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January 9, 2007
That's Just Cool
Apple released a cell phone — ummm, maybe I should say cell phone/iPod/mobile computer/camera — today, and I'm almost sold. This is the first phone since the Samsung i500, which I currently use, that has everything I want in a phone: good phone in a reasonable form factor (I'm assuming a little on the Apple form factor, not having held one yet), built-in contact list sync'd to my computer, web browser and various miniature productivity applications.
The iPhone goes further, adding the camera (which would be cool for a personal phone, but might be enough to keep me from getting one: many of my clients wouldn't let me bring a camera into the building) and the iPod (though at only 4 or 8 GB, it's a far cry from my current 30GB model in terms of storage). The storage issue is actually significant, because even with 8GB, I'd have to select what I wanted available beforehand, especially if that 8GB is used not just for data, like songs, but also for applications that aren't built into the phone.
Being run off of OS X would be a definite plus, because I'm very familiar with the OS internals, and could write stuff I need that other people don't provide. Plus, it's a GSM phone, which actually bit me last year when I had to take a trip to Europe on notice too short to get a GSM phone to take with me. The SMS support, basically iChat on the phone, would be useful to me, and is something the i500 doesn't have (it's receive-only for messaging). Finally, the 5 hour talk time is nice, but doesn't equal the extended battery on my i500, which would be annoying when I'm traveling, particularly because that's when I'm likely to be using the maps and browser, as well as other widgets like local weather.
The phone is only offered in the US through Cingular (as an aside, I hate this practice of cell phones being locked in to particular carriers), and the biggest unknown is the service plan setup: how much will service cost, and will I be paying by the minute for data as well as voice? Will I be able to get free roaming (well, no-extra-cost roaming) and no-charge family-to-family calling?
Frankly, the odds of me getting one of these, at least for now, are pretty low. But I can see the attraction, and I wouldn't be surprised if I changed my mind with the next generation of this device.
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