I just checked, searched all
tags and the like. I managed
to get the first ever review
of the iPhone up on YouTube
before anyone else, woot!
:DWalt Mossberg of the Wall
Street Journal gives the
world's first real (in-depth)
review of Apple's infamous
iPhone. Taken from two weeks
he spent with the phone prior
to its market deb
more

I just checked, searched all
tags and the like. I managed
to get the first ever review
of the iPhone up on YouTube
before anyone else, woot!
:DWalt Mossberg of the Wall
Street Journal gives the
world's first real (in-depth)
review of Apple's infamous
iPhone. Taken from two weeks
he spent with the phone prior
to its market debut.Judging by
some of the comments he made,
it looks like he was very
impressed with the device.And
I quote:'In the 16 years I
have been reviewing tech
products I cannot remember any
product having this kind of
hype and high expectations
surrounding it. -- It is
certainly the most beautiful
and the most radical
smartphone or hand-held
computer I have ever
tested.'Full review transcript
below:'One of the most
important trends in personal
technology over the past few
years has been the evolution
of the humble cellphone into a
true handheld computer, a
device able to replicate many
of the key functions of a
laptop. But most of these
'smart phones' have had lousy
software, confusing user
interfaces and clumsy music,
video and photo playback. And
their designers have struggled
to balance screen size,
keyboard usability and battery
life.Now, Apple Inc., whose
digital products are hailed
for their design and
innovation, is jumping into
this smart-phone market with
the iPhone, which goes on sale
in a few days after months of
the most frenzied hype and
speculation we have ever seen
for a single technology
product. Even though the
phone's minimum price is a
hefty $499, people are already
lining up outside Apple stores
to be among the first to snag
one when they go on sale
Friday evening.We have been
testing the iPhone for two
weeks, in multiple usage
scenarios, in cities across
the country. Our verdict is
that, despite some flaws and
feature omissions, the iPhone
is, on balance, a beautiful
and breakthrough handheld
computer. Its software,
especially, sets a new bar for
the smart-phone industry, and
its clever finger-touch
interface, which dispenses
with a stylus and most
buttons, works well, though it
sometimes adds steps to common
functions.The Apple phone
combines intelligent voice
calling, and a full-blown
iPod, with a beautiful new
interface for music and video
playback. It offers the best
Web browser we have seen on a
smart phone, and robust email
software. And it synchronizes
easily and well with both
Windows and Macintosh
computers using Apple's iTunes
software.It has the largest
and highest-resolution screen
of any smart phone we've seen,
and the most internal memory
by far. Yet it is one of the
thinnest smart phones
available and offers
impressive battery life,
better than its key
competitors claim.It feels
solid and comfortable in the
hand and the way it displays
photos, videos and Web pages
on its gorgeous screen makes
other smart phones look
primitive.The iPhone's most
controversial feature, the
omission of a physical
keyboard in favor of a virtual
keyboard on the screen, turned
out in our tests to be a
nonissue, despite our deep
initial skepticism. After five
days of use, Walt -- who did
most of the testing for this
review -- was able to type on
it as quickly and accurately
as he could on the Palm Treo
he has used for years. This
was partly because of smart
software that corrects typing
errors on the fly.But the
iPhone has a major drawback:
the cellphone network it uses.
It only works with AT&T
(formerly Cingular), won't
come in models that use
Verizon or Sprint and can't
use the digital cards (called
SIM cards) that would allow it
to run on T-Mobile's network.
So, the phone can be a poor
choice unless you are in areas
where AT&T's coverage is good.
It does work overseas, but
only via an AT&T roaming
plan.In addition, even when
you have great AT&T coverage,
the iPhone can't run on AT&T's
fastest cellular data network.
