Apple's iPhone: The Future is Here
by Anand Lal Shimpi on July 2, 2007 6:13 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
Wireless Networks: Edge, WiFi and Bluetooth
The initial previews and reviews made the iPhone's lack of 3G support out to be its Achilles' heel, but honestly after using the phone for a while, it is a problem but not the only thing worth mentioning. Fixing things like the performance issues while rendering a web page would be nice, but I've been using phones on Edge for a very long time now so I'm not as bothered by it.
I can understand the battery life concerns about going to something 3G; the iPhone is already not great on battery when you're surfing the net or handling emails, lasting around 6 hours in my tests. Moving to 3G would cut that down to even lower levels, but I see the desire for an option at least.
WiFi is an interesting alternative to Edge on the iPhone, and it's great if you're using your phone at home or work (or if you live in a place where there's municipal WiFi). Performance on WiFi isn't great however, I got around 1.5Mbps in my tests on WiFi. While that's a huge improvement over the 100Kbps I averaged on Edge, neither is what I'd consider "fast".
The issue is that the iPhone interface is just as responsive as a computer, so you inherently expect the sort of performance you'd see on a notebook and it's just impossible on a device like the iPhone. It's so fast in all other aspects that the network is truly the weakest link in the user experience, but I'm not sure if 3G alone would fix that given that performance on WiFi isn't up to par with what's necessary in my opinion.
Switching between WiFi and Edge is truly seamless as long as you've got the WiFi network pre-configured with the iPhone. Apple also makes it really easy to get rid of WiFi networks you're no longer using, just forget it:
I think overall we need a handful of upgrades to the iPhone alongside 3G; we need a faster processor, possibly more system memory, maybe even faster flash. The MLC flash in the iPhone has absolutely horrendous write speeds compared to SLC, which could be holding the iPhone back a bit. I can see Apple introducing a 3G version in about 12 months, addressing many of these issues at the same time.
Bluetooth support on the iPhone is limited to headsets alone, you can't transfer files to the device over Bluetooth and you can't browse it either; using it as a modem for your notebook is also impossible.
Of course you can't sync over WiFi or Edge, you can only copy music to/from the device over USB to avoid hurting record sales.
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CaptainDDL - Monday, July 2, 2007 - link
Could you take a picture of what the iPhone shows when you're trying to connect to a secure Wi-Fi connection? Thanks.slashbinslashbash - Monday, July 2, 2007 - link
Love the Group X reference.And once again Anand reminds me why I read Anandtech and don't really visit any other tech sites. He covers everything I want to know in a way that other reviewers can't.
It's strange but I guess understandable that the iPhone doesn't use AIM/iChat/etc. AT&T (and any other carrier for that matter) would rather not have the iPhone than give up the lucrative SMS plans. But I doubt it will be long before there's a web-based AJAXy AIM client that will run beautifully on the iPhone and only use the data plan, not SMSes.
Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
I'm glad people got the reference and didn't just think that there was something horribly wrong with me :)I don't want a web based AIM client, I want AIM support from Apple in the same fashion as SMS support on the iPhone. Dammit Steve, you know it'd be awesome.
Take care,
Anand
Zirconium - Monday, July 2, 2007 - link
I don't want Apple's iPhone, I just want BANG BANG BANG!!!frank5592 - Monday, July 2, 2007 - link
get to top of web page by double tapping the gray top menu barVery helpful for long web pages
Great review, very impressive work and by far the best review of the iphone
BTW, typing this on iphone safari and noticing that predictive typing is some what slow and does not always show up
Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Thanks for the tip and the comment, I've updated the review :)Take care,
Anand
Chaotic42 - Monday, July 2, 2007 - link
Seriously, this was an *excellent* review. I don't even have a cell phone and I couldn't have cared less about the iPhone before I read this, but I was bored. This answered every question that I or anyone I've talked to about the phone has had, and it was a great read. It makes me want one now.*Very* well done, Anand.
Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Thank you so much for your kind post, there's no better feeling than pouring a lot of work into an article and getting a response like that. Thanks again :)Take care,
Anand
Dennis Travis - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Agreed, your iPhone review was totally outstanding. You covered everything and then some and took the time to explain each feature in a way that anyone can understand.Another great review Anand. Told me everything I wanted to know about the iPhone.
michael2k - Monday, July 2, 2007 - link
It sounds like you will want an iPhone if:1) You have $600
2) You like the iPod
3) You like Star Trek: The Next Generation
The only thing missing is voice recognition! And flexible roll up displays.