Thursday, July 10, 2008
IPHONE Mobile







Information is so clearly laid out and features so easy to use, it’s comforting. It merges the capabilities of an iPod and a cellphone with those of a miniature computer, not just because it can surf the web or send e-mail, but because it can install and run sophisticated programs. Even with new technologies added – a 3G data connection, GPS location, and visual voicemail, the touchscreen controls along with many hidden design nuances create such a flow, it feels like one simple tool that always has a use for any situation. It’s like a good walking stick, for those who like to hike; always handy, useful and reliable.

Design

Although a little thicker than Apple’s other touch devices, the iPhone 3G still feels like a slim handset thanks to a curved backing. The casing itself is made of plastic, a change from Apple’s usual preference for metal, simply to allow for better reception of the ten wireless radios included. It needs ten, I’m told, in order to allow it to be compatible with the many different networks, both voice and data, around the world. There are few buttons, and most of the phone is made up of its screen which makes it a little less stylish than Apple’s computers or notebooks, but also provides the secret to its success.

Touchscreen Magic

Apple’s Multi-Touch screen remains the only touchscreen system I have tried that offers a real sense of purpose. Quick, responsive, it uses a range of gesture controls – flicks, swipes, and pinches – to offer meaningful ways to interact with and use programs. Other handsets with similar ambitions, the HTC Touch, LG Vu, and Samsung Instinct have touchscreens that are but mere novelties by comparison.

The Multi-Touch display is joined by a series of hidden sensors and design nuances that help deliver a sense of “magic”. A light sensor adjusts the screen’s brightness to suit your environment and reduce eyestrain, a proximity sensor knows when you are speaking into it as a phone and shuts off the touchscreen before your face comes close enough to interfere. An accelerometer detects changes when you tilt the handset sideways, switching the screen from vertical to horizontal view, which is ideal for surfing the web and watching videos.

All of these work with the new iPhone 2.0 operating system to create menus and settings that change and move with origami-like continuity. Simple flips, taps, and swipes allow you to access every feature quickly.

Battery Life

One of the few weaknesses, the iPhone 3G’s battery life is bound to disappoint. 3G data connections require a lot of power and so a lower battery life compared to most cellphones is expected. In using it to talk and surf the web I found the low battery alert appearing each day towards late afternoon. On days where I used it mainly for listening to music or watching videos, the battery lasted through day and onto the next. There are options to prolong the battery life, switching off 3G, Wi-Fi, and lowering the display brightness do help, but I find that it falls a little short of Apple’s published rate of 5 hours of 3G talk time. The one option not available, is one to replace the battery itself.

As A Phone

Although talking into a screen may feel odd at first, the reception has been good and the sound quality clearer than I expected. Phone numbers sent to you via e-mail, listed in your contacts section, or even found in search results using GPS and Google Maps are automatically hotlinked so that simply touching them on the screen sets the phone dialing. Adding information to your contacts book is just as easy, tap an e-mail or home address and a new profile is automatically started, with sections waiting for you to add in more information.

The phone comes with a selection of ringtones (including yes, the classic phone), and you can make your own using selected songs from the iTunes Store (for a fee) or for Mac users, with the use of GarageBand.

Text Messaging And Visual Voicemail
Two brilliant innovations, Apple offers new takes on two very common cellphone features. Text messages from both sides of the conversation are displayed on screen, next to each other as speech balloons, similar to the ones used in comic strips. Trading text messages, especially amongst many different conversations at the same time is now easier to follow.

Voicemail is now treated like MP3 songs. The handset downloads the messages as separate audio files. Not only can you pick and choose the order of the messages you want to listen to, but you can now pause, rewind, and fast forward through them.

What’s not brilliant is a lack of any instant messaging features, but perhaps the Apps store will provide those options.

As A Camera

The iPhone 3G has but a simple, 2 Megapixel camera with only the option to shoot and display pictures. There is no zoom and no shooting or editing settings of any kind. There are two innovations, you can save photos included in e-mails to your album, and the GPS can add your current location to each photo when you take them as part of their details. Underwhelming compared to the other features.

As An iPod

The iPhone 3G is different from the iPod Touch only in that is has a set of built-in speakers. More impressive than I expected, the little speakers can crank out the volume, better than the PlayStation Portable. Beyond that change, music, podcasts, audiobooks, and videos are handled the same as Apple’s iPod family and easy synchronizes with your computer using iTunes. Unlike most phones which require proprietary headsets, the iPhone 3G uses a regular headphone jack and works with common headsets. The white earbuds included are similar to those offered with the iPod series, but include a mic for hands-free use with the phone.

International Virtual Keyboards

Although I have had no problem adapting to the on-screen keyboard myself, it may prove an issue for some, especially those with long fingernails as the screen reacts to the heat of your fingertips, not the pressure of a stylus or fingernail.

