First post-launch iPhone reviews in: not perfect but still looking great
Here's a selection of iPhone reviews post-launch.
Shawn King - PC Advisor
Quote:
"Does it live up to the hype? Of course it doesn't - it couldn't possibly. As David Platt, a computer science professor at Harvard University, remarked to Reuters: "God himself could not design a device that could live up to all the hype.""
For:
* Screen - amazing resolution, organic-looking buttons, good interface with visual cues.
* Widescreen videos look great on 3.5 inch screen
Against:
* EDGE too slow for web browsing
* No wireless syncing of iPhone to Mac
* Camera is bad - no zoom, no flash, poor motion and low-light capture
Overall:
"The iPhone is not the ‘Perfect Device’. But it is a cool piece of technology that does a lot of things surprisingly well. And, for those of you waiting for ‘Version 2.0’, it will only get better."
[Link]
Dylan Tweney - Wired Gadget Lab
Quote:
"[Apple has] delivered an instrument that, for the most part, lives up to its inflated expectations. The iPhone is a phone, a music and video player, a web browser, an email device, a portable photo album, and more. All of these functions are packaged in a device whose hardware and software are remarkably elegant, easy to use, and even fun to play with."
For:
* Elegant yet sturdy design.
* Interface innovative and fun.
* Seamless PC integration.
* Excellent calendar and contact management.
* Great browser and email.
Against:
* Onscreen keyboard still doesn't live up to dedicated physical one.
* EDGE slow.
* Limited music volume.
* Poor camera.
* No Flash or Java on web browser.
Overall:
"The iPhone is a delight to use and to play with. Is $600 too much to spend on a phone? Probably, but I haven't had this much fun with a new product since the Palm Pilot debuted, and that was about $500 too. The iPhone's not perfect, but it is amazing."
[Link]
Editors - PC World
Quote:
"Apple's iPhone impresses with a gorgeous display and so much technological innovation that you can almost overlook its imperfections."
For:
* Easy setup
* Great interface
* Visual Voicemail
* Email
Against:
* No time left battery indicator
* Phone call quality mixed
* Poor camera
* Keyboard disappointing
* EDGE network
Overall:
Most of the editors found the iPhone had good features, but with a few irritating flaws.
[Link]
Lev Grossman - Time
Quote:
"I acquired my iPhone shortly after 6:00 on launch day at the Apple store in midtown Manhattan, a subterranean emporium located underneath the plaza in front of FAO Schwartz and accessible through a crystal portal leading to a spiral staircase, befitting the fairy-tale mood."
For:
* Call clarity
* Email and web browsing
* Visual voicemail
* Google Maps
Against:
* Syncing of music - no drag and drop
* YouTube video quality
Overall:
"To look at the iPhone as a laundry list of features and bugs is to miss the point (though if you did, the former would commandingly outweigh the latter). The iPhone isn't just the gadget du jour, it's a fresh new platform, an exceptionally powerful mobile computer that's still in its infancy. There's a full version of Apple's desktop operating system in there. The Palm and the Treo, et al., were merely harbingers of the era of true walk-around mobile computing that Jobs has just inaugurated. Hail to the chief."
[Link]
Other reviews include:
iPhone combines slick features, with some big compromises (Troy Wolverton - Mercury News)
Hands-on Review: Apple iPhone (Yahoo! Tech)
iPhone filled with iCandy that users will gobble up (Chicago Tribune)
Powermat: Revolutionary Gadget Charging
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