Here’s a video from PC World that does real-world scratch & drop tests on it. Not for the squeamish.
I just downloaded a PDF of the user manual from Apple and glanced at it. It requires an iTunes store account, among other things, and assumes you are using AT&T. There is instruction on remofing the SIM card. (Use a paperclip in the hole in the top to pop out the SIM-card holder, then remove the SIM card.)
I also noticed in the demo video also on the Apple site that the method of dialing phone numbers seems to be very US-centric: it assumes a three-digit area code in brackets, for example, and formats the number that way.
Wouldn’t they also sell a 'nadian version? Or European or whatever…so it is oriented to the local practices?
Say, that’s pretty impressive. I wonder what its IP rating is? And I wonder how it does in the rain? (Why yes, I work for a place that makes ruggedised WiFi terminals… 5 feet to concrete thirty times, then a salt-water shower is usual for testing many models. Then there are the freezer-rated units that are designed to withstand internal condensation and have heaters behind the screen.)
By proper design you should be able to set it to be Canadian or whatever. Just like my Mac.
When this iPhone comes out with a taser and remote control channel changer and volume control for the DAMN kids car next to me in traffic, I’ll consider getting one.
Provided it costs less that $100 and I get my nights and weekends free.
[Channeling Lewis Black] So, has anyone tried shoving it up their ass to see how the fax feature works? [/CLB]
Unsurprisingly, the negative comments all seem to be related to AT&T.
Ah, this seems to be a new bit of information posted recently (I just Googled it). Apparently it’s removable and usable in other 2.5/3G AT&T phones, but it won’t work on any other GSM network. (Presumably because of the visual voicemail thing)
It still doesn’t help though, nor does it mitigate the other factors.
Not bad! pretty smart of Apple to switch to the glass front, imo.
A buddy just called to tell me that he got one. He swore that he wasn’t going to get one. He went out and played with one and had to have one. He went by the Sprint to check and make sure he wasn’t under contract with them, and he said the store was a ghost town, filled with only grim looking employees, while the line at the local Apple store last night was 3 and 4 people deep, wrapped around the block.
A friend at work, a real gadget geek, said that it’s going to be difficult for the other makers to compete with the iPhone due to technical difficulties I think. He didn’t have time to explain and I didn’t have time to listen.
So, what’s the dope? Apple has a jump start, like with the iPod?
I sincerely don’t see Apple as the permanent industry leader. They’re entering a market that’s already got lots of smartphones and crap like that. The others will adjust, learn, and come back out looking good.
The touchscreen might be nifty, but would it be a good idea for power users? What about business types (as the iPhone is not marketed towards)?
Bascially, Apple’s got oodles of patents on the sexiest features of the iPhone getting Apple to license those patents or engineering workarounds them could be be impossible or expensive.
LOUNE, Apple didn’t invent the MP3 player, they just implimented it better than anyone had to that date. The same may well be true of the cellphone.
That’s the phone Mrs G and I both have, we love it. The only drawback is the slow interface response, and no Wifi, but it does everything I’ve else ever wanted in a PDA/phone.
I’m waiting for the iPhone to have an office suite with editable document ability, and a free/cheap SDK, but I’m sure it’s coming soon in their next version.
Woot! Posting this from my new iPhone. 
So far I have been really impressed with the screen clarity and interface. Still getting used to typing on it, but supposedly that will come with time.
The screen is so bright that it is easily usable outdoors in direct sunlight, I tested it out while hiking today.
Rogers is the heir apparent provider for the Canadian launch, but there has been rumors that AT&T will be coming back to Canada , along with those rumors of T-mobile.
Funny though , from what I read on the howard Fora a couple months ago , it looked like Rogers did not want to touch the iphone with a ten foot pole.
And as well , give it a few weeks and a dedicated team will unlock the iphone.
Silly fruits , they should have sold it as is unlocked.
Declan
I am presently in the Apple store playing with a demo model. Its the pimpiest!
Is the place crowded?
And I have another concern. The last excuse I heard for early cancellation fees was that they were to pay for the “free” or discounted phone. Surely we’re not to believe that the iPhone is either.
So, is there a penalty with ATT? Or did they drop that excuse.
To be precise, the phone is locked to AT&T. It will allow only AT&T SIMs to work. If you put a non-AT&T SIM in it, it will complain and not allow operation (except for emergency calls in some places; I believe this is mandated by law in the US). This will happen whether it is on the AT&T network or not. This is known as a ‘provider lock’.
The AT&T SIM, on the other hand, will work in any other AT&T GSM phone, and in any other unlocked GSM phone. Of course, in another phone, the unique features of the iPhone will not be available, even on AT&T’s network.
Whether it is in an iPhone or another GSM phone (AT&T or unlocked), an AT&T SIM carries the customer’s phone number and AT&T identity. It may be used on AT&T’s network, and on those networks with which AT&T has roaming agreements.