The advantage of having a virtual keyboard is its ability to change layouts to suit each application, from text messaging to web surfing to writing e-mails. New to the iPhone 3G, the keyboard can also morph into international keyboards on-the-fly, from French Canadian, to Chinese, German, French, Polish, there are 23 different choices. In the case of Japanese and Chinese keyboards, the option to use your finger to draw symbols onto the screen is included and an impressive twist.

E-Mail And Web Browsing

E-mail is one of my favorite uses for the iPhone and I found it quick and easy to set up both my work and personal accounts. Accounts are well organized and e-mails are easy to view as well as write. Both Mac and PC users can keep their e-mails, calendars, and contacts synchronized with their computers using iCal, Entourage, or Outlook With Apple’s latest operating system, the iPhone 3G now supports push e-mail through Microsoft Exchange and Apple’s own MobileMe service. You can even have the phone wirelessly sync your calendar to grab instant changes in appointments.

The Safari Web Browser is the best mobile browser I have used. Web pages are displayed fully, so they take up the entire screen and are easy to scroll through. A simple tap on a paragraph sets the screen to automatically zoom in and centre on it. Adding bookmarks, switching between multiple open pages, and using the Google search field are all a breeze to use.

GPS Location

Using Google Maps and a built-in GPS antennae, you can find your current location and use it to search the immediate area for services, track your movement, or look up directions to a selected point, both using maps as well as satellite views. There are no features for driving navigation, although such solutions are expected to be offered later through the Apps Store. Thanks to a combination of both satellite and cellular signals, it’s a feature that works both indoors and out and the accuracy in general is fair.

We can search for several services – coffee shops, restaurants, comic book shops – and the range of animated pins that dropped to display results on the map was both thorough and accurate.

Data Connections

This is Apple’s second generation iPhone and one of the main changes has been its focus on business users and options that will allow it to compete against the BlackBerry. As such, it is designed as an “always-on” device. It has three main signals it can use to access the internet and will always use at least one of them to remain connected. Its preference is always the fastest, so it will first try to connect to a Wi-Fi signal, offering you the option to join any of the hot spots it has found, and if that fails it will switch over to the 3G signal, and if that is not available, EDGE.

To conserve battery life, there are settings to turn off 3G and Wi-FI, but not EDGE and so no option to switch off the data service entirely. There is an option to switch off data roaming, for when you travel overseas, and this is the closest there is to an option to save money on data costs.

The 3G service is just as fast as advertised. Web pages are opened in seconds, attachments download quickly, the only issue is that coverage of Rogers HSPA network is limited to major city centres and I found as I left the city limits of Toronto, the 3G signal weakened and quickly disappeared.

Third-Party Software

Through Apple’s Apps Store, the iPhone 3G can download and run software created by companies and individuals around the world. These programs can make use of the same features and capabilities that all of the other Apple programs can, accessing the internet, using the handset’s built-in sensors and accelerometer, camera, even its GPS.

They range in price from free up to $40 and currently the Apps Store includes over 500 choices across 18 categories including social networking, news, photography, games, education, and more. You can access the store both through the iPhone 3G itself or through iTunes on your computer.

Free Apps include eBook readers, photo editors, music mixers, and whimsical distractions such as using the motion-sensor to simulate the iPhone as a light saber or one of those cans that moo like a cow when you tilt it. Many major brands including eBay, FaceBook, MySpace, AIM, and SalesForce offer free programs to leverage their services.

The more sophisticated Apps include Netter’s Medical Flash Cards series which offers detailed, interactive images of the human body, SignalScope which adds a spectrum analyzer and oscilloscope to the iPhone, and Major League Baseball’s At The Bat which offers real-time, streaming instant video replays and game stats including player positions on the field.

The Apps reveal the iPhone’s graphics as being far more robust than ever thought. Video games including Super Monkey Ball and Cro-Mag Rally perform using 3D graphics that are comparable to the Nintendo DS in detail, smooth animation, and complexity.

My Favorite Gadget

There are several new cellphones that mimic some of the iPhone 3G’s features; its touchscreen, 3G data speeds, and ability to play videos, but Apple’s handset is the only one that uses them with real purpose. And with new features arriving through the Apps store, there is a continued potential that no other cellphone can currently match.

What complicates my ability to recommend the iPhone 3G is its exclusivity to one wireless carrier in most international markets, and here in Canada it’s limitations to a three-year contract with high rate plans. If you can get past those issues, then I highly recommend the iPhone 3G.

In the US which saw the "exclusive" launch of the original iPhone last year, iPhone 3G models were made available in all time zones at 8am on Friday -- ahead of the big weekend. USA has the 8GB version going for $199 and the 16GB version for $299.