Well as I write this the iPhone is ‘in the post’ and should be here within the week. I will document the unlocking process along with my initial thoughts when I have had a chance to play with it. For now it is a case of putting the one (irrational) fear to one side – that although it is unlocked and Movistar in Spain is on the list of countries that it will work, for some reason it wont work for me – and to speculate on what it will be like when it arrives.
One of my very first impressions back in June and one that I still hold is that the ‘form factor’ just doesn’t do it for me. Ironically as I don’t make many phone calls this may not be an issue, but my gut feel is that I am not really going to like it. My friends first impression when he got it to unlock was exactly the same, it just didn’t feel right as a phone. I have always been skeptical about PDA/Phone combinations as more often than not when someone wants to know if I am free they have phoned me to find out so I am not sure how you can look at the diary when the phone is stuck to your ear. Bluetooth headsets I hear you yell – I hate them I respond!
Next up I was interested to read David’s thoughts a week after getting his iPhone. He makes some good observations, and four observations in particular that are a disappointment for him:
I know it’s been said a million times before but I’ll say it again because it’s so important, the lack of 3G is unforgiving. We currently have 80% 3G coverage here in the UK and as someone who uses it daily I can vouch for it’s speed when checking e-mails and surfing the net. Why on earth Apple released a 2.5G internet phone to the UK (which only has a 30% EDGE coverage) is beyond comprehension. I simply can’t accept Steve Jobb’s battery drain explanation. Once your outside of a wi-fi hot spot checking e-mail and using the web becomes almost impossible and the £265 revolutionary device reverts to an iPod and phone.
I can see how this will frustrate the UK market, and to be honest I think Steve Jobs talked total rubbish when he ‘blamed’ the poor battery life. 5.5 hours would be more than enough for most people so why not let them decide – telling ‘us’ that he knows best is becoming somewhat irritating!
At the end of the day though I don’t think this is going to be a problem to me given how I anticipate using the phone.
The iPhone is aimed at both the consumer and business markets, while I can understand a business user not using MMS the average 20/30 something user in the UK surely must use MMS on a daily basis. The simple lack of ability to MMS friends could make this phone a non-starter for a lot of people here in the UK.
Again I can see this totally for the market in general but as I have sent one MMS in the last three years, and even that was only because the guys I was with couldn’t get their cameras to work, I don’t see it as been something that I ‘miss’.
Even though 3,4 & even 5 megapixel cameras are becoming the norm on high-end mobile phones here in the UK, I personally can forgive Apple for their 2 megapixel offering. After all you only really need a 2 megapixel camera to share a funny moment with a friend anyway. What is really disappointing is the complete lack of video recording, again this will be a big turn-off for the average 20/30 year old who is considering buying this phone.
I have a feeling that I will miss the lack of a video. Not because I use that feature at the moment, but because as we spend more time developing the content on Almerimar Life I think it would be good to be able to just grab a video clip every now and again. I guess I could always try and persuade Sands that we need one of the new Sanyo digicams.
The iPhone’s SMS application is really nice and gives a new slant on text messaging. It shows texting as an ongoing conversation and I feel it’s a real improvement on previous phones I’ve used. Sadly though some basic features we have become to expect on phones such as graphical emoticons and delivery reports are missing from the iPhone.
Again, can’t see that this is going to be an issue to me. My SMS use is limited to say the least < 10 a month I would say, and I have never worried about delivery reports or emotions. So from Dave's thoughts I am feeling pretty good. Of the 4 things that stop the iPhone from being utterly and totally awesome for him (he does find it awesome though) only one is at all likely to bug me, and even then not because I will be losing something that I already have. All in all am getting more excited!