iPhone
Everyone else has weighed in on the Apple iPhone, so I figured I'd give my take on it. For the sake of fairness, I am pretending that the iPhone was released by Samsung, a company I am fairly neutral towards as opposed to Apple, a company I rather dislike.
The good:
Web Browser-Mobile browsers have been cripled for far too long. Kudos to Apple for putting a real browser with support for tabs, ajax, and hopefully Flash.
Multi Touch-Eventually all touch screens will be using this. It's more of a "Why Not?" than a Must Have" but it's a nice touch, if you'll pardon the pun.
Big screen-In screens, bigger is better. It's the same resolution as the screen in my old Tungsten T3, and I was very fond of that screen. Interestingly, the only manufacturer I know of that makes 320x480 LCD screens is Sony, which means for all their Sony-Bashing, Apple is probably using a Sony component.
Pretty-It really is very pretty. Both the device itself and the user interface. The UI reminds me of the newer Sony Ericsson phones, of which I am a big fan. As much as I love Windows Mobile and Series 60, the icons and animations are pretty drab.
iTunes-Like it or not, it has the biggest selection (other thank allofmp3.com) of music. Anyone who has bought iTunes songs will appreciate being able to play them on this instead of overpaying for ringtones.
iPod Dock Connector-Probably the best thing Apple did. Mini-USB is convenient and easy, but the proprietary multiplugs (like Nokia's PopPort) are more versatile and can be used to interface with slave peripherals.
Tri-Wireless-Quad Band GSM/EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0 and Wifi. The more wireless standards the better, I say.
The Bad:
Awkward Control-I haven't used the phone yet so this is speculation, but based on my past experience with touch screen dialing: It's going to be a pain in the ass to use. You cannot use the device without looking at it, which is major con.
Size-It's huge! Thin may be in, but you don't get a screen that size without having a seriously large device. A Treo or MDA will feel smaller in hand.
D-Pad-Speaking of the Treo and MDA, both have a D-Pad which is God's gift to one handed navigation. The multitouch display has a major drawback in that it necessitates two handed use. There is no position in which you can both hold the device and use two fingers with any degree of control. Any action that requires multitouch requires have two hands free. Hopefully none of the important (calling) features require it. I think there should be dedicated hardware buttons for Call and End at the very least, but a d-pad would also be a welcome addition, too.
Price-Let's face it, $499/$599 is a lot of money for a phone. But wait: That's the two year contract price! Unlocked or without contract it will be at least another $150. Knowing Cingular, they'll probably make it an even $200 more. Also, it will likely be price inflexible. Just like a Gamecube is still $99 everywhere because Nintendo mandates the price. I suspect Apple will mandate the price, so LetsTalk and other sellers won't be able to get the price down quickly.
3G-Seriously, Cingular spent billions on their HSDPA network, it's just stupid not to use it. Not having 3G might not matter so much now, but it will impact the longevity of the iPhone, which should be a serious concern before spending that kind of money on it.
There's probably more in both columns. Any suggestions?
The good:
Web Browser-Mobile browsers have been cripled for far too long. Kudos to Apple for putting a real browser with support for tabs, ajax, and hopefully Flash.
Multi Touch-Eventually all touch screens will be using this. It's more of a "Why Not?" than a Must Have" but it's a nice touch, if you'll pardon the pun.
Big screen-In screens, bigger is better. It's the same resolution as the screen in my old Tungsten T3, and I was very fond of that screen. Interestingly, the only manufacturer I know of that makes 320x480 LCD screens is Sony, which means for all their Sony-Bashing, Apple is probably using a Sony component.
Pretty-It really is very pretty. Both the device itself and the user interface. The UI reminds me of the newer Sony Ericsson phones, of which I am a big fan. As much as I love Windows Mobile and Series 60, the icons and animations are pretty drab.
iTunes-Like it or not, it has the biggest selection (other thank allofmp3.com) of music. Anyone who has bought iTunes songs will appreciate being able to play them on this instead of overpaying for ringtones.
iPod Dock Connector-Probably the best thing Apple did. Mini-USB is convenient and easy, but the proprietary multiplugs (like Nokia's PopPort) are more versatile and can be used to interface with slave peripherals.
Tri-Wireless-Quad Band GSM/EDGE, Bluetooth 2.0 and Wifi. The more wireless standards the better, I say.
The Bad:
Awkward Control-I haven't used the phone yet so this is speculation, but based on my past experience with touch screen dialing: It's going to be a pain in the ass to use. You cannot use the device without looking at it, which is major con.
Size-It's huge! Thin may be in, but you don't get a screen that size without having a seriously large device. A Treo or MDA will feel smaller in hand.
D-Pad-Speaking of the Treo and MDA, both have a D-Pad which is God's gift to one handed navigation. The multitouch display has a major drawback in that it necessitates two handed use. There is no position in which you can both hold the device and use two fingers with any degree of control. Any action that requires multitouch requires have two hands free. Hopefully none of the important (calling) features require it. I think there should be dedicated hardware buttons for Call and End at the very least, but a d-pad would also be a welcome addition, too.
Price-Let's face it, $499/$599 is a lot of money for a phone. But wait: That's the two year contract price! Unlocked or without contract it will be at least another $150. Knowing Cingular, they'll probably make it an even $200 more. Also, it will likely be price inflexible. Just like a Gamecube is still $99 everywhere because Nintendo mandates the price. I suspect Apple will mandate the price, so LetsTalk and other sellers won't be able to get the price down quickly.
3G-Seriously, Cingular spent billions on their HSDPA network, it's just stupid not to use it. Not having 3G might not matter so much now, but it will impact the longevity of the iPhone, which should be a serious concern before spending that kind of money on it.
There's probably more in both columns. Any suggestions?