OK, do I even need to say anything at all about the iPhone? The English language does not have adequate words to express how much I want this phone. I am counting down the hours until the phone is released in June.
Even though the user interface looks super-sweet, the real killer for me is synchronization. I have the Palm Treo 650 right now, and I am truly a glutton for punishment because I endeavor to keep the Palm synchronized with my Mac and my work PC. I think this form of torture is technically outlawed by the Geneva convention.
BEGIN RANT HERE
Even worse than sync is Versamail, the Palm e-mail client that allegedly supports synchronization with Microsoft Exchange server e-mail, which my office uses. Versamail, bless its heart, cannot just synchronize the e-mail in my work in-box, it has to synchronize the calendar is well. This is not a bad thing in theory, and Communism works in theory. The synchronization process at least once a week would generate an error that my calendar database had been corrupted. The software offered to very helpfully delete the calendar on both my Palm and my PC. It didn’t take me long to drop a big, nuclear F-bomb and just give up on the damn thing. So now that I can’t check e-mail using my smart phone what the hell is the point of having a smart phone?
END RANT HERE
OK, I’ve taken a few minutes to calm down and just chill out for a moment. Did I mention that I really want an iPhone?
Really not all is perfect with the iPhone, though. The big missing piece of the puzzle to my mind is that the phone’s data connection is on Cingular’s EDGE network (up to 384 Kbps according to Cingular, but topping out well below that in most real-world measures). The HSDPA network (400 – 700 Kbps according to Cingular website) does not have broad coverage yet, but would certainly provide a fast connection where available.
Of course, listen to an American complaining about the iPhone not working on his protocol of choice. The rest of the world is going to have to wait well past June for the phone to be available in their markets. Apple may be challenged to get conservative and crotchety carriers to buy into a phone that so overshadows the wireless service itself. David Pogue has indicated that Cingular is going to have this phone completely locked down and is prepared for hacker efforts to unlock the phone. As a rule I think locking the device to a specific provider’s network is a move that takes value from your customer and gives it to that provider. It looks like Apple have been willing to make some significant compromises to make progress with their first carrier.
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