Instead, it uses a pokey
network called EDGE, which is
far slower than the fastest
networks from Verizon or
Sprint that power many other
smart phones. And the initial
iPhone model cannot be
upgraded to use the faster
networks.The iPhone
compensates by being one of
the few smart phones that can
also use Wi-Fi wireless
networks. When you have access
to Wi-Fi, the iPhone flies on
the Web. Not only that, but
the iPhone automatically
switches from EDGE to known
Wi-Fi networks when it finds
them, and pops up a list of
new Wi-Fi networks it
encounters as you move. Walt
was able to log onto paid
Wi-Fi networks at Starbucks
and airports, and even used a
free Wi-Fi network at Fenway
Park in Boston to email
pictures taken during a Red
Sox game.But this Wi-Fi
capability doesn't fully make
up for the lack of a fast
cellular data capability,
because it is impractical to
keep joining and dropping
short-range Wi-Fi networks
while taking a long walk, or
riding in a cab through a
city.AT&T is offering special
monthly calling plans for the
iPhone, all of which include
unlimited Internet and email
usage. They range from $60 to
$220, depending on the number
of voice minutes included. In
an unusual twist, iPhone
buyers won't choose their
plans and activate their
phones in the store. Instead,
they will do so when they
first connect the iPhone to
the iTunes software.Despite
its simple interface, with
just four rows of colorful
icons on a black background,
the iPhone has too many
features and functions to
detail completely in this
space. But here's a rundown of
the key features, with pros
and cons based on our
testing.Hardware:The iPhone is
simply beautiful. It is
thinner than the skinny
Samsung BlackJack, yet almost
its entire surface is covered
by a huge, vivid 3.5-inch
display. There's no physical
keyboard, just a single button
that takes you to the home
screen. The phone is about as
long as the Treo 700, the
BlackBerry 8800 or the
BlackJack, but it's slightly
wider than the BlackJack or
Treo, and heavier than the
BlackBerry and BlackJack.The
display is made of a sturdy
glass, not plastic, and while
it did pick up smudges, it
didn't acquire a single
scratch, even though it was
tossed into Walt's pocket or
briefcase, or Katie's purse,
without any protective case or
holster. No scratches appeared
on the rest of the body
either.There are only three
buttons along the edges. On
the top, there's one that puts
the phone to sleep and wakes
it up. And, on the left edge,
there's a volume control and a
mute switch.One downside: Some
accessories for iPods may not
work properly on the iPhone.
The headphone jack, which
supports both stereo music and
phone calls, is deeply
recessed, so you may need an
adapter for existing
headphones. And, while the
iPhone uses the standard iPod
port on the bottom edge, it
doesn't recognize all car
adapters for playing music,
only for charging. Apple is
considering a software update
to fix this.Touch-screen
interface:To go through long
lists of emails, contacts, or
songs, you just 'flick' with
your finger. To select items,
you tap. To enlarge photos,
you 'pinch' them by placing
two fingers on their corners
and dragging them in or out.
To zoom in on portions of Web
pages, you double-tap with
your fingers. You cannot use a
stylus for any of this. In the
Web browser and photo program,
if you turn the phone from a
vertical to a horizontal
position, the image on the
screen turns as well and
resizes itself to fit.In
general, we found this
interface, called
'multi-touch,' to be
effective, practical and fun.
But there's no overall search
on the iPhone (except Web
searching), and no quick way
to move to the top or bottom
of pages (except in the Web
browser). The only aid is an
alphabetical scale on the
right in tiny type.There's
also no way to cut, copy, or
paste text.And the lack of
dedicated hardware buttons for
functions like phone, email
and contacts means extra taps
are needed to start using
features. Also, if you are
playing music while doing
something else, the lack of
hardware playback buttons
forces you to return to the
iPod program to stop the music
or change a song.Keyboard:The
virtual keys are large and get
larger as you touch them.
Software tries to guess what
you're typing, and fix errors.
Overall, it works. But the
error-correction system didn't
seem as clever as the one on
the BlackBerry, and you have
to switch to a different
keyboard view to insert a
period or comma, which is
annoying.Web browsing:The
iPhone is the first smart
phone we've tested with a
real, computer-grade Web
browser, a version of Apple's
Safari. It displays entire Web
pages, in their real layouts,
and allows you to zoom in
quickly by either tapping or
pinching with your finger.
Multiple pages can be open at
the same time, and you can
conduct Google or Yahoo
searches from a built-in
search box.Email:The iPhone
can connect with most popular
consumer email services,
including Yahoo, Gmail, AOL,
EarthLink and others. It can
also handle corporate email
using Microsoft's Exchange
system, if your IT department
cooperates by enabling a
setting on the
server.BlackBerry email
services can't be used on an
iPhone, but Yahoo Mail
supplies free BlackBerry-style
'push' email to iPhone users.
In our test, this worked
fine.Unlike most phone email
software, the iPhone's shows a
preview of each message, so
you don't have to open it.
