iPhone

[Stephen Coates]

Have any of you used an iPhone?

I havn't seen or used one yet, but I would assume that having a touch screen for such a device would be really awkward to use. It also looks quite big.

And I really think Apple could have used their imagination when thinking of a name for it, like they did with the Macintosh, and iPod. iPhone just sound boring. Actually, I think alot of 'i' things sound boring now. 'i' just tends to be used too much these days. It was fine when we first heard it, now it just gets boring.

[Buleste]

My Brother in-law works for Apple on Oxford street. He's used an iPhone and said they're great but then he's a Apple Fan Boy. I have heard that the Web browsing is as slow as the DS web browser which is pants.

[AlexJ]

I have had a go on one, and I wasn't that impressed. The onscreen keyboard is fiddly, the web access was quite good but then it was through WiFi not the slower mobile Edge connection. The inability to send files through bluetooth would annoy me, it's been done to stop people sending each other MP3's, which Apple hopes will make for more sales from iTunes. The MP3 players good (as you'd expect) but the camera was crap - little better than the one in my basic Nokia 5300 and not a patch on the newer Sony Ericsson K-series models.

Are they worth the price IMO? Absolutely not, the fact you have to pay for the phone and take a contract means I wouldn't touch it. The contract is pretty awful too - 200 minutes and 200 texts for £35/month. I get 200 minutes and 400 texts for £15/month.

The only good thing is that the iPhone gets unlimited data usage, although they've stuck a 'fair usage policy' on this including terms such as "You may not use your iPhone for the continuous streaming of any audio/video content or P2P or file sharing" which seems pretty restrictive.

[TiredOfLife]

Like every other mobile phone, it's just a tracking device.

[Stephen Coates]

Like every other mobile phone, it's just a tracking device.

Indeed. It is actually quite nice going out without a mobile phone, and knowing that no one can contact you and that knowone can locate where you are

As for cameras, I think I am actually yet to see a picture from a mobile phone which is good (note 'good', not high resolution).

I think it is also very overpriced. I don't really see why anyone would want to pay so much for a mobile telephone. What if it got stolen in a busy area while you were talking to someone on it?

[Harrison]

Mobile phone photographs have generally tended to look OK on the phone's own screen, but then been a huge disappointment once you get them to the computers. But I do have to admit that the images from the latest Sony phones are pretty good and about level with a cheap digital camera. The new Samsung 5MP one also does pretty good images, but I totally agree that most are just not that good.

There is one issue regarding leaving the house without a mobile on you. It's called a girlfriend. If and when you finally get one you will know why! They will instantly have a crisis the moment you don't have it with you, and when you next pick it up there will be lots of texts and answer phone messages all saying the same thing. "Where are you?", "Why was your phone switched off?", or even better "You never answer your phone!". They don't seem to grasp the concept that you don't actually want to be contacted 24 hours a day.

Anyway, back on topic. The iPod. Some quite impressive features. The music player is basically the iTouch, so if you are looking for mainly an audio player then buy one of those instead. The browser is good, but only if you are connected via WiFi, so when you are using it where intended, which is out and about, and not next to a Wireless router, then it doesn't support 3G and instead relies on the older much slower Edge and will be a nightmare to use email or internet. It also has no email push functionality so not very useful for business users.

It's OK, but not great. It is slick and looks great to use, but for me it is much like most of Apple's products since the first i was used in a product. An iGimmick.

[J T]

A friend has the iPod with the touch screen. Whipping through photos with a flicking of the finger was neat and the display looked great.

But it was apparently almost impossible to use inside a pocket (you can't feel where the 'buttons' are) and it looked so thin like it'd bend if you kept it in the back trouser pocket and sat down.

[Harrison]

I've read exactly the same complaints about the iTouch, with reviewers saying it is near impossible to control it unless you take it out of your pocket, which is annoying.

Good idea though, and the touch screen technology is nicely coded. They just need to get the usability working nicely, instead of rushing it to market in time for Christmas as the next must have gimmick.

At least it isn't as mad as the Microsoft touch table. I saw a short clip of Bill Gates talking about and demonstrating the new table. Yes it looks cool being able to drag content around on your tabletop and control computers that way, but what practical use does it really have? You couldn't sit at a coffee table for long periods using it as a standard computer. I can see it ending up as a high end home entertainment control system. In contrast Bill was spouting that it would be in ever home within 5 years. Haven't we heard such claims before?

[v85rawdeal]

And I bet it needs more than 64k of memory!!!

[Harrison]

Wasn't it 640K of memory? I'm sure Bill can squeeze everything needed into that much ram!