More Official iPhone Reviews

[MacRumors]

Following Walt Mossberg's initial review, more reviews are beginning to appear across the web. We will highlight reviews of interest here.

NY Times: David Pogue
- "so sleek and thin, it makes Treos and BlackBerrys look obese."
- After walking around with the iPhone unprotected for 2 weeks, no marks on it. Glass smudges are easily wiped off.
- Making calls can be a 6 step process if phone is off.
- Web, Email is superior
- Battery Life Test: 5 hours video, 23 hours audio. Note: did not turn off Wi-Fi and other features as Apple suggests.
- Typing was OK. Difficult at first, but learned to "trust" the keyboard. "The BlackBerry won’t be going away anytime soon."
- Cites AT&T network as iPhone's biggest downfall. Cites Consumer Reports survey which ranks AT&T network as last or second to last in 19 out of 20 major US cities.

Newsweek: Steven Levy
- bottom line is that the iPhone is a significant leap
- The iPhone is the rare convergence device where things actually converge.
- e-mail looks more like you’re working on a computer than a clunky phone
- YouTube videos work great on Wi-Fi, but can display in a lower quality when you’re not at a hotspot and are using AT&T’s EDGE network
- unless I did a lot of video watching or Web browsing, [the battery] could generally last the day
- I’ve been jamming it in my pocket with keyrings, coins and pens, and so far it’s nearly as good as new.

USA Today: Edward Baig
- Apple's iPhone isn't perfect, but it's worthy of the hype
- The revelation is that it's also comfortable to hold and touch.
- I expected to miss the tactile feel that a physical keyboard provides. I didn't.
- You can hold a conference call with up to five people.
- No voice recognition or voice dialing
- halfway decent internal speakers for listening if you set the thing down
- iPod games are not compatible with iPhone
- our company tech department raised questions about the security settings Apple required with our Microsoft Exchange servers.
- Battery life didn't prove to be a big problem in my unscientific tests

 

[Wayfarer]

This makes me happy.

 

[sushi]

Looking better all the time!

 

[bvledford]

I think everyone knows by now that it will not have 3g so why keep bringing it up?? Apple designed it knowing this and i'm sure once we get the phone in our hands we will forget all about 3g

 

[dartzorichalcos]

Good to hear the good reviews.

 

[paddy]

I think everyone knows by now that it will not have 3g so why keep bringing it up?? Apple designed it knowing this and i'm sure once we get the phone in our hands we will forget all about 3g

Wouldnt be so sure about that. I know 3g is a battery drainer but its fast as hell!

 

[alana22]

Owning one of these is going to be so surreal. Cannot wait!

 

[Antaios]

man that chick was hot!! Go David!!

 

[yayaba]

LOL... watch the review video guys. Probably one of the best review videos I've seen. Incredibly well done.

 

[plumbingandtech]

Another test passed.

 

[fastlane1588]

I think everyone knows by now that it will not have 3g so why keep bringing it up?? Apple designed it knowing this and i'm sure once we get the phone in our hands we will forget all about 3g

i dont know, what if the iphone has 3g built in but its turned off by apple until att gets there 3g up to speed around the country and then for a 5$ fee unlocks it for you, it would be just like they did w/ the mbps, plus steve said at all things digital that there 3g network is really fast, but nothing works on it yet

 

[bluebomberman]

I think everyone knows by now that it will not have 3g so why keep bringing it up?? Apple designed it knowing this and i'm sure once we get the phone in our hands we will forget all about 3g

Because EDGE is really that bad. From the article:

The New York Times’s home page takes 55 seconds to appear; Amazon.com, 100 seconds; Yahoo, two minutes. You almost ache for a dial-up modem.

 

[plumbingandtech]

Looks like Shawn King was right and I was wrong...

(I doubted him knowing about the $20 data plan.)

OF COURSE HIS WIFE'S BOSS AND HIS CO-STAR OF THE VIDEO DAVID POGUE TOLD HIM...


Guess it's easy to be right about rumors under those conditions....

 

[Poff]

I loved that video review. Pogue at his best.

 

[travistaylor]

I pretty much want to know if my existing AT&T phone line on my existing family plan will have to be eligible for an upgrade in order to activate my iPhone. What do you guys think?

 

[avalys]

"Good but not great" voice quality? That's the only thing giving me cause for concern at this point.

 

[Poff]

i dont know, what if the iphone has 3g built in but its turned off by apple until att gets there 3g up to speed around the country and then for a 5$ fee unlocks it for you, it would be just like they did w/ the mbps, plus steve said at all things digital that there 3g network is really fast, but nothing works on it yet

that would actually drain the battery, even when not activated. One of the big downfalls of 3G.

 

[NewSc2]

i dont know, what if the iphone has 3g built in but its turned off by apple until att gets there 3g up to speed around the country and then for a 5$ fee unlocks it for you, it would be just like they did w/ the mbps, plus steve said at all things digital that there 3g network is really fast, but nothing works on it yet

It's not an option that can be unlocked. The phone simply won't do 3g (or so Apple and everybody else has said).

VERY disappointing to see the slow EDGE speeds. 55 seconds for NYT, 100 seconds for amazon... sheesh. How could you browse the web with those speeds? I wonder how YouTube videos will stream.

 

[hvfsl]

Well I guess people will have to turn off the images when browsing on Edge and find a wifi hotspot to use the device to it's full.

 

[nxent]

so... why is apple with att again? crappy customer service, less than stellar nationwide coverage...

 

[slffl]

Well, if the iPhone is able to multitask like it looks like it can, then EDGE won't be TOO bad. Just start loading a webpage, hit the 'home' button, and then go do something else for a while.

 

[LastLine]

Apple says that the battery starts to lose capacity after 300 or 400 charges. Eventually, you’ll have to send the phone to Apple for battery replacement, much as you do now with an iPod, for a fee..

That concerns me slightly, isn't a typical battery 1000 or so? Of course I may be wrong.

 

[darwen]

nice... it has an apple logo (see video review to get the lame joke).

Not that I want to review his review but the acting was a little un-necessary.

 

[yayaba]

It's not an option that can be unlocked. The phone simply won't do 3g (or so Apple and everybody else has said).

VERY disappointing to see the slow EDGE speeds. 55 seconds for NYT, 100 seconds for amazon... sheesh. How could you browse the web with those speeds? I wonder how YouTube videos will stream.

I don't know... I regularly tether my EDGE device with my Macbook and I dont' achieve speeds that bad. It takes awhile I'll concede but 2 minutes for Yahoo? That's not right. It seriously takes maybe 10-15 seconds for the page to load up and I'm not BS'ing that -- it's just my experience.

I am in the Bay Area though so maybe the EDGE network out here is better.

 

[jeffyhow]

No picture messaging or video capture? And you can't blame AT&T's network for the slow internet when Apple could (should) have included 3G on a $500/600 phone. The network sucking for calls though is AT&T's fault. I can attest to that in places around here.

It seems to be everything Apple though. Probably a great UI, and a few anonying flaws (open up iTunes 7, Finder and Spotlight in OS X 10.4 and see the different schemes), and the wow factor.

I wonder if it'll have any hardware issues.