Steven Levy now speaks on the iPhone

Oxford wrote:
> Probably one of the most balanced journalist covering Apple that there
> has ever been... has now written a long, but quite interesting piece on
> his first few weeks with the iPhone.
>
> A very good read... pass it on.
>
> http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19444948...wsweek/page/0/
>
> ps: i think Apple's nondisclosure agreement ended at 12:01am today, so
> we are seeing a flood of "real", solid reviews of the iPhone this
> morning.
>
> Good work Apple! and to all the journalists that have kept the secret.

It's a very well designed device. They're are a lot of them in use
already around where I live (about a mile from Apple).

The major flaw is really only that you can't use it as a phone in many
parts of the U.S. due to the limitations of the GSM network. For
example, I went on vacation last week, took along a GSM phone and a
CDMA/AMPS phone. The difference in coverage in non-urban areas is
startlingly large, with CDMA having far, far better coverage. I would
have loved to have a device like the iPhone for checking e-mail and such
on vacation, but without GSM and EDGE coverage it wouldn't have been
possible. I took along a tablet PC, but there was no WiFi except for one
hotel we stayed at for two days, and two places we stayed at didn't even
have phones, though they had CDMA coverage (no GSM). When I'm at home or
work I don't need to do e-mail or browse on a small screen, it's when
traveling that something like an iPhone would be ideal, even at 2G speed.

Curse Verizon for turning Apple down! Verizon was their first choice,
but Verizon wouldn't agree to the terms that Apple wanted.



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SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

> > http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19444948...wsweek/page/0/
> >
> > ps: i think Apple's nondisclosure agreement ended at 12:01am today, so
> > we are seeing a flood of "real", solid reviews of the iPhone this
> > morning.
> >
> > Good work Apple! and to all the journalists that have kept the secret.
>
> It's a very well designed device. They're are a lot of them in use
> already around where I live (about a mile from Apple).
>
> The major flaw is really only that you can't use it as a phone in many
> parts of the U.S. due to the limitations of the GSM network. For
> example, I went on vacation last week, took along a GSM phone and a
> CDMA/AMPS phone. The difference in coverage in non-urban areas is
> startlingly large, with CDMA having far, far better coverage. I would
> have loved to have a device like the iPhone for checking e-mail and such
> on vacation, but without GSM and EDGE coverage it wouldn't have been
> possible.

yes, and that's why grafting a Skype client on it quickly is so
important. I'm sure Apple has an VOIP iChat up and running as we speak,
but you've gotta save something for version 2.0. Plus you need to milk
ATT a bit longer so people still using Cell Phones will graduate to the
iPhone.

> I took along a tablet PC, but there was no WiFi except for one
> hotel we stayed at for two days, and two places we stayed at didn't even
> have phones, though they had CDMA coverage (no GSM). When I'm at home or
> work I don't need to do e-mail or browse on a small screen, it's when
> traveling that something like an iPhone would be ideal, even at 2G speed.
>
> Curse Verizon for turning Apple down! Verizon was their first choice,
> but Verizon wouldn't agree to the terms that Apple wanted.

Yes, Verizon made a multi-billion dollar blunder that will be in
business text books for years to come, but they didn't know what was
about to happen. They knew Steve was going to shaft them anyway, just
like he will do with ATT once WiFi / WiMax is fully in place.

So in sum, yes, I agree the iPhone isn't the best in 10% of the places
people typically travel, but for day to day use it will be just fine.

Oxford wrote:

> So in sum, yes, I agree the iPhone isn't the best in 10% of the places
> people typically travel, but for day to day use it will be just fine.

One thing I really don't like is the non-removable SIM card. When
traveling overseas it's great to stick in an inexpensive prepaid SIM
card and make calls at 10¢/minute rather than doing international
roaming at $1-2 per minute. No doubt AT&T demanded a non-removable SIM card.

SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:

> Oxford wrote:
>
> > So in sum, yes, I agree the iPhone isn't the best in 10% of the places
> > people typically travel, but for day to day use it will be just fine.
>
> One thing I really don't like is the non-removable SIM card. When
> traveling overseas it's great to stick in an inexpensive prepaid SIM
> card and make calls at 10¢/minute rather than doing international
> roaming at $1-2 per minute. No doubt AT&T demanded a non-removable SIM card.

well, the simm card is certainly removable, but you are right as of
today, there is no way to use it with a prepaid card.

see the top of the phone:

http://www.apple.com/iphone/gallery/

you can see the simm card access door at this link better...

(takes awhile to load)

http://www.apple.com/iphone/gallery/360/

-

"Oxford" <colalovesmacs@mac.com> wrote in message
news:colalovesmacs-60FD82.12473427062007@mpls-nnrp-02.inet.qwest.net...
> you can see the simm card access door at this link better...
>
> (takes awhile to load)

Only a Mac running Safari.


>
> http://www.apple.com/iphone/gallery/360/
>
> -

"Fred" <fred@fredNOSPAM.com> wrote:

> > you can see the simm card access door at this link better...
> >
> > (takes awhile to load)
>
> Only a Mac running Safari.

Nah, it works in any browser, I'm doing it in Camino on a Mac right now.

Update your software and you'll be fine.

http://www.apple.com/iphone/gallery/360/

Apple's site is only standards based, so sounds like you are out of spec.

Oxford wrote:
> SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com> wrote:
>
>> Oxford wrote:
>>
>>> So in sum, yes, I agree the iPhone isn't the best in 10% of the places
>>> people typically travel, but for day to day use it will be just fine.
>> One thing I really don't like is the non-removable SIM card. When
>> traveling overseas it's great to stick in an inexpensive prepaid SIM
>> card and make calls at 10¢/minute rather than doing international
>> roaming at $1-2 per minute. No doubt AT&T demanded a non-removable SIM card.
>
> well, the simm card is certainly removable, but you are right as of
> today, there is no way to use it with a prepaid card.

One of the reviewers said that it wasn't removable, and most of the
articles say the same thing.

On 2007-06-27 10:25:07 -0700, Oxford <colalovesmacs@mac.com> said:

> I'm sure Apple has an VOIP iChat up and running as we speak, but
> you've gotta save something for version 2.0.

Apple doesn't drag their feet like that. If they pushed iChat for the
phone back to the next release, it's because it wasn't ready to ship.

-jcr

John C. Randolph <jcr.nospam@nospam.mac.com> wrote:

> > I'm sure Apple has an VOIP iChat up and running as we speak, but
> > you've gotta save something for version 2.0.
>
> Apple doesn't drag their feet like that. If they pushed iChat for the
> phone back to the next release, it's because it wasn't ready to ship.

and I agree, i'm simply commenting that something like iTalk or iChat is
"coming" but a 2.0 iPhone will be here too in 12-18 months so while the
iPhone is quite amazing as it is being shipped, it's not the end all, be
all "iPhone".