No, I don't have one. No, I'm not lining up for days on end to be amongst the first owners. And no, despite being smack in the middle of Silicon Valley, I don't in fact plan on getting one any time soon. Here's why:
1) $600 is too much for the release 1.0 features announced so far. ($900 + on eBay)
2) It will be buggy: newly integrated software stacks always are.
3) One of it's strengths is that it can act as a platform for other Safari browser-based applets; one of it's weaknesses is that few yet exist. Though I think this ultimately will prove to be it's strongest suit, I'd rather wait a while to see what plays out here.
4) Cingular is the exclusive service provider for this thing, and that's not an option for where I live. (GSM networks have less coverage here than CDMA ones.) Furthermore, Cingular has about the worst data rates in the USA with their EDGE network that the phone will fall back to if it can't find an open Wi Fi network for internet access.
5) I already have two phones, and don't need any more plans, devices, numbers or bloody chargers to lug around.
6) It's a bit big for a phone, a bit small for a pocket PC, a bit pricey for a PDA.
7) While the gesture-based UI looks to be innovative and appealing for some functions, still not clear to me how well this touch-screen with "fingers only" will work for basic things like typing e-mail messages etc.. TBD, I guess.
Kudos to Apple though: the fact that (a) they must have got one sweetheart deal out of Cingular for exclusivity almost guarantees that they are going to coin it regardless of how this all plays out; (b) the scheme whereby you *have* to have an iTunes account in order to unlock the thing is a stroke of genius; and (c) the saturation media coverage seen over the past days has been largely free and gratis, courtesy of the 4th estate.
Hit or miss, Apple wins.
2 comments:
A big things thats missing for me is the car kit. Great if it works with bluetooth, but i want to be able to scroll my contacts or tunes from steering wheel controls.
Unfortunately i spend too much time in my car, so i need to be convinced!
I guess it will pair with Bluetooth equipped cars at some level? I've seen mention of various add-on car kits here in the USA. However, this thing is being pushed more as a personal PDA and not a business device so I still think that for us it's not really at a stage where there's a good fit. Save your 300 quid for now! (Probably 399 GBP when/if it launches soon?)
Post a Comment