Re-Examining The iPhone

CBS News Tech Guru Larry Magid Says It Does Things Very Well, Apart From Being A Phone

(CBS)  It seems Apple is morphing the iPhone into a full-fledged pocket-size computer, complete with third party software. But, just because the phone will run lots of applications doesn't mean it's a good telephone.

Apple announced Thursday that the iPhone will soon be able to play games from Electronic Arts and Sega, and connect to Microsoft Exchange servers for secure corporate email and contact management.

The company also released details about its plan to encourage third party developers, including a $100 million "iFund" to seed companies with development capital. The iFund is being operated by Kleiner Perkins Caulfied and Byers, one of Silicon Valley's most successful venture capital firms, whose principals have backed giants including Google and Amazon.

I've spent a fair amount of time using an iPhone as my primary cell phone. I used it daily during all of July and August before returning the phone Apple loaned me the day it was released. I then borrowed another phone two months ago to try out new software and again used it as my primary cell phone.

As some readers may recall, I was one of many columnists who gave a general thumbs-up review to the iPhone the day it came out, and I'm still impressed with many of its features.

Apple's multi-touch interface, which has now been added to its notebook Macs and the iPod touch, is an incredibly useful way to resize a photograph, zoom in on a Web page or move from one page to another by flicking a finger. I have a feeling that Apple is going to get a great deal of mileage from that innovation, especially if it someday winds up making Macs with touch screens.

Apple is to be congratulated for having created the most revolutionary phone on the planet and it's hard to argue with its overall success.

But I'm still not a big iPhone fan. While it's a great way to look at photos, browse the Web and consume media, it's just not that great when it comes to making phone calls.

Call me old-fashioned, but when it comes to making phone calls, I like buttons. Not virtual buttons and preferably not teeny-weeny PDA-size buttons. I'm happiest with an honest-to-goodness dial pad. I say that, not just from my experience with the iPhone, but also with Verizon's much-hyped LG Voyager touch phone, which I used for a few weeks.

What both phones have in common is that you use a touch screen to dial and perform many of the functions. The iPhone is touch only - there are no physical buttons other than a menu key, a key that puts it to sleep, a volume control and, cleverly, a switch that turns off the ringer. The Voyager doesn't have a physical dial pad - it, too, has a touch screen, but it does have a full physical QWERTY keyboard that you access by opening up its clamshell-like cover.

One problem with a touch screen is that you need hand-eye coordination to do anything. I know I'm not supposed to dial a phone while driving, but with a standard cell phone I can easily use the speed dial function without taking my eyes off the road. Trying to make a call using a touch screen while driving is a recipe for disaster.

I can't tell you how many times I've misdialed with the iPhone. Although I love its visual voice mail, sometimes instead of listening to a call, I accidentally press the call-back button. I've also found myself accidentally redialing someone I spoke with earlier.

The iPhone's contact list feature is great - I imported more than 2,000 contacts from Outlook, but there is no search feature. To find someone, you have to touch the first letter of the person's last name, but those letters are so tiny that even people with small hands can easily touch the wrong one, as I've done many times.

Verizon's LG Voyager, which sells for $299 after the usual two-year contract and rebates, has some advantages and some disadvantages compared to the iPhone.

To its credit, its touch screen gives you some physical feedback in the form of a light vibration when you touch one of its on-screen virtual keys. Also, you can open it up to reveal a PDA-like keyboard. Although the virtual keys are a lot bigger than the number keys on the keyboard, I found myself dialing from the keyboard most of the time because I still made fewer mistakes than with the touch screen.

Using the Voyager in this mode is a lot like using a BlackBerry, Treo or other smart-phone, except the Voyager doesn't sync with Outlook, so there was no practical way to get my Outlook phone directory into the device. The phone also has a very slow and cumbersome email program compared to the iPhone, BlackBerry, AT&T's Samsung Blackjack, Sprint's Samsung Ace and most other smart-phones. But, at least you can use the real keyboard to type your messages.

I'm more impressed with Verizon's eNv, also from LG, which sells for $149 - half the price of the Voyager. This "candy bar" style phone looks and works like a regular cell phone, with a decent size standard dial pad. But when you open up its clamshell, you get a QWERTY keyboard for PDA-like functions.

