Glenn Fleishman Likes His iPhone

Glenn Fleishman's "real iPhone review:" "it truly feels like something dropped out of the future":

My Real iPhone Review: I haven't had time to write up all my impressions of my first day with an iPhone, but I am perfectly happy to admit that it exceeded my expectations, partly because I was prepared to be slightly let down by some of the bigger promises.... What's still valid about my hesitation in recommending the first-generation iPhone is that AT&T's EDGE network truly is too slow for anything but simpler text-heavy Web sites and for email, and that viewing Web pages and other text that's designed for wide-column layout is hard to read on screen. The former problem will be solved with an updated piece of hardware that uses the third-generation (3G) cell network. The latter problem could be solved in software, by offering an option to rewrap text streams into narrower columns for better legibility.

That said, the damn thing is a wonder. It's the niftiest piece of technology I've ever used or held. It truly feels like something dropped out of the future. Every feature works, even if I'm finding some rough edges or missing pieces. But nothing I've tried is broken. That's a big deal in an age were stuff is shipped too early, or in quasi-beta states. The iPhone probably tries to do too much in a first release, and some of that shows, but by biting off a specific set of Internet-focused tasks on top of telephony and iPod features, Apple's team made it achievable.

And more:

TidBITS: BuyPhone: My reaction so far is that the iPhone is the most remarkable cell phone I've ever used, and Apple made a lot of good design decisions. There are frustrating bits and pieces here and there, which are missing refinements. Browsing in Safari is just about as frustrating and lovely as I thought. The pinching and expanding (bloating, I prefer to call it) works terrifically, but I haven't yet figured out how to get the Location bar back in place without dragging it into view.

I do think Apple gave short shrift to the notion of extracting and reformatting text from a Web page as an option. In quick testing, I've found that even in widescreen view, it's rare that a Web page with any real text on it can be read at a comfortable size without dragging. (I've got corrected 20-15 vision.)

I'm finding typing awkward so far, but have only entered a few hundred words. The most irritating element of it is that when you enter a password in a dialog box or on a Web page, the character you type is hidden immediately after you type it. But if you accidentally hit the wrong character or two in a row you didn't mean to type, there's no good way to figure out what you did is wrong. There should be a hide/reveal password option to allow easier correction. I had to type in my home Wi-Fi network's password three times; I'll never need to re-enter it, but I can imagine many other passwords I will...

Comments

[jerry]

It's a futile hope on my part, but I hope the iPhone is very successful and in part what it does is make people start creating more mobile-friendly websites.

I have no use for a desktop. Laptops are useful but suck. The future really should be in mobile friendly websites.

Websites that require javascript, flash, and java are ridiculously old-fashioned.

[Ginger Yellow]

"The latter problem could be solved in software, by offering an option to rewrap text streams into narrower columns for better legibility."

It doesn't do that? My free phone does that. And it's 3G. I keep trying not be anti-Apple about the iPhone, but the more I learn about it the more it seems to be a cool interface in search of an application. The browser is nothing special, the network is terrible, the storage is pitiful for a serious music player and you can't use Java applications. Give me a full sized iPod with basic phone functionality or a fully featured phone with basic mp3 functionality, or full features on both sides, or else there's no point. It's not a convergent device, it's a fashion accessory.

[R Luethe]

spoken like a true Apple fan, being locked into a contract with ATT and a SLOW network would never cook off a true fan.

[Glenn Fleishman]

"The latter problem could be solved in software, by offering an option to rewrap text streams into narrower columns for better legibility.": Ginger Yellow, this is definitely one of the key flaws, but it doesn't destroy the phones utility because of the ease of zooming and panning, and the high-density display. It's a pain, and it will have to be fixed, but it's not a showstopper.

R. Luethe: It's amazing how two weeks ago, I can receive 100s of angry emails about being anti-Apple and on the take from Microsoft when I stated my reservations about EDGE and legibility in the New York Post, and now be accused of being a fan boy because I point out how darned good the iPhone is despite flaws.

The AT&T contract was a non-started for me, because I'm already an AT&T customer with no plan to change. The slow network is a pain, but I mostly am in places with Wi-Fi. When people ask me if the phone is for them, I query them about the kind of use they expect from it, and so on.

But for me, this is the best phone I've ever used, and it will get better. I miss Flash, I'd like 3G, and a To Do application is absolutely needed. But none of that, remarkably, detracts from the usability and marvel of the thing. That's part of the marvel! That it can be deeply flawed, yet superbly useful.