This is the winner of the coveted Product of the Year award, which I bestow on the most awesome or helpful piece of 
Awesome.
That’s the iPhone in a word. Before you think that this will be yet another Apple fanatic blog rave, I’ll simply say that this is a wonderfully intuitive, flexible, and human-centered device as I have ever come across.
For starters, there is the touch screen. Imagine touching the things you want to interact with – hey, that’s exactly what happens in the real world. I for one cannot tell you what a relief it is to interact with a touchscreen instead of click-click-clicking little cellphone keys to navigate someone’s idea of a good menuing system. (Don’t get me started on my old Motorola Razr – ughhh!)
Number two, there is the user interface. If Microsoft had designed the user interface for a wonderful touchscreen cellphone, it would enable us to touch the Start menu and touch the Programs menu, and touch all the things in Windows. Hey wait – they did design a user interface for touchscreen devices, and it did emable us to touch all the Windows things (Windows CE), and it did suck horribly.
Apple, on the other hand, has produced a truly usable device which acts much more like the real world and is also a joy to use. Flick lists up and down with your finger, and they scroll with pleasing momentum, fast at first then slowing to a stop just like a spun wheel. Flip through photos and videos with a simple swipe left or right of your finger. One never feels lost in Apple’s rendition of an operating system. As a technologist, I would say this comes from presenting a clear metaphor to the user: the user understands the model, the mechanism, the affordances of the interface. (An affordance is what a design makes natural, e.g. a doorknob invites you to grasp it, with its size, location, and shape.)
There are many other reasons why the iPhone is well worth the $200 to $300 investment. It’s sort of like a membership in a well connected, well informed, technology savvy club for whom a lot of things are slightly easier. This is assuming you actually need these things in your life: if you are completely happy without the bounty of web-enabled technology, more power to you.
But I can say that the iPhone has transformed my life – at least a particular aspect of my life which is related to information and communication. I use my desktop computer for far less time to do menial things like check my mail or look things up on the web. I love using Google’s voice recognition to search the web by simply saying a search phrase (like “best times to cross the Maryland Bay Bridge”). I have access to Amazon, eBay, Skype, instant messaging, Facebook, and dozens of other really cool apps.
The one chink in the iPhone armor is iTunes, the software which runs on a PC or Mac that every iPhone user must use to sync and backup their iPhone (e.g. for contacts, photos, etc). In stark contrast to the iPhone itself, iTunes is frustrating and often mystifying. Once configured properly, it all works pretty well, but, let me tell you, getting there was a long journey fraught with arcane and scary dialog boxes and much puzzling over how to accomplish what I really wanted to do. Admittedly part of this is self-inflicted, since I typically always end up customizing or tailoring how things work (can’t change an old software guy). But most of it is just plain inexcusable: search for “iTunes sucks” (as I did) and you will be surprised at the volume.
The one other chink for some might be AT&T’s lock on being the service provider. For me in Baltimore, this has been a non-issue; in fact, if anything the service is better than Sprint’s. However, users in high-density cities like New York might want to ask their iPhone-toting neighbors about their service.
Between the 16GB and 32GB models, it really comes down to how much music you want to keep on the phone. Apps that you purchase don’t typically take much space. I bought the 32 GB version, but I haven’t put much music on it and after four or five months, I still have around 16 GB free. But one way I looked at really made it clear to me which version to buy: the 32 GB version is $100 more (a relatively large 50% premium over the 16GB version), but the reality is that you’re paying about $1500 per year to have the iPhone (at $100 per month for service). So an extra $100 is more or less rounding error in this equation when considered against $1500. Ultimately: get the 16 GB version if you don’t need music or would like to economize, and get the 32 GB if you have the cash or are a techno-enthusiast.
Pros:
- Touchscreen
- Great software
- Lots of apps available (100,000 and counting)
- Built-in wifi and 3G radio
- Solid battery life
- Renowed Apple design and excellent build quality
Cons:
- Moderately expensive for a cellphone ($300 + $100/mo for two years)
- iTunes software
- AT&T service (works fine in Baltimore, but possibly an issue depending on your city)
Summary:
If you want the convenience and power of internet access, GPS, maps and compasses, and a metric ton of great (and cheap) applications in a truly wonderfully easy to use package, this phone is for you. You can join the tens of millions of other peopel who made the same choice and voted with their wallets. To be honest, I haven’t met an unhappy iPhone owner yet. That’s unprecedented in my world. For those who can’t bring themselves to buy Apple, there are a number of interesting options in Android-based smartphones to keep your eye on.
Nice job, Apple! If only everything was this much fun to use…
$199 (16 GB) or $299 (32 GB)
$100/mo contract for two years
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