I'm not against touch screens. As I said, I think touch adds some incredibly useful features to the iPhone, but I don't like using a virtual keypad to dial a phone or type. I'd be happy if my next phone had a touch screen, but I don't want to sacrifice usability. If I got to design my phone, it would have Apple's multi-touch with Voyager's physical feedback, plus a full-size dial pad and a QWERTY keyboard.

There would be versions for all the major carriers and the Verizon and Sprint versions would have an unlocked GSM SIM card option for overseas use, as is now the case on some BlackBerry devices and Sprint's new Samsung ACE.

My dream phone wouldn't be the smallest phone on the market, but it would fit in my pocket and comfortably in my hand, and I wouldn't need to refer to the manual for basic tasks like making phone calls. Is that too much to ask?

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A syndicated technology columnist for over two decades, Larry Magid serves as on air Technology Analyst for CBS Radio News. His technology reports can be heard several times a week on the CBS Radio Network. Magid is the author of several books including "The Little PC Book."

[merlin901]

I fully agree that the Iphone is a compromised cellphone but I believe most owners like myself see it as a "the internet in the pocket". I can go almost anywhere in the country and get email or find out whats going on in the world albeit slow on the current EDGE network or higher speeds in a WIFI-equipped coffee shop.

Now that Apple is opening it up to the creativity of outside developers, owners can soon benefit from a variety of useful add-on programs that "hacked" Iphone owners now enjoy.

I have used several cellphones and find them even more complex to use this this one but certainly it''s not for everyone. Most people do not like change and cling to what they are used to or simply dislike anything Apple.

[hypnotoad72]

Past observation and experience of Apple leads me to say only one thing:

Viva Microsoft.

Apple''s PCs alone being a joke; same technology and gear used in any normal PC clone for $2000 (or DIY for $1200), but costs $3000 and doesn''t even have Windows; on top of the $3000 PC I''d have to re-purchase all my apps too... give us discounts Apple... oh, your idiot salesmen like to say how OS X uses only 40MB of RAM and Vista always uses over 1GB. Misadvertising is a crime... the latter is arguable and true on some conditions, but try to excuse the 40MB claim and you''ll only get laughs.

[merlin901]

I fully agree that the Iphone is a compromised cellphone but I believe most owners like myself see it as a "the internet in the pocket". I can go almost anywhere in the country and get email or find out whats going on in the world albeit slow on the current EDGE network or higher speeds in a WIFI-equipped coffee shop.

Now that Apple is opening it up to the creativity of outside developers, owners can soon benefit from a variety of useful add-on programs that "hacked" Iphone owners now enjoy.

I have used several cellphones and find them even more complex to use this this one but certainly it''s not for everyone. Most people do not like change and cling to what they are used to or simply dislike anything Apple.

[rf35]

Like all Apple products, this is ***. It has a few useful features, but doesn''t live up to the hype. It loves to cause errors when interfacing with any non-Apple products and being forced to use AT&T is a major showstopper. Since the iPod incident (don''t ask), I will never buy another product with the Apple name. A buddy has an iPhone...he''s never received a call I''ve made to it yet.

[prolegomena]

I''m still waiting for the 3g model... sounds like June is the magic time for the introduction of the model that will be up to date with software and hardware needed for most uses. I bet we''ll see a more aggressive price structure then, too.

[godseyesore-2009]

jerr11 must have bought the cheap-a** version du jour, which isn''t the norm for apple products. Sounds like he had preconceived notions based on a sour-grapes assessment of Jobs.

[nolalou]

It seems to me the iPhone, in spite of it''s name, works better as a small internet browser, music player, PDA type device, and no so well as a phone. I have a co-worker with one, and I played with it a bit, and for all the non-phone functions it''s pretty good, especially the full featured browser instead of the limited browsers on most phones.

[kofiananimus]

couldn''t agree more on the need for real buttons that you can feel so that you can operate the phone without looking at it.

[jerr11]

The iphone is just another over-hyped product from the master of hype, Steve Jobs.

I bet its battery life lasts one quarter of its advertised life, like my old ipod.

Battery lasted only 2 hours as opposed to the 8 hrs advertised.

I learned my lesson.

When it comes to apple products,it''s:

BUYERS BEWARE (OF THE BIG HYPE)!!

[jeffreypease]

Is the i-Phone blue tooth capable? Can''t you use an interface such as the Motorola HF850 in your car for hands-free, VR dialing? Would appreciate an opinion as this is something I am thinking about doing.

Jeff
Charlotte, NC