The iPhone was announced when I was at the Consumer Electronics Show in January of this year and tomorrow, June 29, it will be available. People have been camping out in front of Apple stores since Monday to get it, if you can believe it.

Apple has a history of being cutting-edge: it invented the PC as we know it today, and back in 1983 it was the first organization to introduce a personal computer that used the graphical user interface. The company went on to introduce the Mac in 1984, the Power Book 100 in 1991, and of course the iPod in 2001. Its latest device continues this tradition of innovation.

There are now over 10 million iPods, and they comprise nearly 80 percent of all MP3 players on the market.

I love gadgets, but I can assure you that this is not at all on my wish list. First of all, I simply hate PDA phones. If you want to answer e-mail on your phone or Blackberry, I find it far more convenient to carry a two-pound notebook and have a 12-inch screen and a fully functioning computer.

But, amazingly this version of the iPhone will not have a high-speed 3G Internet connection, so even if you choose to use the Internet and answer e-mail you will be doing it very slowly.

In all, for the iPhone and the two-year contract AT&T will make you sign, it can cost you up to $6,000. I can think of a far better use of funds -- I can buy a new notebook computer every year and have far more functionality.

Family plan (with extended minutes)
	iPhone 3000	Nation 3000		iPhone 4000	Nation 4000		iPhone 6000	Nation 6000
Minutes	3000	3000		4000	4000		6000	6000
Unlimited data	x	$19.99		x	$19.99		x	$19.99
(Visual) voicemail	x	x		x	x		x	x
SMS	200 inc	200 inc		200 inc	200 inc		200 inc	200 inc
Nights + weekends	unlimited	unlimited		unlimited	unlimited		unlimited	unlimited
Rollover	x	not inc		x	not inc		x	not inc
Unlimited M2M	x	x		x	x		x	x
Additional lines	$29.99	$9.99		$29.99	$9.99		$29.99	$9.99
Activation fee	$36	$36		$36	$36		$36	$36
Monthly service	$160.00	$149.99		$210.00	$199.99		$310.00	$299.99
1 line per month	$160.00	$169.98		$210.00	$219.98		$310.00	$319.98
2 lines	$189.99	$199.96		$239.99	$249.96		$339.99	$349.96
3 lines	$219.98	$229.94		$269.98	$279.94		$369.98	$379.94
Cost for 3 lines, 1 year	$2,639.76	$2,759.28		$3,239.76	$3,359.28		$4,439.76	$4,559.28
Cost for 3 lines, 2 years	$5,279.52	$5,518.56		$6,479.52	$6,718.56		$8,879.52	$9,118.56

Some People Think it's a Good Idea

Many, however, don't share my opinion and believe the iPhone is a superbly engineered, cleverly designed and imaginatively implemented approach to a problem that no one has cracked to date: merging a phone handset, an Internet navigator and a media player in a package where every component shines, and the features are welcoming rather than foreboding. They believe the  iPhone is the rare convergence device where things actually converge.

Walt Mossburg, famous tech gadget columnist for the Wall Street Journal, tested the iPhone for two weeks, in multiple usage scenarios, in cities across the country. His 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.

He said:

"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."

You can also see NY Times columnist David Pogue's entertaining video review for more information

Wired June 26, 2007


Related Articles:

    The New iPod Killers

    IPods Revolutionize How People Listen to Music

    Do What You Love: Time is Too Short to do Anything Else ...