Well looks like I have not blogged for a while now! So what better way to start blogging in 2007 then reviewing Apple iPhone?
iPhone is Mac enthusiast's dream come true.
For long iPhone was thought to be a insider joke by one Mr. Jobs to keep those pesky media of the tail. Not anymore. The only people who are not laughing now are people in our good ol' Redmond , WA.
Anyways... Is iPhone the ultimate mobile device? Yes! It has got everything. A really, really good media player (People who have used iPods know this), a gorgeous wide screen, a smartphone, small form factor, my favorite: WiFi and Bluetooth, a really really good browser, Google Maps, and mail and contact utility.
Still it's not perfect. Something you will miss is the the feel of buttons. I hope some visually impaired person is not offended by this. They use the feel of the keyboard to make calls and dial numbers.
Secondly, it has a built in battery! This is a real disadvantage for people who are on the phone all the while! What will person do if his battery runs out? I don't think apple will be building in a AC port anytime soon into iPhone. So you will need the USB sync cable or a doc to recharge the batteries. Like a iPod. Also, you know USB Power Adapter will cost another $29.
Thirdly, there are no expansion ports! I know, I know you guys will probably say why do you need one when you have 4 to 8 GB of built in Hard Drive. Well, to add to the phone devices which are built in on a SD Card. Like say, a GPS module to go along with that perfect integration with Google Maps.
Lastly, I still don't agree with Steve Jobs' notion that just fingers are enough. I prefer to write or take notes. A graffiti like software and a stylus will add additional functionality.
And for those who think $499 is a steep price. Well it's not!
Let me compare it with devices which work the same way and were not covered by the Apple CEO's keynote presentation.
1. Sony's Vaio UX which costs $1899.99, is bulky and is not a phone. Yeah, it is a full fledged computer but what's extra features do people use?
2. Palm's flagship PDA TX which is iPhone minus Phone and cost's $399.
3. Another Palm product. LifeDrive which has a built in hard drive but costs $399! And again bulky and no phone.
4. Other Smartphones like Motorola Q, which doesn't have storage and a 2GB miniSD costs extra!
The only thing I am not sure is whether the pricing will remain constant like iPods while additional features are added or will it become cheeper and cheeper as time progresses. Remember RAZR used to cost around $200 when it came out!!!
Well, I would be not running to the nearest Apple Store , yet to Pre Order my phone. I will wait for a while.
One, for the prices to go down with addition of rebates from Cingular.
Two, to see that the screens do not have nano kind of issues.
Over all great product and after the Google and Yahoo! CEOs get their ones, I am sure I will be laying my hands on one of them soon. Image courtesy and copyright Apple.
Rating: ****1/2
iPhone is Mac enthusiast's dream come true.
For long iPhone was thought to be a insider joke by one Mr. Jobs to keep those pesky media of the tail. Not anymore. The only people who are not laughing now are people in our good ol' Redmond , WA.Anyways... Is iPhone the ultimate mobile device? Yes! It has got everything. A really, really good media player (People who have used iPods know this), a gorgeous wide screen, a smartphone, small form factor, my favorite: WiFi and Bluetooth, a really really good browser, Google Maps, and mail and contact utility.
Still it's not perfect. Something you will miss is the the feel of buttons. I hope some visually impaired person is not offended by this. They use the feel of the keyboard to make calls and dial numbers.
Secondly, it has a built in battery! This is a real disadvantage for people who are on the phone all the while! What will person do if his battery runs out? I don't think apple will be building in a AC port anytime soon into iPhone. So you will need the USB sync cable or a doc to recharge the batteries. Like a iPod. Also, you know USB Power Adapter will cost another $29.
Thirdly, there are no expansion ports! I know, I know you guys will probably say why do you need one when you have 4 to 8 GB of built in Hard Drive. Well, to add to the phone devices which are built in on a SD Card. Like say, a GPS module to go along with that perfect integration with Google Maps.
Lastly, I still don't agree with Steve Jobs' notion that just fingers are enough. I prefer to write or take notes. A graffiti like software and a stylus will add additional functionality.
And for those who think $499 is a steep price. Well it's not!
Let me compare it with devices which work the same way and were not covered by the Apple CEO's keynote presentation.
1. Sony's Vaio UX which costs $1899.99, is bulky and is not a phone. Yeah, it is a full fledged computer but what's extra features do people use?
2. Palm's flagship PDA TX which is iPhone minus Phone and cost's $399.
3. Another Palm product. LifeDrive which has a built in hard drive but costs $399! And again bulky and no phone.
4. Other Smartphones like Motorola Q, which doesn't have storage and a 2GB miniSD costs extra!
The only thing I am not sure is whether the pricing will remain constant like iPods while additional features are added or will it become cheeper and cheeper as time progresses. Remember RAZR used to cost around $200 when it came out!!!
Well, I would be not running to the nearest Apple Store , yet to Pre Order my phone. I will wait for a while.
One, for the prices to go down with addition of rebates from Cingular.
Two, to see that the screens do not have nano kind of issues.
Over all great product and after the Google and Yahoo! CEOs get their ones, I am sure I will be laying my hands on one of them soon. Image courtesy and copyright Apple.
Rating: ****1/2
Nithin Kamath
www.nithinkamath.net
No comments:
Post a Comment