My first concern was the one button design. Although it looks clean, I think you're going to see some users (myself included) not liking the non-tactile feel of a touch screen.  As a Treo user it can very be cumbersome to use the soft keys at times, so having the back up of the hard keys is vital to me especially when your text messaging.  I think texting on the iPhone will prove to be less productive.

Although a brilliant marketing move, showing the audience the bottom of current smartphones keypads and stating this is the 40% that is the problem with them might prove Apple wrong as people are used to the qwerty key pads and key pads in general. Just look at what happened when Motorola switched their on/off buttons around (most phones; on is to the left and off to the right).  People hated the change and it didn't take Moto long to switch it back.  Face it; over all people don't like change, especially when the change shows little improvement or worse yet, confusion.

As for the layout, I personally love that Apple has followed Palm's (Now Access') and Blackberry's design by making it easy to access an application with a tap of an icon.  For sure Palm could use an update as their software has been looking dated for some time now, but business and power users aren't as concerned with eye candy as much as reliability and that has long been Palm's strong suit.  If Apple wants the Treo and Blackberry market they are going to have to prove reliable or you won't see much switching.

Steve, you picked the wrong service.  I think I know why they did it, but making Cingular (now AT&T) the exclusive partner was a big mistake.  I believe the reason AT&T got the exclusive is they had a prior relationship with them and due to the flop on the ROKR they wanted another cut at the Apple if you'll excuse the pun.  What I don't get is why they put in EDGE vs. HSDPA.  This will be a huge disappointment for business or power users. I should know, as a Verizon subscriber I just upgraded from the Treo 650 which only had the 1rx radio (think slow) to the 700P that includes the 1rx and EVDO radios (their version of wireless broadband) and it is night and day.

Trust me, paying $44.95 a month for a slow service brings you back to the days of AOL and paying $24.95 for dial up, which seemed reasonable back then, but come on, there is no way people should be paying $35-50 a month for slow service anymore and that is what you'll get with the iPhone.  Yes the included WiFi helps, but business and power users that are mobile don't want to have to look for hotspots.  They need access any and everywhere. That is why I paid $44.95 for slow service, so I could get my email essentially everywhere, but that is because the 650 came out before EVDO radios were ready for Verizon. There is no excuse for the iPhone not having HSDPA, unless you count rushing the product to market, which is what I think happened.

No replaceable battery Wow, who made that decision at Apple? Come one, how do you expect some one to use all the features of the iPhone with one internal rechargeable battery?  This is by far one of the biggest mistakes Apple made. Mobile users are just that mobile and they need the ability to switch out a battery at a moments notice.  Imagine this, you're in the airport getting ready to make a call to an important client and your batteries low. So what do you do scour around to look for an outlet to plug your iPhone in, come on Apple, not your best decision and I think you'll see them change this if sales are down or enough complaints come in.  Remember the ipod's $249.00 replacement battery rip off?

Only one batteryWhen I heard the rumors that the iPhone might have two batteries one word came to mind "brilliant".  What better way to get the most out of your device and make sure your always have phone access.  Big mistake not doing this.

Internal antenna is not the way to go for everyone.  As I stated I now have the 700P and although the 750 is out I chose the 700 for the antenna. Sure it's not as cool looking, but I don't live in a metropolis where there are towers everywhere and believe it or not that little stub antenna can make a big difference.

No Outlook syncingOk, how is it that your ipod syncs to Outlook, but the iPhone doesn't.  After I heard this it made me wonder what market Apple was going after.  Only mac users?  If so, I think it is a big mistake as the ipod success was predicated on the inclusion of windows users.  Furthermore, what is the reason for Bootcamp, the continued support for MS Office for Mac and a whole host of business application partnerships?  Not sure what they are thinking here.

PriceCome on Apple $600.00 (remember this is with a 2yr contract, so it is being subsidized).  This shrinks the market substantially, but if your Apple it's great profit as they make over 100%.  Great if you're a shareholder, not so great for the early adopter (yes, that's usually me, but not this time, I'm passing on the iPhone for now). The cost will be a big hurdle for them.

It may seem like I'm bashing the iPhone, but that is not my intent.  I think Apple is a great company with a lot of promise in the phone market, but this first attempt is not their best and I think sales will prove this.  I felt so strongly about this that I didn't even wait to see the iPhone before I upgraded to the Treo 700P as I think it is a better phone albeit no music playing ability, but hey I have a 80gb video ipod, so no worries mate.  Look for the next generation of iPhone to be far superior and something I may consider.  My advice. I you have too much money and have to be the first of have one then I guess your mind is made up, but I think for the person who wants the best bang for the buck, go look at the smartphones that are out now and wait for the iPhone to evolve.

]]> the blog Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:02:00 GMT http://ce1.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=176260# dean@criticallyexplored.com apple iphone Dean No http://ce1.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=174452#

• Tabbed chats, allowing you to keep all of your chats together in one window
• Option to auto-accept text chats, skipping new message notification window
• Show status changes directly in the message window
• Disable the smiley button in text input lines
• Option to open images sent through direct connect directly in Preview
• Send away auto-reply only once per conversation
• Save and restore window positions for individual screen names

• Unread message notification in the dock
• Growl notifications for new messages and users changing status
• Properly use ICQ accounts without sending text formatting in messages
• Automatically set status to away when screensaver is activated
• Option to auto-accept file transfers
• Hide all iChat windows when iChat is inactive
• Always on top option for user lists, text chats, and audio or video chats
• Set a custom away auto-reply that is different from the away message
• Change the delay of or disable auto-away
• New message windows cascade properly instead of always appearing on top of each other
• Built-in log viewer
• Activity window shows history of user status changes
• Warn before quitting while there are active chats
• Option to disable pausing of AV chats while there are active file transfers
• Disable picture-in-picture in video chats
• Automatically reconnect when disconnected
• Disable alert sounds when away, idle, or available