That’s a photo of the next phone I will own -- the Apple iPhone, which should be available in June. Yes, that’s a rather brash statement about a device that isn’t yet in production and hasn’t been independently tested. But I’m comfortable with that prediction for two reasons. [1] Apple’s excellent track record designing consumer electronic devices that are powerful, thought-through, and easy to use. (Even so, I’d have a more wait-and-see attitude, were it not for...) [2] The lame products offered by every other major mobile device manufacturer.
The iPhone is really much more than a phone, even more so than the iPod was always more than a music player. It’s really a palm-sized computer, a multi-communications device, a pocket video player, and the next generation iPod.
This first generation iPhone will compete head-on with every existing “smartphone”. And, frankly, those all suck. To put my opinion in perspective... I’m a road warrior and a power user with a history of quickly appreciating and adopting new portable technologies that empower me to be fully productive regardless of my location. Just one obvious example: long long ago, in another millennium, I was the first person I know (even in my highly on-the-go profession) to not only own a laptop computer, but to make it my primary computer. Furthermore, not only do I recognize the utility of portable electronics, I think they’re pretty cool. Yet I’ve never owned a so-called smartphone or a PDA. Why? Because they all suck. More cogently: because the productivity and time savings derived from their use is outweighed by the time and effort, the annoyance and inconvenience, and the steep learning curve which is a prerequisite for their use. In my experience, everything they do can be done better and more easily by either a simple phone or a laptop computer.
Yet, I’ve often wished they lived up to their potential, because it would be easier to carry a handheld doodad weighing a few ounces in my pocket, rather than a computer weighing many pounds in my backpack. It would be great to have my entire address book in my phone, easy to access, and automatically in sync with the address book on my computer(s) or online. Likewise for my calendar and day-planner. And shopping list. It would be great to listen to some of my music collection when I’m running errands, without stuffing my iPod in another pocket. (Sometimes I don’t want to wear cargo pants!) It would be convenient to check for an urgent email while I’m on the go or in a meeting, without getting cramps in my thumb from a tiny Crackberry keyboard. Yes, there are dozens, probably hundreds of ways I could use a pocket-sized digital assistant in my daily life. I’d even use it to make and take phone calls.
But I’ve given up waiting for any of the existing companies in this market to get it right. They’ve had years and years to develop and perfect such a useful tool. And the demand for it is clearly there. Millions and millions of people complain about their cellphone or PDA. But no one answered that call, until now. The other companies didn’t even seem to be on the right track. I don’t advise buying stock in any other mobile phone or PDA manufacturer for the next 3+ years. (Instead, looking at the iPod marketplace, buy stock in the companies that sell accessories for the iPhone!) Hell, unless Apple’s iPhone announcement wakes them up, right now, forget the competition for the next 5 years. I suspect the iPhone will blow away every other “smartphone” available today, just as the iPod utterly trounced every MP3 player that preceded it -- and every one that has come since. If you work for one of these other companies, you better start kicking some butts and learning some new tricks; or consider looking for a new job.
Okay, that’s the big picture. What about the trees in this forest, in particular, the new tree sprouting up? The first generation of iPhone won’t be perfect. And any time you try to design a tiny thing that runs on batteries, the laws of physics and chemistry and biology (limited space and battery life, pudgy human fingers, etc.) necessitate design compromises. Apple’s design strength has largely rested on knowing which features to cut out, for the sake of overall excellence. Here are a couple first impressions about what’s good and bad about the coming iPhone’s announced features; I agree with most of these points. I also enjoyed this inside scoop from Time providing a glimpse of how the iPhone came to be.
From my point of view, the chief problem is it’s only available with Cingular service, and uses the slow “EDGE” wireless data technology, not the faster 3G services. But I predict that iPhone data speed will improve within 2 years. Oh, and -- crap! -- Cingular has no coverage where I live in the hills. (Local coverage is the main reason I’m currently a Verizon Wireless customer.) Yet this device looks so superior, I’m wondering if I can get by with VoIP or landline phone service in my home, and use this baby when I’m on the road.
If Cingular has coverage where you live, and you want a 21st century phone that’s state-of-the-art and truly easy to use, look no further. That is, if you can blow $500 bucks. (And, when you consider that this one device does the job of a $150 iPod, a $300 PDA, and a mobile phone, plus it can carry your baby photos and vacation videos and the last episode of “Lost”, it’s not an unreasonable price.) If you want it on the cheap, history tells us, you’ll have to wait a couple years for the second and third generation.
UPDATE: At the risk of stating the obvious... As of today, this device is still a prototype -- and shrouded in typical Apple secrecy. Even if Apple wanted to tell us all the details, they couldn’t, because they haven’t finished it yet. This week, and from now until June, a little information and lot of rumors and speculation will circulate about the iPhone. But we won’t get the real scoop until Apple starts selling them. That said, if you can’t wait to learn more, I'll bookmark any decent information I come across.
UPDATE 12/9/2007: The good news: the first generation iPhone proved to be almost everything I thought it would be. The bad news: it’s main flaw is indeed AT&T’s (formerly Cingular’s) network. Since originally writing this, my own lifestyle has changed my needs; and the competition, seeing the strength of the iPhone (and other looming developments in mobile communications), is trying to offer comparable devices and services. In short: I’ll be buying a different phone. I still wish the iPhone made good sense for me; maybe I’ll buy a second generation model, when my lifestyle changes again, or an iPod Touch.