The SIM can also carry a basic list of phone numbers, so that your contacts can travel from phone to phone. SIM memory is limited–I think the SIM in my phone only has 16 kilobytes–so even in older phones, contact information will easily overflow the SIM. Many phones store their contact info in the phone by default, and I expect this is the same with the iPhone.
Typically, roaming is rather pricey. For example, when I was in Finalnd in 2000, I would have paid $1.50 a minute to make local calls on the Finnish GSM network, while using my phone and SIM from the Canadian GSM network, Fido.
Since the provider lock prevents a non-AT&T SIM from working in your phone, you can’t get a cheap SIM with a local number when you get to, say, England, for your two-month assignment. Anyone calling you has to call your US AT&T number, making an international call, even if you are just down the street! And you have to pay the high roaming rate to receive it. At least with a local number your callers would only be paying what it costs to call a local cellphone, and you’d be paying the low local rate to receive the call.
The provider lock also prevents someone from using a non-AT&T SIM in the phone when you’re at home in the US. This means you can’t lend your phone to someone to put their SIM in if their phone breaks, nor can you sell your phone to a non-AT&T customer.
The carriers say that the provider lock is there to ensure that the phone will remain on their network until the user pays off its subsidy, which allowed the carrier to sell it to the customer at a low price. This is fine, and a great way to get phones into the hands of people who could not otherwise pay the upfront price of an unsubsidised phone, but I have heard that carriers are extremely reluctant to unlock the phone when the subsidy is paid off, or even to let the customer know when it is paid off.
This is why I maintain that unlocked phones of the same models as the locked phones should be available, at the full unsubsidised price. When you get a subsidised phone, the subsidy and the time to pay it off should be itemised on the bill of sale. And the carrier should be required to unlock the phone at any time upon receiving payment for the remainder of the subsidy.
Look into this one instead. It’s the new version and it’s greatly improved.
Every single smartphone on the face of this planet can access the “entire” Internet, whatever that’s supposed to mean. The Webkit browser that the iPhone uses is the base for the browser in all Nokia Nseries devices, which have been available since 2005.
In addition, any phone that can run Java can get Google Maps. Any of y’all with smartphones out there, point the browser to About – Google Maps and you can download the app for yourself. Those of using Nokia’s S60 OS (including catsix, whether she knows it or not) have available a native version of GM that is crazy awesome. Also available since 2005.
YouTube on the iPhone? Most smartphones can pull that off too – http://m.youtube.com/ is the URL for the service and it works just fine on my Nokia. And I can’t name a single smartphone that doesn’t have a decent MP3 player.
The only thing that can be done on the iPhone that cannot be done on any other smartphone is the Visual Voicemail trick. And if you’re used to smartphones, the iPhone is limited. No picture messaging? Only one attachment per e-mail? Only one app running at a time? No speed dial? Only one Bluetooth profile? Inability to use any random sound as a ringtone or alert tone? No document editing? No swappable storage? A battery (that you can’t replace) that only lasts 400 charges? No 3G? No timed profiles?
This stuff is revolutionary to the American market, simply because smartphones aren’t as common here as overseas, but all this stuff is old hat.
Yes, but the iPhone’s Bluetooth implementation includes only the headset profile. No OBEX, no printing, no FTP, no dial-up, nothing but headsets.
I have been able to use the Bluetooth in my Nokia smartphones to do all sorts of things. With the Bluetooth switched on, whenever I bring the phone near my home PC, it automatically syncs my calendar, e-mail, pictures, and messages without any intervention on my part. In addition, if I want to put a file on the phone, I just right-click on it from the PC and hit Send to Bluetooth… It shows up in my messaging inbox, where I can open it or save it to wherever I want on the phone. I can print from my 5-megapixel cellphone camera straight to my Bluetooth-capable printer.
In addition, there’s all sorts of stuff my phone can do that the iPhone cannot. Mine has an autofocus 5mp camera with flash. The iPhone has a fixed-focus 2mp, no flash. Mine can do full-motion video at VGA resolution. The iPhone doesn’t have a video camera. Mine can be used as a dialup modem. The iPhone cannot. Mine has GPS and built-in navigation software. Mine can be used as a flash drive for data storage. Mine can do photo and video editing on the phone. Mine has thousands of easily obtained (many free) applications that can extend its usefulness – my favorites are Opera (for the web) and IM+ (for AIM, Google Talk, and ICQ). Mine has an excellent e-mail client – and if I don’t like it, I can download a new one.
This might seem a little passionate, but dammit, I’m tired of Apple acting like they invent every damn little thing when I’ve been able to do the same stuff on various cheaper phones for 2 - 3 years. And for anyone who’s wondering, this is the phone I currently use. It’s not locked to any network, because T-Mobile doesn’t really care where you get the phone from; they just care about the service.