. The smartphone industry just got a new player. I do understand that it's not easy to disturb the industry, but if you remember Sony used to dominate the portable music players before Apple come with its iPod.

Next, we could add that today's iPhone certainly resembles some of the Nokia's plans for the future. So… hire more smart people and get us even better devices.

Hint: Stefan Constantinescu from Ring Nokia is someone to seriously consider.