The iPhone Cometh.
As insanity unfolds across the country, fueled by an obsession with the NEXT GREAT
THING, Steve Jobs
admits
to the USA Today that he had the butterflies about the launch of the much
anticipated iPhone.
Some bloke has already even posted the complete disassembly of this piece of art
Well, as evidenced by the photo to the left, Jeff Roberts (KBM co-worker) and I indulged our company loyalty to Apple and found a local AT&T where we didn’t have to throw body checks to get access to the coveted device. By the way…I took the picture with the OTHER iPhone that was on display.
I quickly dove into the various applications and functions, kicking the tires as firmly and quickly as I could. So here’s my über-speedy assessment of the iPhone:
It’s all about the interface, baby!
Lately, I’ve been owning up to the fact that “user interface design” is something I’m VERY interested in. I dunno. It’s chicken and the egg with me after nearly a decade of being a power user on the Mac. I’m spoiled by the care they put into EVERY possible point of contact between humans and the machines the humans at Apple design. And it matters because we live in a world where we DO interact with objects REGULARLY. But I’m digressing. For cryin’ criminy…we have an iPhone to talk about!!!
So. The interface. Or if you prefer, “what-it’s-like-to-touch-it-and-push-it’s-sexy-virtual-buttons.” Well, friend…THAT is what it’s about. Dang. This thing JUST WORKS. The screen’s clarity and brightness, the layout of the icons, the shape of the iPhone itself–it’s JUST GOOD. And I mean, “And the Lord said, IT IS GOOD.” The iPhone is as serious achievement based upon the way it feels and responds to human touch.What about the tappy tap typing deal?
Did I knock out my typical 90 words per minute? Hardly. THIS is going to take some getting used to. I suggest watching the video from Apple that focuses exclusively on the virtual keyboard. But what I DID notice was that in two different sessions, I had a big jump in my accuracy. Nonetheless, there’s a curve to negotiate, but I don’t think the criticisms out there are solid. You REALLY would need to do a comparison of accuracy between novice and expert users of both the iPhone’s keyboard, and other QWERTY thumbboards you see on Treo’s and Blackberry’s. I’m just aware that even when I sit down in front of another computer I’m not accustomed to (ESPECIALLY a PC), my accuracy is off until I get acclimatized.
Here’s what I’ve yet to hear from other reviewers and critics: A virtual keyboard makes it nearly impossible to execute “typing without looking.” You HAVE to look at where you’re punching your fingertips instead of at the string of text you’re those fingertips are typing. This seems a little “devolving” to me. It feels like it would undo my muscle memory that a physical keyboard constantly reinforces. Think about it…when typing on a REAL keyboard, even when you make mistakes, you keep your eyes on the string of text on the screen. You don’t see a mistake and look down at the keyboard to find where you went wrong. So, just something to pay attention to.
It’s not hard to imagine a fold-out bluetooth keyboard like the ones that came out for Palm Pilot’s and Handsprings a few years back.What about the apps?
A strong suit for the iPhone is FULL OUT internet in your pocket, just like the marketing copy tells us. It really is. I thought I’d see JUST HOW MUCH of the full version of Safari was in the iPhone. So I navigated over to Google Docs to see if I could edit documents on the iPhone. Unfortunately, you can’t. At least yet. For me…the only justification for an iPhone is as a laptop replacement. Of course, that’s a HUGE stretch, but if you think about the things that are “urgent,” they are relatively basic by today’s standards: email, quick check of stuff online, getting directions, etc. Everything else can wait for a REAL machine.
For me that’s doing graphic/video/web work, and I really need the ergonomics of a full size machine. I’ve edited PLENTY of video on a PowerBook and although it’s possible, it’s not the most comfortable. And the iPhone certainly is positioned to fill the “urgent” needs category. Eventually. But not now for me. I was looking for a couple of tests to see if I could use it to effectively to capture and edit content for things like posting to this silly blog. Yes. You can do it…via email. But since the keyboard ONLY works in “portrait” or tall mode, and not yet in “landscape” or the wide orientation (where the buttons would be inherently larger and errors likely less). The camera, the Maps, the Mail App, they all seem superb. And it’s going to be SO enjoyable seeing what other developers come up with. Oh…I nearly forgot–you know there’s an iPod buried in this thing?AND–you won’t believe this…it makes PHONE CALLS. Brilliant.
Did I buy one?
Of course I didn’t! Geez. I not only can’t afford it, I feel like I don’t want to be THAT co-dependent on it…at least yet! I’m due for a new cell phone and have one in mind….but it’ll likely be my LAST conventional cell phone, and I’ll hop on at iPhone 2.0 or the iPhone Nano or whatever comes out of Apple’s Sophomore release of the iPhone.
Final Words.
The hype is ripe. This IS the schiznik. Me likes. But me can’t have right now.
It truly is a glorious achievement in gadgetry.