Will the iPhone Live Up to the Hype?
Today at 6PM Eastern time the long-anticipated iPhone will be released to the public. People are already lined up outside Apple and At&T stores to grab up the first batch. It’s predicted that Apple will sell over 200,000 units in the next few days - and they probably will.
Will the device live up to the hype? Yes and No.
From the video I have seen, the iPhone certainly is the next generation in portable devices, seamlessly integrating phone and media. The industrial design and user interfaces, like all Apple products, will be spectacular.Heck - I’d love to have one - but I’m not standing in line.
One of the big promises, in my book, is a much better web browser than we are used to seeing. However, AT&T has said that the web service will be slow. It’s too bad that Apple tied the phone to one service provider, since I am able to get broadband access from Verizon Wireless.
I have not always been the biggest fan of having everything in one device, but the iPhone might change my mind. Usually devices have to sacrifice quality or usability when they try to merge disparate functions. My camera phone is way harder to use, and the photos way poorer quality, than my slick Canon SD750. the counter is that people don’t use camera phones like they do camera’s - they’re mostly for quick snapshots. However, this may be a function of the limitation of the device combined with the cognitive effect of seeing the device mostly as a phone.
In my opinion, the iPhone will be a cool and useful device, but not worth standing outside a mall in a heat wave for three days.
