Apple's iPhone: The Future is Here
by Anand Lal Shimpi on July 2, 2007 6:13 PM EST- Posted in
- Smartphones
- Mobile
Syncing on a Mac and on a PC
There's this group of people that absolutely hate iTunes as an application, while I don't find myself in that category my feelings on the application are as follows:
By no means is iTunes the best application in the world, and honestly it's not nearly one of Apple's greatest efforts, but it's the easiest thing to use to sync with your iPod (and now iPhone) and thus I make do. If you asked how I'd make it better I wouldn't be able to give you a straight answer, I just know that iTunes isn't the pinnacle of simplicity that Apple has achieved with other apps.
Using iTunes to activate your iPhone is a brilliant idea; I absolutely hate sales pitches when it comes to anything technology related, and I know very few people that love going through the process of signing up for a new cell phone plan. You buy your iPhone and the rest you do from the comfort of your own chair, on your own terms.
The setup process is simple and works the same on Macs and PCs, all you need is iTunes 7.3. Input some personal information, including your SSN (assuming you didn't get a credit check at your AT&T store and were given a special code) and you're off to selecting your plan:
Like many on launch day, I got an error telling me that my activation would take longer to process but I eventually got a confirmation email with my new number.
Despite being an application originally made primarily for MP3 organization, iTunes does a good job of acting as a sync manager. First of all, if you've got an iPod chances are that you've got iTunes installed, in which case moving to the iPhone doesn't require any additional software. Secondly, you just tell it what you want to sync and in some cases where your content is located, and voila it's copying data over to your iPhone.
You don't have to eject or do anything special to disconnect your iPhone, just pull it out of its dock and you stop the sync. My single complaint about iTunes as the iPhone's sync manager is that as soon as you plug in your iPhone, iTunes switches to it within the application. Normally Apple does a good job of not letting other applications or dialog box steal focus unless you give it to them, but iTunes' handling of the iPhone just isn't one of those situations.
iTunes, stop demanding my attention
It's not a huge problem but it's one worth complaining about (just like the iPhone's SMS application isn't ground breaking, but it's worth praising). Don't misunderstand, iTunes itself doesn't steal focus under OS X, but within the application focus switches automatically. If I'm scrolling through some MP3s, realize I forgot to plug in my iPhone and rectify the situation, iTunes will kick me out of my MP3 library and make me look at its iPhone screen. Great.
iTunes looks out for you
I'm actually surprised at how well the syncing process works under Windows, it's virtually identical to it under OS X. Granted you don't have iPhoto, but iTunes will sync to Outlook just like it does to Mail under OS X. The biggest issue by far is that the iPhone presently doesn't support 64-bit versions of Windows. Maybe Apple has a thing or two to learn about the PC community, but generally the early adopter crowd is what you'll find spending $500 - $600 on a new phone and there's a chance that those same people may have a few extra GB of memory in their system. Just a hunch.
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zsdersw - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
As a long-time Star Trek fan and someone who regards The Next Generation as the best of the series, I have to say I'm not at all interested in the iPhone.Two primary reasons:
- Price. For $500 and a 2yr contract, what it brings to the table above and beyond its competitors is less than compelling, IMO.
- AT&T only. Screw that. I'm never buying a phone with which only one carrier is available.
tuteja1986 - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
alot of features are missing :!Bluetooth is crippled
Virtual keyboard onlys works good with Web browser since its horizontal. keyboard sucks
Does not have 3G
battery life is 4hrs talk time.. unable to change battery. black berry 8800 can do 10hrs+
Digital camera is very basic compared to high quality camera used in phone like Nokia N95.
No support for 3rd party application
Its has edge connection which sucks
no support for HDSPA
No GPS
No IM program
No widget support
Not able to abstract the image anywhere.. sending image through email reduces it low res which sucks :(
The only awesome thing about iphone i think its interface , the screen and the ipod video/music feature which works. The phone is certinaly not worth $600 and can be sold for $350 and apple can still make a decent profit.
plinden - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Where is 4 hour talk time mentioned. Anand didn't mention talk time, did he? He did get 6-7 hours with wifi.
Just about every other reviewer got 7 hours or more talk time, close to what Apple claims.
tuteja1986 - Wednesday, July 4, 2007 - link
Comfired by latest TWIT episode :! TWIT networks has the biggest apple fanboys ever :)http://www.twit.tv/TWiT">http://www.twit.tv/TWiT
but I sorry to burst you bubble but read the review by mobile phone professionals.
http://www.wirelessinfo.com/content/Apple-iPhone-C...">http://www.wirelessinfo.com/content/App...one-Cell...
Also ain't a anti apple but people buying it for so many reason as its calling the revolutionary phone which is not in tech wise , features but is revolution in only in UI design.
sviola - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
YEah, the Nokia N95 is an excelent phone, here are some of it's features.In-built GPS and Navigation Program (over 100+ countries maps)
5 MP Camera with Zeiss Lens and Optical Zoom, and Video Recording
Symbian OS
Plays MP3, video, etc
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB, TV out
Quadriband GSM/WCDMA (3G)
MicroSD Card Reader
I would like to see an anand review on it and a comparative against the iPhone.
vectersmith - Monday, July 2, 2007 - link
I have enjoyed the iPhone thoroughly and agree that while it is not perfect, for what it does do it does better far and above anything else.Edge speed is slow, but bearable (barely). Wi-Fi is must better, although I still have sites that just hang and I have to hit the X button and reload.
The UI is breathtaking, earth shattering, and will revolutionize the smartphone industry. It has too, once you use the iPhone everything else seems like fruitcake for Christmas (no offense intended to those that enjoy fruitcake on Christmas). I find myself just taking it out of my pocket to slide the unlock and see if anything is new :)
Also I will agree with Anand about the SMS, you really have to watch out what you are doing as having a conversation is just painless which causes those SMS message count the fly up :)
kilkennycat - Monday, July 2, 2007 - link
....how long did you take to compose the review and how much sleep did you get in the process? Did you work from a pre-written plan?Anand Lal Shimpi - Tuesday, July 3, 2007 - link
Thanks :)I wrote the whole thing in about 24 hours, but the testing took a lot longer obviously. As with all my articles I have a very high level outline, but what ended up being written was significantly larger than even I expected it to be. My initial outline had something around 10 - 15 pages long, then by 3AM Monday morning I estimated it would be around 20 pages and by the time it published I realized it was going to be just shy of 30.
I had to cut out a lot of additional material from the review just in the interest of time, and I took another 6 or 7 hours working on it to try and make sure I was keeping the attention of the reader throughout the piece (hopefully it worked :)...). There's enough extra content that I didn't use for at least two more articles, but I'm not sure what the demand will be for that so who knows if it'll ever get used.
As far as sleep goes, I don't sleep much in general when I'm working but the iPhone weekend was ridiculous. I went to bed Saturday night, woke up Sunday and didn't get to bed again until 4AM Tuesday morning. Needless to say, sleeping last night was the most amazing thing ever.
Take care,
Anand
oopyseohs - Thursday, July 5, 2007 - link
This is definitely the best article I have ever read on AnandTech or on anything technology related in general. Also, it is nice to see that someone else exhibits the same behavior I do when writing major articles!DerekWilson - Monday, July 2, 2007 - link
I'm sure Anand is finally getting some sleep after a grueling weekend with the iPhone, taking only the occasional nap so as not to die.And a pre-written plan? naah, Anand's just that good :-)