And, if there is a photo
attached, it shows the photo
automatically, without
requiring you to click on a
link to see it. It can also
receive and open Microsoft
Word and Excel documents and
Adobe PDF files. But it
doesn't allow you to edit or
save these files.Memory:The
$499 base model comes with
four gigabytes of memory, and
the $599 model has eight
gigabytes. That's far more
than on any other smart phone,
but much less than on
full-size iPods. Also, there's
no slot for memory-expansion
cards. Our test $599 model
held 1,325 songs; a dozen
videos (including a
full-length movie); over 100
photos; and over 100 emails,
including some attachments,
and still had room left
over.Battery life:Like the
iPod, but unlike most
cellphones, the iPhone lacks a
removable battery. So you
can't carry a spare. But its
battery life is excellent. In
our tests, it got seven hours
and 18 minutes of continuous
talk time, while the Wi-Fi was
on and email was constantly
being fetched in the
background. That's close to
Apple's claim of a maximum of
eight hours, and far exceeds
the talk time claims of other
smart phones, which usually
top out at five and a half
hours.For continuous music
playback, again with Wi-Fi on
and email being fetched, we
got over 22 hours, shy of
Apple's claim of up to 24
hours, but still huge. For
video playback, under the same
conditions, we got just under
Apple's claim of seven hours,
enough to watch four
average-length movies. And,
for Web browsing and other
Internet functions, including
sending and receiving emails,
viewing Google maps and
YouTube videos, we got over
nine hours, well above Apple's
claim of up to six hours.In
real life, of course, you will
do a mix of these things, so
the best gauge might be that,
in our two-week test, the
iPhone generally lasted all
day with a typical mix of
tasks.Phone calls:The phone
interface is clean and simple,
but takes more taps to reach
than on many other smart
phones, because there are no
dedicated hardware phone
buttons. You also cannot just
start typing a name or number,
but must scroll through a list
of favorites, through your
recent call list, or your
entire contact list. You can
also use a virtual keypad.One
great phone feature is called
'visual voice mail.' It shows
you the names or at least the
phone numbers of people who
have left you voicemail, so
you can quickly listen to
those you want. It's also very
easy to turn the speakerphone
on and off, or to establish
conference calls.Voice call
quality was good, but not
great. In some places,
especially in weak coverage
areas, there was some muffling
or garbling. But most calls
were perfectly audible. The
iPhone can use Bluetooth
wireless headsets and it comes
with wired iPod-style earbuds
that include a microphone.A
downside -- there's no easy
way to transfer phone numbers,
via AT&T, directly from an
existing phone. The iPhone is
meant to sync with an address
book (and calendar) on a
PC.Contacts and
calendars:These are pretty
straightforward and work well.
The calendar lacks a week
view, though a list view helps
fill that gap. Contacts can be
gathered into groups, but the
groups can't be used as email
distribution lists.Syncing:The
iPhone syncs with both Macs
and Windows PCs using iTunes,
which handles not only the
transfer of music and video,
but also photos, contacts,
calendar items and browser
bookmarks. In our tests, this
worked well, even on a Windows
Vista machine using the latest
version of Outlook as the
source for contacts and
appointments.iPod:The built-in
iPod handles music and video
perfectly, and has all the
features of a regular iPod.
But the interface is entirely
new. The famed scroll wheel is
gone, and instead finger taps
and flicking move you through
your collection and virtual
controls appear on the screen.
There's also a version of the
'cover flow' interface which
allows you to select music by
flipping through album
covers.Other features:There
are widgets, or small
programs, for accessing
weather, stock prices and
Google Maps, which includes
route directions, but no
real-time navigation. Another
widget allows you to stream
videos from YouTube, and yet
another serves as a notepad.
There's a photo program that
displays individual pictures
or slideshows.The only add-on
software Apple is allowing
will be Web-based programs
that must be accessed through
the on-board Web browser. The
company says these can be made
to look just like built-in
programs, but the few we tried
weren't impressive.Missing
features:The iPhone is missing
some features common on some
competitors. There's no
instant messaging, only
standard text messaging. While
its two-megapixel camera took
excellent pictures in our
tests, it can't record video.
Its otherwise excellent Web
browser can't fully utilize
some Web sites, because it
doesn't yet support Adobe's
Flash technology. Although the
phone contains a complete
iPod, you can't use your songs
as ringtones. There aren't any
games, nor is there any way to
directly access Apple's iTunes
Music Store.Apple says it
plans to add features to the
phone over time, via free
downloads, and hints that some
of these holes may be
filled.Expectations for the
iPhone have been so high that
it can't possibly meet them
all. It isn't for the average
person who just wants a cheap,
small phone for calling and
texting. But, despite its
network limitations, the
iPhone is a whole new
experience and a pleasure to
use.'If you read all that, you
are my hero!! :P

Category Film & Animation

Tags World's, first, iPhone, review, OS, X, Apple, smartphone, iPod, Walt, Mossberg, phone, touch, screen, multi, multi-touch, wsj, macflyfilm