Apple iPhone - Worth the wait?
- By Chief Editor
- Published 19 Sep 2007
Chief Editor
Experienced IT professional and frequent blogger with a special interest in technology, the internet, photography and motoring.
So the Apple iPhone will be launched in the UK in November, but only on the O2 network.
The iPhone launched earlier this year in a blaze of glory in the US and the hype hasn't died down much since then.
But are the marketing people winning the advertising war and making an ordinary device look more exciting than it actually is?
Firstly, the iPhone isn't 3G. Now to many people 3G might not be that important, but to purchasers of the iPhone, who are likely to want to consume data services to read emails, surf the internet and download music from iTunes this means data speeds at "old" speeds rather than the broadband like speeds that 3G offers.
Yes, the iPhone has built in wi-fi, but find yourself away from a wireless network hotspot and you many find the download speeds tedious.
There's no denying that the user interface to the iPhone is nothing short of excellent. But then would you expect anything less from Apple!
The large touch screen is a joy to use and scrolling by sweeping a finger across the screen is such a natural way of working. And the built in software (iTunes, the Safari web-brows
er etc. are great to use).
Many of us these days are used to getting a mobile phone free (or at least very cheaply) when we take out a mobile phone contract. However, the iPhone will cost over £200 and you will also have to sign up for a 18 month contract. So are consumers paying the price for being early adopters?
Apple annoyed many people in the US when they dropped the price of the iPhone in the US not long after it was launched. Early adopters in America were offered a money off voucher as a result.
So will the UK price drop after the initial demand has died down? Well probably, yes. But then that's commonplace isn't it?
Should you be first in the queue on November 9th? Personally I wouldn't bother. If email is important to you then buy a Blackberry. If music on the move is important to you then buy an iPod and if internet on the move is important to you then any mobile experience may fall short of what you are used to from a laptop.
Having said all of this, we are all suckers for new technology and new gadgets; so go on, take the plunge. Just don't rue the day you bought your iPhone when something better comes along a few months later. That's technology!
The iPhone launched earlier this year in a blaze of glory in the US and the hype hasn't died down much since then.
But are the marketing people winning the advertising war and making an ordinary device look more exciting than it actually is?
Firstly, the iPhone isn't 3G. Now to many people 3G might not be that important, but to purchasers of the iPhone, who are likely to want to consume data services to read emails, surf the internet and download music from iTunes this means data speeds at "old" speeds rather than the broadband like speeds that 3G offers.
Yes, the iPhone has built in wi-fi, but find yourself away from a wireless network hotspot and you many find the download speeds tedious.
There's no denying that the user interface to the iPhone is nothing short of excellent. But then would you expect anything less from Apple!
The large touch screen is a joy to use and scrolling by sweeping a finger across the screen is such a natural way of working. And the built in software (iTunes, the Safari web-brows
Many of us these days are used to getting a mobile phone free (or at least very cheaply) when we take out a mobile phone contract. However, the iPhone will cost over £200 and you will also have to sign up for a 18 month contract. So are consumers paying the price for being early adopters?
Apple annoyed many people in the US when they dropped the price of the iPhone in the US not long after it was launched. Early adopters in America were offered a money off voucher as a result.
So will the UK price drop after the initial demand has died down? Well probably, yes. But then that's commonplace isn't it?
Should you be first in the queue on November 9th? Personally I wouldn't bother. If email is important to you then buy a Blackberry. If music on the move is important to you then buy an iPod and if internet on the move is important to you then any mobile experience may fall short of what you are used to from a laptop.
Having said all of this, we are all suckers for new technology and new gadgets; so go on, take the plunge. Just don't rue the day you bought your iPhone when something better comes along a few months later. That's technology!